Chapter 319: Reunion & Return
Chapter 319: Reunion & Return
After a far-from-simple reunion with my clan members (I had to break a sweat calming down a few who were tearing up), I was finally able to hear the full story from my brother.
At first, he had planned to leave alone, even against the fierce opposition of the Haemil Clan members. But at that moment, Mercenary Clan members who had been tracking my whereabouts happened to visit, and through Vivian’s contract, they learned I was alive. They said they immediately joined forces and organized a rescue team to find me.
In any case, even if nothing major had happened, I was still grateful that they had formed a rescue team. Whatever their reasons, the Users standing before me were people who had stepped up, knowing they could lose their one and only life.
“We confirmed you were alive… and you’re right here in front of me… but my heart is still pounding.”
Jung Hayeon said, her hands placed on her chest, her voice filled with affection.
“Hmph. Me too. Do you have any idea how shocked I was?”
“Y-Yoojung. Please wipe your tears now. You’ll make the Leader uncomfortable. Haha.”
When Shin Sangyong spoke with a good-natured laugh, Lee Yoojung flinched, glanced around, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Watching Jung Hayeon and Lee Yoojung, Ahn Hyun shot me a sly grin, then crept over and whispered.
“Hehe. Hyung. You must be happy, huh?”
“Hm? About what?”
“They went crazy the moment they heard you were missing. Especially Hayeon noona, Yoojung, and Lim Hanna. The three of them were a total sea of tears… Man, I’m so jealous!”
“…?”
I tilted my head at Ahn Hyun’s words. I could understand Jung Hayeon and Lee Yoojung, but I couldn’t quite grasp why Lim Hanna would have shed tears. I glanced over at her and saw her standing quietly in the back, her hands clasped together.
When our eyes met, Lim Hanna gave a gentle smile and shook her head. Being an archer, she must have sharp ears and overheard Ahn Hyun’s whisper. I suddenly grew curious about what she was really thinking.
I’ll have to find a chance to ask her about it later.
Having made up my mind, I calmly opened my mouth.
“Anyway, thank you all so much for coming all this way. And I’m sorry if I worried any of the clan members.”
“Not at all, Hyung. I never doubted for a second that you’d come back. And no one could have predicted that ambush. As long as you came back in one piece, that’s all that matters. Right, you crybabies? Ack!”
Ahn Hyun finally got smacked by Jung Hayeon and Lee Yoojung. As I watched him collapse to the ground, groaning, I remembered something and turned around. Behind me stood the old man and Kim Hanbyul, both looking awkward.
Ko Yeonju and Ahn Sol had already run over to reunite with the clan members, but poor Kim Hanbyul had been staring at the ground the entire time with her head bowed.
“In any case, just as Ahn Hyun said, the clan members and I have returned safely, so you can stop worrying… Ah, I’m late with the introductions. This is the old man we just recruited from Mule… ahem. User Lee Manseong. Kim Hanbyul. Old man. Over here.”
As if relieved to no longer be awkwardly standing on the sidelines, the old man approached with a much brighter expression and offered a greeting.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Lee Manseong, and I’ve just joined.”
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Jung Hayeon. Congratulations on joining us.”
“Hoho, thank you. I unintentionally caused trouble for the Clan Lord from the very beginning, but I look forward to working with you all.”
“We look forward to working with you, too. Ah, and you seem to be a bit older than us, so please feel free to speak comfortably.”
Jung Hayeon received the greeting on behalf of the clan members. The old man seemed to have a good first impression of her, as he smiled warmly and nodded.
As I watched them naturally move on to introductions, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
It was then.
““Mercenary Lord.””
Hearing two voices call my name at the same time, I turned and found an unexpected person. Standing behind me, having approached at some point, were two men with sheepish smiles. One was Sung Hyunmin, whom I had seen earlier. And the other was…
“It’s been a while.”
Shin Jaeryong.
“Han Lord… and User Shin Jaeryong?”
“So you remember me. I’m glad to see you alive.”
“Ah, yes. But what brings you two here…? And Mr. Shin Jaeryong, I didn’t see you earlier.”
“I thought it was best to let you have your reunion with your clan members, so I stepped aside for a bit. Haha. And…”
Sung Hyunmin and Shin Jaeryong glanced at each other for a moment before Shin Jaeryong spoke first.
“Actually, I joined the rescue team by a chance opportunity.”
“A chance opportunity?”
When I asked, Shin Jaeryong replied with an awkward expression.
