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Chapter 523: Awareness (3)

The atmosphere rapidly cooled to reach a freezing point. Elena quickly noticed this sudden shift and hurriedly walked over to the table. After putting their drinks down, she awkwardly tried to thaw the ice with several attempts at small talk, but her words fell on deaf ears.

With rage burning up on his face, Knight Wiggins chewed his next words out. “You don\'t seem to possess a filter over your mouth, Mister Kang.”

“I don\'t like hiding things,” Kang Jin-Ho replied relaxedly.

“Being too honest can be harmful at times.”

“That might be true,” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded, but his tone or attitude hadn\'t changed at all. “Even so, I\'m not interested in throwing empty platitudes around.”

“I have no desire to discuss my organization with you. My trust in the agents and their ability to collect intel doesn\'t require your approval, after all.”

“Either way is fine with me,” Kang Jin-Ho dismissively waved his hand as if he was chasing a bothersome fly away. “I don\'t really care how your people handle your business. So, let me get straight to the point. I don\'t have the authority to free the prisoners. If you wish to demand that, contact the Assembly directly.”

“Mister Jin-Ho...!” Elena raised her voice.

Before she could say anything else, though, Knight Wiggins grabbed her shoulder. After successfully stopping her, Wiggins corrected his posture before bowing his head.

Kang Jin-Ho cocked his brow a little and silently stared at the Englishman.

“I\'d like to apologize for intruding into your life without any heads-up and making you unhappy. We\'re fully aware of how rude it is, but we also can\'t afford to waste any more time. Mister Kang, you\'d have done the same as me if the prisoners were your comrades.”

“Hmm…” Kang Jin-Ho frowned a little in discomfort. Dealing with people who yelled in outrage when poked with a stick was pretty straightforward. All Kang Jin-Ho had to do was trample them with his strength. However, those who apologized first after being poked on the side were a lot more cumbersome and difficult to handle. Not only that, but...

\'Comrades, huh...\'

Kang Jin-Ho hadn\'t heard that word in a while. Apparently, Westerners preferred logic and reasoning over such things... At least, that\'s what he heard. So, to hear this Englishman say something so old-fashioned was... rather strange?

“As you’ve alluded to, yes, we can contact the Martial Assembly. Doing so won\'t be that difficult at all. However, we know the Assembly will try to get your permission, anyway. That is why we\'d like to shorten the process as much as possible. Please do try to understand our desire to rescue our comrades as soon as possible.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently stared at Knight Wiggins. The older gentleman didn\'t avoid the gaze this time. After seeing the light burning in the Englishman\'s eyes, Kang Jin-Ho couldn\'t help but feel a little weirded out.

\'...I used to see that look often in the past, didn\'t I?\'

Several experts of the orthodox sects had that look while charging at Kang Jin-Ho with murderous intentions. Only those who resolutely walked the path they believed was right could possess such light in their eyes.

\'Well... It\'s not like I hate that.\'

Kang Jin-Ho had to kill them all since their paths had been different, but that didn\'t mean he disliked such people. He slowly nodded while glancing at his drink. “What did you say you wanted from me?”

“It\'s to pardon and free all the Chevaliers.”

“I see…” Kang Jin-Ho reached out and picked up his cup of Americano, then leisurely drank it. After emptying it about halfway, he put the cup down and stared at Wiggins. “Let\'s make one thing clear.”

“Of course.”

“Why should I humor your demands?”

Knight Wiggins subtly bit his lip. The real thing had finally begun. “First of all, I\'d like to apologize for attempting to harm you without fully analyzing the situation first.”

This was a problem that could not be swept under the rug. No matter what shape this discussion would take on, this topic had to be breached sooner or later. Rather than trying to trivialize it, though, clearly conveying his apology should take a top priority here.

However, Kang Jin-Ho wasn\'t an easy customer to please. “Hmm... Yes, if you\'ve properly analyzed the situation, you could\'ve taken care of me once and for all.”

Knight Wiggins coughed to clear his throat. “Indeed. I won\'t lie and say we aren\'t ruing our slip-up.”

