Chapter 985

[Under Surveillance]

Just before pressing the button, Hirano Seiji quickly moved his finger, leaving a trace of writing.

At first glance, it seemed like he hesitated, struggling to operate the elevator, but it was a precise movement.

"Have you eaten? The café might be a bit noisy, so I’m planning to guide you to the restaurant."

Hirano Seiji said, as if it was nothing, with a smile, signaling that the surveillance was now acknowledged.

It seemed like he wasn’t just going to do eavesdropping today, so it might be wise to stay alert.

Baek Ho-gun would find it more difficult to hide now, but since he was the top warrior of the Hojo family, he likely knew how to handle it.

As predicted, Hirano Seiji headed towards the restaurant in the annex.

This hotel was divided into two buildings, the main building and the annex, connected by a corridor.

The Japanese team was currently staying in the rooms in the main building.

‘The Japanese team rented the entire floor, and there's a conference room on that floor too. I wonder if they're still cautious, since they didn’t invite me there.’

If I had been invited there, I might have met the team members, and if lucky, that same young lady as well.

More importantly, it would have been a chance to meet those who manipulate information and post malicious comments about Ahn Da-in directly.

I was slightly disappointed that I wouldn’t get the chance to see the face of the person who had been posting hateful comments, though.

Even if I couldn’t see their face, I wanted to gather more information, like assessing the quality of their ability, but they still seemed to be cautious about me.

While thinking, the elevator in the annex stopped at the floor where the restaurant was located.

As the door opened, everything became suddenly quiet.

It might have been due to the elevator stopping, but there were not many people for the size of the building.

‘It’s a bit of an ambiguous time to have a meal, but the place is empty.’

In front of the restaurant entrance, there was only a waiter in a uniform, and no one else was in sight.

Even though it was a quiet time, hotel restaurants usually have guests or people visiting for a meeting, like when I came to meet Kozuka Yashiro, but it was strangely empty.

The discomfort I felt didn’t stop there.

In the waiting area and rest space in front of the restaurant, there was a trap set up.

‘This is a trap. Are they planning to attack a foreign student in such an open area?’

Behind the decorative pottery and lotus decorations, there was a device that would cause an explosion when it reacted to the air, using ability-based energy.

It looked a bit sloppy for a trap designed to target a player, but it didn’t feel like it was hastily set up; rather, it seemed like it was placed deliberately for an attack.

Anyone participating in the Korea-China-Japan Exchange would likely notice it right away.

No, perhaps Majin Seung might not have noticed until the explosion happened, but it wasn’t exactly hidden.

‘Hirano Seiji must have told me the destination during the move. Baek Ho-gun must have read my mind and reached the restaurant faster than the elevator. Still, they left this trap alone?’

Baek Ho-gun must have noticed the trap as well, but since he didn’t step in, it seemed like it wasn’t that dangerous.

It wasn’t entirely impossible that they left it because they were worried about being detected, but the mighty tiger probably wouldn’t step back just because of something like this.

I glanced between the trap and Hirano Seiji.

It seemed like Hirano Seiji noticed the trap at almost the same time as I did, forcing a sigh and stiffening his expression.

In Hirano Seiji’s hand was a shuriken that had materialized without me noticing.

Pfft!

The sharp ability energy carried by the shuriken sliced through the air in a precise line.

The shuriken moved skillfully, exactly cutting the ability energy-infused trap.

By the time Hirano Seiji moved his hand three times, all the traps were deactivated.

‘He cut only the ability energy and left the decorative items that were used to conceal the traps intact. He handles ability energy so precisely.’

At this level, the Japanese team must want to use Hirano Seiji.

If he’s this skilled, I’m curious about the level of her ability.

Of course, I’m certain she won’t reach the level of Ahn Da-in or Joo Soo-hyuk, though.

After deactivating all the traps, Hirano Seiji looked down the hallway and spoke.

"Come out, Arihara."

Crack!

As soon as Hirano Seiji said "Arihara," a lotus decoration carved from wood shattered.

It seemed like he was using an ability to handle things remotely, but considering the trap’s sloppiness, his skill was quite impressive.

Anyway, considering his ability, it seemed clear that the trap had been deliberately prepared carelessly.

It was a bit surprising that the famous surname "Arihara" was used, though.

‘If Hirano Seiji was calling Arihara Tomoaki, then it really must have been on purpose.’

The person didn’t seem to be hiding, as someone appeared from behind the broken lotus decoration down the hallway.

It was Arihara Tomoaki, whom I had only seen in photos.

Despite preparing traps and setting off one of them, Arihara Tomoaki didn’t seem happy at all.

Arihara Tomoaki complained in Japanese to Hirano Seiji.

"I was wondering where you ran off to, but you brought the fox’s scapegoat. He’s the unknown rising star I saw when analyzing power levels."

Was he referring to Kozuka Yashiro when he said "fox"? The surname "Ko" (狐) in Kozuka Yashiro’s name means "fox."

It was common to give teachers nicknames and refer to them in their absence, but there was an unusually hostile tone in Arihara Tomoaki’s words.

Hirano Seiji responded in Korean, possibly out of consideration for me, while Arihara Tomoaki responded in Japanese, not caring at all.

