A Temporary Farewell
Tap.
Joo Ha-yeon raised her hand and rapped the table lightly. Na Seoyun, who always shouted her opposition first whenever this subject came up, closed her mouth at the gesture.
The rest of the party's faces, however, were far from settled.
Na Seoyun, who had lately been throwing herself at me under the banner of "temptation," Nam Eun-ju, who had recently found her confidence, and even Ha Yoo-jin — gifted, yet relatively the weakest among us, and still the one who always wore a bright face — all stared at me with open discontent. And Na-yeon, who had been shrinking into herself of late, whether from a sense of relative deprivation or some gnawing inferiority, was watching me with thoroughly anxious eyes.
The others had been growing steadily. Na-yeon had not. The spirits she summoned were still of the Lowest rank, and she could call only two of them. Her communion had deepened by the day, and in reconnaissance she now displayed a mature skill alongside Ha Yoo-jin — but that was as far as it went. Her mana had grown reasonably well, stretching her summon duration and her stamina in a fight, yet spirits came with a hard ceiling on their output, and so there was almost no visible growth to speak of.
Just as Nam Eun-ju had once been desperate, it was Na-yeon who was growing desperate now. The upside was that the entire party had been anything but idle in their training, steadily honing what they had, and I was more than satisfied with that.
"How long?"
"...At least six months."
"...Ha. Six months?"
Joo Ha-yeon looked at me with something like reproach — an incredulous look — then pressed her fingers lightly to her brow.
"What is it this time?"
She asked on behalf of the party, as she always had. From the moment our groups had merged, she too had been a leader — of a party of only three, but a leader nonetheless — and that had let us build a relationship of apparent equals. As my achievements mounted and I took hold of the initiative, she had naturally settled into the role of sub-leader, and that had not changed even after Na-yeon carved out her place by summoning spirits, or after Na Seoyun's explosive growth. She had the popularity, she was the oldest, and she possessed a gentle leadership the others lacked. That was what made it possible. Recently she had grown tremendously besides, establishing herself in the party in a different sense from Na Seoyun, and by forming a special relationship with me — the party's center — she had become the perfect second-in-command. Even Na Seoyun, who had lately been trying to keep her in check, had gone silent at Ha-yeon's light restraint and was now voicing her discontent with nothing but her face.
In truth, the reason I was willing to leave them at all was Joo Ha-yeon. I believed that even without me, she could hold the center and keep the party from coming apart.
I opened my mouth to answer her.
"I've found a way to the next region."
"...The next... region?"
"Yes."
"...And where did you even..."
"The swamp. Do you know it?"
"...I've heard of it. Past the Brown Gnoll territory behind Monus Village, where we first stayed..."
"Yes. If you cross that swamp... apparently you can reach the Empire."
Merchants traded with this territory along that same route. The environment being what it was, they did not come often, and their goods were priced accordingly — a considerable markup even after transport costs. Even so, the territory was short on goods, and the lord had no choice but to swallow the gouging. Lately the squeeze had eased a little, thanks to an increase in local specialties that actually turned a profit for the merchants, though merchants being merchants, they were never pleased to see their margins shrink. If the goods stopped coming, the territory would not starve, but it would live poorly.
Someday I would have to clear that route and open a proper road to the Empire. It was essential for this territory's development, and the lord was surely desperate for it. But Lizardmen lived in the swamp, and the path was brutal. Even the merchants only came in truly large companies, moving in numbers great enough that neither the gnolls nor the Lizardmen would dare to raid them. A road did exist, worn in by years of exchange, and the gnolls and Lizardmen, having failed enough times, no longer touched those caravans lightly. They knew the merchants were only passing through. The Lizardmen had never been invaded, and the gnolls put checking one another first — that was what made it possible.
"So that Empire is the next region, then?"
"That's the most likely answer. As you know, there was nothing beyond the desert we lived in."
"...That's true."
"But if you move through the swamp, it becomes District 31."
"...When did you even go there?"
