Chapter 325: The Future, Twisted.
Chapter 325: The Future, Twisted.
Her fair, milky-white skin seemed to glow, made even more dazzling by the brilliant moonlight.
The woman inside the pavilion gazed at me, her eyes seeming to hold the blue moonlight. I met her gaze directly. After a moment, her beautiful eyelids fluttered rapidly a few times.
After swallowing the silence that had fallen between us, I calmly sat down across from her.
As expected, the woman was Lee Hyoeul. She wore an expression of utter bewilderment, a look that didn't suit her cold appearance. As I quietly studied her face, a chilling sensation ran down my spine. Her expression didn't seem fake, but her eyes were frozen like ice.
Interesting. I guess she has some experience, after all.
Then again, as the Guardian of the Northern Continent, she must be a User who's been through her fair share of trials.
〈 Player Status 〉
1. Name: Lee Hyoeul (Year 8 User)
2. Class
① Guardian of the Northern Continent: Active
② Mage (Normal, Mage, Master): Inactive
3. Nation: Barbara
4. Clan: Haemil (Clan Rank: B Plus)
5. True Name · Nationality: One Who Guides the Light · Republic of Korea
6. Sex: Female (27)
7. Height · Weight: 168.7cm · 49.3kg
8. Alignment: True · Neutral
[Strength 35(-12)] [Durability 50(-13)] [Agility 58(-11)] [Stamina 28(-11)] [Magic Power 92(-7)(+3)] [Luck 99]
(Remaining stat points: 0)
She’s recovered a little.
Recalling Lee Hyoeul's Player Status, I calmed myself, making sure not to let my guard down.
“N-No way. Just who in the world…”
Lee Hyoeul stammered, still unable to hide her bewilderment. I slowly took a cigarette from my coat and put it between my lips. After lighting it with an ignition stone, I took a deep drag. Then, exhaling a long stream of smoke, I spoke in a calm voice.
“So. I heard you wanted to talk… What business does a minion of the angels have with me?”
The smoke I exhaled danced and spread in a bizarre shape. By the time it had completely dissolved into the air, Lee Hyoeul's face, which had been obscured by the haze, was visible again. The bewilderment that had colored her expression just moments before had vanished like melting snow.
Then, Lee Hyoeul offered a faint smile. Her eyes curved gently, and her pretty pink lips formed a thin crescent.
“What could you possibly mean…?”
Lee Hyoeul murmured in a high-pitched voice. It was much more composed than before; she was no longer stuttering. I already had a rough idea of why she'd sought me out, so I wanted to skip the tiresome back-and-forth. That's why I'd decided to be blunt from the start.
“I'm saying there's no need to pretend you're surprised or that you don't know. Minion.”
“Hee hee. You're certainly as cold as Kim Yoohyun's little brother, aren't you? And you keep calling me a minion. Would you mind not doing that? It hurts this minion's feelings, you know.”
I let out a faint laugh at her witty response. She swept her hair back with both hands, then rubbed the back of her head audibly as she continued to speak.
“My head is such a mess… Ugh. Anyway, first, I should thank you for saving my life. So, thank you. I'm not a fan of the informal speech or being called a minion, but you're my savior, so I'll let it slide.”
“You spoke informally first, and calling you a minion is just stating a fact.”
Strictly speaking, all Users, including Lee Hyoeul, could be considered minions. It was just a matter of degree. But I didn't voice this thought. I wanted to be careful with my words here. I knew a fair bit about the Guardian of the Northern Continent, but I didn't know the extent of her access rights.
“…You have a really irritating way of speaking.”
“Anyway, let's cut the pointless chatter. I'd like to get to the main topic now.”
Lee Hyoeul shot me a sideways glance, but she nodded in agreement.
“Then I'll ask again. Why did you want to see me?”
“That's simple. I was curious. I've been hearing so much about you lately that I was ju~st so curious to see who you were. Actually, I thought something was off ever since I saw Mule's promotion records. So I called you here to size you up a little, but…”
“……”
“Don't look at me like that. You seem to know a fair amount about me, so how could I not be curious? You're excavating ruins every month. Your clan members are all decked out in Secret and Rare classes. You somehow know I'm the Guardian of the Northern Continent. You display martial prowess unheard of for a Year 0 User. And when I ask the angels, they just mumble something about 'Tanay' and say they can't tell me because I don't have the access rights. In fact, they told me to get close to you and help you as much as I can! Given all that, wouldn't you be curious if you were me?”
Just as I'd suspected, she hadn't come here unprepared. She had clearly investigated me beforehand to the best of her ability, though it didn't seem like she'd found much. I flicked away my burnt-out cigarette and shrugged.
“If the angels wouldn't tell you, what makes you think I will?”
“I had a few plans. First, I was going to use my unique ability to figure you out, then reveal I was the Guardian of the Northern Continent to seem impressive. After that, I was going to try and sweet-talk you… But my unique ability was countered by some unknown power of yours, and you already knew I was the Guardian. Come to think of it, what exactly is your ability? How did you manage to block a power exclusive to Guardians?”
For someone so honest, she certainly had a lot of questions. Of course, her curiosity was perfectly natural for a User, but that was her business, not mine. When I answered with a scoff, I saw her face fall into a pout.
