Looking at the photo, Lee Geon burst out laughing.
No, they praised her so much as a holy maiden that he thought something incredible must have appeared in the past 20 years.
"Ah. This was the holy maiden?"
And at Lee Geon's mockery, the Appraiser was puzzled.
"This is rare. Even Seongjae, who's practically your fanboy, had his eyes wander a bit."
"Really?"
"Men just lose their minds. They say she's a beauty."
At that, Lee Geon laughed even harder. At his reaction, the Appraiser changed the subject.
"Ah, of course, there is a separate holy figure called the peerless beauty."
He meant that he respected personal taste.
But to Lee Geon, it was simply laughable.
'At this level, it's essentially a disguise.'
Of course, she was different from 20 years ago. Her buck teeth and snaggletooth had disappeared, and her appearance had truly become remarkably beautiful.
Objectively speaking, her face wasn't bad to begin with.
But.
'Where did that nature of hers go?'
In the first place, he was someone who found all Twelve Saints—excluding Hugo—utterly detestable.
He even roughly graded his dislike, and Sophie fell into the vermin category.
That meant she wasn't even worthy of being treated as a human. That's how far outside the normal category those eleven were.
And this was a holy maiden?
'Someone who valued her own skincare appointment time more than the life of the person protecting her?'
And it wasn't just that.
No, when did *she* ever treat him?
That made sense, because Sophie was, on top of being a quack healer, a massive face-judging fangirl.
She had always treated him as less than human.
Thanks to that, she used to scream that he was a monster and she didn't even want to touch him, constantly threatening to sue.
In the end, she didn't seem to realize that was why he ended up having to study herbology, a skill he was never destined to learn, all on his own.
'Well, I benefited quite a bit from the increase in miscellaneous knowledge, though.'
And as if well aware of that fact, the Appraiser praised him until his mouth was dry.
"People know the holy maiden as the one who treated you, Lee Geon-nim, but if that were truly the case, would you have been so knowledgeable about herbs and medicine?"
Lee Geon chuckled.
Yeah, exactly, that's right.
"On top of that, the way you collected materials with a single butcher knife was incredible. You probably didn't get to see that either. What a wasted life."
Yes, yes. Indeed, a person has to be actively doing things to be seen...
"Especially when you grabbed the holy maiden by the hair and made her cry, I felt truly vindicated."
...Huh? Did that happen?
Lee Geon seriously tilted his head, but either way, it didn't matter.
He forgot the reason, but knowing her, it was probably because he was enraged by some obnoxious stunt she pulled.
Sure enough, the Appraiser cursed the Aquarius Saint.
"Anyway, I really don't know why the world sees that woman as a holy maiden of sacrifice and mercy."
It seemed he had noticed Sophie's personality during his work as an Appraiser.
Just as expected.
"This is all because of the fact that the holy maiden was your personal healer. She's using that as an excuse to take the funds accumulated under your name, Lee Geon-nim."
The Appraiser seemed incredibly frustrated, but Lee Geon only laughed.
"Funds accumulated for Lee Geon?"
"Yes. The funds gathered in your name posthumously. From people, nations, corporations who received your grace... not only the money itself, but 20 years' worth of items have piled up too."
Of course, because all Twelve Saints got into a massive brawl over whether to use those funds, the government was currently managing them.
"Be that as it may, this time the holy maiden requested the government return them under the pretext of your treatment fees."
"Really?"
Lee Geon looked at Sophie's interview as if disgusted. The Appraiser sent him an odd look.
"Are you perhaps acquainted with the holy maiden?"
It seemed he wasn't a veteran Appraiser for nothing. He had a sharp eye.
Unlike before, looking at Lee Geon's subtly suspicious gaze, Lee Geon turned off his phone.
"I was just happy to see her."
"Happy?"
Despite everything, she was a healing-type Saint, so he'd seen her face often.
"She's a friend. How could I not be happy to see her?"
Lee Geon stood up fiercely.
His eyes were those of a hunter tracking prey.
* * *
Of course, it seemed Lee Geon was the only one feeling happy.
"L-Lady Holy Maiden?"
Sophie was in a deserted emergency exit, clutching the handrail and trembling violently.
So her escort was bewildered.
This was practically at the level of trauma.
'She has never once been like this.'
Moreover, this place was currently packed with Holy Order Captain-class figures.
A dangerous situation where she could be attacked or kidnapped.
But to Sophie, such things didn't matter. It was because there was something far more terrifying than that.
"Have you ever thought that dying might be better than fainting?"
"Wha, what?"
