Matan’s Shooter 486

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

Sasuke’s hunting grounds were scattered across various continents. Visiting towns en route to hunting grounds in the Shazrasian Federation or forts beyond the Sentinel Mountains in Fibiel made sense. But Minis? Despite no suitable hunting spots nearby for Sasuke, there was a notable trend of him frequenting major cities in Minis.

‘Business or – no, why wander from city to city if it’s just for the auction house?’

Leeha asked Lu, “Could he be affiliated with Minis? Like a defector or something…?”

“Hmm? No, that’s unlikely.”

“Right? Sasuke is affiliated with Fibiel, isn’t he?”

“Of course. We definitely checked that.”

Then why frequent Minis so often? An idea crossed Leeha’s mind, still unformed. No need to pinpoint it. But it was strange that he hadn’t thought of this before.

‘The Shinobi-Gumi is an organization. They need a base.’

Although fluid, they’re still ‘users,’ and thus must belong to a nation! Leeha combined this with Sasuke’s movements. The conclusion came easily.

“The Shinobi-Gumi is affiliated with Minis. One of these cities must have their base.”

Mamehana and Matsushige’s roles were just ‘spies.’ The same for Sasuke. Scattered across various cities, regardless of the nation, to gather information. All of this was controlled by a head somewhere, a vague thought Leeha could now dismiss. If the Shinobi-Gumi belonged to Minis, it also unraveled the secret of the information network connected during the national war. No need to connect networks, as the Shinobi-Gumi already had one.

“Madam!”

“Ai, you scared me. Why yell like-“

“Those cities, do they share any common establishments? Can you check?”

“Of course. I can tell you right now.”

“List them, quickly.”

Lu, half-admiring, half-expecting something from Leeha, quickly organized the data.

“Three, three percent tax benefit extension for one month, deal?!”

A look of expectation.

No matter how much Leeha governs the city, there’s no such thing as a free lunch for NPCs. Madam Joo smiled pleasantly and quickly organized the documents, handing them over to Leeha.

“Here. Buildings in these cities, focusing on shops and facilities. I’ve narrowed it down to these eight cities. Is this okay?”

“Yes, good.”

Leeha took the data, scanning through: weapon shops, armor shops, repair blacksmiths, clothing stores…

A detail caught his eye. “High-class restaurant?”

Not a fairy, but a high-class restaurant or tavern. Ju nodded at Leeha’s mumbling.

“Yes, like the one in ‘our’ city.”

Leeha ignored Ju’s emphasis on ‘our,’ fixated on a bigger question.

“Who runs the restuarant? Who’s in this city? Who’s been stinking up the place?”

“Chiyou!”

“Yes, Chiyou’s restaurant.”

Ju couldn’t finish as Leeha’s eyes gleamed with revelation.

“Ju, I’ll do my own research, but…”

Leeha checked Black Bass’s magazine in his bag. He needed to visit Bottleneck, to pay back what had accumulated.

“Prioritize Chiyou’s location in your investigation. Contact me immediately upon finding her.”

“…Yes, okay.”

Leeha didn’t rage, curse, or yell. No need. But quiet flames are the most fearsome. This time, Ju didn’t ask for any favors. Leeha left Sacred Grill without a word.

‘Chiyou might not have returned from the new continent yet. And tracking a tank’s location, even for Sacred Grill, takes time.’

Leeha knew it required time, so he wouldn’t wait idly, especially with many changes since the new continent voyage.

‘I can’t ask for help. This is strictly a personal vendetta. But I can ask questions.’

In some unknown location in the new continent, just spotting Chiyou would be enough. That was sufficient for Leeha. His steps were swift and stern. Although NPCs greeted their lord along the way, Leeha seemed oblivious to their words. While walking, Leeha endlessly scribbled on a note. His steps, hand movements, and thoughts were all independent. At times like these, his multitasking abilities were not inferior to Ram Hwayeon’s.

‘No evidence.’

Was Chiyou the head of the Shinobi-Gumi? Was it certain? No clear answer came. It was all circumstantial evidence.

‘But it doesn’t matter.’

Physical evidence would be impossible to obtain. The meticulous individuals of [Shinobi-Gumi] didn’t even formally create a guild under that name. They wouldn’t have left any physical evidence. Leeha knew this.

With the situation having progressed this far, it wasn’t about the existence of evidence anymore.

‘I’ll blow her head off first, then look for evidence.’

