You Don’t Even Know Why I’m Upset? (2)
“So how did it go, hyung? Did the talk go well?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking? It went great.”
“Ah….”
“Why?”
One day had passed since my somewhat serious conversation with Kim Hyunsung.
As Park Deokgu packed his things, he asked the question so casually that it almost sounded like he was trying not to sound like he cared.
“Nothing. I was just a little surprised, that’s all. Ah! How’s our hyung doing?”
I couldn’t quite put it into words, but yesterday Kim Hyunsung had looked a little deflated.
The best way to describe him was that he’d been caught by the ghost of his first life.
I had no way of knowing exactly what Cho Hyejin meant to Kim Hyunsung, but he had certainly realized that he’d made a mistake.
I could understand why he wanted to show a good side of himself while I was gone, but trying to put her in a key position in a way I couldn’t accept was a step too far.
He’d offered some excuse about preparing things for me, but for Kim Hyunsung to be so fixated on the first turn was honestly not a good sign.
In the end, the fool had realized his own mistake, and…
He got kind of doglike.
He really had. He must’ve been hoping I’d praise him for it.
Part of me wanted to pat his head and go, “Good boy! Good boy! Good boy!” but from my perspective, keeping Cho Hyejin’s authority reduced was still the easiest way to move.
At least until Team Leader Kim Miyoung finished her work, I had to keep things this way.
The public reason I’d given for rejecting Cho Hyejin was that she still hadn’t fully settled into our side.
And frankly, it wasn’t an unconvincing story, considering the rumors floating around that, apart from her abilities, Cho Hyejin and Kim Hyunsung might be involved in something rather intimate.
Of course, even stranger rumors seemed to be spreading now, but I figured the misunderstanding about Kim Hyunsung and me would sort itself out with time.
Though he doesn’t seem to realize that.
Even setting aside my personal reasons, putting Cho Hyejin in such an important position now would simply be bad timing.
And anyway, openly and blatantly playing favorites like that is a bad look.
In the end, the point was simple: in Blue, I alone was enough to fill that kind of position. I glanced back at Park Deokgu and spoke again.
“Well, he did seem disappointed, but he also looked like he accepted it.”
“Then that’s a relief, I guess….”
“Why do you look so gloomy?”
“It’s nothin’ much. It’s just kind of weird, that’s all, seeing hyung and that lady not seeing eye to eye. Ahem.”
“There wasn’t any real conflict.”
“C’mon! I heard things.”
“Heard what, exactly?”
“Well, leaving aside whatever the guild women were gossiping about, there were rumors that hyung and that lady had a fight. Something about a bit of friction in the cafeteria. Is that true?”
“Ah….”
“No, no! I mean, did you actually fight?”
“It wasn’t anything as dramatic as you’re imagining. It’s not even fair to call it a fight. There was just a misunderstanding between us, so you don’t need to worry about it. I did feel a little hurt that she made such an important decision on her own and only told me at the very end, but….”
“So….”
“In the end, I got an apology, and everything is normal. If I kept opposing her, that might lead to friction, but that won’t happen. After all, Miss Cho Hyejin is capable, and Blue needs the kind of talent she represents. Oh, and just in case, don’t go around blabbing about this.”
“Don’t worry. If there’s one thing Park Deokgu is good at, it’s keepin’ his mouth shut.”
“Did you pack everything we prepared?”
“Almost all of it.”
“I can check it once more, right?”
“W-wait a second. Just a little more.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve gone on a long expedition. We can’t afford mistakes.”
I quietly looked around and saw the guild members busy preparing for the trip.
In Park Deokgu’s case, he kept sneaking glances this way while rapidly organizing the supplies, while Hwang Jeongyeon busied herself helping him.
Jung Hayan, Sun Heeyoung, and our little Kim Yeri were all occupied with sorting their own luggage too.
Most of them had been caught off guard by the sudden news that we were heading for Castle Rock, but because they had experience, I’d already seen them loading things into the wagons one by one without forgetting anything important.
To be honest, the people busier than the party members were the guild employees.
Loud voices carried in from all over the place.
“Did you check the supply crates for sure?”
“Yes, Team Leader Park Jungki! The last batch is going in now.”
“And the items we’ll send later have all been sorted in advance, right?”
“Yes. So… the alchemy kits, consumable catalysts, spare equipment—they’ve all been stored in the warehouse for now.”
“Put the griffon feed in too.”
“Yes.”
“Make sure the goods are protected with the basic preservation spell so they don’t spoil. I’ll check them myself, so tell the team to stay on standby.”
“Understood.”
This was exactly why we had set up an expedition support team and paid them salaries.
Watching them prepare the expedition on their own, without me having to micromanage every little thing from start to finish, was oddly heartwarming.
“B-but, Team Leader. We were told this would be a long expedition, but the amount of supplies seems excessive. We also have a long list of things to buy in Castle Rock, but… the budget for these supplies is already over the limit….”
“This was a direct request from the Guild Master. Just process it as written. Don’t ask useless questions. Wondering about it isn’t our job. Our job is to deliver the supplies without error.”
“Yes, sir. Team Leader.”
The slightly amusing part was that the supplies going to Castle Rock felt excessive compared to a normal expedition.
