Chapter 140 – Investigation (4)
What surprised me when I first saw Miyu Akiba was that she was also fluent in Korean.
‘Does this clan speak Korean?’
Is it because the clan’s direction is focused on trade and commerce?
Same with Shimizu and Akiba…
All of them showed Korean-level Korean language skills.
Besides, a shrine maiden like only in Japanese Zen temples is a holder of a clan called 〈 Man’s Condition 〉.
No matter how early the clan name was, I felt somehow awkward.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Do Jae-hyun from Seoul Holder Academy.”
“This is Kwon Oh-joon from the Injustice of Judgment.”
As we greeted each other, Akiba bowed politely once again.
With just a short greeting, she could feel her rules that emphasize politeness.
“I heard the rough story from Mr. Shimizu. You are looking for an unlicensed warp gate.”
“Yes. To be precise, we are investigating the holders who smuggle illegal items into Korea, as well as their connections and inflow routes.”
At those words, Akiba turned her gaze to Shimizu for a moment.
‘Is it okay if I lead this conversation?’
A tacit question, as if asking.
Shimizu responded by nodding her head.
From the moment clues related to smuggling came out and another clan member in charge of him came out, Shimizu’s role as the introduction of the clan was virtually finished.
“Then may I move to the conference room for a moment? We will tell Jaehyun and Korean holders about our future exploration plans.”
“Yes, you are.”
We quickly moved into our seats and headed to the meeting room on the ninth floor.
The conference room was clean and well-prepared.
A beam projector, a large transmission screen, and numerous related materials on the desk…
And there are scribbles written on the blackboard next to it.
The articles that the team members seem to have put their heads together and figured out a way.
All kinds of fierce traces stimulated the eyes from all over the meeting room.
It’s like…
‘Looks like a place created to convince someone.’
It is not simply a position created for our research team.
It was materials that seemed to have been prepared by someone beforehand to convince them.
And maybe the target.
〈 Man’s conditions〉 The head of the clan.
Akiba and the smuggling team seemed to have a plan to explore the ‘unlicensed warp gate’ long before we arrived.
I would have tried to start a full-fledged search based on him, and each time, the plan must have collapsed.
‘Because there are not enough combat clan members.’
〈 Men’s Conditions Clan 〉 is a clan that focuses on commerce and trade.
The number of clan members and holders in charge of combat is relatively insufficient.
Due to the nature of trade, protecting and preserving goods is the first priority, so the power of the holders will never be weak…
The problem was that the personnel were concentrated only on the escort team.
All strong and experienced combat holders fell into the trade item escort team, so there were not enough holders to officially go hunting or be dispatched to operations.
‘It doesn’t seem like there’s even a professional hunting team.’
In particular, a professional hunting team composed of high-ranking holders is essential for attacking dungeons that exceed a certain level.
This is because the division of roles is subdivided as the level goes up, and it is possible to attack the dungeon only when it is systematic.
However, just by introducing Shimizu’s clan and visiting the clan tower, I could confirm that there was no professional hunting team within the 〈 man’s condition 〉 clan.
“After our team selected suspicious places for unlicensed warp gates, a total of 11 final points were collected for related data.”
Akiba spoke again in a polite tone.
The PPT shown by the beam projector showed the map Shimizu had shown earlier.
Internal map of the city of Nagoya, circled in places.
As expected, the smuggling team’s investigation site seemed to be right.
“There are 4 fields outside the double barrier, 6 dungeons, and 1 general area. Embarrassingly, due to power shortages, our team was concentrating on one general area survey, which is still ongoing. In addition, other…… “
Akiba’s meticulous and detailed explanation continued.
The location and characteristics of each branch, precautions…
Brief information about the monsters you will encounter if a battle takes place.
I focused on listening to her story and exchanging various opinions with her team members.
Even so, the final opinion led to one.
“I guess I’ll have to check everything out eventually.”
With the exception of one general area, all remaining combat areas require investigation.
It was the conclusion of a meeting that lasted over an hour.
At those words, Akiba nodded heavily.
“That’s right. However… “
“I’m running out of time.”
“Yes.”
We don’t have much time to stay in Japan.
They came for a special dispatch using the weekend, and each weekday had their own schedule, so it was best to finish the schedule for two days before going back.
