Chapter 268
Chapter 268
The battle ended faster than I expected.
I knew I'd gotten quite strong, so I expected to be able to defeat them, but I never expected it to be over so quickly.
"I guess even three B-classes are no match for you."
"I'm surprised, though, because that Scarface guy over there had some serious fists."
Of course, he was stretched out by one of my lightning kicks.
Anyway, now that the situation was over, I decided to call the guys who were waiting outside.
"All clear. All units get inside the warehouse and start organizing your stuff."
-Confirmation.
Not long after my order, the family members rushed into the warehouse.
I hand over the two stunned members to the gang, as well as Katus, who is already completely disoriented.
“How am I going to find another sparring partner?”
The old man, who had been quiet until now, suddenly said something strange and I gave him a fed up look.
"Do you know how busy I've been today? Let's take a break, old man."
"Hahaha! I get it, kid, but you still have to do what you have to do. You've been practicing Aura Control for a long time, and it's definitely working well without leaking into the wrong places."
Kwak Chun-sik gives feedback on today's battle.
"Well, it's probably because I have a good teacher and a lot of elixirs."
"Yeah, yeah……and."
While he gave some advice, one by one, the villains were being led away by the Family. Kwak Chun-sik, who was watching the scene closely, scratched his head.
"By the way, where are they taking them?"
"They're probably taking them to a place where they can extract information from them. After playing with them a few times, they spit out information quickly."
There were even three of them, a good number to cross-validate.
This was a good time to launch a full-scale counterattack.
"I take it you're not involved in the process?"
"My father and godfather think it's too early for me to be involved in that sort of thing, so they usually leave it to the intelligence team."
"Hehe, they still love you as their child. Well, there's a lot of nasty stuff that goes on when you're digging for information, and it's best not to see it if you can help it."
And yet, he still ends up messing around with villains…….
"But watching you fight this time, I suddenly realize what skills you need now."
The old man offers to teach me a skill to fill in the gaps.
"That's enough for today, go home. I'll come back later with what you need."
"Please."
"Yes, you've had a hard day, get some rest."
"Okay."
I smile as the words I've been waiting for finally come out.
Finally, a holiday!
* * * *
It's the first holiday since school started.
"Ha, this is so relaxing."
The first thing I did was to take my overdue vacation and immediately lock myself in my room.
The reason?
"It's good to fight and it's good to be strong, but it's also good to play games……."
To play games I've been meaning to play.
I sat down in front of the computer for the first time in a long time, and in order to truly relax, I started playing my backlog of games.
Each one is a title I've never seen before, but that's what makes them so unique.
"Wow, so many firsts……my gamer soul is on fire."
I've been running around on my days off, but that doesn't mean I don't like being cooped up in my room.
It's just fun to rack up achievements with every move.
It was also my specialty, if you want to call it that.
My fingers teased me nonstop.
There were a lot of new things to see, but that doesn't change the format of the game.
The genre itself was similar, so it didn't take long to get used to it.
I was happily sipping a soda on my desk, enjoying my day.
Ting-ling-!
"Huh?"
My cell phone vibrated.
"Who is it?"
I turned off the alarm for the kids' chat so I could focus. The most likely person to contact me now is…….
I paused my game and checked my phone.
[Haru: Master, I've finished selling and laundering all the items I got from your last ‘secret activity']
[Haru: I currently have it in cash, but would it be better if I send it to your account?]
"Secret activity? What secret activity……ah."
‘Oh, these are the things I got from my Magical Rogue activities.’
[Me: It's the money you made from selling my goods, so I think it's better to do another wash here. Where are you now?]
[Haru: What? I'm at home.]
[Me: It would be easier for me to go there, right?]
[Haru: You mean my house?]
[Me: I thought it would be a bit much to exchange bags of money outside]
For some reason, she didn't reply right away.
While I'm scratching my head thinking, "What’s going on?”
[Haru: Yeah]
[Haru: I see]
[Haru: Okay]
[Haru: What time do you think you'll be here?]
Suddenly, a series of messages arrive.
She must have been doing something else for a while.
Okay then……The game I'm playing right now is coming to a reasonable end, so…….
[Me: In two hours?]
[Haru: I'll have everything ready for you]
"Okay."
Okay, then, back to business.
I ended the conversation and started to focus on the game I was playing again.
The problem is.
"Oh, this is getting a little too easy."
My character is pummeling a giant boss with his bare fists across the screen.
The boss swings both hands around like it's making a last stand, but I dodge every attack or parry with my bare hands.
"……Ah. This game is so boring. Lack of content?"
The boss threw both hands in the air as if in a last ditch effort, but I dodged all attacks or parried with my bare hands.
"I have an appointment, so I'd better make it quick."
The character in the triangular sunglasses with the rabbit headband began to shoot the boss in the head with the gun in his hand.
"Let's do it in 30 minutes."
It's been a while since I've done a speedrun.
* * *
Haru lives in a new office building not too far from the academy.
“But maybe because she’s a member of the Inomiya Group, she lives in a place that looks expensive.”
Haru lives on the top floor of the building. It was a room with a larger floor space than the houses on the other floors.
I press the doorbell button and hear a cheerful ding-dong sound.
