Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 305

307

“Excuse me.”

The middle-aged woman, mistaking him for a customer, greeted Beom-seok with a smile.

“Welcome! What can I get for you?”

Feeling awkward, he picked up a sports drink from the icebox and took out his wallet.

“How much is this?”

“20 Crangs.”

Beom-seok frowned at the rather expensive price. Even though it was a drink sold to hikers, it felt like a rip-off. He didn’t know much about the ‘real world’ [referring to the world outside this simulated environment], but in this world, they could transport goods with flying cars, so merchants didn’t have to struggle to climb the mountain.

However, thinking there was no need to upset the woman, Beom-seok took out two 10 Crang bills.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you. Have a good time.”

He popped open the can and gulped it down. His throat was parched from the long hike. Wiping the drink from his lips with the back of his hand, Beom-seok surveyed the surrounding forest scenery and said,

“Ma’am, how long have you been doing business here?”

“Well, about 20 years.”

That was quite a long time. He immediately began to rattle off questions.

“Then, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Have you seen an old man with a limp around here? He’s of Asian descent.”

“Well, there are so many hikers that I don’t particularly remember anyone.”

“Really? I heard he lives around here.”

The woman suddenly stared at Beom-seok. She had heard the same question before.

“Are you a detective?”

“No, but why do you ask?”

“About three years ago? Detectives came looking for an old man and a young daughter with similar descriptions.”

At those words, Beom-seok wore a surprised expression. To still remember such an old story, her memory seemed remarkable.

“Ah, is that so? What did you say back then?”

The woman immediately began to explain. It was such a memorable scene that she remembered it clearly.

“Ah, I said I hadn’t seen such an old man, but I had seen a woman a while ago.”

“A woman? What kind of woman?”

The woman pointed alternately to the forest to the east and the cliffs to the west.

“She was dressed rather shabbily and seemed like a very strange woman.”

“How was she strange?”

The woman pointed alternately to the forest to the east and the cliffs to the west.

“She was wearing a bunch of strange knives and running while crying. She jumped out of the forest and leaped off that cliff over there. I was very surprised at the time.”

Then there was a very high possibility. Beom-seok quickly went to the west cliff and looked down. The slope was nearly 90 degrees steep, not a terrain that humans could easily descend. Returning to the drink-selling woman, Beom-seok continued to ask questions.

“Did she commit suicide?”

“No. At first, I thought so and ran over in shock, but that wasn’t it. She was descending the cliff so quickly, beyond skillful, almost inhumanly fast. I even doubted if I had mistaken her for a monkey.”

Then it was highly likely to be Dante’s daughter. Having received body modification surgery and living in this nearby forest, it was conceivable that she could easily descend such cliffs.

“What time was it then?”

“It must have been around 5 PM. It was when I was finishing my work and packing up.”

Beom-seok clenched his fist tightly. He had gotten information well worth more than the price of the drink. Like this woman, most people headed home in the evening. That meant Dante’s dojo was very likely to be in the west, where she had headed.

Having roughly determined the direction, Beom-seok began to climb down the cliff as if jumping off, whether the woman was surprised or not. It was to track down Dante’s daughter, who had passed by this place three years ago. A long time had passed, so he might not find any traces, but that wasn’t a reason not to chase after her.

After descending the cliff, Beom-seok took out his electronic notepad. It was to obtain some information. He immediately floated the screen in the air and called Lexter.

– Yo, Beom-seok. Wow~ It’s good to see you. But what’s up?

Lexter’s face looked quite radiant. Perhaps it was because he had risen to become a tycoon due to the Rainbow Group incident, but he seemed to be taking care of his appearance now.

But now was not the time to pay attention to such trivial matters.

“I need to find out some information.”

– What information?

“I want to know about a person named Dante.”

– Dante? What’s his first name?

At that question, Beom-seok wore a troubled expression. He had been in such a hurry that he hadn’t heard the name.

“I don’t know that.”

– Hey! Then how am I supposed to find him! It’s not like there’s only one person named Dante in this world!

Scratching his head, Beom-seok continued the conversation.

“Um, he’s a wanted criminal. Would that help?”

That greatly narrowed down the information. Lexter’s expression softened somewhat.

– Really? What was he wanted for?

“He’s said to have borrowed money from people in the kendo [Japanese martial art of swordsmanship] world and disappeared.”

– So he’s a con artist. Where does he live?

