The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 191

"First, have a seat."

Cheon Yuhwa gestured with her eyes to the seat in front of her.

"Let's talk leisurely after that."

"Hmm, alright."

Lee Shin, noticing from her fierce gaze that Cheon Yuhwa had no intention of letting him go easily, shrugged lightly and sat down.

-My, my, the plan has gone awry from the very beginning.

'I know, right. I considered the possibility that Crowley might be waiting here, but I never thought she would be here.'

-Hmph…

Irehgue glared at Lee Shin, clearly displeased.

-But you, you look quite pleased.

'Well, it's a little different from what we expected, but this is fun in its own way, isn't it? Besides…'

Puhuhu-

Lee Shin, who had been watching Cheon Yuhwa for a moment, burst into a refreshing, yet somewhat foolish-looking laugh.

'Lately, I've only been hanging out with Raven, who follows me around saying she likes me, so meeting someone like her who openly shows her dislike for me is kind of nice.'

Lee Shin looked at Cheon Yuhwa.

Cheon Yuhwa was glaring at Lee Shin with eyes full of blatant suspicion, as if to say, 'What is this bastard planning to do now?'

-You are truly…

'What's wrong? There's a fine line between love and hate.'

-Sometimes I'm ashamed that I was born from your personality.

Lee Shin shamelessly retorted to the single, emotion-packed statement.

'Shut up. It's because you've never faced her eyes full of trust head-on. It's incredibly burdensome every time I face it. It feels like I'm salt being hit by water.'

-It sounds like I'm listening to an undead who hates holy power.

'Hmm, I don't think it's that different, really.'

While Lee Shin was enjoying the sense of liberation he felt for the first time in a while by conversing with Irehgue, Cheon Yuhwa looked at him strangely.

"You seem to be in an unusually good mood today."

"It's thanks to you being here."

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just something. Just know that I'm incredibly happy thanks to you waiting for me here."

"Tsk, you're usually out of your mind, but your condition is even more serious today."

Cheon Yuhwa clicked her tongue and quietly shut her mouth with a sullen face.

Seeing Lee Shin's attitude, she felt that no matter what she said or how she asked, he wouldn't answer her questions.

"By the way, you came later than I thought. I thought you might come on the same day you said you were going on vacation."

"I was moving around a bit busily too. Anyway, it seems you guessed from the beginning that I would come here."

"Well, something like that."

At Cheon Yuhwa's nonchalant words, Lee Shin tilted his head slightly.

"How did you know? I don't remember leaving any clues."

Pfft-

At Lee Shin's words, Cheon Yuhwa laughed lightly.

◎ ◎ ◎

When she heard from Crowley that Lee Shin had disappeared, Cheon Yuhwa felt an instinctive sense of foreboding, but she tried to reassure herself that it would be okay.

If he used the choker's ability to teleport, she could easily track Lee Shin's location.

Of course, Lee Shin would know that too, so he probably wouldn't try to use the choker, but if he didn't teleport, there would be a limit to a person's range of movement, making it easy to track him.

On top of that, Lee Shin had a constitution that attracted incidents and accidents just by existing, so Cheon Yuhwa thought she could find him easily.

However, at Crowley's following words, Cheon Yuhwa had no choice but to admit that her thoughts were too naive.

"I don't know what trick that guy used, but after the call ended, the location information that the choker was automatically transmitting stopped. Thanks to that, I can't track his location."

"What did you say?"

The chokers on Lee Shin's and the Ten Kings' necks were artifacts that instantly teleported them to each other's locations and to marks in various parts of the world, and at the same time, they also served as signalers to inform their comrades when a threat arose.

'Did he break the choker or put it in his inventory?'

Neither was good news.

Either way, it only told her that Lee Shin had deliberately hidden himself.

"Hah, that troublemaker… what is he planning to do this time to go this far."

Lee Shin himself might have noticed, but the choker on his neck was a kind of leash.

A leash that transmitted his location in real time, but was so comfortable and useful that it boasted such excellent performance that he would refuse to take it off himself.

That's why Lee Shin had just worn the choker even though he had roughly guessed Cheon Yuhwa's thoughts.

But that same Lee Shin was now refusing to reveal his location.

And in Cheon Yuhwa's opinion, there was only one reason for Lee Shin to do this.

'I don't know what it is… but he's definitely preparing to cause a huge accident, incomparable to anything before.'

Cheon Yuhwa, whose thoughts had reached that point, let out a deep sigh.

And she blamed herself.

'I let him off too easily just because we had a little chat at the amusement park.'

Cheon Yuhwa quietly retraced her memories and began to predict how Lee Shin would move, and it didn't take long for her to find the answer.

It was a speed possible because it was Cheon Yuhwa, of all people, who was thinking about Lee Shin.

Because if you were to pick one person on Earth who knew Lee Shin the best, it would definitely be her.

'I knew he was planning to cause a big enough incident that he would have to hide his identity. Then what would he want to do to cause that incident?'

Personal military power?

If it were an incident that could be solved by just increasing his personal military power, he wouldn't have moved after taking off his choker.

Cash or magic stones?

Lee Shin had plenty of those, so if he wanted to use them, he could use them as much as he wanted, so it wasn't even worth considering.

If so, there was only one thing left.

'Equipment.'

Lee Shin's skill was outstanding, to the point where even they couldn't rashly ignore it, but in terms of items, Lee Shin's inferiority was clear.

