NOVEL WEB 34. SPES Meeting (2)
What are you up to these days?
Slacker
Breathing
“……Is that the best answer you can give?”
Momentarily dumbfounded, Hyun Siwoo felt a surge of competitiveness and typed another message.
Tap tap tap.
-Hey, did you go to Kill Scre
Hyun Siwoo’s fingers stopped abruptly as he was typing.
“Ah, no. On second thought, I shouldn’t write something like this.”
[Why not?]
“How would I explain knowing that Hyun Habin went to Kill Screen? I’d be at a loss for words. It might look like I’ve been monitoring her. That could be troublesome.”
Hmm.
Hyun Siwoo fell into contemplation.
“Should I just ask casually, saying I heard it through the grapevine while working? But I doubt she’d answer straightforwardly.”
As he was about to delete the message he’d started typing,
Ding, ding.
A message came from Hyun Habin.
Slacker
By the way
When are you coming to get your clothes?
“Clothes?”
‘What clothes is she talking about?’
As Habin had guessed, Hyun Siwoo had long forgotten about any clothes.
Hyun Siwoo scrolled up through their chat history. There was a message Habin had sent during the class reunion.
Slacker
Can I borrow some of your clothes? Thx
?
Slacker
You left some clothes at home
(Photo)
Aren’t these yours?
“Ah, right, I forgot to pick up the clothes! It slipped my mind!”
[What? You forgot something? You’ve always been so meticulous about handling things.]
“It’s nothing major. When I stopped by home last time, I left without packing a few clothes. That’s what she’s talking about.”
Hyun Siwoo enlarged the photo Habin had sent and examined it. They were all items he had temporarily brought home.
“To be honest, I don’t really need them. There’s no pressing reason to go get them now.”
Hyun Siwoo regularly changed his clothes anyway. He often received clothes from crafting hunters who wanted him to wear them for promotion, and many fans sent clothes as gifts.
With constant requests for modeling and sponsorships, his closet was on the verge of bursting with clothes. These days, he had someone send any clothes that weren’t gifts to donation centers.
“So I don’t particularly need the clothes I left at home.”
It was a situation that would exasperate Hyun Habin if she knew. Anyway, Hyun Siwoo, the legendary fashion-rich ranker, sent a casual reply.
Just keep them at home
I’ll wear them when I come home
Of course, he had no idea when he’d be going home.
“Sorry, little sister, the life of a World Rank 1 is busy. No time to drop by home.”
Hyun Siwoo, who once hadn’t visited home for five years, muttered nonchalantly. He flopped down on the couch in his office.
“Come to think of it, talking about clothes reminds me, I should wear the ‘Ajuel’ brand for my next interview.”
[Ah, the brand you invested in?]
“Yes. It started to rise significantly around this time before the regression. Back then, Hyun Habin loved Ajuel so much that she invested in and nurtured it herself. If that future is to continue, I need to invest and promote it in her stead.”
The survival strategy of a regressor is to intervene and adjust the future to their advantage.
Hyun Siwoo rummaged through his inventory. While most clothes were stored in his closet, he occasionally kept some in his inventory.
“Of course, I like Ajuel too. Our siblings’ tastes are quite similar.”
After checking an Ajuel outfit from his inventory, Hyun Siwoo put it back.
[Will you continue investing in the future?]
“Of course. It would be foolish not to invest after regressing, wouldn’t it? To be honest, 70% of my current wealth came from investments.”
The regressor buff is seriously advantageous!
While he had earned a lot from his hunter work, Hyun Siwoo, knowing the future, had also raked in money through investments. The hundred billion he gave to Hyun Habin was barely noticeable in his account balance.
“I hate to admit it, but when I taste the benefits of the regression buff, I almost feel grateful to Hyun Habin.”
For some reason, Habin had handed over the only regression item to Hyun Siwoo.
“Every investment is a huge success, and I want to brag about it, but I’ve invested anonymously in everything, so there’s no one to brag to.”
If he were to brag to Hyun Habin, she’d probably punch him, asking if he’d been living well on his own, wouldn’t she?
Momentarily lost in reminiscence, Hyun Siwoo shook his head.
“……Anyway, let’s finish preparing for the meeting before thinking more about interrogating Hyun Habin. I need to wrap up this SPES meeting I’ve arranged properly.”
Hyun Siwoo groaned as he rose from the sofa. The lights of the skyscrapers outside the window blinked gently.
