Chapter 51
The Geumseong Family was one of the Sword Clans.
Just as some individuals in the Magic Noble Families were born with exceptional observation skills, Geum Jong-Hwa had an unusually sharp intuition even within the Geumseong Family.
“So… who might you be?”
Geum Jong-Hwa asked after calming down Nagayama Shunichi and Toby Steiger.
Max spat out the inputted information exactly as it was.
“I am Chris Garland of Anchor Security!”
“…”
As he held out his business card with both hands during the introduction, Geum Jong-Hwa took the card and checked the front and back.
“And this is my wife! Nelly, hurry and say hello!”
“I am Nelly Campbell.”
Geum Jong-Hwa scanned the two people in front of him.
His gaze fixed on the man maintaining a low posture rather than the woman.
“This man… what kind of guy is he?”
The man named Chris Garland of Anchor Security.
Strangely, his eyes kept being drawn to him. This tapped at his vague intuition like carbonation.
The biggest problem was that he didn’t know the reason. Thanks to that, Geum Jong-Hwa wasn’t sure if it was in a positive or negative direction.
“I asked because a face I’ve never seen before appeared at the table while I was away.”
“Ah, that’s… I am truly sorry if I caused any offense.”
“I have no intention of finding fault, so don’t worry. It is out of pure curiosity.”
When Max said he was going around the party making himself known, the people around them exaggeratedly agreed, saying he had been doing so for a while.
It wasn’t that they were taking Max’s side, but rather an attempt to lighten the mood that had turned cold due to the dispute between Nagayama and Toby.
“…It seems my impatience got ahead of me due to the sluggishness of my new business.”
“That can happen when you have a Family. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, it deserves praise.”
“Hearing you say that gives me strength! Thank you!”
“I won’t hold you any longer, so you may go. You must be short on time if you want to show your face to others. My greed was excessive. You’ll be quite busy if you want to make yourself known to everyone.”
A roundabout yet dignified order to leave.
Max chose a clean retreat without showing any lingering attachment.
He properly showed his manners, saying he would greet them again, and distanced himself from the table.
“Hmm.”
Geum Jong-Hwa watched the backs of the two people walking away.
He tapped his scabbard with his fingers, chewing over the impressions he felt from the conversation and their appearance.
“The woman is…”
Her actions and expressions were strangely stiff.
But it wasn’t something to find strange. Given the nature of the gathering, it was entirely possible that she was nervous.
The problem was her husband, Chris Garland.
He had left an indescribable impression on Geum Jong-Hwa.
“Even though he maintained a completely submissive attitude, the impression of servility was somehow faint.”
Geum Jong-Hwa took a few steps away from the table where conversation had started flowing again.
“Geum San.”
“Yes.”
When his name was called, the buzz-cut man who had been quietly guarding Geum Jong-Hwa’s back responded.
Cyberware connecting his eyes and jaw was embedded in his temples.
Geum San of the Geumseong Family.
A Swordsman who had just reached the 4th-Tier and one of Geum Jong-Hwa’s close aides.
“Check the information on the Person named Chris Garland at Anchor Security. And observe those two.”
“I will do as ordered.”
Geum Jong-Hwa handed over the business card he received from Chris Garland.
“Also, contact the Hotel and have their guest room where they are staying monitored as well.”
“Yes!”
Receiving the order, Geum San moved with a calm face.
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“Did I get bitten by a bug… why is it so itchy?”
Max scratched his chest vigorously with an irritable face, sending a signal that they were being tailed.
Usagi didn’t miss it. She had also just sensed it herself.
“The promenade was full of plants, so a mosquito might have gotten in. Should we ask an Employee if they have medicine?”
“Forget it. It’s a hassle. It’ll get better if I leave it be.”
The situation wasn’t good for dealing with it, and it didn’t fit the Mission Flow. They reached an agreement to leave it alone for now.
Just noticing it was enough.
“Is it that bald guy who was behind Geum Jong-Hwa? I thought my acting was pretty clean.”
Max focused on deducing with his head, listening to the auction with one ear, and making small talk with the people at the table with his remaining ear and mouth.
“Nelly, aren’t you tired?”
“I’m fine for now. Still, I might fall asleep right away when we get back.”
They continued their act as a married couple.
Usagi also started to gain a bit of naturalness.
“Should we just say hello over there and then watch the auction while eating something delicious?”
“Whatever you want, Honey.”
Max fiddled with his few remaining business cards and continued to walk around.
He approached tables, conversed with people he was meeting for the first time, and continued his introductions.
Meanwhile, Max thought to himself.
‘I’m anxious.’
If this mission flows according to plan, it should end cleanly without a single drop of blood being spilled. The progress was also better than expected.
However, the moment he faced Geum Jong-Hwa, Max felt a chill down the back of his neck.
He had an ominous premonition that he would clash with Geum Jong-Hwa in an unexpected situation. With the tail attached to him, the premonition was nearing certainty.
‘I hope it isn’t during this mission.’
The Amphitheater Party was a place for those who had boarded a specific line to prove their continued loyalty and foster friendships. And it was a gathering of those who wanted to belong to that Faction.
