C110: Preparations (2)
Ivan boasted that he would show the basement of the Kunst auction house. Alex, who already knew about it, was surprised that Ivan Luke himself came forward and introduced it.
‘It’s not really a secret.’
Ivan is acting like that for two reasons.
One is that people are thoughtlessly stupid enough to easily expose such an important place.
The other one.
‘Even if he lets people know that such an important place exists, he is confident that they will never rob it.’
Alex thought the latter was obvious.
“Here it is. What do you think?”
Alex could feel from the moment he stood at the entrance to the underground why Ivan Luke could be so confident.
‘It’s bloody from the entrance.’
The elevator is the only way down to the basement and guards were guarding the elevator entrance.
There are only two guards but if they’re knights the story is different.
‘And even the security of the entrance.’
Surprisingly, the elevator didn’t have a separate button. Instead, Ivan took out a key he had brought beforehand and inserted it into an existing groove instead where the button should be. Then, the door of the elevator opened from side to side with a rattling sound.
‘Is this not just a lift? It looks like it’s made of pretty sophisticated machinery, so it won’t open without a key.’
Alex pretended to be surprised at the sight, but his eyes did not miss the shape of the key. An ornate key plated in gold with a red jewel on the handle.
“Come on. Let’s go in.”
“Of course, my friend.”
Ivan Luke, Alex, Pantos and other escorts got on the lift.
The driver could not follow because this was a place where only invited people could come. As a result, Pantos was holding the case instead of the person hired as driver.
The inside of the elevator was wider than expected, enough for more than 30 strong adult men to ride. It may have been made like this because a large number of objects are carried.
“Ring.”
Soon the elevator door that arrived underground opened. Contrary to what he thought it would be monotonous, the inside was quite complex with a long corridor and several passages.
“This is the basement of our Kunst Auction House, where we maintain an impenetrable security that has not been breached by anyone for the past 20 years.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
Alex clapped his hands in delight as he skimmed through the scenery inside.
“I didn’t know there was such a huge space in the basement of the auction house.”
“Ha ha. It takes that much space to store the items for auction. My father, the chairman, has thought of that issue since he built this building.”
“As expected of Chairman Luke. Ivan, are you the chairman’s successor?”
“Hmm. What do you mean by that? Not yet, but I’ll soon be. Ha-ha-ha.”
When Alex flattered him, Ivan couldn’t control his excitement and talked about things that he didn’t ask.
“This basement has a room where the guards live, and there is also a storage room. But the safest place is probably the auction room. It’s practically a safe.”
“Are you keeping my things there too?”
“Of course. The meaning of this underground space is the storage room. It’s made up of three large rooms, each with the latest artifacts to keep an eye on the interior 24/7.”
“That’s great!”
Alex was impressed but checked against the information Hans had learned and confirmed that it was all true.
“Then where should I keep this thing?”
“Of course in room number three. Actually, there are three storage rooms, but they’re not all the same. We divide the items in the order of importance and put the lesser ones in room 1, and the most important ones in room 3. Of course, everything is important since we store them, but you know what I’m talking about.”
“Of course. No matter how valuable items are, there’s definitely a difference between them.”
“Hahaha. As expected, Guar, you’re well aware of it. Poor, stinky commoners think they’re all pretty and cool things, but people like us need to know how to properly identify the true nature of these things. Look at this watch I’m wearing.”
Suddenly Ivan Luke starts boasting about the brand and ornaments of the clothes he was wearing. Alex thought they were the same, and tried to reciprocate his words, but suddenly stopped because the atmosphere of Pantos, which had been silently following him since a while ago, was not good.
Pantos was now slowly getting irritated and Alex immediately gave Pantos a hint that only he could see.
‘Hey, what are you doing? Are you trying to start a fight?’
‘…….’
Pantos had been staring at Ivan Luke for a while. The other bodyguards hadn’t noticed yet, but Alex, who was sensitive to this, realized that it was only a matter of time before he would get caught.
“Oh, by the way!”
Alex clapped his hands to change the mood.
Ivan also stopped talking to his heart’s content.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything since noon today. Ivan, is there any restaurant you would recommend?”
“You can actually eat here. Inside the Kunst auction house, there’s a top-notch restaurant for customers.”
“Then please guide me! Escort, hand over the bag.”
Alex glanced at Pantos but Pantos remained silent and stood still.
Although he knew from the first time they met that Pantos had a weird personality he hoped that he’ll not mess up the operation.
“Guar, what happened to your escort?”
“Don’t worry, he does that often. He’s such a silent fellow that sometimes he doesn’t listen to me.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yes, because his skills are real.”
Alex walked up to Pantos and whispered quietly so that only he could hear him.
“Are you going to violate the leader’s orders?”
Pantos reacted for the first time when he mentioned Rudger. He had been trying to figure out how to keep Ivan quiet, since he was lapping in front of him for a while.
It didn’t matter what the operation was because he hated seeds that had no strength and no spirit, but lived only with their mouths.
