G.T.O. (1)
Almost a month had passed.
After receiving emergency treatment at the Black Swan Guild for about a week, I’d been moved to Blue, and spent the rest of the time in Blue’s infirmary.
Of course, after that week was up, An Gimo, who had belonged to Red Mercenary, went back to his own guild, and I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed when he left.
I kind of want him...
He was the sort of talent it was hard not to covet.
A man who’d appeared right when I was thinking it would be nice to have at least one person who could double as a sub-healer and a sub-tank.
His status window as a combat priest wasn’t bad, and more than anything, I liked the fact that his temperament was somewhat similar to ours.
I supposed it was only natural that I’d want him.
Beyond simply being capable, I knew how hard it was to find an actor that passionate twice.
What amused me a little was that he’d said he wanted to work with us again.
My contract period doesn’t have much left.
He’d practically thrown the question at me, as if asking whether I’d take him in if he left Red Mercenary and had nowhere else to go.
It was only natural to nod.
Besides, I’d already been planning to go see Cha Heera once, anyway. The next time I headed to Red Mercenary’s guild house, it might be worth bringing up An Gimo while I was there.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, too.
Actually, I hadn’t completely avoided Cha Heera.
Officially, the story was that Jung Hayan, Kim Yeri, and I had all been attacked by the Murderer's Brigade.
For the sake of public opinion, it was only natural for Cha Heera to visit me in the hospital.
After exchanging a few words, she’d gotten awkward and quickly turned to leave, but it hadn’t been bad to greet her again after so long.
In the meantime, Black Swan had formally announced that one of the Holy Empire’s Eight Seats had been attacked by the Murderer's Brigade, using the incident to flaunt its influence inside Lindel, the city itself.
That move had been officially approved by Cha Heera and Kim Hyunsung as well.
Kim Hyunsung, of course, and the key people of Blue all knew the whole uproar had been staged as a hidden-camera prank for Park Deokgu’s sake, but there was no reason not to use a big incident like this for political gain.
It was probably Lee Jihye’s handiwork.
Black Swan, Red Mercenary, and Blue.
The three-way alliance had immediately tightened the city’s defenses and used security as a pretext to extend their influence within it.
I hadn’t checked the detailed reports since I trusted Lee Jihye and Kim Hyunsung, but they were clearly moving quite aggressively, as if this were an event meant to awaken a city that had grown a little too complacent lately.
Of course, Park Yeonju, Black Swan’s master, seemed to be hoping this would give her more chances to meet Kim Hyunsung, but from what I’d heard through Lee Jihye, there hadn’t been much progress, which meant making the space for them myself was already a settled matter.
That’s going to give me a headache...
Keeping an eye on our lovable regressor had always been my job, but thinking about stepping into his love life as well made my thoughts feel a little tangled.
If I looked at the big picture, getting him together with Park Yeonju would benefit both guilds.
There was no reason not to help, so if this matter ended well, it might not be a bad idea to put in a hand.
Of course, Black Swan’s movements weren’t limited to Park Yeonju’s personal desires.
First and foremost among the things they brought up was whether I could sell them some Dragon Breath Potions.
The price they offered was blatant, and so was the pitch, but I wasn’t particularly surprised.
It was only natural for them to clamor for the right to buy a potion that could deliver insane firepower with nothing more than mana poured into it.
Needless to say, I had no intention of selling Dragon Breath Potions on the open market.
The production process was difficult to begin with, and the quantity I could make was limited, which meant mass production was impossible.
It wasn’t something you could roll off a factory line; it was something that had to be made by hand.
Sure, I could sell one or two, but the idea of handing over my livelihood didn’t sit well with me.
In any case, to sum it all up, a stone I’d thrown without much thought had ended up making a needlessly large ripple.
“Uuughh... oooogh...”
Of course, the pig in front of me still hadn’t crawled out from under the effect of that ripple.
“I told you I’m not hurting anymore. Stop crying, Deokgu. It’s been a month already.”
“B-but...”
