Chapter 66 (2/2)
Agility: Mid - Low
Stamina: Low - High
Magic: Mid - High
Luck: Mid - Low
Remaining ability points: 3
Seol Ji-Hu grinned after taking a good look at his Status Window.
”Wow…. I can't believe it.” (Hugo)
Hugo formed a shocked face. Dylan heard it beforehand, so he at least could manage a nonplussed expression.
”Although rare, there have been other cases before.” (Dylan)
”Even then…” (Hugo)
”I heard a couple of pretty interesting things from the Sicilia.” (Dylan)
Dylan continued on.
”First of all. I hear that there's a brand new star rising up in Scheherazade. Signed up with Sinyoung, and also a March graduate, as same as Seol here.” (Dylan)
Seol Ji-Hu's brows shot up. Cho Hong snorted unhappily as if all of her enthusiasm had dissipated in an instant.
”If it's Sinyoung, then it's no b.l.o.o.d.y surprise. They probably dumped a c**p tooooon of support on that rookie, right? Totally different from our Seol here, who's basically headb.u.t.ting the ground naked.” (Cho Hong)
”I agree 100%.” (Hugo)
Hugo nodded his head in an exaggerated manner. Not minding them, Seol Ji-Hu hurriedly asked Dylan.
”Do you know who this super rookie is?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”No, not really. I didn't get to hear the name.” (Dylan)
Dylan scratched the side of his head.
”However, the public perception of this person isn't so good, apparently. I hear that the rookie can sometimes be a bit psychotic at times, actually. Her nickname is supposedly the Crimson-Eyed Warrioress or something close to that.” (Dylan)
Cho Hong snorted derisively.
”What the h.e.l.l? What's up with that cringey name? Is she supposed to be a Berserker or something?” (Cho Hong)
”That's the funny thing. I hear that she's walking around with these bloodshot eyes all the time because she has trouble going to sleep. Maybe she's got insomnia or something.” (Dylan)
”….You sure you got correct info?” (Cho Hong)
”Cinzia was the one who told me.” (Dylan)
Dylan shrugged his shoulders.
Seol Ji-Hu wasn't feeling sure now. Initially, he thought that the super rookie had to be Yun Seo-Rah, but now that he heard the description, it couldn't have been her. She wasn't someone with a tendency to have psychotic breakdowns, after all. At least, not according to his memories, anyway.
‘Well, this person might have been newly scouted by Sinyoung.' (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu thought like so, but out of the blue, he felt something weighty on his thighs. He looked down to find Cho Hong resting her head there.
”….You're heavy.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Eiii, come on now, be still…. Whew, this is really comfortable, you know. Anyways. I'm guessing that it's a bit noisy in Scheherazade right now?” (Cho Hong)
She stretched her legs while speaking up.
”Yeah, it's pretty noisy over there. But with something else, actually.” (Dylan)
”About what? Did you hear something else from Big Sis?” (Cho Hong)
Dylan hesitated somewhat when Cho Hong asked him in a hurry.
”Mm…. Honestly, I can't believe it's really happening, either.” (Dylan)
”What's going on? Big Sis Cinzia isn't the type to bullsh*t around, right?” (Cho Hong)
Dylan nodded in agreement and opened his mouth.
”She said that the movements of the main temple of Luxuria recently have been rather suspicious.” (Dylan)
”Really? What did Big Sis say?” (Cho Hong)
Dylan mulled over his words, before quietly opening his mouth.
”Cinzia thinks that, just maybe, the Daughter of Luxuria is coming back.” (Dylan)
Cho Hong shot right up from the lap pillow.
”What did you say?!” (Cho Hong)
”It's not confirmed. But, Cinzia seemed almost convinced.” (Dylan)
By then, even Hugo looked utterly stunned by this revelation. Which left Seol Ji-Hu with a feeling that he was observing this discussion from very far away. So, he sneaked closer to Hugo and his still-open jaw.
”Hugo, what's going on here?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Hap.”
Hugo quickly shut his mouth up and blinked his eyes.
”Oh, that. It's about the 'apostle of the G.o.d'. Like, uh, we are talking about the ‘one who leads'.” (Hugo)
”The one who leads?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Yup. You see, Luxuria is in charge of looking after the Priests, and she's like the top director of healing power department, something like that.” (Hugo)
”….Okay.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”And this ‘one who leads' is, well, you can think of that person as the top dog among the healing type Priests. Since she's a super-high ranker, there's no need to even mention her status, you know.” (Hugo)
Seol Ji-Hu tilted his head. This explanation was somewhat lacking in contents.
”Do you know who she is?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Of course I've never even met her. But, I did see her a few times from afar, though. She showed up in Haramark a bunch of times to do some volunteer work and stuff, you see.” (Hugo)
Hugo then suddenly poked Cho Hong on the side.
”Hey, now that I think about it, isn't she also from Area 1, too?” (Hugo)
”Yeah, you're right.” (Cho Hong)
Hearing Cho Hong's reply, Seol Ji-Hu began forming a look of curiosity. Stuff about her that's been mentioned so far painted this unknown person to be an absolutely amazing Earthling. Naturally, his curiosity had been stoked now.