◆◇◆◇◆
Three days later.
At the Chae siblings’ home in Solaris.
Habin and Jiseok were bickering about the ‘Ajuel couple look’ that Fides had worn in the TV interview. At that moment:
“……So, a SPES meeting has been scheduled?”
Chae Jiseok, having finished his argument with Habin, asked Jise. Jise, who had been enjoying her vanilla caramel ice cream, looked up.
“Yeah. We must attend this time. Fides himself arranged it.”
“……That masked magician again?”
Habin interjected. Jise nodded.
“That’s right. It’s very rare for Fides to arrange a meeting so urgently, so I’m curious too. And do you know what the meeting topic is?”
“What is it?”
“Conquering the 50th floor.”
Chae Jiseok furrowed his brow.
“……Why the 50th floor? Aren’t we only up to the 26th floor so far? Did I hear that wrong?”
“No, you heard correctly. The topic of this meeting is how to conquer the 50th floor. According to Fides, there’s a way to skip all the other floors.”
“……!”
Chae Jiseok wore an expression of disbelief.
Skipping to the 50th floor?
Until now, Kill Screen had operated on a system where conquering one floor unlocked the next. Theoretically, to reach the 50th floor, one would have to clear floors 27 through 49 in order.
But to be able to go directly to the 50th floor, skipping all that process.
“Is that…… possible?”
“…….”
As it happened, someone capable of that was right here.
Hyun Habin, who could freely access even beyond that floor.
Overhearing the conversation, she subtly averted her gaze. The tactless Ahezar excitedly chimed in.
[Actually, Hyun Habin……! Fifty……!]
‘Kim Jaljal, shut it.’
[…….]
Ahezar’s attempt to proudly declare ‘She can go up to the 54th floor!’ was cut short. Chae Jiseok turned to Habin with a suspicious look.
“Fi…fty……?”
[The constellation ‘Nearest Light’ eyes shine with interest!]
‘Even the constellations don’t know about this.’
Come to think of it, when she first discovered the interdimensional space in Kill Screen, even Ahezar had been surprised, saying he’d never seen it before.
Habin quickly shook her head.
“I-it’s nothing, Chae-ssi. Continue what you were saying.”
Habin waved her hand dismissively and turned her attention back to the TV. Chae Jiseok asked:
“Is it really nothing? It seemed like you were about to say something about the fiftieth floor…….”
“Ah, what Kim Jaljal said wasn’t ‘fifty,’ but that I don’t have many ‘clothes.’ Right, Jaljal?”
[Th-that’s right! Hyun Habin doesn’t have many clothes.]
“…….”
‘Didn’t she just clear out a luxury section yesterday?!’
Suspicious, very suspicious.
As Chae Jiseok fixed her with a persistent gaze, Habin turned to Jise and exclaimed with an exaggeratedly forlorn expression:
“Oh no, come to think of it, unni! Shouldn’t I not be hearing this conversation? A SPES meeting sounds like confidential information that shouldn’t be easily disclosed to civilians!”
Hearing Habin’s opinion, Jise belatedly nodded.
“You’re right, I didn’t think of that. What should we do? Can you keep it a secret?”
“Of course! Don’t worry!”
Habin replied immediately. To an outsider, she would have looked extremely diligent and kind-hearted. Making an okay sign with her hand as if to say ‘leave it to me,’ Habin added:
“Well then, since it seems I shouldn’t hear any more of this conversation, I’ll go to the other room!”
“Hey, Hyun Habin!”
“You two talk comfortably!”
Ignoring Chae Jiseok’s words, Hyun Habin slipped into the room.
Chae Jiseok sighed and said to Jise:
“Nuna, is it okay to let her go like that? I’m sure she’s hiding something.”
[The constellation ‘Nearest Light’ laments missing information it was very curious about!]
Chae Jise shrugged. She stirred the remaining ice cream with her spoon.
“Even if she knows something we don’t, there’s nothing we can do about it right now. And knowing Hyun Habin, she probably won’t go around spreading what she just heard.”
“That’s true. She hates troublesome things the most, so she’s unlikely to go around saying ‘I know confidential information!'”
Jiseok nodded. Jise opened her mouth to get to the main point.
“Anyway, if it’s a SPES meeting hosted by Fides, it’s pretty obvious what will be discussed.”
“That’s true.”
“So, between you and me, who wants to go? To conquer the 50th floor, I mean.”