“Yes. After returning from that expedition, I had a lot of things to sort out. I was running around like crazy for a while, and just when I’d finally finished, I thought of you, Mercenary Lord. I was about to come and pay my respects for your help when… I heard the news that you were missing.”
“So… you joined the rescue team to save me?”
The moment I heard Shin Jaeryong’s words, I thought, ‘What kind of person is this?’ He continued, a faint smile on his lips.
“You saved my life, after all. I also happened to hear that the Mercenary Clan didn’t have a priest, so I joined hoping to be of some help. If I hadn’t known, that would be one thing, but I believe that ignoring a benefactor in trouble is an act worse than that of a beast.”
“…I see.”
I calmed my increasingly frustrated chest and managed a nod.
Maybe… maybe I’m just looking at the world too cynically, the thought briefly crossed my mind. But I quickly let it go with a long sigh and turned my gaze to Sung Hyunmin.
Sung Hyunmin looked at me with a slightly embarrassed expression and spoke in a sheepish voice.
“Ah… actually, I was asked by an acquaintance.”
“An acquaintance?”
“Yes. Though he’s more of a benefactor than an acquaintance… Anyway, I’ve had a close relationship with the Haemil Lord for a long time. So, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances… Haha. I apologize. I feel a bit awkward. I never dreamed that the Mercenary Lord was the Haemil Lord’s younger brother.”
“I think I understand what you mean. There’s no need to apologize. In fact, I’m grateful.”
In other words, Sung Hyunmin’s main purpose wasn’t to rescue me, but to persuade Kim Yoohyun in the worst-case scenario. Shin Jaeryong’s actions were the anomaly; a reaction like Sung Hyunmin’s was normal in the Hall Plain, so I nodded without any discomfort.
Sung Hyunmin seemed to gauge my reaction for a moment before his gaze shifted to one side. He was looking toward where the Vagabonds were being held.
“Mercenary Lord. It may be presumptuous to ask at a time like this, but may I ask you a question?”
“Yes. Is it about the Vagabonds being held over there?”
The moment I said the word “Vagabonds,” a flicker of light passed through Sung Hyunmin’s eyes, if only for an instant.
“I knew it… so they were Vagabonds. I thought I recognized a few familiar faces. But how on earth did you capture them?”
“I set up a little stage while escaping from Mule, and they came after me as a pursuit team. So I counterattacked, killed most of them, and captured a few.”
It was a very simple and clear answer, but the weight it carried was anything but light. As I heard the low gasps from Sung Hyunmin and Shin Jaeryong, I carefully observed Baek Seoyeon among the sullen Vagabonds. Despite the considerable noise around her, she kept her head down, staring only at the ground.
“Do you happen to know a Vagabond named Baek Seoyeon?”
“Baek Seoyeon…? Is that villainess here right now?”
I had asked just in case, but Sung Hyunmin’s reaction was unexpected. His usually friendly face hardened in an instant, so much so that I wondered if I had mistaken him for someone else.
No, is it really that unexpected?
Even if it was for her infamy, Baek Seoyeon was quite famous among the Vagabonds, so a man of Sung Hyunmin’s stature must have heard of her.
“You know Baek Seoyeon?”
“Of course I do. That damn… because of that villainess… Ah, my apologies.”
“No, it’s fine. From what I saw on the way here, it seems that Vagabond named Baek Seoyeon is quite well-known.”
“She’s more than just well-known. By the way, is that really Baek Seoyeon? I can’t see her face clearly…”
He was grinding his teeth as he spoke, and it seemed he held a deep-seated grudge against her. In any case, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so this wasn’t a bad thing for me.
Sung Hyunmin peered intently in that direction, as if wanting to confirm for himself that Baek Seoyeon had truly been captured. Then, he spoke in a quiet voice.
“If that Vagabond really is Baek Seoyeon…”
“……”
“Then you, Mercenary Lord, have done a great service for the Northern Continent. Especially in the current situation.”
“Haha…”
I responded to Sung Hyunmin’s sincere words with a light laugh.
Whether it would end at merely doing a great service or if it could change the Northern Continent—no, the entire future—remained to be seen.
*
After our dramatic rendezvous with the rescue team, we began our journey back to Eden together. And on the way back to the city, I was able to hear about the current situation in detail.
The first thing I asked about was whether support was being sent to Halo. Sung Hyunmin was tight-lipped on the matter. He said an official request for support had not yet arrived and that they were still in discussions, giving me no clear answer.
However, he did hint at their stance by saying, “It’s a little funny how they restricted the Warp Gates until now, only to activate them the moment an invasion happens.”
