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96
“I didn’t know armor like this could be made.”
Outside the gates of Ifrit.
Avantgarde, standing at the side of the road, was looking at Hanbit’s armor with curious eyes.
[Frost-Touched Armor of Flame]
Rank: 3
Grade: Unique
Equip Requirements: Strength 30, Stamina 30
Options:
-Durability 27
-Defense 31
-Cold Resistance 30 (+30)
Description: Armor crafted using the cold-imbued venomous fang that inflicts cold debuffs, hide with high cold resistance, and a fire polishing compound. Thanks to the layered structure formed from each material, activity should be possible even in zones with stronger cold.
-Cold Resistance 60, damn.
-This can actually be made;
-Thought it was trolling when I saw the material combination.
Armor crafted from materials with opposing attributes.
Nothing particularly complex about it — the principle was similar to a boiler.
The fire polishing compound used in the innermost layer continuously brought the cold value down.
Either way, it came out exactly as intended.
“Ah, there he comes.”
Just then, Kim Jaeha’s figure became visible beyond the road ahead.
Having rushed over, his expression was somehow not great.
“Hyung, are you alright?”
“Hm? Why?”
“You don’t look well.”
“Ah…….”
At those words, Kim Jaeha seemed a little flustered and touched his own face.
A character’s expression that reflected reality as it was.
Precise enough to reveal even subtle emotions.
“Your expression does seem dark. Did something happen?”
Avantgarde asked in agreement.
At that, Kim Jaeha shook his head and answered.
“Must be that I haven’t slept. I was rushing because I wanted to finish quickly. Ah, I can sleep later so don’t worry about it.”
The reason itself was valid.
If he had actually finished this quickly, there would have been no time to rest.
But Hanbit was not someone who could not tell apart the expression that came from exhaustion.
“Viewers, just a moment.”
He muted the sound going out to the broadcast.
Then he looked at Kim Jaeha and asked:
“How did things go with the company? Did they process the resignation?”
“The resignation is fine. The CEO isn’t the type to hold onto people who are leaving.”
“The resignation is fine… which means there’s something else wrong.”
“…….”
Whether the mark had landed, Kim Jaeha’s expression hardened further.
Fingers that kept moving, lips bitten little by little.
Anger and anxiety were palpably evident.
“Hyung, Yeonwoo wants to build a company that feels like family.”
“Huh?”
The out-of-nowhere statement made Kim Jaeha’s expression turn puzzled.
But it was exactly what he needed to hear right now.
“What I mean is, you can’t be thinking of this place the same way as your old company. If you keep things bottled up when there’s a problem, that’s no different from back then. Unless you want to tease Yeonwoo and call him a sweatshop boss.”
“…I don’t think of it as the same. Not at all.”
“Then please tell us what’s going on. If we think it through together, some kind of answer will come.”
That was Yeonwoo’s wish too, but Hanbit was also sincere.
The responsibility of having brought Kim Jaeha to the company.
Beyond that, the meaning of having companions was something that held special weight for Hanbit.
“I will help in whatever way I can as well. I did not join on a whim.”
Avantgarde too prepared to listen with a serious expression.
Kim Jaeha looked at the two of them in turn and thought it over.
But this had never been a problem he could solve on his own to begin with.
It would be better to get everything prepared so they could guard against the risk.
He steadied his breath for a moment, then looked at Hanbit and spoke.
“The section chief made a threat. He says he’ll sue you for assault.”
“…Assault?”
“He wants to fabricate something about what happened in front of the company building that day. But there’s no CCTV footage left…….”
Kim Jaeha showed the message and continued explaining.
Entirely unexpected content.
Every last bit of it was absurd.
“Truly vile. But if this becomes a battle of public opinion, the odds are not in our favor. Attacking a public figure’s moral character is entertainment for the masses.”
Avantgarde, who had a thorough grasp of everything that went on in RP.
A popular figure being buried by a single incident was more common than one might think.
It was all a misunderstanding, there are no charges and no evidence.
Clarifications like these often didn’t even make it into follow-up articles.
“I’m sorry. I let you get entangled with trash like that.”
Kim Jaeha clenched his fist and offered an apology.
Naturally it was not his fault.
You cannot blame anyone because trash is dirty.
“Hmm.”
Hanbit thought for a moment.
There would be no problem giving the section chief something useful enough to satisfy him.
Even if he served it up spoon by spoon right to his mouth, the man would inevitably spit it back out anyway.
But even that felt a little unsatisfying.
“There was no one at the company entrance that day, was there? A parked car, perhaps.”
“Our building has a parking lot out back, so there’s no space to park in front. Passersby… I don’t remember.”
Kim Jaeha, who had been on the receiving end of the section chief’s rampage, had no mental space to observe his surroundings.
As things stood, it would certainly play out exactly as the section chief intended.
“Ah, now that I think about it.”
Just then, Avantgarde spoke up as he searched his memory.
“Didn’t you mention that Roper-nim was going somewhere after the meal?”
“…He did say that.”
