Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 32

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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 (32)

I’ll just go to the restroom for a moment

An hour later, at a beef restaurant near the Expo venue.

“….”

Lee Si-hyeok looked around with a complicated expression.

In the reserved room, a total of six people including himself were seated.

Song Hyeon-gyu and Song Chae-ah. Assistant Manager Han Da-hee and Department Manager Yoon Seo-jin. And even Isaac Reynolds.

…He had tried to gather as many people as possible, but this was all there was.

He had also tried to recruit Deputy Representative Lim A-yeon and other employees, but they had declined saying they had things to do. It didn’t really seem like they actually had things to do, and it felt more like they had tactfully excused themselves to give them a comfortable setting.

‘They didn’t really need to do that though….’

Thanks to that, the atmosphere was rather deflated.

Well, it made sense since most of them were meeting for the first time except for Lee Si-hyeok. On top of that, with Isaac’s unique menacing aura added to the mix, he wondered if the food would even go down properly.

Even Yoon Seo-jin, who had actually suggested the company dinner, seemed to be somewhat shy in this kind of atmosphere, only looking at Lee Si-hyeok with pleading eyes.

“Here’s the flower sirloin you ordered.”

Fortunately, the food arrived at just the right timing. Yoon Seo-jin had said this was a beef restaurant she frequented, and it certainly looked appetizing.

“I’ll do the grilling.”

Lee Si-hyeok stepped forward first and picked up the tongs. He felt like grilling meat would make the awkwardness less noticeable.

Just like when crafting artifacts, he blocked out the surrounding noise and focused only on the grill and the flower sirloin.

Sizzle!

‘Based on the browning speed of the surface and preserving the juices inside.’

He flipped the meat, adjusted the flame intensity, and cut it with scissors at the right moment.

“Here, please eat it before it gets cold.”

Lee Si-hyeok picked up the meat at incredible speed and served it onto everyone’s plates.

“Wow….”

“Insane.”

Those who had been watching him blankly soon came to their senses and picked up their chopsticks.

And after putting the tender meat in their mouths, they began to chew….

“…It’s not even chewy…?”

Song Chae-ah muttered in disbelief. Her jaw hadn’t even moved yet, but the meat had already melted away.

The others’ reactions were the same.

“Wow! You’re really good at grilling meat too, hyung-nim.”

“Si-hyeok, this is really a waste of talent.”

Isaac and Assistant Manager Han Da-hee weren’t just talking either; they too were continuously devouring the meat without stopping.

Unlike before, the awkwardness seemed to have eased considerably.

After that, as alcohol was brought in, the gathering began to get lively.

Among them, the thick-skinned Song Hyeon-gyu really livened up the atmosphere. The kid didn’t even drink alcohol since he was a minor, yet he fearlessly threw various questions at Isaac.

“So you’re Si-hyeok hyung-nim’s bodyguard?”

“Why am I your hyung-nim?”

“If you’re cool, you’re all hyung-nim, obviously.”

“….”

During this, Department Manager Yoon Seo-jin looked at Song Chae-ah and asked.

“It was Chae-ah, right?”

“Y-yes….”

Song Chae-ah looked noticeably nervous.

He could roughly guess the reason. Yoon Seo-jin was one of the Association’s selected 11 researchers. Lee Si-hyeok had gotten used to her since he’d seen her often, but to magical engineers, she was nothing short of an object of admiration.

Even Lee Si-hyeok had been quite fascinated when he first joined Termion.

“Wait a minute.”

But then, Yoon Seo-jin paused as if something had occurred to her.

“Chae-ah, Song Chae-ah. I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere.”

“Huh?”

Yoon Seo-jin’s gaze turned toward Lee Si-hyeok. Then, with an “Ah!” sound, she pulled out her smartphone and began frantically searching through it.

Having found what she was looking for, Yoon Seo-jin held up her phone.

“Th-this is…!”

Song Chae-ah was startled when she saw the screen.

“Right? Vegetable Song. The person who wrote a post on ArtiNet after Si-hyeok’s press conference.”

A best post that generally contained content praising Lee Si-hyeok.

Actually, Lee Si-hyeok had also thought of that post from the moment he saw Song Chae-ah. However, he had deliberately not mentioned it since bringing it up would likely make him feel embarrassed as well.