It won’t be easy. Leeha had fought rankers several times. But he couldn’t directly compare those experiences to now. During his battle with Faust, he had Alexander and the Matan minion subjugation squad with him. What about when battling Petyr?

Ram Hwayeon, Shin Nara, Bobae, and others were all there. Leeha’s role was merely delivering the final blow.

The same with the battle against Igor. Although he called his soulmate, a child, Igor was with the Czar Guild, so Leeha had to make an emergency escape to where Kidd and Luger were.

Those were mostly victories, but strictly speaking, they were achieved with the help of comrades.

‘Finally, a proper PvP with a ranker.’

It won’t be easy, especially after having observed each other sufficiently during the new continent expedition.

‘But she must have known about me first.’

The few skills that Chiyou couldn’t hide and had to show were already pressuring Leeha. Could he really catch her? The calm and deep anger that simmered as he left Sacred Grill was now turning into a peculiar nervousness and excitement.

“Whoa! Ha, Leeha?!”

“Oh, Bottleneck-ssi! You were here? Wow, who are all these people?”

Leeha’s stride halted abruptly at the sound. He found himself looking at Bottleneck’s bustling forge. Not only the Beard Brothers but other dwarves were busily catering to humans – whether they were users or NPCs, Leeha couldn’t tell.

Bottleneck, in the middle of a conversation, hurriedly approached Leeha.

“If you’re here, you should say something, man!”

“Ouch! Don’t hit me, no, who hits their landlord like that?”

Then Bottleneck playfully struck Leeha’s thigh a couple of times. It was the dwarves’ unique way of showing affection, something Leeha knew well.

“What? A tenant?”

“Giggle, just kidding. You’ve been really popular lately, right? There are so many people now! Our ‘Engineering Chief’.”

“Ahem, well, of course! It was just that our position in Hell’s Anvil wasn’t great. Now that I have my own forge, it’s obvious that people would flock here!”

Bottleneck proudly puffed up his chest. Leeha already knew about his success through various reports in the lord’s office, but seeing it in person was a different experience.

“As expected, Bottleneck-ssi! Impressive!”

Rather than saying, ‘I scouted well,’ Leeha praised Bottleneck, showing another level of his social skills had improved.

Leeha continued to boost Bottleneck’s morale, to the point that it might have strained his neck. He mentioned how Bottleneck’s ammunition had been helpful during their voyage to the new continent and that the performance of the electric shocker definitely deserved recognition. Leeha didn’t mention his struggles in the sea, as there was no need.

“Ha, of course! Just tell me what you need! I am the top blacksmith and the Engineering Chief of Gaza City!”

“Okay, I’ll just tell you then. I have a list of items I need.”

“Uh?”

Leeha handed Bottleneck a note and quickly entered the forge. He saw several types of ammunition already prepared. Perhaps Kidd and Luger had already been there, as he noticed their bullet piles disheveled.

“Aha, the bullets are ready. I’ll take these for now! Please prepare the rest as soon as possible, I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.”

“What, wait, Leeha! How am I supposed to…”

“Since you’re the best blacksmith, you’ll figure it out. Fighting!”

Leeha clenched his fist in encouragement, which seemed terrifyingly annoying to Bottleneck. Watching the dwarf NPC’s contorted expression, Leeha smiled wryly and left. The sadness of a tenant (?) unable to say much to their ‘lord’ was evident.

‘Okay, got the bullets and requested item production.’

His upcoming confrontation with Chiyou was not a simple sniping. It wasn’t about predicting her location and waiting aimlessly to pull the trigger, nor was it like the Kuzgunak’sh sniping where he lured her into a favorable position before firing.

Leeha clearly defined the nature of this battle. In some ways, it would be the most unfamiliar type of combat for him.

‘This time, it’s hunting. This time, I’m not a sniper, but a hunter.’

Leeha loaded a newly filled magazine into Black Bass. Click-! With a heavy sound of connection, he had to prepare for this [hunt].

He had already sent whispers to all users whose location showed ‘new continent’, casually, as if he was just passing time. However, he had to secure information about Chiyou.

“If you don’t know now, just contact me later if you happen to see her in the new continent, or if you hear anything about her.”

He casually placed the request, subtly hinting at his intentions. After all, even if he knew Chiyou’s location right away, he was not ready yet.

“I need to hit level 200 first to make it interesting to face Chiyou.”

Leeha checked his level and searched for a hunting ground. There were plenty of prey he could practice on before facing Chiyou. Shwoooosh-! A fleeting purple light twinkled briefly in Gaza City.

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