novelraw Chapter 74 : Chapter 74
Chapter 74 : Chapter 74
Chapter 74: Ryu Jin-seong (2)
Vroom.
"We will be arriving shortly, so please bear with it for a little longer, even if it is a bit tedious."
Time passed quickly, and Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.
While we were traveling in a luxury sedan sent by the Ryu family, the driver, who had been focusing silently on driving, broke the quiet silence and spoke softly.
At those words, Ryu Jin-oh and Oh Jin-eon did not particularly open their mouths, and Kim Su-hyeok answered with a bright smile, saying he understood.
And as for me…….
‘It really is obscenely huge.’
I was roughly listening to the driver’s words while admiring the view outside the window.
That was because he had already repeated those words several times.
Therefore, rather than taking those words seriously, I felt it was more helpful to enjoy the view outside.
‘What kind of house goes on forever like this?’
It must have been about thirty minutes ago when I heard that we had entered the Ryu family’s private property.
Although we were not driving fast, considering we were steadily maintaining a speed of thirty kilometers per hour, there was no denying that it was obscenely large.
To put it into perspective, X-verland, which I used to think was so large, felt like a mere grain of millet compared to this place.
‘I only read about it in text and heard about it in words. Seeing it in person like this, the scale really hits home.’
The Ryu family is a truly incredible family; I had known that fact since a long time ago.
It was a part that had been emphasized in the novel, and I had heard various things about it since coming to this world.
However, as expected, hearing it and seeing it for oneself are worlds apart.
The size of the private property, which seemed to have no end, was more than enough to feel the prestige of the Ryu family.
It was just as I was once again realizing what an incredible young master Ryu Jin-oh was.
"I can see it over there. That is where the Young Master and the guests will be staying."
Instead of the formal words he had been delivering until now, the voice of the driver relaying the actual facts reached my ears.
At those words, I immediately looked at the building reflecting before my eyes, rather than the distant scenery outside the window.
‘Oh…….’
The mansion boasted grandeur, even though it was surely not the main building used by the direct lineage of the Ryu family.
Its exterior was very clean and exuded a classic atmosphere, which was enough to capture the heart of anyone who saw it.
As a prime example, my eyes were already unable to even think about pulling away from that mansion.
"Then my role ends here. I hope you have a pleasant time."
While I was staring blankly at the mansion with such thoughts, I heard the driver's voice again.
With those words, the driver immediately stopped the car in front of the mansion, and accordingly, the first person to get out of the car was Kim Su-hyeok.
"Wow! Your house is really nice, Jin-oh!"
"Not really. It is just unnecessarily large and inconvenient."
Ordinary people would be desperate to live in a house that was so unnecessarily large and inconvenient.
However, Ryu Jin-oh seemed to sincerely think so, and Kim Su-hyeok and Oh Jin-eon also seemed to pay it no mind, as they were already aware of that fact.
I felt the same way as well.
"It must have been reported that we arrived, but I should contact my father first. Please make yourselves comfortable in the meantime."
We nodded at Ryu Jin-oh's words.
Since the purpose of our visit here was not for a casual trip but for club activities, meeting Ryu Jin-seong was an important matter.
Furthermore, even setting that aside, it was only natural to greet the master of the Ryu family, Ryu Jin-seong.
Therefore, everyone followed Ryu Jin-oh's words without any particular complaints and simply began to slowly look around the surroundings.
Of course, unlike Oh Jin-eon and me, who were somewhat nervous, Kim Su-hyeok spoke to me with an energetic vibe.
"Jin-oh is a bit different from his usual self, right?"
"Yeah. It seems so."
"Jin-oh is prickly, but he knows how to properly distinguish between public and private matters. It is probably because we came here at the invitation of Mr. Jin-seong."
Kim Su-hyeok stopped talking after saying just that much with a bright smile.
Well, it felt like it ended on an uncomfortable note since he did not mention the main point, but I could easily infer what Kim Su-hyeok wanted to say.
‘It must be pride in his family.’
Ryu Jin-oh had always been proud of the Ryu family to which he belonged.
Because of that, it meant he was showing proper courtesy to us, who were invited as guests of the family.
‘The reason Kim Su-hyeok stopped talking without going all the way is probably because if he mentioned such a fact, it might come across as too formal.’
He must have felt that we might be disappointed if we realized that such a kind attitude was due more to the invitation from the family than our relationship with him.
Of course, for me, who knows well what kind of person Ryu Jin-oh is, it did not really matter.
In any case, the problem with Kim Su-hyeok is that he is too considerate.
‘Well, that point is the reason why he shines the most and can be the protagonist.’
It was at that moment, while I was laughing inwardly at Kim Su-hyeok's kind but not particularly necessary consideration.
"Oh dear, it seems I am too late. I have left my son's friends standing outside."
A dignified voice echoed as if coming from a place that was not far, yet still a certain distance away.
However, it was impossible to just listen to it and brush it off.
In the current situation, it was impossible not to know who the owner of this voice was.
And even if it were not for that reason, ignoring this voice was close to impossible.
‘What is this pressure……!’