"It’s none of your business. What happened to your seniors? You were with them."

"They tried to tie me down, so I turned the tables and left them tied up. It was self-defense."

"Go back and untie them right away."

"Seiji, do you think I’ll do what you say?"

When I saw Hirano Seiji’s ability energy being disrupted earlier today, I wondered why. Now I realized it was because of this.

The two had fought just before leaving, and as the meeting time drew near, Hirano Seiji seemed to have left the scene, entrusting Arihara Tomoaki to his seniors.

According to what the Hojo family had investigated beforehand, it seemed they were constantly breaking things and fighting.

‘It feels more like Arihara Tomoaki is the one getting angry rather than them fighting. But still...’

Hirano Seiji seemed to be hiding his worries.

Even if one side had been unfairly treated, it would just end up being packaged as a fight, and both would get in trouble. Over time, the side with no ill intentions would feel wronged.

However, there was no sign of such feelings in Hirano Seiji’s eyes.

There was something else bothering me as well.

‘Just now, Hirano Seiji called him "Seiji" directly.’

Even if Arihara Tomoaki had experienced living abroad and became accustomed to cultures where it’s easy to call someone by their first name, I didn’t think he’d casually call someone he was hostile toward "Seiji."

Didn’t he usually just call Kozuka Yashiro "fox"?

Maybe there was more to their relationship than I thought.

It might be worth investigating their connection further.

They hadn’t had a long conversation, but I had gained some useful information.

"Arihara, stop it. We have guests."

Crack!

As soon as Hirano Seiji’s words finished, another lacquered piece of furniture turned to dust.

I wasn’t sure if these were hotel furnishings or decorations prepared by the Japanese team, but they likely weren’t cheap. I couldn’t tell if they were breaking them on purpose.

Considering Arihara’s parents’ income from royalties and patent licensing, they probably wouldn’t mind destroying an entire hotel floor.

The hotel staff seemed to be well aware of this, acting as if they hadn’t seen anything.

They likely wouldn’t interfere unless a regular guest got involved.

‘It’s like every time Hirano Seiji calls Arihara, he destroys something... maybe he doesn’t like being called by his last name.’

Hirano Seiji seemed used to ignoring Arihara Tomoaki’s tantrums and answered in Korean.

"I have to go inside. Feel free to break anything here if you want."

"It’s not over yet."

"You think what we just did was a conversation?"

Hirano Seiji sighed, as if he thought it would be hard to continue talking, and turned his head toward me.

After Arihara Tomoaki turned his face away, Hirano Seiji showed an exhausted expression.

"Sorry, for dragging you into this... uh... I’m not sure if the Korean team knows about this... "

Hirano Seiji spoke with difficulty.

He might not know, but the Japanese side had been spreading rumors about the conflict between Ahn Da-in and me, so asking for something like this was absurd.

However, the person I was talking to now seemed more like a victim than the aggressor, so I didn’t feel the need to interrogate him.

I pretended not to understand the conversation so far and replied nonchalantly.

Although I understood everything Arihara Tomoaki had said in Japanese, I made sure not to show it.

"I’m not here to meddle in other people’s team issues. Doing that would only create more enemies."

"Why are you here?"

I was trying to finish the situation in a pleasant way, but Arihara Tomoaki wouldn’t let me.

He suddenly spoke in Korean, as if he had the intention to talk to me.

Instead of answering, I pretended to be troubled, lowering my expression and swallowing my words.

Right now, I was pretending to rely on Kozuka Yashiro, so I couldn’t start spilling things to someone who seemed to be opposing her.

When I didn’t respond, Arihara Tomoaki frowned and said.

"Go back. That fox rented the whole restaurant. He’s going to say things that shouldn’t be heard. If you talk to the fox, you’ll end up like Seiji. Everyone’s minds will get messed up..."

"It’s noisy. What are you all doing here?"

A calm voice suddenly interrupted.

Just hearing it made me feel warm inside, but it also made me feel uncomfortable for some reason.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Unlike Gong Cheong-hwan’s gentle tone, this voice made me feel uneasy the more I listened.

"Arihara-kun. Is it you again?"

A woman with long hair tied up came out from inside the restaurant.

Before Arihara Tomoaki could argue, the person, who I guessed was Kozuka Yashiro, turned her head toward Hirano Seiji.

"I trust Hirano-kun, but if this keeps happening, it will be troublesome."

"Sorry."

"Hah, apologizing while I’m watching? Get a grip."

Even though Arihara Tomoaki was making a fuss, Hirano Seiji remained silent and lowered his head.

Frustrated, Arihara Tomoaki turned to Kozuka Yashiro and spoke.

"Who’s in charge here? I’ll keep breaking these decorations whenever I see them."

"You’re not listening. Hirano-kun, take Arihara-kun back to his room."

"...Understood."

Hirano Seiji gave a slight bow toward me.

He seemed to feel bad about leaving me behind, but it looked like he had no choice.

While the two were bickering, Kozuka Yashiro spoke to me.

"Shall we go inside and talk?"

Just as Arihara Tomoaki said, the restaurant behind Kozuka Yashiro was completely empty.

It seemed like I would face the fox one-on-one.