When exactly did Sung Il-hwan regain his memories of his past life?
Ber didn’t know about it.
But one thing was certain.
[The memory of the monarch transcends time.]
Suho also knew what Berga was trying to say.
‘The Cup of Reincarnation’
[The Cup of Reincarnation, the divine tool that turns back time, has no effect on the consciousness of superior beings such as rulers or monarchs.]
Ber recalled an old memory.
Just a few decades ago.
A time when all wars ended and peace came to the Earth.
The moment when Woo Jin-cheol, who had lost his memories of his past life and was living as an ordinary police officer, suddenly regained all his memories in an instant.
Looking back, the trigger was extremely simple.
Reunion with Sung Jin-woo.
That’s all.
… … but in fact, it was absolutely not an ordinary thing.
Who is Sung Jin-woo?
He was the great Shadow Lord who ruled over death, slaughtered all other Lords and brought the entire dimension under his feet.
How much significance would an event that would directly connect one with such a great and noble higher being have in one’s life?
Can we dare dismiss that incident as something ordinary?
[… … Even Seong Il-hwan is a father who has lived with his lord for half his life, and he has also experienced directly receiving the ruler’s power.]
For example, a son with the power of a monarch and a father with the power of a ruler.
The two of them had been living together in the same house for several decades.
Eugene Ho was able to regain all his memories just by touching the key to the Shadow Dungeon, so what would it have been like if it had been Sung Il Hwan?
‘… … If given the chance, it wouldn’t be strange if my memories came back at any time.’
Suho nodded in agreement at Ber’s words.
Anyway, the conclusion is that my grandfather suddenly left for somewhere with his memories of his previous life… … .
‘Then where on earth did you go? For what?’
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Many questions floated around in Suho’s head.
I decided to focus on the most important parts first.
‘Itarim.’
How much is Itarim involved in my grandfather’s disappearance?
So, is Grandpa okay now?
‘Let’s just focus on that.’
There was a chance that my grandfather was in a similar situation to my mother, so finding something as quickly as possible was the top priority.
Suho asked Branch Manager Min Daeseok, who was talking with Park Kyunghye and Sung Jinah.
“So who was the last person to see my grandfather?”
Today, Suho’s grandmother, Park Kyung-hye, received a call from an association employee and came here in a hurry.
Until then, the association had been denying the disappearance of Seong Il-hwan, but today, it was only then that they became certain that he had gone missing.
“Well… … it’s not certain yet.”
The person who answered Soo-ho’s question was a new female employee who had personally brought Park Kyung-hye here.
The female employee glanced at Branch Manager Min Dae-seok and then opened her mouth.
“There was someone who said they saw Mr. Seong Il-hwan somewhere other than the fishing spot.”
“Somewhere else? Where is that?”
“Near the merchants’ association… … .”
“What?!”
At those words, Branch Manager Min Dae-seok looked back at the female employee with a noticeably embarrassed expression.
Then he quietly scolded her in a low voice.
“Why is the Chamber of Commerce here? Are you sure you know what you’re saying? Can you take responsibility for that?”
“Oh, no! I only heard that I saw you walking in that direction! You know, Mr. Branch Manager. People don’t fish there these days.”
“Of course. There… … ahem.”
Min Dae-seok, who felt the gaze of the guardian family, suddenly coughed in vain and closed his mouth.
But once I started, there was no turning back.
“The merchants’ association… … .”
Creepy.
Min Dae-seok swallowed his breath.
I slowly turned my head and saw that Suho’s demeanor was gradually becoming more and more murderous, just like when he first came here.
Suho asked, fiddling with the stardust necklace he had ripped off Min Daeseok’s neck earlier.
“I think the place I got this necklace from was the merchants’ association.”
The words started to get shorter again.
‘No, it’s not like I have intermittent explosive disorder… … .’
Min Dae-seok really felt like crying at the thought of Su-ho’s atmosphere that seemed like it could explode at any moment.
“Answer.”
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“Yes, yes! The merchants’ association is just a gathering of people who do business in Yangpyeong. It’s something you can find in any neighborhood!”
“More.”
“Yes! Actually, there is a separate Yangpyeong Merchant Association! The merchant association we are talking about is actually a private organization made up of hunters active in Yangpyeong! They also make and distribute stardust necklaces there!”
Min Dae-seok started to confess everything reflexively in response to Su-ho’s question.
Those words made Suho feel something strange.
“Why do hunters create a merchant association instead of a guild? For what reason?”
There’s probably no one here who doesn’t know that it’s much more profitable to enter a dungeon than to waste time on such useless things.
Of course, there are cases where guilds do business, but that is only a secondary area.
“That, that… … .”
Min Dae-seok rolled his eyes here and there, not knowing what to do under Su-ho’s cold gaze.
Then he saw other employees trying hard to avoid his gaze and the stardust necklaces hanging around their necks… … .
‘There is something.’
Suho realized intuitively.
Crack!
At that moment, the corner of Branch Manager Min Dae-seok’s desk, which was caught in Su-ho’s hand, was crushed.
