Chapter 14
Two days before the competition, Yoo Hyun finally arrived in Germany.
“Suuuuurp—So this is Europe? The air really is different….”
I stepped outside the airport and took a deep breath of the foreign air.
Something smells kind of strange…?
“Pant, pant….”
Even the spotted Jelly Dog, Happy, seemed fascinated by the European air, sniffing noisily as they flicked their tongue over their nose.
A voice came from behind us.
“Haha! It’s my first time in Europe, too, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Me too! Actually, this is my first time flying first class!”
On this trip to Germany, Moonshadow assigned Hunter Yoo Dusik, the leader of Gamma Team, and Hunter Lee Yujin, one of its members, as my escorts.
‘…Neither of them has traveled to Europe before, so what was Moonshadow thinking with this lineup…?’
And on top of that, it was a mage-and-archer combination…
Well, they were both familiar faces, so I felt more at ease with them than with the people Dongbaek had sent.
Unlike Moonshadow, the Dongbaek people were so businesslike and stiff that they were difficult to approach.
“Let’s head to the hotel first. We’ll take you to the place we prepared.”
Hunter Kang Sujin, a B-Rank Hunter, guided us in an immaculate outfit and with a crisp manner of speaking that left nothing to criticize.
“……”
And Hunter Seong Taesik, a broad-shouldered B-Rank Hunter, silently kept watch over our surroundings.
Their professionalism was certainly reassuring, but if this trip to Germany had consisted of just the two of them, I probably would have felt so stifled that I couldn’t have enjoyed the sightseeing properly.
‘Thank you for sending people I know, Hunter Yeon Harim….’
Murmur, murmur—
Perhaps because the Magitech Technology Expo was about to begin, countless tourists besides us were heading for Frankfurt.
I looked at the crowd and said,
“Let’s drop our luggage at the hotel and go sightseeing right away! I’ve studied all the must-see tourist spots!”
“Sounds good! We’ll follow your lead, Boss!”
“Waaah!!!”
Unlike the two excited Moonshadow members, the Dongbaek people showed no reaction at all.
“……There isn’t much time left before the competition. Shouldn’t you be preparing?”
Hunter Kang Sujin voiced her concern. But it was Hunter Yoo Dusik, not me, who answered her.
“Phew… The Dongbaek Guild still doesn’t know how amazing Boss Yoo Hyun is, so I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“…What exactly does that mean?”
“Hahaha! It means our Boss Yoo Hyun is going to devour this entire competition.”
“That’s right! With your abilities, Boss, honestly, you could place… No, you could even win!”
The two of them trusted me enough to make the sky seem like the limit.
Yet even in response to their enthusiasm, Kang Sujin’s attitude remained cold.
“Haa… Do as you please. But if you fail to place because you didn’t prepare properly, it’ll be very troublesome. Dongbaek is covering all the expenses for this trip, after all. Please keep that in mind.”
Hmm… It was true that, as I looked now, I hardly seemed like someone preparing for a competition.
In the eyes of the two people Dongbaek had sent, I was practically a lunatic. There had to be countless things to check before an important competition, yet I had suddenly announced that I wanted to go sightseeing?
And I was only some random pet-shop owner, at that.
If I went into the competition unprepared and got eliminated immediately, Dongbaek would have paid for nothing more than my vacation, so their reaction was only natural.
If anything, the fact that she stopped there made me think Hunter Baek Seol-ah must have firmly instructed them to treat me specially…?
But I had already done everything I needed to prepare for the competition. To the point that I couldn’t imagine what else I could do.
I had already finished studying every pet theme likely to appear in the competition over the past several days, tracked down designs used in previous competitions, and done plenty of mental training.
Honestly, considering my abilities, there was no problem with the practical side, and I had been studying magic beasts steadily in my daily life, so there was genuinely nothing left to prepare.
Of course, Hunters Kang Sujin and Seong Taesik, who didn’t know that, probably found it hard to trust me when I was planning to go sightseeing… But what could I do?
‘……Still, it would be a shame to miss this chance to tour Europe just because I was worried about what Dongbaek thought… In the end, I could prove everything with the results.’
And so I enjoyed my trip around Europe until the day the competition began.
*
The day of the Magic Beast Production Competition
Messe Frankfurt, also famous for hosting some of the world’s largest motor shows.
Europe’s largest magitech expo was currently being held there.
Hunters and others working in related industries, as well as ordinary visitors, had flocked from all over to see the cutting-edge technologies in various fields created from Gate byproducts, forming an enormous crowd.
I was waiting for the competition to begin in the contestants’ waiting room prepared there.
“Phew… Just thinking about going out in front of all those people makes my stomach churn….”
Had I brought any Woohwang Cheongsimwon…?
Stay calm, stay calm… It’ll be no big deal once I’m out there.