“Sigh. Fine, then just tell me this. How did you know I was the Guardian of the Northern Continent? This is extremely important, so I really need you to answer.”
“Who knows.”
“Please. If you answer my question, I'll answer one of yours.”
Now that was a tempting offer. I sank into thought for a moment before nodding.
“I just knew. Besides, haven't you already reported to your designated angel? If it were a problem, they would have done something by now. It seems like it went over without any trouble, so that should be the end of it.”
“…Gabriel asked me to pass on a message. She said to make sure you keep the secret. And that she's waiting. What's that about, anyway?”
“Now it's my turn to ask.”
“Ugh, you're driving me crazy.”
For the first time, Lee Hyoeul's face contorted in frustration, and she began to chew on her lip. Paying her no mind, I calmly posed my question.
“What is your relationship with my brother?”
Lee Hyoeul, still unable to shake the look of someone who'd gotten a raw deal, stared at me blankly for a moment before letting out a short laugh. “Pfft.” I knew why she was laughing, but this was the most important question for me right now. I had let her live for the time being, but my future decision on how to handle her—whether to let her live, kill her when the chance came, or cooperate with her—depended on her feelings for my brother.
“Pfft. You two really are brothers. Anyway, to answer your question… This is my seventh year as a Guardian. The most recent User I chose to guide was your brother. Of course, 'recent' was two years ago.”
“…?”
“It's rare for a Guardian to stay in one place for two years. A year, at most. Of course, Kim Yoohyun is valuable enough that the angels didn't say anything… but that's over now. In any case, the main reason I stayed was my own choice. I am a woman, after all.”
“I see.”
Her words, 'but that's over now,' bothered me a little, but I replied calmly.
“Well, to be honest, if I could quit right now, I would in a heartbeat. The problem is, I can't. There's no successor… Ugh, that damned old hag.”
Lee Hyoeul crossed her arms, let out a deep sigh, and shook her head. Then, she suddenly began to give me a peculiar look.
“Hey, you know… we might end up becoming sister-in-law and brother-in-law, so could I ask just one more question? You can ask one too, of course.”
“I can't agree with that first part, but I'll accept the second.”
“Great. Since you don't seem to like giving details, just answer with a yes or no. Are you, by any chance, a new Guardian?”
“No.”
At my immediate reply, Lee Hyoeul pouted, looking extremely disappointed. It seemed she'd been hoping for something.
“My turn again. I heard you're planning to issue a rather large Call to Arms soon.”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. But it's not that big. I'm only calling the people who know me.”
“That makes sense. Then let me ask: how far along are your plans? And what's your objective?”
“?”
Lee Hyoeul tilted her head at my question. It seemed I'd been too broad and needed to narrow the scope.
“A while ago, the Starlight Clan joined Monica. They were originally active in Halo, but I heard they were scouted by Istantel Low Clan.”
“Aha. Well, what do you know. It seems Ms. Soyoung made a mistake… No, wait. Then again, we're about to make our move soon, so I guess it doesn't really matter.”
Lee Hyoeul's eyes widened as if she'd finally caught on, but she quickly broke into a grin and muttered something cryptic. No, it wasn't cryptic. The keywords were 'mistake' and 'I guess it doesn't really matter since we're about to make our move.' She must have realized I'd asked two questions at once and had given me an indirect answer. It meant she was answering both, and I couldn't help but think she was a truly unpredictable User.
“And as for our objective… This might take a while to explain… Ah, what the hell. With the angels' orders and you being my potential brother-in-law, I'll give you the premium service. You know about the old hag… ahem. You know that our Matriarch was murdered, right?”
“I know.”
“Tch. Such a stiff reply. Anyway, I personally felt there were too many suspicious things about our Matriarch's death. I started looking into it, but as you know, I ended up at death's door myself. I survived thanks to you, but by the time I woke up, the situation had already escalated. I was wondering what to do when you suddenly appeared with those Vagabonds. The purpose of the Call to Arms is them—the Vagabonds you brought. Oh, and don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to take them from you. This is a formal request.”
She started investigating because she found it suspicious?
My brother told me she was attacked while exploring a ruin, but Lee Hyoeul's story was different. That meant one of two things: either she was lying, or there were circumstances she couldn't speak of.
Trying my best not to let my thoughts show, I spoke in a low voice.
“So, are you saying it was the Vagabonds who murdered the Matriarch?”
“I like how quick you are. Yes. I have a hunch. If you connect the dots with the current situation, it all smells very fishy. Honestly, I was desperate for even one Vagabond, and you brought me Baek Seoyeon of all people, so I'm truly grateful. She's practically one of their leaders, so she must know a lot. If I'm right, she might have even taken part in the Matriarch's murder herself.”
As if her mouth was dry from talking so much, Lee Hyoeul touched her lips for a moment, then gently clasped her hands and continued.
“Oh, right. I'm getting ahead of myself. You'll join the second Call to Arms, won't you? Kim Yoohyun will be there too, of course. Well?”
I had no idea what that had to do with anything, but I simply stared back at her. Her line of thinking was similar to mine. Or rather, it was similar to my memories. In any case, while I couldn't trust her completely yet, our conversation today had made one thing certain: I had made the right choice in healing her.
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I made my decision, a triumphant smile forming on the inside.
For now, I'll let her live.