He wondered why she was suddenly saying this, but Sophie trembled violently, recalling something.
"Lady Holy Maiden?"
'What's going on. Why, of all times, does that man's memory come to mind...!'
She only went to the Appraiser, so why on earth.
In the end, biting her blue lips, Sophie grabbed her escort.
"Go inside immediately and find out who that man in there is."
"Understood. Then how shall we handle the Appraiser?"
Sophie snapped.
"You have to ask? Kill him if you must, but get that price raised!"
"But that Appraiser is the direct Appraiser favored by Virgo. It could escalate into an all-out war...!"
"They're the ones who appraised it at 1 dollar first! And if possible, deal with the man who was with him too. You know what I mean, right?"
Of course they knew what she meant.
At the same time, Sophie used her power.
Boom!
[Mirror of Duplication (S)]
Along with it, an astonishing event unfolded. The surrounding floor filled with water.
"Huh? What's this, where's this water leaking from?"
Nearby Awakened beings were flustered, looking at the water.
And right after that.
As Sophie smiled, a rippling liquid surged up in front of her.
The liquid transformed into people.
They were none other than the Awakened beings of at least A-rank or higher who had stepped on the water.
It was a duplication skill.
She was perfectly duplicating those reflected in the water.
And at that moment.
Isabel, along with the subordinates Sophie created, stormed into the pawnshop.
Crash!
The unfamiliar intrusion startled Cheon Seongjae and the people inside.
'Killing intent.'
Just as expected.
Bang! Bang!
The doors slammed shut instantly, and Isabel made the sign of the cross.
[Chalice of Earth that Beckons Oblivion]
Flash!
Light poured out.
Simultaneously, strange patterns were etched onto the pawnshop floor as water began to rise. It was as if the sealed pawnshop had become a giant chalice.
When the water reached their waists, people immediately collapsed into the water one by one, as if their very souls were stolen.
The only ones who didn't collapse were Cheon Seongjae and his comrades.
"These bastards, in a neutral zone...!"
Cheon Seongjae, who had swallowed water, hurriedly tried to evaporate it, but the holy maiden's escorts standing on the water laughed coldly.
"We have no business with the Lord of Gemini."
The moment those words ended, screams echoed. Ultimately, Cheon Seongjae and his escort were dragged away by the hands of the duplicated Awakened beings rising from the water.
The holy maiden's escorts who attacked them had long since disappeared. And the place they reappeared was exactly the Appraiser's workshop.
'!'
The Appraiser, who was with Lee Geon, was startled.
The feudal lords passing through the walls were a problem, but...
'Killing intent.'
The flustered Appraiser tried to grab a weapon under his desk.
"!"
But white tendrils struck away the Appraiser's attack weapon.
"...Kuk!"
White tendrils bound the Appraiser's body.
The holy maiden's escorts smiled. Then, they brought a sword to Lee Geon's neck as he tried to go outside.
"Stop. You wouldn't want to see someone die inside the shop, right? Follow us while we're asking nicely."
When Lee Geon was threatened, the Appraiser was horrified.
That made sense, as Lee Geon was a production-type. Being captured would be one thing for someone of Cheon Seongjae's level, but ordinary crafters were different.
'If he resists, he dies.'
Of course, the person in question, Lee Geon, just laughed as if it were pathetic.
"What's this. Does the country look the other way these days when you wave swords around in public places?"
"!"
"In my day, they'd bitch and moan at you not to use weapons in public, then confiscate them."
Isabel was surprised.
Lee Geon was tapping the blade aimed at his neck dismissively, as if it were beneath him.
But she wasn't the only one surprised.
The Appraiser doubted his own ears for a moment.
It was because of Lee Geon's low voice he heard fleetingly.
Plus, the strangely familiar speech pattern. The corners of his mouth rising confidently.
"Bill the damages to these guys. Don't come looking for me."
"!"
Along with Lee Geon's gaze, the Appraiser's eyes widened. But Isabel raised an eyebrow.
"...Won't you shut... uh, uh?"
Isabel tried to put strength into her sword, but the blade was gradually pushed back. At the same time, Isabel's consciousness grew hazy.
Clang!
It was because her face had been blown away along with the sound of the blade breaking.
Crack!
The duplicated Awakened and subordinates lunged at Lee Geon, but it was useless. The legs and fingers of the charging subordinates broke.
Snap!
"Argh!"
The duplicates were mercilessly torn apart.
And at that ruthless gaze, a chill ran down Isabel's spine.
"What kind of monster...!"
It was exactly as the holy maiden said.