”Can you tell me more, please?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Argh, he's starting again.” (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong formed a fed-up face and quickly distanced herself, but as he had done always, Hugo replied earnestly.
”Hmm, okay. First of all.” (Hugo)
”First of all?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu's eyes sparkled in antic.i.p.ation. Hugo enjoyed that reaction for a second or two, before speaking in a rare, weighty, and grave tone of voice.
”She's got a huge rack.” (Hugo)
”…………..Hugo.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu had been seriously paying attention, so understandably, his expression gradually hardened. Hugo was smiling relaxedly, and he quickly waved his hand about.
”N-no, hang on! I'm telling you the truth! I told you that I saw her, right? She's definitely size 65 G-cup…..!” (Hugo)
”……”
”Uh…. And… Oh, she's also a real knockout, too. So much so that some people even call her the physical manifestation of G.o.d Luxuria.” (Hugo)
Hugo took a bit of pause in between his words, and Cho Hong burst out in laughter when he was done.
”Eiii, you know that ain't true. Everyone knows that Luxuria is a G.o.ddess of l.u.s.t. And that woman is as far removed from being a b*tch in heat as you can get, you know?” (Cho Hong)
”That's only because you don't know the truth. Doesn't matter whether you're a guy or a chick, those who look prim and proper are the nastiest in bed, you know.” (Hugo)
”Don't you remember what the nickname of that woman is? It's the Steel Wall, dude. THE Steel Wall. I mean, didn't that super-famous Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun tried to woo her for a long time only to get rejected by her outright or something? Yup, that woman's as far removed from being a l.u.s.ty s**t as you can possibly get.” (Cho Hong)
”I'm telling you, you gotta take a deeper look inside the person first.” (Hugo)
They were casually exchanging their opinions in the beginning, but eventually, the whole thing morphed into a full-on debate in no time. Seol Ji-Hu could only shake his head while looking at the two arguing over something completely inconsequential. Dylan chuckled from the side.
”Here's the reason why I scouted you, Seol.” (Dylan)
Their carriage arrived in Scheherazade exactly four days later.
As soon as they set foot on the soils of the capital city, they decided to go their separate ways. There was no real reason to act together, and besides that, disposing of their individual share of loot depended on each person's tastes, anyway.
For instance, both Cho Hong and Hugo were thinking of utilising the services of the auction house, but on the other hand, Dylan was going to see his connections in the city for a private sale.
Dylan suggested that, since he knew a guy who'd name a fair price, he and Seol Ji-Hu should travel together, but the youth declined the invite, at least for the time being. He knew way too little of the way of this world, so he wanted to use this opportunity to wander around here and there to personally experience things.
Also, he already had someone who'd buy his things anyway. And, his desire to relaxedly sightsee what the capital city had to offer played a pretty big part in that decision making, as well.
The four of them settled on which inn to stay and dispersed after promising to meet up later that evening.
Haramark was a pretty large city on its own right, but compared to Scheherazade, it was definitely lacking in many areas. No matter where he went, he found a large crowd of people walking on the avenues, and when he looked at all the tall buildings and the straight roads, he could definitely feel that, yes, he was now inside the capital city.
A short while later….
‘Wow.'
Seol Ji-Hu asked around and found his way to Sinyoung's HQ. Once he felt the impressive splendour coming from the entrance of the building, he couldn't help but let out a stunned gasp. He was expecting to be awed somewhat already since Sinyoung was supposed to be the biggest organisation in the Paradise, but well, this was the case of ‘seeing is believing'.
‘It's like I've come to the Taj Mahal or something.'
He was momentarily overwhelmed by the sight, but he quickly reined in his emotions. Originally, he wasn't supposed to come here, but his situation had changed rather greatly compared to before.
Kim Hahn-Nah told him not to show up here until he had built up sufficient reputation for himself to prevent Sinyoung from trying to entrap him. And if she needed him for something, she'd personally come seeking him out. That's what she said.
Well, Seol Ji-Hu believed that he already met all the prerequisites. Carpe Diem was one of the top-ranked teams in Haramark, and its leader Dylan was an Earthling with deep ties to both the Triads and the Sicilians. Not only that, he was on speaking terms with Princess Teresa Hussey and was also a friend to Ian Denzel the famed Alchemist, so Sinyoung wouldn't try something rash now, he thought.
‘It's not like I've done something wrong, either.'
He just came here to meet Kim Hahn-Nah, that was all.
Because of the ma.s.sive size of the organisation, there were plenty of people going in and out of the front entrance, so Seol Ji-Hu was successful in his attempt to slip in among the crowd unnoticed.
He began glancing around without even realising it, wondering if he could spot any familiar faces, as his steps took him past the front entrance.
< 66.=”” an=”” encounter=”” (1)=””> Fin.
(TL: Chapter 67 will be released in the next 48 hours, unless something unexpected happens. Keep your fingers crossed.)