Artifact Reading Inspector

Haejin had been surprised when he saw the past of van Gogh’s painting because he recognized the man who was behind all of it.

It was the man who had hosted the private auction he had participated in with Eunhae in America.

It turned out the Vatican controlled the international art market itself.

Now thinking about it, there were more than a few strange facts.

Even though the Vatican had been trying hard to find artifacts unknown to the world, it was hard to believe they had gotten all of them through ordinary and legal ways.

They had been able to do it only because the Trinitatis had siphoned off the artifacts the Nazi had stolen.

Silvia then said, “I see… the royal family of Abu Dhabi hasn’t been participating in that auction for long. As you know, going to America itself is not easy for us. So, most auctions for Arabian royals take place on ships at empty seas. That is how I used to buy artifacts. However, what are you going to do now?”

Haejin replied, “First, I must let my friend know of this. You know him, too. Eric Holton…”

“Oh! You’re talking about that American hotel billionaire, right?” Silvia made a guess.

“He is after the host of that auction. I’m sure he will be eager to hear this information,” Haejin answered.

Haejin then called Eric, although it was definitely too late to call. He was just trying as Eric was a playboy, and he indeed picked up after a few rings.

“Oh! Isn’t it my lucky guy! You called me first? What a surprise!”

“Have I been neglecting you that much?” Haejin asked.

“At least more than the coldest women I know. But what is this about? There’s no way you called me just because you wanted to hear my voice, there must be a reason,” Eric replied.

His tongue was a little twisted, but it sounded like he wasn’t that drunk.

“I’m at the Vatican now.”

“Vatican? Were you a Catholic?” Eric asked.

Haejin explained, “I have no religion. I didn’t come here because of a religious event. I went to Florence because of the Medici family’s business, then I ended up here.”

“Ooh! The Medici? Even I don’t know them in private. Why don’t you introduce me to them someday?”

“Why? You want to open a hotel in Florence?” Haejin asked.

“Huh… since when you became so quick-witted? Has Ms. Lim been teaching you?” Eric asked back.

Haejin had asked the question as a joke, but it turned out he was right.

“Khmm… okay. I will talk to Mr. Cavani someday.”

“Good, good. Then tell me what this is about. How can I help?” Eric asked.

“I didn’t call for your help this time. I called because I found out something about those guys you are after,” Haejin explained.

The next second, the only thing Haejin could hear was silence. Then, Eric lightly coughed and said, “Just a second…”

He wasn’t alone, after all. Haejin was sure he was with a woman.

A while later, Eric asked, “But how did you find out? Even I haven’t found out anything about them yet…”

Haejin replied, “I told you I was in the Vatican now…”

“You… found something in the Vatican?” Eric asked.

“Yes.”

“Tell me everything.”

Haejin then started to explain, “You must know that the artifacts the Nazi had stolen were put on auction in Vienna after World War 2. I think some priests of the Vatican siphoned away most of those artifacts. Then, they made high-quality fakes with them or sold them through that private auction.”

“Huh… unbelievable. They also maintained their organization and made secret funds with that money?” Eric then asked.

“Obviously.”

Haejin said it was obvious, but there was one more thing he couldn’t tell Eric: the Trinitatis.

“Can I get the list of those priests?” Eric asked.

“I will send it to you in a few hours,” Haejin replied.

“Thank you, I will never forget this.”

Haejin hung up, but Silvia looked worried and asked, “Haven’t you told him too much?”

“It’s okay. Now that you cannot use the wealth of the Abu Dhabi family, we should get the help of such a billionaire. I know you still have a lot of money, but it cannot be compared to the Abu Dhabi family’s wealth, right? Plus, you cannot use up all of your money on this,” Haejin explained.

“Yes, but…”

“We still have an important matter today, so let’s take care of it first.”

What he had done until now was only part of the preparation for what was about to come.

Haejin enjoyed a date with Silvia and rested. After the Sun fell, he changed into black clothes and left the hotel.

He headed to a small shop near Saint Peter’s Basilica. After the scandal that shook the Vatican came out, Pierosa had gone back and forth between the basilica and that shop many times.

Haejin had already found out in how much trouble the cardinal was with the hearing spell.

The pope had already demanded him to confess the truth, and his fellow cardinals were doubting him.

He was waiting for things to calm down and was hiding in that house where he thought no one knew about.

Haejin showed up there at around 1 a.m. and Pierosa was still wide awake because of his anxiety.

Haejin went inside without being seen with the invisibility magic. Then, he smashed the door lock and stormed into the room.

Bam!

