To the Capital (2)
Kim Hyunsung looked utterly desperate.
He was clearly begging me to take Jung Hayan with me, because he already knew she would be useless here no matter how long she stayed.
Her intelligence was high, but Jung Hayan’s work ability was practically zero.
She could at least be somewhat useful if she stayed by my side, but left on her own, she would only end up making a racket in the guild.
Kim Hyunsung had already been on one expedition without me, and he knew firsthand how difficult it was to keep Jung Hayan under control when I wasn’t around.
She cried all day, grew tired, fell asleep, and repeated the cycle, not to mention the hysterical outbursts that came out of nowhere.
With his own administrative capacity already stretched thin, Kim Hyunsung had no way of taking care of Jung Hayan as well.
When Park Deokgu opened his mouth, it must have felt almost welcome.
This bastard.
The problem was that I was in no position to take responsibility for Jung Hayan either.
The social circuit.
Dragging Jung Hayan along to a social party as Cha Heera’s lover was a terrible idea from the start.
Not only would she interfere with the need to talk my way through a gathering of nobles and ladies of the Holy Empire, but it would also limit my ability to flaunt my closeness to Cha Heera.
The one vacation I could have enjoyed in peace was on the verge of collapse.
Still, it might not be a bad idea to resist a little.
“I think it would be fine to come together, but as you can see, Hayan says she’s feeling a little unwell... I’m worried she might not be able to endure a long trip.”
“Ah!”
“She was complaining of stomach pain just a moment ago.”
“I’m fine now! I really am!”
Jung Hayan!
She was willing to throw away the chance to spend her whole life whining and fussing just so she could chase immediate pleasure.
It was hard to believe she’d just been pretending to be sick a moment ago.
I need to think this through.
“No, Hayan. You still need time to stabilize...”
“Well, miss, she’s probably most stable when she’s next to you, isn’t she?”
“R-right. That’s true, Oppa Deokgu.”
There wasn’t much time left.
We were already in the final stretch before departure.
I had wanted to design things so that Jung Hayan would not come with me if at all possible, but... no answer came to mind for this kind of irrational nonsense.
“Well, love is supposed to be the sweetest medicine of all, right? A cure for everything! That’s what I’m saying!”
What kind of logic is that?
“That’s not it, Deokgu. Kiyoung is actually right. Her body may have recovered completely, but she probably still needs time to stabilize. Her body and mana don’t seem to have any problems, but...”
“Which is why she needs peace of mind, doesn’t she, Miss Heeyoung?”
From the moment Jung Hayan got up, no, from the moment Cha Heera’s trip to the capital was decided, I had the feeling this elaborate scheme had already been planned.
Park Deokgu’s tanking ability, which ignored everything I said, and Kim Hyunsung’s offensive power, which pressed in from the other side, left me helpless.
Jung Hayan’s occasional magical remarks were trusted to an absurd degree.
At this point, no matter what I said, it felt like the matter had already been decided and could no longer be reversed.
...
The choice had already been made.
The only correct answer, it seemed, was to speak with at least a little bit of dignity intact.
“It can’t be helped. I’ll go with you.”
“Cough...”
“That’s the right decision.”
“Nice! Good one, miss!”
“Hehe...”
The loser lowered his head, and the winners raised a toast.
I let out a sigh, but there was nothing to be done. Since things had come to this, the only answer was to educate Jung Hayan properly.
Especially about Cha Heera.
“We’ve talked so long that time has already gotten away from us.”
“Kiyoung, you and Hayan should start getting ready to leave.”
“Yes. Ah, before that, I need to hand over a few things...”
“Ah. Of course. Have you packed all your things?”
“Yes. Naturally. All I need to do is bring them down.”
As much as I wanted to run away without even doing the handover, if things went badly in my absence, the cleanup would fall to me anyway.
I had already told most of it to Hwang Jeongyeon, so it was fine enough, but there was still a difference between Kim Hyunsung hearing it directly and not hearing it at all.
