Chapter 532: 946
Incheon Harbor, New International Passenger Terminal.
The three men and women who disembarked at the pier took in the foreign scenery.
"So this is... Korea. We'll need to look around more closely to know for sure, but the public safety seems good at first glance."
"To think there are players in this country who conquered a black dungeon... I wonder what kind of people they are. Especially the one who led the conquest, what was he called, the Pandora Clan Lord? His name was..."
"Noh Eun-ha. He's also the leader of the Twelve Seats."
"Right, Noh Eun-ha. I'd really like to see what he looks like. I'm looking forward to it."
A woman arranging her yellow hair so it wouldn't be disheveled by the sea breeze.
In contrast, a man with his hands in his pockets, freely facing the wind.
The two exchanged words while sharing their impressions.
At that moment.
"Everyone."
A man in a pure white suit with long hair.
He checked the time on his wristwatch and drew their attention.
"Let's continue our conversation while walking, and move quickly. We can't afford to make a bad impression by being late, can we? It's already going to be difficult enough."
"..."
The man gently admonished.
However, his voice carried an underlying firmness that seemed to brook no objection.
"Yes, alright."
"Might as well."
The two didn't go against him.
They not only agreed with the man's opinion from the start, but also knew well his skills and temperament.
There was nothing to gain by going against him.
"Then let's go meet the Fairy... no, the Fairy Lady before we're late."
The corners of the man's eyes curved gently.
Soon he led the way, with the two following behind.
* * *
The Korea-Italy summit will start soon.
Yet...
"The chairs here are comfortable. I could sit for a long time."
"..."
Without heading to the conference room.
Lim Ga-eul was leisurely spending time in the lounge.
Ha Baek-yeon, who came along, cautiously expressed concern.
"Fairy Lady, shouldn't we get up soon since it's almost time for the summit? If we're late, they'll say something..."
"Let them say what they want."
"What? But..."
"The actual work is for the officials anyway, so it doesn't matter if we go or not, right? We just need to deal with the Tredici."
"..."
Aren't we supposed to go meet those Tredici now...
Ha Baek-yeon hesitated to speak.
Then Eun-ha, who couldn't stand by anymore, intervened.
"So isn't it time to go see those guys now? Is it okay to be like this here?"
"Yes."
The answer came from Song Yun-seo.
She, who was also taking it easy like Lim Ga-eul, said.
"They behaved very rudely at the last summit, didn't they? If we show courtesy and go out promptly, wouldn't that give them room to look down on us?"
"We absolutely can't allow that. It's a matter of national dignity."
Making a "hmph" sound.
Lim Ga-eul, sitting with her legs crossed, snorted.
Song Yun-seo quickly agreed.
"That's right. Rather than that, it's better to deliberately go out late. Even if we get criticized..."
"Even if the summit falls through, there's not much to regret... At most, we might not be able to obtain mana alloys mined from the Mediterranean?"
"The Mediterranean mana alloys are good, but we can sufficiently substitute them with South Sea mana alloys. Now we also have areas in northern Gyeonggi and near the <Dungeon of the Abyss>."
"So we can let them reflect on their sins while waiting. They're probably expecting this too? Let's move appropriately late."
"..."
Song Yun-seo and Lim Ga-eul chatting amicably like this, giving and taking.
Eun-ha clicked his tongue at their well-matched appearance.
'There are two Lim Ga-euls... Well, she was like this before the regression too. That's why Baek-yeon relied on her but also suffered from her strict personality...'
'I hoped it wouldn't be like this... Even the <Star-Counting Witch> is just like the Fairy Lady... Ugh, what should I do...'
Ha Baek-yeon shuddered.
Anyway, the two understood.
"Alright. Then let's go in late. And..."
"..."
"Since we're going to be disliked anyway, how about we do this?"
As Lim Ga-eul, Song Yun-seo, and Ha Baek-yeon's gazes gathered.
Eun-ha raised the corners of his mouth.
"How about..."
"..."
And after hearing the detailed method.
