Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Paris, France was the home to some of the best gourmet restaurants in the world.
And this restaurant, Frances, was the highest rated restaurant in France when it came to French cuisine.
It was a unique place even for French people, whose pride in their cooking was indescribable, and it was always filled to the extent that you had to make a reservation two years in advance.
But it was completely quiet today.
In this restaurant with over 100 seats, only one table had people sitting at it.
The atmosphere around this table was not one that would remind you of a nice meal.
It was cold, as if someone had thrown a cup of cold water onto a fire that had only just been lit.
In this atmosphere, a French man with blond hair and blue eyes, spoke while fixing his glasses.
“C-, could you say that again?”
Then the Asian man in front of him smiled and said.
“Master Isaac Ivanov is not interested in the Death Knight skill. So he will refuse your request.”
In such an atmosphere, a Russian man with a fork was doing his best to not take a bite of the appetizer that had just been placed on the table.
“May I ask why…”
The French man, who had adjusted his glasses once again, couldn’t help but ask, and it was the Asian man, Kim Woo-jin, who answered.
“First of all, the Death Knight skill is a unique skill that he can obtain with his own ability.”
“However, even if he has the ability to get it for himself, it’s possible…”
“Second.”
Kim Woo-jin ignored the rebuttal of the glasses wearing man as he continued.
“Master Isaac is interested in something else.”
At that moment, the Frenchman’s expression changed as he seemed to realise something.
“So you want something else.”
This meant that the negotiations hadn’t broken down, just that the other party was interested in something else.
In the new, relaxed atmosphere, Lee Jin-ah, who was wearing his mask, began to move his fork which had been frozen.
“Yes, if he gets what he wants, he’ll be willing to take the request.”
Following Kim Woo-jin’s words, the atmosphere got progressively warmer.
“And what is it that he wants?”
When asked this question, Kim Woo-jin gave a smile that was brighter than ever.
“The Dragon Slayer’s Balmung(1). That’s what the Master wants.”
…
In a motel outside of Paris, France.
Everything was so cheap and weak in this place that it was clear this was a place for those tourists who wanted to experience the romance of France, but could only barely afford the plane ticket.
Creak!
The rusted beds creaked just by having someone walk past them, and the bedsheets, which were stained with oil, gave an unidentifiable odor.
No matter how you looked at it, it was almost impossible to imagine that the VVIP’s of the Saviour Guild, who could even talk to the country’s leaders would be staying in such a place.
“Dammit!”
And that’s exactly why Kim Woo-jin and Lee Jin-ah picked this place as their accomodation.
“Ah, dammit!”
It was also the reason why Lee Jin-ah was spouting curses nonstop.
“I can’t believe I couldn’t even eat a bite! I couldn’t even eat appetizers at the best restaurant in France!”
In the face of Lee Jin-ah’s anger, Kim Woo-jin simply took a bit of his McDonalds hamburger without responding.
Seeing this, Lee Jin-ah couldn’t stop himself from shouting again.
“I came all the way to Paris, France just to eat McDonald’s…. What kind of trip to France is this? Shouldn’t we be eating foie gras and caviar, or at least baguettes with cheese?”
After venting his anger, Lee Jin-ah picked up the Big Mac that had been waiting in front of him.
The crushed wrappings of another eleven Big Macs surrounded his body.
“Ah, I’m so hungry.”
Nevertheless, Lee Jin-ah still complained about hunger while chewing the bite of Big Mac that he had just taken.
Gulp!
As soon as he swallowed it down, Lee Jin-ah’s expression became serious as he asked.
“What the hell is your goal?
Kim Woo-jin responded calmly.
“Balmung.”
It was the same answer he’d given to the French officials, and Lee Jin-ah frowned when he heard it.
“Are you serious? Didn’t you say that that was the Dragon Slayer’s strongest weapon?”
Balmung!
It was the legendary sword of Siegfried and now it was rumored to be in the Dragon Slayer’s hand.
“Didn’t Se-chan say that it was within the top ten of all the legendary swords in the world?”
In addition, it was one of the best legendary items in the world and it was within the top ten among legendary swords.
Kim Woo-jin also knew this fact well.
‘To be precise, it’s within the top three. Excalibur and Mistilteinn(2) are the only ones that are better for attacking dungeons than Balmung.’
No, he knew it better than anyone.
‘When it comes to simple utility, there is none better.’
Kim Woo-jin was the only one who had faced the Balmung twice before he returned to the past.
“Would the Dragon Slayer really give up something like that?”
In any case, it was highly unlikely that the Dragon Slayer would give up such a valuable item just to request for them to clear a 7 Floor dungeon.