◆◇◆◇◆
Habin entered a room along the corridor next to the living room. She sat on the floor and crossed her arms.
‘……So the masked magician has found a way to the 50th floor?’
A method to skip other floors.
As far as Habin knew, the only person capable of that was herself, and only when using the interdimensional entry skill. She couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.
“Surely it has nothing to do with me? If he’s using a different method, he must be quite capable.”
[Fides, was it? I’ve heard he’s contracted to the constellation Neaiba. If so, he’s certainly no ordinary person.]
“Hmm. Then unmasking him might be a bit troublesome.”
Muttering indifferently, Habin looked around.
“By the way, where am I?”
She had hurriedly entered any room to escape.
Habin’s gaze fell upon neatly arranged furniture.
On the old desk by the window, numerous workbooks and mock exam papers were stacked meticulously.
The bookshelf was also filled with workbooks. All showed signs of diligent use, worn and stained.
Even without words, the scene spoke volumes about the room owner’s struggles and efforts.
Habin frowned as she saw the abundance of circles marking high scores on the mock exam papers.
Such high scores.
‘……Is this Jise-unni’s room?’
That assumption was shattered when she saw the certificates on the wall.
-Middle School Mock Trial Competition, Excellence Award.
-Youth Mock Trial Competition, Criminal Division, Grand Prize
-International Youth Mock Trial Competition, High School Division, Silver Prize.
“…….”
These were competitions Habin was familiar with. After staring at the certificates for a while, she turned her head. In the corner of the room, law textbooks like ‘General Principles of Criminal Law’ and ‘Constitutional Law’ were prominently displayed.
It seemed the room’s owner had aspirations in the legal field.
‘But Jise-unni wasn’t interested in the legal profession, was she?’
Habin had been a fan of Chae Jise since childhood. If that were the case, she would surely have known.
Then…….
‘No way, is this……’
Chae-ssi’s room?
Just as Habin raised her head,
Bang-
“Hyun Habin! Our conversation is over. You can come out now!”
Chae Jiseok opened the door. He asked in a light tone:
“What were you doing in my room? Were you looking around?”
“Is this really Chae-ssi’s room?”
Habin wore an expression of surprise. She asked, genuinely curious:
“Chae-ssi, were you aiming for law school?”
“……Ah, you saw?”
Chae Jiseok scratched his head. After a brief silence, he spoke in a calm voice:
“I originally dreamed of becoming a prosecutor.”
“A prosecutor?”
[A prosecutor?]
Ahezar chimed in excitedly.
[You dreamed of being a prosecutor! How admirable. Shall I pass down some sword techniques to you?]
‘Not that kind of prosecutor, Kim Jaljal! In our world, it’s someone who indicts criminals and brings them to trial!’
While Habin and Ahezar were chattering, Chae Jiseok gathered the scattered mock exam papers with a wistful expression.
“I worked hard for it once…….”
Habin looked at the certificates hanging on the wall. A career path built up steadily since middle school.
Jiseok sighed.
“But right after I took the college entrance exam, just before I was about to start university, the Gate Crisis happened.”
“Oh……. That’s unfortunate.”
“I got accepted to university but couldn’t register. With monsters running rampant and the world on the brink of collapse, being a prosecutor seemed pointless.”
Chae Jiseok laughed bitterly and continued:
“Back then, beating up monsters was more urgent than catching human criminals, right? So I just became a hunter. Well, it’s not much different now.”
“Hmm…….”
Just as Habin was about to say something in response to this sad story,
“What are you two talking about in here?”
Curious after waiting, Jise entered the room. She burst into laughter seeing Chae Jiseok holding mock exam papers and Habin looking at the mock trial certificates.
“Haha, so Hyun Habin has discovered it too. Chae Jiseok’s glorious past!”
“Ah, nuna. You’ve come to tease me again, haven’t you?”
Jiseok shook his head. Jise grinned and gestured dramatically towards Jiseok.
“Behold, Chae Jiseok, who once dreamed of being a righteous prosecutor! Sadly, he’s now the greatest thief of this era!”
Chae Jiseok’s job title was ‘Thief of the Sun’!
Remembering this, Chae Jise wore a mischievous expression as she slipped in between them.
“……Hey Jiseok, why don’t you do that thing, you know?”
“What?”
“Lord, please allow me to be a righteous thief today as well……!”
Jise recited a line from a certain animation with exaggerated flair.
Jiseok shouted with an exasperated expression:
“I’m not doing that!”