Matan’s Shooter

Leeha exited the arrival hall with bleary eyes. He logged out of Middle Earth at 11 AM Korean time. Although he was exhausted, he did not want to risk making the mistake of missing the wedding.

Leeha put on the most formal clothes he had and headed to the airport.

These were, of course, the clothes he bought while shopping with the Ram sisters in preparation for meeting Chairman Ram.

At least so far, it had seemed to be a very good choice.

“Even good clothes can be a hassle… What kind of suit is this fragile?”

The issue was that, thinking he would return the same day, he did not pack a change of clothes, and thus he wore the suit straight onto the plane.

The higher the quality of the suit, the weaker its durability tends to be.

By the time Leeha exited the arrival hall after a flight of about three hours, his bleary eyes matched the pitiful state of the suit.

“I should have just worn a tracksuit. How can clothes get this wrinkled? I even meticulously ironed it because it felt too precious to just leave in the wardrobe!”

As Leeha sighed and regretted, a woman looked at him with a horrified expression.

“People might think you got into a fight on the plane. What happened? Why is your suit so wrinkled?”

“Ram Hwayeon!? How did you— well, the economy class seats were so cramped. Haha, I tried to sleep on the way, but I got buried in the seat— and it was so hot, I sweated a bit…”

“That’s why you should’ve just taken the private jet I offered! Geez, just get out already!”

Ram Hwayeon strode toward Leeha , who was lingering at the arrival gate.

Several bodyguards surrounded her, effectively blocking the nearby reporters from taking any photos.

“But how did you know I was coming? I only mentioned which flight I was taking.”

“Isn’t that the same as telling me the arrival time?”

“Oh, right. So, I just asked you to tell me the location…”

“Shut up and get in!”

Ram Hwayeon, fuming, got into the car.

With an embarrassed expression, Leeha also got into her car.

In the backseat of the black van sat Leeha , Ram Hwayeon, and her bodyguards. As the car started moving, Leeha could finally gauge her mood.

‘Why is she so angry?’

The wedding was the next day anyway, and even though it was already late in the afternoon, arriving a day early was pretty commendable, right?

Moreover, he even sent her a ‘message’ before leaving, sparing some time to ask questions about Middle Earth!

‘I thought she’d be touched, seeing how well I managed my time…’

Unaware that everything he thought was well-done had actually annoyed Ram Hwayeon, the car departed from the airport parking lot.

“Wow, it’s always nice to see this place. But it’s like already midsummer here? I think my last visit during winter was perfect. That’s why my clothes were soaked with sweat… ahem…” Ꞧ𝘼

Admiring the view through the window, Leeha glanced at Ram Hwayeon.

Their eyes met, her glaring at him with fierce eyes, he quickly fell silent.

She wore a sleeveless dress with high heels, her legs crossed while looking at him.

During the last trip to Hong Kong, Ram Hwayeon generally wore business-appropriate outfits.

Such a degree of dress-up was only for meeting her father.

In other words, today, she had put considerable effort into choosing her clothes since morning, and Leeha’s indifferent reaction was why she was upset, a fact he hadn’t even guessed.

“Oh… Come to think of it, it’s a wedding. What’s the culture like for weddings in Hong Kong? Do I need to give a gift or something?”

He had exchanged about one million won at the airport in a hurry!

He didn’t have particularly fond memories of Ram Peng. Although he was treated at the hospital he managed, almost everything had Ram Hwayeon’s influence on it.

Moreover, he had made a significant contribution during Ram Hwajung’s kidnapping incident caused by poor security under Ram Peng’s management in Hong Kong.

Even so, Leeha did not want to appear lacking in the eyes of the Ram family, so he had spent that much.

“You don’t have to give any money, you’re not an ordinary guest. You’re an invited guest.”

That was from a common person’s standpoint.

As an invited guest, it was a different matter. Leeha still did not know.

“Still, going empty-handed feels a bit… Wouldn’t it be better to have something as a symbol of congratulations? Oh! Do they have any lucky numbers? 3? 7?”

“For congratulations, 8 is a lucky number in Hong Kong.”

