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CHAPTER 173 — BRIBE
Clink—
Two foreigners who had entered the café looked around the inside.
It was a café with a moderate number of people seated—good for having a conversation.
“Jeffrey, where is Prophet-nim?”
“Not sure. Since I don’t see him, I guess he hasn’t come yet.”
“Well, there are still thirty minutes until the appointment time.”
The moment Nathan and Jeffrey arrived in Korea, they headed straight to the café the Prophet had mentioned.
Nathan couldn’t drink coffee, but he wasn’t dissatisfied with taking a seat in a café.
At least today—when they’d come to apologize to the Prophet—he intended to cater to his mood.
“Let’s sit here.”
“Yes. Should I go order drinks?”
“I’m fine. Go order your coffee, at least.”
“No. If you won’t drink, Clergyman-nim, I don’t want to either.”
Nathan wore a satisfied smile, but only for a moment.
‘To think a boy this polite got excited and made the situation this bad.’
Just thinking about the recorded file of Jeffrey threatening the Prophet made his lips refuse to lift.
“Why did you do it?”
“Pardon? Do what…”
“I thought you were an assassin with a cold, steady heart. But with the Prophet, you got furious in a way unlike you. Why was that?”
“I told you, didn’t I? To help Christine…”
“And that justifies using such a crude method? Worse, your voice wasn’t cold at all—you sounded like an enraged beast that had lost its reason.”
“……”
“Don’t tell me you were harboring feelings for my daughter?”
Jeffrey’s heart dropped, but he tried to keep his composure.
“…No, of course not.”
“If not, then why did you lose your reason? Like an idiot blinded by love.”
“I have no excuse…”
Jeffrey could only bow his head.
Because he knew that no matter what he said, it would only sound like excuses.
Clink—
At the sound of the door opening, Jeffrey lifted his head absentmindedly—and then his mouth fell open.
“H-he’s here.”
When Nathan turned his head, a small-built East Asian man was walking toward them.
‘Not much of a first impression.’
Short, seeming to have no muscle—an ordinary East Asian man who looked weak to anyone’s eyes.
That was Nathan’s assessment, but it didn’t matter.
What did appearances matter?
He was this era’s Nostradamus, a man who could see the future.
“Greetings, Prophet-nim.”
Nathan greeted first with a kindly face, and Ryu Min replied with a small nod.
“You’re Nathan Craig, correct? Christine’s father.”
“That’s right. Please, sit here.”
“Nice to meet you, Prophet-nim.”
Ryu Min flicked a glance at Jeffrey’s greeting and answered curtly.
“I’m not very pleased to meet you.”
“I’m sorry about what happened then. I committed a sin worthy of death against you, Prophet-nim.”
To ease the Prophet’s mood, Jeffrey started with an apology.
He bowed deeply enough that it felt sincere.
‘In Korea, they say you have to bow like this to make the other person’s anger go away.’
Information he’d picked up through K-dramas.
But it wouldn’t work on Ryu Min, who could read thoughts.
“Then die.”
“Pardon?”
“You said you committed a sin worthy of death. Go out and die.”
“N-no, Prophet-nim. That’s too harsh—”
“Harsh? That’s strange. It’s only been a few days—have you already forgotten? Compared to you putting a knife to me and threatening to kill me, I think this is less harsh. You don’t remember? If you don’t, should I play that recording nice and loud right here?”
“……”
At the rougher-than-expected reaction, Jeffrey’s expression hardened stiffly.
He’d thought that if he bowed this much, the other person would laugh and forgive him—something like, ‘It’s fine, haha. That’s all in the past.’ It was unexpected.
Nathan also seemed surprised that the Prophet, unlike his appearance, was raising his voice.
“Ahem, s-sorry……. I was wrong a hundred times, a thousand times over.”
“Why do you keep saying you’re sorry? I don’t feel even a hint of apology from you.”
“……”
That just now had been a provocation and a kind of test.
To make it easier to read Jeffrey’s thoughts.
