Matan’s Shooter - Chapter 721

“Even if one must receive punishment, is it really that great of a sin?”

It was said that Kijung, the one who violated the sacred rules of the Conclave, was recorded as the first to receive punishment by the newly appointed Pope Romero, under the new Pope’s name, Urban II.

“Huh, in the name of the Lord, punishment is to be handed down to the exorcist priest, may you always stand on the front lines against the threat of the Demon Legion…”

In any case, it seemed that it wasn’t your typical old man. Urbano II’s ‘punishment’ to Kijung was a kind of advice and plea, a natural obligation for someone who is already a Holy Knight and Cardinal, and also something Kijung desired.

Kijung immediately activated the teleportation spell and moved to the Vatican. Many people known to Kijung were already gathered there.

“If you saw it, you should’ve been amazed. When Cardinal Romero, no, Pope Urban II stood in front, it was like, the game was over. Showing off his power, then… basically, priestly life is completely over.”

“As expected of Kijung! Acting manly as I approved!”

“It was quite risky, but… well, the result is good.”

“Be careful, Master Kay. If you lose your head, the citizens of Fibiel will also be in danger.”

Not only the members of the Byulcho were eagerly listening to Kijung’s endless stories, but also the members of the Hwahong Guild, including Ram Hwayeon, and even Shin Nara and the Sacred Knights were congratulating him under the name of Fibiel.

“Wow, he’s really something, right.”

“Oh, hyung!”

With Leeha’s appearance in such a festive atmosphere, the celebration became even more lively. While conveying gratitude to Kijung for his efforts, Leeha never neglected his duties.

“This is the plan for the resistance operation. There are still some shortcomings, but if the Pope approves it, we can execute it immediately.”

“Okay! I’ll go tell him right away.”

Kijung carefully took the documents, put them in his bag, and left. While Leeha was tracking Kaztor’s footsteps, there were many events happening in Fibiel as well.

On the day the Three Musketeers entered the Mage Corps’s research institute, what was already decided was the establishment of the Kaztor Search Team and the determination of the personnel to be dispatched to the New Continent!

It was a much larger-scale dispatch of personnel to the New Continent compared to sending a few Knights last time.

“This time, we won’t fall behind either! We’re planning to go all out, not just sending a few guild members to support Hwajung.”

“Phew, it’s both intimidating and reassuring that Hwahong is going all out, isn’t it?”

“What? We need to aim big! First, let’s push Hwajung into the top 5!”

Ran Hwayeon snapped her fingers with a bit more excitement than usual. Because she always showed a thorough and businesslike image that didn’t match her age, it seemed unusual to Leeha.

Leeha felt that Ran Hwayeon, who was always the same, felt different today. Leeha was also amazed at Ran Hwajung’s skill. After all, she was currently ranked 6th.

Just climbing one step would threaten Petyr’s ranking, which she expressed as “biting ya.”

“-Hey, what?!” Leeha let out a shriek in surprise.

“Unni, step back. Ice, Freeze.”

Caught off guard, as panic set in, while Ran Hwajung’s hand gathered the energy of ice, thanks to Leeha’s quick intervention, there was no indiscriminate bombing(?) in the Ezwen Papacy Square.

Leeha barely managed to calm down his racing heart and found himself gazing at the man who had somehow inserted himself into Ran Hwayeon and his conversation.

Although the atmosphere had changed slightly, Leeha remembered his face.

“Cheka-nim?”

“It’s been a while, Leeha.”

“Oh, it has been a while. You recognized me, didn’t you?”

Cheka didn’t greet Leeha as if it were their first meeting. Because on the day of the Ezwen Conclave secret meeting, Leeha, who had been hiding outside the window, had been noticed by Cheka early on.

Leeha thought that his quick movements were different from Kidd’s, a kind of body language that resembled Bluebeard’s, which seemed somewhat similar.

However, that wasn’t the important part.

“Ran Hwayeon, let me ask you again. Putting Ran Hwajung in the top 5, does it mean that you are threatening Petyr’s ranking?”

His words mechanically responded, and his ideology was derived from there.

Leeha felt that the man in front of him was dangerous.

Ran Hwayeon looked into Cheka’s eyes. She had returned to her usual expression without being suppressed by Cheka’s demeanor, and the sudden appearance of movement that was somewhat puzzling, like in a horror movie, had only caused Leeha to panic.

“In that case, if Hwajung rises to 5th place in the ranking, isn’t it natural for Petyr to drop to 6th place?”

Cheka blinked as he listened to Ran Hwayeon’s response.

The black, long coat that extended down to the floor was of a material that seemed impossible to guess. However, its weight, despite being a garment, was enough to catch Leeha’s attention as it did not flutter.

“Hwahong Guild, your power is excellent, but I know that you do not have the skills to establish a new foundation in the New Continent. Is the endless funding coming from behind you the driving force?”

“Huh?”

“I will not just watch that. I am a citizen of Minis.”

“What does that mean…?”

Ran Hwayeon furrowed her brow. Although it was the Ezwen Papacy Square, so neither of them exuded a combative atmosphere, they were certainly not friendly. If this had been outside the village, Cheka would have taken some kind of action immediately.

“Hey, Cheka?”

“Yes?”

“I heard something strange and thought I’d mention it.”

“What’s so strange about it?”

Feigning nothing more, Ram Hwayeon subtly shifted the conversation towards Leeha.

“Isn’t ranking competition natural in Minis? And what does your being a Minis national have to do with Petyr falling to 6th place? Are you perhaps considering Minis’ status? Are you going to protect Petyr’s ranking just because you’re both from Minis?”

