Chapter 122 – GOY 122

#122

We ​checked ​into ​the ​hotel.

Since ​it ​was a hotel ​that ​could ​only ​be ​booked by Ability Users ​of ​A-Class or higher, ​I expected it ​to ​be ​quiet, ​but ​surprisingly, ​the lobby was ​crowded ​with ​people. The restaurant ​was likely in the ​same state.

I ​was a ​bit tired, ​having transferred ​between ​yachts, ​trains, and passenger ​ships since ​early morning, and then ​spent the day wandering ​around downtown Achilles. My ​stamina seemed ​too ​pathetic to fully enjoy this long-awaited ​freedom.

Instead of going to ​the ​restaurant, ​we ​ordered ​room service.

“There are ​so many ​people. ​Is it because ​it’s ​vacation season?”

“It’s probably because of ​the ‘Achirus ​Auction.’”

“I ​see. That would ​explain ​why ​the ​hotel ​is full.”

The ​‘Achirus ​Auction’ was ​the world’s largest auction for Ability Users.

All ​sorts of rare ​treasures were put ​up for bid. It ​usually took ​place once a ​year, ​but if there ​were no treasures ​worthy of ​the ​‘Achirus Auction’s’ ​reputation, ​the auction ​could ​be canceled.

“Besides, ​the ​Necklace ​of stolen contentNemesild Read on Read BL Novels[visit our site]is ​appearing ​at this ​Achirus ​Auction.”

“The ​Necklace ​of Nemesild…?”

The Necklace of Nemesild was a legendary treasure said to increase the owner’s matching rate by over 30%.

If the owner was a Guide, their matching rate with all Espers would increase; if they were an Esper, their matching rate with Guides would rise.

However, despite its fame, it was an item whose actual existence remained uncertain.

About 80 years ago, there was an Esper named ‘Jameson Foster,’ who was called the strongest in the world. When a reporter asked him the secret to his strength, he claimed it was thanks to the ‘Necklace of Nemesild,’ a treasure that boosts matching rates.

But after he died, the Necklace of Nemesild reportedly vanished without a trace.

Various theories circulated—that it was stolen, that a relative embezzled it, that Jameson Foster hid it before he died—but nothing was certain.

There was even a theory that Jameson Foster, tired of receiving the same question from reporters every day, had simply made a joke, and that the ‘Necklace of Nemesild’ never existed in the first place.

Regardless, if it truly existed, it was a treasure that every Ability User would covet.

Especially in the case of S-Class Espers, who often suffered their entire lives because they couldn’t find a Guide with a high matching rate, it would be even more desirable.

“You look very surprised. Were you interested in the Necklace of Nemesild too, Hyung?”

“No, it’s not that….”

Honestly, I was surprised. But I wasn’t surprised by the fact that the ‘Necklace of Nemesild,’ whose existence was uncertain, was being put up for auction.

I was surprised that it was appearing already.

In the original story, it was an item that appeared at next year’s Achirus Auction.

In The Swamp of the Guide, Joo Seung-hyuk eventually gives up on the arranged marriage with the only daughter of the Lexington Pharmaceutical Company because of Kim Joon.

Then, a month later, upon hearing that the ‘Necklace of Nemesild’ would be auctioned in Achilles, he boards a plane after confining Kim Joon in his house.

But why is it appearing already? Of course, everything has been progressing faster than in the original work. But that was the story regarding me and the people related to Joo Seung-hyuk.

Why is the completely unrelated ‘Necklace of Nemesild’ suddenly being auctioned now?

“How did an item that’s been missing for 80 years end up at an auction?”

Joo Seung-hyuk might have information on this.

When I asked, Joo Seung-hyuk answered while popping a strawberry into my mouth.

“Apparently, the Chairman of Lexington originally intended to buy it.”

“The Chairman of Lexington Pharmaceutical?”

“Yes. It seems Lexington found the owner of the Necklace of Nemesild and tried to negotiate first. But since it was difficult to pay such a massive amount, they planned to arrange a marriage between me and his daughter, then borrow money from Seong Han to buy it. Ridiculous, right? I only have Lee Yeon-soo; who decided I was getting married?”

“Haha….”

The pressure to marry started the moment he was released from confinement. I laughed awkwardly and popped a strawberry into Joo Seung-hyuk’s mouth.

So the cancellation of the arranged marriage with Lexington, which I thought was a separate matter, and the Achirus Auction were connected in this way.

When the arranged marriage with Joo Seung-hyuk fell through and they could no longer pay for the item, Lexington gave up on the deal. Consequently, the owner of the Nemeshield Necklace put the treasure up for auction in Achilles.

That was why the timing was earlier than in the original.

However, what mattered now wasn’t the secret history or the auction process of the Necklace of Nemesild.

I hurriedly contacted Do Hyuk-jin with my phone. But perhaps because it was a new temporary number, he didn’t answer.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?”