And sure enough—
-This puny Prophet bastard is a pain in the ass. I can’t just kill him either.
There wasn’t the slightest sign of remorse in Jeffrey.
Of course, with Nathan sitting beside him, he was acting calm on the outside.
‘Tch. This is why you shouldn’t trust blond beasts so easily.’
It wasn’t surprising.
Ryu Min had expected from the start that he’d still be holding a grudge.
‘You can’t leave a variable like this, one that could jump in any direction.’
He’d already decided to eliminate the variable.
He hadn’t cared about an apology from the beginning.
Not knowing any of that, Nathan forced a smile and tried to smooth the atmosphere.
“Haha… It seems Prophet-nim is truly angry. Understandably so. Even I was furious listening to that recording… Still, I think it might be better for both of you if we stop around here and you forgive him generously. Not only did I scold him severely, I even made him swear he would never do it again. You may not know this, but as one who serves God, the weight of an oath is different from that of ordinary people—”
His speech went on and on, so none of it really entered Ryu Min’s ears.
Since he already knew a bribe had been prepared, he only wanted them to open it quickly.
Thankfully, perhaps he read the indifferent expression; Nathan went, ‘Ah,’ and pulled something out of his bag.
“It’s a five-carat diamond. In Korean won, it amounts to 300 million. Please accept it.”
“Why are you giving me this?”
“As a sign of apology.”
“But the one who did wrong wasn’t you, Nathan.”
“No, it is my fault. Jeffrey is a child I took in since he was young. In a way, he’s no different from a son. Isn’t a child’s upbringing the parent’s fault? So it’s no different from my fault.”
Ryu Min quietly stared at the diamond.
For someone overflowing with money, it wasn’t such an enormous bribe, but for others it would be beyond excessive—an overflowing object.
‘If they’re giving it, there’s no reason not to take it. It’s useless to me, so I should hand it to Min Juri.’
If he gave it to Min Juri, she’d probably regard it as a debt and become even more firmly on his side.
If he could buy a Buffer’s heart for a mere 300 million won, it wasn’t a waste.
“Fine. I’ll accept the apology.”
Ryu Min smiled as he accepted the diamond.
He might look materialistic, but he didn’t care.
Because for Nathan, it wasn’t only an apology—there was also the meaning of “please look after my daughter.”
‘A deal. A deal.’
He’d taken the bribe, but there was still one more thing to take.
“I’ll go to the restroom.”
As soon as Ryu Min left his seat, Jeffrey’s expression immediately turned dissatisfied.
“What’s so special about that Prophet, seriously. He’s hard to placate.”
“Do not say such things. It is because there is a Prophet that Christine can live.”
“He’s leaving out the important information, and she’s ‘living’ because of him… what, exactly…”
“Jeffrey.”
Nathan glared at him with frightening eyes.
“I don’t care whether you hold resentment or not. But in front of the Prophet, watch your mouth. Don’t ruin a relationship we barely recovered. Understood?”
“Yeees. Don’t worry.”
Though he said not to worry, inside, Jeffrey still held a grudge.
Until Yamtti appeared right in front of him.
“Hello.”
“What is it?”
“Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but you’re a bit loud. Could you be quiet, please. Please.”
She appeared and disappeared in an instant, but that alone was enough.
Enough to place Jeffrey under Yamtti’s thrall.
“What was that? That woman—do you know her?”
At Nathan’s question, Jeffrey turned to look at Yamtti.
When Yamtti slightly shook her head, Jeffrey turned his head back.
“Not sure. I don’t know her either.”
“If only I could understand what she’s saying, one.”
Just then, Ryu Min returned from the restroom.
Their eyes met, but the hostility from before was gone.
‘He’s been dominated by Yamtti.’
With that, the variable was removed.
Detailed orders could be given over the phone.
Ryu Min smiled broadly and said in a cheerful tone,
“Alright then, as a sign of reconciliation, shall we have coffee together? It’s on me.”
