Chapter 42: Sky Lounge
Great Port.
One of the largest structures in existence on Earth.
The aerodyne Diesel was riding soared over that tremendous sight.
‘My god…….’
A port of a scale that couldn’t even be compared to Incheon Multidimensional Airport was floating on an artificial island atop the sea.
At this altitude, everything below should have looked like toys, but the ships and containers docked at Great Port didn’t look small at all.
“One of those containers can fit an entire subway train, you know.”
“Reeeally……? Woooow……. That’s amazing……! But what was a subway again……?”
There was a reason they had gone out of their way to build such an absurdly massive port instead of using existing ones.
It was because the environment of the sea itself had completely changed.
Traveling freely across the open ocean like in the past was no longer possible.
The seas, now boiling with horrifying colossal monsters emerging from the deep, pirates dragging around heavily armed warships, and anomalous disasters of unimaginable scale, were no longer a place one could safely come and go.
To survive those violent waves, shipowners wanted their vessels to have larger bodies and greater power.
And so, ships heading out to sea now each possessed tremendous size and firepower.
To the point that the very standards of ports had to be reinvented.
‘It was only possible because of otherworldly technology.’
Those who had helped with the construction of the giant vessels were the Nordic Giants.
Engineers from the homeland of that Valkyrie who was now staring outside in awe.
“Woooaaah……!”
Herja had her face pressed against the window, continuously letting out strange exclamations.
“I’ve never seen such a huge port in my life……!”
“The Great Port in Busan is actually a bit bigger than this one.”
“Reeeally……? The world really is vast……!”
“…….”
A port of that scale should be common in Nord.
No—by Diesel’s knowledge, Earth’s Great Ports were on the cute side compared to those of Nord.
“Aren’t ports like this everywhere in your world?”
“Ah……. well…….”
At Diesel’s words, Herja briefly lowered her head.
Then River smiled and spoke.
“Lady Herja is younger than she looks.”
“……?”
She already looked excessively young, and she was even younger?
When I looked at Herja with questioning eyes, she spoke cautiously.
“Herja is only four years old…….”
“…….”
I barely managed to hold back an incredulous exclamation from bursting out.
No matter how battle-crazed a race was, they sent a mere four-year-old to another world?
That thought crossed my mind briefly, but Diesel soon changed his thinking.
‘You can’t judge otherworldly races by human standards.’
Perhaps gripping a sword from the moment of birth was simply normal in their culture.
Or maybe standing on one’s own in another world was required for recognition.
“Come to think of it, you seem a bit taller than the last time I saw you?”
“Eheheh. Right?”
Was that why her build was abnormally small compared to other Valkyries?
As those thoughts arose, Diesel briefly glared at River.
“River. I’m not doubting your abilities, but.”
“Yes.”
“Are you really sure this is okay?”
“What do you mean exactly?”
Instead of answering, I glanced toward Herja, who was distracted by the view outside.
“Don’t play dumb.”
“As I mentioned before, it’s more than sufficient.”
River took a sip of green tea and continued.
“To the point it could be called an overinvestment.”
Overinvestment, huh…….
Even at her words, Diesel still wore a dissatisfied expression, so River spoke as if to reassure him.
“Perhaps that person may be a talent you need, Diesel.”
“…….”
Fixer River.
The only person in this world who knew Diesel’s true identity.
If someone like her said that much, there had to be a reason.
Thinking that, I eased my suspicion a little.
“So this job is done over theeeere……?”
“That’s correct. Could you look this way for the details?”
“Ahh, yeees……!”
The Valkyrie spun her chair around toward the table and slapped her hand down on it.
“Then I’ll begin the briefing.”
As River flicked her hand, the aerodyne’s windows turned pitch black and the surroundings darkened.
“The target of this operation is a Giant from Nord named ‘Gnar.’”
A hologram of the target appeared above the table.
A large body befitting the name Giant.
The neat suit he was wearing and the glasses the size of a hand mirror looked slightly out of place.
“Shorisar.”
The moment Herja saw the hologram, she muttered something quietly.
Unlike just before, a faint shadow flickered in her serious eyes, devoid of any smile.
“…….”
“Ah, um……. He’s a Giant known as a sea giant…….”
But in the blink of an eye, she returned to her original innocent self, as if nothing had happened.
“That’s right. Many sea giants who crossed over from Nord are engaged in ship construction, and Gnar is one of them.”
“I thought he was a lawyer.”
“Yes. Gnar is quite an unusual case—originally a shipyard laborer, he passed the bar exam in a single attempt.”
Passing in one try an exam that even other races known for their intelligence failed multiple times.
‘He must be an exceptionally smart Giant.’
“The company he’s affiliated with is Black Container. It’s an AA-grade company under the megacorp ‘Meihua.’”
“Mmm…… Meihua, if I remember…….”
Seeing Herja tilt her head, River said,
“One of the world’s top ten Megacorporations, based in Singapore. Most of its executives are ethnic Chinese, and it’s famous for its enormous shamanistic industry.”
“Ahh……. I think I’ve heard of it……!”
