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Chapter 859
Chapter 859
Chapter 859
Bang!
“Are you out of your mind?!”
Several men and women slammed their hands down on the table in anger.
“I'm not sure I understand...”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said? Abnormal rift activity has been detected on a regular basis in the territory of Alfland! And did you forget what happened here a few months ago?”
A strikingly handsome man at the front of the table shouted, no longer able to contain his frustration.
“Now, now, calm down.”
“You think I can calm down? This is a monster zone where Special A-class or higher enhanced monsters have appeared! And if you recall, at that time, countless Awakened individuals were injured or killed trying to take them down!”
“Yes, yes, I’m well aware,” said a man in a suit, adjusting his glasses with a calm expression.
“Then why did you reopen the park? Are you completely ignoring the warnings I gave you before?”
“Now, how about we all take a seat and discuss—”
“Discuss? What’s left to discuss?”
“Hold on a second, Yoon-Seok,” said a cold-looking young girl who appeared to be a high schooler, stepping forward to stop the irritated man.
“You’ll need to give us a very convincing reason for reopening this place. Otherwise, we’ll seize the management rights to this facility by the authority of the Special Monster Administration Bureau.”
“Seize it?”
“If I’m not mistaken, there’s a clause that allows us to do so under Korea’s Special Monster Law.”
Feeling the increasingly tense atmosphere, the suited man, Park Hyun-Su, sighed inwardly.
His employer was a figure known worldwide by name alone.
[Please assist him in managing the amusement park. I’ll provide as much funding as needed.]
Rumor had it that you could become a billionaire just by getting close to this man, given his level of wealth. With someone like that supporting him, Hyun-Su wasn’t about to give up his position.
Moreover...
“To address the issue, the park has recently come under new management. I’m not aware of any prior discussions you all had with the former manager, but we’ve been assured that the frequency of monster activity here has stabilized, and with substantial funding, we have resumed operations here at Alfland.”
“And you believe that to be more important than people’s lives?”
“The details...”
Clatter!!
At that moment, someone casually walked into the office. A small girl lay limp across his shoulder, draped over him as if she’d fainted.
“Chairman!”
Park Hyun-Su, both the acting manager and in-house attorney, lit up at the sight of the young chairman’s timely arrival.
“Sir, I’m Park Hyun-Su, responsible for Alfland’s legal consultations and management support. My employer Mr. Hajat assigned me to assist you, so I’ve been overseeing operations here. I look forward to working with you!”
Everyone watched in stunned silence as the once-confident Hyun-Su respectfully bowed to a man who looked significantly younger than him.
“Oh, thank you. I understand why Al Hajat put you in charge here. But before anything else, is there somewhere to rest for a bit?”
“A... A place to rest?”
“For her,” Davey said as he gestured toward Rinne, making Hyun-Su widen his eyes.
“Oh, there’s a bed this way. Shall I call an ambulance?”
“No, it’ll only cause chaos if they examine her,” he said in reply as he thought of how one half of Rinne was composed of organs while the other half was auto-regenerating parts.
Creak!!
The foldable bed began groaning under Rinne’s weight which exceeded two hundred kilograms. Looking down at her peacefully sleeping, Davey let out a sigh.
“This is really unexpected.”
‘I don’t think she was ever like this before.’
“So, what’s going on here? You don’t seem like staff preparing for the parade,” Davey asked, turning to the group.
Then Yoon-Seok, who stood in front, spoke up.
“Are you the person in charge of managing Alfland? It’s good that you’re here. I’ll keep it short: Shut down operations immediately and send the guests home.”
“Huh?”
Davey narrowed his eyes at the sudden demand.
“If this continues, countless people could die.”
Hearing those words, sincere and without deception, Davey narrowed his eyes.
* * *
Meanwhile.
“Phew... It’s okay, Aeria. It was just someone dressed up.”
“But... it wasn’t just a costume... It didn’t smell like a person... It was more like something that had been rotting for a long time...”
Perserque and Illyna exchanged glances as they looked at Aeria tearing up.
“Perserque, was there really a spirit?” Illyna asked.