“Eight? Great! Eighty—”

“And it should be an even number.”

Listening to Ram Hwayeon’s words, Leeha quickly finished his calculations.

If it was 8,888 Hong Kong dollars, it would be about 1.3 million Korean won. Though it was a bit more expensive than he initially thought, he had sufficient funds to cover it.

“Alright, then—”

“If it’s just a regular person’s congratulatory money, the amount wouldn’t matter, but if it’s for a guest… especially since you’re the chairman’s invited guest, you would need at least 888,888 Hong Kong dollars. Since you’re here by the chairman’s invitation, it might even go up by two more units. So, I’m just telling you not to bother with it.”

“Ei… eight hundred eighty-eight… thousand?”

“If you could schedule a lunch with the chairman by paying that amount, there would be a queue from Hong Kong to all over the world. Isn’t that obvious?”

About 130 million Korean won.

Leeha wasn’t without money. Besides the significant funds he possessed in City Gazuah, he had items worth hundreds of millions, and even auction-worthy items surpassing billions in Middle Earth.

However, he couldn’t use his funds in this manner.

Leeha just realized once again that the worlds they lived in operated on different scales.

Seeing his gloomy expression, Ram Hwayeon’s eyebrows twitched even more. Each time Leeha showed a clueless look, it infuriated her.

‘I… I cleared all my evening schedules three days ago!’

The root of her anger!

She had refrained from whispering or pushing him, expecting him to come a bit earlier on his own.

Struggling not to show it and enduring those agonizing times!

When she saw him on that new continent, how flustered she had been. Trusting him, she hadn’t even bothered to check the friends list.

Though he departed immediately, Ram Hwayeon’s mood had already soured significantly.

Moreover, the fact that he contacted her for an investigation request about Middle Earth angered her more.

Ram Hwayeon’s honest feelings were that she didn’t even want to pick him up from the airport.

However, seeing his crumpled suit further irritated her.

Seeing his gloomy face even now, she wondered if she had been too harsh.

She wanted to tease him and deflate his spirit, but instead, meeting him filled her with frustration and sadness.

“Ahhhh! This is so annoying!”

“Huh!? Wha— Why all of a sudden—”

“Don’t make that kind of defeated puppy face! I’ve called for the hotel’s dry cleaning service, so hand over your suit as soon as we arrive! And take a look at this on the way, here, the Middle Earth information you asked for!”

Ram Hwayeon quickly took out documents from her bag and handed them to Leeha.

As Leeha accepted the documents with a blank expression, she shook her head and shouted.

“Seriously! You really! Do I have to take care of everything from one to ten for you? If that’s the case, why don’t you just—”

Then she suddenly closed her mouth.

Leeha looked at her, who had been pouring out words frantically, for a moment.

Feeling thankful and apologetic at the same time, he tried to express something, but because she abruptly stopped talking, he missed his chance.

Leeha cautiously examined Ram Hwayeon’s expression.

“Ram Hwayeon…?”

Her face was reddish.

Only then did Leeha realize and smiled sheepishly. As her face turned even redder, Leeha added a word.

“Hehe, even Hong Kong people seem to find it hot, huh.”

“Yaahhhhh—!”

Ram Hwayeon lunged at Leeha and tugged his hair hard.

A fight, hotter than the ban under the blazing sun, unfolded inside the van.

* * *

“Owww, my hair got entirely pulled out.”

Leeha muttered, touching his hair while wearing a gown in the hotel room.

As soon as they arrived, Ram Hwayeon had snatched his suit away, and now he was left alone.

‘She said it would be three more hours before she’s free, so do I have free time until then? Besides, it’s surprising that Ram Hwajung is still in Middle Earth.’

He had felt something was amiss since she wasn’t at the airport.

He expected Ram Hwajung to launch a powerful tackle as usual, but she wasn’t there.

She still hadn’t logged out of Middle Earth for over 20 hours, according to Ram Hwayeon’s testimony.

“She hasn’t returned since disappearing with Arzenmacht… Tsk, fighting on equal terms with Pyro must have really hurt her pride. And that was such a long time ago.”

