CHAPTER 27
027- Return Home
With his sword raised, he fumbled behind him with his other hand. There was an emergency bell there, which would immediately contact the hotel’s security team.
Click.
He pressed the button. It made no sound.
Is this how it’s supposed to work? There’s no reaction at all.
"If you're looking for the emergency bell, I've already disconnected it. I have a cautious nature, you see. Wherever I go, I make a habit of cutting off such signals."
"...So much for being the best in security. Utterly useless."
It seemed the intruder had taken precautions before infiltrating. Not only that, but a thin layer of energy was spread throughout the room, likely to prevent any sound from escaping.
For someone who claimed he was just stopping by to leave quietly, he was being remarkably thorough.
"Is this head rolling on the floor the 'gift' you mentioned?"
There was no other choice. For now, he had to talk.
"Indeed. I have other heads I didn't bring. Would you like those as well?"
"I don't need them. Take them all with you."
Jinwoo kicked the head, sending it rolling toward the old man. The head, frozen in a gruesome expression, tumbled across the floor and vanished into the darkness.
Jinwoo still couldn't see the head disappear, nor could he see the old man. He was invisible to the naked eye and inaudible to the ear.
Jinwoo's senses had become quite sharp, enough to hear a heartbeat at this distance. Yet, from where the old man stood, not a single sign of his presence leaked out.
The only reason he could pinpoint the old man's location was his ability to see the Blue Flame.
"To be honest, I'm quite surprised. I thought you were just some talented kid who popped up in Seoul, but to think you're skilled enough to see me."
The old man spoke cheerfully, perhaps thinking Jinwoo was truly seeing him.
"Since I've been found out, allow me to apologize in person. I'm sorry you had to experience such an unpleasant incident."
"Are you referring to yesterday's attack?"
"You're a guest who came all this way to help, yet you had to endure such an ordeal. This city's internal affairs are a bit of a mess, you see."
"Are you sure you didn't just let it happen on purpose?"
Jinwoo's question was sharp.
Kurenai Masato. The head of Tokyo's top assassin guild and the patron of the current mayor.
For a man in his position, there were likely many who would act on their own just by reading his mood, without needing a direct order.
The question was whether the Tsukikage Guild was one of them.
"A misunderstanding, my boy. It would be troublesome if you thought our Kurenai Guild was entangled with such thugs. Besides, if I want someone dead, I kill them myself. I don't assign it to my underlings. I can't trust them."
"That's hard to believe."
"Then there's nothing I can do about that."
The old man spoke lightly, as if it were no big deal. It was true; whether Jinwoo believed him or not was of no consequence to him.
"In any case, I have no intention of treating you poorly. On the contrary, I welcome your visit to Tokyo. Did you enjoy your meal today?"
"The Shirata Guild Master took me to a yakiniku place. It was my first time trying beef tongue. It was fantastic."
"Hahaha! A young man who knows his flavors. You should try eel next time. Shall I recommend a good restaurant?"
"...I'm fine. I can just ask Ayaka."
With the sudden shift to everyday topics like restaurant recommendations, the atmosphere seemed to soften slightly.
But that was an illusion. Masato remained hidden in the darkness, and the tip of Jinwoo's sword was still aimed at that darkness, its edge honed.
A faint chuckle was heard as the flame moved toward the window. The tip of Jinwoo's sword followed the flame's slow movement.
"Let me give you one piece of advice. Be wary of David from New York."
"David?"
"The Director of the New York Hunter Bureau. He put out a hit on Chartia in Tokyo. An S-class assassination request... the man's out of his mind. Not that those thugs who attacked recklessly, blinded by the reward, were any saner."
A hit on Chartia?
"There's no bounty on you, but from what I hear, he doesn't think too highly of you either. He might make a move soon."
The window slid open with a rattle. The flame leaped up and perched on the windowsill.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Jinwoo voiced his final question before the man left. He could understand the gift of the attacker's head or the restaurant recommendation, but there was no reason for him to be this forthcoming.
"I've met David before. He couldn't see me, not even in his wildest dreams. The fellow was overflowing with pride, convinced he was the best. The look on his face when he realized he couldn't see me... it was a masterpiece. Heh heh heh."
A cackling laugh echoed. After a moment, the old man’s laughter subsided as he left his final words.
"I can't remember the last time I had a conversation while looking someone in the eye. This was rather enjoyable."
Unlike his eccentric behavior until now, those words alone sounded strangely sincere.
The flame leaped down from the hotel. Jinwoo approached the window and looked down.
The fallen flame had vanished somewhere. All he could see was the night view of Tokyo from 24 stories up.

The Erosion was resolved, and the matter of the Tsukikage Guild was settled in an unexpected way.
With nothing left to hold him back, Jinwoo stayed in Tokyo for four more days, enjoying the sights.
He contacted Ayaka for local food recommendations and followed Chartia around to Tokyo’s tourist spots.
Chartia knew the streets of Tokyo surprisingly well; she explained that Tokyo had been one of the candidate cities when she was looking for a place to naturalize.
"But in the end, I ruled Tokyo out."
"Why? The streets are clean, the food is delicious, and it seems like a nice place to live."
The people were kind, and he could enjoy himself everywhere without any unpleasant experiences. Every shop seemed to have a firm grasp of customer service, and it looked like a great place to live if you had the money.
"You know why, Jinwoo. The surface is clean, but the inside isn't."
