Chapter 295. My Success Depends on How Many Minutes My Parents Have
“Hello?”
The number one ranked player in Japan answers the phone.
The caller is a subordinate from the Imabari Guild, who was investigating on behalf of the Top-Ranking Awakened guarding the venue.
Ito’s aide checked the CCTV footage at the scene with the help of the police.
“Oh, the camera footage?”
As they analyzed various recordings, an additional truth emerged.
“I expected it, but…”
The fact that there were no ‘witnesses’ to the incident at all.
Indeed, it was thanks to that foreign Hunter, Kim Gi-ryeo, that this became clear.
“Confirmed kill.”
However, upon hearing this, Ito simply nodded, as if it were obvious.
At first, he had suspected why Kim Gi-ryeo was at the scene.
But based on testimonials from those who were at the exhibition hall, he had already grasped the outline of the incident to some extent.
“I guess I have to check it myself as well. Make sure to take a video of the security camera footage on your phone and send it over.”
– Yes. Understood.
But seeing reality, as opposed to just imagining it, is a whole different vibe.
Finally, the surveillance footage from Building A arrived.
It detailed the process of how Kim Gi-ryeo ended up at the scene of the incident.
First, to explain the flow before the cameras malfunctioned:
The Korean man in a suit strolled leisurely through the exhibition hall with his hands in his pockets.
Occasionally, he would stop to gaze intently at the displayed artifacts or the posters inside the venue.
Overall, the man appeared to be just a mere spectator.
His calm and relaxed demeanor made him look like a member of the upper class standing in an art museum.
‘Kim Gi-ryeo really didn’t care one bit about whether other rankers were in Tokyo or not.’
This city had three S-Class Hunters that had attacked him.
Yet there he was, leisurely enjoying the exhibition. Is that really an easy thing to do?
Ito focused on the footage for a bit longer.
Due to his innate characteristic of not sensing any magic power, it seemed that the other visitors had not realized the blond man was a Hunter for quite a while…
‘Hmm.’
The atmosphere shifted quickly.
The blond Korean, while watching the exhibition, stepped out into the corridor and suddenly activated the nearby fire alarm.
“Wait a second.”
If it weren’t for that fire alarm at that moment, the visitors in Building A might have been helplessly attacked by the red-eyed security guards who appeared from the bridge.
However.
To consider the actions of a Korean man simply a good deed felt a bit off.
“Did he really activate it just like that?”
Comparing records, Kim Gi-ryeo acted just three seconds after the escape commotion started in Building D.
The chaos from the security company affected by the item’s influence.
Furthermore, as they dashed across the second floor of Building D during the emergency.
Yet Kim Gi-ryeo, who was in the neighboring building, activated the alarm in the perfectly normal exhibition hall…
‘Sound? Or did he sense the flow of magic coming out of Building D?’
Either way, it was unbelievable.
‘What the?’
Although Buildings A and D were connected by a bridge, the distance between them was over 50 meters.
“What the, how can he have such perception…?”
“What’s wrong, Ito?”
The Awakened on the rooftop gaped as they confirmed the subordinate’s report.
To the Japanese, the incident at hand appeared as if Kim Gi-ryeo had keenly sensed an occurrence from a remarkably faraway location and simultaneously organized a civilian evacuation in under a minute.
In the first place, no flames were observed on the CCTV when the Korean activated the alarm.
“There was no fire, yet he went out and pressed the button; there can only be one reason for that!”
In a way, a simple question to the person involved would easily clear up the misunderstanding.
“So that’s why the fleeing visitors kept asking if there was a fire…!”
Yet, something felt slightly off about the whole matter.
In truth, there was a critical gap in entry between these folks and the guests.
“Hey, look at this. My subordinate just sent me the CCTV footage on his phone. What do you think?”
“Hmm.”
“Doesn’t it seem we might have been correct with our assumptions?”
“Exactly. I don’t see any signs of a fire anywhere, and yet to suddenly use the fire safety system…”
“Indeed, Kim Gi-ryeo pressing the fire alarm…”
“I heard somewhere on the internet that Korean Hunters consider it important to learn civilian evacuation procedures outside of hunting. Seems that’s true. How could he think of such methods the moment he sensed an Awakened was coming?”
Imabari found it quite difficult to request Kim Gi-ryeo’s cooperation because of what happened in Kagoshima.
Thinking from their perspective made it clear.
‘Ugh. Just when I could barely show my face due to what happened during the Dragon Raid…!’
Regardless, how much of an inconvenience is this?
That blond Awakened had willingly helped his fellow countrymen in a crisis and even showed generosity when the Imabari side sought to repay him as an enemy.
“I’ll let it slide this time. Japan needs to keep personnel to manage the gates anyway.”
With such a gentle demeanor.
Though the intention behind those words felt chillingly detached.
Anyhow, no matter how you spin it, Imabari had indeed benefited from that Hunter.
Therefore, even having handed over a billion won, they could always end up in trouble again over just possessing a [Legendary] item.
“Ha…”
Yet with this background.
They failed to stop the security guard’s rampage, exposing the venue’s vulnerabilities.
Moreover, by merely relying on the unexpected power of Kim Gi-ryeo, they managed to protect the citizens of Tokyo?
“How terrible.”
In such a flow, how could they even think about demanding extra time from a Korean S-Class?
