We Do Business In Full Auto [EN]: Chapter 83

083

Catacombs (1)

Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Paris, France.

Opened in 1974, it’s known as the sixth busiest airport in the world.

France’s tourism industry is world-renowned, boasting attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Louvre Museum.

The main reason for our visit to Paris this time is the Eiffel Tower.

Soojung wanted to mathematically analyze the structure of the Eiffel Tower, so we checked into a hotel with a view of it.

We had just unpacked and were feeling a bit tired, but we still wanted to explore. We decided to book a 2-night, 3-day trip.

Of course, Soojung and I were already mentally in the Catacombs.

We needed to get into the Catacombs to train, and we had to wait until dawn.

Naturally, the doors would be closed at dawn, but there are many ways to sneak into the Catacombs. The entire underground of Paris is riddled with old aqueducts, and there are so many secret passages that the phrase ‘the most complex in the world’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Most of them are blocked off now, but…

These days, communication isn’t a problem.

The translation machines are excellent, and Soojung herself is fluent in French.

The place where Soojung and I are aimlessly wandering is the National Museum located in the Louvre Palace in the heart of Paris.

Our souls were in the Catacombs, but Soojung doesn’t stop acting like she’s thrilled.

“Mom, look at this! It’s the Venus de Milo, isn’t it? Is this real? It was made around 100 BC.”

“I’ve heard there are many replicas, but I don’t know. I can’t tell just by looking at it.”

“If it’s a replica, they must have exceptional skills.”

Soojung said something that would make the museum staff very upset without a second thought.

If she had spoken in English, someone might have frowned, but since she used Korean, and considering Soojung’s expression, no one could imagine what she was saying.

Of course, when you think of the Louvre Museum, Leonardo da Vinci’s *Mona Lisa* comes to mind.

“Honey, can you stand next to me for a moment?”

“Yes?”

“I want to take a picture.”

My wife stands next to the *Mona Lisa* without any suspicion.

Click!

I took a picture and showed it to my wife.

“How is it?”

“It turned out well.”

“Not that, I mean compare Mona Lisa’s smile with your smile.”

“It’s exquisite.”

“Right? Your smile is more beautiful than Mona Lisa’s.”

“Oh, you.”

“Um… Mom and Dad? A third child is a bit…”

“You little rascal. What do you know?”

“I know enough.”

Soojung sticks out her tongue.

We looked like a happy family to anyone who saw us.

Even though we were outwardly laughing and joking like this, my wife probably knows that my mind is in the Catacombs, where 6 million bones are piled up.

We left the Louvre Museum and headed straight to the hotel.

It’s a famous tourist spot after all. Standing in line and sightseeing took several hours.

When visiting famous tourist spots, you have to expect this much time. That’s why we planned a generous schedule.

If you plan too tightly, it’s hard to do as much sightseeing as you want. That’s why experts recommend independent travel.

If you travel with a tour company, you don’t get to see the sights properly.

Sometimes you need to immerse yourself in thought while sightseeing, and you need time to stop and examine things closely, but there’s no time for that.

You just skim over everything and it’s over.

It’s the Latreille Hotel, quite famous in France.

The Demont Restaurant in the hotel’s sky lounge is famous for its steak and foie gras [fattened duck or goose liver].

Since we don’t know much, we just order the full course and drink a glass of wine.

Clink!

The glasses collide in the air.

Soojung replaced hers with cider.

“We had a good time sightseeing today.”

“Did we?”

“It was my first time seeing the *Mona Lisa* in person. But it really seems like Mona Lisa’s smile and Mom’s smile are similar.”

“Mom’s smile is top-notch.”

“I could also see what the standards of beauty were for people in BC [Before Christ, referring to the time period before the birth of Jesus Christ]. Were chubby people popular back then?”

“Standards of beauty change depending on the era and culture.”

“Hehe, I should study the Eiffel Tower while looking out the window today.”

A big advantage of this hotel is that you can closely examine the Eiffel Tower.

The hotel room even had a telescope installed, so it was more than enough to fulfill Soojung’s reason for calculating the structure.

Since we came on an independent trip, there’s no set schedule.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Personally, I’d like to visit the Palace of Versailles [a former royal residence known for its opulence and gardens].”

“Ah, that’s a good place too.”

“It’s a place with outstanding artistic value, and I’ve wanted to see it for a long time.”

“If it’s art, the Musée d’Orsay [an art museum housed in a former railway station] is good too, right?”

“That would be good too.”

“Okay. Then let’s go there tomorrow. Soojung only needs the Eiffel Tower, right?”

“Yeah! I came to calculate the structure in the first place.”

Lisa and I shook our heads.

Even though she gave that as a reason, Soojung will really calculate the structure. She even brought equipment for it, and the airport staff were amazed.

A child who is about to enter elementary school is going to calculate the structure.

Structural calculations require the use of professional programs. There probably isn’t anyone who calculates it by directly measuring it.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Um… Notre Dame Cathedral [a historic cathedral in Paris], I guess?”

“We can go there the day after tomorrow.”

“Okay. Let’s set the schedule like that and enjoy a ‘hotel vacation’ for the rest of the time.”