"Ah."
By "inside," she was likely referring to the streets at night, ruled by assassin guilds.
Tokyo's nightlife was completely different from its day. It was a place where people killing people was considered ordinary.
If life itself was treated that way, nothing else could be good. It was a city overflowing with alcohol, drugs, depraved entertainment, and shallow relationships.
Chartia said she truly loved Tokyo by day, but she could never bring herself to love it by night.
In that sense, she grew very close to her new friend, Ayaka. Ayaka’s Shirata Guild was one of the few guilds that operated in the light.
Ayaka didn't reject her new foreign friend, and the three of them often went sightseeing together.
"Jinwoo-ssi! Look over here. Say cheese~"
Click. Click.
She was constantly taking pictures of the group or selfies, her smartphone never leaving her hand all day.
Every time they went to eat, she would always take pictures of the food and tap furiously on the screen. When asked, she said she was posting on social media.
She's an addict, a total addict.
Still, it was good to have a hobby one could be passionate about, just like how Chartia was engrossed in tending to plants as she traveled the world.
During their four days of sightseeing, they were never attacked.
It was almost too quiet. It seemed everyone was holding their breath, watching from the sidelines.
Perhaps Kurenai Masato's annihilation of the Tsukikage Guild had served as a warning.
Thanks to that, he was able to smoothly conclude his first trip abroad. It was time to go home.
Ayaka, who had come to the airport to see them off, shook hands with Jinwoo.
"Take care, Jinwoo-ssi! Thank you so much, and it was a lot of fun. If we meet in a Gate, I'll be in your care!"
"I should be the one saying that. You're an A-class, and I'm an E-class."
"At this rate, you'll be A-class in no time."
Ayaka laughed heartily as she said her goodbyes to Jinwoo, then extended a hand to Chartia, who had been translating.
Chartia took her hand and gave her a light hug, patting her on the shoulder.
"Goodbye, Ayaka. If you ever want a garden of your own, call me anytime."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful! I'll be sure to call you if I find a nice piece of land."
Jinwoo and Chartia boarded the private jet and took off from Tokyo.
The flight time was just over two hours.
On the way from Seoul to Tokyo, even that had felt short, and they had been busy reading various documents and files.
But on the way back, they each reclined their seats into beds and fell into a deep sleep. A flight attendant tucked them in before retreating to the crew cabin to rest as well.
In his sleepy state, Jinwoo thought to himself.
It was less eventful than I expected.
Just one attack and one Erosion. And a brief conversation with the top assassin who was Tokyo's hidden ruler.
...Wait, wasn't that a lot?
On second thought, quite a lot had happened.

Upon returning to Seoul, Jinwoo and Chartia received a fervent welcome from the Bureau.
Not only had they handled the job well, but it turned out Tokyo had paid a considerable fee to Seoul.
According to Ma Doo-sik, the Tokyo folks had rarely ever paid their dues so obediently. Usually, they would deny it or drag things out, pulling them into a mud-slinging fight.
Most of the payment went to the Bureau, and from the Bureau, it was transferred to Jinwoo's bank account.
The Bureau only took a commission, but even that commission was a substantial amount, so they seemed pleased.
"The money is one thing, but the Mayor insisted I tell you that he... obtained this for you."
While listening to the staff member, she handed him a long object wrapped in cloth. He opened it to find a Japanese sword.
Jinwoo was a swordsman himself, and having watched Bulkar at work, he had developed a bit of an eye for swords.
While not at the level of a Dwarf craftsman, this blade was clearly a masterpiece forged by a considerable artisan.
"Mayor Ma Doo-sik got this?"
"It's called the Hwado-ryu Sword. It was personally crafted by an artisan known as a living cultural heritage. They say only a few of his swords exist in all of Tokyo, making it a treasure."
"Well, thank you. I saw a huge sum of money was deposited into my account, too. It really pays to take on government jobs."
"Haha, doesn't it?"
All he did was pop over to the neighboring country and swing his sword once, and he had earned more money and treasure than from a typical Gate expedition.
With this, Jinwoo now owned five swords: the standard-issue iron sword from the Bureau, the White Gem Sword, the Fang Dagger, the Sky Sword, and now the Hwado-ryu Sword.
To be honest, even with so many, most of them were for display.
The standard-issue iron sword was just a souvenir, and the Sky Sword was difficult to use until he acquired a suitable ability. The Hwado-ryu Sword, while sharp like the Sky Sword, seemed to lack durability, making it ill-suited for real combat.
The Fang Dagger was useful for scouting and various other situations, but he fought almost exclusively with the White Gem Sword. It was the sturdiest, and there seemed to be nothing it couldn't cut.
He could sell the swords he didn't need, but he had no intention of doing so. Most of them were gifts, after all.
They're fine just for display. Who knows, I might use them someday.
After hearing about the follow-up procedures from the staff member, he neatly wrapped up his business and left the Bureau.
Returning home, Jinwoo didn't even take off his socks before diving straight onto his bed.
He had only worked for a single day in Tokyo, spending the rest sightseeing, but now that he was home, a pleasant fatigue mixed with travel weariness washed over him.
Lying face down on the bed, Jinwoo checked his smartphone.
He remembered how diligently Ayaka used her social media, and how an email had been the catalyst for his trip to Tokyo. So, he casually opened his email app.
[Inbox 999+]
"Huh?"
For some reason, his inbox was about to explode.