As soon as I got out of the car, I could tell that this place was underground because of the familiar and characteristic smell.
I looked around just in case, but there was a ventilator, but nothing like a window.
As Lee Myung-jun said, he seemed to understand well why it was difficult to find it in the usual way.
‘At least, since Yuzuki Horie is a warp capable person, he needs to know exactly the coordinates of this place… … .’
As he was immersed in thought, Yuzuki walked in a familiar figure and opened the door of the only entrance in this space.
I was frowned upon at the appearance of the interior, as if looking at the bunker in the basement.
And Lee Myung-jun, who saw it, touched my shoulder as if to relieve tension.
“Looking at his face, he seems to have already noticed. That’s right, this is an underground facility with no entrances to the outside. None of us, except for Yuzuki, can come and go here freely.”
“Can I tell you all that?”
“Anyway, I blew a bigger secret to you.”
With those words, Lee Myung-jun followed Yuzuki.
I followed them and walked.
‘It’s huge.’
I had never seen such a facility in the original.
As I followed the two of them, I wanted to make a rough guess, but it seemed to be about the size of a certain building.
There were several forks along the way and several closed doors, so it must be much bigger in reality.
I wondered how much money and time it would take to build a facility of this size underground.
“Arrived.”
After a while, Yuzuki stopped in front of an ordinary door, saying so, and put his hand on the doorknob.
The door opened with a creaking sound, and at the same time, I could feel a chuckle from the inside.
“Guild Master.”
The man who was sitting on the chair got up from his seat and bowed his head politely toward Lee Myung-jun.
He was a huge man who looked to be in his mid-thirties.
And the tight haircut was particularly impressive.
I don’t know what country he’s from, but I thought he was of Latin origin.
Is it mestizo?
“What’s special?”
“There is nothing. Vital signals… Nothing in particular has changed. We remain silent.”
He reported to Lee Myung-jun and looked at me.
There was a hint of curiosity, but he didn’t say anything.
“okay… … .”
With those words, Lee Myung-jun turned his body slightly as if he wanted to enter and looked at me.
As I entered the room, I could find traces of people staying for quite some time along with the inorganic sound of the beeping machine.
The most impressive thing was that all of the walls on one side were made of glass.
And on the other side of the glass, there was a blonde-haired woman with her head bowed while sitting on a chair as if she had died with restraints hanging all over her body.
She was Esmeralda Listenerger.
‘I’m serious.’
Her right arm looked serious enough to be seen from a distance.
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Once again, it was a sight to see why Nidhogg’s fangs were legendary weapons.
‘I would have been able to give such an effect just by stabbing an alter ego rather than the body… … .’
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Of course, before I came here, I had been researching all the ways to detoxify the venom of Nidhogg’s fangs.
And the detoxification method was surprisingly simple.
The blood of the possessor of Nidhogg’s fangs was applied to the wound.
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Of course, there was a condition that the blood had to be drawn directly or spilled… … .
Considering other methods of detoxification, these conditions were rather simple.
If you think about it, from the beginning it was written that the owner would have absolute resistance to the poison of Nidhogg’s fangs in the item description, so in a way, it was also a natural story that my blood was an antibody.
It was a really fortunate story for me.
“then… … .”
“Before that, I have something to tell you.”
I opened my mouth first, cutting off the words of Lee Myung-joon, who looked at me with a requesting gaze.
Lee Myung-jun nodded once and looked at me.
“I’m sorry, but it’s a really private and personal story. Myung-Jun Lee… I want to talk with Hunter-sama alone.”
“That’s not allowed.”
The first person to come out was the man guarding the room.
He looked at me and said in a firm voice.
“I’m sorry to say this to you face to face, but how can I trust you and leave you alone with the guild master? And right next to her.”
Yuzuki didn’t answer, but the fact that he was looking at me with his mouth shut was as if he was actively agreeing with the man’s words.
It was a natural reaction, so I pretended to sigh and muttered to myself.
‘Don’t be nervous, just keep thinking.’
I said looking at Lee Myung-joon, who was looking straight at me.
“I followed you at your own risk because of your circumstances. To be honest, there may be people in the academy who have noticed how many times you have contacted me. But you mean you can’t keep any of my secrets?”
Myung-Jun Lee nodded at my words.
“Both of you are out for a while. Don’t even think about eavesdropping.”
“boss!”