"Oh, that's a really good idea? As expected of the Pandora Clan Lord."
"I'm not sure what's so 'as expected', but I'll take it as a compliment."
Lim Ga-eul was delighted.
* * *
According to Lim Ga-eul's plan.
Eun-ha's group found the Tredici long after the appointed time.
"I'm sorry. We're very late, aren't we? Something came up in the middle. But... I hope you'll understand? We'll try not to let this happen again."
"..."
As if her experience as a former actress hadn't gone anywhere, Lim Ga-eul apologized glibly while hiding her true feelings.
Yet she subtly showed an attitude of not accepting any protests.
As if understanding her intentions.
"It's alright. We're fine. Things can come up in the middle. The Fairy Lady is a busy person after all."
Even though they might have been displeased with the long wait.
The Tredici didn't show it at all.
"Hmm..."
Lim Ga-eul narrowed her eyes.
They probably anticipated Korea's response to some extent beforehand.
She calmly guessed.
'I guess it's safe to assume they don't intend to cause trouble like last time. Does that mean they have something to gain from us?'
Lim Ga-eul, having quickly made her judgment, put on a smiling face.
"You speak Korean well. I guess we won't need a separate interpreter?"
"We often encounter Koreans at the church. I learned Korean then. And besides me, the others here can speak it too."
"Wow, is that so? That's impressive. It seems you were quite thoughtful, coming with people who can speak Korean."
"We'd be grateful if you could understand our desire to maintain friendly relations with Korea."
"Yes, I'm pleased by the sentiment."
Like that.
After a conversation where Lim Ga-eul tried to maintain distance and the other side tried to close it.
Eun-ha's group and the Tredici formally exchanged greetings.
"Are you the famous <Monarch>? I wanted to see you! Nice to meet you, I'm Pietro Veratti!"
A man with a hairstyle that revealed his forehead and a free-spirited appearance.
"I apologize. Pietro player is not skilled with formal expressions in Korean... It's absolutely not ill-intentioned, so I'd be grateful if you could understand generously. I'll keep a good eye on him. I'm Nadia Ludovisi."
A woman who defended the man introduced earlier and bowed her head politely.
Lastly.
"I'll introduce myself formally. I'm Roberto Estega, who came as the representative of the delegation this time."
A man with long yellow hair exuding an aura of nobility.
At his introduction as Roberto Estega, Song Yun-seo quietly exclaimed so only their group could hear.
"He's handsome. Unexpectedly, we'll get to feast our eyes. That's nice."
"..."
Lim Ga-eul also quietly nodded as if agreeing.
And...
"Wow, he's so handsome..."
"...What?"
Ha Baek-yeon also muttered.
Eun-ha couldn't help but flinch at the sound from beside him.
'What do you mean handsome... What's so good about a guy who looks like a woman...'
In fact, even to Eun-ha's eyes, he was objectively a handsome man.
He could understand Ha Baek-yeon's impression.
Nevertheless.
'What will she do later if she has no eye for men.'
Eun-ha was inexplicably upset.
For some reason, he also felt betrayed.
"Baek-yeon."
"Yes?"
This won't do.
As essentially Ha Baek-yeon's guardian, he should advise her for her own good.
Eun-ha subtly called her.
She tilted her head.
"Don't just look at faces. Faces aren't everything."
"What?"
"And in my experience... Guys like that were more dangerous. Be careful."
"..."
Noh Eun-ha whispering in a serious tone.
Ha Baek-yeon blinked blankly.
"Oppa, are you perhaps jea..."
Are you perhaps jealous right now?
Half flustered and excited, Ha Baek-yeon, who had unconsciously started to move her mouth, quickly came to her senses and swallowed her last words.
"Why? What were you going to say?"
"..."
Eun-ha was puzzled.
Ha Baek-yeon brushed it off with a smile.
"It's nothing. And I just said he was handsome, there was no other meaning at all so don't misunderstand. In the first place..."
"In the first place?"
"I think you're more cool and handsome, you know?"
"..."
If I had to say...
I think you're the more dangerous person, Oppa?
