Chapter 91: A Guild Meeting with One Member Missing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: A Guild Meeting with One Member Missing
With that, Baeksan glanced between Si-ho and Seol-hyang, then turned away.
“Whatever. While you’re busy worrying about it, they'll sort it out themselves soon enough. They always did before.”
What was that supposed to mean?
I glared at Baeksan, silently demanding he explain himself, but he simply slipped right through the wall.
That bastard, leaving me with nothing but questions.
“Hoo… Miss Ha Si-ho, you need to speak with Juksim, correct? Please, come inside for now.”
“Okay.”
It seemed their battle of wills was over.
What on earth did Baeksan mean by ‘sort it out’?
Just as I was about to follow the two of them inside, my phone started ringing again.
It was none other than Ahyu.
For some reason, I had a bad feeling.
“...Hello?”
[Ah, Domi-oppa, I just finished work and I'm on my way up now! How was the guild meeting?]
“Ah, yeah.”
[Hm? What’s wrong? Did something happen? You sound drained, Domi-oppa.]
How does everyone notice these things just from my voice?
[What is it? What’s wrong? Should I hurry over and give you a kiss? That'll cheer you right up. Right?]
“Ahyu, can you listen without getting angry?”
[I'm definitely going to get angry.]
Ahyu’s tone changed in an instant.
Feeling as though I could hear a growl like that of a wild beast, I covered my forehead for a moment before speaking again.
“Are you going to hit me?”
[Depends.]
“I might actually die if you hit me.”
[Then you can compensate me with something else. Like… like what I said before… a ki-kiss or something. Yeah, if you do that! I might let it slide!]
“Heavenly Demon, stop talking nonsense and come over here.”
Just then, Seol-hyang, who I thought had gone into the room, peeked her head out and spoke into my phone.
[Huh?! Iron-Blood, what the! What's going on! Why are you next to Domi-oppa?!]
“Because Ha-chan is at my house, of course.”
[Wha-what?! House, house?! Domi-oppa, what is this, what's going on! I'm gonna cry! I'm really going to cry!]
I stared blankly at Seol-hyang, who was standing beyond the door.
She met my gaze and stuck out her pink tongue.
Should I just pull on it?
[Hiiing, hing, what's going on, what is it… Domi-oppaaaa. I don't like thisss.]
In the meantime, Ahyu had actually started sniffling.
Flustered, I quickly tried to calm her down and explain the situation.
It was obvious she had misunderstood and believed Seol-hyang's prank.
“Ahyu, it's true. Everyone's gathered at Seol-hyang's house because of Eva-noona's situation.”
[Sniffle, hmph, huung.]
“You still don't believe me? Should I put someone else on?”
[No. Keep talking to me.]
Hearing that, my eyes narrowed.
“You stopped crying partway through, didn't you.”
No answer came from Ahyu.
Instead, I heard the sound of a tongue clicking in disapproval from the other end of the line.
“I'm hanging up.”
[Hiiing, you're so mean! I'm heading straight there, even if it's late. So wait for me. I'll be there soon, for real.]
She should get some rest, since she's coming straight from work.
I was a little worried, but I just said I understood.
It was obvious she wouldn't listen to me even if I told her to rest.
[By the way, Domi-oppa, I have a question.]
“What is it?”
[Didn't you call her Seol-hyang just now? And that Iron-Blood girl called you Ha-chan…]
“I'll tell you when you get here.”
I quickly pressed the end call button.
I realized it in that moment.
If she latched onto one thing, she'd keep digging for the next, and the next.
'I'll leave it to my future self.'
I was scheduled to die at thirty, but whatever. I decided to entrust it to my future self and escape from this battlefield for now.
*
After that, Si-ho and Juksim talked.
Juksim answered Si-ho's questions directly, and after a long conversation, Si-ho was left with an ambiguous expression.
The reason was that while the coordinates were fine, it would be difficult to transport the physical body directly.
This was something Hyeok-seo-hyeong and I had been worried about.
The dimensional rifts were such a jumbled mess of space that even if Si-ho found the body, using spatial transport would likely result in the coordinates getting twisted, sending it somewhere else entirely.
“It's not easy.”
“Yeah… If Si-ho gets more proficient, it might be possible. But honestly, it's too difficult right now.”
Si-ho, unable to offer any certainty, seemed to be considering other methods with Juksim.
It was truly a problem with no immediate solution.
“Is it impossible to open a dimensional gate right in front of where Ryeongju's body is?”
Just then, Seol-hyang, who had said she was going to make a call to Eunhyeon, opened the door and entered, offering a suggestion.
“That should be possible.”
“Then while the gate is open, someone can go inside and bring her out directly.”
Everyone looked at Si-ho, who seemed to ponder it for a moment.
“...Honestly, it's pretty dangerous.”
“How dangerous?”
“When I use spatial transport, I step through the dimensional rifts that exist between spaces. But sometimes there are dangerous rifts. Places that pull you in like a black hole to somewhere else.”
“Similar to how a dimensional shift occurs. And there would be dimensional exposure to worry about, too.”
“That's right. And besides, just the dimensional rift itself is dangerous, given how far away it is.”
A rather complicated discussion began to unfold.
Drrk-
“Then I'll go.”
At that moment, the door opened and Ahyu appeared.
