Became the Husband of a Retired No. 1 Hunter 64

Chapter 64 – The Underground Arena (3)

On the day of the black market.
We entered the venue feeling much better.

Even if it was an underground arena, it was only a figurative meaning, not a real underground.
In fact, the entire building is rented and held.
It is a world apart from other black markets held in ruined underground clubs.

The security posture is also very good, to the point that I want to show it to the Blue House.
There is even an expensive magic power sensor installed at the entrance.

Seo Ji-yu, whose distance was much narrower than before, passed the sensor while clinging to me.
I also passed of course.
However, when Kim Jung-tae, who was following us, passed through, the magic detector beeped.
While I reassured Seo Ji-yu, who was taken aback, the staff agreed on their own.

“Are you a bodyguard?”
“By the way?”
“Then you can pass. I hope you have a good time…”

It’s a place where hunters even fight, so it’s a more free atmosphere than I thought.
Of course, the fact that Kim Jeong-tae’s ability was relatively simple must have played a part.
Seo Ji-yu asked, leaning her body against me with a very embarrassed face.
If other people see you, they’ll know that you’re acting awkwardly.

“Is the head of the security team also a hunter?”
“It’s a bluff, so you don’t have to worry about it. Can Hunter be a civil servant or something?”
“Aha.”

As she put her hand on Seo Ji-yu’s butt, her face flushed red.
I had to repeat it desperately to suppress the rising guilt.

‘Seo Ji-yu is a non-virgin. Seo Ji-yu is a scammer. Seo Ji-yu is an embezzler… She can’t have a woman like this.’

She kept flinching so that my thoughts were colorless.
At least she got used to this much over the course of a few days.
Desperately holding on to the hem of her short skirt, she looked slightly pitiful.

Fortunately, she was fine even if she seemed a bit unfamiliar.
Anyway, her role in dealing with the other members is me, not her.
Since it is set up that she brought an ordinary person as her pet concubine, this level can be overcome.

Our guide followed along hesitantly, paying too much attention to the gazes of the other members.
I shrugged with him and gave him good advice.

“Aren’t you nervous? You just introduced a new member.”
“I… Are you really doing nothing?”
“You don’t need to know that, do you?”
“Yes, it is.”

Only then will you feel a sense of incongruity.
I called Kim Jeong-tae and handed over a 007 bag to him.
The bag was full of cash.

“It’s an introduction fee. Can we have some fun with this?”
“Hiya. Follow me right away.”

These gambling addicts have their own ways to use them.
After accepting gambling money, he fell in love with method acting without hesitation.
They greeted the members who had arrived earlier, introduced me briefly, and showed me the underground arena in question.
I wasn’t particularly interested, but this seems to be famous in its own way.
Not a few customers came to enjoy the underground arena without participating in the auction.

“But you’re not a full member, and you can’t participate in the auction. The non-member seats are really bad.”
“Right.”

Certainly, the area for regular members where we were was full of the smell of money.
While we were sitting at the bar, Kim Jeong-tae left the item to the auction staff.
Bait that was specially airlifted for this operation.
It was a new Hunter equipment that was worth while in its own way.

“Oh, why did Patrick bring a sane member?”
“I heard that he is an executive of the Korean Hunter Association…”
“These days, even Korean equipment is fine.”

Today’s guide did not seem to have a very good reputation among the members.
I looked around the black market slowly, waiting for a member who was presumed to have Black Lotus information.
There was a circular arena under the members’ area, and it was already quite noisy.
Patrick, the guide, glared at the bracket with red eyes.

“Are the champions competing today…”
“Champion?”
“Here, Blue Lightning. He’s the current champion of this arena. You don’t know how much I bet on his odds and lost.”

Saying so, Patrick took a large portion of his gambling money and bet on Blue Lightning.
Blue Lightning is an enemy to Patrick, but…
It must be that he is a fighter so strong that he has no choice but to bet on it.

I smiled when I saw her picture of her.
Blue Lightning was a woman who dyed her hair blue.

“Does it have horns?”
“Eh? That’s right. It’s common among Hunters, so what…”
“Is it?”

‘No matter how you look at it, this is Tia’s friend?’

Seo Ji-yoo seemed to think so, and her eyes trembled beside her.
One of Tiamat’s six heads!
Of course, she looked much older than Tia, but Tiamat had a wild atmosphere.
However, Tia’s atmosphere has been diluted so much that it is almost nonexistent.

