Chương 139: Chapter 138: The Korean BBQ Feast and the Media Disaster

The smell of sizzling Hanwoo beef fat on hot coals mixed with roasted garlic and soybean paste sauce, filling the third-floor VIP room of a high-end BBQ restaurant in Gangnam. SIZZLE... SIZZLE... Astra held a pair of metal chopsticks in each hand, eyes wide and unblinking, staring at a 1++ marbled beef striploin slowly cooking on the grill. Behind her, thirty large black ceramic plates were already stacked into an empty tower.

A waiter in a black vest carried out five more fresh plates of beef, knees trembling as he stole glances at the girl in the pastel-pink puffer jacket, chewing through meat at the speed of an automated packaging machine. Beside the grill, Sylvia sat with a knit beanie pulled over her beast-ears, a cup of corn tea in one hand and a mini tablet in the other, fingers flying across the screen. She suddenly looked up, expression serious, pushing her glasses up as she turned to Lucian.

"Lucian, moving the reserve to Earth later will require customs, hazardous-material clearance, provenance documentation, and tax reporting." Lucian, mid-flip of a piece of beef with the tongs, flinched and dropped them onto the table.

"One hundred thousand registered S-rank industrial crystals do not become luggage just because we own a door." Sylvia scrolled through her screen.

"Until the paperwork is complete, they stay in Station 50 storage—so we get a hotel instead of a criminal investigation." Lucian smoothly wrapped a grilled beef slice in a sesame leaf and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly.

"Modern capitalism really doesn't leave a man any way out." He picked up a perfectly cooked, tender, juicy piece of striploin, dipped it in sea salt, and held it out in front of Eleanor.

"Try this. Great with sesame leaf and roasted garlic." Eleanor, seated beside him in her elegant beige trench coat, opened her mouth slightly and took the piece of beef off his chopsticks. Eleanor folded her arms and gave him the look she reserved for reckless accounting. CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

From the rooftop of a building fifty meters across the street, through the VIP room's floor-to-ceiling window, a professional Dispatch paparazzo's 600mm telephoto lens fired off a rapid burst of shots, capturing Eleanor's stunning profile and the exact moment Lucian fed her the bite. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Ten minutes later.

Evelyn, sitting cross-legged and picking at kimchi, suddenly pulled out her phone, the screen buzzing nonstop with notifications from Naver and Nate Pann. She glanced at the screen, choked on a sip of soda, and slammed the table laughing.

"Oh my god! It's front page!" Evelyn turned the phone screen toward Eleanor.

"Congratulations, Your Highness—Dispatch thinks the princess-like girl from the mysterious foreign group is the story of the night!" A paparazzi shot of Eleanor's profile, taken through the barbecue restaurant window, filled the front page under a huge headline. [MYSTERIOUS FOREIGN GROUP DINES WITH UNIDENTIFIED PROVISIONAL F-RANK MINOR; 'PRINCESS-LIKE GIRL' STUNS GANGNAM] CRACK. The ceramic plate of kimchi in Eleanor's hand split cleanly in two.

Eleanor's face went completely red as everyone in the restaurant turned to stare at her and the phone screen.

"Princess-like girl?" Eleanor repeated, staring at the phone screen. Lucian calmly dipped another piece of pork in sesame oil.

"At least they spelled provisional correctly," he said without missing a beat. The article carefully noted that Lucian's provisional card permitted only supervised evaluation and basic municipal services; it granted no dungeon-entry license. Eleanor glared at him. She didn't say another word — just reached over, snatched the beef right off his chopsticks, and shoved it into her mouth, chewing furiously.

"You dare say that again?!" Ting. The VIP room's decorative plaster gave a tiny shudder. A dusting of plaster fell from a hairline crack beside the private-room door. The private room fell very quiet. The waiter came in nervously, carrying the bill. After the adults' sponsor review cleared, Evelyn completed a second documented bullion exchange and loaded the proceeds onto a prepaid travel card.

"Um... total for forty-five orders of 1++ Hanwoo beef, drinks, and the VIP room fee comes to 8, 500, 000 won..." Evelyn paid for dinner with a documented prepaid travel card purchased from their declared cash reserve.

"Leave a tip," Sylvia whispered. The waiter pretended not to notice four people debating the legality of a bowl of soup.

"Thank you so much, esteemed VIP guests! Enjoy the rest of your evening, sir and madam!" At the same moment, on the top floor of the Divine Envoy Guild Tower — Korea's number-one Hunter guild. Guild Divine Envoy's president—National-Rank Hunter Kang Min-Woo—sat in front of a large computer monitor, zooming the Dispatch paparazzi photo up to 8K resolution. The number-one Hunter's sharp eyes settled on the leather fishing-rod bag leaning against the chair beside Eleanor.

The Dispatch photo contained a faint sensor-distortion streak around the wrapped sword bag. Kang Min-Woo narrowed his eyes, hand tightening on the leather armrest. Kang Min-Woo zoomed in on the wrapped sword bag and the distortion halo around it; neither matched any licensed equipment. He immediately grabbed his desk phone.

"Deploy the entire First Reconnaissance Squad! Find that F-Rank kid and the blonde girl before Guild White Tiger gets to them!" Half an hour later. Lucian, in his black overcoat, warm coffee in hand, led the group out of the restaurant, blending into the crowded, cool night of Gangnam Boulevard. Ting. The Hunter Association app on his newly bought phone buzzed with a push notification.

[GANGNAM REAL ESTATE & DUNGEON AUCTION BOARD:] Emergency listing: Blue Gate Rank D Dungeon, abandoned industrial district on Seoul's outskirts Status: Five-year exclusive clearance and resource concession; six months overdue Starting bid: 1. 2 billion won Lucian stared at the 1. 2-billion-won starting bid on the screen. He took a sip of coffee, the corner of his mouth curving into a familiar smile. Lucian smiled.

"A five-year concession for 1. 2 billion won. Cheap—once our declared funds clear review. Taxi—we're filing a conditional bid for our first Earth dungeon."