You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 177

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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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177

The company dinner disguised as a birthday party ended safely.

The next day came, but the celebrations weren’t over.

Guild members, the Association President, the Magic Tower Master, the Former Mage Tower Master, and even Team Leader Lee Woo-ram from Cheongram Trading Company.

Gifts from people I didn’t even know how they found out were piled up in the Investigation Hall.

“At this rate, I’ll need a whole warehouse just for gifts.”

I pushed the gifts into a corner and sat down at my desk.

It was early morning, but someone had requested a video call.

I turned on the computer, and shortly after, the monitor screen switched over.

Three faces appeared on the screen.

At first glance, it was the kind of combination you’d believe was AI-generated.

Aiden, The Pope, and Park Si-on.

The US President, The Pope, and the Saint.

“Happy Birthday Mr. Han”

“Buon compleanno, Signor Han.”

“Happy birthday to you.”

Languages from different countries flowed from the three men’s mouths.

The US President, The Pope, and the Saint.

I’m probably the only human receiving birthday wishes from these three simultaneously.

Before I could even mentally process the current situation, Aiden spoke first.

“I sent you the latest model supply vehicle as a gift.”

M1207-HEMET.

I’d heard they recently succeeded in developing a new vehicle, so it’s probably that one.

At Aiden’s following words, I decided to give up trying to understand.

“Originally I was going to give you a missile, but after seeing the anti-aircraft missile you have, it seemed shabby.”

The anti-aircraft missile Aiden was referring to was probably the Singijon Mk.2.

He seemed to remember what I’d shown during the live broadcast of Ashin Guild’s re-evaluation.

But is it okay to give military equipment like that under the pretext of a birthday gift?

Then The Pope, whose turn came next, cleared his throat.

“I offer a blessing—”

“I decline.”

I cut him off firmly.

“I’ve already become troublesome enough because of that.”

After The Pope publicly blessed Ashin, related articles were still being posted.

“I didn’t prepare anything else besides that…”

The Pope looked dejected.

“If you insist, just pray for me secretly where no one knows.”

But as we continued talking, a fundamental question suddenly occurred to me.

“But why are the three of you together?”

It was puzzling that someone who was at the Vatican just days ago was now in Washington.

“The Saint Selection Tournament ended too. This guy and I are childhood friends originally.”

I wondered if it was right for The Pope to use the term “childhood friends,”

but since even the Saint was Korean, I didn’t bother making an issue of it.

Or maybe the translation system had advanced that far.

“And you said so yourself.”

Aiden began to speak.

“That you need allies.”

‘There’s no way the United States wouldn’t know.’

I had predicted this to some extent, but I hadn’t bothered to bring it up.

There was no way cult forces wouldn’t exist in the US government.

There were even people who were openly part of it.

Just look at Vivian, the S-rank Hunter from the United States.

‘If The Pope vouches for them, I can trust them.’

That’s when it happened.

Aiden’s attendant approached him and whispered something in his ear.

At the same time, my smartphone rang.

It was the Association President.

“Let’s keep the congratulations to this point.”

Aiden, having received some information, spoke up.

The atmosphere suggested things were taking an urgent turn.

“Understood. I’ll come see you soon.”

There was no other meaning behind it.

It seemed we were now in the same boat, so I was thinking of legally requesting to share the information that Sadangpae had been infiltrating and extracting from the US Intelligence Agency.

“I’ll contact you soon.”

With those words, our call ended.

I immediately answered the Association President’s call.

“Hello—”

– I need you to come right now.

The Association President got straight to the point.

– We’ve received an urgent request from the Australian government.

***

When I opened the door to the Association President’s Office, a familiar scene greeted me.

The Association President sitting on the sofa waiting for me.

And the NIS Agent I had seen during the Japan incident.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be busy today.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs agent I had seen last time was nowhere to be seen.

“The vice minister who came last time received the call yesterday and is already working overtime.”

The NIS Agent replied with a smile to my joke.

I wondered if “overtime” was the right expression when it was past 10 AM, but then I remembered today was Saturday.

It meant he had been working continuously since Friday night until now.