“That’s not necessarily the case.”

“Well, if you think that way, things get more complicated, don’t they? It seems obvious to everyone that you might be weaker than Petyr. Does it make sense for the weak to protect the strong?”

Leeha’s Black Bass rested on his shoulder, in a rifle-ready position.

There was clearly no atmosphere of combat. However, Leeha was not simply going to sit idly by, noting that Cheka’s movements were abnormal and his words were unfathomable.

“Jellypong, move slowly… Bring Toon Claw Dagger in my bag as close to me as possible.”

[Boom-]

It was already a learned result that it was difficult to deal with such movements with a rifle. So, what then?

“I’ll stab him when he gets close—if even a single blow grazes him, he won’t be able to move.”

Jellypong’s tentacles discreetly and very slowly slipped into Leeha’s bag. Cheka didn’t notice it. He just had a significant expression on his face as if he had been shot.

“Is that so?”

“… Is that… what? What are you talking about?”

What on earth is he saying? Is that the response for this situation?

Leeha couldn’t help but make a face as if struck by a hammer. According to his calculations, Cheka seemed to have quite a mafia-like personality, willing to go to any lengths for the desired outcome!

In fact, judging by his attendance at the Ezwen Secret Meeting to protect the Minis king, he must have had a certain level of skill and status.

‘But, what’s this? Is this right? Is he human? He’s an NPC, isn’t he?”

As someone raced towards the two men staring at each other with strange expressions.

“Oh my goodness! Huh, our Cheka is here.”

“Rainbow Knight.”

“Lark-ssi?”

Lark briefly bowed to Leeha and linked arms with Cheka.

“Cheka? We have our own party to attend! Why are you bothering people from Fibiel? Let’s go.”

“I haven’t finished talking yet-”

“Come on! Alright, Leeha-ssi, Ram Hwayeon-ssi, you’ve worked hard! Please congratulate Master Kay and make sure to pass on my regards to Ram Hwajung-ssi. Oh, Leeha-ssi, let’s put that dagger away, there’s no need to do that on a good day, right? Okay? Goodbye!”

“-Wait- I need to talk-”

Lark rambled on incessantly and then dragged Cheka away. Although Leeha seemed like he had something to say, Cheka, who was looking at Ram Hwayeon, did not resist.

“What did Lark say while he was being dragged away?”

Leeha watched as Cheka, who had been about to protest, seemed to hesitate as Lark’s words muddled his thoughts.

Did Lark tell him to stop? But was Cheka the type to simply stop because someone told him to?

“That guy is something else. Seems to have done a thorough investigation on our guild~”

“He probably did investigate.”

“Huh? Who is he anyway? I’ve never seen that face in Outsiderlist before.”

“I’m not sure either. But he’s a player. Outsider~… or something like that. Anyway, he was a ‘helper’ sent by a man named Lark.”

Ram Hwayeon was feeling quite upset. It was understandable since a strange newcomer like that had ignored her guild and disrespected her younger sister.

“It’s frustrating, but we might have to take action to put him in his place before we could spread our wings on the New Continent.”

“Well, is there a way? What he said wasn’t entirely wrong. The New Continent is practically a battlefield. It would be difficult to grow administratively or commercially.”

Although Leeha had a fairly high level and had support troops from Hwahong supporting only Ram Hwajung, it wasn’t enough.

Ram Hwayeon was well aware of that fact as well. Even on the day they were having a chat with Shin Nara and ‘Dadam’, she keenly realized it.

“That’s the problem, I have something else to do, and it’s difficult for me to step up and help. Even the so-called ‘Kaztor Exploration Team’ from Fibiel is an entire combat force, so there’s no room for me to intervene. Isn’t there any administrative position available anywhere?”

“Oh, uh, what?”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

At that moment, a thought passed through Leeha’s mind. Job? Management position? What is Ram Hwayeon’s specialty? What has she been doing in Middle Earth until now?

“Kijung-ah! Kijung-ah!”

Leeha urgently called out for Kijung. From a distance, Kijung swiftly ran over from where he was chatting with others.

“Why, hyung?”

“That thing earlier, that thing, show it to me.”

*That thing??

“I mean the documents!”

Kijung nodded and pulled out a file from his bag, handing it over quickly as Leeha swiftly grabbed it and then extended it towards Ram Hwayeon.

“Ram Hwayeon-ssi!”

“Uh?”

“There’s a job. Right here. A very, very excellent job that only someone of your caliber can handle.”

[Operation to Build Resistance Using the Mythical Creatures of the New Continent and Paleos: Commonly Known as the “Partisan Operation”.]

“This is… Scarlet Mountain?”

“A portmanteau of paleo and Partizan081. Paltezan — Scarlett Mountain. It’s easy to remember, so we roughly coined it.”

“Hmm, what can I do here?”

Ram Hwayeon accepted the file from Leeha and quickly browsed through it. With just one swift glance, she could grasp what she could do. Although she asked what she could do, her expression was already brightening up.

“You can do a lot. For instance, this position.”

[Organizational Chart]

Chief Commander

Headquarters Administration and Operations Overall: 1 person (TBD)

Field Strategic and Tactical Command: Koba (Mythical Creature of bonobo paleo) Leeha pointed at the part labeled “1 person (TBD).”

“It’s like a ‘Head Manager’ representing the human side overseeing their guerrilla activities and the resources needed for them.”

“Will you be able to approve this project if I want to take this role?”

“I will propose, and Kijung — I mean, Master Kay will approve it. It’s sufficient.”