“He’s in Sden City within the Laponi Central Government. But he lives in the nearby mountains, so he probably doesn’t have a current address.”

– Really? How old is he?

“I don’t know exactly, but I heard he’s an old man.”

Lexter on the screen looked at him with a pathetic gaze. If he was calling him, it seemed like the situation was urgent, but he didn’t know the name or even the age accurately. He couldn’t understand.

– You’re really frustrating. You should at least know that much.

“I’m sorry. I was in such a hurry.”

– Sigh~ Does he have any unique physical characteristics?

“Yes. He has a limp.”

– And what else?

“He has a young daughter who may have received body modification surgery.”

Lexter soon found a case file and floated it into the air. Even if he didn’t know the name and age accurately, he could easily find it with this much information.

He enlarged a document with a photo and showed it to Beom-seok.

– Is this him?

The screen showed a photo of an old man with sharp eyes and a determined expression. He didn’t know the face, so he couldn’t know if it was Dante, but he could be sure by looking at the case summary below the photo. It said that he had defrauded members of the kendo association of their money.

“Yes. I think that’s him. But do you have a photo of his daughter?”

– Hmm. Just a moment…….

Lexter soon uploaded a photo onto the screen. As expected, she had an Asian appearance, and although it was hard to tell from the photo, she seemed to be quite a beauty.

Beom-seok wore a triumphant expression. She was a woman who was more than qualified to be a target.

“How old is she exactly?”

– Hmm. She seems to have received body modification surgery right after becoming an adult. She’s three years old in modified human years.”

Then she was one or two years younger than Beom-seok.

“Oh, really? Any other special features?”

Lexter, who had been examining the information for a moment, gave a hollow laugh.

– Hehe. Who is this girl?

“Why?”

– I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s nothing but essential information. There’s no residence, no financial transaction history, and no tax payment history. This wouldn’t happen unless she lived almost like a primitive.”

“Does she get an allowance from her father, Dante?”

– Don’t be ridiculous. Dante has been the same way for the past three years. If he hadn’t, he would have been caught by our police already.”

“Then he must be using a borrowed account or an electronic notepad. How can he live for three years without doing anything?”

Indeed, fugitives often lived through such illegal routes. Especially in Dante’s case, he had disappeared with tens of millions of Crangs, so it was highly likely. With money, there was nothing you couldn’t do in the world.

– Hehe. That’s probably it. Well, is there anything else you want to know?”

“No. Not right now.”

– Okay. Then contact me later if you need anything. I’m a bit busy right now, so I have to hang up.”

“Yes. Goodbye.”

Lexter, who had said a simple farewell, disappeared from the screen. At this, Beom-seok folded his electronic notepad and put it in his pocket, then turned his gaze towards the valley below the mountain.

The most essential element for humans to live is water. The Guirim Gate dojo was likely to be near a valley. Of course, it might be in a mountainous area where spring water or groundwater flowed out, but he decided to give up because he would have to search the entire mountainous area surrounding Sden City.

“Well, shall we go?”

The valley was more complicated than he thought. There were many mountains around, so there were many curves, and large and small streams branching out in all directions. But the bigger problem was that no habitable space could be seen even after searching the area for several days. That meant he had to search the entire mountainous area. It couldn’t be more annoying.

‘I’m going crazy. How am I supposed to search all this!’

The mountainous area surrounding Sden City was not a high-altitude area, but it was quite high and vast, making it impossible for one person to explore all the areas. Then the only remaining method was to find a unique point. If they were human, they would light a fire and live, so he could climb a nearby high peak and check for lights or smoke rising.

From that day on, Beom-seok climbed up the high mountain peaks one by one and began to search the surroundings thoroughly.

Like this, a day passed, two days passed……. Nearly fifteen days had passed when he discovered a bright spot in the distant pitch-black darkness. Considering that this entire area was a quiet mountain area with no human habitation, it was highly likely to be the target, but there was not much anticipation on his face.

He had checked several lights over the past fifteen days, but they were all mountain guards or mountain lodges for hikers. Moreover, this was the eastern area of the mountain called Moonlight, where he had first left.

That meant it was in the exact opposite direction from the area Beom-seok was expecting.

‘Where the hell is Dante hiding?’

The next morning. Beom-seok began to climb down the mountain to check the place where the light had been.

It didn’t seem likely, but it was necessary to check it to prevent future confusion.