As I took my seat, the secretary brought out tea.

Taking a sip, I tasted something different from the green tea from last time.

A cool tea with a fruity aroma.

This wasn’t bad either.

As I took a sip of tea, the Association President spoke.

“It’s tea specially prepared to suit your taste.”

The Association President then added,

“Don’t look at me like that—it wasn’t me who prepared it, but Team Leader Lee Woo-ram.”

Only then did I return to my usual expressionless face.

“So what’s the problem this time?”

I naturally moved to the main purpose.

“It’s not a Dungeon Break.”

Well, if it were a Dungeon Break, we couldn’t be this relaxed.

First of all, Australia has no S-Rank Hunters.

If an S-Rank Dungeon Break occurred, not only Australia but the surrounding countries would declare a state of emergency.

Then they would request help from countries that possess S-Rank Hunters.

That was the difference between countries with and without S-Rank Hunters.

Looking at it this way, I could really feel South Korea’s prestige in possessing three S-Rank Hunters.

We could think about who to dispatch.

No, we could even consider whether to accept the request or not.

“What the Australian government requested is a reconstruction commission.”

“A reconstruction commission?”

This was somewhat unexpected.

It’s true that Ashin participated in Japan’s reconstruction project.

But common sense dictates that using domestic personnel is more advantageous in terms of cost and efficiency than external personnel.

“Check it out for yourself.”

The Association President held out a tablet.

The screen showed a city center that had been devastated as if bombed.

It was complete ruins.

Destroyed houses and city buildings everywhere gave off an ominous atmosphere as if they had been abandoned for a long time.

“Looks like there was a terrorist attack.”

He moved to the next photo.

“This is how it looked a week ago.”

It was a photo of the city before the terrorist attack.

“It’s a mid-sized city just dozens of kilometers from Melbourne.”

The appearance of an intact city.

It was hard to believe this was how it looked just a few days ago.

“Who did this?”

“The Australian government doesn’t seem to have properly figured it out yet either.”

The Association President moved to the next photo.

What appeared on the screen was a man in distinctive clothing.

He wore a bamboo hat that might have been used in old Japan,

and a worn martial arts uniform that samurai would have worn.

‘A reconstruction request…’

It wasn’t bad.

Cases of reconstructing city centers devastated on a large scale, whether by Dungeon Break or terrorism, were rare.

No, it would be more accurate to say there had been no large-scale requests since the Tokyo reconstruction.

‘Not bad for gaining experience.’

But that made it all the more questionable.

Large-scale reconstruction projects like this operate on a national level.

And as I judged, such large-scale reconstruction projects could be great experience for domestic corporations too.

Unless it was an S-Rank Dungeon Break,

I couldn’t see why they would specifically entrust this level of project to Ashin.

“Why did the request come to us?”

“It’s not simple reconstruction.”

The NIS Agent spoke up as if he had been waiting.

“The Australian authorities initially tried to proceed with the reconstruction project by designating domestic corporations.”

The NIS Agent took a sip of tea and continued.

“All the workers deployed to the scene are showing abnormal symptoms.”

“An abnormal phenomenon.”

The Association President nodded at my words.

“Hallucinations, sleep paralysis, mental deterioration… in severe cases, they collapse while on site.”

“Currently, they’re judging that the terrorists used mental contamination-type skills.”

Rationally speaking, refusing would be right.

Going into an area where mental contamination was possible, especially a place where even government authorities had failed, would be insane.

But looking at the Association President’s expression, it seemed there were other circumstances.

Things he couldn’t say in front of the NIS Agent.

The Association President was probably thinking similarly to me.

These were symptoms similar to when exposed to ghostly energy.

Perhaps this terrorism could be evidence that it was related to the cult.

‘I need to check it out.’

Moreover, my Divine Authority was also reacting.

That going to Australia would be beneficial.

“Let’s just check it out for now.”

I didn’t make a definitive decision.

Instead, I planned to go see for myself.

‘No matter how beneficial it might be, I can’t push guild members into a death trap.’

“Let’s prepare immediately and depart.”

The meeting ended with that.

***

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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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