Chapter 17

[Translator – Angel Dust][Proofreader – ChiSync]

Chapter 17: Aura Stone (4)

Lee Youngwoong’s eyebrows arched like mountains as he realized he’d almost been scammed.

“You were trying to scam me-.”

“This sword was blatantly made to deceive.”

Woogil interrupted his words and continued.

“As you can see, this pattern resembles the light pattern engraved on Hunter Avalon Windsor’s sword, Luminthas. However, if you look closely, you can see that the order of engraving the pattern is different. Genuine light patterns are engraved starting from the surrounding light to shape the intricate details. But this one was made starting from the center circle, so you can see that the length of the light lines is inconsistent.”

The old man, listening to my explanation, had taken out a magnifying glass and was scrutinizing the pattern.

I pointed to a spot in the magnifying glass and said.

“Do you see something different here?”

“Oh… indeed.”

“It’s different… isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. It’s even inferior compared to other forgeries that couldn’t even properly replicate the pattern. It’s useless.”

Both men uttered subdued exclamations as they listened to my explanation.

“Perhaps this merchant was also deceived.”

“Likely.”

Lee Youngwoong’s expression softened, as if his anger had finally subsided.

‘I’m sure he was trying to deceive him, but it’s best to stop here.’

The old man said he would leave tomorrow, but it was just a lie to trick him.

I wanted to say something, but lies like this are not uncommon in Yongmun-dong.

As I was supposed to be looking for D.K’s trace, there was no point in getting involved and creating a bad relationship with them.

That’s why it ended like this.

“Thank you. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

I nodded my head in response to Lee Youngwoong’s words and sent him to the cafe first.

“Sir, did you think I wouldn’t notice? I won’t just stand by if you deceive people in front of me.”

“Eh! I got deceived too! Did you think I knew it was fake?”

“Honestly, you didn’t even consider it an artifact from the start, did you? How often do I come here?”

“Ahem…, fine! I won’t do it anymore, so stop nagging.”

The old man waved his hand as if conceding defeat.

Knowing that it would be meaningless to say more here, I decided to leave it at that and entered the cafe where Lee Youngwoong was.

Lee Youngwoong, who had arrived earlier, was sitting with two cups of coffee ordered.

“I ordered an iced Americano, is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Thanks for earlier. Thanks to you, I didn’t waste money.”

“Haha, no problem. I couldn’t just ignore something clearly fake, could I?”

“Still, it’s not easy to step forward for someone else like that. Um… I wanted to express my gratitude…”

“No, it’s okay. I just thought it was a fan thing… ah.”

The words slipped out unintentionally, and Lee Youngwoong’s expression wavered.

“You knew, huh.”

“Haha… Actually, I recognized you because I’m a big fan of yours.”

As it was early in the morning, the cafe was only occupied by me and Lee Youngwoong.

Lee Youngwoong took off his hat and mask with a much more relaxed expression.

“If you were a fan, you should have said so earlier.”

“I was worried it might be awkward.”

“It’s not awkward. Oh! If you’re my fan, I can’t just ignore it. Here…”

He placed the bag he was carrying on the table and unzipped it.

“I have a hobby of collecting artifacts. It’s somewhat charming in its own way, like antiques. It may be just random items, but they could also be artifacts hiding tremendous secrets. The excitement of that possibility is what makes collecting them fun. The sword I tried to buy earlier was for that purpose.”

I don’t need to use my insight to know that it’s true, just look at the smile on his face as he rummages through the contents of his bag.

“I see.”

“You look young, but you seem to have considerable appraisal skills. Are you perhaps a student at the Salvation Academy?”

“No. I’m a private appraiser.”

“I see…”

A momentary expression of disappointment shows. It accurately reflects the current situation of private appraisers in Korea.

If you were to become a private appraiser at a young age, you’re probably not from Salvation, and you probably didn’t even graduate from the academy.

Moreover, someone like Lee Youngwoong, who has met many private appraisers due to his hobby, would probably know that the skills of private appraisers are terrible.

