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nChapter 343. Trusting Heart (2)

nTohari was a fire that moved by itself with its own will. If Shadia’s account was factual, the fire that moved like a living thing perfectly matched Mangil’s explanation; there was a high possibility that it really was a tohari.

n“Then Ms. Shadia, you must know the location of the tomb.”

n“No, I don't.” Shadia moved her index finger from side to side. “I told you. The thief finally found the tomb. Does a hungry sparrow just pass by a mill?”

n“Ah.”

n“Of course, he probably robbed it of all kinds of rare treasures, including the tohari. It’s at least certain that he took the tohari because after the tomb was raided, the empire sent a large-scale tracking team to catch just one thief.”

n“The thief must have been caught stealing.”

n“Probably? I think the descendants of the empire’s emperor knew of a way to locate the royal tomb, and if the thief had taken the tohari with him, the temperature in that area would have returned to normal. So even if they paid little attention to it, it wouldn't have been difficult to notice the change.”

nChi-Woo nodded. Since not everything was recorded, it was not exactly clear what had happened. But one thing was certain—the thief found the tomb and succeeded in robbing it, and the empire, who was managing the royal tomb, sent a large-scale tracking team to catch him.

n“So what happened in the end?”

n“Well, the empire did manage to catch the thief.”

n“By that, do you mean…”

n“They caught the thief, but I guess they couldn’t recover the stolen treasures. It might be a lie, but the thief said before he was executed that he hid the stolen treasures in a warehouse that only he knew, so they should look for it on their own.”

n“He sure had a lot of guts for a tomb robber.”

n“Right? I guess they had no lingering feelings after achieving his long-cherished wish.”

nChi-Woo fell into thought while seeing Shadia smile. He believed he got what she was trying to say. The tohari was not in the tomb, but in a place that only the thief knew, and Shadia seemed to know where that was.

n“Then I guess the treasure hidden by the thief must have never been found since then?”

n“We don’t know about that, but it’s certain that the empire wasn’t able to find it. And I don’t think anyone has found it in the hundreds of years since then. From what I heard, loads of treasure-mad explorers had looked for it, and various kingdoms had launched national searching operations, but none had been successful.”

nEven on Earth, if someone recovered the burial goods of a famous emperor who had been robbed, it would make international headlines, especially if they discovered it after hundreds of years. Even if they only found a fraction of it, a few lines about their discovery would have been written in history books. However, considering that there were no records of treasures anywhere, it was highly likely that the treasures were still buried in the location where the thief hid them.

n“What’s the possibility that someone secretly took it?”

n“We can’t rule that possibility out, but I think it’s unlikely. If someone did, some of the stolen goods should have made their way out, but it doesn’t make sense that none of them have been seen in centuries, right?”

nIt seemed unlikely unless someone found it and secretly buried it again in a different place that only they knew. Chi-Woo nodded and suddenly became curious. How did Shadia know the location of an ancient treasure that no one had found for a long time, including the empire?

n“Now back to the main topic.” Shadia reached into her pocket. “Guess what this is.” Then she carefully took out a faded piece of yellow paper and smiled. “I told you before that an old man had told me a funny story.”

n“Yeah, you told me.”

n“He gave this to me for taking care of an old man whose death was just around the corner. And he said—” Shadia put the paper on the desk and rested her chin on the back of her hand. “That he’s a descendant of that legendary thief.”

nChi-Woo’s eyes widened.

n“And this is a treasure map that has been handed down in his family for generations.” In short, it was a map indicating the location where the thief hid the stolen treasures. Chi-Woo tilted his head. It was hard to believe all this was true. Maybe this whole story was merely a concoction of a crazy old man who was at death’s door.

n“Does this old man usually bluff or brag a lot?”

n“Not at all. Rather, it’s the opposite. Usually, he’s so quiet that he doesn’t say a single word, but he suddenly brought this out and gave it to me. For your information, his mind was completely sane.”

n“Hmm…it’s a bit hard to believe. Since it’s a map that’s been handed down from generation to generation, if I were a member of that family, I’d have gone out myself to find the treasures a long time ago.”

