Chapter 100
ㅡKREEEEK....
Grandpa Galahad's flail scraped the asphalt, leaving a shallow mark.
ㅡTHUD!
And then he slung the blood-wiped mace over his shoulder with a thud and came over to me, laughing heartily.
“Eek.”
“How did it go, Princess? Did you wrap things up well?”
“Wow..! You're amazing, Grandpa!!”
“Kahaha! Of course!!”
ㅡBEEP-BEEP!!
In the back, a huge boss had been hit on the head with a mace, and now its head had sunk into its body like a turtle's, and it was fast asleep.
Grandpa moved so fast it was hard to believe such a massive body used heavy metal, and he beat the mid-bosses and bosses without taking a single hit.
Ophelia had built them into the old-fashioned pair of jet engines, and they blasted out from both sides of his back, making him incredibly fast.
“Grandpa, how are we supposed to get back now?”
“Hm? Well....”
Grandpa Galahad looked up at my words and swept his gaze around. The cars stuck in traffic all had their doors open or windows rolled down, gawking at Grandpa Galahad, and the people walking on the sidewalk had stopped to snap photos with their phones.
“I see. How do we get back, then?”
“Um... should we call Ophelia..?”
I called Ophelia to see if she might be busy, and sure enough.
“Princess, I'm currently moving toward you while towing a cargo truck. Please do not use the Summon Skill, as it is dangerous.”
“Ah, okay. Then should I just wait here?”
“For now.... Please keep Sir Galahad there, and Princess, please return home as quickly as possible. I regret that I cannot be of assistance.”
“Ah, okay.”
I suppose there wasn't much point now that the photos were already taken, but there was nothing I could do.
“Grandpa..! I'm heading home first..! Since Ophelia is on the way, please just wait here..!”
“Mm, understood!”
I moved a few buildings away from the road where the incident had happened and watched Grandpa from a distance. He was being friendly with the people who approached him, and when they tried to take pictures, he even struck poses for them.
“Is that okay..?”
* * * * *
[Mech Freak : Gangnam-area open gate from last night.JPG
First time I've seen a giant appear and solo-clear a B-rank gate, damn.
(Photo)
It's almost 4 meters tall, crazy fast, and apparently can even talk.
Even doing the math, it solo-cleared a B-rank gate, so S-rank is a given.
But the problem is that we can't tell whether there's a person inside it or whether it's a machine, yeah..
(Photo)
This is the upgraded AH-12 MK.08, a top-tier Big Tech Hunter Guild model with exceptional performance and intelligence, made by a golem mage from Quantum Harbor.
It can think independently, and it even has a real-time function that accepts the raid leader's voice, rather than the golem mage's, as commands and changes its operating rules accordingly.
Of course, two-way conversation isn't possible; it just understands orders.
Since its owner, golem mage Sarah McClain, is S-rank, this one can output S-rank combat power too.
(Photo)
But the mysterious giant that stopped yesterday's Gangnam gate even smiled and struck a pose when asked to have its picture taken, yeah.
If it's a golem, that means there's either a lone operator or a company with the kind of technology that can crush American big tech.
If it's equipment and there's a Hunter inside, that means there's some monster making Goliath-class ground equipment.
Whatever it is, wouldn't the U.S. be charging in with eyes blazing?]
-ㅇㅇ : But can a person even fit in a frame like that? The arms and legs are way too long.
ㄴ Mech Freak : The center section is pretty small, so if it's someone small, they could probably be crammed in somehow.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : That's way too unrealistic.
-Oejongno : Either way, doesn't that mean there's a new S-rank in Korea?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : If it's the latter, then it wouldn't be S-rank, would it? If the person inside is around A-rank, they could probably do that.
ㄴ qudtlsgo : @ㅇㅇ That's even scarier. You're saying that if you have money, you can turn an A-rank into an S-rank;
ㄴ Oejongno : @qudtlsgo lol, for real.
-Kim Heukgan : Hah, what is this? Who is it?
ㄴ MaxiMaxi : Shut up, lol.
ㄴ Kim Heukgan : @MacHamTong (reading the room...)
ㄴ Utaha's Waterdrop Fan : It's you again, Tennoji Utaha—you've now got a mace instead of a katana, you're riding a giant mech, speaking in a grandpa's voice, using Korean, and fighting for Koreans. I've found you again. I now have no choice but to worship you.
ㄴ Kim Heukgan : That's exactly it.
“Wow, Grandpa Galahad came out looking so cool.”
Grandpa Galahad's exploits made it onto the best posts and were seen by lots of people. Last night, Ophelia drove the truck hard and brought Grandpa Galahad back to the forge in the dark.
A few posts said they had followed the cargo truck Grandpa Galahad was riding in, but of course the trail ended when they entered a mountain road and Nova's private property blocked the way.
