Chapter 110 October 3, 2022
Chapter 110 – Advanced Work (2)
Ivan boasted that he would show them the Kunst auction house’s underground storage room.
Alex already knew about the fact, but he was inwardly surprised when Ivan Luke stepped forward and introduced the storage room to them directly.
‘He doesn’t keep it a secret, I see.’
Ivan had to have been acting like that for one of two reasons:
It could be that he was just stupid enough to reveal such a previous place so casually.
The other reason was…
‘He has complete confidence that, even if he mentions it casually, nobody can pierce through its defenses.’
Alex thought that it was obviously the latter.
“Now. Here it is. What do you think?”
Alex could feel why Ivan had such confidence in his defenses the moment he stood in the entrance to the basement.
‘It’s already a brutal atmosphere from the entrance.’
There were two guards protecting the elevator, which was the only passage into the basement.
Two guards. The number was small to guard the entrance, but the story would be different if those guards were knight-class.
‘And there’s even a security entrance.’
Surprisingly, there weren’t any buttons in the elevator.
Instead, Ivan pulled out one key that he brought earlier and inserted the key to the plate where the buttons should have existed.
Afterward, the elevator’s door opened along with a rattling sound.
‘So this is not a simple elevator. Apparently, it’s made of highly exquisite machine equipment, so it won’t be opened if there isn’t a key.’
Alex didn’t avert his gaze from the key shape while pretending to be surprised by this spectacle from the outside.
It was a fancy key with golden plating and scarlet gem embedded in its handle.
He remembered it.
“Now. Let’s get inside, Gouar.”
“Of course, buddy.”
Ivan Luke, Alex, and the escorts including Pantos got into the elevator.
The driver couldn’t follow them, because only the invited people could come.
And the suitcase which the person hired as the driver brought was entrusted to Pantos instead.
The inside of the elevator was wider than expected and it was enough for more than 30 sturdy adult men to get into it.
It was made like this because there were situations when heavy and innumerable goods were transported.
Ding dong.
Soon, the elevator that reached the basement opened its door.
Different from the expected monotonous basement, the structure of the interior was very complicated as it consisted of a long corridor and various passages.
“This is our Kunst auction house’s underground storage room that maintains an impregnable security which no one can ever pierce through for the last 20 years.”
“Ooh. Awesome.”
Alex clapped his hand gleefully while looking at the interior sight lightly
“I’m asking this because I don’t know, how do you run things here? I didn’t know that there’s such a huge space in the basement of the auction house.”
“Haha. It’s because we need this much of a wide space to store the items that will be displayed in the auction. The chairman, my father, has drawn such a future when he built this building.”
“As expected from the chairman of Luke company. And are you going to be the next chairman?”
“Ahem. No need to mention it. It hasn’t happened yet, but it will happen soon. Hahaha!”
As Alex bluntly praised him highly, Ivan couldn’t control his excitement and blabbered things that weren’t even asked.
“In this basement, there’s also a lounge for the guards to dwell in and a warehouse. But as expected, the safest place is the auction goods’ storage room. It’s practically a vault.”
“Is my item going to be stored there, as well?”
“Of course. The meaning of this basement existence is the storage room. It consists of a total of three huge rooms, and each room is using the latest model artifact and the interior is being watched in real time for 24 hours straight.”
“That’s really awesome!”
Alex shed an admiration and he compared it with the information that Hanx told him, then he confirmed that it was all true.
“Then where should I store this thing?”
“Obviously in room number 3. There are three storage rooms, but not all of them are the same. The ranking of importance is divided and the ones with less importance are placed in room number 1, and the most important ones are stored in room number 3. Of course since they’re stored in this place, all of them are equally important, but you get what I mean, right?”
“Absolutely. Because even though they are valuable goods, they’re bound to have different grades.”
“Hahaha. As expected from Gouar. You know it very well. The poor and smelly commoners will think that everything is a beautiful and cool item, but people like us should know how to differentiate the items’ real worth properly. Look at this. The pocket watch that I wear.”
