Chapter 264
The Wolgot Great Fire, an unimportant, if not insignificant, event, barely acknowledged in the game by a passing text.
‘Is this similar to the time of......?’
The event being referred to in the game would have been a cigarette lit by a passerby.
It was only then that I realized why such an uncharacteristic text would come up around the same time......if Arsonist was in Korea at this time.
‘He must have been involved in some way.’
The fire was far too large to have been started by a cigarette.
"What are you thinking about?"
Kwak Chun-sik, who was sitting in the driver's seat, preparing to go undercover, glanced in my direction.
"Ah. I was just thinking about Arsonist for a moment. After all, the reason he came to Korea is to make contact with the Villain Alliance, right?"
"That’s right."
"Then he's going to try to alert the Villain Alliance that he's in Korea by any means necessary, and in the process, cause an incident worthy of his villainous name."
My point was simple.
"If we don't catch him soon, something will happen."
Hearing my words, Kwak Chun-sik smiled and put his hand on my shoulder.
"You're worrying for nothing."
"What?"
"This is a task that I, the Aura Master of Korea, and you, the heir to Corleone, have undertaken together, so how can we fail? We just have to move as best we can."
He continued,
"We should be rewarded accordingly, right?"
I couldn't help but smile at his confidence.
"That's right, me and the old man, we can't fail...... ah."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"I forgot for a moment because I was with my mentor. I am a Corleone."
"Huh, I see."
"Well, I don't see why I shouldn't use my powers to my advantage."
With that, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed one of the numbers in my contacts.
A brief beep.
-Yep. Latte is hard at work in the cafe!
Oh, is she supposed to be working at this time of day?
"Hey, Latte. You’re going to have to leave your work for a while and help me with an assignment."
-An assignment? Sure. What kind of assignment?
“I’ll send you his personal information and where he was last seen via cell phone. I want you to work with Corleone’s intelligence department to find out where he is and what he is doing.”
-People hunting? That's another one of my quirks.
"Report back to me as soon as you have any information."
-Yes. I'll get right on it!
My next call was to Han Seo-joon, who was probably working in the mansion by now.
-Yes. Master.
"Villain name Arsonist. He smuggled himself into Korea and came to the shop to get an ID. I've told Latte, so I need you to work with Intelligence to find his information."
-......Arsonist? Okay, I'll move immediately.
"Yes."
With that, Corleone’s Intelligence will immediately set out to find him.
Now, my request is not just that of a mere heir, but that of a Corleone’s officer.
"Huh, you think that will get him found quickly?"
"It would be better than sitting here eating the bread you bought me, but......what is that bread? Creamy bread?"
"You bastard, this is the most delicious thing! Anyway, these days, kids don't know romance, eh?"
I don't know what kind of romance that is, but I'm pretty sure it's not what I think it is.
"Well, let's wait here until we get the information you asked for, in case he comes back for his ID at any moment."
"Yes, I'd like a glass of milk, too."
"I only bought soy milk."
"Oh."
About an hour passed and I got a call from Han Seo-joon.
[Han Seo-joon: This is from the Ministry of Information. They have identified an unmanned hotel on the outskirts of Siheung where he is currently staying. He seems to be out of town now. The address is Siheung City.......]
"They say they've found where he's currently staying."
"Huh? Already? How does that work?"
"Well, it's not uncommon for guys like him to take refuge in the back alleys of Korea, but what can they do, every back alley in Korea is watched by Corleone."
I realized that this was the way things were supposed to be.
It wasn't my place to be the one to run.
Oh well, I'll just replace it with a new car later.
The muzzle of the gun begins to eagerly spew fire towards the vehicle.
His car shakes violently as it is hit. At the same time, a bullet hits the rear tire, and with a loud thud, it lurches sideways.
"Tire hit!"
"Okay!"
The old man, who had once outrun him by stepping on the accelerator, stopped the car and unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Now, let's go see the face of our international criminal."
Boom-boom-boom.
The old man craned his neck to either side and got out of the car.
Following suit, I got out of my seat and walked toward the vehicle that had ash-colored smoke billowing from the bonnet.
All around us, the rice fields were flooded with water.
There was nowhere for him to run.
Then, with a bang, the front door of the stopped vehicle flew open and a man got out.
"Fucking assholes......!"
He steps out of the car with a flaming fist clenched in his right hand and glares at us.
The old man smirks at the sight and opens his mouth.
“Corleone. If I say that, will you understand?”
"Old man?"
He's suddenly selling our names here?
I stare at him, wondering what he's thinking, and he winks in my direction, then looks back at the guy.
"......Corleone, damn it. I got caught by the dirty bastards."
Kaak-teh.
He spits on the ground and extends both hands toward us but the old man shrugged at him and continued.
"Calm down, kid, it's the Villain Alliance guys we're after, not the little bastards like you."
"......what?"
"You know how we, Corleone, and the Villain Alliance get along, so all you have to do is tell us how you tried to contact them and we'll let you go. Sounds like a good deal?"
Oh my. He’s going to give us information about the Villain Alliance?
"Don't be ridiculous! Why would I trust you with that information?"
"So you're going to go against Corleone, here in Korea? You've been planning on being in Korea for a while, seeing as how you made an ID card......Did you think you could stay in Korea with Corleone as your enemy?"
"I have done nothing wrong to your Corleone!"
"But you tried to join hands with the Villain Alliance. What are you going to do, die here or blow the whistle and save your life?"
The old man warns him by raising his aura in each hand.
Even a villain could tell by the color and flicker of the auras on his hands that he was dealing with no ordinary man.
Realizing this, he swallowed hard and thought for a moment before answering.
"......Yes, then swear to me. You Corleone worship that man called Don like a god. Swear on his honor that you will let me go after I give you the information."
He's pretty smart to demand an oath that only a true Corleone would honor.
The old man looked serious and placed his hand on his chest.
"I swear, I will not lay a hand on you if you divulge the information I want to me."
"I've heard that there are......some of them who haven't gotten out of Korea yet. I'm supposed to set fire to Wolgot to draw their attention, and we're supposed to escape via the smuggling ships there. I promised to join the Alliance with that, and......”
I didn't realize that there were Villain Alliance guys who didn't make it out of Korea back then.
Thanks to the old man, I got some pretty good information.
"What proof do you have that this is true?"
"Shit......! You want me to even say that? The Villain Alliance won’t leave me alone!”
"You think your corpse in the drum will say that?"
"......The operation will take place in two days, at 2 a.m. Watch the ships rise then!"
"Good. Then I'll tell you one thing."
"......What?"
The old man puffs out his chest and declares.
"I'm not a Corleone, kid!"
"......What?"
"Come on, Eugene, I'll leave it to you now. Let's put you to the test."
──How strong I've become.
I let out a laugh and stepped forward.
Well, fine, I'm good.
"I'm just a little upset that you asked me to swear on my father's name."
I don't think it's fair to ask me to swear on my father's name.
"You deserve it."
I'm a filial son.