Chapter 222 Where Are You From
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: Where Are You From?
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"..."
Everyone sitting at the round table stared at Jeong Yoo-shin with wide eyes.
Victor's jaw dropped.
Cocky.
He hadn't been insulted to his face like this in the last 10 years.
And by a kid who was still wet behind the ears.
There was no one at the round table younger than Jeong Yoo-shin.
He had thought that he would have some sense after coming this far.
He had expected that if he pressed him a little, the young half-barbarian would apologize and become submissive.
It was a misconception.
To have the nerve to curse him out in a place like this…
"W-What... did you say?"
Victor stuttered and asked again.
"Stuttering like that… You need to speak clearly. That retarded bastard Mits and what's-his-name elf?"
"Teriandor."
Nelia interjected and said the name.
"Right. I remember now. Didn't that Mits bastard completely ignore Teri's orders and had taken the other kids to the sewers and died? It's not like they went there to play. Did you know that after work, they would gather at the inn and sing songs about how the request was meaningless, boring, and a waste of time? Then he heard a few harsh words from Teri, pouted, and went to stick his head in the sewers, and you're blaming me for that? Does that even make sense?"
Victor's face turned red, as if it would explode at any moment.
"T-This bastard...!"
Jeong Yoo-shin let out a deep sigh and looked around at the people sitting at the round table.
"It's an obvious fact that Mits was the instigator, but what are you trying to do by pinning it all on me? What's your real purpose?"
An old man with long white hair frowned.
"Victor's words may be harsh, but they’re not wrong. Conflicts and disputes between party members always happen during a request. How to solve that problem depends on the party leader's ability. In that sense, this sewer search request was a failure of the Explorer's Guild's personnel selection. Furthermore, it was also a mistake of the experienced explorers who should have helped the incompetent leader."
"Experienced? When did you start treating me as an experienced explorer?"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's sarcasm, the old man rubbed his forehead.
"Do you not know what kind of life you've lived? A renowned swordsman coming to this city and starting as a novice explorer and a country bumpkin who used to plow fields in the countryside starting as a novice explorer are as different as heaven and earth."
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up and walked with his hands behind his back.
He slowly circled the round table while looking at the faces of the clan leaders one by one.
The clan leaders' gazes were varied.
A look as if seeing a madman.
An indifferent look.
A look stained with anger, etc.
And finally, Nelia, who had a troubled expression.
'The Vice-Guild Master is having a hard time.'
Beatrice muttered.
The clan leaders sitting around the round table focused their attention on Jeong Yoo-shin's steps.
Thump.
Thump.
An overwhelming presence was felt from the young man's gait.
Jeong Yoo-shin slowly opened his mouth, as if choosing his words.
"In the sewers—"
"Skar, sit down."
Victor stepped forward and cut off Jeong Yoo-shin's words.
"Shut up!!!"
"..."
When Jeong Yoo-shin shouted, not only Victor but also the clan leaders became as quiet as mice.
People looked at Nelia as if asking for help.
However…
Nelia kept her mouth tightly shut and just looked at Jeong Yoo-shin. Her face was as if telling him to continue talking.
Jeong Yoo-shin began to walk slowly again.
"You must know that I met an apostle of the Outer God, Changeling, in the sewer. The pressure was enormous. It used the imprints of the explorers it had eaten."
"..."
"Rex and Gwyn fought the kin's clones, and I took on the main body."
"..."
"It wasn’t an easy fight. I crossed the brink of death dozens of times. It was a situation where my head would have flown off if I had made one wrong move with my sword."
It was different from the report they had only seen in writing.
They had heard that he had easily subjugated it under Vlad's protection, but was that not the case?
The thick smell of blood seemed to waft from the young man's tone and linger under their noses.
And the quick-witted ones felt the madness dormant within this man.
Thump.
Thump.
"My stamina and magic were at their limit, and blood was pouring from my wounds. Anyway, it's not an easy thing to swing a sword when your life’s on the line."
"So..."
"Listen to the end."
Jeong Yoo-shin, who had come up behind Victor, said quietly.
His low voice echoed in the quiet round table.
Jeong Yoo-shin placed his hand on Victor's shoulder.
"I don't know what's written in the report, but there's a high probability that I'm not the person you think I am. If you think I'll tremble like a dog and show my belly just because you're gathered in a fancy room and are glaring at me, I'd like to tell you that you're mistaken."
The man who had been sticking his head in the mud and twisting his body just half a year ago had changed.
Through steel and blood.
Through madness and death.
Jeong Yoo-shin lightly patted Victor's shoulder and continued.
"Let me summarize. Mits was a piece of trash full of arrogance, and he died because he was careless. He instigated the young explorers and led them to their deaths. And it's your fault for educating Mits that way. Victor, you have to bear the responsibility for his death. I won't accept any rebuttals. Because I'm right anyway."
Victor trembled.
Anger rose to his throat.
"..."
The clan leaders were silent.
Because what that half-barbarian said was true.
Instead of confronting each other, they had intended to join hands and gain benefits from the Explorer's Guild, and to 'educate' the new clan leader who had just joined.
However…
They had misjudged the person.
They should have realized sooner.