n“Well, I agree with you on that. I think I would have done the same, but that’s the way heroes like us think.” In other words, the general public’s way of thinking may be different. Shadia continued, “He told me that even though a significant amount of time had passed, there were still many factions that were fervently searching for the stolen treasures. How would his family have dared to look for it? It’d be fortunate if they don’t get caught up in the struggle and die.”

nA pine caterpillar should eat pine needles, and if it ate brown leaves, it would die. The thief’s family was not a powerful family that could protect the treasures. It also made sense that members of a powerless family would bury the secret deep inside their hearts. After all, their whole family could have been destroyed with a single mistake.

nWhen Chi-Woo still seemed doubtful, Shadia’s expression turned into one of bruised pride. She continued, “Of course, I still can’t be sure if this treasure site exists, but I think it’s pretty credible. I cross-examined the historical records several times by asking other natives. And after checking this map in my own way, I can assure you that it was made hundreds of years ago.”

nIn other words, Shadia met up with Chi-Woo because she was confident in her information after a detailed, multi-step verification process. Moreover, unless Shadia came here with the intention to cut off her relationship with him, she wouldn’t have brought up a completely absurd story.

n“Ms. Shadia, you could have gone yourself to find the treasures.”

n“I thought about that, but I’ve been saving it. I was planning to go when I’ve gained reliable teammates. I didn’t know about this myself, but it turns out I put more importance on safety than I thought.” Shadia stuck out her tongue and softly laughed.

nChi-Woo pondered for a while and finally said, “We’d like to go through some confirmation procedures as well on our side. Will that be all right with you?”

n“Of course. You can check the map if you want, but only the back side, and please do it in front of me.”

n“I got it. Please wait a minute.” Chi-Woo glanced sideways into the air. It just happened that there was, in a sense, a living witness of Liber’s history next to him. ‘Mr. Philip?’

n—Yeah, yeah. I was listening.

nHowever, he wasn’t much help in the end.

n—A legendary thief’s treasure…I don’t know. I think it happened way before my time. I wasn’t interested in anything besides hunting demons, so…

nHowever, it sounded like Philip had heard about this before. It was the same for Eshnunna and Hawa.

nEshnunna said, “Of course I know about the Ehiru Empire, which unified Liber for the first time. The story of the first emperor’s tomb getting robbed is also famous.”

nHawa also said, “…I’ve heard of it. As far as I know, there’s no record of the treasure being recovered after that.”

nWhen Eshnunna and Hawa added credibility to her words, Shadia’s chin became higher and higher. She looked like she was saying, ‘See, I told you.’ And the following examination of the map further supported her claim.

n“Hmm…yes, I think it’s the real deal, Boss.” Eval Sevaru continued, looking closely at the back of the map with a single lens that Chi-Woo had no idea where he got it from. “It’s not a fake, and I don't think she's scamming us. It’s also true that it was made a while ago.”

n“Hey, hey. Be careful. It’s going to crumble if you squeeze it even a little too hard. Anyway, you saw for yourself, right?” Shadia straightened her back and puffed out her chest. She looked at Chi-Woo and asked, “So how about it? According to records, the thief didn’t just get one tohari, but several. It’s also a treasure trove where all kinds of precious treasures may be piled up.” After her skillful pitch, Shadia put on a small smile. “I said I’d step out of this after getting 50,000 royals. Honestly, isn’t that a steal?”

nAt this point, Chi-Woo had nothing more to say. His brother had told him to be constantly doubtful, but he would never reach an answer if there was no end to his suspicion. Moreover, Seven Stars no longer had to repay their debt. They could afford to invest 50,000 royals.

n‘We don’t have a clue right now except for this anyway…’ Chi-Woo made his decision after much consideration. “Okay, let’s make a deal.”

n“Yay! Great! Don’t forget me if everything goes well, okay?” Shadia smiled and handed over the map, and Chi-Woo paid her for it. She left Seven Stars after saying, ‘Let’s give each other good reviews.’ There was only one thing left to do—to identify the location shown on the map.

n“Ah, leave this up to me, Boss.” Eval Sevaru was already turning the map upside down and observing it carefully. “I think I can figure it out.”

