Chapter 240 – Reunion (2)
“Can I think about it for a while and talk to you again in a few days?”
“Yes. Please do so.”
*****
The price is higher than expected. When I returned home with Seong Ha-yeon and when I tried to sleep on the mattress, that was the only thought that lingered in my head. The price is too expensive than expected. Since it was originally used at the training ground, the cost and space required to install the device were too high.
First of all, it was not possible to install it in this studio, and it was to the point of having to find a new house. I went over to the world of images to refine my thoughts. In the world of images, Misaki and the Almighty were playing cards. The two of them seemed to be catching thieves, but Misaki was the type that popped out of his face when he picked out the joker, so the Almighty was winning very leisurely.
She didn’t seem to have much trouble with this money problem. I sat down next to her and said.
“Sir Almighty. Now what? Is it too expensive? Once, that… It’s not the amount I would buy in a lump sum, and even if it was an installment payment, it would be too much.”
“Okay? That’s a big deal. Don’t have money How can you not have money when you have to lead many women?”
At that, I averted my gaze. While the Almighty Emperor was laughing and talking, Misaki stood up in surprise and said,
“Ah, master! Don’t have money? I even performed…”
“Ugh! Done!”
When Misaki showed signs of earning money by really performing, the Almighty stopped laughing and she stopped Misaki. Holding the card, Misaki sat down again, and the Almighty patted Misaki’s head and said,
“Did I really ask you to buy that expensive thing without a solution? For example, I would have told you to buy it with your own money without giving you a dime.”
Her words gave me hope. To me who was startled, the Almighty revealed his teeth and smiled broadly. I asked.
“Do you have a solution?”
“I’ll let you know if I give you a hug. Summon it!”
I had nothing to hesitate about the words of the Almighty. Immediately escaping from the world of images, I stretched out my hands in front of my chest and shouted.
“Summon Almighty!”
The Almighty Emperor really did summon me out of her, and she looked at me, blinking her eyes a little embarrassed, and I hugged her tightly until she was crushed while gasping for breath.
“Oh, um! That, yes! You can let go now!”
The Almighty disappeared again, dyeing her face red, and I felt tired just by summoning her for a moment, so I had to sit down on the mattress and catch my breath. When I entered the world of images again, the Almighty was drawing a V with a very confident face, and Misaki was scattering pollen next to me.
“So, what is the solution?”
The Almighty Emperor laughed and said.
“It’s a slush fund.”
“…Slush funds?”
“Am I not an S-class hunter? Of course, I have money that I can’t tell others about. Money that was secretly hoarded because taxes would be too high if it was caught as income.”
“Even S-class hunters are afraid of taxes.”
“Did you not know? You’ll find out when you level up a little more. The scariest thing for Hunter is not the situation where A-class monsters attack, but the individual business tax bill that comes every year in May.”
“Fuck…”
Don’t say that you’ve been promoted to B-class, do you want to spend your whole life going around the C-class gate? I thought about it for a while, then erased it from my head. Because the tax story wasn’t important right now. The important thing now was to secure funds for the installation of a machine where Almighty Emperor and I could meet safely for three hours.
“So, how do you get that slush fund out? If you have an account in Choi Yeon-joo’s name, I can’t take it out.”
“Who would put money in an account so clumsy? Prepare the tea Let’s go to the old laboratory.”
Old lab. It was a place where even hearing the name gave rise to slightly uneasy feelings. There, Choi Yeon-ju died, and Almighty Emperor was reborn. In what was once a research facility in [Paradise], Now there is only an empty lot that has been cleared of building debris.
There was a story that the land was offered as if there was no intention to build something new, but the story was circulating that it was not selling well because the location was the location and it was a place where many people died. When I asked to go there again without hesitation, I had no choice but to hesitate. However, the Almighty Emperor noticed my feelings and hugged me tightly.