Team Leader Park Jungki, who oversaw expedition support, was probably the one who understood that best.
Since it had been ordered directly by the Guild Master, there was nothing anyone could say, but even I had to admit the items being loaded for this trip were a little odd.
Still, once I considered Castle Rock’s current situation, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
I didn’t know whether the people living there already realized something was happening in their city, but Kim Hyunsung had clearly said that something would happen in Castle Rock.
A new dungeon spawn? A monster wave? A named monster?
Just looking over the supplies was enough to narrow down the answer pretty quickly.
You’re making it way too obvious, Hyunsung.
Of course, it made sense to prepare for all kinds of possibilities as we moved farther from Lindel, but the sheer number of arrows prepared for Kim Yeri, who wasn’t even a pure archer, was enough to make anyone blink in disbelief.
And it wasn’t just arrows.
The basic health potions being produced at the potion factory were also being churned out at a feverish pace to meet the quantities Kim Hyunsung had specified.
At this point, it was easy to guess what kind of incident awaited us in Castle Rock. It looked like they were preparing for a massive battle, plain and simple.
Of course, if I took Kim Hyunsung at his word, this was all to prepare for every possible sign, but seeing a man who knew the future preparing this heavily made it clear that the purpose of this expedition was not simply dungeon clearing.
Either a monster wave or a raid.
Personally, I leaned a little more toward a monster wave. It was unsettling, yes, but also exciting.
Kim Hyunsung personally choosing to crawl into a dangerous place meant the rewards would be just as enormous.
“The experience should be insane, right?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, nothing. Sun Heeyoung, have you packed everything?”
“Yes. I’ve packed all my personal belongings.”
“And the others?”
“Yes. Everything’s packed, and I checked Yeri and Hayan’s luggage myself. Miss Hyejin looks like she’s finished preparing too. There don’t seem to be any problems.”
“That’s a relief. Then I’ll tell our Guild Master that we’re ready to depart.”
“Yes.”
That part was done. Now for the next.
“Team Leader Park Jungki?”
“Vice Guild Master.”
“I trust you processed everything exactly according to the list.”
“Ah, yes. We had to prepare on short notice, so a few items were missing, but once all the quantities are ready, we’ll head for Castle Rock. I’m only checking once more, but you really do want all of these supplies sent, correct?”
“Yes, Team Leader Park Jungki. Send them with no error whatsoever. Actually, if you have any extra room, I think sending additional supplies would be good as well. You’ve worked hard. Oh, and if the amount of reinforcements we need increases later, I’ll let you know again through a messenger pigeon.”
“Yes.”
That place was ready too.
Just in time, Kim Hyunsung appeared. There was no need to rush over and report that expedition preparations were complete; the wagons were already ready to depart.
“It looks like we can leave right away, Hyunsung.”
“Yes. You work hard every time. There was no need for you to come out and check personally….”
“I still feel uneasy unless I see it with my own eyes.”
“It’s reassuring to have Kiyoung here.”
That’s right, you brat.
“It’s hardly a difficult task. The expedition party consists of thirteen people in total, including me: Hwang Jeongyeon, Park Deokgu, Jung Hayan, Sun Heeyoung, Kim Yeri, Cho Hyejin, and five guild employees. With the exception of a few items that have to be balanced by quantity, everything has been loaded onto the wagons. As soon as the remaining supplies are ready, the other wagons will depart as well.”
“Yes.”
“The guild will be handled by Advisor Lee Sanghee, Team Leader Kim Miyoung, and the existing team leaders.”
“Yes. Understood. Then let’s depart.”
“Yes, sir.”
After the guild members slowly boarded the wagons, I followed behind them.
We could have gotten there quickly by griffon, but traveling by wagon would take a little longer.
We also had to move with the supplies, and the road to Castle Rock was somewhat rough.
Still, it was a secure route, so there was no need to worry about monster attacks. In that sense, the trip was basically a picnic.
I thought we’d arrive in no time if we just relaxed and let our bodies rest.
“Hey, it feels like it’s been forever since we went on an expedition. I’m getting all tingly inside.”
“This isn’t a trip for fun, so you’d better keep your guard up. You can rest once we arrive in Castle Rock.”
“Ahem. Isn’t hyung a little too strict?”
“Hahaha.”
At Park Deokgu’s words, Kim Hyunsung slowly lifted the corners of his mouth.
After rain falls, the ground hardens. The same was true for me and Kim Hyunsung after our little clash.
I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, but our relationship felt a little more solid than it had yesterday.
The anxious expression from the day before suddenly came back to me, and I almost laughed.
I already knew Kim Hyunsung wasn’t a bad person, but after yesterday’s incident, I felt like I could trust him even more.
There was still a lot to do.
I had to look into Cho Hyejin, and I also had to distribute my own Made-by-Lee Kiyoung potions in Castle Rock.
I would need to meet Lady Marlin too, and maybe even stop by the Temple.
I still wasn’t sure whether we were dealing with a monster wave or a named monster, but there would be problems surrounding the city itself that we’d have to solve as well.
And among all those matters, there was one thing I considered a little more important.
Hyunsung, I’ll watch your back.
I’ll protect the regressor’s back door.
That was when it happened.
Mind's Eye has risen in rank.
What the hell is this all of a sudden?