Faith, Betrayal (2)
“I’d like to assign the First Wall to Small Rock.”
The look of panic on his face was so plain it was almost comical. His expression twisted grotesquely, and his cheeks actually started to quiver.
I had no idea cheeks could shake like that. It was almost impressive.
If I thought about it as something amusing, then sure, it was amusing—but I was sure it was anything but fun for him.
If he had it his way, he’d probably be screaming right now.
The reason he was managing to swallow the profanity trying to leap out of his mouth was obvious enough.
Cha Heera, the therapist for anger-management disorders.
The biggest reason of all was that the lovely Cha Heera, who could cure any and all anger-management issues, was standing right beside me.
In a wartime situation, the commander’s orders are the law. That’s true in Lindel and it’s true in Castle Rock, so there’s no point nitpicking someone’s background. And just so we’re clear… I’m not as soft as our darling hubby. Disobeying orders means death.
I couldn’t tell whether she’d planned it or not, but thanks to her laying the groundwork in advance, things had become much easier to manage.
The reason I, a nobody in my first year, could freely boss around all the veterans in front of me was simple.
I could solve anything obstructing my path.
I’d thought that, in the eyes of others, I might look like a fox leeching off Cha Heera’s power and brute force, but what did other people’s opinions matter?
What mattered was that they had acknowledged me as the commander, and that Cha Heera was standing at my side.
Cha Heera was more than enough to resolve not only anger-management issues but all sorts of conflicts. She was basically a cure-all.
Looking at Song Jungwook, who had clamped his mouth shut, I could once again feel Cha Heera’s presence looming large.
He looks like he’s been betrayed.
We were going to split with them sooner or later anyway.
His gap was obvious if you thought about his quirks. Frankly, he wasn’t even skilled enough to justify dragging him along in the first place.
Rather than keep up a relationship with someone so lacking in so many ways, it was better to sacrifice him for Cho Hyejin’s peace of mind.
Sorry, Jungwook.
“The Second Wall will be handled by the Giant Guild and the Mint Candy Clan… The Third Wall will be handled by the lord’s castle. Next, the Fourth and Fifth Walls will be handled by the clan alliance in Castle Rock’s northern district. As I mentioned earlier, the Castle Rock Merchant Guild will handle supply lines.”
“Understood.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“After establishing a central command unit with Blue Guild and Red Mercenaries at the core, we’ll standardize the reporting structure.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Thanks to the Mercenary Queen, I think the atmosphere has become a little stiff. I’d like to apologize for that again. Hahaha. Of course, tension is necessary, but personally, I prefer a slightly more flexible meeting atmosphere.”
“Hahaha.”
“Hahaha.”
It wasn’t as if I’d tossed that line out to make them laugh. I hadn’t even intended it as a joke, but perhaps they thought this was the moment to laugh, because I could see their faces brightening obediently.
Pfft.
Everyone was too busy watching my mood to do anything else.
They were probably scared that one wrong move might send them straight to the First Wall.
There were a few who seemed a little surprised that I’d abruptly cut Song Jungwook loose, but by now Song Jungwook was no longer what mattered to them.
I had just put an end to the limits of his flimsy little authority, and he had no choice but to accept it.
Watching the guild masters shoot me fervent looks made the corners of my mouth lift before I could stop them.
So they really weren’t as tightly bound together as I’d assumed.
“Ah. If anyone has any suggestions or concerns, feel free to speak up anytime.”
“Hahaha. Of course.”
“If you have any objections to the assignments, I’ll consider them carefully before making a decision.”
“Um… Honorary Bishop.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Well… I’m not exactly objecting to the assignments, but I do think we should pay a little more attention to the walls in the western district. Of course, that’s just my personal opinion.”
“Ah. Thank you for the good suggestion.”
Sharper than I expected.
When I opened my mouth to deliver the line I’d prepared in advance, it was Cha Heera, sitting beside me, who spoke first.
She was idly twisting a lock of hair around one finger, looking bored out of her mind, and the way she spoke was unmistakably her.
“What I meant was that we should put a little more weight on the First Wall facing the forest, darling. That’s why Small Rock Guild has been given such an important assignment, too… As for the western wall, even if the first line gets breached, the lord’s castle and our side will back it up, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Ah… yes. Understood. I’m sorry for bringing up such unnecessary remarks.”
“What’s there to be sorry for? You’re only asking because you don’t know. That’s all.”
“The Mercenary Queen is right. Please ask any questions you like without feeling burdened. I’m still lacking in many ways, so everyone’s opinions will be a great help.”
“It’s not that you’re lacking. Being able to do this much in such a short time is amazing, and at least from where I’m standing, I don’t see any gaps… In any case, if it weren’t for Blue Guild, I don’t think we’d even have gotten this far.”
“……”
“We probably wouldn’t have even managed a proper defense. I’m serious. We would’ve found the monsters too late with no preparations at all, scrambled to get ready, and still ended up overwhelmed. In the end, we’d have abandoned Castle Rock and run, or, if we couldn’t even do that, we’d have been wiped out.”
“Th-that’s…”
Actually, I agreed with Cha Heera. But saying that out loud like that was another matter entirely.
“Noona.”
“Fine. Fine, I get it.”
It was good that she was putting in effort for my sake, but she was putting in too much effort.
The atmosphere had gone a little awkward, so I decided it was best to wrap up the meeting here.
