Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 164
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (164)
Hunger
It wasn’t long before he could meet the Snow Flame Empress again.
“Hmm. It’s quite noisy here.”
She walked over with both hands full of snacks, looking excited.
Soon she spotted Lee Si-hyeok waiting at the entrance of the black market.
“Oh, you. You were here.”
“Where did you go?”
Whew…
Lee Si-hyeok, who had been dazed by the unexpected incident, let out a sigh and asked.
“I went shopping with Bae Jun-wan. My cooking training must never stop, even after coming to this place.”
“…”
“By the way. Did something happen here…? It’s quite noisy.”
“I’ll go check it out, Lady Cha Yu-rim.”
“No, there’s no need for that.”
Lee Si-hyeok stopped Bae Jun-wan, who was about to put down the shopping baskets he was carrying in both hands and go investigate.
The entrance area of the black market.
As the Snow Flame Empress said, it was extremely bustling.
Even though this hidden market should have fewer customers, quite a lot of people had gathered.
More than anything…
‘The stares.’
He could feel everyone glancing at Lee Si-hyeok.
He clicked his tongue and explained.
“I was pickpocketed.”
“What?”
He briefly summarized what had happened.
He had found an artifact he liked and took out his smartphone to purchase it. But at that moment, a pickpocket appeared, snatched the phone, and ran away.
“…But then a man with a bear-like build appeared, subdued the pickpocket, and returned your phone to you…?”
“Yes. To be precise, he was bigger than a bear.”
He seemed like he could put up a good fight even against an actual bear.
“Why didn’t you contact me!”
The Snow Flame Empress seemed very angry that a guest she had invited had been robbed.
“How could I contact you when my phone was stolen?”
“Ah.”
“And even if it had been possible, the situation was urgent. If I had been a little late, I would have lost it completely.”
“Ugh…”
Despite his explanation, the Snow Flame Empress’s anger didn’t subside.
Still, it made him feel better somehow.
The fact that someone else was getting this angry on his behalf.
“Lady Cha Yu-rim, a moment.”
While she was glaring at those who were crossing their arms and glancing over, Bae Jun-wan, who had been listening quietly, called the Snow Flame Empress.
The two whispered and had some kind of conversation, and when he concentrated his mana, he could gradually hear the content.
“…That man Lee Si-hyeok met, he’s probably one of those currently in combat…”
“…Yes, I think so too…”
“What are you talking about?”
“…!”
“…Heh. N-nothing important.”
For nothing important, it seemed like he had heard something quite significant.
When he narrowed his eyes, the Snow Flame Empress subtly avoided his gaze.
“That man I mentioned. Do you know him by any chance?”
“Well…”
“Lee Si-hyeok. I’ll explain when we get to headquarters. This isn’t the right place for it.”
“Hmm.”
Lee Si-hyeok shrugged and looked around.
The persistent stares.
The obvious ones had disappeared due to Lee Si-hyeok’s confrontational response, but they were still there.
It seemed the recent incident had sparked their curiosity.
“Well, I understand. Let’s do that.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Yes, let’s do as Bae Jun-wan says. Anyway, are you done looking around the black market?”
“Yes. I think this is enough.”
He gripped the doll he had just purchased tightly in his pocket.
“Then let’s go. There happens to be someone waiting.”
Someone waiting?
‘Who could it be?’
* * *
He could find out the identity soon enough.
As they crossed through the local-style market, there was a luxurious limousine parked at the market entrance.
Naturally, since it wasn’t the car Lee Si-hyeok had arrived in, he tried to pass by it.
“You, where are you going?”
“Pardon?”
But the Snow Flame Empress grabbed him with a sly smile.
And she pointed at the gleaming limousine with a snap!
“This is the very vehicle that will take us to headquarters.”
“…?!”
“Hehe. Isn’t it impressive?”
Lee Si-hyeok slightly opened his mouth and examined the limousine.
Flashiness? Luxury? Sophistication that looked expensive at first glance?