“Don’t tell me a megacorp agent is involved in this job?”
There were types of people in the world you absolutely shouldn’t mess with, no matter what—and megacorp agents were one of them.
Kaztikan, whom Diesel had dealt with before, was also one of those agents.
Among the top ten Megacorporations, Podvig sat near the very bottom, yet it employed someone of that caliber—so I couldn’t help but be a little curious what agents from Meihua, which ranked several tiers above it, would be like.
“No. That won’t be the case.”
As River waved her hand through the air again, the darkened windows brightened once more.
“I’ll explain the details while you see it directly.”
Diesel followed her gaze and turned his eyes toward the window.
“This operation assumes infiltration from start to finish. The place you two will infiltrate is right there.”
A hologram identical to the background appeared on the window, then one building was magnified.
A massive warehouse with ‘E-7’ written on its wall.
“North E-7 Warehouse. As you can see, it’s a desolate warehouse located at the very edge of the port.”
“Desolate?”
“Yes. It’s inconvenient to access, so ordinarily goods aren’t unloaded all the way out there. However…….”
River formed a small smile.
“Precisely because of that, it’s a warehouse with a use.”
A warehouse located at the most remote corner of that gigantic port.
River’s brief explanation stimulated Diesel’s imagination.
“At the time of the operation, the target, Gnar, will retrieve an item from the warehouse in order to conduct a transaction. You two simply need to wait until Gnar opens the warehouse container and take that item.”
“If it’s an item, it’s related to that thing from last time, right?”
At Diesel’s words, River nodded.
“That’s correct.”
The remaining portion of the Concrete Golem core created by Archmage Lee Hayun.
It seemed that was what was being stored in that warehouse.
“On the day, Gnar will appear alone. The transaction he intends to make is an extremely secretive one that even his own company must not know about. That’s why neither the megacorp nor even its subsidiary, Black Container, will be involved in this operation.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. This is reliable information.”
“Good.”
While looking out the window, Diesel etched the warehouse’s location and routes into his mind.
“However, there is one minor variable we still can’t predict.”
“What is it?”
“We don’t know who Gnar is planning to trade with, nor where the location is.”
Information that even Fixer River couldn’t uncover.
That in itself was proof that the opposing party wasn’t ordinary.
“But it’s not particularly important. At least, we’ve confirmed that the transaction site is outside the port. So it won’t pose a problem for this operation, which is simply to extract the item.”
“No guesses as to who they might be?”
“There are a few.”
The most likely would be the other Fixer who had attacked River.
If I were to estimate a step higher than that…….
‘The Royal Guard could suddenly appear.’
That was the extreme assumption.
But given the Joseon Imperial Family’s tendency to strictly refrain from outward activity, the probability of the Royal Guard appearing directly was virtually nonexistent.
“Who the trading partner is likely won’t matter much.”
River, having reached a conclusion similar to Diesel’s, nodded at him.
“If I learn anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Alright.”
As the briefing wrapped up to some extent, Herja—who had been listening silently—nodded vigorously and muttered,
“Sneak in…… wait…… and bring the item out……! That’s right, yesoo, Lady River……?”
A lot had been omitted, but she seemed to grasp the general context clearly.
“That’s correct. As expected, Lady Herja, you’re quick to understand.”
“Eheheh……!”
“Then, I’ll see you all on the day of the operation.”
“Yeees……!”
As Herja’s spirited reply ended, an enormous growling sound suddenly echoed from her stomach.
“Ahh……! I-I focused for a moment and now my stomach again…….”
“…….”
Looking at the innocent Valkyrie’s eheheh-smiling face, Diesel muttered to himself.
‘Is this really okay.’
The suspicion I had barely set aside earlier quietly raised its head again.
“Someone entered the country?”
In pitch-black darkness.
Within a room deep in the abyss, where sea monsters passed beyond the window, a heavy low voice reverberated.
“Speak properly, and in detail.”
Then a voice like thin iron plating being struck replied.
“T-That is…… there was a purification operation this morning at Incheon Multidimensional Airport.”
“Purification operation?”
“Yes…… A purification operation that neutralizes the negative energy emitted by otherworldly races.”
“Isn’t that a common occurrence that happens several times a day?”
“That’s true. However, the negative energy detected this time was different from the concentration onward.”
The fawning voice hurriedly handed over a chip containing data.
“As you can see, the readings were at a level that would only appear after a demon from the lower realm passed through a hundred times. And that was in just a single instance.”
“What was the type of negativity?”
“That’s what’s a bit unusual…….”
“Speak.”
“Hunger.”
“Hunger?”
“Yes. Hunger—like starvation and emptiness.”
Dark eyes scanned the data.
Then the thin voice hurriedly brought up CCTV footage.
“This is the subject that emitted that negative energy.”
“…….”
On the screen stood a single innocent-looking child, blankly in place.
The eyes watching suddenly pulled out the chip and crushed it with a hard grip.
“Hiiik……!”
“Issue a mobilization order.”
Soon, a voice that seemed to contain the deep abyss itself pressed down upon the room.
“The Valkyrie of Desolation has descended.”