Pierosa got up on the bed in surprise. Haejin, who was wearing a mask and had changed his voice with magic, cast a spell on him.

But…

“Hup!”

A bright light came out from the bracelet on the terrified cardinal and filled the room.

Haejin instinctively realized that the bracelet was blocking his magic.

He stopped the spell, approached the man fast, and punched his face.

“Khup!”

That one blow broke his cheekbone. He was thrown away, hit the wardrobe, and immediately passed out.

The bracelet still shone even though its owner was now unconscious. Haejin looked at it and carefully moved.

He slowly approached it and took it off from Pierosa’s wrist. The light faded.

After he met Silvia, he had seen a few artifacts with magic with her help. Most of them were artifacts made by craftsmen with mana injected in them, but this one was a little different.

It must have been made by a less good craftsman. It was crude and had the same symbol of the book Haejin had gotten from his father.

He took the bracelet, put Pierosa on his bed again, and splashed water on him.

“Puuff! Uh… mercy, mercy! Do you want money? Or do you want me to step down? I’ll do everything. Please, don’t kill me!”

The moment he woke up, he fell to his knees and begged.

“Who is the leader of Trinitatis?”

Pierosa froze. He looked at Haejin as if he was a ghost and then slowly stood up.

“You know who I am.”

The cardinal grabbed his wrist and slowly sat down on the bed and said, “Haha, I thought I would get to meet you one day, but I didn’t know we would meet like this. Well, was it you who made me suffer?”

“What are you talking about?” Haejin asked.

“The scandal. Was it your doing?”

Haejin was going to deny it, but Pierosa’s transparent gaze made him nod, “Yes, it was me.”

“I see. It was too odd, after all. even though they wanted to push me away, it was as if they were trying to die together. Yes, yes…” he muttered to himself, then stared at Haejin and said, “You possess the chosen’s power. What are you going to do with it? You can’t be planning to use it to make money, right?”

“Haven’t you been stealing artifacts and making fakes for money till now? Why should I be different?” Haejin asked back.

However, Pierosa burst into laughter, “Hahaha! You misunderstood me. You are not fully wrong, but there was a reason for me to make money. I did it only for you. No, I did it to help the chosen one to regain the lost power.”

“Well, as you would do anything for power, I can understand that,” Haejin then said.

Pierosa’s face distorted. His scandal was his personal weakness that had nothing to do with the organization.

“Enough with these useless talks. Well, if you have come this far, you must have had help. Who was it?”

“I ask the questions, not you. I’ll ask again. Who is the leader of the Trinitatis?”

Pierosa’s expression hardened at this, but he couldn’t handle the continuing silence. He started speaking.

“I am.”

Haejin had used the truth spell, so it had to be true.

He was excited to finally meet the leader of the Trinitatis.

“What exactly do you guys want?” Haejin asked.

“You don’t know? I thought you already knew.”

“Regaining the lost land?” Haejin guessed.

The cardinal explained, “That’s not all. More accurately, it is about finding a legacy of the past hidden there. We can help you. We can help you to find that legacy. With it, we can remake the world. We will raze this world corrupted with machines and electricity and restore order.”

His eyes glared with madness.

It was hard to look at him as his cheekbone was broken and half of his face was covered with blood. With that and combined with his madness made Haejin almost shiver.

“You’re insane.”

“I’m insane? You know about your powers. You can start World War 3 if you want. Just think about it. This world is yours. If you and I just work together…”

Haejin was done hearing him out. As he was the leader himself and Haejin already had his bracelet, he was now useless.

“Sleep.”

Pierosa immediately fell. Haejin looked around the house, found some gasoline, and poured it out through the house.

Haejin stared at the house as it caught fire and turned around.

Silvia, who had been waiting for him anxiously, was surprised to see him looking so grim.

“What happened? Did something bad happen?”

“No, the cardinal was the leader of the Trinitatis, just as I had expected,” Haejin replied.

“Did you kill him?” Silvia asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh, my…”

Silvia realized Haejin was feeling bad for killing a man, and she hugged him.

After a while, he showed her the bracelet.

“He was wearing this. It has magic, and it blocked my magic. I’m sure it has some secret,” Haejin explained.

However, Silvia was shocked at seeing it and said, “I’ve seen it before.”

“Where?”

“In the records. It is not a bracelet, it’s a compass. The compass for guiding the chosen one.”

“This is a compass?”

Haejin lifted it up, stared at it for some time, and put in mana just because he thought maybe something would happen.

Then, a blue light came out of it and formed a map.

“This is…”

“Antarctica. We must go there.”

Haejin could feel his fate guiding him.