The Old Guard (4)
It wasn’t just that they worked well together.
To put it a little exaggeratedly, it felt as if Lee Jihye could read my mind.
Does she have some kind of unique ability or something?
I casually checked the status window, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It was probably just that our thought patterns were similar.
People like that are immensely useful if they’re on your side, but once they become your enemy, they turn troublesome in a hurry.
It was only natural that I started thinking it would be better to pull her a little farther to our side, and the moment I let my expression shift, she reacted at once.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing. I’m just grateful. Honestly, I didn’t even expect this much… you did better than I thought you would.”
“It was my first time being trusted with anything, so of course I should work hard. Besides, I got a lot out of it too, thanks to you. It’s only natural. Don’t look at me with such gross eyes. I can tell what you’re thinking.”
“…….”
“If you really want to repay me, you could stay for ramen or something.”
That was impossible.
“Sorry. I’ve got my own things to take care of. Still, if there’s anything else you need help with, let me know.”
“There’s nothing else, really. Just get your work done properly.”
“Of course.”
“You remember what I said before, right, Oppa?”
“Yeah.”
“You’d better head back now. Our Hayan will be worried.”
“Got it. And thanks again.”
When I opened the door a crack, there was Jung Hayan, just as before, waiting on the other side.
Beside her stood the Black Swan’s guides, looking oddly flustered and fidgety.
Even though she’d been in the next room, she must have still been anxious. At the very least, I felt like praising her for not breaking the door down and storming in.
She seemed a little more self-controlled than before.
She looked like a child who had grown a little, so I reached out and patted her head; she smiled brightly, clearly pleased, and the sight caught my eye.
“Oh my, Hayan.”
“Ah… yes… Jihye s-s-s….”
“You’ve gotten even prettier since I last saw you. I’m glad you made it back safely from the dungeon.”
“Ah? Ah? Yes….”
“Oppa must be happy too, having such a beautiful lover.”
“Ah… th-thank you, Jihye s-s-s….”
I could feel Lee Jihye giving my shoulder a light tap. The casual gesture, as though she were brushing dust off me, made me feel strangely off balance.
It somehow felt like she was showing off her closeness to me.
And yet, the fact that she still managed to keep a proper line between us made her all the more impressive.
“Wouldn’t both of you like to stay for a meal? Our guild master has been wanting to meet you too.”
“Things are a bit complicated right now, so I’ll definitely make time later.”
“I thought you’d say that. You’re promising, right? Both you and Hayan, Oppa.”
Watching Lee Jihye speak so naturally to both Jung Hayan and me, I was reminded once again that this woman was no ordinary person.
For a moment I thought that not even Jung Hayan—or anyone else, for that matter—would be able to handle her, and then Lee Jihye’s voice came again.
“Next time, I’ll come by the guild myself, Oppa. Hayan, you should come eat with us too.”
“What? Y-yes.”
“Yeah. Let’s set a time later. See you next time, Jihye.”
Even after I thought I’d gotten better at this, jealousy still seemed to be a stubborn little disease.
I gave Lee Jihye a perfunctory nod as she waved, then stepped out of the room, where the guides led us outside.
Even as we left, they kept bowing and seeing us off, and it made me realize just how much attention Black Swan was paying to us.
No wonder.
Like Lee Jihye said, it wouldn’t have been strange for me to defect at any time.
I could say with certainty that if Kim Hyunsung weren’t planning to build his own guild, I would have gone to Black Swan without hesitation. That was how little appeal Blue Guild had at the moment.
When we’d come out, the sun had still been up, but by now dusk had already fallen.
It had a certain charm to it.
Jung Hayan was gripping my hand tightly, and judging from her flushed face, she seemed to feel the same thing.
Lindel at sunset was rather beautiful. She was probably thinking the atmosphere was lovely.
I couldn’t deny that I felt something similar. Even though this was an ordinary moment, for some reason Jung Hayan looked beautiful.
Atmosphere does that to you.
We continued walking and talking about this and that when—
Wooooong—
What the hell?
All at once, Yuliena began to hum faintly.
Before I could even jump in surprise and look around, I saw Jung Hayan quietly staring at me.
Her lips were moving, but she wasn’t speaking to me.
I realized immediately what she was doing. Fine strands of mana were moving around Jung Hayan’s body.
“A spell?”
There was no reason to chant a spell in the middle of the city. For a moment I wondered if she was getting swept up in the mood and thinking something reckless, the same way she had at the Cursed Shrine, but it only took an instant to realize there was no need for that.
Fuck…
It was right then that a deafening explosion tore through the air.
KWA-AAANG!
“Wind Protection!”
At the same time, Jung Hayan’s voice rang out. I was inside her barrier, so I managed not to be thrown back, but the force of the blast still shook the entire interior and sent a wave of pressure through me. I barely forced down the blood surging up my throat.
“Damn it.”
“Oppa! T-this way! Wind Step!”
Of course the smoke would come after the blast.
Screams began erupting all around us. We weren’t the only ones caught in the explosion.
“Aaaagh!”
“Uwaaaah!”
“Help me… help me!”
Some people were caught up in the blast, but there was no time to worry about them.
The desperation in Jung Hayan’s face as she seized my arm and started running told me exactly how dangerous this had become.
This was clearly not the sort of situation that happened by accident.
Someone was targeting us.
Why?
The sudden bomb attack had definitely centered on Jung Hayan and me.
