Islow Bourbork was a very positional person.
In the distant past, when Tirna was called the City of Opportunity, he had come to Tirna from the barbarians of the North because he had heard the rumors.
But even in Tirna, there were prejudices and discrimination against northerners.
Norsemen are barbarians.
Northerners still live in the old days.
They don't progress, they just fight each other.
It was prejudice, but it wasn't wrong.
In a world that is changing rapidly with the advancement of science, the North is the one place that has not been touched by the grace of change.
Some Northerners adapted to the world and changed themselves, but most did not.
They still wanted to live the way they used to, barbaric and plundering.Naturally, the world's perception of them was bad, and many of them left their homeland to settle elsewhere.
Tirna was the city where the most Northerners gathered.
And Islow Bourbork was a man who built an organization from the bottom of Tirna.
He was a drunken, ragged, and ugly old man now, but no one could deny his accomplishments.
‘What the hell is a man like that doing here?’
Osian knew about Islow from the stories he'd heard.
He'd heard that he'd left the running of the organization to the board of directors and lived a life of leisure.
Just by looking at his body, you could tell that he was the type of person who rarely went out.
That's why he came to the entrance of the ruins with a group of people.
His bold entrance drew the attention of others, but he quickly withdrew as the North Blinders took up positions.
“Boss, what brings you here.......”
Balud asked as he and Isela broke their embrace and approached Islow.
He was quite surprised to see the boss here.
“Director Balud. Can’t I come here?”
Islow frowned, as if he were offended.
Balud inclined his head in a respectful bow.
“No, sir.”
Islow glared at Balud, then broke into a wide grin.
“Heh, heh, heh. I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Why would I do that on a day like today, when our director, Mr. Balud, has done me a favor?”
“No, I haven't.”
“Smile. Because you deserve it today, hehehe. Now that's someone I trust.”
Islow patted Balud on the shoulder.
Isela, who had been listening to him, looked up, her eyes shining.
“Dad. So now you admit it?”
“Isela. I'm too busy to talk about it now, so let's do it another time.”
“Another time! Why do you keep putting it off?”
Isela exclaimed, exasperated. As if this wasn't the first time this had happened.
“Balud has proven himself this time, you've seen him!”
“He doesn't have a worthy business yet. Only when he has one can he be called a director. Why can't you see that?”
“Same old excuses, don't you get tired of it? If you don't like it, just say no!”
Before the father-daughter conversation could get out of hand, Balud spoke up.
“Miss. I'm fine.”
“Balud......!”
“It's just because I'm not good enough, I agree with boss.”
“You're not really......!”
Isela bit her lip hard and stormed off.
Osian could only watch.
Beside him, Illua nudged Osian.
“Hey, I think we saw something we shouldn't have.”
“Hmph. It's a complicated family history or something.”
“Complicated family history is something you can just brush off?”
It's the story of an executive who falls in love with the daughter of the organization's boss.
Balud is a very capable man, so it shouldn't be impossible for him to marry the boss' daughter.
‘The problem is, it doesn't look like that at all.’
Osian could feel Islow's gaze sneaking up on Balud.
He's smiling, but there's a hint of negativity between his eyes.
'She loves him with all her heart, and he believes that if he works hard enough, he can be recognized. But Islow doesn't seem to have any intention of doing that.’
However knowing that doesn't mean Osian can give Balud advice.
Even though they've gotten to know each other a bit since they explored the ruins together today, it would be out of line to discuss such personal matters.
Balud had to do this on his own.
At least, that's what Osian thought.
At that moment, Osian locked eyes with Islow.
Islow glanced at Osian, then turned to Illua next to him and smiled.
His gait was quite unsteady, as if he had trouble walking due to his large size. He really does walk with a lot of gusto.
“Oooh. It's good to see you. Are you one of the explorers on this expedition?”
“Ah, yes. I'm Illua, an archaeologist.”
“I see. The daughter of the famous Andrew. Thank you. You've saved us North Blinders a lot of shame.”
“Oh, no, I was just doing what I had to do, and if anything, I was more helpful to Mr. Balud.”
Illua was embarrassed, but she drew a clear line in the sand.
From her point of view, Islow wasn't doing her much favors, just going through the motions.
They were the ones who had rushed her father to the hospital.
She knew in her head it was a faction fight, but it didn't feel good to be on the receiving end.
“What about you?”
Islow's gaze snapped to Osian.
The words struck a chord with Osian. If he was around Illua, he'd know that she hired him.
However, Osian responded calmly to the attitude of treating him as if he were inferior.
“I’m Osian.”
“Hmm?”
Islow's expression changed subtly.
He hadn't expected someone to use such an insulting word against him.
Islow's men glared at Osian, their faces grim.
Despite their frightening momentum, Osian's face remained expressionless.
He even gave them a 'what can I do if you guys glare at me' look.
Just as someone was about to pout, Islow laughed.
“Hehe. You're not going to tell me you don't know who I am, are you?”
“You're dragging people around like this and you don't think I know?”
“I don't dislike bravery, but if it's not backed up by skill, it's not bravery at all.”
Islow's eyes narrowed into a piercing glare.
I thought he was just an old man who had grown old and been relegated to the back room, but he still had traces of his legendary past.
“Well, at least you're not bluffing, and you seem pretty confident, but you'd better be careful, because too much of a good thing can break.”