For Imabari, dragging Kim Gi-ryeo to testify felt like an incredibly daunting task.
Thus, they refrained from asking that blond man for assistance in the investigation.
They just persuaded him to enjoy the event as best as he could.
After all, if the other party was at fault, wouldn’t the circumstances come out from just the CCTV and thief investigation?
“Ito, it just occurred to me that Iori sent me a message saying ‘die’ about the headache on my phone earlier.”
“It’s probably because she got held up by a politician. I’ve been trying to improve my relationship with Iori, but this might ruin all of that.”
“I just received another message calling me an ‘idiot’….”
For reference, the event poster that an alien had targeted for arson was damaged along with the collapse of Building A’s roof.
Torn.
Ripped apart.
Moreover, some pieces were actually set ablaze due to electric shocks inflicted by someone, unexpectedly causing evidence to disappear.
Naturally, the security camera was focused on the exhibition items.
Thus, due to the position of the poster being a blind spot, Moritake Ito quickly fell into misunderstanding.
‘When chaos erupted in Building D, they were the first to notice the guards approaching via the bridge and immediately took such action.’
Kim Gi-ryeo’s quick triggering of the fire alarm was all packaged up as if it were a thoroughly planned good deed.
“Thanks to that Hunter’s foresight, the visitors were protected.”
“So how do you plan to cover this up? Have you discussed it with the government?”
“I think it’ll probably be explained as a malfunctioning artifact during transport…”
Simple mismanagement.
And the sudden shift of the Japanese security guards will carry entirely different weights when disclosed.
Ito, who was discussing the conclusion of this incident with government officials, thought internally.
This ridiculous distortion allowing them to maintain their prestige is merely due to that Hunter’s assistance.
‘If it weren’t for his swift evacuation guidance, there would’ve been a flood of witnesses.’
To reiterate, had there been anyone among the overseas spectators who became a victim, they would have been subjected to international criticism regardless of the lobby.
However, as Ito was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a chill across his arm.
‘How can anyone make such a judgment in just three seconds?’
Just a few seconds.
When considering it, Kim Gi-ryeo’s behavior in this incident felt exceptionally peculiar to label as simply fast.
‘…….’
If we try to speculate, even vaguely through the lens of an ordinary person, about the flow of events Kim Gi-ryeo might have experienced at that time.
Perhaps Kim Gi-ryeo instantly recognized the ruckus happening in Building D.
As their magic approached Building A, he might have used the alarm to clear the visitors.
Yet the problem is.
He had no confidence that he would respond in the same manner if ever put in a similar scenario.
‘It’s quite a sigh-inducer.’
What Kim Gi-ryeo did involved predicting everyone’s movements in his mind.
He needed to fully trust his abilities to arrive at such outcomes.
Truly overwhelming. The camera footage captures no hesitation whatsoever from Kim Gi-ryeo.
‘Honestly, the average citizen would struggle to press the fire alarm even when there’s a real fire…’
Indeed, how unfair the world is.
Moritake Ito, inwardly regarding the S-Class Hunter across the sea.
Every time he saw Jeong Ha-seong, he often wondered if that was a person like him. Was it possible to achieve such bizarre records without some sort of trick?
Today, those feelings towards him melted away like snow.
“I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
Even that mechanical Jeong Ha-seong wouldn’t demonstrate such chilling efficiency, right?
“This incident only made me feel even more aware of that Hunter’s capabilities.”
Korea’s first S-Class Hunter had been the same attribute as him, and there was a sense of familiarity.
Now, standing face to face with someone capable of making optimal decisions in an instant made it difficult to appreciate those feelings.
That blond man is something eerie.
Despite being young, he feels oddly like a dark Imugi coiling itself.
‘Even though I couldn’t see the fight because the security camera was destroyed when the ceiling collapsed, I wonder if the fainted guards were pressured by [Binding] again like last time?’
Truly a formidable character.
For such reasons, Moritake refrained from engaging the Korean guest, merely spending time deducing his actions alone.
“Hmm….”
Of course, the truth of this incident was.
Slightly far from his imagination.
“Ha… In any case.”
No matter how much of a Great Mage one may be, it’s hard to notice issues regarding agreements they don’t care about.
However, the Japanese didn’t seem to care and changed the subject immediately.
“Now we owe another debt to Ranker Kim Gi-ryeo.”
Moritake Ito tightly gripped his black hair, which he had waxed into shape, nearly losing it in the process.
The series of events had caused significant stress for him.
It was so bad he wished he could go back in time and punch his past self.
Why hasn’t there been a time machine yet in a world where dungeons exist?
“Damn it! If my former self hadn’t done such insane things, our relationship with that Hunter would have been much better now…”
“Seriously. What greed was there over something we wouldn’t even use?”
As they lamented about certain sentences, another call came in on the Imabari Guild Leader’s phone.
“Hmm?”
Upon checking the screen of his phone, Moritake suddenly felt the need to head indoors.
“What’s with you? Is it that important?”
It seemed difficult to take this call amid the loud construction site.
As his colleague expressed confusion.
Moritake silently lifted the screen instead of answering.
[Magic Technology Bureau ☎]
Ten minutes passed while awake, in which Awakened civil engineers gathered to repair the roof of Building A.
Finally, the previously absent Moritake Ito returned with a noticeably brightened expression.