You have four married people.
Ha Baek-yeon chuckled softly.
* * *
Deciding to leave the conversation comfortably to Lim Ga-eul and Song Yun-seo.
Eun-ha quietly observed the Tredici sitting across from him.
'Although I memorized the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> conquest log before the regression, I've never heard the names Pietro and Nadia. Of course, they weren't Tredici either.'
In other words, it means that the two either lost their lives for some reason and weren't alive in the world before the regression, or simply didn't participate in the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> conquest.
Perhaps he changed the future and changed their fates.
Eun-ha speculated.
'They should be grateful to me. Originally, they might not have become Tredici due to the Mairon family's rise to power, or they might have been eliminated by them.'
According to his memory, before the regression, six members of the Mairon family were included in the Tredici.
However, in this life's Tredici, there were no members of the Mairon family, and the composition of members wasn't overwhelmingly biased towards one family.
'Still, I hear the Valentine family is slightly more dominant? The family Uncle Bruno and Julieta noona used to belong to...'
Soon Eun-ha turned his attention.
He stared at Roberto.
'This is a name I know at least. Roberto Estega, heir to the Estega family boss. His alias was... <Knight of Radiance> in Korean, wasn't it?'
Before the regression, Avenier Mairon, who was called <Diamond Fist> and used the Mairon family name.
Roberto Estega was a figure who played an important role in the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> conquest along with him.
Furthermore.
'He was the player who contributed the most to the conquest. He was the one who made the wish too.'
He's essentially a hero who would have achieved the feat of being the first black dungeon conqueror in place of himself.
As a result, Eun-ha couldn't help but be somewhat conscious of Roberto.
It was then that their eyes met.
Roberto smiled with his eyes.
'Don't smile.'
He has a disgustingly handsome face.
Eun-ha smiled back while twitching the corners of his mouth.
In one corner of his mind, he was worried that Ha Baek-yeon might be captivated by that eye smile.
Eun-ha glanced at Ha Baek-yeon.
Fortunately.
"Oppa? What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
"Focus on the summit."
"Okay."
The worry was unfounded.
Eun-ha inwardly sighed in relief.
At that moment, Lim Ga-eul drew attention.
"I'd like to introduce a drink I often enjoy to our guests from a far country, would that be alright?"
Snacks were set on the table.
Roberto showed curiosity.
"A drink the Fairy Lady enjoys, I wonder what it could be."
"I'm sure you'll like it."
Pietro and Nadia were also interested.
The two's eyes lit up.
Eventually, small cups were placed at everyone's seats.
"This is..."
"Espresso?"
The Tredici brightened.
Roberto curved the corners of his mouth.
"If you ask where the homeland of coffee is, it would be our Italy. But to think the drink the Fairy Lady enjoys is espresso... I'm very pleased. It seems Italy and Korea can really become good friends. Then, let's enjoy..."
"Wait."
"..."
Just as the Tredici were about to reach for the table.
Lim Ga-eul quickly stopped them.
She spoke in a cheerful tone.
"There's still one thing missing."
"Something... missing?"
The puzzled Tredici.
Instead of answering their question, Lim Ga-eul snapped her fingers.
Then.
Clang!
"..."
The attendants who brought the refreshments placed glasses of ice water in front of the seated people.
And.
"W-What are you doing!?"
"...!"
Regardless of Pietro standing up and shouting.
The attendants poured the espresso into the ice water without concern.
Finally, as if putting on the finishing touch.
Plop! Clink!
They stuck in straws.
The Tredici were shocked.
Their eyes widened.
Meanwhile.
"This is the drink I enjoy. After all, coffee should be an iced A-me-ri-ca-no, right? Ah, so refreshing."
"..."
Lim Ga-eul raised the corners of her mouth.
Her face was filled with happiness as she sipped the coffee through the straw.
On the other hand.
"H-How could you put water in coffee... A straw... This is blasphemy against coffee..."
The Tredici looked like they had lost their country.
Their faces crumpled.
Weekly Power Status
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