A scene that remained in Hanbit’s memory as well.
After the four of them finished eating, Yeonwoo had suddenly said he had somewhere to stop by and left early.
At the time, he had not given it much thought, but it had been an abrupt thing to do.
“I’ll give him a call.”
Curious, Hanbit immediately called Yeonwoo.
(Hyung? Aren’t you streaming?)
A voice that came through in under three seconds.
Hanbit relayed what he had heard from Kim Jaeha right away.
Yeonwoo listened quietly and let out a short exhale.
(Ah, so he’s doing something like that after all. I had a feeling something was off.)
“What, you knew?”
(Whatever the reason, there was physical contact between hyung and the section chief. And that guy fell down on his own. In situations like this, there’s a strong likelihood of trouble arising.)
He had anticipated the event early.
The question was how to deal with it.
“You said you had somewhere to go after the meal. Was it because of this?”
(My parents always say something. That gathering evidence with your own two feet is also a skill. That thought just came to me.)
Something his lawyer parents had drilled into him until it wore grooves.
Remembering it, Yeonwoo had headed to the scene after the meal.
(On the road in the direction the section chief had been standing, there was a delivery motorcycle. A vest with a body cam attached to it was hanging on it.)
“A body cam?”
(Delivery workers wear them sometimes. Anyway, I contacted the owner and bought the SD card. The footage had audio recorded cleanly as well.)
The footage Yeonwoo had checked started recording before Hanbit had even appeared.
Including the scene of the section chief punching Kim Jaeha in the chest and unleashing a torrent of abuse.
“You really are something. That actually surprised me this time.”
(Come on, give me a bit more praise than that.)
“Save that for Jaeha-hyung. Anyway, we have the evidence now, so I’ll handle this my way?”
(What are you planning to do this time?)
Detecting something in his voice, Yeonwoo let out a half-laugh and asked.
Hanbit curled the corner of his mouth and said:
“Time to give him a proper taste of his own medicine.”
***
The three set off once more toward the city gate.
Kim Jaeha, having heard that evidence had been secured, was visibly relieved.
“Are you together? A new companion has joined you.”
As they approached the gate, the soldier from the checkpoint the previous day spoke up.
“Hello. We have a letter of introduction as well, so we’d like to present it.”
“Ah, let me verify it.”
Hanbit handed the soldier the letter of introduction received from Edelen and the adventurer cards.
Taking them to look over, the soldier’s eyes widened slightly.
“You have a guarantor like this. I was surprised — I’m originally from Edelen myself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I had heard news of it, but William-nim truly was falsely accused. And for the culprit to have been Brook… it is a lamentable affair.”
The soldier, speaking with a distant expression, went into the guardhouse.
Then he returned with a single sheet of parchment.
“Take this to the central hall. Show it to the guard at the entrance and they will escort you. Ah, the bracelets I gave you — I’ll be taking those back for now.”
-?
-Why are they taking the bracelets?
-Hey. Give them back;
-What’s the parchment for?
The soldier took back the two black bracelets.
The reason was simple.
He was not in a position to pass judgment on the visitors before him.
“Yes, thank you.”
Parchment in hand, Hanbit stepped into the city’s interior with the two others.
Ding—
[Episode 2: Ifrit in Crisis]
[Main Quest #1: An Encounter]
You have arrived at the new city of Ifrit.
First, you must make your way to this city’s hall.
Objective: Move to the central hall.
Reward: 10,000 gold, 2,000 experience points
Current Progress: 0%
A quest window that appeared the moment they entered.
The episode had only begun after going through the letter of introduction.
“Not giving us bracelets — what’s that about? That’s a first.”
“I never would have imagined them taking them back either.”
Even without progressing the episode, entering Ifrit would normally result in receiving a bracelet.
That was what made this situation so unusual.
“But what about that dwarf? Can he follow all the way into the city?”
Kim Jaeha, scanning the surroundings, asked cautiously.
There had been no sighting since that encounter — but there was no need to worry.
“There’s another route, so he’ll follow along just fine. Ah, here, hyung — please hold onto this.”
Hanbit handed over the dog-tag-shaped token he had been carrying since yesterday.
Seeing it, Kim Jaeha said with a puzzled look:
“Hm? Why? You can hold onto it yourself.”
“It’s better for the person who’ll be learning metallurgy directly to have it. Either way, keep it safe.”
“Yeah? Alright.”
Kim Jaeha gave a nod and placed the iron plate into his inventory.
Avantgarde, walking behind them, sidled closer.
“What is your plan for the progression? Since the hall will only result in receiving bracelets and leaving, are you going to tackle the metallurgy right away?”
“Ah, do you know who decides the bracelet color?”
“Isn’t there a person in charge on the third floor of the hall? I understood it to be an immigration officer…….”
Avantgarde said what he knew.
Not wrong — but the person they were going to meet now held no such title.
Hanbit looked up at the pale blue-white building standing tall in the center and said:
“The person we’re going to meet right now is Ifrit’s mayor.”
