Chapter 511

The much-discussed round of 64 group matches came to an end on July 20.

Compared to the first round, which had few surprises, the second and third rounds were truly a festival of upsets.

Due to the short intervals between matches, criticism arose that the players were unable to perform at their best.

Taking advantage of this confusion, American media expressed discontent about the overly thick barriers erected for national exchange competitions, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.

In any case, the next match will be held five days later, on the 26th.

I decided to take a couple of days off to recover my condition and spend the remaining three days conducting a simple training program with my older sister, Love.

“When is Shin Si Hoo coming out? Is it still a long way to pick up my luggage?”

And there I was, wasting the first day of my golden vacation at the airport.

Today, it was planned for four of us—Seoyuna, Shin Si Hoo, Professor Cheon, and myself—to go on a day trip.

“Should I give him a call?”

“Tell him to hurry up.”

“Okay!”

Yuna faithfully followed my command.

In the meantime, I lay on Professor Cheon’s lap, watching a rebroadcast of the national exchange competition.

“Dad, you know.”

“Why?”

“Don’t your legs hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“Then I’ll lie here a little longer. It’s comfortable. Yawn.”

Even if I analyze one or two more games, it won’t significantly change the results…

There wasn’t much else to do here.

How much time had passed?

By now, boredom and hunger were about to turn into frustration.

The gate opened, and travelers poured out.

Among them, I spotted a boy following his parents, eyes fixed on the ground.

In the midst of the crowd, Shin Si Hoo quickly found us and dragged his suitcase over.

“Hello! Thank you for all your efforts on such a long journey.”

“Haha, is No Name’s father doing well? Hope you have been well?”

While my dad exchanged pleasantries with Si Hoo’s parents, I pulled down my cap and moved to greet him.

“Tsk. Why are you so late?”

“What can I do if our suitcase came out last?”

“Oh, you completely lack sense. Yuna, take care of your boyfriend.”

“Wow…! Are you going to blame me for this, No Name? We haven’t seen each other in so long; this is too much!”

Si Hoo looked incredulous as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Too much? I think that’s something I should be saying. Why didn’t you come to see me during the school trip?”

“Of course, we’re in different grades… I was in the academy; how could I go to Jeju Island?”

“Just as I thought. See? You lack sense, right? Yuna knows?”

“Yeah…! I’ll teach you how to have more sense from now on! Si Hoo, in a situation like this, you should just drop everything at the academy and buy a plane ticket to come see No Name.”

“Ah… Is that so?”

Shin Si Hoo’s signature expression of being wronged with drooping eyebrows was priceless.

I was a little worried that Yuna was figuring out this kind of fun too early.

Anyway, we decided to kidnap our only son, and smiles bloomed on our parents’ faces.

“We’ll feed you dinner and make sure not to take too long getting you back to the hotel.”

“Oh dear, I feel so sorry about this. It’s not much, but we’ll give Si Hoo a card, so he can get something to eat.”

“It’s okay. My daughter insisted that she would cover all the travel expenses today, so don’t spend a penny.”

Professor Cheon smiled at me.

Wait, I didn’t say I could cover all the expenses; I never insisted on not spending a penny!

“Wow, No Name is already being filial to your dad. I’m so jealous, Mr. Cheon. When do you think our Si Hoo will send us on a trip?”

“Twenty years from now. Shin Si Hoo, you must behave and enjoy yourself without causing trouble, okay?”

“Yup.”

Si Hoo joined our party with just a lightweight backpack.

To prevent Yuna from snuggling up with him in the backseat, I sat in the middle.

We drove around Paris, taking in the sights.

At the long grassy park ‘Champ de Mars’ in front of the Eiffel Tower, there were so many people sunbathing.

“Wow, it would be fun to play here!”

“Let’s just go to the Eiffel Tower first and find a restaurant nearby for lunch. Is there any food you can’t eat, Si Hoo?”

“No, I eat everything.”

We parked in a suitable parking lot and got out.

Crack—

The 35-degree sunlight struck straight down on my head.

Yuna, whose motivation to play had vanished, dashed across the plaza like a puppy, panting.

As if we were at the beach, we passed women in bikinis.