Lee Shin knew that too, so if he was planning to cause a huge incident and wanted to run wild there, he would move to get good equipment and increase his skill.

If so, where could he get high-quality equipment in large quantities the fastest?

'Crowley's [Meister] Guild.'

Normally, one wouldn't even think of the crazy idea of raiding a comrade's warehouse to increase one's own power, and even if they did, they wouldn't put it into practice, but Lee Shin was an exception.

Because Lee Shin was a person who could calmly commit such a crazy act.

'I came here with that thought, but… since that guy isn't giving me any proper information, I don't need to kindly explain all this.'

Cheon Yuhwa, who had thought that, looked at Lee Shin and said nonchalantly.

"The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime, so I just came here."

"I don't think that saying applies here. I haven't committed any crime yet."

-If you say 'yet', doesn't that mean you're admitting you came with the intention of committing something?

At Irehgue's point, Lee Shin thought he had spoken too carelessly, but it was impossible for him to take back the words he had already said.

"As expected, you're planning some crazy thing again."

Dalgeurak-

Cheon Yuhwa put down the cup she was holding on the table, then glared at Lee Shin with fierce, flashing eyes.

"Confess right now what you're planning."

"Hmm, can I use my right to remain silent?"

"There's no way you have such a thing."

"Hmm…"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin looked at her and fell into thought.

'I was planning on telling her even if she didn't come out like this.'

Lee Shin wanted to make the board he had created this time as large as possible.

And to make the board bigger, the other ten, including Cheon Yuhwa, needed to be involved.

Normally, Lee Shin wouldn't have thought of setting the table and then sharing the food in front of him, but this time, he had no choice.

Because if he tried to eat this one alone, it was obvious that his stomach would burst and he would die.

-Then are you going to tell her?

'No, I don't think I can do that.'

-Hmm, why? Didn't you say you were going to tell her anyway?

'I was going to tell her, but I was planning on telling her after some preparation, not this quickly.'

The board had been created, but it had only just been created, so it was so fragile that it would break with a light impact.

'I don't know how she'll move, but no matter how she moves, it will put a strain on the board, so I can't let her move yet.'

-Then what are you going to do? It seems she won't let go until you give her the information.

'Hmm, I can't deny that.'

Lee Shin also agreed with Irehgue's words.

Because he had heard enough of Cheon Yuhwa's sincerity about bringing peace and eliminating threats when they had talked on the Ferris wheel.

'Anyway, we can't back down either. We haven't even achieved our purpose for coming here yet.'

The reason Lee Shin had come this far was to steal outstanding items or artifacts from Crowley.

As long as he hadn't achieved that purpose, Lee Shin couldn't go back even if he wanted to.

In the future board, strengthening his power was not an option but a necessity.

On top of that, considering Crowley's personality, if he found out that Lee Shin had been there, he would definitely install various security items, so it would be difficult to aim for the next opportunity.

-Then what are you going to do?

'What do you mean, what should I do? There was only one answer from the beginning.'

Grin-

'Of course, I have to choose the side where I can get both.'

Lee Shin faced Cheon Yuhwa and smiled widely.

"Let's do this."

"What other nonsense are you going to say now."

Lee Shin held up one finger towards Cheon Yuhwa and waved it lightly.

"For every piece of information I provide, you provide me with one piece of equipment. What do you think? Isn't it a pretty fair deal?"

"Fair? There's no unfair contract like this. Do you even know how expensive items are these days?"

At Lee Shin's words, Cheon Yuhwa frowned as if she were dumbfounded.

At that, Lee Shin snorted.

"Then don't accept it. But if you do, you'll definitely regret it."

"…Hey, let me ask you one thing."

Cheon Yuhwa stared at Lee Shin and asked in a serious tone.

"What is it?"

"You remember what I said on the Ferris wheel and what you answered, right?"

"Yes, I remember everything."

When Lee Shin asked what was wrong with that, Cheon Yuhwa said.

"Is what you're trying to do now an act that doesn't go against that promise?"

At that, Lee Shin thought for a moment and then said.

"Yes, on the contrary, I think it's a necessary thing."

He was sincere.

Although he couldn't say he had no personal greed, Lee Shin's thought was that this was also necessary to achieve the world peace he had told Cheon Yuhwa about before.

"Hah, is that so…"

At Lee Shin's answer, Cheon Yuhwa said in a voice mixed with a sigh.

"Well, alright. Then I'll be deceived just this once."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, huh? I'm saying I'll accept the deal you just mentioned."

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin was momentarily stunned, then chuckled.

"I see why you were deceived by me in the future."

"What, why?"

Lee Shin stared at Cheon Yuhwa and held out one hand with a sly smile.

"Because you're too nice, you get deceived."

"Tsk, you should speak properly. I'm normal, and you're the abnormal one. And I'm only trusting you this once. Next time, there's no mercy."

Cheon Yuhwa said, shaking Lee Shin's hand.

"I've accepted the deal, but it's on hold until Crowley comes. I'm not the owner of the goods."

"There's something called 'act first, report later' in this world, have you heard of it?"

"I'm not you, so there's no way I'd use such a method."

"I'm bored while waiting."

"If you're bored, play a card game or something."

"Card game? Poker? Or blackjack?"

At Lee Shin's words, Cheon Yuhwa blushed slightly and muttered.

"I only know how to play 'Find the Joker'."

(End of Chapter)