A man who had risen to the lower intermediate rank in an instant even without a particularly good imprint…
A man who had seized control of the small and medium-sized clans scattered throughout the city and brought them to heel…
A man who had won the favor of Ingrid and Astaroth, members of the Labyrinth Council, such a man couldn’t be ordinary.
At that moment…
Clap, clap, clap, clap!!!
The sound of applause came from a corner.
"Ahahaha!!! Excellent!"
A young man was clapping and laughing.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his head and looked at the young man. He was a person who hadn't been there a moment ago.
"Who are you?"
"Ah! My apologies, my introduction was late. I am a mage from the Mage Tower, Malakai."
Mage Tower.
He had heard a lot about it. A group of mages who worked with the Explorer's Guild to uncover the mysteries of the labyrinth.
Even the Bracelet of Unity was an item invented by the Mage Tower.
"Skar-nim's words are certainly correct. In the first place, if their education had been done well, even if a conflict had arisen, it would have been resolved smoothly. It’s difficult to accept that the fruit will be good when the root is rotten."
"Kuk!!!"
Victor glared at the mage named Malakai with a crumpled face.
But Malakai didn't even pay attention and just approached the round table with light steps.
"Let's end the issue of responsibility here. That's not what's important."
The clan leaders sitting at the round table quickly nodded. Their faces were as if they wanted to escape from Jeong Yoo-shin's grasp at any moment.
Malakai looked around the round table and opened his mouth.
"The Mage Tower has been watching the labyrinth for quite a long time. Well... it started from the Eldritch Wave. Now that it has been confirmed, I’ll tell you. The current labyrinth is a place where another world and our reality meet. In other words, it's fine to see it as a passage where beings from other worlds can cross over without any restrictions."
"..."
A heavy silence fell on the round table.
"Are you saying that we should close the labyrinth?"
One of the people sitting at the round table said while glancing at Jeong Yoo-shin.
Malakai shook his head.
"No. We can't do that."
"In that case, it seems there's no other way than to increase the security at the labyrinth's entrance."
"That's right. I believe this is a time when the dedication of the large clans is needed."
The white-haired old man who had been picking on Jeong Yoo-shin cleared his throat.
"Ahem! By the way, there's a rumor circulating that a kin of an Outer God is wandering around Labyrinth City. Is that really true?"
Malakai shrugged.
"No one knows. In fact, the method to find that out is also ambiguous. There aren’t just one or two people staying in Labyrinth City, and it's impossible to investigate them all one by one."
"..."
The clan leaders sitting at the round table stared blankly at Malakai's face.
Malakai raised his index finger and wagged it.
"But it's not that we don't know at all. Because the kin of Outer Gods have characteristics."
"Characteristics?"
"Yes."
"What are they?"
"The first characteristic is that their past is hidden or ambiguous."
"There must be more than one or two such people."
"That's right. The second characteristic is an overwhelming growth speed."
"Among those who hide their identities, there are many who grow quickly. This is Labyrinth City."
"I'm not saying we should suspect people who grow quickly through good imprints. I'm talking about the overall growth speed, including their skills. Please listen to the end. The third characteristic would be those who have received the divinity of an Outer God."
Some tilted their heads.
"Among mystics, there are many who have received the blessing of an Outer God. And don't even the priests of the Empire have the divinity of the Outer God Lux Aeterna? Although it may be just a tiny amount…"
"That's right. But think of it this way. A person with an ambiguous past and an overwhelming growth speed. But that person also has the divinity of an Outer God? How many such people would there be? Aren't they worth suspecting at least once?"
"That... is true."
The people sitting at the round table nodded.
"That's where our Vice-Guild Master steps in. She’ll sort out the suspicious people and ask them. Did you come from another world? Or not? Then the answer will come out quickly. Why? Because the Vice-Guild Master has an imprint called 'Eye of Truth.'"
"It seems like it will take a long time."
Someone muttered.
"Haha! I don't think it will take that long. Don't we have a good example here?"
Malakai said with a hearty laugh.
"An example?"
"Yes. Skar-nim?"
Malakai's arrow flew at Jeong Yoo-shin.
"What is it?"
"I've heard a lot about you. Sword Master Ashur-nim inquired with our Mage Tower about Skar-nim's madness, and I was curious about what happened after that. How are you these days?"
"I'm fine."
"Is that so?"
Malakai gave a deep smile.
"We've been selecting and organizing people with exceptional talent in Labyrinth City, and there was one thing that bothered me. We won't take you away and interrogate you, so please answer comfortably."
"..."
People's gazes focused on Jeong Yoo-shin again.
"When I asked the barbarians staying in the northern part of the city, they said they had never heard or seen anyone like Skar-nim. Who his father was. Where he lived, and so on."
Malakai scratched his head and continued.
"This is really ambiguous. It's ambiguous. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to answer. I don't mind at all."
"..."
"Skar, where are you from?"
"..."
The eyes of those sitting at the round table gradually narrowed.
Malakai gently placed his hand on Nelia's shoulder and asked again.
"Are you really a barbarian?"
'Skar!'
Beatrice screamed.
"..."
The quiet round table.
Malakai looked at Jeong Yoo-shin with a deep smile.
T/N - Holy shit! This Malakai guy is good. He entrapped the MC like a fisherman casting a wide net and then slowly closing in. How will the MC answer?
Also, the MC in the first part was pretty good too. Just reading how he dismantled these uppity clan leaders was so satisfying.