Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“The private jet was nice, but flying first-class wasn’t bad either. The lobby was a bit cramped, though.”

“… Excuse me, are you going to respond to what I’m saying?”

“Korea is cold.”

“Um, excuse me? Are you going to answer me?”

Despite being caught off guard by their sudden appearance, Leeha managed to hail a taxi and headed to Seoul.

Despite Leeha’s repeated sighs and questions, the two sisters remained unfazed, not changing their expressions.

“What answer do you want? I mean, it’s just that. You said you were responsible for December 31st. What else do you need?”

“Oh, I get that, but… I mean, I haven’t prepared anything else… trusting me, I mean?”

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Ram Hwayeon responded as she sucked on the straw in her banana milk, “This tastes good. Hwayeong, you should try it too.”

“Yeah, banana. I like it.”

Ram Hwajung received the banana milk from Ram Hwayeon and also sipped through the straw. Leeha looked back and forth between the two with a blank expression.

Trust me? Responsible? Did I ever say such things?

Above all, isn’t this not a matter on such a scale?

Thinking about it wouldn’t provide any answers.

What should I do now that they’ve already come?

“… I thought Ram Hwayeon was a smart person…”

What on earth is going on here?

“No matter what, you should have brought bodyguards!”

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Could it be that they’re not aware of their own positions? Leeha recalled the events Ram Hwajung experienced in Hong Kong.

Ram Long Group’s business is not just at the level of simple trade.

How can people who conduct global, mega-group level businesses move like this!

“Um, alright. It’s so cold that it’s actually refreshing.”

“It’s cold. I like it.”

“Right? Oh, by the way, where are we going?”

Ram Hwayeon asked Leeha, pulling Ram Hwajung, who was sitting beside her, into a hug.

Leeha wanted to ask them.

What do you want me to do?

How am I supposed to find a hotel that meets your standard?

After struggling for a long time, Leeha finally made a decision: to do nothing.

“… I should go home first…”

“What? Y-Your, home? Are you talking about your home?”

“Yeah! Not some hotel! Imagine telling someone who’s never been to a motel to suddenly make a hotel reservation, what would they do!”

“Wait! Home! That’s a bit…”

Ram Hwayeon’s eyes widened like fists, and shortly after, even her breathing became rough.

“U-Unnie, I’m out of breath.”

“Ah, sorry, Hwajung.”

Whether it was due to being drawn into Goak’s embrace or Ram Hwajung’s suffering, she was struggling in her sister’s arms.

And then, silence.

How should one handle this awkward and bewildering atmosphere?

Vroooom………

Amidst all this, the van did not stop. Leeha could only hope that Kijung would come out on time.

“Kijung, please!”

Leeha’s only helper. At the same time, Kijung, too, was getting ready to go out chirpily.

“Hehehe, hehe, you called me, right? Leeha hyung, you called me~?”

Leeha had no idea what Kijung was thinking, just praying silently for him to arrive on time. It is a common tendency for people to head towards what they consider the safest place when in a state of panic.

“Oh, thank you. Call me next time!”

“Yes, yes, sure.”

As a result, Leeha, ran Hwayeon, and Ram Hwajung arrived near Leeha’s house around noon on December 31st. A cold wind was blowing in the spot where the taxi driver had left after driving the van.

Should they book a motel near the house? What about a hotel?

And the luggage?

Should they drop off the suitcases at home first?

“No, we should book accommodation and move your luggage there, right?”

Leeha’s thoughts were spiraling in an endless loop, trying to figure out the best plan. If they had asked Ram Hwayeon about the hotel she usually stayed at and headed there, it wouldn’t have been an issue to book a room for her.

However, with Leeha’s thoughts still caught in an infinite loop from the van, there was no way for logical thinking to prevail. Since Leeha mentioned going home, ran Hwayeon had also been unable to think straight… the situation was getting worse and worse.

“It’s cold.”

“Uh, yeah. Let’s go inside. Let’s drop off the luggage first and have some food, fooood, food?”

The screams that woke up Leeha’s chatty mind, broken like a malfunctioning radio, came from behind.

“Hey!”

“Ha! Kijung – Kijung!”

Leeha ran towards Kijung as soon as he saw him, throwing himself at him as if reuniting on a battlefield. Ram Hwayeon chuckled at the sight of the affectionate siblings.

“What are you doing?”

“Ram Hwayeon-ssi! Ram Hwajung-ssi! It’s been a long time!”

“Long time, indeed. Master Kay.”

“Holy Knight.”

“Oh, you recognize me. Hehe, yes, I am Master Kay, Holy Knight.”

Kijung greeted leisurely compared to Leeha’s agitated demeanor when interacting with women.

“Have you not eaten?”

“No, no one escorted us.”

“Well, don’t worry anymore! The Star Scholar has arrived! Shall we go to the restaurant? It’s cold, so let’s take off the translator for a while and wrap your scarf properly.”

Kijung took the carry-on bag from Ram Hwayeon and Ram Hwajung’s hands, leading them. Ostensibly, he had them remove the translators from their ears due to the weather, but Leeha couldn’t shake off the dreadful feeling as he observed Kijung’s enigmatic smile.

“Ki, Kijung? Where are you going?”

“Hyung, why would I come all the way here just to go somewhere. Hehehe.”

“Y-you!”

Leeha’s expression stiffened suddenly. He instinctively understood where Kijung’s skilled steps were leading them.