Leeha had a rough idea about Pyro’s 〈Flame Mage〉. However, seeing it firsthand had a different impact.

Leeha newly realized how significant it was that the descendants of heroes had joined the Demon King’s army.

Based on Ram Hwajung’s testimony, Ram Hwayeon had compiled new data, organizing not only key users in the Demon King’s army but also allies.

Leeha’s focus was on Lark and Shin Nara.

He knew they were acting together.

Before Shin Nara left with Lark, she had given a simple hint to Bobae. However, their current whereabouts were unknown.

“The Sacred Knights and even the Virtue Knights haven’t spotted them. They weren’t found in the capitals of either Fibiel or Minis. Even with Ram Hwayeon’s search, they couldn’t be found… Should we have made a request to the Holy Grill?”

What on earth could they be doing?

Are they still together?

Do they know what’s happening in Middle Earth?

“They should at least be aware that Tiamat has awakened. I doubt Lark wouldn’t have noticed.”

The incident caused by Kijung and Lee Jiwon in the center of the New Continent had become quite a rumor in Middle Earth.

Few people knew exactly what happened there, but the phrase, “A tremendous radiance burst out from the place where Bluebeard and Ghibrid were, and Lee Jiwon and Kijung came back alive,” caused significant shockwaves.

“If it’s Lark, he would’ve noticed it relates to Tiamat just from hearing that. Because he’s aware Pyrot-Cocri is in the North.”

So, what is he doing now?

Why isn’t he making contact?

If the Queen of the Chromatic Dragons had awakened, people related to the Metal Dragons, namely Alexander, Ram Hwajung, and himself—one of these partners of the Metal Dragons—should have been contacted…

“Is he still unable to fully handle that sword?”

Quite some time had passed. During that period, what had he been doing? Leeha couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“Chiyou’s location is also unclear. Tsk, no matter how outstanding Ram Hwayeon is, finding her would be impossible.”

Information about Chiyou, Kyle, Elizabeth, and Brown was also missing.

At this point, the only “people” aware that Chiyou had staged a revolt and broken away from the Demon King’s army to become a third force were Chiyou, Igor, Pyro, Faust, and the Goople employees monitoring them.

Leeha sifted through the documents before sprawling out on the bed.

Spending two days here would mean ten days had passed in Middle Earth. During that time, how many more things would happen?

“There’s not much I can do right now either… First, should I wait for Kijung? Oh right. I should also check out that place.”

Leeha sprang up from the bed.

He couldn’t just sit idle while Kijung built his power over 50 days and joined the Nine Cardinals Committee.

That’s something Leeha’s personality would never allow.

And there’s still a material he hadn’t consumed yet.

“The Guardian Spirit of the Dark Elves…”

He needed to verify the spirits with the attributes of fear and darkness, other than the dark ones. Leeha had already chosen his travel companion for this journey.

“Prea… I wonder if she gathered any other information during this time? It would be best if she could find out what Chiyou and Arcane Sniper are up to.”

His concern for Prea shifted to worries about Chiyou, which in turn transformed into thoughts about Kyle.

Luger had also acquired a hidden skill.

Leeha had no particular worry about Kidd. Even if Luger or himself was slightly behind for now, Kidd wasn’t a user who couldn’t catch up.

“Though I hate to admit it, in terms of intelligence, he’s—no, he’s as good as me. Eventually, Luger and Kidd will become stronger than Kyle from the Saur Land incident.”

That thought wasn’t exactly reassuring.

The attack Kyle displayed in Saur Land…

It had just been a “normal hit”!

Could being stronger than Arcane Sniper without using skills even be a point of pride?

“Tsk… It’s troubling.”

Leeha read and reread the documents provided by Ram Hwayeon, determined to absorb every new bit of information.

Simultaneously, all the users Leeha had thought of or mentioned were struggling in Middle Earth.

“Parnese!? The Cardinal who isn’t Tusculani—”

“Shhh! Be quiet!”

Having finally discovered the head of the Anti-Pope faction, Kijung was also troubled.