Crazy Old Bastard (2)
“That seems like the best course of action.”
“I had no idea you cared so deeply about the guild. Hahaha.”
“…….”
“Ahem. That’s how it should be.”
Crazy bastards.
I had no idea how much those old men had contributed to Blue in the past.
Judging from the fact that Lee Sanghee still showed them respect, they might not have been the same as they were now, at least back then. I’d even wondered if they might have had some deep connection to the guild master, the one who’d conveniently kept himself out of sight, but all of that belonged to the past now.
Crazy old bastards.
I was grinding my teeth.
It was infuriating beyond words that the wishes of our party and those old men happened to line up.
“If you’ve already undergone your third class advancement, then you’ll certainly be of help.”
“Truly remarkable. The money was well spent.”
“Wasn’t it all thanks to the guild’s support? Hahaha.”
Hwang Jeongyeon was also staring at Lee Seolho as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her face looked different from the one she usually showed me. So furrowed that it almost didn’t suit someone as optimistic as she was.
It was only natural that she would make that expression.
Lee Seolho’s attitude right now was frighteningly similar to a man watching a fire on the other side of a river and thinking it had nothing to do with him.
“You’re asking the people who just arrived to be included in the expedition, while those of you who’ve supposedly protected the guild all this time are keeping quiet. Before pushing others forward, have you considered stepping up yourselves?”
Lee Seolho wasn’t the only one.
Several others were the same.
Some looked as if they were scared stiff; others seemed a little embarrassed.
Their faces had gone dark, and it was obvious they all had something to be guilty about.
“Ahem….”
“My body isn’t exactly fit to stand on the front line anymore.”
“If I remember correctly, you just said that even the smallest amount of strength was needed.”
“Isn’t every role within the guild different? We’re noncombat personnel to begin with, yes, but… Lee Seolho-nim, you retired a long time ago as well. Aren’t the other executives here the same? At this point, standing on the front line would only… well, it would only get in the way.”
“Really? To me, it just looks like you’re trying to avoid responsibility.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say.”
“I don’t think I’m wrong. Just be honest. Say you don’t want to go.”
“Hah… that’s enough. Don’t you think you’re taking this too far?!”
“I think the people most aware of how far this is being taken are you.”
The emotional rift between them was deepening before my eyes.
If I’d been in her place, I would’ve reacted the same way as Hwang Jeongyeon. But there wasn’t a thing I could do from my side.
Those people were undeniably noncombatants.
From the beginning, bringing them along didn’t even make sense.
“I’m ashamed. You people are truly shameful.”
That was a bit much.
It was nothing more than my imagination, but Lee Seolho and his lackeys might have been hoping we’d die and come back empty-handed.
Just as I would have been if the roles were reversed.
The scenario was almost perfect.
After every combatant failed to return from a Heroic-grade dungeon, they’d use the influence they’d spent years cultivating to swallow up the guild whole and maintain a new order centered around Lee Seolho.
With the world changing the way it was, this would be a golden opportunity for him too.
The odds were low, but there was even a chance they might sell Blue off wholesale.
It’d make money.
There were no combat personnel left, but the assets Blue held, the guild house, and the infrastructure it had built over the years were absolutely nothing to sneeze at.
Considering that Kim Hyunsung was after the same thing, it wasn’t exactly a bad conclusion.
What I couldn’t quite understand was the way those people had banded together around Lee Seolho.
Do they have backing?
Maybe they did.
Men like that generally didn’t gamble unless they had someone behind them.
They liked to force the gambling onto younger people and live stable lives themselves.
The reason they were seated in their current positions was probably because they’d climbed there on the sacrifices of countless others.
Even if that wasn’t the case, it didn’t matter.
They were still stagnant water, no matter how you looked at it.
As the atmosphere grew more heated, Lee Sanghee spoke up once more.
“Please stop. I’m sure the others are feeling very frustrated as well. Jeongyeon-ssi, you seem unusually agitated too.”
“Master, but….”
“We can’t take administrative staff into a dungeon. That goes for Lee Seolho-nim as well. He’s already retired, and if you consider that his physical condition hasn’t been good lately, going together would not be a reasonable choice. Of course, I understand exactly how you feel, Jeongyeon-ssi. I feel the same way. To be honest, I’m not pleased by the way all of you are behaving right now.”
“Ah….”
“That’s….”
“Ahem.”
“It can’t be helped… ahem.”
“Things weren’t like this before… to be honest, I feel terribly ashamed in front of Hyunsung-ssi and Kiyoung-ssi. The Blue I imagined was not like this. Of course, your position is logical. It is true that noncombat personnel cannot be taken into a dungeon. I also know your bodies are no longer the same as they once were. But… the way you, Lee Seolho-nim, and the others are acting right now is truly disappointing. No, in fact, the person I’m most disappointed in is myself, for being so incompetent.”
I could see who was keeping their mouths shut for real.
At the very least, if they’d just pretended they wanted to go with us, half the resentment would have melted away.