“Tsk. From here on, you just have to be a little more careful. It wasn’t your fault. This time, I really was the one who messed up.”
“It ain’t your fault, hyung.”
“I should’ve moved more thoroughly. If I’d checked more carefully before preparing, none of this would’ve happened in the first place. What An Gimo said about me being overconfident would probably be right.”
“Wh-what’d he say?”
“Why? You know how players who’ve been around for, say, a year can get overconfident and charge off on reckless expeditions? It was the same for me. To be honest, I never really imagined anything going wrong. And even if it had, I was confident I could handle it. To put it bluntly, I thought we’d naturally win even if the Murderer's Brigade attacked us. This incident taught me a big lesson. We’re not standing at the finish line—we’re standing at the starting point. We’ve gained more than we lost. Not just me, but you too.”
“Ah...”
“So? How do you feel? Stronger than before? Have you tried testing yourself yet?”
“Well, I haven’t really tested much. I sparred a few times with Advisor Lee Sanghee and that guy over there, and... both of them seem pretty satisfied... Honestly, I’m not even sure what’s changed. My body’s definitely harder, but... oh! My durability stat’s ninety now!”
“Really?”
“It’s still hard to land a sword strike, and all sorts of things keep popping into my head—advanced mana control theory, advanced shield techniques, and whatever else—but I still haven’t fully absorbed all that knowledge yet...”
“Don’t rush it, Deokgu.”
“Ah...”
“You’re doing more than enough right now, and you really are stronger. Honestly, you’re exceeding what I expected. What’s in your head isn’t going anywhere. If you keep at it steadily like this, you’ll achieve even bigger results than you have now. And...”
“Hyung...”
“I’m sorry about this.”
I casually set the enhancement serum down on the table beside the bed, and his eyes flicked to it.
“It wasn’t because I didn’t trust you.”
“Ah...”
His face looked almost painfully moved.
I’d been about to say something a little cheesy, but the expression on his face made me feel like if I pushed it any further, I’d be forced to endure his relentless hug with my whole body.
In the end, I could only keep it brief.
“Like I’ve always said, I trust you. Whatever I can do, you can do better. That hasn’t changed since the first day we met, and it won’t change now. Anyway, congratulations, Deokgu.”
“Hyyuuung...”
“I said I know, so stop crying. I’m sick of it.”
“Uuughh... Yeri...”
Seeing tears well up again in his eyes, I had a feeling this state would last at least another month.
When I shoved him away, he tried to grab Kim Yeri’s arm instead, but there was no way Kim Yeri would indulge him.
In fact, she was desperately trying not to look at him at all.
He was still tangled in her guilt.
I can’t look at Deokgu ajusshi in the eye.
She had actually said that before, so no further explanation was necessary.
“Hayan noonaa... ugghhh...”
“I-it’s really okay now. I’m healthy. I can walk around like this!”
Jung Hayan, who usually didn’t feel much guilt over other people’s suffering, was just as embarrassed.
Normally she was fine, but whenever he looked at her with tears trembling in his eyes and asked whether something hurt, everyone reacted the same way.
Honestly, even I found it awkward to face him properly. Maybe An Gimo was the only one who could meet his eyes without issue.
“But hyung is...”
The truth was, I was in perfectly good shape too. I’d only decided lying in bed was better because he kept trailing after me like a little duckling.
Even if I made excuses all day, I got the feeling he wouldn’t believe them, so I had no choice but to turn to Sun Heeyoung, who was sitting there with us.
“I’m fine too. I’m actually still handling work here as well, so there’s no problem. Heeyoung also said I’m okay now, didn’t you?”
“Yes. The external injuries have healed completely. There are no other side effects either. The slower recovery compared to others is probably unavoidable because of your class.”
“See?”
“After another week or so, you should be able to act as usual.”
“Th-there you go. That’s a relief, at least...”
“So I’d appreciate it if you could be considerate and let Kiyoung rest comfortably.”
Nice, Sun Heeyoung.
She understood exactly what I wanted.
