Chapter 246: Max, the Museum Manager (2)
Anyone could see that he looked anxious.
When I look at his face, I could see what kind of misunderstanding had passed through his mind. His body trembled, and he seemed to have all sorts of wicked thoughts.
Seeing that he was desperately blocking the control device, he seemed to think that we had come here to destroy it, which was the opposite of what we had been trying to do.
Right now, I was hoping that the seal would remain, but if things were to go awry, then there was no reason not to destroy it.
Anyone who had something to protect automatically became weak.
Of course, I still had to think about whether I could call him a person, but I at least liked the fact that he was capable of feeling anxious.
‘That’s interesting.’
It wasn’t just him. Everything that made up this room proved to be full of wonders.
In fact, from the moment I entered this room, my interest in the manager, Max, had declined significantly.
‘This is a trove of treasure.’
The hologram, which seemed to be made of magical power, was probably the best of them.
It was natural to be amazed upon seeing such a kind of technology in a world without video media and recorders. Looking at magic circles shining everywhere, I could somewhat understand how it worked in principle.
At the very least, I can use what he already had.
‘Do these need permission to be used?’
When I checked with the Mind’s Eye, the information showed in my eyes.
[Crack Museum Control Device (Legendary)]
[Manager permission is required.]
‘As expected…’
It was unfortunate, but besides that, there were also some interesting artifacts.
My interest also seemed to be a threat to Manager Max.
-Never… I will never let things happen the way you want.
Seeing him act upon his misunderstanding just made him look cuter.
In fact, his whole appearance was the whole epitome of cute. He looked like a blond boy that would break just by touching him.
Also, the power felt from him was not that great. Although the expedition members were preparing for battle, it was only to prepare for an emergency.
Honestly, there was no need to be so vigilant. Unlike the expedition members who thought an element could be a threat, there were no dangerous elements in my eyes.
A golem outside that guarded the manager’s room was all there was, and Max’s power could be classified as that of a heroic-grade monster’s.
To sum up, this was a situation where we ourselves could take action.
I didn’t think about it when I saw the pile, but when I looked at his original body, the sensor that detected pushovers kept lightning up.
I then stepped forward and spoke with a smile.
“Well, well… Who is this? Aren’t you, Max, the museum manager, who protected and inherited the Crack Museum?”
-You… you!
“I’ll be disappointed if you get so angry like this, manager. As expected, the vibe is a little different when we talk face to face. Your original body is actually that of a little boy’s. So? If you have a moment, would you like to have a conversation?”
-You… You crap, fucking bastard!
“I don’t know why you are so angry.”
-You filthy Ancient God’s servant! T-Things won’t work out the way you want them to!
“I don’t know why you think of us as servants of the Ancient God… Ahem. We apologize for making things a bit complicated. We couldn’t help. First, you’re the one who started faking, and I don’t know about the museum tour or whatever, but we didn’t have many options to survive.”
-S-Shut that dirty mouth! I didn’t manipulate the probabil-
“I have a few questions I want to ask…”
-Dirty humans! I shouldn’t have received people like you as guests.
“Hey, I’m just talking to you, but why are you so angry, museum manager?”
-L-leave now! Right now! W-where’s the guard golem…
“If it’s a rock that doesn’t do anything, I’ve already dealt with it. Don’t do that, let’s just talk…”
-Eeek!
The only problem was that he refused to listen to me. It would be beneficial for both sides if we could just talk this out instead of fighting.
‘We can’t fight… we can’t.’
Of course, no one wanted to harm the treasures within the room by battling.
The value of many of the devices, including the museum’s control unit, was indescribably astronomical.
Depending on the use, it may have more value than the mythic-grade sword that Kim Hyunsung obtained. That museum device control certainly goes beyond Durendal’s value.
The expedition members, who were still flustered, hadn’t thought about it yet, but everyone would come to know this if they only had my ability.
After entering the continent, I wondered if I had ever wanted something so intensely.
In the end, I had to speak to Kim Hyunsung and Park Yeon-joo quietly.
“I’m sorry, everyone, but I want to negotiate with the museum manager… If it’s okay, could you leave it to me?”
Amidst Max’s insane ramblings, I continued to speak.
“I think it would be more effective to be just the two of us than to have a group together… Please.”
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”
“Ah! It’s okay if Dialugia comes with me. I think I can get satisfactory results for both guilds. That is if the Black Swans permit it…”
“Fine by me.”
I already expected Kim Hyunsung to say this, but the problem was Park Yeon-joo.
‘I think this one has also noticed…’
“I will tell you the whereabouts of the isolated people within 10 minutes.”
I didn’t know what conclusion she had come to, but seeing her nod meant that she had decided to leave this up to me. I knew I had done a good job building up her trust.