“Seung-hyuk-ah, can you contact Hyuk-jin hyung?”

In the original story, this was the very episode where Do Hyuk-jin dies.

Do Hyuk-jin wins the ‘Necklace of Nemesild’ at [unauthorized copy]the Achirus Auction. But the joy of becoming the final winner [unauthorized copy]of the [stolen content]fierce bidding is short-lived; that night, Do Hyuk-jin is found as a cold corpse. He is murdered by someone.

I had let my guard down, thinking it was something that happened next year. Not knowing what might happen in the meantime.

But to think the ‘Necklace of Nemesild’ episode would appear so suddenly.

If Hyuk-jin hyung has come to Achilles, I must contact him and stop him immediately.

In the original, Joo Seung-hyuk visited Do Hyuk-jin’s grave and poured out his tears. Although they were known as rivals on the surface, their actual relationship was likely not bad. He might be able to contact Hyuk-jin hyung.

“Do Hyuk-jin? Why that bastard?”

Joo Seung-hyuk’s expression suddenly turned cold.

“I have something I absolutely must say to Hyuk-jin hyung.”

“Don’t tell me you’re into that sly old man?”

Joo Seung-hyuk suddenly fired off his obsession radar. He had been quiet for a few hours, but that bastard’s obsession never rests.

“…Old man? Hyuk-jin hyung is twenty-nine.”

“He’s eight years older than me. Hyung, I’m a hundred, a thousand times better than that bastard. Why that kind of guy…!”

Joo Seung-hyuk’s [Read on Read BL Novels]mana surged unauthorized copyviolently. [unauthorized copy]At this rate, Joo Seung-hyuk might kill Do Hyuk-jin first.

I hurriedly spoke up.

“I-It’s not like that, I saw a vision!”

“You saw that bastard in a vision?!”

“…….”

What on earth should I do with this guy….

“No, it’s not that. The moment you mentioned the Necklace of Nemesild, I felt power from the ring and saw something. I think it was something from the future.”

“The future?”

“Yes. Hyuk-jin hyung wins the Necklace of Nemesild at the auction. And that night, he’s murdered by someone.”

“Do Hyuk-jin is a skilled Esper. There’s no way he’d be taken down so easily. You must have seen it wrong. Maybe someone put something in the food.”

Joo Seung-hyuk suspected that the room service food might contain drugs. He thought I was having hallucinations due to drugs.

It was natural that he didn’t believe me since I suddenly claimed to have seen the future.

I grabbed Joo Seung-hyuk’s hand as he tried to check the food.

“You cried a lot at Hyuk-jin hyung’s grave. You couldn’t even attend the funeral, and you went to the empty graveyard in the evening and sobbed alone.”

“…….”

When I said this much, the look in Joo Seung-hyuk’s eyes changed.

The two were famous rivals. If it had simply been a hallucination created by drugs, there would be no way for me to know that Joo Seung-hyuk sobbed.

“…I cried?”

“Yes. It broke my heart because you were so sad.”

“Hyung, do you hate it when I’m sad?”

“Of course I do. Why are you even asking?”

His eyes gazed at me intently.

“Hyung, do you know how truly kind you are?”

“I am?”

“You’re really mean. Why are you so kind?”

“…Is that being mean?”

I didn’t think of myself as having a particularly kind personality, but even if I did, I didn’t think it was mean.

“It’s not just to me that you’re like this. That makes me so angry.”

“I-I see….”

I didn’t really agree, but I didn’t bother to argue and just nodded quietly.

“Don’t be like this to other people. Got it?”

“Okay.”

“You can’t tempt other bastards.”

“I got it.”

I was debating whether I should tell him the reality—that he’s just a guardian of a squid—when he suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.

“How could I not. Lee Yeon-soo is beautiful in every way. Even if you do nothing and just stand there, you end up tempting people.”

“…….”

What does this Obsessive Madman want me to do?

“Haha…. Thanks. You’re probably the only person who thinks of me that way, Seung-hyeok….”

I gently rubbed his back.

“And because Hyuk-jin hyung was murdered, you were framed as the culprit. To prevent this, we have to contact Hyuk-jin hyung.”

This wasn’t a made-up story.

When Do Hyuk-jin was murdered, people thought Joo Seung-hyuk, his long-time rival, was the killer.

Simply because Joo Seung-hyuk was also in Achilles at the time of the incident and had targeted the same ‘Necklace of Nemesild.’ Moreover, he had no alibi for the estimated time of Do Hyuk-jin’s death.

Even though there was no evidence that he was the culprit, the public was convinced and drove him into a corner.

Joo Seung-hyuk was someone who didn’t care about others’ opinions, but being framed as the murderer of Do Hyuk-jin was something he found hard to endure.

“I understand. I’ll contact Do Hyuk-jin. And since I’ll handle this matter, Hyung, don’t worry too much.”

His expression was serious. Fortunately, he seemed to believe my words.