Elena hurriedly squeezed her father\'s arm tightly. From her perspective, Knight Wiggins was playing a dangerous game here by teetering on a tightrope a little too precariously.

However, Wiggins removed her hand in a dignified manner before continuing on. “Even so, with how the situation has developed, I\'m fully prepared to take responsibility for it. The reason why we couldn\'t offer anything until now is simply because... We do not know what interests you, Mister Kang.”

Wiggins briefly stopped there and licked his dried lips.

“...I can\'t promise you that we will give you everything you want. However, we\'re still prepared to carry out whatever it is as long as it\'s within our powers. Please free the Chevaliers. We will compensate you for their lives.”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked in amusement as he stared quietly at Wiggins.

\'Damn it. I can\'t get a read on what he\'s thinking about...\'

Wiggins grimaced slightly. Kang Jin-Ho\'s reactions so far had been markedly different from those of normal people.

Due to his position in the organization, Wiggins had been involved in countless negotiations with many powerful people. Talk to them for a while, and he\'d eventually get a hint on what his opponent was after. He\'d even start guessing his opponents\' thoughts, to a degree, through their reactions.

However, Kang Jin-Ho\'s reaction didn\'t match with anyone from Wiggins\' experience. And that... set a flame of anxiety and urgency in Wiggins\' heart.

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely broke his silence. “So... Basically, you want me to tell you what my conditions are?”

“Yes, that\'s correct.”

“That is a convenient way of doing things.”

Wiggins leaned closer. “Please don\'t think of this approach as half-hearted or that we\'re not sincere enough. This approach was chosen to best match your tastes, Mister Kang. If we offer compensation only for you to reject it, we\'ll be forced back to square one. And that will be a waste of time for both sides.”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked deeply. “I see. In that sense, it\'s not a bad idea for me to set the price, then. However, that also means I must know what exactly your side can do for me.”

“We can give you anything within reason,” said Wiggins, his voice getting heavier and lower. “Money. Honor. Even manpower. Whatever it is, it can be done. We can make it happen, whatever \'it\' is. We at the Round Table boast influence and power well beyond your imagination, Mister Kang. Whatever you choose, you will never feel short-changed.”

Kang Jin-Ho\'s smirk deepened. “And that is why they are useless.”

“...I\'m sorry?”

“I\'m talking about your agents. All the things you just brought up are useless to me, you see.”

“...!” Knight Wiggins clamped his mouth shut.

“Working with agents who can\'t even figure out what your opponents want is quite a sad thing, now isn\'t it? It\'s also sad that you don\'t have a choice but to trust their intel with everything you have.”

Humiliation quickly dyed Wiggins\' face again. When was the last time he got humiliated like this? He furrowed his brow while cautiously raising his voice. “In other words, you don\'t want anything?”

“Well, not with the things you mentioned, no.”

Wiggins sighed under his breath. His instincts were right. Kang Jin-Ho was a difficult opponent. The way Kang Jin-Ho talked seemed especially tuned to disparage his opponent, and that was getting under Wiggins\' skin. To make matters even harder, Kang Jin-Ho never let on what was on his mind.

However, rather than being an expert at the crafty gift of gab, Kang Jin-Ho seemed... incapable of talking like an average person. If Wiggins had seized the initiative from the get-go, this discussion would\'ve been so much smoother for him. Unfortunately, that wasn\'t the case, and he was paying the price for it.

“In that case...”

Just as Knight Wiggins was about to say something, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly raised his hand and cut him off.

“Hold on. Do you smoke?”

“...?”

***

Click...

Knight Wiggins mouthed a cigarette and lit it up. The sensation of unhealthy smoke filling his lungs seemed to sharpen his slightly dulled edge.

\'...I haven\'t smoked in a while.\'

Even the taut anxiety gripping him seemed to loosen up after the nicotine did its thing. Maybe that was why? The stiff, frosty atmosphere had gotten a little lighter than before. At least, it felt that way to Wiggins.

He glanced at Kang Jin-Ho.