“In the beginning, there were many times when I was alone with Yoo Ji-hyuk. If something you worry about was going to happen, it would have happened sooner.”
“Isn’t that what you mean? We… !”
“hurry.”
At Lee Myung-joon’s resolute words, the two of them looked lost in words.
However, in the end, they followed Lee Myung-jun’s words and opened the door and went out.
As it was only the two of us left, he went to the door and shot something with his finger.
Perhaps it was some kind of means to prevent the sound from leaking out.
“Then can we hear the story now?”
“Sure.”
Before following Lee Myung-jun, I had plenty of time to think.
And the conclusion I made during that time was that it was impossible to keep everything a secret since I had already come this far.
But that didn’t mean I had to tell you everything.
“As you already know, I have no family.”
I could see Lee Myung-jun flinched at my words.
‘Also… … .’
He was the one who found out with fragmentary information that I had made Esmeralda’s arm that far.
The expectation that the investigation into me had already been completed was correct.
“And I was doing my own research on the Red Case. As you know, the witch Isabelle Gaudi… Don’t you know that she was also a member of the Red Case?”
“… okay. She had a red case tattoo on her body.”
“Are there any other signs? The identity is unknown, but there are marks on the bodies of some villains.”
“… … .”
He nodded at my words.
The witch Isabelle Gaudi was a person who had kites in quite a few places.
And among them, there were quite a few powerful forces.
That’s why she was able to have the legendary herb called Mandragora.
‘I’m glad I left early.’
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Originally, she betrayed all the organizations and ran away, but what is it?
she’s already dead
I decided to make good use of her death.
“Wait, so it’s no coincidence that you were there that day?”
“Yes.”
“And even Esmeralda Listener… … .”
Lee Myung-jun looked like he was thinking for a moment.
“As you say, it’s like you got information about the red case in advance and hit the player. What do you think you mean?”
“If you understand it that way, it will be right.”
“why? No, how can you do that?”
I smiled bitterly at his question.
To be honest, it was the most difficult question to answer.
“It has something to do with the Red Case that I’ve become like this. Would this be the answer?”
Actually, it wasn’t wrong.
Because Red Case was a major group of villains closely related to the Seal of the Seven Evil Species in the original story.
And I thought that Ariman was definitely related to the incident that happened to me among those Seven Evils.
“ah… … .”
And Lee Myung-jun, who heard my answer, frowned slightly and shook his head.
Perhaps he sees me as an orphan whose parents were murdered because I had something to do with the Red Case.
“okay… I’m sorry for asking something.”
He looked apologetic.
I quickly cut him off before he raised any reasonable doubts.
I was well aware that my answer didn’t answer at all.
It wouldn’t have worked for anyone else.
However, he was the one who had seen it so far and was even mentioned as ‘a lot of affection’ in the original.
As I expected, he just looked at me with pity.
“I’ll leave my story here and get to the point.”
There were three main reasons for coming here in the first place.
First, to erase a huge debt to Lee Myung-jun.
And second, to somehow keep Esmeralda Listenerger alive.
And finally, third, to get her out of the red case, whether you like it or not.
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Originally, I had roughly owed him a debt and thought about getting some rare equipment later.
But Lee Myung-joon… To be precise, the Hammer of the Brain Gong acted as a hardliner and needed to be a counter to the Red Case.
‘Because it can be used as a strong support force there.’
There were also debts that I couldn’t pay off last time, so I was confident that I would be able to move him and his guild as I wanted.
‘And it is better to reduce the variable.’
At first, since I had already fallen into this world, I thought that the original had already gone awry.
It was probably half right and half wrong.
Right now, I am nothing more than a gravel thrown into a huge waterway.
As long as you don’t have the strength to withstand the backflow of a huge current, it would be better if there weren’t any insignificant variables.
Didn’t many things change as a result of saving Lee Myung-jun right away?
Esmeralda Listenerger was a villain who occupied an important place in the story.
To be honest, there were a lot of things that made her feel uncomfortable in many ways to let her die now.
‘Finally… … .’
She had to be shackled to prevent her from doing anything wrong.
To do that, I had to use the knowledge I only knew.
I made a decision and licked my dry lips with my tongue.
“I will detoxify her, of course, and I will open her mouth.”
“What?”
Lee Myung-jun looked at me as if he had heard it wrong.
“I can do it.”