“S-sure.”
Only Nathan, who couldn’t drink coffee, wore a bitter expression.
Ever since Round 10 ended, the Heavenly Realm was in an uproar.
Because of none other than the disappearance of one of the Seven Archangels—Remiel.
[Speak truthfully. Is it true?]
[Yes. I saw it with my own two eyes. I clearly witnessed him enter the Akashic Records and then come back out.]
[And that was the last time you saw the Archangel?]
[That is correct.]
After hearing the soldier’s testimony, the Seven Archangels’ Michael’s elegant brow furrowed slightly.
[Understood. You may go.]
[Yes!]
With his wings folded, Michael stood motionless, sunk in thought.
Through the soldiers’ testimony, he had gathered everything worth gathering.
‘I have long heard that a single Player is summoning angels at the Oracle Altar and killing them. But…’
By coincidence, at that very point, Remiel went missing.
The soldiers’ last sight of him was simply that he came out of the Akashic Records and went off somewhere.
‘Don’t tell me he followed the Player down to the Oracle Altar?’
If so, why hadn’t he returned to the Heavenly Realm even after several days had passed?
And why was he ignoring contact from Michael, who held absolute power among the Seven Archangels?
In the end, there was only one hypothesis that came to mind.
‘Did he die? Remiel?’
Had he died fighting that Player who was said to kill angels?
‘It’s hard to believe. That one of the Seven Archangels could die at the hands of a Player who was only in Round 10?’
But there was no other hypothesis he could reasonably set up.
‘In the end, do I have no choice but to go to the Akashic Records?’
Michael already knew that Remiel frequently came and went from the Akashic Records.
He used to say like a habit that he was bored and would go listen to stories of other dimensions.
‘And the moment he came out, he went down to the Oracle Altar. As if he had heard in advance that angels were being slaughtered.’
There was only one way to hear news in advance inside the Akashic Records, where connections to the outside were cut off.
‘He definitely heard something from Luvaiah.’
That thought-form loved to talk about this and that, so it might have told Remiel the story of the surface world.
Flash—
In an instant, Michael teleported to the entrance of the Akashic Records and opened the door.
Rumble— thud!
As he stepped inside, the door closed, and he saw Luvaiah standing there as if it had been waiting.
[Greetings to the Archangel above Archangels, Michael-nim.]
[You knew I would come?]
[That is correct. The Akashic Records—an ultra-dimensional information aggregate that has no equal in the universe—truly tells many things.]
[Then you know why I came.]
[It is because of Remiel-nim.]
[Yes. As you likely already know, he has gone missing. I want you to tell me honestly what happened.]
[Have you heard of Black Scythe?]
At the unexpected words, Michael’s eyebrows lifted.
[What is that?]
[So you have not heard. He is a Player currently maintaining Rank 1.]
[Is he the culprit who massacred the soldiers?]
[That is correct.]
[An insolent one. To dare to set his mind on killing angels.]
[Not only soldiers. Remiel-nim also fell to that one.]
[…….]
He had expected it, but hearing it directly was still a shock.
[One of the Seven Archangels, who can face a hundred Grade-1 angels, dying to a mere human. Is that even possible?]
[Whether it is possible or not, it has already happened.]
[…….]
Luvaiah had no reason to lie.
‘Black Scythe… an extraordinary human.’
Only Round 10 had passed, and yet he had grown enough to kill an Archangel.
‘An impressive human. But only until today.’
Since it wasn’t a soldier but an Archangel who had died, Michael, as their leader, could not ignore it.
[Before he grows further, I must kill him at once.]
[Black Scythe is still on Earth. In a few days, Round 11 will begin.]
[Then I should aim for him when Round 11 begins. Forcing open the gate between dimensions and manifesting would be too burdensome in penalties.]
[That would be best. However, I recommend that you wait a bit longer—not for Round 11.]
[Why?]
After a brief pause, Luvaiah opened its mouth.
[Because it will help you achieve your great cause far more.]