But as soon as Alex brought out Rudger’s name, Pantos realized that the leader had given him an important task, which was more important than anything else.
“……Here it is.”
Pantos held out a large case in one hand and Ivan’s bodyguards stepped forward and accepted it instead.
Alex wiped his sweat at the sight.
“Shall we go eat?”
His purpose has already been achieved, since he has seen all the internal structures with his own eyes.
* * *
Alex shared a meal with Ivan while Pantos stood still at distance from them because he thought he might hit Ivan without realizing it.
Alex thought it was rather fortunate because Pantos was like a ticking time bomb without Rudger and he almost raised suspicions in the basement storage room a while ago.
‘But there was a profit.’
Before sharing the meal, Ivan showed Alex another place. It was the security control room that monitored the underground storage room in real time.
In a spacious room, about six of what Rudger said were displays were hung on the wall, and the guards watched them.
‘Was that how it was structured?’
Ivan may have been showing off, but Alex couldn’t get enough of it. Thanks to this, he had a complete picture of how security was maintained here.
‘Now all that’s left.’
Was to inform his leader and colleagues of this fact and to do that, he had to get out of this place quickly……
“Have a good meal.”
Just in time, the chef himself brought a plate of steak and placed it in front of him.
‘Oh, I’ll eat first.’
He couldn’t refuse food made by a top chef.
Alex raised his fork and knife, thinking like that.
* * *
After finishing the meal, Alex briefly told Rudger the details while Ivan was distracted.
[The plan is a success leader.]
[Really? That’s a relief]
[It’s exactly as the leader said. I checked it with my eyes, and remembered everything I saw. All we have to do now is execute the strategy properly, right?]
[Of course] As long as you remember everything you saw.]
[Who do you think I am? This operation can definitely succeed without an unexpected ambush. That’s what my gut tells me.]
[That’s a relief.]
Alex was about to say goodbye to Ivan but at that moment a woman walked into the restaurant inside the Kunst auction house.
“I am. Why is the manager telling me to wait here?”
‘What?’
Alex had a blank look on his face without even thinking about managing it and he communicated with Rudger in a trembling voice.
[……Leader, I’m in trouble.]
[What’s going on?]
[An unexpected ambush has appeared.]
[What?]
Alex’s eyes could not be separated from the woman looking around the restaurant.
She hadn’t figured this out yet but the moment the woman’s head turned to look around Alex unknowingly turned his back on her.
[Victor Hugo. Answer me. What happened?]
[She’s here.]
[She? Who came?]
[Enya Joynus.]
The woman who just entered the restaurant inside the Kunst auction house was dressed in a dress, but she kept twisting her body around as if she was uncomfortable. She was the Nightcrawler Knight member that was staying in Leathervelk on Trina’s orders.
[If it’s Enya, is that Enya?]
[Yeah, my ex-girlfriend.]
She was also Alex’s former lover.
* * *
Rudger, who heard the news from Alex, frowned. It wasn’t a response to the news but the opposite.
‘Enya Joynus?’
Rudger recalled that not long ago she had come to the Teachers Office to find him.
‘I see. Was it then?’
At that time, it was a knight wearing glasses called Lloyd who asked him about the werewolf incident.
Trina Ryanhowl also came to Theon but thanks to the president he never had to face her in person but he remembers seeing her from afar through the window.
At that time there was another knight with Lloyd by Trina’s side, but he didn’t pay much attention to her, so she went unnoticed.
‘It was Enya.’
Rudger also knew that Alex was an old lover of Enya. What happened to them in the past? Why did the two of them have face each other here?
“Victor Hugo. Get out of there at once. Don’t worry about anything else.”
[…I got it]
Alex’s answer came back over the communicator. He, who finished communicating with Rudger, immediately spoke to Ivan.
“Friend, I have to go.”
“Uh, are you going already?”
“Ha ha. Since I’ve come to a big city of the Empire, shouldn’t I look around a little more? Don’t worry too much. I’ve checked it in, and I’ll come back later.”
“Oh, of course. More than that, the mana stone…….”
“We’ll talk about it later. I want to talk about business at a more important place. You know what I mean right?”
“Yes, of course!”
Alex gave Pantos a signal. The operation was over, so it was time to leave.
Pantos immediately followed Alex, standing by him like an escort.
“There are places like this in the world.”
Enya’s voice echoed in his ear and Alex glanced at Enya as he left the restaurant.
She hasn’t noticed him yet because he’s Guar not Alex right now.
‘She hasn’t changed.’
But inside, he also wanted her to recognize him.
Before and now, Enya’s appearance has remained the same. No. But compared to then, he can tell that she was a little more mature.
Of course, she’s still small and looks ridiculous but Alex knew better than anyone how strong she was.
‘But…’
He bit his lips because he can no longer approach Enya.
“You’re a liar!”
He still can’t forget the voice Enya was crying at him that day. So even if he met her in a place like this now, he had to pass it as if they had never met.
“Let’s go.”
Alex swallowed his regret and left the auction house with Pantos.
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