Chapter 165
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 165: How to Deal with Betrayal (1)
“…What?”
Na Yuhan spat out, looking bewildered at my words.
“What does that…”
“It means exactly what I said.”
Tornito cut off Na Yuhan's sentence. His golden eyes slowly scanned the group.
“It means Kang Nahyun is a person on the Wild Hunt's side as of this moment.”
“Junior, you're taking the joke too far.”
I avoided Choi Sujeong's gaze as she looked at me with a face devoid of playfulness. Tornito took my hand. At the same time, our bodies began to turn transparent. It was the precursor to teleportation. Only then did the group realize this situation was reality, falling into confusion, shock, and dismay.
“Kang Nahyun!”
Na Yuhan, too flustered, tried to throw his bare body against the barrier of lightningTornito had put up, without any defensive gear. Of course, he was immediately stopped by Lee Hana. His face, a mess of various emotions, made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“Nahyun-ssi…! What is this…!”
“Are you out of your mind?!”
“Nahyun…!”
“Come back.”
Na Yuri, Shin Baran, Min Jaeyun, Lee Hana, and the rest of the group shouted at me. They told me to come back. Right. If I reveal the truth to my friends—They could be harmed by the Oracle.I worried about that.
“Nahyun!!!”
…But, this is definitely okay.It might have hurt you.But I had no ‘best way’ other than this. I gave a distorted smile toward the red eyes staring piercingly at me from beyond my shaking vision.
“Goodbye.”
And when I opened my eyes again, I was standing with Tornito inside a pure white building similar to the one I had seen before.
“Ah, welcome!”
Seeing Park Yulhan welcoming me, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. Facing Park Yulhan's shameless face, I silently grasped the hand he offered.
“Wow, I'm deeply moved that it turned out like this!”
He grinned slyly, grating on my nerves. I glared at him for a long time before finally opening my mouth.
“I brought the Key as you said. But I won't hand it over to you. Because I can't completely trust you yet.”
“Hmm, well, that much is expected. Understood.”
Even at my dry and sharp words, Park Yulhan just shrugged as if he had expected it. Soon, he grinned and said.
“First, you must be tired from the capture, so rest. I'll explain the details after that.”
“Where?”
“There is a room prepared. Tornito, could I ask you to guide her?”
“Understood. Follow me.”
At those words, I shut my mouth and followed Tornito. The surroundings were entirely pure white. Pure white walls, pure white doors, and pure white furniture. This place, organized so strangely neatly as if it wouldn't forgive anything black or impure, didn't feel welcoming at all. Aside from the cold feeling without human warmth, the memory of being kidnapped by the Wild Hunt before probably played a part. Also because I still didn't completely trust the Wild Hunt, so I couldn't relax my guard against my surroundings. Still, I decided to trust this Tiger bastard in front of me to some extent.
“Kang Nahyun.”
“...What.”
I thought about keeping my mouth shut tight, but then replied to him. Then Tornito looked down at me indifferently and said.
“Thank you for believing my words.”
“……”
I was momentarily silenced by those serious golden eyes. Maybe it was because I suddenly felt the smile gently placed on his always-expressionless face was beautiful. Feeling somewhat ticklish, I turned my head away for no reason and answered him prickly.
“...I judged that I had no choice but to believe it because the evidence that your words were true was constantly confirmed.”
“But there are many people in the world who deny the truth even after seeing it with their own eyes.”
“……”
“I am glad just by the fact that you decided to believe the truth I spoke. I offer my thanks.”
I felt my face heat up for no reason at his direct words. Anyway, this Tiger bastard is needlessly honest!
“Just hurry up and guide me to the room!”
“I will.”
Where did that beautiful smile go? He smirked as if mocking me and hurried his steps. We walked in silence for a while. In the meantime, the unknown ticklish feeling I felt from Tornito's words subsided, and a cold judgment of the current situation followed. I betrayed my comrades. The faces I had to see when I finally committed the act of betrayal. Confusion, shock, denial, despair. I would never be able to forget those expressions tangled with all sorts of emotions. It was painful. Pain and unknown emotions mixed together, making my mind a mess to the point where even I didn't know anymore. …Will everyone be okay?I hope they aren't hurt. I knew now. That I was a pretty big existence to them. That's why I knew the hurt they would have received, but on the other hand, I hoped they wouldn't be hurt.
“This is it.”
While I was lost in gloomy thoughts, Tornito stopped walking. I bumped into his back while walking blankly.
“Ouch.”
“You'd better pay attention to where you're going.”
“...I will.”
Oops, did I relax my guard again because I was with this Tiger bastard? Feeling my face heat up in embarrassment, I gritted my teeth and retorted. Afraid my reddened face might be seen, I quickly passed Tornito, opened the door, and went in.
“There should be some necessary daily necessities inside. If you need anything more, contact me with the bracelet.”
“Got it. Go now.”
I answered him irritably.
“Right. Rest well.”
But whether he was a tiger or a bear, he nodded silently even at my irritable reaction, then carefully closed the door and withdrew. At that reaction, I buried my face in one hand out of embarrassment. Why are you doing this, Kang Nahyun.That guy isn't someone who accepts your whining.Let's not act clumsy. This is all because I spent time with the Tiger bastard at the orphanage. When I see that face, I end up recalling his appearance, unexpectedly kind to me who had become a whiner due to the aftereffects of brainwashing.
‘Toto-ssi! Don't just stay in your room, how about dinner together? The kids will like it too!’‘...Okay.’‘Wow—!’
When I smiled at him, he smiled back at me, however faintly. Because that smile was so nice, because it remained as a good memory, I might still be unable to clear away the stumbling block in my heart.
“Let's snap out of it….”
Talking to myself, I looked around the room and saw basic furniture like a bed and desk, and daily necessities. I didn't even have the energy to wash, so I walked to the bed with staggering steps and collapsed. Rolling over on the bed and looking at the ceiling, my head got complicated again. Let's organize the situation first. I took out the Seventh Key I got from the Gumiho, the Key I received from Na Yuhan, and the Key I snatched from this Key Dungeon from my Inventory.
[Key of ? (Seventh Key)] [Beastkin's Key] [Vampire's Key] [Dwarf's Key]
Four like this. I read in the novel that the Six Races' Keys are six, as the name suggests. One is the Dragon Race's Key, which the Wild Hunt has, and another is Yggdrasil's heart. Now the remaining one is…
“The Mermaid's Key….”
Only one. I quietly recited the word, Mermaid. I thought of Kang Yu. What situation is that child in now? It weighed heavily on my mind that I couldn't tell him anything. …No, let's get lost in distracting thoughts later. First, I tried putting the Six Races' Keys into the Point Changer.
[Beastkin's Key - 20,000,000] [Vampire's Key - 20,000,000] [Dwarf's Key - 20,000,000]
All Keys commonly showed twenty million points. I wanted to change one to points right away and block the Oracle'spossession, but I couldn't. The Six Races' Keys are precious items that open the door, so I couldn't change them with the Point Changer carelessly. Because I didn't know what would happen when they were needed. For now, let's keep the Keys safe. Putting the Keys back into the Inventory properly, I roughly planned what to do in the Wild Hunt.
“Is that about it?”
So much to do. Even though I organized my goals, my head was still very complicated, so I sighed. Even so, nothing changed. I stared blankly at the ceiling and muttered.
“...I just want to sleep.”
But I couldn't. Because I had one important thing left to check. I looked at the special system I possess, the Meta System, To be precise,
[Metapoints]
I looked at the Metapoint window.