And when he approached the vicinity. He was able to discover a very unique trace. Although it was quite old, Beom-seok, who had roamed battlefields and hunting grounds, immediately guessed what it was.

“Blood.”

The place where the blood was묻어있던 [covered] was on a tree trunk, forming a sharp, long diagonal shape. It was as if the blood묻어있던 [covered] on the sword had been sprayed in a 휘두름 [swinging] motion.

He searched the surroundings for other evidence. If something had died here, there would definitely be traces of struggling. But no matter how much he looked, there wasn’t a single hair left in this vicinity.

‘Huh. That’s strange. No matter how long it’s been. There should be traces? Hmm. Did it get washed away by the rain? But it doesn’t matter. This alone is valuable enough.’

A smile was already drawn on Beom-seok’s lips. The fact that there were traces of a sword being used in this deep mountain greatly increased the possibility that Dante existed. He quickly walked to the place where the light had been seen yesterday.

And after a while. Beom-seok was able to discover another trace. It was a steel snare hidden among the bushes, and judging from the shiny silver luster, it was certain that it had been recently installed. If it had been in this place for a long time, it should have been rusted.

‘Good. The possibilities are increasing more and more.’

He carefully hid the snare again and began to move cautiously. Dante was a wanted criminal, so he would look at himself, who was loitering in a sparsely populated mountain area, with suspicious eyes. He was afraid that he might attack if he felt uneasy. He thought it was better to look around and prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

At that time, a strong wind blew, and the sound of leaves colliding was heard from all directions. It was a common natural phenomenon, so there was nothing strange about it, but Beom-seok narrowed his eyes and expressed a subtle atmosphere.

It was because he had 확인한 [confirmed] the shadow cast on the floor in a 순간의 [fleeting] time. He was paying enough attention to his surroundings, but he didn’t know he had been approached until he was 스칠 [grazing] over his head, so the opponent was no ordinary person.

‘Hoo. He only shows 접근 [approach] when the surrounding 나뭇가지가 [branches] are 흔들릴 [shaking] by the wind to hide his 인기척 [presence]? He’s quite someone who knows something. If he had 공격했다면 [attacked], I would have been 당할 [caught off guard] for sure.’

This technique of 지우는 인기척 [erasing presence] was usually used by 자객 [assassins], 사냥꾼 [hunters], or 첩자 [spies]. It could be a skill that he had 절로 익힌 [naturally learned] from a long mountain life, but if not, it was a 순간 [moment] that he could know the 검술 노선 [swordsmanship style] of an 정체 불명인 [unidentified person].

‘Anyway, it must be Dante? An ordinary person can’t show 도약능력 [leaping ability] enough to 스쳐 갈 [graze] over my head, can they?’

Beom-seok continued to go the way he was going. He decided to pretend he didn’t know for now.

Now that he knew Dante was nearby, he could 모면 [avoid] even if he was 당한다고 [caught off guard], and he judged that it was better to have him 자연스럽게 나타나게 [naturally appear] in front of him in 분위기상 [atmosphere]. If he 괜히 먼저 아는 체했다가는 [unnecessarily acted like he knew first], Dante could feel 위기감 [a sense of crisis].

“Damn it, where the hell is this? This is really a big deal. The electronic notepad 밧데리 [battery] is also 떨어졌고 [dead], and I’ve even 길까지 잃어버렸으니 말이야 [lost my way]. I’m afraid I’ll have to 밤을 새우는 [stay up all night] here again today.”

He, who was 연기중인 [acting as] a 참 조난자 [genuine castaway], looked around as if he was 살피는 사방 [surveying all directions], and then 곁들였다 [added] another word.

“Judging from the fact that there’s 올가미 [a snare] here, there’s clearly 인가가 [a human presence] nearby. Where the hell is it?”

But there was still no reaction. Beom-seok had no choice but to 이동하기 [move] to the place where the light had been yesterday. Even if he didn’t show a reaction right now, he thought that Dante would definitely 나타날 [appear] if it was his 집 [house]. There was no one who would 두고 볼 [stand by and watch] a 타인 [stranger] 침입하는 [invading] 자기 집 [their own house].

============================ 작품 후기 ============================

모두 즐거운 하루 되십시오 [Everyone, have a pleasant day]. 전 내일 또 찾아뵙겠습니다 [I will see you all again tomorrow].