‘Tiamat… To be in a place like this.’

If Blue Lightning is one of Tiamat’s heads, it makes sense for Black Lotus to be interested.
This guy is more than an S-rank hunter.
Blanche’s voice floated through the glasses I was wearing as a disguise.
My smartphone was confiscated at the entrance, but I was able to bring it in.

[Identified passages hinting at blue lightning in Target’s Messenger log.]

‘My prediction was correct.’

It was a little funny that the members here didn’t recognize him, but…
If you think about it, it was quite possible.
Humanity did not yet know about Tiamat’s heads properly.

In the case of black hair, it has rarely been seen in human form, and Tia was only recently captured.
He would never have thought that one of Tiamat’s heads was deeply hidden in the human world.

After we were a little flustered, today’s target finally entered.
The middle-aged man, with his mustache slightly grown, looked distinctly higher in class than the other members.
I thought about raiding outside the market, but I felt that it was much better to aim for this place.
Among his escorts, there was a Hunter who seemed to be equivalent to an S rank.
At that point, even if I ambushed, it will be difficult to subdue them neatly.

“That nobleman…”
“Yes, yes. This is James Corliss, whom you all asked to meet. We usually call him Earl here.”

Patrick confirmed in a crawling voice.
Today’s goal is to somehow get information about the Black Lotus from him.
Since an S-rank hunter is attached as an escort, attacking with force is the last resort.

However, the count did not hang out with the other members for long and headed straight to the inner chamber.
I saw some members following the Count and asked Patrick.

“Where are they going?”
“It looks like you’re going to an important meeting…”
“Can we not intervene?”
“No. Only a small percentage of regular members can enter the black market management meeting.”

But. Patrick doesn’t appear to be that kind of executive.
As I sighed at the answer I expected in advance, Patrick belatedly comforted me.

“Still, you will know the content of the meeting right away. After the management meeting, the decision will be announced.”
“Okay. That’s fortunate.”

We passed the time pretending to go through the Underground Arena matchups and auction listings.
Of course, he did not forget to bully Seo Ji-yu from time to time.

It wasn’t long before the people who participated in the black market management meeting came pouring out.
I didn’t miss the count’s slightly embarrassed expression.
It seems that he is not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.

‘What? Didn’t it go your way?’

I was wandering because I couldn’t get my bearings yet.
One of the key members announced the meeting’s decision.

“I’m sorry to inform you so suddenly, but today’s bracket has changed significantly.”
“What?”
“I already made a bet…”
“Of course, we will return the bet amount in full. I believe that members will understand when they see the changed bracket.”

Cheer up.

When it was finally revealed, everyone’s eyes widened.
First of all, the new bracket made no sense.

At first glance, I thought it was a tournament ceremony, but… The ladder was drawn strangely.
Blue Lightning will participate in the first game, and Blue Lightning will also participate in the second game.
The same goes for games 3 and 4.
In other words, this is a match in which the current champion, Blue Lightning, takes down challengers in succession.

The narrator proudly explained it.

“Blue Lightning has been a favorite of all spectators so far. The problem is that Blue Lightning is so strong that it makes betting a bit pointless. Her odds have long since stopped going above 1.1x.”

This is a bit serious.
For reference, at the time of the Russia World Cup, the dividend ratio for Germany in Korea vs. Germany was 1.14 times.

“With this bracket, we want to revitalize the game and give her a new challenge. Those who have always been betting on her will need to make more difficult choices.”

Clap clap clap clap!

As soon as the commentator finished speaking, there was a loud applause.
Most of the members welcomed the results of the management meeting.
However, the Count still has a very disapproving face.

‘Has the plan gone awry? I’ll have to watch it for now.’

I was thinking of watching the game for a while.
When word came that Blue Lightning had accepted the new bracket, the members clapped once more.
Waving her hand in this direction, she looked very confident.

“Everyone likes it so much? Was it that overwhelming?”
“By the way, female gladiators get eaten if they lose in a match. Should I say it’s the cost of huge fight money?”
“… What?”

When me, Seo Ji-yu, and even Kim Jeong-tae looked back at Patrick in unison, he averted his gaze as if he was ashamed.
The cheers of the members showed no sign of stopping yet.