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Chapter 155
“He’s still living quite diligently, huh?” Seo Dawon muttered, though I couldn’t guess its meaning in a carefree manner. It seemed that I was the only one intimidated by such nefarious rumors.
Smiling, I chuckled and teased him, “Moon Issak… Didn’t you say you knew each other?”
“We met often for business,” Seo Dawon answered my question coyly; his voice laden with a teasing undertone.
“I really wanted to kill Moon Issak…” Next to us, Jung Garam, who stretched his body out like taffy, muttered. While speaking, as if he had returned to his senses, his body suddenly stood up, erasing all languidness.
“He has an extreme side…but he was a pure man.” Kim Olim’s evaluation of the man, though, was quite generous.
Surprised by her unexpected remark, I opened my eyes wide and asked, “Were you friends?”
“We weren’t friends. However, since we have the same religious interest…”
“Ahhh…”
“He was someone who studied quite hard.”
He was a church acquaintance, so to speak…
Considering how Moon Issak cooperated with us to obtain a holy object in Ahn Hospital, I thought Kim Olim might be right about his personal code. Looking at Jung Garam avoiding Kim Olim’s gaze and shaking his head at me, I could get a feel for their respective feelings.
Moon Issak was someone that someone like Kim Olim would positively evaluate, but Jung Garam wouldn’t… Furthermore, seeing Seo Dawon’s sneer, he wasn’t the type to think highly of Moon Issak either. I imagined Moon Issak as someone just as inflexible as Kim Olim, albeit a bit more radical.
But, if I were to encounter Moon Issak unexpectedly… I feel like I’d be doomed… Should I at least imitate Kim Olim? “Excuse me, then… What should we do if Moon Issak discovers me while investigating the case? We could run into each other–he could ask unexpectedly sharp questions.”
“You can call on me.”
“What if I’m in a situation where I can’t call on you guys?”
Perhaps because we’d been in so many absurd coincidences, no one dismissed my words as impossible.
“Well, you have to run,” Seo Dawon replied after frowning and contemplating for a brief moment. Jung Garam also chewed on his lips, but had nothing else to add.
“…I-Is that all?” I asked.
“I agree with Seo Dawon,” Kim Olim added, though she had a strangely generous assessment of Moon Issak, she shrugged as if nothing could be helped. “I wish I could protect you, but I don’t currently have the backing to protect you socially. Just, if you see him, try to avoid Moon Issak as much as possible. And never…be left alone with him.”
I swallowed my saliva.
* * *
“Issak-nim.”
“Yes, Da-jung-ssi.”
The secretary turned his head at the sound of Moon Issak calling for him. He was just briefed on the aircraft boarding records just a moment ago. In addition, a separate document was prepared, filled with selected names that should be watched.
“What would you like for lunch? You’ve come all this way to Jeju Island…”
“Ah, I’ll be fasting until tomorrow,” Moon Issak said.
“Aigoo, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s nothing at all. Then, please have a delicious lunch before returning.”
“Yes, yes…”
Moon Issak, after subduing the secretary of the Jeju Dungeon Association with a restrained smile, read the other documents that lay upon his desk. Then, in the last part, his eyes, which had been hurriedly scanning across the pages, had stopped momentarily.
The names of all the Users who visited the Island during the timeframe of Park Hoseok’s murder was roughly written at the end of the document.
Moon Issak found a name that stood out to him, even as he skimmed through the names–at such a great speed that others would wonder if he processed any of the names at all–that were so packed and small like black sesame seeds on paper. “Choi Lee-kyung…” he muttered unwittingly.
After Moon Issak said that name aloud, he no longer flipped through the documents at such a terrifying speed as he had done before, and he seemed lost in thought. While tapping the name ‘Choi Lee-kyung’ with the tip of his ballpoint pen, he recalled various recent events.
Some time ago, Moon Issak had visited the Ahn Hospital VIP ward for personal reasons. His visit was carried under such secretive conditions; he had not even disclosed it to those closest to him.
However, not long after he checked in, a high-level skill, one that he could not ignore, was activated in front of his door. The skill spewed out huge aura waves as if it were provoking him; they had no intention of hiding themselves.
Eventually, Moon Issak had no choice but to open his door after arming himself. However, contrary to his expectations, a simple invitation was placed on the ground, and no attack welcomed him.
[If you dine at [Tea Banquet], the restaurant on the first floor, at XXday XX o’clock, then we’ll send you the ‘Black Market’ entry ticket that you’ve been searching for.]
When he opened the invitation, there was a request from an anonymous sender accompanied by bait–the promise of the [Black Market] ticket.