“Let’s do that. Su-ah might have a hard time if the schedule is too tight.”

Since Su-ah had just turned one, we decided not to overdo it.

I also felt like I shouldn’t take a baby to a place with too many people.

We ate a lot and I even gave my wife some alcohol.

Su-ah’s sleep pattern is now fixed, so she sleeps and wakes up in the morning.

Since I gave my wife alcohol, she’ll probably sleep like the dead until dawn.

As soon as my wife fell asleep, we decided to take action.

Swish!

After entering the hotel and washing up, we closed the curtains.

There was a telescope, but Soojung installed something more.

It’s natural that the size of objects appears differently depending on the distance. But there was equipment to observe distance and size separately, and we prepared it for today.

“Wow! It’s really big.”

“It looks very stable. Is there anything to calculate in the structure?”

“Yeah! Even though it looks like that, it was designed quite scientifically. The key is to figure out the designer’s intention.”

“Ah, okay.”

It’s hard to understand what Soojung is saying anyway.

But since learning black magic, my mind has been working faster, and I’ve been able to keep up with Soojung’s genius to some extent.

I also don’t forget anything I’ve seen once, so if I study again now, I’m confident I could get into MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] or a famous liberal arts college.

I just don’t do it because there’s no need.

Soojung took out a notebook and wrote down complex formulas, and my wife and I watched a movie.

Around midnight.

My wife falls fast asleep.

Su-ah also fell asleep, and they probably won’t wake up until morning.

Soojung finally takes her eyes off the telescope.

“Dad.”

“Yeah. It’s time.”

Soojung and I leave the hotel and roam the streets.

Soojung unfolds a map that she hacked from somewhere.

It wasn’t a typical map of Paris, but a secret map with detailed underground mazes.

There were many underground entrances that are now buried in concrete, but finding the location to go to the Catacombs wasn’t difficult.

In an alley in Paris.

There were few people and no CCTV cameras installed.

In short, it was a perfect blind spot.

I lightly used magic to cut through the concrete.

After cutting it enough for one person to enter and going inside, a stench stings my nose.

“It’s an old place.”

“They say the entire city of Paris has such a complex structure. The city was built on top of it.”

“Is it sturdy?”

“They must have reinforced it when they built the city, so there’s no problem. They calculate everything even when building one building.”

Soojung and I walk through the old aqueducts.

It’s a bit complicated, but there’s no need to worry about getting lost. I released the evil spirits to find the way.

Before long, the evil spirits begin to appear.

-It’s humans! It’s humans!

-No, how did they get in here?

-They’re probably explorers who are crazy enough to want to get lost and die again.

-There’s even a kid here today?

There were evil spirits and souls.

As we entered the Catacombs, the evil spirits filled the surroundings with tremendous yin energy [the passive, feminine principle of the universe in Chinese philosophy].

There were so many that you could trip over them.

First, Soojung and I decided to find a suitable place.

The Catacombs were a tourist attraction, but because so many tourists got lost, certain areas were controlled.

We wandered around the controlled areas.

“They said there were 6 million, and it’s amazing.”

“It’s the largest in the world.”

“Hehe, I’m glad I came.”

The evil spirits disturbed our vision, but we pretended not to notice. If we pretended to know, they might run away.

A spacious open space appears.

Soojung drew a magic circle here.

It was a magic circle that absorbed the surrounding yin energy, and training on it was several times more effective.

Seeing the tremendous amount of yin energy pouring in, I even thought about moving to Paris. Then I could train in the Catacombs every day.

Of course, that would be impossible because I have a business base in Korea.

It seems helpful to come and train here once in a while when my progress is blocked.

“Hehe. I thought I was going to die wanting to use magic.”

“Then shall we start by sucking up the evil spirits?”

“Yeah!”

My daughter and I sat down in that spot and collected souls.

“Soul Collection!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

-Kkyaaaa!

-It’s witches! Witches!

I can feel tens of thousands of souls being sucked in.

It seemed that there were at least a million or more evil spirits and souls, scattered throughout the Catacombs. And the density was very high.

For some reason, the souls in the Catacombs couldn’t escape this place, so my daughter and I were able to easily devour a huge number of souls.

“Keuk!”

“Euk.”

A light groan flows out.

My heart feels tight from devouring too many souls.

It felt like my whole body was filled with souls.

As the evil spirits seeped into the belt of my heart, the belt swelled greatly.

The evil spirits began to condense in the belt, and it felt like the belt would burst.

The circles rotated rapidly.

-Aaaaaagh!

-Save me!

At the same time, a tremendous amount of black magic gathered.

I absorbed black magic through my whole body, and yin energy became a wave that filled my whole body.

“Ah!”

A light exclamation comes out.

In order to go to the 5th Circle, I absolutely needed a lot of black magic. This wasn’t an area of enlightenment.

Black magic was forcibly crammed into my heart, and it condensed in collaboration with the evil spirits. And at some point, the circle split.

“Keoeok!”

I vomited blood from my mouth.

But I didn’t fall.

Because I knew that what was more important was about to begin.