However, it was close to impossible to check all 10 survey points within that time.
“Let’s move anyway. Because you can’t just sit still. The first investigation point will be decided at the dungeon in Atsuta Shrine, the shady youkai den.”
I made a quick decision.
As there was no time, there should have been no hesitation in the judgment.
Akiba looked at me with a surprised face for a moment at the sight of me making a decision right away without reconciliation or additional suggestions.
It was the moment when her expression, which was only polite and polite, was broken for the first time.
However, she soon returned to the image of a noble shrine maiden and politely accepted my words.
“Yes. I will cooperate.”
* * *
It was enough to sit in the conference room for a while to get rid of travel poisoning.
After obtaining cooperation agreement from 〈 man’s condition 〉, we immediately started the on-site investigation.
Temporary party with a total of 10 people.
On the side of 〈 Fire Judgment 〉, there are five people: Kwon Oh-joon, Kim Seong-cheol, Choi Dong-wook, Lee Soo-mi, and Shin Yuna.
In our 〈 anti-villain 〉, there are four of us, Park Jin-woo, Yoon Ji-ah, and Kang Joo-yeon.
In 〈 Man’s Condition 〉, only Miyu Akiba was incorporated as a cooperative party member.
“Oh. You are a super luxurious member.”
Park Jin-woo, who was walking next to him, muttered.
As he said, the party members were quite luxurious.
None of the party members were lacking in force.
Even Akiba is an archer class B-class holder.
As a result, a high-ranking temporary party was formed, with all the essential personnel in each combat line, one A-class holder, and the other 9 B-class holders.
… No, Park Jin-woo is still in Class C according to registration.
“All dispatched personnel are B grade or higher… Holders in Korea are amazing.”
Akiba said blankly, as if it was strange again.
She didn’t have the right party members, so she couldn’t go to the field investigation, so these members seemed awkward to her.
“That’s why this issue is so important. We do not always have only high-quality personnel.”
“Okay.”
We were chatting like that.
We were able to arrive at Atsuta Shrine in no time.
A huge shrine called one of Japan’s three major shrines.
Indeed, it boasted a vast scale and breadth as its reputation.
The visitors also seemed to be much more ordinary people than holders.
We watched the crowd for a while, and then headed straight to the dungeon at the investigation point, the ‘Shady Ghost Lair’.
It was a position that had obtained permission in advance from the owning clan.
[You have entered the dungeon.]
[Due to the dungeon’s shady energy and heavy air, the holder’s speed is slightly reduced.]
The inside of the dungeon was surprisingly quiet.
I don’t know if there are only a few holders who came to raid the dungeon today, or if it’s like this every day…
An ‘unauthorized warp gate’ that may be hidden somewhere in the dungeon.
For us looking for this, it was good that there was no holder in moderation.
“Chief Kwon.”
As soon as I entered the dungeon, I talked to Kwon Oh-jun.
The only Class A holder in our party.
Because he had a lot of experience and excellent skills, of course I thought he should be the party leader.
It was a word with such meaning.
However, Kwon Oh-jun shook his head.
“You are the head of the party.”
“Yes? I mean?”
“Okay. This dispatch is a collaborative project between Injustice and Anti-Villain, and you are the general manager. As much as you lead the operation, lead the party.”
… You want me to host a party?
I was taken aback by the sudden statement, but looking at Kwon Oh-joon’s serious expression, it seemed like he wasn’t just saying it.
“No, but shouldn’t Team Leader Kwon be in command of the battle?”
“Only in times of crisis. You’d better do the rest. After all, our purpose is to search, not hunt.”
That was right.
In fact, if it had been to hunt monsters, the precious manpower of 〈 Judgment of Fire 〉 would not have come all the way to Japan.
“And you did well when defeating the snake-covered forest boss.”
“That was a special situation, right? .”
When he said it as if he was complaining, Kwon Oh-joon shrugged his shoulders instead of replying.
… This man, it’s an excuse to say that you’re in charge of operations, isn’t it just a nuisance that you want to pass it on?
I thought about that for a moment, but then I sighed and stepped forward.
In fact, I didn’t even have time to think about this.
We still have 9 more survey points left.
“Then I will direct the operation. First, let’s divide the party into two teams. Team A takes the left fork, Team B takes the right fork. …… “