"I made some time, just in case. We've been busy with the Grey Gnolls lately, but our levels have all but stalled, so I had to find a way forward. The top-tier trainees from the Labyrinth will be coming up soon enough."
"...That's true. We have stayed here quite a while. But."
Joo Ha-yeon looked at me with unyielding eyes.
"That is not a reason for us to be apart. If anything, if it's the next region, shouldn't we be going together? That is not a reason for us to be apart."
Her voice was firm. The others nodded as one, falling in behind her.
"Unfortunately, if our entire party pulls out to go to the next region, everything we've barely secured — the mine, the surrounding movements — becomes impossible to watch."
I looked at each of them as I spoke. The fighting along the Brown Gnoll and Red Gnoll border had mostly stopped, but we still could not afford to ignore the situation around the mine, where we were holding the Grey Gnolls in check. And realistically, no one but our party could do it. A long string of failed survey commissions had already proven that. It was only our party's combat strength, Ha Yoo-jin's stealth, and Na-yeon's spirits — those particular reconnaissance gifts — that had kept the balance of late.
"And if you go somewhere that dangerous alone and get cut off again, then what?"
"Don't worry. If I'm alone, I can get out of anywhere."
I knew the words would sting. I said them anyway. I had to, if I was going to move on my own. Sure enough, their faces darkened a shade.
"...And if, like the Labyrinth, you cross into the next region and can't come back? What if it's that kind of place from the start? We know this is the Lower Floors. What if your guess is right, and the Empire past the swamp is the Middle Floor? What if we're spatially cut off completely? Then what?"
It was a fair thing to worry about, given how little information we had. I answered lightly.
"The merchants come and go, don't they? It won't be a completely severed space."
"That's a guess! When you don't know what something is, you're supposed to be as careful as possible — don't you know that? Every now and then, Shin-hoo, you're strangely reckless! Even though you're usually so careful!"
...That's because of information I already know for certain...
As long as they didn't know I had regressed, there was nothing I could do about that.
"Even so, we can't stay here forever. Stabilizing this place is impossible unless most of the trainees come up — Han Ba-da's group, at the very least. And even then, it would take some time. You're not suggesting we just abandon everything and throw most of the trainees into hell, are you?"
If we left and the mine was taken back, this place would not become hell. Even without us, it would be ten years before the Gnoll Hero appeared, and the trainees would not fail to reach a level that could stop it in that time. But there was always a what if. They didn't know how strong the Gnoll Hero was, and they still remembered having to treat the gnolls with extreme caution until they grew stronger through their inheritances. Their consciences would sting.
What came out of her mouth, however, was not what I expected.
"I don't care."
"...What?"
"...Unnie?"
Na-yeon's face was stunned. The others, though, looked entirely unmoved.
"...I feel for Ba-da, but our party matters more to me. And we've already done a great deal. Someone of Ba-da's caliber will hold out one way or another."
"Didn't we promise to help after Han Ba-da came up?"
"Can't we just tell the lord? It isn't even that difficult. He'll help us readily enough."
"...As if he'll help so readily after we've left..."
"We've given him plenty. The mine shares you secured, everything we've done up to now — how much is that worth? In the end, finding the mine again and all the rest of it still needs Ba-da's help, doesn't it?"
That much was true. Support would have to come, one way or another.
"You do realize how much of a mess what you're saying is, don't you?"
It meant they were prepared to throw every scrap of reputation, trust, and fame we had earned into the mud, so long as they did not have to be separated from me. Which meant that even if it turned out we could come back, we would never be able to return here. To stir up this much and then simply run away in the middle of it? Even granting the possibility of a spatial break, at a moment when a return still looked possible, it was not something a sane person would do. It was a gamble, plain and simple.
"I know. I know it's a mess. I just wanted to make it absolutely clear that I have no intention of being separated from you, even if it means throwing everything away."
The others looked at Joo Ha-yeon with complete trust. Only Na-yeon sat restless, unable to settle. Of course her head was a tangle. She didn't want to be left behind either — but she didn't want to abandon this place. She had said she would listen to me, and I was the one arguing we should separate for the sake of other people, while the rest of the party was saying none of that mattered so long as we didn't split up.
