The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 431



Only Noblemtl

Episode 431

#431. Well, it might be a bit of an unusual tour.

Unlucky? Fortunately?

‘Is it unfortunate that there is no transaction at all, or fortunate that the goods did not move to another place?’

From Tatsuya’s perspective, it wasn’t particularly welcome news either way.

He couldn’t back down like this.

“Please arrange for me to meet Gilma alone. Thank you.”

“Unfortunately, it won’t work.”

“You underestimate yourself. Paolo, I know that you hold a position of no small importance in the Gloria Guild. I beg you to do this.”

“That’s not to say that meeting Gilma would be useless.”

“What does that mean?”

“This decision was made from higher up.”

Above Gilma?

Tatsuya immediately realized that it was someone’s decision. There was a similar being in the Sunlight Guild he belonged to.

He unconsciously brought up a name that was difficult for him to remember.

“Edoardo Asburgoeste?”

The former Gilma of the Gloria Guild. He is currently known as the Grand Duke and is one of the few true hunters respected by everyone in the European hunter community.

The name Edoardo contained the meaning of guardian. Although the nature was slightly different, it was in the same context as Tatsuya’s master Kishin being called the guardian deity of Japan.

An absolute must in Italy, especially in Venice.

Paolo frowned, not liking Tatsuya’s reaction.

“I’m sorry, but even though we’re friends, I can’t stand it when you call him by his full name.”

“I sincerely apologize.”

“I will accept it.”

“So? The Archduke got involved? I know he has a lot of influence in Gloria, but I thought he wasn’t really interested in anything other than hunting monsters.”

“Anyway, this is beyond my authority, so I cannot grant it no matter what the cost.”

Paolo definitely drew the line. It also meant not to ask for more.

Tatsuya was in a difficult position. Kishin had entrusted him with the task and told him not to dwell on failure, but as a hunter who could not succeed, he rarely had a chance to show off his abilities other than at times like this.

It was not the time to give up easily.

‘Edoardo is an iron fortress on a cliff. It is impossible to break the castle with a frontal assault, let alone stand in front of it. We need some kind of breakthrough.’

Tatsuya decided to take a step back for now.

“Thank you for taking the difficult step.”

“What does it mean to be a good classmate? This is how it has turned out, but I’m sure there will come a day when we can work together.”

* * *

While Tatsuya was using his school connections to contact Gloria, Zhao Keji was using more primitive methods.

“Since the Gate era, the Italian Mafia, unlike your Triads, is no longer a criminal organization.”

“Wasn’t it originally a corporate organization?”

“Of course, the family ties are still there, but there is no longer any absolute loyalty to the godfather. In other words, has he completely transformed into a businessman?”

“Does that person do business with the Triad?”

“Money is not a criminal. It has never actually done anything illegal.”

Luciano Gilardino, a member of the Venetian Mafia, said with a smirk.

Zhao Keji clicked his tongue inwardly.

At first glance, Luciano’s words were not wrong. The Mafia these days is far removed from the protection racket, extortion, threats, and violence of the past.

It was a world where it was not uncommon for a criminal organization to be completely wiped out by misusing power and provoking a hunter, but there was no showmanship more certain than eliminating criminals to calm the anxiety and discontent of the people caused by monsters, so the mafia organization had to be cautious.

‘That doesn’t mean you can easily get rid of old habits.’

After becoming an entrepreneur, the mafia found a new business: the gate business.

I dabbled in anything that could make money, including gate resources, monster byproducts, and equipment crafting.

The problem here was taxes. Everything that came out of the gate was heavily taxed. Guilds and hunters were taxed less, but corporations were not allowed to turn the threat of monsters into wealth.

So the mafia turned to smuggling to avoid taxes.

Smuggling was also illegal, but it was not a big problem because the law was cleverly used to divert the resources from the distribution process of gate resources, which was after the resource declaration.

In other words, the logic was that if resource extraction did not occur, it was not illegal.

‘I guess he can afford this place because he sold it to the Triad at a high price. He must be tempted since he arranged a big deal.’

Zhao Keji said with a sneer.

“Since ancient times, if you are an entrepreneur, you need to have a few connections with the government and the guilds to make your business go smoothly. I understand that the Venetian Mafia has a pretty good relationship with the Gloria Guild. No, they are half family. In fact, there are some who are related to the guild leaders.”

“To be honest, the Venetian Mafia is a newcomer without a pedigree. As Sorrento collapsed and Sicily became a den of monsters, the mafia that flowed in from here and there formed a new organization. It’s true that they’ve been working hard to expand their families, since they were originally looked down on if they didn’t have a pedigree. However, Gloria is not a place where we can do anything. Especially as long as the Archduke is here, we can’t exert any influence. We’re just grateful that they gave us the opportunity to share blood.”

Zhao Kezhi also knew that Luciano’s words were true.

The Venetian Mafia was able to establish itself in Nouava Venezia because the Grand Duke left it alone. Without the Grand Duke’s mercy, the Venetian Mafia would not have existed.

So the Venetian Mafia constantly flirted with the leaders of the Gloria Guild and the skilled hunters.