“Since I didn’t pay much for them, if there’s anything you’d like among these, feel free to take one.”

Lee Youngwoong held out his bag.

“…Alright.”

I hesitated for a moment, but surprisingly, there were some items in the bag. Intrigued, I took out the items one by one to examine them.

“No way…”

Then I discovered a book inside and felt my heart pounding. Among the three ancient books in the bag, one was written by Cartia himself.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Oh… why did you choose that one?”

“Because ancient language interpretation is my specialty, so this one piqued my interest the most.”

“Can you read it?”

“Well… to some extent.”

Lee Youngwoong asked, with a curious yet somewhat suspicious look in his eyes.

“What kind of content is it?”

“It’s a theoretical book on mana waves and fluctuations. I’m not sure about the details.”

“Really? Then it must be quite valuable?”

“Probably. Do you regret it? Should I return it?”

I asked directly, curious about his reaction.

“Eh! What do you think I am? I’m not the kind of person to be stingy with my fans. And since you’re an appraiser, you recognized its value, so it’s meaningless for me to keep it even if I have it.”

“Still, I received too much. If you ever need an appraisal in the future, please contact me. I’m planning to set up an office soon, although I don’t have a business card yet, I can give you my number.”

“Oh! Really? As expected, there are many versatile people among my fans, right?”

I drank my coffee and wrote my number on a post-it note and handed it to Lee Youngwoong.

“Please let me know when you interpret that! And come to our Five Stars concert! I’ll give you a ticket. Um… I’m not sure if it will happen or not.”

We exchanged brief farewells and parted ways.

“Ah! Should I have asked for an autograph?”

I sighed with regret as I returned home.

[Mana Wavelength and Substances]

Author: Emperor Cartia De Marié Swakalen

I’ve already acquired five of Kartia’s books. At this point, I’m starting to get suspicious. I wonder if someone is giving me her books on purpose.

“No, is this natural?”

The true value of Cartia’s book will not be revealed until several years later, but by then, the entire book would have disappeared.

This means that few people still know its value. Rather, it may be surprising that the value of Cartia’s book was revealed only a few years later.

There are those who have interpreted this difficult ancient language.

I shook my head and dismissed my thoughts. Even if I thought about it any longer, there was too little I could know.

“Let’s take a look at this.”

I flipped open the first page of the book.

[In the pages ahead, you will experience the wonder of mana waves and fluctuations. This book is based on decades of exploration and experimentation with mana phenomena…]

Buzz… Buzz…

As I was earnestly reading the first page, my phone vibrated.

[Appraisal Department 2 Chief Park Man-deuk]

‘What’s going on at this hour?’

Click.

“This is Kim Woogil.”

– This is Park Man-deuk. I apologize for calling so early. Are you available to talk?

“Go ahead.”

– Ah, well… Aura Stone can probably be delivered to you the day after tomorrow. However, since Aura Stone is currently classified as a top-secret matter, it seems our agency’s hunters will have to deliver it personally.

It’s understandable from their perspective since it’s a valuable commodity, but meeting the hunters sent by Salvation in person is a bit awkward. But there’s no choice.

“I understand.”

– Thank you for your understanding. And…

Park Man-deuk hesitated, trailing off at the end. People usually react like this when they’re about to say something awkward.

“Yes?”

– While the Aura Stone is being appraised, our hunter will protect you…

I wondered what he was trying to say… but it turned out he was trying to convey the message of surveillance for 24 hours.

“Let’s consider this request null and void. I’ll send the Aura Stone back through Hunter Kim Junghyun.”

– No! Wait! Just a moment…

Click.

Despite the urgent voice coming through the phone, I hung up without hesitation.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The phone vibrated harshly, much like Park Man-deuk’s mood.

If you just accept everything nicely, the Salvation guys will try to control people as they please.

It’s not something we talked about when we first signed up, and I took the risk of meeting Hunter, but I can’t take this kind of bullshit.

‘What should I do…’

* * *

Chief Park Man-deuk from Appraisal Department 2 seemed like he was about to go crazy.