Ivan Luke started to brag about the brand of the clothes that he wore and the decorations out of the blue.
Alex thought that such an appearance was foolish while agreeing enthusiastically to his words, then he stopped.
It was because Pantos’s atmosphere who had been following him silently nearby wasn’t good.
There was a faint murderous intent, Pantos was gradually getting annoyed now.
Alex sent Pantos a visible signal right away.
‘Hey, what are you doing? Get rid of your vigor. Did you come here to fight?’
‘…’
Pantos had been glaring at Ivan Luke since a moment ago.
The other escorts didn’t notice it yet, but Alex, who was sensitive about this, realized that it was only a matter of time.
They would get caught like this.
“Oh yeah!”
Alex clapped his hands to turn over the atmosphere and Ivan stopped his chatters right away.
“I forgot something. I haven’t eaten anything since this afternoon. Hey, Ivan. Do you have a recommended restaurant for me?”
“O-oh? Ah. Of course. In fact, you can eat here. Inside the Kunst auction house, there’s a top level restaurant for the guests.”
“Haha. Is that so? Then please guide me there! Hey escort. Hurry up and pass me the suitcase.”
Alex gave a signal to Pantos, but he was unresponsive. Pantos was only standing still.
Tsk. Alex clicked his tongue inwardly. He already knew from their first meeting that the beastperson had an odd personality, yet he didn’t expect him to act at his own accord in the middle of their maneuver.
“Gouar? Is there something wrong with your escort?”
“Ah. My escort, you said? Don’t worry. He’s often like that. He’s a very silent guy so there are times when he doesn’t listen to my words well.”
“Are you sure that’s alright?”
“Still, his ability is real.”
Alex was giving such an excuse before he approached Pantos and whispered in a low voice which only he could listen to.
‘Do you plan to violate the leader’s order?’
Flinch.
Once Alex mentioned Ludger, Pantos showed a reaction for the first time.
Since a moment ago, Pantos had been contemplating how to make Ivan who was buzzing in front of him shut his mouth.
He didn’t consider the strategy important.
Because he hated blabbermouths who didn’t have strength nor energy the most.
However, the moment Alex mentioned Ludger’s name, Pantos realized that the duty the leader had given to him was more important than anything.
“…Here.”
Pantos gave the huge suitcase that he held.
Ivan’s escorts stepped forward and received it instead of Ivan.
Alex wiped off his cold sweats as he saw such a sight.
“Now. Should we go to eat some food then?”
Now that he had witnessed the interior structure with his eyes, he had achieved his goal.
* * *
Alex shared a meal with Ivan.
Pantos didn’t hang around there and stood still in a place quite far away from there.
Probably it was because he would unconsciously reach out at Ivan if he kept witnessing his blabbers.
Alex thought that it was a relief, because he thought that the guy was someone who was akin to a time bomb—he didn’t know when Pantos would explode.
They almost gained some suspicions in the underground storage room a moment ago.
‘Still, I gained something.’
Before sharing their meals, Ivan introduced another place to Alex.
It was the security control room that monitored the underground storage room in real time.
In a wide room, there were six of something that Ludger referred to as displays stuck on the wall, and there was a scene of the security guards who were watching it.
‘Was that how it was structured?’
Ivan was showing it to him by means of boasting off, but for Alex, there was nothing more generous than this kind of act.
Thanks to that, he could understand how the whole security in this place was being maintained.
‘The only thing left is…’
To tell the leader and his colleagues about this.
In order for him to do that, he needed to get away from this place fast, though…
“Please enjoy your meal.”
A chef brought a plate of steak and put it in front of him just in time.
‘Ah, let’s eat for now.’
Still, it was too much to think about other things when a top level food made by a chef was put in front of him.
Alex justified it like that while raising his fork and knife.
* * *
After finishing his meal, Alex used the chance when Ivan was looking elsewhere to convey the truth to Ludger briefly.
‘The strategy succeeded. Leader.’
[I see. That’s a relief.]
‘It’s exactly like what you said. Now that I confirm it with my own eyes, I can see a probability. Now we just have to proceed with our maneuver properly, right?’