“I’m not sure as I’ve never seen one myself. But honestly, I must admit it was a bit surprising.”
“That it’s scarier than a real ghost, right?” Illyna chuckled.
The atmosphere, the sudden appearance—it all seemed designed to provoke fear. They couldn’t help but admire humanity’s talent for stirring terror.
“Humans are scarier than any ghost.”
Perserque sighed, watching Super Ribbon happily lick her soft-serve ice cream as if the situation was endlessly amusing.
“By the way, where did Davey go?”
* * *
“So, to clarify, a Special A-class monster appeared here with an egg, and then it disappeared again. And you feel that the egg posed a considerable threat. Is that right?”
“This area is notorious for its unstable wave patterns. Last time, we were lucky enough to fend it off, but it still cost dozens of lives. If it happens again, I’m certain we’ll be facing casualties once again.”
“...”
“So, shut down operations immediately,” Yoon Seok demanded firmly.
“Hmm... So people might die...”
Dressed in an aloha shirt and shorts, Davey sat with his legs crossed on the sofa.
“Hey miss.”
“Call me Seo-Yoon.”
“Alright, Seo-Yoon. And you’re here because you’re part of the monster what?”
“We’re with the Special Monster Administration Bureau. Or you can just call us the National Special Disaster Intelligence Agency.”
“Got it. And all of this you’re saying... is this the Agency’s official stance?”
“Well...”
Seo-Yoon frowned.
“Excuse me. Do you even understand how serious the situation is? It was all over the news—countless people died and were injured here when the Special A-class monsters appeared!”
“So?”
“They were never defeated. They just went back into hiding! Do you get what that means? A Special A-class monster is powerful enough to come and go whenever it wants, acting on its own will. High-ranking Awakened individuals need to risk their lives to subdue them. But what’s even more concerning is the egg they were guarding.”
In other words, the Special A-class monster was dangerous enough on its own, but the egg they had could potentially be even more so.
“What did those people do to deserve death? If you don’t shut down operations and send them home immediately, this could become a catastrophe.”
Davey nodded. “You make a fair point.”
Currently, he had cast a face blindness spell, so no one knew he was Prince Davey O’Rowane. After all, a lot had happened to change the world while he was gone.
“So then—!”
“But here’s the thing, Seo-Yoon... and you too—Yoon-Seok, correct?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, but shutting down Alfland isn’t an option.”
“What did you just say?”
Yoon-Seok raged in anger and glared at him.
“Are you saying a few bucks are worth more than people’s lives...?”
“Yoon-Seok, do you know how many staff members work at Alfland?”
He hesitated at the posed question. On the other hand, Davey already knew the answer before he even asked the question.
“There are hundreds of staff members here, each with families of their own.”
“S-So...?”
“What you’re asking for; closing down operations isn’t at all difficult. But what will happen to those people afterward?”
“That’s—”
“You’re trying to shut down a massive theme park over vague concerns. Am I wrong?”
“That’s not the point! Your premise is wrong in the first place!”
“Then tell me what it is. You’re asking me to throw hundreds of people out on the streets over something that might not even happen.”
Most of the people in the area here originally worked as staff at Alfland. They’d been on the brink of losing their jobs due to the monster incident, but Al Hajat had bought out the park, allowing them to keep working here.
“If I close the park like you want, they’ll really lose their jobs this time. Can you take responsibility for that? Or cover the national-level financial losses from your own pocket? I’ve heard the operating costs of Alfland are staggering.”
“Well, I...”
“It’s not like I don’t understand your intentions, but reality doesn’t work so simply like that.”
“Then... you shouldn’t have reopened the park in the first place! You’re risking people’s lives!”
“I suppose that’s one way to see it.”
“Well, at least you should’ve opened the park after confirming it’s safe...”
“It is safe.”
They looked at him in stunned silence.
“You!”
Finally, Yoon-Seok couldn’t hold back any longer. He grabbed Davey by the collar, furious.
“You’re not even taking us seriously, are you...?!”
“No, I mean that we’re operating because it’s safe. Can’t you understand?”