She’d perfectly grasped that I wanted to be left alone.
With that one sharp remark, Park Deokgu coughed awkwardly a couple of times and started ushering Kim Yeri and Jung Hayan outside.
Jung Hayan didn’t seem too eager to leave, but... she probably had things built up with Deokgu too, so I figured it was a good opportunity.
In the end, the only ones left in the room were me and Sun Heeyoung.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since it was just the two of us like this. It wasn’t especially awkward, but the faint flush lingering on her face was oddly distracting.
At least she knows how to judge a situation.
Honestly, just having her in Blue was something I was deeply grateful for.
The brief silence was getting on my nerves a little, so I had no choice but to lift the corners of my mouth and speak.
Of course, it was a businesslike subject.
“So, how’s the Tutorial Dungeon looking?”
“Ah... this time of year is usually when it opens, but... it seems to be a little late this time.”
“I see.”
“Yes. It should open soon enough. I haven’t been here very long myself, but it usually opens around this time.”
“Ah, right... come to think of it, Heeyoung, you’ve been here for quite a while.”
“Yes. Though, to be honest, I wasn’t doing anything very productive back then. Thinking about who I was in those days, I sometimes wonder if I was just as good as dead.”
“Pardon?”
“This may sound a little funny, but only recently have I begun to feel like I’m truly alive. About genuine charity, and about the work I do in Blue as well. I keep thinking about how insignificant everything I used to do was. All of it is thanks to you, Kiyoung.”
“Hahaha. What on earth have I done? It’s all thanks to you doing such a great job.”
“No. I’m truly grateful to you, Kiyoung. In fact, I think I understand why you caused this incident too.”
“Pardon?”
“Using Deokgu as the pretext... you planned to make sure the killers outside the city were properly put down...”
What the hell?
I had never made such a plan.
But the insane priest in front of me seemed convinced her interpretation was correct.
To be fair, I could see how someone might think that way. Voices were already growing louder in the city, saying the Murderer's Brigade could no longer be left alone.
“I understand that this line of thought is presumptuous, and I’m sorry, but... I... Kiyoung, sir!...”
What is she thinking...
My unease grew for no reason at all.
Sun Heeyoung was suddenly staring straight at me, and her face came clearly into view.
Her cheeks were strangely flushed, and one of her hands was pressed against her chest.
She seemed to be breathing a little hard, but she didn’t look excited.
Rather, she looked like she was gazing at me with a kind of anxious pleading, as if she were bracing herself for something.
Ah...
I couldn’t help realizing that she was sending me a signal. Even an idiot could figure out what she was trying to say.
What is this, all of a sudden? At a time like this...
Her lips were moving like she was about to confess right then and there.
I already knew this crazy priest had some faint affection for me, but I never would’ve imagined she’d make a move like this.
She’d always been the type to watch from a few steps behind me.
She’d made a move once before, but this time she was a little more direct than then.
She is pretty, though.
She really was pretty.
It wasn’t for nothing she was called the saint of the abandoned.
Of course, her conduct and her character played a role too, but I was certain one of the biggest reasons she’d come to be called a saint in Lindel was her appearance.
Her hair fell neatly to her shoulders, and she always wore a modest priest’s robe. Her calm atmosphere made her look exactly like what people imagined when they thought, “This is what a mature woman feels like.”
I was a man too, so it was only natural that my heart would pound a little. Facing me with such a serious expression, it wasn’t strange at all that my chest would start to flutter for no good reason.
“Oppa!”
It was right then that the door flew open. Jung Hayan had burst into the infirmary without even knocking.
“Huh?”
There was no physical contact.
Her timing was good, but after the harsh scolding she’d gotten last time, I never imagined she’d still do something like this.
I assumed she must have had some reason. Jung Hayan’s face looked a little excited.
Rather than getting angry, I decided to wait calmly for her to speak, and quickly confirmed I hadn’t been wrong.
“The Tutorial Dungeon opened! Red Mercenary wants to take you on as their teacher, Oppa!”
“Now that’s interesting.”