With that half-warning, half-advice, Islow climbed into his vehicle.
Everyone bowed down to his vehicle to see him off.
As Osian stood there, Balud approached him and asked.
“Are you out of your mind? Do you think you can talk to the boss like that and expect to keep your neck?”
“You looked frustrated, so I said something for you, so why are you angry?”
Osian's pointed question left Balud speechless for a moment.
“......Anyway, it's a good thing the boss took it in stride, or we could have gotten in trouble.”
“Yeah. Let's call it that, are you sure he’s better than that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, the young lady seems quite upset, and I think we should go and make her feel better.”
“.......”
Balud sighed in frustration.
“It's my business......so stay out of it.”
“I see. I'm out of line.”
Osian nodded in understanding.
Even if he didn't say it, he knew Balud realized it, too.
There was nothing to be gained by messing with a man who was so upset, so he decided to leave it at that.
“Well, I'll see you later.”
“I'd prefer not to see you again.”
Balud said bluntly, but not with his eyes or expression.
“But if I ever get a chance, I'll at least treat you to a drink, a gift on the way out.”
“Looks like you haven't given up on Vendetta, and for your information, I don't drink unless it's expensive.”
“I'm not cheap either.”
Balud waved a modest goodbye, and Osian did the same as they walked away.
Yes, this is the perfect amount of distance between people from the underworld.
*
With Osian's successful return, Violet Fox was in a festive mood.
Ronan, Diolan, Lorraine, and even Seren, everyone congratulated Osian.
“Not only did you explore the ruins, but you even came back with success! So what did you get out of it?”
Lorraine's reaction was the most intense.
“So that's what you were really after.”
“Eh, I'm just curious, come on.”
“Well, I went there and worked hard, and I got three artifacts.”
“Artifacts?! Three of them?!”
Lorraine's eyes widened.
He wondered if it was just an illusion to see the currency symbols in her eyes.
“What is it? Show me!”
Ronan should have restrained Lorraine at this point, but he was just as curious about the artifact Osian had brought with him.
Osian had nothing to hide, so he showed them what he had brought.
“One is an amulet, another is a bracelet, and the last one it’s a shield.”
Osian took out the shield from the storage bracelet, hoping to demonstrate its power.
Everyone in the room gasped, especially Lorraine.
“Ah, a subspace storage item!”
“You know it?”
“That thing is so expensive!”
Lorraine's criteria was money.
But seriously, in Tirna, money is a pretty accurate indicator of quality, especially when it comes to portable storage items like this.
Especially when you consider that things like pouches imbued with spatial magic fetched huge sums at auction.
“How much would you get if you took one of those to an auction house and sold it?”
Diolan asked out of pure curiosity.
Osian hadn't really thought about it. He'd brought it here to use in the first place.
Then Lorraine spoke up, her face serious.
She wore a pair of glasses from some unknown source.
“It's a magical bracelet found in an ancient ruin, so it's bound to command a premium over a simple pouch made from tools, and since it has an automatic summoning method unlike a pouch you pull out yourself, even considering its capacity is less than that, the bracelet itself is worth at least three billion, if not more, considering its uniqueness! But that's the auction house minimum, and since mages will be trying to figure out how it works, they'll be even more dazzled, so they'll be willing to pay more, and then you'll have to add.......”
Lorraine's face turned grim as she finished the calculations in her head.
Even Ronan shook his head as if his bones ached.
“Sometimes I feel scared when I see Lorraine like this.”
“When it involves real money, she’s like a ghost.”
But no one challenged Lorraine's assessment.
Although he was afraid of Lorraine's money-obsessed behavior, he acknowledged her calculations.
“I brought it here to use, but I didn't realize it would be so expensive.”
Osian stared at the bracelet he wore and muttered to himself.
This is a lot of money.
I hope Terence finds out later and doesn't throw a tantrum to change it.
As he thought this, raindrops fell outside.
“Oh, it's raining.”
“Well, well. The radio forecast said it was going to be sunny, but I guess you can't trust the Tirna weather service.”
The rain came down quite hard.
Passersby scrambled for umbrellas as they passed by the windows.
The sky is overcast.
The raindrops mingling with Tirna's polluted atmosphere were toxic enough on their own.
The 30th District would be better off, but the 40th District would be a mess.
It was the most polluted area, and in some places the entire neighborhood itself was contaminated.
“And what about Ena? She was supposed to go grocery shopping.”
Diolan said to Seren's concern.
“She took an umbrella with her on the way out, so she'll be fine, don't worry.”
“But it's still bad weather. What if something happens on the way?”
“Something happens when you're shopping around here in the first place.”
Right?
While everyone was talking, the door opened with a click.
The first thing I noticed was Ena's trademark red hooded cloak.
She stepped inside, folding an umbrella full of raindrops. She didn't close the door behind her, though, and her expression was a little strange.
“Uh……Everyone. I picked up a person on my way here. Is that okay?”
A person? Who the hell did she mean?
While everyone was puzzled, Ena grabbed the hand of a woman waiting near the entrance and led her inside.
It was a gray-haired woman with a pitiful, rain-soaked face.
At the sight of her, Osian immediately drew the sword at his waist.
“Why are you here?”
She wasn't wearing any armor, but Ossian could tell that she was the guardian who had escaped from the ruins.