But instead, they’d tried to shove Kim Hyunsung and me forward, and there was no way to estimate how deeply disappointed Lee Sanghee must be feeling.
Slowly, Lee Sanghee turned to look at us.
Just as I was wondering what I should say to get us taken along, her voice came out right away.
“Hyunsung-ssi, and Kiyoung-ssi.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“I’m truly sorry for going back on what I said earlier. I know very well that I have no excuse. If you’re willing… would you join this expedition?”
Her voice was trembling. I could even see Lee Sanghee bowing her head. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and tears had welled up in her eyes.
She’d have no reason to change her mind.
If it had been a month ago, Lee Sanghee wouldn’t have taken us along either.
So that was it.
At any rate, it looked like stats above sixty and a third class advancement were enough to be counted as viable in a Heroic-grade dungeon.
That was probably why she’d changed her mind too.
The truth was, Blue Guild’s current situation could only be described as the worst possible. They had to enter a dungeon without their main force, and they didn’t even know whether the people inside were alive or dead.
I could understand why she wanted to cling to a straw like us.
The way Kim Hyunsung’s party was currently being perceived was frankly absurd.
Kim Hyunsung’s answer, given to Lee Sanghee’s heartfelt plea, was exactly what you’d expect.
“Of course.”
The answer was so obvious I couldn’t help but snort.
“Thank you.”
“We’re only doing what must be done.”
“Then we’ll organize a rescue team immediately and depart on the expedition.”
“Yes.”
“The members will be me, Party 2, and Party 7. We’ll be ready to leave in thirty minutes. Please prepare as quickly as possible.”
“Yes.”
“Those of you remaining in the guild, please get in touch with the Red Mercenaries and the other guilds. As soon as contact is made, I’d like support sent to the dungeon.”
“Yes.”
“Seolho-ssi.”
“Yes, Lee Sanghee-nim.”
“Please don’t disappoint me. And… I trust you.”
“I’ll live up to that trust, Lee Sanghee-nim. As soon as contact is made with the other guilds, we’ll head out together.”
“Thank you.”
As if there was no more time to waste, Lee Sanghee bolted out into the hall.
Hwang Jeongyeon gave us a slight nod before hurrying out of the office, and the administrative team seemed to be moving briskly as well.
So were Kim Hyunsung and I.
After going down to the first floor, I spoke to the party members right away, and the others nodded in response. Seeing Sun Heeyoung taking charge and organizing everything quickly, it looked like I didn’t need to worry much about expedition preparations.
That was the perfect timing for me, since I had other things to do besides expedition prep.
Trust my ass.
Lee Sanghee was a good person.
But she couldn’t exactly be called an ideal leader. If I exaggerated a little, she was the sort of leader who was almost foolish.
Trust was, of course, a fine tool when dealing with decent people.
Like Deokgu or Hayan, for instance.
Lee Sanghee’s feelings toward Lee Seolho and his cronies were probably the same.
But when it came to handling the sort of people who were crazy old bastards, it wasn’t much help.
I had no idea what exactly the object of Lee Sanghee’s trust was.
Trust in the people she’d been with all this time, trust that they’d stay by her side even if the guild was on the verge of collapse.
Well, whatever it was didn’t matter.
Because that kind of trust was very easy to betray. To me, the old men up there were no different from the charity cases in the slums that Sun Heeyoung dealt with.
The only difference was that the people here had been lucky enough to end up where they were.
And that they’d climbed here by stepping on others.
Of course, I wasn’t condemning them. That too could be called a skill.
Still, I was certain they had nothing else.
Trust…
It was an emotion that survived only when both sides had something to gain from one another. In that sense, the old men might have decided there was nothing left for them to take from Lee Sanghee.
If that was truly what they thought, then there was no way that trust could hold.
“We leave in thirty minutes….”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, Hayan.”
“Yes. Oppa, do you need anything else packed?”
“Ah, Hayan. Actually, could you call Yeri over for me for a second?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve got a quick errand for her… and we don’t have much time.”
“Okay.”
After Jung Hayan ran off in a hurry, Kim Yeri came into view, looking at me with a faintly suspicious expression.
Quick on the uptake.
“Could you run a little errand for me?”
She gave a slight nod.
“It’ll be good for Hyunsung too.”
“Okay.”
“Could you deliver a letter to someone named Lee Jihye over at the Black Swan?”
“Lee Jihye?”
“Yeah, Lee Jihye. Preferably without anyone else seeing it… and of course, absolutely no reading it in the middle.”
“Okay….”
“If you say I sent it, she’ll welcome you. You need to get there quickly.”
“Okay.”
She vanished from sight in an instant. Somehow, it only made me think even more.
It was hard to say whether what I was doing was the right thing.
Still, I thought it was at least partly the right answer.
Why?
Because I knew very well that a relationship once stripped of trust could only become an enemy relationship.
“What perfect weather for cleaning house.”
It was time to drain the rotten blood.
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