Berga whispered in Suho’s ear like a devil.
[Should I just kill you? I’ll eat your brain and read your memories.]
Did you hear that whisper?
Or maybe it was Ber’s ‘sincerity’ that got through.
The moment his desk was smashed, Branch Manager Min Dae-seok was so shocked that he finally opened his mouth.
“B, it’s the Black Market! … … hic.”
Min Dae-seok spoke in a panic and then suddenly covered his own mouth.
“… … Black Market?”
As Suho’s gaze grew more fearful, Min Daeseok’s face, on the other hand, grew paler and paler, and he began to hurriedly make excuses.
“That, that’s it. To be clear, I have nothing to do with it. I just heard that they are still preparing, so I’m not exactly… … .”
“What on earth is the black market?”
Min Dae-seok sighed deeply and explained in response to Seong Jin-ah’s question while listening to the story.
“… … The non-awakened ones can’t help but know. The black market is a direct transaction market that only hunters use.”
“Market?”
“Yes. To be exact, it is a place where direct transactions or auctions for tax evasion take place.”
Tax evasion.
Seong Jin-ah immediately understood what he said.
Even for hunters with superhuman abilities, taxes were a scary law.
The tax rate applied to hunters, who are classified as extremely high-income earners, is a whopping 50 percent.
They risk their lives fighting the devil and take exactly half of the money they earn from it from the country.
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Of course, the money is used to help citizens who suffered damage from the dungeon and to rebuild the destroyed city.
And the organization that managed and supervised the exact use of those taxes was the Hunter Association.
“… … But the association is turning a blind eye to the black market for tax evasion?”
“Oh, no! This was something that had been going on before I came here, so I was against it at first… …!”
Bam!
At that moment, Min Dae-seok’s desk began to crumble and break like tofu right before his eyes.
Little by little.
Very slowly.
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
“Ugh… … .”
Min Dae-seok, who witnessed the scene, held his breath, feeling that he would soon end up like that.
But he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
Suho stood up from his seat and looked at all the association employees in the office with a cold gaze.
At that gaze, the employees who were wearing stardust necklaces like Min Dae-seok trembled with pale faces.
The legal issues regarding these will be resolved later by Chairman Woo Jin-cheol.
Suho asked.
“So where is the Chamber of Commerce?”
* * *
Yangpyeong is large.
Its size is so vast that it is almost as large as Jeju Island.
However, there is a difference from Jeju Island in that Yangpyeong has many development restrictions such as water source protection zones and nature conservation areas.
Because of the situation, Yangpyeong was surrounded by mountains, forests, and valleys on all sides, and there were countless fishing spots.
However, because the terrain is so rugged, this is also an area where missing people like Seong Il-hwan frequently appear.
“… … The fog is thick.”
[Yangpyeong is a humid area. This is because there are many dams.]
Quay appeared in Suho’s monologue and started to speak fluently about what he knew.
As he listened to the explanation, Suho was walking on the foggy ground.
[My Lord, I understand now.]
Ber realized the source of the sense of discomfort he had felt when he first set foot in Yangpyeong.
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[It seems like there is a blue fog melting in this water mist.]
“Could it be that there is a dungeon hidden inside here?”
[Yes. I think the association didn’t notice it until now because the blue fog didn’t flow out beyond the water mist.]
Quay, a former villain and vice president of the Grim Reaper Guild, recognized the value of this place at first glance.
[If I had known about this place, I would have wanted to create a black market.]
A place where even the existence of the gate can be hidden.
That meant that it was essentially a place where anything could be hidden.
“Quay, put your head down.”
[Yep.]
Thud.
Quay, who was afraid that someone might say he was a former villain, was deeply sympathetic to the psychology of criminals.
“I’m starting to feel it.”
Suho stopped walking.
The magical power of the gate, which had been faintly felt as it melted into the water mist, began to grow thicker.
“This entire area seems to be a field-type dungeon?”
Esil, who was walking beside Suho, also looked around with shining eyes.
And then I finally found something.
“It’s a demon totem.”
“Do you want to know what it’s for?”
“It’s a barrier. It notifies you when someone other than the demon tribe approaches.”
“Existences other than demons?”
Suho smiled faintly at those words.
“Then I guess I’ll become a devil.”
Suho took out the ‘Item: Crow Mask’ from his inventory for the first time in a long while and hid his face.
A badge worn by demons working at the Stardust Factory.
But of course, this alone was not enough to deceive the demon tribe’s barrier.
“Esil.”
“Okay.”
[Equip ‘Item: Volcan’s Horn’.]
Now, if you pretend, it’s pretend.
Esil immediately transformed into a spirit and placed Volkan’s horn on Suho’s head.
A crow mask with devil horns.
Anyone who saw Suho’s appearance had changed into that of a devil.
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[At this level, you should be able to deceive the barrier.]
Suho confidently passed through the barrier while listening to Essil’s whispers.
At that moment, the vision changed, and the black market that the branch manager had talked about appeared in front of Suho.