“Why aren’t you picking up! Just pick up! You have to listen to what a Korean person says till the end!”

It’s been 10 minutes since my cell phone has been ringing with nothing but a call connection. As the minutes ticked by, my impatience grew.

Knock. Knock.

“The report for this appraisal, Chief-”

As the Appraisal Department 2 Team Leader opened the door and entered, he caught sight of Park Man-deuk and quietly closed the door again.

“What are you doing! Come in!”

No, he tried to close it but was caught.

“Oh, yes. Among the new items this time-”

“That’s not important.”

“Yes? Oh! Then, is it that the new hair loss shampoo you changed doesn’t suit you…?”

“What nonsense! I told Kim Woogil that the Planning and Coordination Department wanted to manage the Aura Stones and asked for location trackers to be attached to each stone…”

“You got busted.”

The Team Leader of Appraisal Department 2 lowered his head with a pitiful expression.

“Do you speak like that to others?” Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Park Man-deuk widened his eyes and glared at the Team Leader.

“Of course not. If that appraiser were so competent, you should have tried to persuade him somehow.”

“That’s the problem. Hunter Kim Junghyun already dislikes Kim Woogil being watched and restricted in his actions. He warned us to be careful. But why did you give him location trackers! Ugh! We can’t just attach location trackers and ask him to appraise the stones. So, we had no choice but to stick hunters around him, in case he comes out for the appraisal.”

“Then we’ll have to use loopholes. Have we ever lived by what the Planning and Coordination Department says?”

A carefree face as if he were worrying about something insignificant. Park Man-deuk looks at the Team leader and laughs.

“And who will take responsibility for that?”

“As a mere team leader, I cannot do anything, can I?”

“You will eventually become my successor.”

The consistently composed face of the team leader contorted for the first time.

“I do plan to leave someday… Well, Chief, you’re planning to stay there for about three more years. I have to get married next year, so if my hair starts falling out like yours…”

“Get out! You bastard! Get out!”

Infuriated by the continued talk about hair loss, I grabbed some documents from the table and threw them in frustration.

The team leader, skillfully dodging the papers, left the room, poking his head back in through the partially closed door.

“Oh, please make sure to review that report. It needs to be submitted to the higher-ups by today.”

“Aren’t you leaving?!”

Thud.

The door closed, and the scattered documents lay on the floor.

After a while, two interns, a young man and a woman, entered the room and familiarly picked up and organized the documents on the floor before placing them neatly on the table.

“We’ll leave now. Cheer up!”

“Chief, fighting!”

Encouraged by the two interns, I rubbed my head and fell into deep thought.

“This is not the time.”

Taking my coat from the chair, I left the office and immediately called Kim Woogil.

Ring-ring-ring.

As expected, there was no answer.

“Please pick up…”

This time, I dialed a different number.

Click.

The call connected before the phone could ring three times. I breathed a sigh of relief.

– This is Kim Jungyoon.

“Hunter Kim Jungyoon, I’m sorry, but please help me.”

– What’s going on?

“I can’t contact appraiser Kim Woogil.”

– What? Why all of a sudden…?

Kim Jungyoon’s response indicated that he was still unaware of the situation. There was still a chance.

“Actually…”

I explained the circumstances reluctantly, as I had no choice due to the orders from above.

– I see.

“Please help me. Won’t he listen to Hunter Kim Jungyoon’s words?”

– I’ll try to talk to him. Are you currently on your way to where Woogil was supposed to receive the item?

“Yes. Even a brief conversation would suffice.”

– In that case, let’s meet at Gangnam Sunting. I’ll try to talk to him. But I cannot guarantee that Woogil will yield to my words.

“Thank you! That’s enough!”

– Then book a room and send me your number.

“Understood.”

Click.

The call ended, and I immediately turned the steering wheel. Then I made a call to Gangnam Sunting.

“Do you have a private room available?”

– When would you like it for?

“Right now! I don’t mind an expensive one, but I need to be able to enter immediately.”

– I understand. Let me make the reservation…

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]