\'Is this what he\'s been aiming for?\'

If Kang Jin-Ho had indeed aimed for this result, then Wiggins definitely needed to revise his evaluation once more. His opponent was even more wily and experienced than Wiggins had bargained for. However, if that wasn\'t it?

\'...It\'ll still be the same story.\'

If Kang Jin-Ho didn\'t calculate anything but simply followed what his heart told him to do and still produced a result like this... Now that was scarier. It indicated that Kang Jin-Ho could instinctively analyze the atmosphere.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly inhaled the cigarette smoke before breaking the silence. “There\'s something I was curious about.”

“I see. Please ask away.”

A smirk floated up on Kang Jin-Ho\'s lips. “Tell me... Do you really represent the Round Table?”

“...!” Wiggins sucked in a deep breath at that sudden unexpected jab. “W-why do you ask that?”

“Well, it doesn\'t seem like you are, you see?”

“And what makes you think that way?”

“You\'re anxious.”

“...!”

“And then, I\'m puzzled, too. The Round Table is supposed to be a powerful organization. So, it wouldn\'t try to handle serious matters this way. Organizations always try to deal directly with each other, after all,” said Kang Jin-Ho while leisurely smoking away. “Even if it takes time, the Round Table would have contacted the Martial Assembly, not me, in order to negotiate for the prisoners\' freedom. An organization of such a scale wouldn\'t just show up unannounced like this and ask what my demands are. Wouldn\'t you say?”

Wiggins was left speechless as he listened.

“In that case, even a kid can guess what\'s going on here. You might be a high-ranking member of the Round Table but don\'t represent it. Your coming here is unrelated to the Round Table\'s will. So, your plan must\'ve been... By negotiating with me and getting a good result, you can force the Round Table to see your side of the argument and work together with you. Am I right so far?”

Wiggins\' evaluation of Kang Jin-Ho was quickly entering the territory of incomprehensibility. Kang Jin-Ho actually saw through that much, even though they hadn\'t talked for long?

Wiggins had to admit that he had been blinded by preconceived notions until now. The Kang Jin-Ho he initially saw, and the Kang Jin-Ho from the reports, was no different from a wild beast.

The problem here was that Wiggins couldn\'t connect that image of a bloodthirsty beast to this... intellectual. All humans possessed inclinations and personalities, no? In that case... who would\'ve guessed that a walking, ticking time bomb came equipped with intelligence as well?

“...Yes, you\'re more or less correct,” said Wiggins. There was no point in denying it now. “However, please do not take that as an attempt to deceive you. I was merely...”

“I don\'t really care,” said Kang Jin-Ho while dismissively waving his hand. He exhaled the trapped cigarette smoke from his lungs before glancing at Wiggins. “As long as I get what I want, that is. I\'m not the type to get hung up over things like processes and procedures, you see.”

“Then... What is it that you want from me?”

“Honestly, I didn\'t have any. But now, I do have one. You have this one thing that interests me. If you can give me that, I\'ll release all the Chevaliers or whatever they are called right away.”

Hope quickly returned to Knight Wiggins\' eyes. It seemed his trip to South Korea might not be in vain, after all! “I see. What is it that you want from me? As long as it\'s within my power, I shall provide you with whatever you want.”

“I wonder about that. You shouldn\'t be so quick to make promises, fella,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked deeply.

Wiggins felt his heart freeze and tumble to the pit of his stomach from that smirk. That expression reminded him of a predator staring at a prey trapped in a dead-end.

“So... You want me to tell you what I want?”

“...Yes, I\'d like to hear it.”

“Alright, then. I\'ll tell you. And I\'ll be paying close attention afterward... To see if you\'ll honor your own promise,” said Kang Jin-Ho while taking another long puff of his cigarette. He then slowly released the gray smoke into the air. “What I want... is you, Knight Wiggins. It will be an exchange. You agree to remain with the Assembly, and all the Chevaliers will be set free. So? How about it? Isn\'t this reasonable?”

Knight Wiggins\' gaze wavered tremendously just then. And Kang Jin-Ho suddenly guffawed gleefully at that flustered reaction.