The central figure of the party, which would continue until tomorrow, was Geum Jong-Hwa of Guryong Heavy Industries.
Given that it was packed with a group following him, the location itself was unsuitable for combat, and he had no comrade other than Usagi on his side.
“Then I will greet you again tomorrow! Have a good time!”
Having finished their greetings at the last table, Max and Usagi lightly wet their throats with champagne.
They put newly served, piping hot food onto a single plate and sat at a table.
“Our Nelly, You worked hard today.”
Max sat facing Usagi and fed her the dishes one by one.
A display of affection that someone might judge as an eyesore continued, but the two of them had the same thought at the same time.
‘The gaze isn’t dropping.’
It seemed they intended to monitor them the entire time they were in the theater.
Even so, it wasn’t a big problem. They had filmed almost all the necessary footage.
“I also learned an important fact.”
It was information Max hadn’t known when he worked at Cheonmyeong Pharmaceuticals; it seemed the Geumseong Family had also boarded the Cheonmyeong Pharmaceuticals line.
He had picked up on conversations while walking around, but the people who attended as companions without putting their names on the attendee list were particularly strong evidence.
He didn’t know what line Guryong Heavy Industries, which Geum Jong-Hwa belonged to, was on, but it was certain that the Geumseong Family followed Cheonmyeong Pharmaceuticals.
“Following the Cheongrin Family, even the Geumseong Family… As expected, what I knew Before Regression was only a part of it.”
The cooperation with the Geumseong Family must be information shared only among those with a certain level of position and Background.
In the first place, the Geumseong Family didn’t have the tendency to act complacently like the Cheongrin Family.
“Then the remaining question is:”
The presence of Toby Steiger attending the party.
It seemed everyone who needed to know knew now that Steiger had formed ties with Crimson Howl, so there was no way Geum Jong-Hwa didn’t know.
Even so, the atmosphere was one of accepting it without saying much.
“Is Steiger planning to be exterminated? What kind of nerve is this?”
They weren’t exterminated Before Regression, but the direction was clearly heading that way.
There was no way Crimson Howl would overlook this fact. One shouldn’t expect soft mercy from a Magic Noble Family.
‘No. As I think about the future, there must be some kind of relationship or deal that I don’t know about…’
Before Max’s thoughts could deepen, Usagi spoke up.
“Honey.”
“Yeah?”
“Actually, my legs hurt a bit from wearing heels for so long…”
“What! Then we should hurry and go rest!”
It was Usagi’s signal that they should slowly slip away for today. Max agreed.
Purchasing auction items was optional, just as the Association President had mentioned.
“Want a piggyback ride?”
“Honey! It’s embarrassing with so many people around…”
“What does it matter what people think?”
“It’s fine, so just lend me your arm, Honey.”
Usagi had forgotten her awkwardness with the word “Honey”.
It came out so naturally that she worried she might make a mistake when she met Max on another mission after this one ended.
Usagi linked arms with Max and came out onto the promenade.
They walked slowly along the path lined with streetlights. Even as they got their smartphones back from the guards and headed to the Hotel, the tail remained attached.
“Wear comfortable shoes tomorrow.”
“How could I? I have to show proper manners in a place with high-ranking people.”
The tail continued until the moment the two entered the Hotel and waited for the Elevator.
The moment they boarded the Elevator, the gaze was cut off.
“Right. No matter what, following us all the way into the Hotel guest room would be too much.”
With a slightly lighter heart, they headed to the guest room on the 70th floor.
That’s when they opened the door with the card.
“…”
Max noticed a strange sense of incongruity as soon as he saw the room.
Usagi confirmed that the elements she had set up to detect intrusion had reacted minutely.
Usagi, having thrown off her high heels, moved immediately.
She opened her suitcase with a relaxed gesture.
“Should I wear sunglasses tomorrow like you said, Honey?”
“Well, it’s not scheduled to run as late as today, so that might be fine.”
Cameras and listening devices were detected. They weren’t densely packed, but there were few blind spots.
The installation was quite clean, enough for one to feel a sense of professionalism.
“We are being suspected. Is it because of our actions, or the aftermath of the Spell?”
Max couldn’t come to a conclusion.
But there was also something certain.
‘If Geum Jong-Hwa-Hwa-Hwa had been certain, he wouldn’t have let us go so easily in the first place. He’s in a position where it wouldn’t matter if he drew his sword inside the theater.’
If he had caught onto the fact that they were enemies, he wouldn’t have attached a tail to observe them either.
This was the stage of suspicion. It was enough as long as they didn’t give him an excuse for the suspicion to spread into certainty.
‘It’s only until tomorrow anyway.’
Once the party ended and they left the Hotel, there would be no reason to face Geum Jong-Hwa with their current faces.
However, there was one huge problem that Max and Usagi had to face right away.
“Nelly, you wash up first.”
“…I’m tired, so I’ll just wash up lightly and come out.”
The fact that Max and Usagi’s act as a married couple had to be Forcibly continued even in the Guest room.
Usagi’s gestures became awkward once again.