“Isn’t he just doing this for the French government?”
More importantly, the Dragon Slayer was only acting as a bridge to connect the French government to Isaac Ivanov.
There was no reason for the Dragon Slayer to give up his most prized weapon.
“Then why did the Dragon Slayer become the bridge?”
But that was also why Kim Woo-jin was acting in this way.
“Huh?
“Why would the French government want to create a bridge through the Dragon Slayer?”
“That…”
After contemplating for a moment, Lee Jin-ah quickly came up with an answer.
“Does he have something to lose?”
In truth, the answer he gave was a joke.
“That’s right.”
But it turned out that his joke had touched the heart of the matter.
There was something on the line.
“The Dragon Slayer has something to lose.”
“What?”
In addition, it wasn’t the French government, but the Dragon slayer.
“From the French government’s perspective, there was nothing wrong with them asking someone to clear a dungeon. And if they were to ask the Saviour Guild, who had already cleared a 7 Floor dungeon before, there would be no protestors.”
This was common sense. It wasn’t a big fault to request help to clear a dungeon.
“If there were to be protests, they would be directed at the other players, telling them to watch on and learn. Just like the protests that took place in front of the Phoenix Guild in the past.”
In fact, the French citizens would openly applaud the French government for inviting the Saviour Guild to attack the 7 Floor dungeon.
France was currently in a situation where there was a major threat to their security because the players had selfishly decided to go on strike for their rights.
That meant the other side had no problems.
Therefore, it became obvious that the Dragon Slayer was the actual one who had made the request.
And it wasn’t difficult to guess the reason.
“The French government would have asked the Dragon Slayer to attack the 7 Floor dungeon. In the first place, the French government has provided a lot of support and convenience to the Dragon Slayer. In addition, there is a high chance that the Dragon Slayer is so deep in debt to the French Government that he has no choice but to accept the request.”
Faced with the huge social turmoil that resulted from the players and guilds’ announcements that they would strike, the French government would have definitely planned a 7 Floor attack in order to stabilise the situation, and they would definitely give this request to the Dragon Slayer.
“But it is too much for the Dragon Slayer, or there might be other unknown circumstances.”
The problem was that even if it was the Dragon Slayer, he wouldn’t be able to simply attack a 7 Floor dungeon as he pleased.
“And it’s an A- rank, which makes it even more troublesome.”
Moreover, the dungeon that had appeared in Bordeaux was an A- rank dungeon.
“It’s possible that someone already failed to clear it.”
There were also the worst case scenarios like a group already failing to clear the 7 Floor dungeon or a monster coming out of it.
In such a situation, the Dragon Slayer devised a trick.
“Since he can’t do it, he’d invite others to do it.”
He decided to commission Isaac Ivanov.
“They thought the Death Knight skill would work well.
They even had bait so there was no need to hesitate.
“It was fine even if that didn’t work.”
Even if the bait didn’t work, the Dragon Slayer wasn’t worried. He believed that they could still negotiate afterwards.
“But not now.”
However, all of these plans had been destroyed after Kim Woo-jin directly asked for the Dragon Slayer’s Balmung.
The French government would once again turn to the Dragon Slayer.
And they will say that since Isaac Ivanov has made such a request, the Dragon Slayer should do something.
“The Dragon Slayer will have no choice but to give the French Government an answer. And at least now the French Government would have a justification to bite the Dragon Slayer. Especially now that the French government’s situation wasn’t good.”
Above all, the French government’s current situation was anything but good.
“Because the atmosphere of revolution is floating around. And this country is France, not anywhere else.”
If things continued the way they were progressing, they might face an unprecedented collapse of the regime.
So the French government would desperately cling to the Dragon Slayer.
“In the end, he will contact me directly.”
Therefore the Dragon Slayer would move to negotiate for himself.
Woowoong!
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin’s cellphone began vibrating.
(Note:
1. In Norse mythology, Gram (Old Norse Gramr, meaning “Wrath”) is the sword that Sigurd used to kill the dragon Fafnir. It is primarily used by the Volsungs in the Volsunga Saga. However, it is also seen in other legends, such as the Thidrekssaga wielded by Hildebrand.
Depending on the story and source material, Gram may have other names. In The Nibelungenlied it is named Balmung. In Richard Wagner’s work, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), it is referred to as Nothung.
2. Mistilteinn, also known as Misteltein or Mystletainn, is Hrómundr Gripsson’s sword in Hrómundar saga Gripssonar, a legendary saga from Iceland. Mistilteinn first belonged to Tráinn, who had been king in Valland before he retired in his burial mound with his wealth.)
(TL: This is the end of this chapter. Just a few more to go before we’re finished completely)
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