Shin Si Hoo pretended to look away out of embarrassment.

I poked him in the side and said.

“Why are you so shy? Is that kind of older sister your type?”

“What! Is that really a thing, Shin Si Hoo?”

“Ugh, stop slandering me! I didn’t see anything!”

“Claiming you didn’t see anything is even more suspicious! There’s no way you wouldn’t have seen from the angle we passed. Why are you suddenly more self-conscious now that I said it?”

“Just tell the truth!”

“No, I’m not! Aaah!”

Yoon Si Hoo suddenly closed his eyes and dashed forward.

As we got closer to the Eiffel Tower, illegal vendors selling keychains appeared.

Running without watching where he was going, Shin Si Hoo collided with a sturdy black man who looked about 190 cm tall.

“Oops! What’s this?”

“Ehh… Aah, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Quickly casting a translation spell, Si Hoo apologized.

The man, with a fierce expression marked with scars and a scruffy beard, loosened his collar and cracked his knuckles.

“Si Hoo is in danger!”

Yuna shouted.

But the keychain vendor suddenly started speaking fluent Korean without any translation device.

“Korean boss! Boss, look at this, the keychains are sparkly and pretty, right? While others sell them for 1 or 2 euros each, I’m giving you a special deal at 5 keychains for 1 euro. So cheap! If you don’t buy now, you’ll miss out! Or do you want something big? There’s a huge statue over here. Check it out.”

“Excuse me?”

Jingle—

Si Hoo handed over a coin and received five mini Eiffel Towers.

Beeeeep-!

From a distance, we heard the sound of a whistle from a patrol.

Including the vendor who just completed the transaction, the hawkers all started fleeing in one direction.

“No, did you also buy stuff? You shouldn’t be dealing with those kids…! Just buy from a legitimate store; it’s cheaper!”

The police clicked their tongues and raced back across the park.

“I feel like I’ve stepped into a comedic musical.”

Yuna’s monologue accurately represented our feelings.

The line for the Eiffel Tower was too long, so we decided not to go up.

We went to a pizzeria with an outdoor terrace and ordered margherita and quattro stagioni pizzas.

I prefer thin crust over thick, anyway.

In one corner of the park, I could often see swindlers scamming innocent tourists.

France is not a country with excellent public safety.

“Shin Si Hoo, watch your backpack. If you leave it like that, someone will steal it.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Especially regarding petty crimes like pickpocketing, personal vigilance was the only option.

As clouds obscured the sun, the weather became pleasant again.

The temperature was comfortably warm, the breeze was cool, and my stomach was full.

Originally, when sleepiness overtakes, you should run at full speed a few times, but it felt awkward to run alone in this city.

It was all because I had developed the habit of exercising with Saetbyeoni.

“Anyone want to jog around the park to digest? Shin Si Hoo?”

Nod—

“Seoyuna?”

Nod—

“What about Dad?”

“Huh, is it going to rain? My back suddenly aches…”

“Everyone’s being lazy, really.”

With various reasons regarding the weather, whether it was too hot, not hot enough, or thinking it might rain, they all declined.

I pulled down my cap and put on dark sunglasses.

I took out the designer coin purse I had borrowed from Saetbyeoni and held it loosely in my left hand.

I placed my left hand over the restaurant fence and seemed to lose myself in thought.

“What are you doing, No Name?”

“I’m trying to draw in people who want to run with me.”

“Are you crazy?”

If all goes well, I might learn parkour in this opportunity, right?

But contrary to my wish to find a running partner for my soul, I learned that France is actually a rather warm-hearted country.

“Hey, traveler. You shouldn’t take out your wallet carelessly in Paris. Keep it well hidden or put it in your pocket.”

“Miss? I called out because I was worried someone might steal your wallet; I wanted to let you know.”

“Give your wallet to your dad, kid.”

That wasn’t the response I wanted.

I wanted something a little more greedy, with greedy eyes.

There was a thick wallet of an Asian tourist that could be grabbed with just an outstretched hand.

‘The opponent looks like a helpless 10-year-old girl. Wouldn’t that still be considered pickpocketing?’

After about 15 minutes of fishing, I thought it might have been in vain.