He stared blankly at me at my bet.
After a brief moment, he asked me.
“Then why did you send those two out?”
“They will say something very suspicious during the interrogation process. And I didn’t want to talk about my personal story.”
In order to catch Esmeralda Listener, I had to do that.
And it would be better if as few people as possible would know this important information.
“Honestly, I didn’t know if it was Lee Myung-jun, but other people couldn’t believe it.”
“… … .”
He looked at me with a bewildered look, and then made an expression as if he knew what to do.
“Okay, what are you hesitating about now?”
He said so and stepped aside.
There was a door leading towards the glass wall.
“Just in case, you shouldn’t use violent methods.”
“Do not worry.”
“Aren’t you planning on using a reading type magic by any chance? I’ve tried it before, but I had to stop because there’s a trick that makes a mana regurgitation happen right away if someone messes with my head.”
“Don’t worry.”
“okay… Then finally.”
Lee Myung-jun nodded his head in response to my annoyed answer.
Was he really that annoying?
‘Because of my younger brother, when I see students, I want to take care of them. Is it because of that setting?’
It was when I put my hand on the doorknob without thinking much.
Myung-Jun Lee grabbed my wrist and suddenly reached out to me.
“If you have a weapon, give it to me and go. This is a principle, but it is also to protect you in case of any possible situation.”
At his words, I unwrapped a pair of daggers for supply from the Zamjaco Academy and handed them over.
Lee Myung-jun, who received it, raised his hands as if he had nothing more to say and took a few steps back.
“Whew… … .”
I stood in front of the door and sighed for a moment.
Esmeralda on the other side of the glass wall was still bowing her head.
I opened the door with a rattling sound.
* * *
As soon as I opened the door, the first thing I was greeted with was the unpleasant smell characteristic of an old patient.
Glancing at the place that used to be a glass wall, I saw nothing but an ordinary wall.
It was also a magic mirror.
Perhaps from the other side, Myung-Jun Lee was looking at this place with a lot of tension in preparation for an unexpected situation.
“… … .”
Even when I came in, she was immovable.
I picked up a chair, set it down in front of her, and sat there.
“Long time no see.”
She heard my voice and after a moment she lifted her head with a smirk.
She looked at me with a haggard and contorted face, and then exhaled in a hoarse voice.
“Oh my, it’s you.”
“It doesn’t make sense.”
She smiled slightly at my words.
“Thanks to whom. If I get out of here, I plan to rip them to pieces and kill them in return.”
I pretended not to hear her threat.
“Doesn’t that mean you have to live first?”
“Aha, somehow.”
Esmeralda nodded her head.
Then he looked at me and then looked towards the glass wall and said.
“They can’t open my mouth, so I guess I sent you away? It’s enough to send a little bastard out instead, so the effort is imaginary.”
“I don’t think that’s what the person who was caught by that kid would say.”
“Yeah, did you come all the way here just to make fun?”
“No way.”
I got up and walked over to her.
Then he placed a hand on Esmeralda’s withered right arm.
“I’m here to do my business.”
He pulled out Nidhogg’s fangs, which he had hidden in his arm, and punched a hole in her arm.
Still, she just had an unpleasant expression on her face, as if she didn’t feel any pain.
I immediately wounded my palm.
He continued to hold her arm, feeling the blood flowing through the wound.
“What are you doing now… second… ?”
Esmeralda, who had been very irritated, seemed to be at a loss for words as she saw her arm healed in an instant.
And when I saw it, I was shocked to the point of keeping my mouth shut.
Because I didn’t know it would work so well.
‘Ouch.’
Even after all Esmeralda’s arms had been healed, I was still holding her arm.
And I took a small breath as I saw her still staring at me with a hostile expression.
‘great… … .’
Now is the start.
I just wished I had talent as an actor.
“Yeah, this arm is yours… So, did you come all the way here to decipher this? Do you want me to keep my nameband a little longer?”
“What nonsense.”
I snorted as if it wasn’t even funny.
Then he moved the chair and sat right in front of her, whispering quietly in her ear.
“The red border will be the border of this world.”
At my words, she shuddered and trembled.
Because what I said now was their passphrase, which only the direct members of the Red Case knew.
“Did you notice now?”
I am a member of the Red Case just like you.
I said as I stared into her frozen eyes for a moment.
“Esmeralda Listener. I am here to punish traitors.”