“Now that I am back, why are you still grieving over my death? We met again anyway, and we are talking about this new life. Maybe, this… It might be a bit symbolic. To dig up slush funds from the place where I died, and you and I start a new life with that money.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her jokey words. Starting a new life, can I put it that way? But as she said, in a way it was a symbolic joke.
****
“To drive there all of a sudden. Isn’t it too far?”
Senior Yoo-Jung got behind the wheel with a joke. I said as I fastened my seatbelt in the passenger seat.
“There is something to be found there.”
“What are you looking for?”
Yu-jeong looked at me with a serious expression, as if she wanted to say that. And she said this in a slightly subdued tone.
“That… Yeonjoo Choi and Hunter… Is it related?”
“Yes.”
If it was related, it was a very important related item. Its identity was not a keepsake or a ring containing precious memories, but slush funds. I felt that it was faster to go and explain than to explain about slush funds now. The detailed explanation was because I thought it would be better for the Almighty to do it himself later.
Senior Yoojeong said as she started the car.
“I see. It’s been a long time since we’ve been driving together like this. I think we used to go out often like this before our Suhyeon got D grade. Just take me I will go with you.”
The old story is like a condiment to the atmosphere, so even if you sprinkle a little bit, it will soon give off a warm and familiar scent. Like spaghetti covered in peppery scent, we laughed briskly, drenched in the old nostalgia we hinted at.
“That’s right. It was so good then. How cool was Yoojung sunbaenim? He is a career woman, right? I really liked it because it was just the wonderful woman that came out of that drama.”
“By the way, Suhyeon-ssi was very uncomfortable when I said I would give you a ride. I was just trying to stay alert.”
“At that time, she said that the gym shower room was under construction, and it was just because I had to go home wet with sweat. I’m afraid I’ll look hateful.”
“Oh my, I hate you. How young did Suhyeon look at that time? No matter what mistakes new hunters make, they all look cute. I was surprised to hear that Suhyun was older than me.”
“I also have senior Yoojung older than me…”
Senior Yoojeong glanced at me. The signal was a red light. My foot had stepped on the brake, and the vehicle suddenly came to a stop, and my body leaned forward. Did the brakes save me? I naturally changed my words.
“…I thought, of course, that he was younger than me. Are you a high school girl when you first see it? I was confused for a while.”
“Ah, high school girls went too far.”
Senior Yoo-jeong smiled brightly even as she said that. Senior Yoojung definitely looked young. It was to the extent that even a freshman in college would be able to believe her. Her fresh smile and pretty bobbed hair seemed to further emphasize her unique lively atmosphere.
The car was driving out of the city and on the highway. I asked her as I looked out of her car window on her road.
“Senior.”
“What’s wrong? Now we just have to go a little further.”
“Why did you decide to go out with me?”
“Me? Hmm… Is it because she has a nice face?”
She was delighted with her words and asked, putting her hand on her jawline and grinning.
“Am I that cool?”
“Ah, ghastly. Cancellation. Cancel the word handsome. Greasy.”
“No way. While good.”
“Oh, don’t make that face! It’s really burdensome.”
“All right.”
Laughter was scattered in the mountain wind. Above the road, the sky enveloped us with clear light. In the silence, only the engine sound of the car seemed to tell us that we were alive. As the car greeted the wind with a smile, senior Yoo-jeong said.
“It was just, it was just nice.”
“Just?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Yes. Please be honest.”
Senior Yu-jeong slowed down her car and stared at me. She told me
“I like how Suhyun always works hard and smiles at me, and I just liked everything. To the point where I wonder if it’s right for me to fall in love like this. It was so good. Really.”
“Did you like it that much?”
Senior Yu-jeong smiled and nodded her head. She said, turning the steering wheel of her car.
“Of course. Oh, we’re all here. By the way, what are you looking for here?”
“It’s a slush fund.”
“…?”
Yoojung sunbaenim’s face, which had been smiling brightly, subtly changed.