Not for profit, but for survival.

If you become family with them, wouldn’t you be able to at least save your life in case of an emergency?

Even if he incurred the wrath of the Grand Duke, he would not be able to harm the families of the guild members.

But Zhao Keji saw right through this attitude that they were just joking.

“As far as I know, Gilma and the Grand Duke have different views.”

“Thoughts may differ, but Gilma is always on the Archduke’s side. Please follow his decisions.”

“I’m not saying that we should disobey the Archduke’s decision. I just hope that he will change his mind.”

“The way you say it, does that mean there is some way?”

“Please arrange a meeting with Gilma. Even if it is informal, it is fine. It would be better for Gilma, since it would be a burden. There I will make an offer that he cannot refuse.”

* * *

The next day, Kang Mu-hyeok went out of the resort with only Thomas.

“What? Why are only the two of you going?”

When Mr. Joe asked a question, Kang Moo-hyuk smiled and said.

“I don’t know when Johanna will finish her work, so I can’t just wait around. Since you’re in Italy, why don’t you take a look around? Oh? Don’t forget to bring a gift when you come.”

Mr. Joe had a blank expression on his face, but when Kang Mu-hyeok and Thomas disappeared, he raised both hands.

“Yay! Vacation!”

As she excitedly grabbed her guidebook and sunglasses, Hyun Jeong-geon, who was preparing to leave, snorted and dragged her away.

“What is that? That creepy laugh?”

“Do you think what Chief Kang said was surprising?”

“I told you to go and look around. I told you to go shopping too. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know how you’re the best spy in Korea. You’re so stupid.”

“I’m in a good mood right now. If you want to fight, let’s put it off until later. I don’t know when I’ll be back to work, and I don’t have enough time to go sightseeing here.”

“Is that tourism really tourism?”

“What are you talking about? Tourism is tourism.”

“Think carefully about what Manager Kang said earlier. When did he tell you to play? He was just telling you to work. He was telling you to ask for information on your own. This is Manager Kang testing our capabilities.”

Mr. Joe muttered with a serious face.

“Then, what is a gift… … .”

“Of course I’m talking about information.”

“Ugh!”

“Oh my, I was just going to leave it alone, but I got so annoyed that I had to get involved. Hey, what do you think Chief Kang meant by having the two of us work together?”

“Wh, what does that mean?”

“You’re going to make me compete with you. I’m saying this because I feel guilty about winning for free, but honestly, it’s unfair that we’re on the same level. I wonder why Director Kang thinks so highly of such a fool.”

“Unfair? Hey, even if your mouth is crooked, you have to speak straight. Why am I on the same level as you? There’s a fundamental difference in skill between me, who killed people, and me, who handled information.”

“If you are confident, prove it.”

“Okay. Ask me something that will make me really shocked. I’ll flatten your nose.”

Mr. Joe threw the travel guidebook on the floor with a grumble. He then went up to his room and came back down wearing casual clothes that looked like they were from a resort.

“It’s a showdown!”

“Don’t push yourself too hard and end up getting stepped on.”

“Huh! Just wait and see! I’ll give you results that you can’t even match!”

And then he left the resort in a huff.

Hyun Jeong-geon picked up the guidebook that Mr. Cho had thrown, put it under his arm, took out his sunglasses, and put them on.

“You whipped the worker, so he’ll bring you anything, right? A simple yet capable spy. Chief Kang is also good at picking up strange guys.”

One of those strange guys also left the resort.

“Well, shall we enjoy my first vacation as a hunter?”

* * *

Thomas sat in the passenger seat of the rented car and asked Kang Mu-hyeok.

“Can I really walk around leisurely like this?”

“yes.”

“Are you following me?”

Thomas said, reaching out to the warm Mediterranean breeze, a bit of a contrast to the chill of the end of winter.

On the surface, it was a leisurely tour. The rental car was an open car, so if someone who didn’t know saw it, they would just look like tourists.

Kang Mu-hyeok drove along the coastal road that stretched straight along the tourist area. A sandy beach could be seen beyond the road, and quite a few people were strolling around enjoying a stroll.

Kang Moo-hyuk glanced at the car following him from a distance through the rearview mirror and said.

“I did that on purpose so you could see it.”

“Did you also tell Hunter Hyun Jung-geon and Mr. Joe to rest?”

“You must have been followed as well. You can’t avoid Gloria’s gaze in Venice, so it would be easier to hide our intentions by just pretending to enjoy sightseeing.”

Even though he knew Kang Mu-hyeok’s intentions, Hyun Jeong-geon provoked Mr. Cho into doing the work.

Of course, given Mr. Joe’s skills, it wouldn’t be difficult to shake off the tailing.

Kang Moo-hyuk didn’t know this, but even if he had known, he wouldn’t have cared much. Rather, he was the kind of person who would use Mr. Joe’s different movements to attract attention.

Hyun Jeong-geon also knew his tendencies, so he only played a small prank in the plan.

“Then what we have to do is… … .”

“As I said yesterday, of course it’s sightseeing. Well, it’ll be a bit of an unusual tour, though.”