So I began meditating in the waiting room to calm my trembling nerves, when…
Without any warning, the waiting-room door opened.
Click—
“Hey, you can’t go in there!”
Ignoring Yoo Dusik, who was guarding the entrance, someone entered the waiting room.
“At last, the day has come, my friend.”
“Who are you…?”
A light-green-haired girl in a white coat, reminiscent of a scientist or doctor, had suddenly come to me and was acting as though we were close.
Her hair was a pale shade, and her body was frail.
She was, quite literally, a woman I had never met before.
“Hmm? I’m disappointed, friend, if you don’t recognize me.”
I stared at her face, but… I couldn’t figure out who she was at all.
‘No, wait… That distinctive hair color is….’
I had seen it before. I’d received an email saying that an additional judge had suddenly been added just before the competition… So that had to be…
‘Oh, right! Germany’s young genius, Louise von Berg!’
Why had she come looking for me?
No, wait. Let’s think. There were enough clues.
That distinctive manner of speaking… A foreigner calling me a friend and whatnot… And a judge in this competition. There was only one person who fit all that.
Could it be… this girl…?
“……Victor?”
“I knew it! Someone with intelligence to rival mine would recognize me right away. Yes, it’s me, my friend. Your one and only confidant, Victor Kreutz!”
“No way, Thor, did you deceive me…? I thought you were a man…?”
What kind of nonsense was this? I’d been completely fooled…! My online friend had actually been a reverse netkama…!!
“Phew… That’s the unfortunate part. I should have been born a man…! Well, that’s not important. What really matters is that I can finally see with my own eyes the brilliant intellect I’d only glimpsed through a screen.”
A fierce light shone in her eyes, ringed by dark circles. Desire? Anticipation? Or perhaps delight? I couldn’t say for sure, but….
“Hey, nice to meet you and all, but get out of here already.”
“Why? I haven’t even been here for three minutes. Aren’t you being too cold to me?”
This girl… Did she not realize she was here as a competition judge?
“……It’d look suspicious for a judge to meet with a contestant privately right before the competition.”
It probably wouldn’t get me disqualified over something like this, but it was best to avoid unnecessary risks.
“Ah, I see. I didn’t think of that because I was too excited. Then let’s catch up after the competition ends. I’ll be looking forward to it, YH1234. No, Yoo Hyun.”
She left, the hem of her white coat fluttering behind her.
“Wow… Boss, you’ve got some incredible connections… That person really is Louise, right? Germany’s one of its most renowned young geniuses! She’s one of the few Magic Beast Alchemists capable of creating A-Rank magic beasts…! She seemed incredibly close to you, Boss….”
Perhaps because Hunter Yoo Dusik had recently become interested in magic beasts, he recognized Louise, a celebrity in the magic beast industry.
“……Hmm.”
But this…
[ Name 》 Louise von Berg ]
[ Species 》 Human ]
[ Awakened Rank 》 A-Rank ]
[ Occupation 》 Magic Beast Alchemist ]
[ Weaknesses 》 She is under constant stress due to excessive expectations from those around her. A psychological state of anxiety that is not apparent outwardly continues to persist. If it continues for a long time, serious problems may arise. She appears to need a stimulus to overcome her slump. ]
She was in worse shape than she looked…?
Hunter Yoo Dusik murmured as he watched the direction Louise had left.
“With that level of genius at her age, she probably has nothing in the world to envy. Ah, though of course, you’re amazing too, Boss.”
“She may be having a much harder time than she looks.”
…The competition came first for now, so let’s not worry about it.
*
The Magic Beast Production Competition finally began.
Since the competition’s theme was the hottest magic beast pet of the moment, it had drawn considerable attention even at this magitech expo, and a very large crowd had gathered accordingly.
Once the competition began, the contestants were introduced one by one.
When it was Yoo Hyun’s turn, the judges looked at his information and raised their eyebrows.
“The next contestant is… nationality: South Korea? A Korean?”
“This is an unusual contestant. As far as I know, Korea hasn’t accomplished anything in the field of magic beast pets.”
Korea’s destruction of its magic beast industry was a famous story among people in this field.
Of course, they knew that because of the ethical issues, it was good political fodder, so they merely shrugged it off as something that couldn’t be helped…
“I understand that Korea’s technical expertise in magic beast production has been wrecked… I’m worried this will bring down the competition’s standard.”
“Hey, watch what you say. The domestic industry may have been ruined by regulations, but don’t you know that Korean talent is considered premium talent in the pet industry now?”
“……If they have so much talent, why did that country ruin its own magic beast pet industry?”
“Who knows? One thing is certain: it’ll be difficult for him to achieve any major results in this competition. His environment is far too unfavorable. Good heavens, look at this! A private pet-shop owner, even if he did come from a research background!”
The judges shook their heads.
And at last, the contestants’ brief introductions came to an end…
The Day 1 Design Division competition began.