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Chapter 122: Nile Pt. 4

Set.

Everyone was holding their breath at his appearance.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked as Lee Jun-Kyeong’s prediction had proved correct.

The black leather suit looked incredibly suave on the Hunter, bringing emphasis to his impressive features.

Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly stepped forward.

"Set,” he said, saying his name once again.

There was only one person whom Lee Jun-Kyeong could think would show up.

Clothed in black leather clothes, the man exuded a chill that eroded their surroundings. He was a terrifyingly strong person who matched the level of the horrifying mana that came off from him.

“That’s right,” the man said, laughing.

It was a bitterly cruel laugh.

“And you must be the Underdog.”

Although it was their first time meeting, they soon recognized each other through the aura of their mana alone.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong fell silent.

"I\'ve only come to find you to talk," Set said, reaching out to Lee Jun-Kyeong first.

***

"Where are we going?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.

The roads of Egypt were incredibly complicated. Moreover, wherever they went, it was hot and humid all around them.

Therefore, until now, they had never experienced such a chill that enveloped them from head to toe.

It was all due to the presence of the man walking with Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Wherever he went, people would flee from their seats, race into their homes, and lock their doors.

The man laughed as if he was enjoying the sights.

“We are just walking. You see, I’ve only just returned to my hometown after quite a while.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked back.

His party was following them well, walking along with the Hunters, who appeared to be Set’s bodyguards.

“Snort,” Fenrir signaled Lee Jun-Kyeong as if to insist that he was always ready.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head.

This wouldn’t be a fight they could even start.

This man had the power to remind him of Arthur, the boy whom he had just barely been able to scratch on the cheek after exhausting all of his power.

‘If we fight here...’

They would all die.

It was a foregone conclusion.

He had no intention of forcing his companions into a fight where their deaths were obvious.

"It\'s always nice to be home after a long time,” Set happily said to Lee Jun-Kyeong as if he had met an old friend.

Lee Jun-Kyeong simply stayed silent.

‘What in the world could be his purpose…?’

He had come to Egypt to find Inebu.

In front of him was Set, who was said to have been involved in Horus’ accident.

Although Lee Jun-Kyeong knew that by going down the path he had planned, he would eventually have to meet with this man, he hadn’t anticipated that they would have met in this manner.

He couldn’t figure out the reason.

‘What is the reason he came to find me?’

No matter how much Lee Jun-Kyeong thought about it, he couldn’t easily find an answer.

Set suddenly asked a question, “Do you know the current situation in Egypt?”

“Egypt took on the name, The Arab Republic of Egypt, after declaring independence from the dynasties.”

This topic really was out of the blue.

“But, you know what?”

He stopped and looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“Egypt is still a dynasty.”

“...”

“Under the Dynasty of the Nile, everything was under the imperial rule in Egypt.

Lee Jun-Kyeong decided to make a gamble.

It was hard for him to understand the man’s true feelings with such a tumultuous conversation. Because he was sure that the man wouldn’t kill him no matter how far he went, Lee Jun-Kyeong decided to speak up.

He asked boldly, “Are you trying to succeed that Dynasty?”

After all, Set had been involved in Horus’ accident, and he was also Osiris’ younger brother.

Since Horus had been taken out of the picture, the next king would be this man.

It was a well-known fact.

However, still, the fact that Lee Jun-Kyeong had just said it out loud was something that was difficult for anyone to mention.

"That\'s right."

Moreover, that man admitted to it plainly.

"You\'re a smart fellow,” Set said.

He didn’t seem very old, only about his mid-30s. His stature seemed to be slightly larger than Yeo Seong-Gu’s.

However, there was a sense of experience and age in his voice and tone.

‘This man as well…’

He was a unique case.

He was a Hunter like Odin, a Hunter who held reign over a Territory.

“You’re right. Then, as someone who seems to be intelligent enough, do you want to try to guess? Most people don’t seem to be curious about that part by now,” he continued, laughing.

His bright red smile seemed to cast a smile, but all that was left in its shade was coldness.

“What do you think is my purpose for succeeding Osiris Hyung as the head of the Nile, and what I should do as the new head of the Nile?”

He laughed again.

“I mean, that’s what I would like you to tell me.”

***

The meeting with Set had been intense.

Unlike the apex Hunters he had met until now, Set was an apex Hunter he may have to fight with his life on the line.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had met with that monster of a Hunter and had spoken to him as well.

“What in the world did he want?” Jeong In-Chang asked curiously.

He had been so nervous that his whole body was wet with sweat.

Set had no intentions of hiding his strength and displayed his incredible reserve of mana, so it was only natural for him to be terrified as a mana-sensitive Hunter.

“He asked me to guess what his purpose was,” Lee Jun-Kyeong answered.

A slightly calming voice then asked, “So, did you answer him?”

Won-Hwa.

Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head.

"I couldn\'t answer him."

He couldn’t get a clue as to what the man’s purpose had been.

Most people just thought that he had committed treason in order to obtain the authority to succeed to the throne.

They all just assumed that he was that sort of person.

Set had enormous power, but hadn’t been able to rise to the position of the head. Therefore, they thought that the man had simply been chasing authority when he had forced his way to the throne.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong knew that the man was different.

‘There’s something…’

There was something that was different from what Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought before.

It was clear that the man was a dangerous person, but there had been nothing that made him think that he was evil.

Although he was someone who was difficult for Lee Jun-Kyeong to evaluate, there were many people that had that sort of personality.

Therefore, Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t be sure of it.

‘He’s gray.’

It was the conclusion that Lee Jun-Kyeong had made after seeing him.