[It's the holy maiden's instinct. That man is dangerous.]
In the end, Isabel, regaining her senses, used Sophie's pendant. Beasts were summoned.
But Lee Geon, as if this was even better, looked at the Appraiser.
"Didn't you tell me earlier to take anything I liked?"
"!"
Lee Geon kicked the tools inside the wooden box upwards.
Then, a hunting knife, spinning in the air as it fell. It was small, but its grade was considerably high.
And Lee Geon, snatching it, vanished in an instant.
Simultaneously, a butchering scene unfolded inside the shop.
Shik!
"Kyaaaak!"
"Keeughk!"
Finally, the screams of the man-eating beasts and the Appraiser rang out.
Lee Geon didn't just viciously kill the beasts.
"As expected of something raised by that bed-wetter. The materials are all A-rank or higher."
The moment his words ended, heads were severed, and hides were stripped off.
Horns and teeth were skillfully plucked out, pop, pop.
His skill in carving out materials was truly exquisite.
"Great, this will be very useful as weapon materials."
And they were free, no less.
He had come to the exchange for weapon materials in the first place.
Lee Geon, saying this was a total profit, turned the blade.
He even caught the man-eating beasts trying to flee and mercilessly ripped out their materials.
Puuk! Puuk!
He was no different from a devil.
[Data acquired]
- Fragment of the Earth Chalice that Beckons Oblivion
[Data acquired]
- Fragment of the Mirror of Duplication
[Data acquired]
- Nocturnality that Doesn't Require Sleep (Sleep Desire Charged)
[Data acquired]
- Obsession with Prey (Mental Enhancement Trait)
[Data acquired]
- Formidable Grip Strength (5% increase in Strength)
[Divine Throne experience increased]
[Divine Throne experience increased]
And how much time passed like that?
Around the time a mountain of materials piled up before Lee Geon's eyes.
"E-Excuse me...!"
At the Appraiser's call, Lee Geon realized he'd made a mistake. He had definitely completely forgotten about the Appraiser's existence in front of the high-quality materials.
Soon, Lee Geon approached the Appraiser and cut the white tendrils binding him.
Thud!
Right then.
Boom!
"Mister, Hyung! Are you okay?"
Cheon Seongjae and his escort appeared, drenched in water, as if they had struggled outside.
It seemed they had somehow managed to break the skill.
But the moment they rushed into the workshop, they screamed.
"Wha, what is this butcher shop...!"
At the same time, they were appalled and looked at Lee Geon.
There was no way they wouldn't know that the scattered beasts were the summons raised by the holy maiden.
"Wha, what on earth did you just do...!"
But Lee Geon, extracting bones, tilted his head.
"If you release these things in front of a production-type, it means you're asking to use them as materials. Why?"
He had an expression asking what the problem was, but the escort turned pale.
"We have to leave before the holy maiden finds out!"
In the end, they hurriedly tried to take Lee Geon away.
Lee Geon didn't mind, as he was going to leave anyway.
But just then, the Appraiser grabbed Lee Geon.
"E-Excuse me!"
It was a desperate gesture. And as the Appraiser grabbed Lee Geon, Cheon Seongjae yelled.
"Mister! This isn't the time to grab him! This Hyung is in danger right now! We'll leave the cleanup to you!"
However, the Appraiser's eyes as he looked at Lee Geon were different than before.
That was natural.
Twenty years ago, in China, he had followed Lee Geon around, watching the spectacle of him creating items.
In that process, he naturally saw him skinning hides and collecting materials from monsters.
So there was no way he couldn't know.
That's why he grabbed him and tried to shout.
"Lee Geon-n..."
But the Appraiser was startled.
'!'
Instead of answering, Lee Geon smiled, bringing his index finger to his lips.
It meant to pretend not to know for a moment.
Because it was getting noisy.
At this, the Appraiser trembled as if in shock. His eyes seemed to ask if this was reality.
Of course, Cheon Seongjae was dumbfounded.
"What's this. Why's this old guy acting like this?"
Then the Appraiser shot Cheon Seongjae a glare, as if asking if he still hadn't noticed.
He looked like he had a whole lot to say.
But Cheon Seongjae lightly ignored it.
"Mister, he must have really gone crazy."
"Haha. He must be in quite a shock."
Lee Geon hid his gleaming eyes as he left. He felt a familiar presence outside.
"Anyway, those materials, I'll come back for them later, so keep them safe. I have things to ask too."
The door closed.
The appraiser, his legs giving out, collapsed.
An unbelievable scream was a bonus.
(To be continued in the next episode)