[Absolutely. You just have to remember everything you saw without exception.]
‘What do you see me as? We will surely succeed as long as there’s no unexpected ambush for this maneuver. That’s what my gut tells me.’
[It’s a relief then.]
Alex bade Ivan a farewell.
At that moment, Alex could see that there was a woman who entered the restaurant in the Kunst auction house.
“Really. Why is the Commander asking me to be on standby here?”
‘Oh?’
Alex couldn’t control his expression and showed a blank expression, then he communicated to Ludger with a trembled voice.
‘…Leader. There’s a big problem.’
[What’s it?]
‘There’s an unexpected ambush.’
[What?]
Alex didn’t avert his gaze from the woman who was staring around the restaurant.
She hadn’t recognized him yet.
However, the moment she headed her head toward him.
Whoosh.
Alex unconsciously turned her back.
[Victor Wego. Answer me. What’s happening now?]
‘…There’s her.’
[Her? Is someone coming?]
‘…Enya. Enya Joynus.’
The woman who just entered the restaurant in the Kunst auction house.
She wore an appropriate dress to wear, but she looked comfortable in it as she kept twisting her body here and there.
She stayed in Leathevelk under the command of Terina, the knight in Nightcrawler of the Security Department.
[Enya huh. No way, is she that Enya?]
‘Yes. My ex-girlfriend.’
Alex had an old flame.
* * *
Ludger was bound to frown as he heard the news from Alex.
It was the opposite of a reaction to bullshit.
‘Enya Joynus? Didn’t she go to the security department already?’
Ludger recalled the occurrence when the security department came to visit him.
‘Well, I see. Is it then?’
At that time, the person who asked him about the werewolf case directly was a knight with glasses called Lloyd.
However, the Lord Protector Terina Lionhowl also came directly to Sören.
Thanks to the help of the principal, he didn’t meet the woman in person, but he remembered what he saw faraway beyond the window.
At that time, there was one more knight beside Lloyd near Terina, but I didn’t pay much attention to her and passed her by.
‘So the woman was Enya.’
Ludger also knew the fact that Alex and Enya had an old flame along with what happened in the past between the two.
The two people had to meet here out of all places.
“Victor Wego. For now, you should get away from that place. Don’t be worried about anything else, just think of it for now.”
[…I got it.]
Alex’s answer was heard from beyond the communicator.
Alex spoke to Ivan right after he ended his call to Ludger.
“Buddy. I have to go.”
“Oh, already?”
“Haha. Since I came to the big city in the Empire, shouldn’t I look around for a bit? Don’t worry too much. Because I entrusted you with my suitcase, I’ll come to take it later.”
“Ah. Of course. Ra-rather than that, this is something related to mana stones…”
“Let’s talk about it later. I want to talk about business matters in a more important space. You know what I mean right? Buddy?”
“Oh? Yeaah. Of course!”
Alex sent a signal to Pantos.
Since they had ended their maneuver, it was now their time to leave.
Pantos stood beside Alex right away as his escort and followed him.
“There’s a place like this too in this world, I see.”
Enya’s voice lingered in his ears.
Alex got out of the restaurant and glimpsed at Enya’s appearance.
She hadn’t noticed him yet.
Yes. It would be a problem if she had. Because she didn’t go to this place as Alex, but as Gouar.
Even so, he was bound to watch her.
‘She didn’t change, huh.’
However, underneath the surface, he had a wish that she would notice him.
No matter it was now or then, Enya’s appearance was still the same.
No. Still, compared to then, she had a more mature appearance now.
Of course, her height was still short and she had the appearance to be looked down upon by the others, but Alex knew more than anyone else how strong she was.
‘But…’
He chewed his mouth.
He couldn’t approach Enya any longer.
He had no right to do so as well.
—Liar!
He still couldn’t forget that day, Enya’s lamented voice toward him. So, even if he met her in this place, he needed to pass it by pretending not to know her.
Because it was only regret which was permitted to him.
“Let’s go.”
Alex rushed Pantos and left the Kunst auction house.
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