He wasn’t impressed by those aspects.
‘Magical engineering.’
This was also magical engineering.
Actually, he had felt it from the moment he discovered the limousine.
He had just tried to pass by because it would be rude to carelessly observe someone else’s car.
‘But if this is the Snow Flame Empress’s car, that’s different.’
He immediately pressed his face against the window and observed.
He couldn’t see inside due to the dark tinting.
Still, if he looked while activating ‘Eyes that Pierce the Essence’…
“Huh?”
Inside the window.
He made eye contact with someone who was already inside the limousine.
At that moment, the door opened wide and the person inside came out.
“Oh my.”
As the door opened, Lee Si-hyeok, who had been pressed against the window, was naturally pushed back. He didn’t fall because it opened slowly. He could feel the consideration even in that.
“Are you that child? Our daughter’s?”
“Who…?”
“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself. Look at me.”
Lee Si-hyeok stepped back hesitantly at the glamorous appearance.
As he was pushed back to where the Snow Flame Empress was, he could see her holding her forehead and hanging her head low.
The other person gracefully bowed their upper body.
“I am Aurelie del Lumiere. In this place’s terms, I’m called Han Yu-hwa.”
“Aurelie… del Lumiere?”
Lee Si-hyeok unconsciously repeated the somewhat unfamiliar name format.
Soon, he recalled hearing a similar name somewhere before.
―Serena del Lumiere. The only bloodline of the Lumiere Royal Family…
“…!”
“Now you seem to have realized. Ho ho ho.”
“Mother, why did you suddenly come out…!”
Lumiere is the name of Orbes royalty.
Serena del Lumiere is the Snow Flame Empress’s name from her princess days.
Which means.
‘That person is the Snow Flame Empress’s mother.’
She must also be a core figure of the Apocalypse Order.
Lee Si-hyeok nodded as if he finally understood, watching the mother and daughter bicker.
It was a scene of the Snow Flame Empress trying to forcibly push Aurelie… that is, Han Yu-hwa back into the limousine.
“Ugh. Why do you say such things outside! That child, that child!”
“Ho ho ho. Are you embarrassed?”
“Please… go inside…!”
Push push.
The Snow Flame Empress forcibly pushed Han Yu-hwa, who had come out of the limousine, back inside.
Han Yu-hwa kept laughing “ho ho ho” while obediently slipping back into the car following her daughter’s hands.
“Don’t just stand there gaping and hurry inside!”
Those were the words she shouted at Lee Si-hyeok before the door closed.
“…”
This was quite different from the image he had in mind.
Of course, he hadn’t really had occasion to think about the Snow Flame Empress’s mother, nor had he thought about her much.
Still, since she was a queen who ruled a kingdom, he expected her to have a rather dignified appearance. Lee Si-hyeok knew how vast that kingdom was, having stayed in Orbes.
But to think the first impression would be like this.
‘Surprising.’
She seemed so full of mischief.
As if she was born to tease her daughter.
Though the order seems off since she’s also the one who gave birth to that daughter.
“A-ahem! You must be quite flustered.”
“…”
It seems like you’re the one who’s flustered, Snow Flame Empress.
…He swallowed those words. Who knows what reaction might come if he said that.
“My mother is, as you can see, a somewhat unique person… She’s completely unpredictable. I hope you’ll understand with a generous heart…”
“Is your father perhaps similar in personality?”
“…I cannot speak of that.”
Clearly they must be similar.
Like father like son, like mother like daughter – it was just amusing that the Snow Flame Empress wasn’t much different either.
“A-anyway, hurry and get in. We need to depart soon.”
“Yes.”
Lee Si-hyeok chuckled and boarded the limousine.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the seat next to Han Yu-hwa, and thanks to the limousine being quite long, he sat at a distance.
“Then we’ll depart.”
The Apocalypse Order’s headquarters.
He didn’t know exactly where it was, but the car headed toward that destination.
And throughout the journey, Lee Si-hyeok had to endure a barrage of questions.