n“But it’s a map created hundreds of years ago…”

n“It doesn’t matter since it’s a topographic map. Once firmly established on the earth’s surface, the characteristic landscapes do not change over time. Well, unless a natural disaster has occurred.”

n“Really?”

n“Yes, trust me. The surrounding features are also drawn in detail. If I find and compare the current maps that match the area this map represents, I think I will be able to identify the location sooner than I think.”

nChi-Woo couldn’t help but be amazed by Eval Sevaru’s calm breakdown of his process. On one hand, he became curious. He had no idea what kind of hero Eval Severu had been, but the man really possessed all kinds of knowledge and information.

n“Anyway, let’s take a break. I’ll report back to you as soon as I check this, Boss.”

n* * *

nEval Sevaru came back in less than a day. After hearing a knock, Chi-Woo answered the door and blinked when he saw how serious Eval Sevaru looked as he walked in.

n“…Boss.” With a tired face, Eval Sevaru sounded slightly husky. “We’re **ed.”

n“What? Why? Is it hard to locate?”

n“No. I’ve already identified the location, but…I didn’t want it to be true…so I’ve checked and rechecked it many times…” Eval Sevaru swiped his face many times and unfolded the map on the table first. Chi-Woo’s expression also slightly changed because the point where Eval Sevaru had marked with an X was quite far from Shalyh.

nChi-Woo said, “At least it’s not completely on the opposite side.”

n“That’s not the problem at all.”

n“What then? What about this place is making you…”

nThen Eval Sevaru rubbed his eyes and, with a deep sigh, he said, “It’s the Sernitas.”

nChi-Woo paused for a moment, shocked into speechlessness.

n“If we want to go and check out treasures that may or may not exist…” They needed to cross the areas near the border as well as a whole territory. “We must enter Sernitas' territory.”

nChi-Woo instinctively closed his eyes.

n* * *

nChi-Woo stayed up all night. With the map in front of him, he went through an endless cycle of worry and conflict.

n‘Geez, of all the places…’ It was already a huge problem that they needed to first infiltrate enemy territory, but on top of that, it was the Sernitas of all factions. It was considered the strongest among the four major ones.

n‘This is crazy.’ Should he go or not? It would be nice if his intuition could give him the answer, but it was quiet this time. To put it into words, he didn’t feel anything, so it was even harder to make a decision. ‘Should I spread this information instead and organize a large expedition…’ This thought suddenly occurred to him, but Chi-Woo shook his head. The more people moved, the greater the likelihood their opponent would notice. It was impossible that the Sernitas would just stand still when a huge hoard of heroes flocked to their border. There would be a 100 percent chance that war would break out.

nIf he wanted to carry out this plan, they needed to move in a small group. They needed to infiltrate Sernitas’ territory as quietly as possible and quickly sneak out after taking only what they needed; only then would they have a chance of succeeding.

nBy the time dawn broke, Chi-Woo had made his decision. He would call everyone, including the team leaders, and discuss the matter with them. He was going to ask for everyone’s opinions, but the results were expected to some extent. Ru Amuh would say that he’d follow Chi-Woo’s decision, and Yunael would be anxious to go no matter what. In the first place, heroes were used to taking risks. Chi-Woo had not yet reached a conclusion, but his mind was already tilted to one side. Of course, his brother would be furious if he found out about this later.

n‘I can just succeed and pay him back.’ Chi-Hyun probably wouldn’t be able to say anything if Chi-Woo made the excuse that he was only doing what he was told. ‘I would be able to team up with Mr. Ru Amuh after so long. And Mr. Emmanuel too.’ While Chi-Woo, racked his brain to form the best expedition team possible, he suddenly received an unexpected guest.

nNoel visited Seven Stars without any notice. “Young Master…”

nAfter reading the document she handed him, Chi-Woo’s eyes narrowed. “This is…?” Then he looked up at Noel with a slightly confused look on his face.

n“And…they asked me to deliver this as well.” Noel cleared her throat and continued, “Don’t you want to know the way to Asha Dubulola?”

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