Chapter 18
"Please confirm that it is the right item."
Kim Yu-Rin was still beautiful. Subtly different from back when she was lively and refreshing; though, he still found her current robotic and cold mannerisms just as alluring as before.
"Here it is."
Kim Yu-Rin handed the briefcase containing the Mana Crystal over to Sae-Jin. From the slight opening, the light shone from the Mana Stone. Sae-Jin spoke while giving her the certificate of transfer. (TL: no, I didn’t make a mistake here. The author again said Mana Crystal in the raw, then reverted back to Stone in the very next sentence.)
"Thank you very much."
One more handshake followed that. Their business-like conduct really suited the claim of this meeting being their very first. Their focus was solely on getting the official business completed, leaving a very little gap for anyone else to butt in. Still, Kim Yu-Rin found the attitude of Sae-Jin quite agreeable as he showed no ulterior motives towards her.
"Ah. Well then, you two. Shall we go somewhere and have a nice meal together?"
Suddenly, the Hyunwol Auction House’s director spoke after observing the duo for a while.
His suggestion wasn’t really a necessary procedure to follow, where the auction house’s director takes both the seller and the bidder out for a meal after a successful transaction. Most of the time, it was requested by the buyer, and seller refusing the invitation would be seen as being disrespectful.
One could argue that truthfully, the chance to have this meal was one of the reasons why the final hammer price of the Mana Crystal exceeded the maximum expected amount of $3.5 million. A chance of having a meal together with Kim Yu-Rin would be of quite a worth, after all.
"If that’s the case, shall we go? I know a good restaurant frequented by our Knights Order."
At this suggestion, Kim Yu-Rin assumed a polite smile and tried to guide Sae-Jin.
But, against all expectation, Sae-Jin shook his head.
"Is it possible to delay the meal for a later date? I’m currently running short on time."
Kim Yu-Rin’s body stopped dead, still in her trek towards the elevator. Sae-Jin couldn’t see it, but her face was strangely distorted at that moment. A profession that was busier than a Highest Tier Knight would be rather difficult to find….
She worked hard to straighten her face and turned around to stare at the lower half of his face before opening her mouth. Because of the robe’s hood pulled low, she could only see his face’s lower half.
"I apologise, but if it’s not today, then I won’t have enough time as well. Another date is a little…"
"If that’s the case, then let us forget about the meal. Apologies, for my lack of time."
Sae-Jin was adamant in his position. In that moment as she was opening her mouth to say something, Sae-Jin had already walked past her and was entering the elevator.
"W, wait a moment!!"
As she was being flustered after receiving this strange indifference for the very first time in her life, the elevator doors were already closing.
"…wow. Miss Yu-Rin, you just got rejected, right?!"
The junior Knights around her spoke in a shocked tone. They weren’t mocking her, but rather, they seemed to be genuinely surprised as well.
But Yu-Rin dazedly watched for a long time the elevator that had now arrived back down to the 1 st floor, unable to even make a retort.
*
"Ta
ke me to the Seoul Station."