“We didn’t really do anything major, but now that the assignments are settled, I think it’s best that everyone gets themselves in place. I’ll distribute the details to each group later, and as for duty schedules, each guild master can exercise their own discretion. The training this afternoon will be mandatory for everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Thank you all for coming all this way.”
I watched as they slowly filed out. Even while passing through the door, they were still making a point of looking good in front of me—utterly ridiculous.
They really have no sense of crisis.
I thought that most of them were already letting their guard down. Of course, there were some who were taking the situation seriously, but a few of them seemed more interested in the spoils that would come after the monster wave than in stopping it.
It was enough to make me think the people who held power were all the same wherever you went.
In a war like this, commanders giving orders from the rear were, after all, exposed to less danger than the front lines.
Maybe their behavior was natural in its own way.
Just then, while people were exchanging greetings and chatting in little clusters here and there, a voice came from beside me. It was Song Jungwook of Small Rock, speaking to me.
“Um. Lee Kiyoung-nim.”
“Ah. Song Jungwook-nim.”
“I….”
“Please, speak however is comfortable for you. Small Rock Master.”
“M-maybe…”
“Yes.”
“If I’ve done something wrong….”
“I’m not sure why you’d say that, but….”
“Pardon?”
“Hahaha. What on earth could Small Rock Master have done wrong? If anything, I should be thanking you. You’ve taken on a wall that may well be comparatively dangerous.”
More precisely, it’s the wall I told you to take.
“Small Rock Guild will probably become a great example to the knights of the lord’s castle and to the rest of the imperial citizens as well. We’ll provide as much support as we possibly can, so don’t worry about anything else. Just focus on defending Castle Rock.”
As if he’d be able to focus.
His face was staring blankly at me, so shocked he looked almost speechless. I didn’t feel like there was any need to say more.
“If there’s any problem at all….”
“Ah… n-nothing. Lee Kiyoung-nim.”
“As you already know, the responsibilities and duties of the Small Rock Master are quite heavy. I hope you’ll do your very best.”
“Yes….”
He would do his very best. If he didn’t, he’d die.
Serves him right.
“Ah, and from now on, if you have any questions or need anything, please relay them through my deputy.”
“Your deputy, you say…?”
“Deputy!”
“Yes. The deputy guild master.”
“Cho Hyejin.”
Cho Hyejin quietly came into view, while Song Jungwook bit down hard on his lip.
He seemed to think the reason he’d been tossed aside was Cho Hyejin’s fault. I hadn’t intended to drive a wedge between them, but honestly, this wasn’t bad either.
Even as he shifted his body away from Cha Heera, I could see his fist clenching tight.
It’s not entirely wrong, either.
The reason he’d been cut loose was, in part, because of Cho Hyejin.
It was better for him to bear the resentment than for it to fall on me, so there was no reason to correct the misunderstanding.
Even if he tried to turn things around now, the tide had already gone out.
He had no choice.
“From now on, Hyejin will manage the day-to-day matters of the unit. I can’t possibly oversee every tiny detail myself. Come to think of it, the two of you seem to know each other already, so you can talk privately.”
“Yes, Deputy Guild Master.”
“Hahaha. I’ll be counting on you, Hyejin.”
I slowly turned away, and though I could hear the two of them talking behind me, I paid them no mind.
They’re probably blaming each other and fighting already.
I didn’t need to hear it to know exactly how that conversation would go. More important than their little quarrel was what I stood to gain from this big event, and how I was going to carry out the plan as intended.
That alone was already giving me a headache.
“Are you sowing discord, darling?”
“Not at all, noona. More importantly, thanks for coming.”
“No, I should be thanking you for calling me here. I’d been waiting for an event like this, after all.”
“Hearing you say that makes me happy.”
“It would be nice if a monster wave really did happen, but there’s also a chance it won’t. Let’s just say I came to see your face. I also figured I’d help put a little tension back into the guild after so long. That’s not a bad thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean there’s a chance the monster wave won’t happen, darling.”
“No way.”
“Well… based on the circumstances Kim Hyunsung brought back, it does seem almost certain, but… I guess there just isn’t enough evidence?”
“Huh?”
“You haven’t been here very long, so maybe you don’t know, but the usual signs of a monster wave are forest saturation or dungeon instability. Basically, monsters run out of food and shelter in the forest and start spilling out. But no matter how many records I check, there’s no sign that the forest has become saturated.”
“Really?”
“And no nearby dungeon has been found that could provoke the other monsters either… Do you get what I mean when I say the signs are there, but the cause isn’t?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Of course I had been wondering about that too.
Unlike Cha Heera, who seemed to have actually experienced a monster wave before, I didn’t have the experience to put my finger on it properly, but there were moments when I had still felt that something was being overlooked.
And it didn’t feel like I was the only one missing it.
Kim Hyunsung, who was not only preparing thoroughly for the monster wave but also looked busy doing something else, seemed to be searching for that answer too.
Even our lovely regressor, who in the first turn had no real connection to Castle Rock, still hadn’t found the reason the wave would begin.
But this is already a settled matter.
Whatever the reason, the wave would happen.
Just like Cha Heera said, it wouldn’t end with a halfhearted whimper.
As I was weighing whether I should even speak about what was about to happen, I heard it.
“Kieeeeeeeek.”
What the hell?
What came drifting faintly on the air was the cry of a monster. It came not from outside the city, but from within it.
“What was that sound just now?”