“Ha…so he just came to see you just to ask something as simple as that?” Jeong In-Chang said, angry with having to be nervous because of the meeting with Set.

Lee Jun-Kyeong still wasn’t sure about that, either.

.

‘Did he really come all this way to find me just to ask me something as simple as that?’

He just couldn’t figure out why the man had come to find him.

Then, someone else appeared in front of them as they were returning to their accommodations.

It was another Hero-Grade Hunter.

However, this time, the party wasn’t nervous, even if they were a bit uncomfortable with the meeting.

“Where did you go?” said Oh Hyeong-Seok, the hero with the title Baldur, with kofta skewers in his hands.

“Do you really have nothing better to do?” Jeong In-Chang asked curtly.

“But it seems you don’t have anything to do, either?” Baldur replied as he smiled.

Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel the sting of gazes surrounding them as the Hunter’s appearance had attracted attention everywhere.

Lee Jun-Kyeong was about to say something to him but stopped himself. There was something that came to mind, but he felt as though it was something that didn’t make any sense.

“Well, since we’ve met like this already, shall we have a meal together?" Baldur asked.

"We\'ve already...”

Uncomfortable, Jeong In-Chang tried to express his refusal, but it was too late.

“Why not?” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as he nodded.

***

They were in a restaurant in Egypt.

Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel people staring at his party again.

There were three different types of looks.

“Oh, my. Look at those men.”

Some were fixated on Baldur, full of envy as they looked at those around the table.

Then, some glanced at them in a slightly awkward manner.

“...”

They were the gazes on the table that were fixated on Lee Jun-Kyeong’s party, the ones other than the gazes that were fixated on Baldur.

“I heard that they met with Set earlier?” someone whispered.

Another quickly admonished him, “Shh. I told you, be quiet.”

The room was filled with rumors from those who had seen him with Set.

And finally, the last gazes were from those that recognized who they were.

“Do you know who Baldur is?”

“Isn’t that the Underdog too?”

“Why are they in Egypt?”

In this day and age, Heroes were like celebrities.

The only difference was that, unlike celebrities, no one bothered the Heroes.

It wasn’t easy to find a courageous person who would talk to Heroes recklessly.

‘Moreover, they said that the influence of Hunters of Egypt and the Nile was almost terrifying.’

Things were different here compared to England.

Unlike the British, who avoided Hunters due to their dislike of Olympus, the Egyptians avoided them because they were terrified of their own Hunters.

Regardless of what any Hunter did to the civilians, they wouldn’t be punished.

That was the way the Nile handled things.

‘Maybe…’

It occurred to Lee Jun-Kyeong that Egypt might actually have been the most similar place in the current world to how the future was.

“Is this not to your tastes?”

Baldur was eating comfortably as if he was already used to this cuisine.

“Moreover, there is also something strange, now that I think about it,” the man said, suddenly putting down his silverware.

“Your party really is unique, Mr. Underdog.”

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party’s expressions hardened.

“I think…I just realized why this isn’t to my tastes,” Jeong In-Chang muttered under his breath.

Ignoring him, Baldur continued, “Your party is full of Hero-Grade Hunters, so why haven’t they joined Asgard? Of course, not just anyone can join us just because they are Heroes…”

Baldur laughed.

"If you recommend them, Odin will actively approve it."

Lee Jun-Kyeong sensed something in the Hunter’s words.

‘He has some thorns.’

Baldur’s expression had hardened for a moment when he had mentioned Odin’s name.

‘Why?’

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought that he should start looking for the reason from this point on.

Baldur hadn’t finished yet.

“Moreover, as Hunters who haven’t joined Asgard, they are privy to the work of the secret organizations. Is there anything more dangerous than this? Don’t you agree?” he continued with a smile, the thorns in his words still sprouting.

“Well, as someone favored by Odin, I’m sure that you wouldn’t do anything to harm Asgard, would you, Mr. Underdog?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had found it. The origins of the hostility from this man.

He could see where they came from.

‘Odin.’

The Hunter was displeased that he was getting Odin’s attention.

However, he wondered if that was all there was to it.

Would him getting Odin’s attention really be enough to expose such thorns from Baldur?

Lee Jun-Kyeong briefly thought about a question.

“Odin ordered me to actively cooperate in any way with your work, Mr. Underdog. Anything I can complete with my strength. Everything,” he finished.

Baldur then resumed his meal.

However, the questions weren’t over just yet.

Now, it was Lee Jun-Kyeong’s turn to ask a question. “By the way, have you worked on what I had asked you the other day?”

It was about the spy that had infiltrated the Nile—Lee Jun-Kyeong had asked to meet him.

Moreover, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s plan to meet Inebu was contingent on their meeting.

He asked what had happened to that request, as it meant that Baldur would have already received an answer considering he had mentioned Odin’s answer.

However, he hadn’t heard anything from the Hunter yet.

Baldur simply laughed in response.

He wasn’t shying away from answering him, but the Hunter just smiled and stared at Lee Jun-Kyeong for a while as he started eating again.

Clink. Clink.

An uncomfortable meal ensued.

“Cough! Cough!”

Suddenly, Jeong In-Chang began to cough as if he had choked.

"Are you okay?"

As Won-Hwa urgently reached over a hand to the Hunter…

Glint.

…Lee Jun-Kyeong and Baldur’s eyes suddenly shifted.

“Snort.”

It was the same for Fenrir—no, they were the only ones to notice it, either.

Everyone in this restaurant turned their eyes.

Outside the window.

"A Special Gate…”

Before anyone realized it, a special gate had appeared before their eyes.