“Uh, um… Th-that….”

Han Da-hee, who had been quietly eating dried radish, also stared intently at Song Chae-ah.

Yoon Seo-jin was grinning while looking at the flustered Song Chae-ah, but her trembling lips seemed to show she was desperately trying to hide her mischievous intent.

“Oh my. Wasn’t it Chae-ah who wrote that?”

Song Chae-ah’s face turned bright red. She hung her head low and her shoulders trembled.

Lee Si-hyeok watched her quietly, then swallowed a sigh and spoke up.

“Stop teasing her. At this rate, her face is going to explode.”

Only then did Yoon Seo-jin chuckle and put away her phone.

“I-I need to go to the restroom…!”

Song Chae-ah rushed out in a hurry though.

Assistant Manager Han Da-hee, who had been sitting by the door, closed the open door and shook her head disapprovingly at Yoon Seo-jin.

But Yoon Seo-jin just smiled mischievously as if she didn’t care at all.

“Hehe. Chae-ah is cute.”

…Why is she like that, really. Lee Si-hyeok, who was grilling meat, made an exasperated expression.

‘Speaking of which….’

There was something he wanted to ask Yoon Seo-jin right now. Unlike the relaxed atmosphere, it was quite an important question. It was also the reason Lee Si-hyeok had agreed to this company dinner.

“Department Manager. There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Hm? Something you want to ask?”

“‘Obsidian Mining Site’. Do you know about it? I’m talking about the Gate where the 〈Pale Trace〉 currently stored in Termion Headquarters Warehouse was discovered.”

The ‘Obsidian Mining Site’ that had reopened yesterday along with the collapse of the ‘Corridor of Selection’. That place was a Gate that had been conquered by Hunters who had contracts with Termion in the past.

That meant Termion should have information about the Gate. Among them, Yoon Seo-jin was likely to know since she was key personnel at the company.

“Hmm, the Obsidian Mining Site.”

“Do you remember it? I understand it was conquered some time ago.”

“Yes. I remember it. I have no choice but to remember because….”

She downed her soju and continued.

“That place wasn’t a typical Gate.”

Lee Si-hyeok tilted his head.

“Not typical? Like the Corridor of Selection?”

“No. That’s not it. The Corridor of Selection is quite irregular. If I had to compare, the mining site was more on the creepy side.”

“…?”

“That Gate was successfully conquered, but the process in between is completely empty.”

What could this mean?

They had deployed Hunters, successfully conquered it, and even brought back artifacts and byproducts from there, yet the process was empty?

“The conquest itself was definitely successful. That’s why the Gate disappeared. But no one remembers how or by what method they succeeded.”

“…You’re saying their memories were erased?”

“That’s how we have to see it. Quite a large number of Hunters were deployed, but no one remembers what happened inside.”

Yoon Seo-jin paused for a moment as if recalling the past.

“Back then, I was going crazy trying to investigate it, really. If there’s a result, there should be a process too, but only the result was left behind. There has to be a way to find out something.”

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes became quite serious.

This was a fact he had no idea about when he was looking around the Legacy Artifacts in the underground warehouse and observing the Pale Trace.

Below the display case, only descriptions of the artifacts were written, not the circumstances under which they were discovered.

‘But large-scale memory loss….’

It was when Lee Si-hyeok was swallowing hard at this more complicated situation than expected.

Han Da-hee, who received Yoon Seo-jin’s gaze, spoke.

“I also heard about it while working at the Association back then. I’m from the Grade Assessment Team so it’s a different department, but it was a famous incident.”

“Then do you have any information you know?”

“…I don’t really have anything particular to tell you either. All I know is that everyone lost their memories, making accurate judgment difficult and measuring the Gate’s grade impossible.”

Having said that, Han Da-hee moved her chopsticks again. After finishing all the dried radish, her next target was the cucumber salad.

“Ah.”

At that moment, Yoon Seo-jin added something as if she remembered.

“There is one more thing I remember. You remember Lee Gang-mok Hunter, right?”

Lee Gang-mok.

He was the hunter who saved Lee Si-hyeok’s life right after his awakening. He was also Chairman Lee Young-hoon’s son.

“Lee Gang-mok Hunter also participated in the raid team.”