As if to prove that Si-ho and Juksim's conversation had gone on for quite some time, enough time had passed for Ahyu to arrive.
“Ahyu.”
“Ahyu?”
When I called out her nickname, Naek's eyes went wide.
“What, wasn't Ahyu a guy?!”
So she hadn't figured it out.
Eva-noona already knew Ahyu was a woman.
However, it seemed she didn't know she was the Heavenly Demon. Her eyes widened, but she quickly bowed her head in greeting.
“It's been a while, Heavenly Demon.”
“Ryeongju… no, I guess it's Eva-unni here.”
“That's right, Ahyu.”
Just from their reactions, Ahyu seemed to have figured out who the other was.
It looked like Eva-noona and Ahyu had known each other from before.
“My cute little brother has turned into a cute and pretty little sister!”
“That's right. I am pretty cute.”
“Yep, that's definitely Ahyu.”
Why is that how she recognizes her?
While the two of them were greeting each other, I looked at Ahyu and spoke.
“Ahyu, what you just said…”
“Yeah, I'll go.”
I grabbed her arm.
Si-ho herself had said it was dangerous.
On top of that, there was the dimensional exposure Seol-hyang mentioned.
Naturally, even Ahyu would have to take a risk.
Ahyu met my gaze and a slight smile began to form on her lips.
“What's this, Domi-oppa? Are you worried about me?”
“No, I was just about to wish you a safe trip.”
“I'm going to pout.”
Seeing Ahyu about to puff out her cheeks, I moved my hand from her wrist to the top of her head.
“I'm kidding. I'm so worried it's a problem. But for you to say that means you're confident, right?”
“Of course. Who do you take me for? I'm the Heavenly Demon. The Strongest Under Heaven.”
“Right, the most dependable little sister in the world.”
“How about we go with girlfriend instead?”
“Says who?”
Seol-hyang and Si-ho glared at Ahyu simultaneously, but she just laughed, completely unfazed by their stares.
“Ahyu, I'm counting on you. Honestly, I can't think of anyone else I could ask to do something like this.”
Even for me, going in there would be impossible. That's the first thought that comes to mind.
“Hmph, that's right. Domi-oppa can't think of anyone but me.”
I don't know why this girl keeps saying things to provoke Seol-hyang and Si-ho.
Naek and Eva-noona were watching with expressions that said they found the situation amusing, and my face was burning.
“So, who's that hiding behind the curtain over there?”
When Ahyu pointed to the bulging curtain and asked, I had to give a bitter smile.
It was none other than Juksim, who hid whenever a new person appeared.
She had such an aura when she was showing us the night sky, but now she's like this…
It seemed her hikikomori tendencies were incurable.
“Alright. Then the plan is set. All that's left is to try it after September 14th. And speaking of which, I just got a call from Eunhyeon.”
At the mention of Eunhyeon's call, everyone's attention turned to Seol-hyang.
“She said they lost Asura, Song Hyeok-seo.”
And those words were enough to make Eva-noona sigh.
Now that a plan was in place, if they could just inform Hyeok-seo-hyeong, he might have been willing to wait.
The moment she heard the news, Eva-noona tried calling him, but as expected, the call didn't go through.
“We will continue to track him. Let's conclude today's meeting here.”
With the plan fully established, there was nothing more to discuss.
All that was left was to wait to execute it.
“Then let's drink!”
The moment the planning was over, Naek excitedly held up a bottle of alcohol and shouted.
As I stared at her, dumbfounded by how she seemed to have been waiting for this exact moment, Eva-noona also smiled.
“That's right. We have to wait until after the 14th anyway, right? There's no need to keep the mood so heavy.”
“As expected of Eva-unni, you get it!”
Naek said excitedly, opening the bottle as Eva-noona moved to her side.
Returnees are more accustomed to death than ordinary people.
Perhaps that's why they can be so cheerful even in situations like this.
Watching them, I eventually sighed and turned to Ahyu.
“Ahyu, you?”
“I'll drink too. I slept plenty in the car anyway.”
Seeing that she was willing to join in even though she must be tired, I nodded.
“...Then Si-ho too.”
“Nope.”
I pressed down on Si-ho's head, stopping her as she tried to sneak in.
Si-ho looked up at me with a pitiful expression, but I instead poured juice into a cup on the table and handed it to her.
“This is for you, Si-ho.”
“I want to try it too.”
“When you become an adult, I'll teach you how to drink properly. So be patient with this for now.”
“Really? When I turn twenty, you'll teach me how to drink, Manager-nim?”
As if she had been aiming for this all along, Si-ho's eyes sparkled, and I froze.
Don't tell me she led me into that.
“Yes, as an adult, I'll teach her 'together' with you.”
Seol-hyang suddenly popped her head in next to us and said.
It was obvious they were about to start fighting again, so I grabbed both of their shoulders.
“If either of you does this one more time today, you're in for a scolding.”
I looked back and forth between them, silently pleading with them not to ruin the mood just as it was starting to relax. They both flinched and looked away from each other.
I don't care if I'm trash or whatever.
I absolutely will not watch them fight anymore today.
And so, we began to drink.
'It would've been nice if Kkotbi was here too.'
There was someone missing, which was a shame, but this was the first time so many guild members had gathered like this.
Here, at the end of summer, with my guild members gathered around.
I hoped that one day, Hyeok-seo-hyeong would be able to join us and talk like this too.