It is said that when one reaches the level of a top-tier Player, they can create an intimidation effect just by moving their mana slightly, and I wondered if this was it.
I had read about it many times in text, but since it was my first time experiencing it directly like this, I felt my body stiffening regardless of my will.
However, I could not just stand there stiffly without even turning my head.
I managed to force my frozen head to move somehow, and in my gaze, which I finally succeeded in moving, a man who felt like a mountain was positioned.
"Thank you all for visiting like this. I am Ryu Jin-seong."
A middle-aged man, who introduced himself as Ryu Jin-seong, spoke with a calm gaze.
That is right.
Finally, he was the master of the Ryu family and a being who held the glorious epithet of a Hero-Rank Player, the very top among Players.
It was the first meeting with the Emperor, Ryu Jin-seong.
***
"It is a regular meeting in name only. There is not a single day we properly gather."
The interior of a desolate building was not decorated with any plausible ornaments or furniture.
In that empty building, the complaining voice of a young girl echoed and vibrated.
However, was it because it was a room without common chairs?
The voice, which seemed like it would be buried before long, showed no sign of disappearing and lingered like an echo.
"If it is going to be like this, they should just get rid of the meeting altogether. Everyone just does whatever they want anyway."
And the owner of this voice full of annoyance and complaint was the S-class Villain, the Puppeteer, who had formed a certain contract with Choi Yu-seong.
After venting her complaints for a while, she began to mutter to herself while looking at the inside of the building with cold, chilled eyes.
"This is annoying. Should I just kill them all? I do not think it would be that interesting, but would it not be more interesting than right now?"
If someone had heard her, they would have wondered if they had misheard, as her words were nothing short of bloodthirsty.
After all, she was muttering about how killing everyone would be interesting while maintaining the appearance of a young girl.
However, as mentioned before, despite her appearance, she was ultimately an S-class Villain and was not incompetent enough to be unable to carry out the words she spoke.
But fortunately (and unfortunately for Choi Yu-seong), her agonizing thoughts were erased by a voice that followed soon after.
"Oh boy. Coming from you of all people, that is a bit scary."
"What are you talking about when you are the one who is late? Where are the others?"
"How would I know where those guys are? I am not really curious about such things."
The Puppeteer asked with an aura suggesting her anger had not yet subsided toward the man who had arrived later than the promised time.
However, to that bloodthirsty question, the man answered plainly, as if asking why he should even bother to know such things.
It was to the point where one might wonder if it was okay to answer the Puppeteer's question like that when she had been exuding thick killing intent until just a moment ago.
A volatile atmosphere, as if it would not be strange for a thin layer of ice to break at any moment, began to flow around the man and the Puppeteer, but…….
"Kyahaha! That is true. You were never someone who took an interest in others in the first place."
Not long after, contrary to the expectation that it would not be strange for an explosion to occur immediately, the Puppeteer showed her usual laughter toward the man.
And the man's reaction was not much different from the Puppeteer's.
"Yeah. And honestly, I am not that late, am I? So let's just let it slide."
Saying so, the man sat down with a thud on the empty floor and leaned against the wall.
It was absolutely not the kind of behavior one would show toward an opponent who had been exuding killing intent just a moment ago.
There were only two possible reasons for acting in such a manner.
He either trusted the person before him very much as a comrade, or if not that…….
‘Tsk. If his skills were just a bit lower, I would have turned him into a toy right away.’
It was a case where he was confident that he would not lose to the opponent before him in any way.
And the Puppeteer knew for certain that the man before her belonged to the latter case.
At first, since no one was visible, her annoyance flared up for a moment and she had spoken of killing everyone, but that was by no means an easy task.
Of course, if they were to fight in earnest, it was uncertain which side would win, but the Puppeteer did not particularly feel like doing that.
‘There is no need to risk a lot on something that does not even seem like it would be that interesting.’
Chasing the highest pleasure is always the reason she lives.
If she won, she could obtain a high-quality toy, but in the Puppeteer's opinion, it was a loss no matter how she thought about it if she were to fight just for that.
Therefore, she gathered the various emotions boiling inside her and slowly opened her mouth.
"Sigh. It seems the rest of the guys are not coming. What do you want to do? I do not mind leaving like this."
"Hmm. Well, that is true. It is not like this is a meeting held because of specific instructions anyway."
It was as the man said.
Although this meeting was one where those belonging to the same organization met, it was not a meeting held because specific instructions had been given.
They were an organization where no one even knew who the boss was, and they were people gathered not for loyalty, but for their own purposes.
This meeting itself was created with the feeling of exchanging useful information, and there were no elements of loyalty or coercion involved.
However, that was the story of the early days of the meeting.
Lately, never mind exchanging information, the meetings themselves had almost disappeared.
Therefore, the Puppeteer expected the man to turn back as well, and just as she was about to leave herself.
"Still, it has been a while since we met, so why don't we have a conversation? There might be some interesting information in it if we are lucky."
Contrary to the Puppeteer's expectation, the man spoke with a bright smile.
He showed a smile whose inner thoughts were difficult to predict.