“What should I call you? Hmm? Since you’re our daughter’s friend, should I just casually call you ‘dear’? Or should I be friends too?”
“Just call me student, please.”
“Ho ho. Student is good, student. But Si-hyeok student isn’t actually a student, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
Being called ‘dear’ by Lumibra alone is enough!
“Mother, please just stay quiet…!
“This child, really? Your mom is happy to meet your friend. Can’t you understand that one thing?”
“Aren’t you making him uncomfortable, Mother!”
“What? Uncomfortable?”
Han Yu-hwa’s gaze shot over sharply.
“Si-hyeok student. Tell me directly. Is it uncomfortable when I talk to you?”
He squeezed his eyes shut.
And answered.
“No. It’s more comfortable and nice.”
“See? You’ve known Si-hyeok student for so long but can’t even figure out something like that? Oh my. Really.”
“Ahhh! You! Tell me your true, true feelings!”
“…”
It was an afternoon when he deeply missed his artifacts.
* * *
Screech.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Student, get out. Ho ho ho.”
“…”
They finally arrived at their destination.
Lee Si-hyeok stretched his back, which had stiffened from discomfort, as he got out of the car and looked around.
A desert similar to when he got off at the airport.
Sand dunes scattered everywhere and sandy dust full of particles felt whenever the wind blew.
And at the center of it all.
‘Is that the place?’
He could see a settlement of moderate size.
It was somewhat different from what he had expected.
Being a small elite group and a quite famous guild, he had imagined glamorous, near-futuristic, cutting-edge facilities.
‘That looks… quite run-down.’
It was just a village with several shabby houses gathered together.
If you passed by without knowing anything, you wouldn’t even know this was the Apocalypse Order’s headquarters.
[『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 activates.]
However, the mana was telling him he had indeed found the right place.
Not the ground level visible to the eye…
‘Underground.’
Tremendous things were buried beneath that sand.
That’s what the skill was telling him.
“The Master went out a little while ago. Originally he was going to wait until you came before leaving, but the matter was quite urgent, you see. Such a shame, such a shame.”
“What kind of matter?”
“Something like an operation. Our Apocalypse Order has work we’re doing here.”
Could it be related to that giant man I met earlier?
The way the Snow Flame Empress and Bae Jun-wan were whispering together, I had a strong feeling it was connected to that somehow.
“Here we are. I’ll give you the access card in advance, so feel free to come and go as you please.”
“Thank you.”
“You are our benefactor, so this is only natural.”
When the access card was held up to the reader, the fence surrounding the village rippled momentarily. Despite its shabby appearance, its aura was quite sharp.
“Permission granted. Let’s go in.”
As I stepped into the village, I could see people here and there.
They must be members of the Apocalypse Order.
They looked unexpectedly gaunt.
“I can see what you’re thinking.”
“…Was it that obvious?”
“There’s no need to feel sorry. I know full well how I and these people must appear.”
“…”
“They are all people who have gathered after losing their homeland. So they cannot help but starve like this.”
Lee Si-hyeok stopped and watched children playing in the playground.
The nutritional state of the children, who appeared to be the members’ offspring, didn’t look too bad.
“I’m not talking about material things. The heart. They are all people whose hearts are starving. Hoho… This is a pain that won’t heal unless we reclaim our homeland.”
“That’s why your reclaiming of Orbes for us is a debt we couldn’t repay even with our entire lives.”
“I didn’t particularly do it with that intention though.”
These people just happened to be on the path of magical engineering.
The Imitation World was an artifact worth coveting in itself.
“Oh my. I ended up talking about too many depressing things. Shall we change the mood a bit?”
Clap clap! Aurelie del Lumiere smiled brightly and clapped her hands.
Then she asked.
“Is there anything you want first? Something you’re curious about, or something you want to see. Or something you want to eat. Anything is fine.”
“Artifacts.”
I answered immediately.
“Oh.”
“I want to see artifacts.”
I was starving for them.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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