“Are you okay?”
Lukas raised his head at the unexpected question.
“What do you mean?”
“If I had a mirror, I’d show you. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen you make a face like that.”
“…”
“I always thought that you were emotionless because your expression never changed. But I guess that’s not true.”
Was there something wrong with his expression?
Lukas couldn’t help but reach up a hand to touch his face.
It felt a bit stiffer than usual.
“Do you know him?”
“Huh?”
“The man he referred to as his leader. You lost control of your expression after you heard his name.”
“No, I don’t know him.”
Joanna looked at him strangely when she heard this.
But it was the truth.
This was the first time Lukas had heard of this man called Dragul. The reason his expression had become stiff was different.
“I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Is the last name Phisfounder common?”
“Phisfounder?”
Joanna tilted her head to the side and tapped her finger against the steering wheel as she thought.
For a while, the soft tapping sound was the only thing that could be heard in the truck.
But after some thought, she shook her head.
“This is the first time I heard it. But it doesn’t really sound like a last name. It sounds more like a car brand.”
“…”
It was as he expected.
Lukas had never encountered a familiar last name in this world. And if he did, it would only be an extremely rare one.
That’s why he couldn’t help but wonder if the last name, Phisfounder, of this man, Dragul, was a mere coincidence or not.
Lukas looked at the buggy that was driving ahead of them.
Then, at the three buggies that were located on either side and behind the truck respectively.
“I feel like we’re being escorted.”
While Joanna spoke in a smug voice, Lukas could tell that the escort was more to prevent them from fleeing.
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be too hard to flee and erase their traces now. It would be much trickier once they got into the city.
And yet, Lukas was headed directly for the city.
‘Is Iris in this world?’
And if that really was the case, how did she accomplish it?
Did she become transcendent? Had she been following him? Did she know that he was in this world?
After these thoughts filled his head, Lukas couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
‘I don’t want to meet with Iris just yet.’
Those thoughts made him feel more sad than happy. In fact, they filled him with guilt.
Because if she came to him first, it meant that she’d probably come to blame him for not keeping his word.
* * *
They got off the truck.
Up close, the city looked much better than they expected. Nevertheless, it didn’t look much better than ‘clean ruins’. It would be more appropriate to call it a temporary base than a home.
Considering the size of the city, the area in which people could stay was incredibly limited. And as a result, the area had high population density.
Joanna looked around in surprise.
“How many people live here?”
“There are probably more than 10,000 people in this city.”
The black man, who introduced himself as Keegan, yawned as he replied.
“Come to think of it, there are a lot of customers today. How annoying…”
“…?”
“He will show you to your rooms, so please wait there. Our leader is very busy at the moment.”
After saying this, Keegan turned around and walked off somewhere.
“Follow me. I’ll guide you to where you’ll be staying.”
Another hunter spoke in a stiff manner.
They followed him into a building.
It was a three-story building, and they could see artificial light coming from the various windows. This showed that power was being supplied to it.
Also, despite the rugged appearance of the city, there were also working street lights.
When they entered the first floor of the building, the first thing they noticed was the unique smell of food. Perhaps it was because it was dinner time, but most of the people in the building seemed to be on that floor.
“The first floor is the restaurant. You can order food any time you like unless it’s too late, but if possible, please try to have your meals on time. There is also a bathroom at the end of the floor. And hot water is available around this time.”
“Hot water!”
Joanna’s eyes sparkled.
It seemed that she was excited at the thought of showering after so long.
In all honesty, it hadn’t been that long. It hadn’t even been a week since they left North America.
They were each given individual rooms on the second and third floors respectively.
“Keegan will probably be back in an hour. So you can rest here first.”
After saying those words, the man turned around and went back down to the first floor, leaving Lukas to inspect his assigned room.
The scent of old wood that filled the room calmed the mind and body.
Clack.
Lukas opened up the only window in the room and looked down at the street below, which was softly lit by the streetlights.
He could not see any hunger on the faces of the people working there. In fact, these people looked much better than those in the Congo Branch.
This should have been a comforting sight to see, but instead, it made Lukas uncomfortable.
There had to be a reason for this.
This city was not in a good geographical location.
It was clear that Demons or Demon Beasts could appear at any moment. So how were they able to perfectly defend against the Demon and Demon Beasts invasion? And where did they get enough food and water to feed such a large population? Not to mention the stable supply of electricity.
The questions that flowed through his head weren’t just these few.
Lukas closed the window before heading down to the first floor.
Many people, who appeared to be hunters, clinked their glasses together as they drank beer like water, their cheers and laughter filling the hall.
After looking around the room for a moment, Lukas was able to find an empty table, and he sat down.
A middle-aged woman walked up to him with a smile on her face and placed a glass of water in front of him. But Lukas shook his head when she asked if he’d like to order anything to eat.
Joanna wasn’t there.
Judging by her reaction earlier, she was probably washing herself in the bathroom.
Then, he saw a man come down the stairs.
When Lukas saw this man, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly. This was because of two reasons.
The first was because he was Asian, the first he’d seen since coming to this country.
And the second was because this man happened to be someone he knew.
It was the Human Dragon, Lee Jong-hak.