“…!”

It was an unexpected person’s appearance.

Lee Gang-mok Hunter… should I meet him once?

Lee Si-hyeok calmed his mind and organized his future plans in his head. The alcohol seemed to be wearing off a little too.

While he was doing that, Song Chae-ah, who had gone to the restroom, returned. She had water on her face, apparently having washed it to cool down the heat.

“I’ll also go to the restroom for a moment.”

Lee Si-hyeok put some warm meat on her plate and quietly stood up.

Then, while walking toward the restroom, he secretly slipped out through the back door.

It was an escape route he had identified in advance since entering the restaurant.

‘Should I slowly make my escape?’

He had already paid the bill on his way out. The awkward atmosphere had been resolved, and everyone would be getting tipsy by now, so there would be no problem even if he disappeared secretly. He had also given Isaac a heads up beforehand, so he would follow soon.

Not only had he perfectly resolved the long-standing appointment, but he had also obtained some information about the mining site, so this could be considered a great success.

‘Good. Now I can just focus on my own work.’

Lee Si-hyeok called a taxi with a satisfied heart.

Just as he was about to get into the back seat, he felt a hand grabbing the hem of his coat from behind.

Lee Si-hyeok stopped and turned around.

“Hehe.”

There stood a woman, smiling mischievously.

“…Department Manager?”

It was Department Manager Yoon Seo-jin, flushed with alcohol. When did she come out? He thought he had left without anyone knowing.

“Where are you going alone, Si-hyeok?”

“No, well…”

An answer didn’t come to mind easily.

However, she just chuckled as if she didn’t care and gestured with her hand.

“Never mind. Just move aside for now. Let me get in.”

“Yes, yes?”

There was no time to stop her. Yoon Seo-jin squeezed past Lee Si-hyeok’s side, got into the back seat first, and took the spot.

Then she patted the seat next to her.

“If you’re going, let’s go together. Don’t run away alone.”

Lee Si-hyeok, who had been staring blankly, eventually sat down next to her. He had gotten some fresh air from the night breeze, but the smell of alcohol wafted over again.

“Where are we going together?”

“I don’t know. Anywhere is fine.”

“Hah, really. By the way, how did you know I was coming out?”

“Si-hyeok. How long do you think I’ve been working at Termion? Do you think I got the Research Department Manager position for nothing? In the Research Department, we have company dinners every other day.”

She let out a chuckle.

“I can tell at a glance. That person says there’s an urgent matter at home, but they’re just going to feed their cat. That person will go to the restroom like that and then disappear. I can tell just by looking at their eyes.”

“…”

“Besides, Si-hyeok is quite dense in that area. You kept looking at your watch and fidgeting restlessly throughout dinner at the restaurant. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

She was annoyingly perceptive. Or maybe, as Yoon Seo-jin said, Lee Si-hyeok was dense in this area.

There weren’t really any company dinners among the Transport Drivers. In fact, this kind of gathering was almost a first for Lee Si-hyeok too.

He had planned to go and focus on Magical Engineering research. Lee Si-hyeok’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Anyway, let’s go quickly. The driver is waiting.”

“No, where to?”

“Well, I don’t know about that.”

“Sigh. What’s your home address, Department Manager?”

“Secret.”

“…”

“Secret. Secret. Secwet.”

Her voice was highly excited. Lee Si-hyeok held his forehead.

‘She’s not making sense…’

This person is thoroughly drunk.

She spoke clearly and seemed sober, but Lee Si-hyeok, who had often seen her at the company, could definitely feel it.

Her usual image was sharp and keen, so he thought she would be really good at drinking, but she got this drunk from just drinking that little bit?

Lee Si-hyeok recalled the amount of soju she had drunk at the restaurant.

One glass when toasting at the beginning, one glass right before leaving at the end. She had become like this after drinking exactly two glasses.

Snore… Snore…

She ended up falling asleep with her head leaning on Lee Si-hyeok’s shoulder. How much time had passed? Well, she must have suffered a lot during the Expo period, so it’s understandable…

“So where are we going?”

The Taxi Driver, who couldn’t stand it anymore, urged them.

‘Can’t be helped.’

He couldn’t just abandon her and leave.

Lee Si-hyeok eventually swallowed a sigh and stated the destination.

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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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