With so little time left, I began explaining while showing him the documents I had prepared in advance, and he nodded as he listened. His intelligence wasn’t low, so he should be able to handle it.
Our Hyunsung wasn’t stupid.
Well, in truth, there wasn’t that much for him to do.
“There shouldn’t be anything too complicated. We’ve hired new people, and the division of labor has been clearly reorganized as well. More or less, all you’ll need to do is organize the classified documents and understand them. After that, just make the final decisions and confirm whatever needs your approval.”
“Yes.”
“For the pension planning office, you can receive reports from Jeongyeon. The Imperial legal team can be handled by Team Leader Kim Miyoung, who just joined. I’ve already laid out all the guidelines for the work assigned to the business division, so please check the production line and the distribution line as well... I’d appreciate it if you could personally verify the items I’ve marked.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“And please make sure to inspect everything related to the Crisis Response Committee. Also...”
As I kept talking, Kim Hyunsung’s expression began to change moment by moment.
I figured he had realized just how much work I had already done.
Competent.
That was the look on his face.
In truth, it wasn’t competence or anything of the sort; it was just the result of grinding down guild employees and myself alike.
I didn’t particularly enjoy working, but I had done everything I could to convince our regressor that I was capable.
Before we hired new personnel, there was no way we could have produced results like this.
The reason things had stabilized to this extent was that our faithful slaves had worked themselves to the bone.
However it had come about, the fact that Kim Hyunsung thought highly of me was a beautiful thing.
I didn’t think there was any need to give my credit to the slaves.
Team Leader Kim Miyoung can be handled personally anyway.
“Roughly speaking...”
“Yes. I understand.”
By this point, guilt had started to creep into Kim Hyunsung’s face as well. He was clearly feeling bad for dumping Jung Hayan on this side.
Good. I’ve already forgiven you, Hyunsung.
“Th-thank you...”
“Jeongyeon will probably know most of the plans and guidelines.”
I wanted to end by saying something like, You’ll be working with a human computer with an excellent memory, but for no real reason I swallowed the words and spared Hwang Jeongyeon the trouble.
As I went on explaining everything in detail, I gradually became aware that quite a bit of time had passed.
I wanted to go over a few more points in greater detail, but I couldn’t keep Cha Heera waiting any longer.
“Then I’ll be off, Hyunsung.”
“Yes. By the time you return, things will probably be a little easier. I’m talking about the work, of course.”
“I’m sorry if it feels as though I’ve unintentionally dumped all the work on you.”
“There’s no need to apologize. This will be a good opportunity for Blue as well. I’ve had quite a lot to do myself, but... I was already thinking it was time to find new party members for expeditions and requests, and to continue training Deokgu and Yeri as well.”
“Hahahaha.”
“Thank you.”
“No. That’s what I should be saying.”
The farewell was so warm it almost made me worry a death flag had been planted on me, but nothing terrible would probably happen.
Blue would do what it had always done: recover from the damage and restore the guild to normal. Park Deokgu would keep developing at an ordinary pace, while Kim Yeri, with her exceptional potential, would make explosive progress.
Lindel would remain lively, and talented people would naturally continue flocking to Blue.
Maybe even someone Hyunsung knew from the future would show up at the guild.
Watching Kim Hyunsung look at me with that slightly lingering gaze, I could tell he’d grown rather attached to me as well.
I never thought of myself as someone especially sentimental, but for some reason my chest felt oddly tight.
Don’t look at me like that. I get it too, you bastard.
When I held out my hand, Kim Hyunsung took it without hesitation. It was just a simple handshake, but it felt too simple, so I even considered pulling him into a hug and edged a little closer, only for the atmosphere to turn strangely awkward.
Seeing me like that, Kim Hyunsung gave a faint lift of the lips and patted me on the back first.
You handsome bastard. You’re solid, too.
After that slightly embarrassing farewell with Kim Hyunsung, Park Deokgu came up next.