I figured it was time to get up since enough digestion must have happened.

While my dad went inside the restaurant to fetch water, an incident occurred in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh-!

A filthy hand struck my wrist.

In this sweltering day, to think I wasn’t the only one wearing a black mask.

The pickpocket took Saetbyeoni’s—no, my wallet and sprinted away.

“I’ll be right back.”

I sprang up and effortlessly jumped over the fence.

To my gratitude, the pickpocket fled towards the grassy park where there were no cars.

Was he thinking there were too many police cars around to catch him on the road?

He dashed across the grass with an aura wrapped around his legs.

Is he trying to take it to the limit?

I, too, released my aura, increasing my speed.

The skin billowed in the contrary wind, and dust swirled from the path I passed.

“Ugh, dust… Hack…!”

I closed the distance but couldn’t stop his dash.

No matter what, he would tire out before long.

“Cough… Huh. Haaah. Cough…!”

Sure enough, the pickpocket was crying, with tears, mucus, and saliva smeared all over his face, unable to avoid looking absurd.

“Cough cough! Cough-cough-cough-cough!”

After running as if he were risking his life, his phlegm was mixed with a pinch of blood.

This person took running very seriously.

I picked up the fallen coin purse and gave the pickpocket a pat on the shoulder with admiration.

“Wow, you’re fast too. You’ve run without thinking all the way to the Military Academy. You’ve worked hard, but since you did something wrong, I think I’ll have to report you. Go sit in the shade and catch your breath.”

“Haaah… What the hell are you?! You brat! Cough!”

The man seemed to have strained his vocal cords from that scream.

I answered by pulling my mask down to my chin.

Will the pickpocket be able to watch the national exchange competition?

His face turned green, and he soon sat on the ground, panting.

He began repeatedly cursing “merde,” a common French insult, tearing at his own hair.

Within a minute, armed police, who had been waiting nearby, appeared.

I greeted them with a wave from this side.

As the police, who had been stealthily approaching, saw my face, they broke into friendly smiles.

“Well, well, to meet you, No Name, here! What brings you to make a report?”

“He was a pickpocket and stole my wallet and ran away.”

“Anyone can see that’s just the pose inviting theft!”

“Criminals always resort to such pitiful excuses.”

“Ugh…!”

The police scribbled notes in their notebooks and pulled out a device resembling a barcode scanner to scan the man’s body.

Was it a device for automatically checking identification?

Soon, the police’s eyes sprang wide open as they handcuffed the man’s wrist.

“Location 138-10, securing a suspect in the Nantes armed robbery case. No weapons found, slight ability to retaliate, requesting one unit for support from HQ.”

Understanding those words, I asked the police.

Their serious expressions could not be overlooked.

“Was this person a criminal before? I heard the term armed robbery…”

“Is it this guy? I can’t just call him a simple criminal; he’s an extremely malicious armed robber. Just a few weeks ago, he and his gang robbed a cash transport vehicle and walked away with 30 million euros. And now, to think he dares to pickpocket in sacred Paris?”

What could lead someone who had pocketed 500 million to resort to pickpocketing?

I opened my coin purse to see how much was inside, shaking it to show.

Three 1-euro coins, so all of 5,000 won in Korean money.

Seeing this, the thief’s face warped in an instant.

I didn’t expect there to be so little either…

Scratching my head, I said to him.

“Well, in a way, these 3 euros are more valuable than 30 million euros.”

“Aaahhh!”

The now-armed robber screamed, and I smirked.

Indeed, he should have fixed his habit of theft.

I already did it long ago.

* * *

[French President Awards Top Honor to No Name for Subduing Armed Robber]

French President Charles Victor Debre announced that he plans to award No Name Madosa with France’s highest honor, the “Légion d’honneur,” at a ceremony to be held in the future. (To be continued)

└ Just yesterday, I was a community terrorist, and today I’m a guardian of justice?

└ What on earth does No Name do to take down a wanted armed robber?

└ It’s absurd just to think a meeting could take place.

└ They’re all in cahoots.

└ The national exchange competition isn’t supposed to solve problems in other countries.

└ Every place I go, the incidents are being resolved.

└ Reverse Conan, LOL.