We had been operating separately now and then of late, but that was nothing like this. Six months was close to the length of time we had been isolated. Even then I had barely seen them — once a month, at most — and their minds had shaken. Now it was six months in a block. A minimum of six. I had intended to be back before the quest, at least.
Joo Ha-yeon's unyielding gaze met mine. She had no intention of backing down. I had not expected her to come out this hard. My head was starting to ache.
"...If I don't return within seven months, you may come after me. That would keep the problems to a minimum..."
"You said six months, and now it's seven?"
She seized on the slip at once. She was not usually like this. Why today, of all days... The moment I showed a flicker of discomfiture, the others rallied behind her instead. An absolute refusal to yield. I felt my expression harden by degrees, and at that, her face began to waver. She could already guess what was coming. She knew, and her eyes were asking me, please, not to do it.
I could not oblige her. This was genuinely necessary.
"...As leader, I'm giving an order. From this moment, I appoint Joo Ha-yeon as sub-leader. For the seven months I am away, you will lead the party and continue the work I have been doing. You already have a rough idea of what that entails."
"Shin-hoo!"
"Joo Ha-yeon. Did you not hear me?"
I had led the party as democratically as I could, matching myself to them as far as possible — but the party leader was still me. If she didn't like it, she would have to leave. We had spent more than a year in the Tower now, and anyone looking at the mercenaries and the people who lived here would know how much a rank like this mattered, and how strict the hierarchy was. They already knew, in fact. In a sense it was not unlike Earth's military. This, like an army, was a place where a single mistake could cost you your life.
It was as good as my first command. Joo Ha-yeon's face slowly drained into despair. Once I had said it, there was no taking it back.
"This is the first time... the first time you've ever done this... And that order... it's to leave us. That's what it is, isn't it?"
"Sub-leader Joo Ha-yeon. Are you going to answer me or not?"
"That's too cruel. You... do you know how cruel you are? How incredibly cruel?"
I did not answer. I only looked at her, sternly, with eyes that said this was the last chance.
"...I understand. Leader. Do as you... wish."
"Unnie!"
"...Seoyun, don't. You can't step in."
Nam Eun-ju moved to stop her, her own face grim. She understood exactly what this was. Na-yeon only bit her lip.
"Hyung, why... just why... hyung..."
Ha Yoo-jin looked half out of his mind.
"Then, as I said, I'll be away for a while. I'll let you know once I'm ready. Sub-leader, a moment."
"...Yes."
I had not meant to do it this way. I had thought that if I used Han Ba-da and the trainees still to come as a pretext, and lightly proved I could survive on my own, they would accept it, however reluctantly. They were decent people, at heart. I had never imagined they would come out like that. Throw it all away and just leave? The thing I had not believed they would do had happened after all.
It was not a bad thing. Once we got through this, there would likely never be another moment like it, and that, I judged, was a gain. They had accepted a parting when it truly mattered, and even after we returned to the castle we had often acted separately. All the more reason I needed them to understand why this choice was necessary, and why we had to separate even at this cost. Joo Ha-yeon, I believed, would come to accept it. Which meant I had to get through the present moment well.
We were going to be apart for a long time, and parting like this was no good. The atmosphere right now was the worst it had ever been. Na Seoyun and Ha Yoo-jin, especially as they had filed out, had worn the faces of people who had lost their country, and Nam Eun-ju had only just managed to hold Seoyun back — she herself looked barely able to stand it. I had only seen those expressions when they were backed into a corner.
I led Joo Ha-yeon into my room. She said nothing.
"...I'm sorry. I didn't want to take it this far."
I apologized first — a gentler way of saying this was not a public place. She kept her head down, her mouth still shut.
"Ha-yeon. I didn't want to do this either. But... this is something I have to..."
"Hh—"
"...Ha-yeon?"
A choked sound. I bent quickly to look at her face.
What I saw, I had never seen before in my life. Joo Ha-yeon's face was twisted, stained with sorrow and pain. She was crying.