“No, you can’t! You can’t do that!”

Only then did Leeha realize that calling for Kijung was a mistake, but the die had been cast.

“When are we leaving? It’s cold, let’s go quickly.”

“Oppa, I’m hungry,” Even without a translator, the girls understood what he was saying and looked at him.

When Leeha glanced at Ram Hwajung, who was rubbing her stomach, and Ram Hwayeon, who stood coldly, he could no longer stop the merciless (?) advance of the sisters.

A moment later, the place where Kijung entered chuckling… was a very, very familiar place to Leeha too.

“Oh my, Kijung!? Leeha is here too? What a surprise? Did you come out because it’s the end of the year?”

“Auntie! I brought a guest!”

“A guest?”

* clang *

laugh…

Leeha’s mother looked at Kijung and Leeha’s faces and the two Asian women with Western features behind them.

The ‘『Female Friend』’ Leeha brought.

“Mother, wait for a moment. It’s not like that—”

Leeha tried to explain first when she saw her mother’s expression change, but it was too late! Leeha’s personality didn’t come out for nothing.

Leeha’s mother hastily shouted to the guests around, “Oh, we’re closed today! Closed! I won’t take any money, so please leave quickly! Hurry!”

“Wow! Boss? Why are you suddenly like this?”

Leeha’s mother, who chased out everyone in the restaurant within a minute, locked the door and headed straight to the kitchen.

“What’s going on? Is this a restaurant? And what did you say?”

“Smell. I like it.”

Without a translator, they couldn’t clearly grasp the situation.

Kijung’s ‘big picture’ of taking off the translator and telling the sisters to wear scarves only went this far!

He motioned for the Ram sisters to put on the translator and ushered the girls to the table.

Setting the cutlery, pouring water, and other actions took about three minutes. In the meantime, Leeha’s mother, who was wearing an apron, suddenly transformed into someone else and came out of the kitchen.

“Auntie… I just-”

“Mom… it’s not like that…”

“It’s not! It’s this stupid thing! You should have at least told me!”

The mother tapped Leeha on the back and greeted Ram Hwayeon and Ram Hwajung.

“Welcome. I’m Leeha’s mother.”

As the stainless steel cup slipped from Ram Hwayeon’s hand, Kijung was laughing with tears streaming down his face.

Even if he were to get shot with a rifle from Middle Earth, his expression was at a level that would not have shown up.

Seeing Ram Hwayeon, a poker-faced master, so flustered that she couldn’t even hide her expression.

“I-I apologize, mother!”

As Hwayeon promptly rose from her seat and bowed 90 degrees, her actions made Ram Hwajung’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“Uh… Unni??”

At least in Hwajung’s memory, aside from their own father, the Chairman of the Ram Long Group, never had anyone, her sister had never lowered her head at such an angle to anyone before.

If there was such a thing as “something that could never happen,” wouldn’t it be this?

December 31st.

In a small Korean restaurant, a shocking incident was unfolding like a domino effect.

***

“-So, Kidd, if you could take care of that.”

“Isn’t that something Ha Leeha does well?”

“If you don’t think you can do it, you don’t have to. And Leeha is currently logged out, you know better than anyone.”

At that moment, Shin Nara smiled brightly and talked with the man in front of her. With his fedora pulled down low, sharp eyes shot from his shadowed face.

“You wouldn’t have fallen for such provocations like you used to.”

“Wow, people change so much, don’t they? It’s true about Kidd, right? If I provoke you again, will you respond?”

As Nara looked at Kidd with surprise, Kidd shrugged and counterattacked her provocation.

“I wouldn’t. If I engage now and you log out, wouldn’t it be obvious I’d be even more tired?”

While she was cool-headed in all other situations, she couldn’t help but be awkward around Kidd.

“W-What!? Fine- then, let’s engage right now-”

“Alright, alright. Let our Dame Shin calm down a bit. So Kidd, are you going to help?”

Just a moment ago, Shin Nara was ready to charge, but when Lark intervened, she made no further movement. It was, in fact, Kidd who was surprised by the scene.

Normally, she would have passed by Lark’s neck with her blade in that situation but being able to stop her with just ‘that’ kind of action?

“Kidd?”

“Ah, I will consider it.”

“There’s no need to think about it. I don’t want to provoke Kidd like our Dame Shin, I just lack ‘eyes’, that’s all. I don’t want to share this level of secret with anyone, and it’s not like Kidd would lose out either. Since you’re under Fibiel, and the place is in the Far South Desert of Fibiel, and the atmosphere suits you well. Western gunslinger, bang! Oh? That’s the feeling, right?”

Lark’s eloquence shook Kidd’s mind.

While Shin Nara and Lark were setting up guard arrangements using NPCs, not every place was under their control. Especially in villages with special NPCs, the appearance of the Capital Defense Knights alone could lead to confusion, so the power of the users was crucial.

“… So, in exchange for the latest information on Chiyou, Igor, and Faust, do we have to protect the village for three days?”

“Of course! I believe you won’t break the promise. By working for Fibiel, your country’s reputation will rise.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m just curious about Igor and Faust… since they’ve become strong enough that you need my help.”

With a flick of his coat, Kidd entered the conference room with his crystal ball. As he pulled out the amethyst, Lark shouted, “The location is 『Dead Wood』, the targets to watch out for are the village and nearby Copper Dragon Lair! I’ll provide you with detailed information about the targets later!”