“...”
Seo-Yoon coldly glared at him.
“People get hurt and killed because of people like you. You heartless jerk.”
“Okay. Is that all you’ve got to say?”
"The NSDIA will be coming soon to officially seize your management rights. Let’s just hope no one gets hurt—or worse—before then."
‘If that really happens... there’s no bright future ahead of you.’ Davey thought.
With these final words, Seo-Yoon and Yoon-Seok stormed out, followed by several others.
“Sigh... My apologies, Chairman. Ideally, I should’ve handled this before it got to you..."
“No worries. Just makes me think Al Hajat is a rather impressive man.”
Handing over management rights and simply collecting royalties—it seemed like a generous gift on the surface. But if Al Hajat were truly that reckless with his generosity, he wouldn’t have come to be known as the richest man in the world.
Park Hyun-Su made a puzzled face at his response.
“Could you gather the staff who are currently on break?” Davey asked.
He didn’t want any of them disturbing Super Ribbon while she was enjoying her time.
“Oh, and just so you know, all the staff here—including you—are now under my wing. I’ll make sure everyone is provided for.”
Davey was determined to ensure that no monster was going to change this. His slight smile made Hyun-Su even more perplexed.
“Chairman, may I ask... what you plan to do?”
“Nothing much. Just going to set a little... bear trap, if you will.”
Davey then stood up. Al Hajat was one of the few people who knew that he was Saint Davey O’Rowane of Tionis. And since Al Hajat trusted Hyun-Su, he figured he could as well.
“By the way, on a different note—could I take a look at the schedule for today’s parade and festival events?”
“Oh? Ah, yes, of course!” he replied, handing him a stack of documents.
“Looks good... Although...”
“Ah, the fireworks, sir? It’s quite an impressive display. I think you’ll be pleased.”
“A fun idea just crossed my mind. Would you mind showing me around?”
Hyun-Su once again made a puzzled face.
* * *
Bang!!
Yoon-Seok kicked the wall in frustration as he left the staff management office.
“That bastard! He doesn’t even realize how many lives are at stake!!”
“Calm down, Yoon-Seok. This isn’t the time to lose our heads,” Seo-Yoon said firmly.
“She’s right. Besides, if that Special A-class monster shows up again, he’s finished anyway,” another man chimed in.
“By then, it’ll be too late.”
“That’s why we need to stop it ourselves.”
“How are we supposed to do that?!” Yoon-Seok demanded.
Glaring coldly in the direction of the office, Seo-Yoon replied, “We’ll lure it away the moment it appears, without risking anyone nearby, and take it down. Yoon-Seok, please request backup from the NSDIA. The rest of you, follow me. We’ll set detection equipment up across the park.”
“But will the staff cooperate?”
“We’ll make it so they don’t have a choice,” Seo-Yoon said as she held up her badge. “And if that monster shows up, let’s teach the guy a lesson he won’t forget.”
With that, she strode off with determination.
Once everyone had dispersed, one of the Awakened individuals who had accompanied Yoon-Seok and Seo-Yoon chuckled quietly to himself.
He was Park Woong-Cheol, an NSDIA agent. Taking a cigarette from his pocket, he muttered under his breath with a hollow expression, “As is His will.”
A dark, deathly voice that only he could hear murmured in response. Hearing it, he took in a deep breath before dropping the cigarette, crushing it with his foot. He began to move with a sinister-looking jewel in his hand.
Something hidden beneath Alfland started to awaken. Slowly, a dark seed began to burrow up from the ground...
Crack!!
“Hm?”
“Is something wrong, Chairman?”
“No, it felt like I stepped on something.”
“That’s odd. The room was cleaned recently... I will have it cleaned again.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m not that picky. Must’ve just imagined it.”
Smiling faintly, Davey lifted his foot to check, but he found nothing.
Alfland, the amusement park built with unimaginable amounts of money, was filled with the joyful laughter of countless visitors.
“A place where people come to find joy can’t be allowed to fall apart. Just wait, Super Ribbon. Daddy’s preparing the best gift for you.”