Of course, it would be understandable to refuse such a suspicious proposal, but the invitation rustled Moon Issak’s pride. He wanted to know the identity of the cheeky person who would send an invitation–not the entry ticket itself–in such a bold way… So, he accepted the incomparably shady dinner with Bae Jaemin.
At the dinner table, Moon Issak probed at Bae Jaemin, but that punk knew nothing. Furthermore, the other only lengthened the conversation with boring, tiresome remarks. It was clear he was requesting [HaHae]’s official guild approval as fast as possible. He relentlessly brought forth proposals that Moon Issak had already rejected in the past.
Moon Issak drank several sips of red wine to appease his tongue which wanted to swear at Bae Jaemin. He pretended to be agreeable, recalling that the invitation only asked him to attend the meal and not to follow Bae Jaemin’s words.
Perhaps Bae Jaemin grew quite relieved at Moon Issak’s attitude; he did something quite unlike himself–being overt rather than subtle. As the meal was about to finish, he, in an unexpected cheesy gesture, took out a small box the size of a pencil case and placed it onto the table.
‘This is…’
‘Choi Lee-kyung-ssi left this. I was wondering if you could return this to him.’
However, thanks to that, Moon Issak uncovered a new name. So, with a chuckle, he took that box into his arms.
Of course, Moon Issak knew that the item that Bae Jaemin gave him wasn’t left behind by this ‘Choi Lee-kyung.’ Asking to return a lost item was simply an excuse for a bribe.
As expected, when Moon Issak returned and opened the box, it contained a key that could access a particular instant-inventory. 1
The inventory accessed by this key would probably contain plenty of valuable items and money–it was virtually impossible for the government or the Dungeon Association to track such bribes. Therefore, Moon Issak threw the key into the trash can.
Since Bae Jaemin had no knowledge of the invitation, there probably wasn’t much in that inventory space besides general bribes–no information. At the same time, he instinctively realized that the invitation-sender was also playing a trick on the Priest.
‘If something happens at Ahn Hospital, report to me straight away.’
Because of that, the next day Moon Issak left Ahn Hospital and issued a new order to his personal assistant. Then, he sent the [Black Market] ticket he had received in exchange for fulfilling his promise to an ‘appraiser.’ He wanted to find out the ticket’s owner.
However, two days later, the appraiser contacted him with incomprehensible details.
‘I couldn’t find out the owner.’
‘What are you saying? You don’t even have a name?’
‘That’s…a name did pop up, but…my search revealed ridiculous results.’
‘Ridiculous results?’
‘The owner’s name is…Jung Garam. Red Lotus’s Jung Garam.’
Out of the blue, the name of a three-year deceased person popped up. In the end, the appraiser could only discover that the ticket was genuine and that it must have been owned, at one point, by Jung Garam.
‘Bae Jaemin the survivor…and Jung Garam, who died a while ago?’
Moon Issak felt a foreboding premonition after hearing Jung Garam’s name.
At that time of the [Red Lotus] incident, he had some speculations that there were unsavory circumstances that led to the failed raid on the [Tower of Command], but he was unable to dig further. There were too many suspects involved and evidence came up clean against them. Those that still made noise about the incident had disappeared without much fanfare.
Moreover, Moon Issak had an extremely bad relationship with the [Red Lotus] guild, so, at the time, he wasn’t willing to dig at the case at the risk of personal damage or threat. After all, he wasn’t concerned with the cheap deaths of atheists but the revival of his chosen god.
So, he just set the name aside for a while…but vague suspicions began to cross his mind again when the name ‘Jung Garam’ began to pop up again.
Shortly after receiving this questionable invitation, someone Moon Issak had suspected, [Red Dragon]’s guildmaster Koo Kyungman, had supposedly killed his stepmother and was on the run.
The new guildmaster of [Red Dragon] was his older half brother, Koo Hui-seo.
And Koo Hui-seo…
‘He was long-term hospitalized at Ahn Hospital?’
‘Yes… At least, that’s what the reports from my investigations say.’
Coincidentally, Koo Hui-seo was hospitalized at Ahn Hospital, but his condition had rapidly improved and was able to return home.
TL: Smh, he threw away the inventory key T_T I really wanted to know what was inside.
Also, the laxness of the Red Lotus members really shows here. (Although they probably were more relaxed because they’re dead). Moon Issak isn’t dumb–we have plenty of hints. We knew that Witches and Item assessment specialists were a thing. Ofc Jung Garam should have realized that his black market ticket could be traced back to him. O.O
Footnotes
Think of it as a storage space that you can access with a key. It’s a portable inventory (a la video games) that can be shared or given to someone else.