A moment later, the door swings open with a click.
Stepping inside, I was greeted by a neatly organized house and a fragrant aroma that tantalized my nose.
"Welcome, Master."
Haru, who had been waiting for me at the front door, bowed her head in greeting.
It was the first time I'd seen Haru in anything other than her cadet uniform or formal attire, and I was slightly taken aback, but I quickly hid my expression and spoke to her.
"Sorry to bother you on your day off. Can I come inside?"
"Yes. Here, you can put on these slippers and come in."
With that, I changed my shoes, following Haru's suggestion of teddy bear slippers, and went inside.
"You live in a really big place. Aren't you scared to live in a place like this by yourself?"
"It was kind of at first, but I'm used to it now, so it's okay."
Well, I must admit, when I first saw the mansion, I felt out of place because it was so big. It was scary.
Of course, I'm used to it now.
"The living room is this way, if you'll follow me."
I follow her inside.
What I find is a home that looks like it belongs to a TV celebrity.
White marble floors, huge windows facing south, and a collection of trophies lining one side of the living room, a glimpse into Haru's narcissistic personality.
"Haru, you're doing better than I thought."
"……?"
She shudders at my words and looks away.
"No, I mean, I thought living alone in a big place like this would be hard to clean, but you're so organized. That's great."
My house is cleaned by the servants and I don't think I could do it if I was asked to.
"I clean often, because it's easy with magic.”
She replied coolly and moved on to the kitchen.
And…….
"Mm-hmm."
She pulled up a briefcase she picked up from under the island. A heavy sound echoed simultaneously.
It wasn't hard to guess what was inside.
Money. Credits.
"The money from the sale of the wares totaled 800 million credits. After commissions and other things, it's roughly 500 million credits."
"That much? I thought you wouldn't be able to get much for those."
"With the help of some people I know, I was able to sell them for a pretty good price."
"Oh, good."
I reach down and pick up the briefcase, then tuck it into the cube.
The pocket money would never dry up, but it would be a nice change of pace, especially since I've been spending a lot of it lately.
‘Money is always right.’
With my bank account filled, I felt a sense of abundance.
"By the way, you got your commission, right?"
"Yep. I took about 10% in commission, so don't worry too much."
"Okay, you should get some rest, too, because working too much is bad for your health."
Just as I was thinking, "That's it, I'm done, let's go back to work.”
Suddenly, something caught my eye.
"Huh?"
Things you wouldn't expect to find in a place like this.
A gamepad and a pack lying around. This is…….
"Iron Fist 7?"
The iconic fighting game. Why is this here?
"Do you play this every day?"
A classic that I've played many times in the past out of interest but I had never imagined Haru playing the game, so I thought it was a new combination.
I'm surprised by so many things today.
"Yeah. I sometimes play a few games on my days off.”
"Really? I also had fun with this recently, would you like to play a game together?”
I immediately invited her to play.
It was a game I played often, and I was curious about Haru’s skills.
After all, fighting games like this are more fun when you're facing each other.
As I picked up the game, she covered her mouth for a moment and smirked.
"I'm pretty good, actually. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
"Huh? Well, it's okay, I'm pretty good too."
"You mean you? That's a surprise."
"Why?"
"Because you always named me ‘Iron Fist' when we were kids. I think it was when you lost thirteen in a row that you ran off screaming, ‘I'm never playing Iron Fist with Haru again!’"
"……I told you so, didn't I?"
Apparently, the Eugene of old couldn't clean up his act.
Thirteen losses in a row……must have really hurt his heart.
"I'm not the same person I used to be, so I'm sure you'll lose if you underestimate me."
"Then let's look forward to it. I've been busy lately and haven't had much time to play, but here I am with you."
With that, she turns on her console and casually sits down next to me.
At the same time, as she is about to pick a character, a rank floats above her.
[Emperor]
"……Emperor?"
Just below God. It was a rank that only the top players could climb.
"I used to be a God, but recently I couldn't play, so I came down here."
It seemed like she was serious when she said he enjoyed it.
‘……That's why you lost 13 games in a row, Eugene.’
Feeling sorry for Eugene, I write down my username and password on the other console.
【Character Hidden Quest】
[The gentleman’s revenge is a game]
[In the past, Eugene Han Corleone had suffered 13 consecutive defeats at the hands of Haru Inomiya.
Will Eugene Han Corleone be able to defeat her and put the past behind him?]
[Objective: Defeat Haru Inomiya.]
[Reward: Enhancement of body vision and cognitive abilities.]
"No, how strong does the grudge have to be to trigger a character quest?
"Master?"
"Huh? Oh, wait."
I panicked as I remembered the quest, but this was a no-brainer.
Who wouldn't want to take a quest that gives you stats just for playing a game?
As a player who used to do it on weekends and holidays when I was bored, I was pretty good at it.
When I finally logged in and chose a character, my rank popped up.
[IronKen God Omega]
‘God Omega.’
It was a rank that only those who stood at the top of the Iron Fist could be granted.
"Master, is this……."
"Ah, it's been a long time, so I may not be able to do much, but please do me a favor?"
"……et."
For the first time today, a hint of embarrassment escaped Haru's mouth.