“Yes. If so, please.”
‘That is why people’s usual behavior is important.’
I could confirm once more that my reputation had done me some good.
Everyone slowly started to get out of the management room, and only Dialugia stayed beside me, looking displeased. Finally, we could have a conversation in peace.
-Negotiation? Negotiation? Do you think I’m doing something like that with you? Get out of here!!
I expected Max to react like that, but I honestly didn’t care.
As he stopped to take his breath, I began to speak, and anxiety filled his expression. It seemed like he did not know how to react to this sudden change in attitude.
“Hey.”
-Huh?
“Can’t you figure out what’s happening now?”
-What…
“Our brilliant Crack Guardians have planted a sense of responsibility, but I guess they didn’t give you wit.”
-I don’t know what you’re talking about, but…
“Shut up and listen to me, manager. You’ve been talking about protecting the continent or whatever, but… You’re not hoping that the seal over there will be released.”
-Huh?
“Oh. Push the strange misunderstanding into a corner of your magical brain. I am neither a servant nor a merciful of the Ancient God as you might think. Releasing the seal was unavoidable, but there was no other reason than to survive. Of course, it feels good to see how things went well.”
-Don’t say weird stuff and… Fuck!
Seeing as I didn’t want him to start screaming once more,
“If that is released… You said the continent would fall apart?”
At this, he shut his mouth.
“I heard it from our woman. Right, Dialugia? In the future, it will slowly absorb the life force of the continent and become stronger… That period is probably… Did you say it was 30,000 years?”
-Actually, it’s a little shorter…
“You seem to feel quite responsible for this continent, but unfortunately, I don’t. Honestly, it has nothing to do with me whether the continent is destroyed or is intact after 30,000 years. The future is created by our descendants… They will take care of it.”
-H-How can you say that?
“Is this a hologram made of magical power? Looking at him right now, this is the Fragment of the great and dignified Ancient God? Ha! He seems to be trying to get rid of something like a preliminary program. If my eyes aren’t a knothole, the power balance looks pretty tight…”
-Er…
“Ergo. You’ve seen this, right? What if this potion explodes here? What if one of the control units over there goes down and the magic power being delivered to the preliminary program is cut off?”
-D-do you think I’ll let you do th…
“Oh. Don’t get angered, Max. Dialugia, please subdue it.”
As Max ran towards me, Dialugia placed herself between the two of us.
I could see him struggling with her overwhelming body.
-E… Eeek! Put me down! Put me down!
“I-I’m sorry…”
-I don’t know about humans, but you shouldn’t do this! Those who keep the continent’s balance shouldn’t be involved in this! You are a dragon! Do you know what you’re trying to do now?!
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
-We have to protect the continent! If you are a proud dragon, get that trash right now! That’s the only way for this continent to survive!
“I’m sorry…”
-This is ridiculous… You can’t do this! You can’t!
Dialugia’s face showed a terrible sense of guilt. For some reason, I felt like she was blaming herself too much.
As I said earlier, it didn’t matter whether he was released or active, but it was less unpleasant to be quiet than to be released.
I had no choice but to stick with my current attitude, however.
‘Good.’
I didn’t even think about using the continent as bait, but his reaction was so good that I found myself gradually becoming excited.
“It must be really worth it seeing this! The Crack Guardians will jump up from the grave! I’m about to put in the bomb now.”
-Don’t! D-Don’t!
“I think it’ll be stronger than I thought, so it might not be possible with one bottle… When magic power enters this potion, it will explode after two seconds! The continent will soon perish!”
-Don’t! Don’t!
“Hey! You have to speak formally with adults!”
-Please don’t!
“No. After all, I need to do it with my own hands rather than destroy it with a bomb. Isn’t there any suitable stick?”
-Ugh…
As I picked up a stick nearby and made a swinging motion, Max began to look more and more anxious.
Honestly, it didn’t make sense to smash that control with this stick, but nothing could make him more anxious than a violent demonstration.
It was funny how he shook every time I threatened to destroy the control.
“The continent will now be destroyed after 5 seconds. Thump, thump, thump, thump!”
-No… No!
“Five!”
-Please don’t do this!
“Four!”
At this point, Dialugia had also begun to look anxious.
“Are you really going to do it? You!”
-Highly proud dragon! Quickly!!
“Three!”
-No… No!
“Two!”
-Ugh!
“I’m doing it!”
-W-What do you want?!
When I let the stick swing dangerously close to the control device, Max hastened to bring up negotiation.
Fortunately, he had given me the right answer.
I couldn’t help but smile. When I prepared to speak once more, he trembled.
“The museum.”
I spoke in a firm, unwavering voice.
-H-Huh?