And thanks to Ophelia's top-tier signal-jamming skill, it seems the existence of the forge where Grandpa Galahad is staying has remained secret for now.
And above all, what surprised me most was.
“I don't have a single photo of me..?”
ㅡBEEP!
“That's strange. When did you turn it on?”
Thanks to the machine-disabling ability of the doggo Ophelia added, every photo I'm in seems to have its file corrupted. I don't know how that's possible, but not getting photographed definitely puts me at ease.
It's a little disappointing... but whatever. It kind of gives off a secret-society vibe, which is cool. But in Gakgall, everyone already seems convinced it was me....
[Gakgall's hope, Gakgall's hero (23)]
[How much should Nova pay for this, then?(47)]
[I just like the gallery star (18)]
[As of now, I withdraw my support for the gallery star (33)]
[I'm just going to be a Seoulite from now on (31)]
[How ridiculous must the gallery star look to us Gakgall high-school-grad NEET losers?(8)]
[Shouldn't we be changing the president?(56)]
[Princess's squishy cheeks, pyuㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ(276)]
“Princess's squishy cheeks... why does this one have so many comments..?”
[Gyahong : Princess's squishy cheeks, pyuㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
-ㅇㅇ : Nice.
Gyahong that bastard is once again lifting photos from my SNS and getting them onto the best-post board. I really need to give him a piece of my mind.
“You worked hard yesterday too, Ophelia. You probably couldn't see much while driving at night.”
“I had already brought back a pair of Hunter night-vision goggles from the Oseong Group research base in case I needed them, so it's fine.”
“Ah, I see....”
Come to think of it, thanks to the tech collaboration contract, Ophelia said she'd received a few Hunter gear items and the like from them. I don't really know what we're doing for Nova on our side, but anyway, it seems we've received a lot from the Oseong Group research base.
We also received a ton of unused smithy equipment, and land was relatively easy to secure.
Besides, Grandpa Galahad apparently has extremely advanced technical skill, so there would probably be quite a bit the Oseong Group side could get too.
“Princess, I understand that you wanted to save someone, but something like yesterday must not happen again.”
“U-um....”
It was a little dangerous. Ophelia doesn't have two bodies, so while taking me home, she couldn't also recover Grandpa Galahad and put him back in the forge.
Our company's truck stands out quite a bit, so if it even stopped briefly near our apartment, we might be identified immediately.
“Before the real operations begin, the ability to rapidly deploy golems to the right places and, once the situation has been settled, withdraw without delay will be very important.”
“The ability to clock out...!”
“I said retreat.”
“Ah, retreat.”
Aren't they basically the same thing....
“One plan we're currently considering is operating a company-owned aircraft.”
“A-an aircraft?! You mean a plane?!”
“It could be a plane or a helicopter. The main purpose is to move quickly regardless of the situation and, through the Princess's movement, use the Summon Skill to let the golems leave their positions.”
“O-ohhh..!!”
Something like this? I'd fly around in a plane, summon the golems to wherever a gate appears with the Summon Skill, and while the golems are fighting, I'd move again. Once the fight is over, I'd summon them again and have them disappear in a flash. That's the goal.
“That would be awesome!”
“Of course, if a stable base is established and there's a place in the city where golems can be stationed, then that would be fine. But since that's not the case yet, that's why I'm saying this.”
“I want to try that! Like, a rope comes down from a helicopter, and I grab it and make a dramatic escape into the sky!”
“That's dangerous, so no.”
“Waaah.”
Ophelia says no to everything. She's really too much.
“As things stand, operating aircraft and setting up a city base are things for later. Personally, it'd be better to secure a base as soon as possible.”
“I see.... What kind of building are you planning to make?”
“A skyscraper-style building, like Nova's headquarters.”
“Eek..!”
Nova Tower was said to be about 300 meters tall, wasn't it? I heard it had almost 70 floors above ground, and a ton underground too. Just how much money would it take to build something like that?
Korean apartment-style housing is practical, but because there are so many neighboring units, it's hard to do anything noticeable and there are many limitations. A skyscraper that can concentrate as many troops as possible in one place would be ideal.
“B-but... wouldn't that cost an insane amount of money?”
“It would cost at least about 1 trillion won.”
“1 trillion..?”
Maybe she means mesos. Is 1 trillion even money a private person can have? Isn't that the sort of money a company would have? Even an ordinary company... ah, come to think of it, we have a company too.
But our company doesn't make money, does it..? It was basically just a company in name only, wasn't it?
“Th-then.... how much money do we have right now..?”
I don't remember ever asking how much money there was after I handed the money over to Ophelia. I mean, I only get 300,000 won in allowance every month. And Ophelia has so much to do, like building factories, buying raw materials, and everything else.
I was hoping that if I saved a little, Ophelia might have some breathing room too....
“The current total asset value, including the company, is about 80 billion won.”
“Gah.”
I fainted.