“Brotherrrr...”
He spread his arms wide as if asking for a hug, so I gave his chest a few light taps with my fist before continuing right away.
I had no intention of hugging him either. He looked like he’d be painful to hold.
“Always remember this, Deokgu. If I can do it, you can do it better.”
“I’ll carve that into my chest every day.”
“And have a meal with Jeongyeon sometime. She’s been pestering me every day to set up a time with you.”
“Huh!?”
“You too, Miss Heeyoung. Take care of yourself. It won’t take long...”
“Yes. You work hard and come back, Kiyoung.”
“While I’m gone, no volunteer work is allowed. Once I return, let’s keep building a beautiful Lindel.”
“Yes...”
“You too, kid.”
“Okay. You do your best too, mister...”
When I looked at Jung Hayan, who was holding my bag, she hurried over and clung to my side as if worried I might abandon her.
When I opened the guild house door, waiting outside was Cha Heera with her red hair.
But what drew my eye even more than her was the beast standing behind her.
“Huh?”
The creature with a bird’s head, a beast’s body, and enormous wings was a monster I had only ever heard of in myths.
“A griffon?”
“There are only two of them in all of Lindel. There’s nothing better for covering long distances. The Holy Empire wanted to mass-produce them too, but it was a failure in the end... That’s how rare they are.”
“Ah...”
“I didn’t expect there to be three of us... I don’t know whether our little bumper will like that. Two riders is usually about right.”
“Aren’t the other members of Red Mercenary going too?”
“The rest will follow behind. Over land. It’s easier to go ahead first, isn’t it? If we’re going to the capital anyway, we might as well enjoy ourselves. Hurry up and climb on. I’ll take the front, our darling will take the second seat, and the second there can take the last... We’d better hold on tight in case someone falls off.”
I nodded and climbed up, but for some reason I still couldn’t get used to it.
It was only natural to be scared.
Just being perched on the back of this monster made my whole body tense.
Before I knew it, I was gripping Cha Heera’s waist tightly.
There was a pleasant smell, and something soft seemed to be pressing against me, but I had no spare attention to waste on such things.
“Ugh...”
It hurts.
“I-I-I-I-I...”
Jung Hayan, offended by that, grabbed my waist and started trying to pull me away from Cha Heera. Apparently it hadn’t occurred to her that if I fell away from Cha Heera, we’d both tumble straight to the ground.
If we fall, we both die, Hayan. Please stop yanking me.
It already felt like something was about to happen.
As the griffon slowly rose into the air, I could see the guild members waving up at us growing smaller and smaller.
Hwang Jeongyeon and Lee Sanghee, who hadn’t managed to say goodbye in time, waved quietly from the window as well.
Park Jungki and Team Leader Kim Miyoung, who had both helped me in many ways, did the same.
“It took you a while to say goodbye. My darling, have you gotten attached in the meantime? I didn’t think you were that type.”
“Noona, I’m human too. A human being.”
“You’ve got a cute side after all. You can hold on a little tighter. Second seat, too, be careful not to fall.”
Exactly as she said, it was best to cling on as tightly as possible. Just as I was waving with a little tension, as expected, a voice rang up from below.
“Hyungnim! Noona! When you come back to the guild, the three of you have to return together!”
It won’t even take two months, Deokgu.
Even if we came back two years later, there would still be no situation where the three of us returned together.
Unless Jung Hayan kept her promise not to do anything outrageous in response to his words.
Don’t make promises, Hayan.
I thought it wasn’t such a bad feeling, being sent off while hearing even such ridiculous things with certainty.
It reminded me for no reason of what Park Deokgu had shouted when he first arrived in Lindel.
The world, Park Deokgu has arrived.
I can’t remember it exactly, but I’m pretty sure it was something along those lines.
Looking down from the sky, I could understand why he had shouted it.
It looks small.
The endless continent spread out below looked so tiny it was as if I could scoop it up in the palm of my hand.