Although the Warp Gates in cities that hadn’t been attacked were still open, we needed to watch the situation a little longer. The truth would probably become clear after the western common city of Halo was captured.
In any case, compared to the first playthrough, only one thing had changed: the Vagabonds had ambushed Mule first, and then invaded the western cities. Dorothy and Bess had long since fallen into the hands of the Western Continent, and now even Halo was in danger.
Not only was the enemy’s strength not clearly identified, but the Golden Lion and its allied clans had not yet fully recovered from the damage sustained during the failed Steel Mountains expedition. As a result, the process of organizing reinforcements was facing one difficulty after another. It was so bad that there was even talk of abandoning Halo, so it was plain to see how things were going.
There’s a saying: know yourself and your enemy, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles.
You can only form a countermeasure when you have an accurate grasp of your opponent, but communication with Mule was cut off at the same time as the invasion, and from Dorothy and Bess, they had only received news of the invasion and a request for aid, with no detailed information.
Under these circumstances, the fact that I had personally captured the Vagabonds who attacked the city was worth more than a mountain of gold. In particular, since Baek Seoyeon was a Vagabond close to the leadership level, the value of the core information she could provide would be immeasurable.
In the end, the key was how quickly I could break Baek Seoyeon’s spirit. And this was the problem I had been thinking about and mulling over throughout the return journey.
Now that I was traveling with acquaintances, it would be difficult to openly play the same kind of game as before. I also had doubts about whether a method I had used once would work again.
Anyway, the priority right now is to get back to the city.
In a confined space like this, the options available were also limited. Once we returned to the city, to the Clan House, there would surely be ways to create an opening.
“……”
Slowly emerging from my thoughts, I looked up at the blue sky. I felt as if my mind, which had been filled with thoughts, was suddenly cleared.
My brother had been pestering me the entire way back, making my head spin, so I had used the excuse of needing some time to think to step aside and walk by myself.
“Kim Soohyun, Kim Soohyun!”
As I was walking for a while, looking at the sky in a good mood, I felt someone hopping toward me. It was Vivian’s voice. A moment later, I glanced down and saw her face thrust forward, looking all flushed about something. I spoke calmly.
“What is it?”
“Your brother wanted me to tell you that we’re about to arrive in Eden. But why are you walking while only looking at the sky?”
“I had something to think about.”
“What about? That thing from yesterday?”
I nodded. I hadn’t been the only one pondering the problem. We’d had a chance to be on night watch together yesterday, and I had shared some of my thoughts with Vivian. She was someone I could speak to without reservation, and more importantly, she might be able to think of a better way. (To be honest, I also told her partly to kill the boring time.)
“Huhu. I see. Did you come up with any good ideas?”
“Just one or two. You?”
“Huhu. Actually, I gave it some thought, and, huhu.”
“?”
She kept letting out a confident laugh, so I stared at Vivian with a mix of suspicion and anticipation. Meeting my gaze, she raised the corners of her mouth into a grin and continued speaking as she rummaged inside her clothes.
“I came up with a very good idea. Two of them, in fact.”
“What is it? Don’t keep me in suspense, just tell me.”
“Huhu. Just you wait, buddy.”
“Where did you learn to talk like that…?”
Vivian answered “Ahn Hyun” in a small voice, then held out both her hands. A white, shining sphere was floating above her right palm, and in her left hand, she held a thick book. It was the Ordo of Order and Mavolo’s Training Journal.
Wait, I get the Ordo, but… why is she carrying the book around?
I felt extremely puzzled, but I waited calmly for Vivian to speak, intending to hear her out. She gave a gentle, uncharacteristic eye-smile and opened her mouth, her voice clear and bright.
“Remember that time? The information about Item Appraisal that was written in this Ordo of Order?”
“Item Appraisal?”
I remembered a few things, but not in great detail. In any case, I could just check it now, so I was about to activate Third Eye toward the white sphere.
“Eden is in sight!”
Hearing someone shout loudly, I reflexively turned my head.
Ahead, the eastern small city of Eden was revealing itself, albeit still small in the distance. I immediately turned to Vivian and said.
“Is it a lot to talk about?”
“Yeah. Quite a lot.”
“Alright. Then let’s talk again when we get back to the city.”
“Huhu. Fine, I can wait that long. I’ll make you not regret giving me the Ordo of Order. You can look forward to it.”
I had no idea what she was planning to say, but seeing her so confident made it seem like she had some brilliant idea.
Watching Vivian turn away with a snort, I resolved that if she started spouting nonsense about ‘training’ her like Margarita, I wouldn’t let her get away with it.