I was panicked, but I didn’t stop thinking.
Of course, it didn’t take long to reach the conclusion. I already had a pretty good idea who’d done this.
In the middle of the city? Has he lost his mind?
There was only one person in Lindel who had any reason to want me dead.
The lunatic old man, Lee Seolho.
I was careless.
I never imagined he’d pull something this insane inside the city.
If I’d thought of him as at least a somewhat sensible old bastard, then that was my mistake.
He didn’t seem to have even a shred of common sense when it came to cleaning up after himself.
Is he seriously out of his mind?
This wasn’t the kind of action someone with a normal thought process would take.
He wouldn’t have come here personally.
The ones targeting Jung Hayan and me were probably people Lee Seolho sent from below, or maybe members of the Yamato Guild.
In any case, the fact remained that we were under threat.
Before I could sort out my thoughts, Jung Hayan tightened her grip on my hand and shot forward.
“Hayan, this path—”
“Th-there were other people over there. I don’t know who they are, but….”
So it’s not just one or two.
They were going after us in an organized fashion. After the first blast, I didn’t hear another explosion, but I could feel mana flying toward us.
“Wind Protection!”
An arrow was blocked by Jung Hayan’s magic.
Still running in a straight line, Jung Hayan suddenly veered again, having noticed someone waiting for us ahead too.
The feeling that they were herding us somewhere made me clamp my jaw shut in irritation.
Damn it.
I was doing my best to block the ranged attacks flying in, but even that had its limits.
No matter how quickly Jung Hayan cast, she couldn’t stop every attack coming at us from all directions.
I was chanting protection spells as well, but the reality was that I couldn’t cast anything beyond basic defensive magic, and I still couldn’t even properly tell where the enemies were.
“Just hold out.”
“Huh?”
“Blue Guild or Lee Jihye, one of them is definitely going to come this way. It happened inside the city, and they heard the explosion too, so they’ll definitely come here.”
“Ah! Y-yes… yes. Then we just need to hold on until then.”
I’m not sure we can.
“Yuliena.”
The sword tucked inside my arms shot into the air right then, and as if it had been waiting for the moment, screams rang out from somewhere far off.
“Aaaagh!”
Yuliena skewered the archer who had been targeting us from behind.
The spell flying toward us was blocked once again by Jung Hayan.
The sound of swords clashing rang out, and after a brief lull, the roar of explosions returned.
I had no idea how many people Yuliena was holding off, but our situation was hardly any better.
How many had they sent? From where were the attacks coming? I couldn’t even tell where the people targeting us were hiding.
The ones narrowing their net around us now were undoubtedly trained assassins.
This wasn’t some half-baked rabble.
Damn it.
BOOM!
While we were running in a frenzy, a long spear burst through the wall beside us.
“Yuliena!”
CRUNCH!
I saw the sword that had fallen from the sky slam down and crush the spear flying toward me.
I had no time to stand there gawking.
If we stop, we die.
If we stopped, we died.
“These damn lunatics….”
“I-I’ll protect you, Oppa.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
There was no way I could accept dying or losing Jung Hayan over something this absurd.
Even if I had to take the injury myself, the right move was to keep Jung Hayan alive. The worst part was how my breathing was already turning ragged. This was the first time I’d ever resented my low stamina stat.
“Oppa!”
Just as I forced my feet to keep moving instead of stopping, Jung Hayan’s voice rang out, and when I turned naturally toward the sound, I saw a sword coming at me.
“Yuliena—”
Before Yuliena could even reach us, I caught sight of Jung Hayan biting her lip.
I didn’t know why, but it felt as if time had suddenly slowed.
Her tiny hand shoved me aside, and my body tilted with the motion.
When I hit the ground, the first thing I saw was Jung Hayan wrapping herself around me, a sword buried in her chest.
The scene was so unreal that a curse slipped from my lips before I could stop it.
“Damn it, damn it. Yuliena! Yuliena!”
“My name….”
“Yuliena! Damn it! Yuliena!”
“Say my name. Oppa….”
“Hayan. Hayan, Jung Hayan!”
“Just a moment, stay like this….”
Once again, with a sickening sound, I saw another sword drive into Jung Hayan’s abdomen.
Clutching me in a tight embrace, she was hunching over as best she could to block the attack with her own body.
“Protect! Protect!”
The protective magic embedded in my ring activated, but it was being shattered disgracefully.
Even then, Jung Hayan kept flinching as she continued to chant the spell.
“Damn it… damn it! Get off!”
“No….”
“Move, you idiot!”
“Hated….”
Die.
The instant I thought Jung Hayan might die, my mind went completely blank.
I tried to tear her away, but she was stuck to me like glue and showed no intention of letting go, which only made me more frantic.
“Wind Protection….”
“Forget Wind Protection and get out of the way! Fuck!”
Die.
She really was going to die.
“Get out of here right now!”
Die.
Jung Hayan would die.
My lips were clenched so hard they hurt as I kept trying to shove her away, but it was no use; blood kept spilling over my body from her wounds.
“Damn it! Damn it! Move, you stupid bitch!”
It was right then that a massive explosion thundered through the air.
KWA-AA-AA-AANG!!
What followed was a voice I could only describe as familiar.
“Unbelievable. This is really unbelievable. I guess there are a lot of bastards in Lindel who think I’m easy prey.”
“…….”
“You’re pointing a sword at the consort of the Mercenary Queen?”
Standing in front of us was a woman with red hair.