Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: A Brief Respite (1)
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“I see. So the Order has the power of the Disaster...”
Hwang Chan-jin stroked his chin as he listened to the story.
“Han Hyeok-jun's actions might have changed.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. There's been no contact since last time.”
“...I have a bad feeling about this.”
I agree.
Han Hyeok-jun isn't a character who sticks with the protagonist all the time. He's the type who only shows up at crucial moments to help, as long as the affinity condition is met.
In other words, it's normal to not hear from him at other times.
The problem is there's no guarantee that a player hasn't joined the Order's side.
‘The Dark Moon Guild was a case in point.’
Paradise didn't seem to have any, but since it's an organization that gets wiped out early on, it makes sense that players would decide it has no future.
But the Order is different.
As a massive organization operating in the shadows worldwide, its influence extends far into the late game.
This meant it was hard to rule out the possibility.
“This won't do. I'll look for him.”
“You? What about the next part of the story?”
“Naturally, you're the only one I can trust with it. Didn't you say you could proceed with the main quest? Unless it's completely impossible, it's right for you to follow the story.”
Hwang Chan-jin's words were perfectly logical.
“If you do that for me, I'd be grateful.”
Hwang Chan-jin nodded and turned away.
It seemed he intended to act immediately, striking while the iron was hot.
“...My sister said something strange.”
“Who? Your sister?”
“Never mind. Forget it. The twins seem to be looking for you, so worry about them.”
What was that about? How anticlimactic.
I scratched my head and watched Hwang Chan-jin leave.
“For a second there, I thought I'd been found out.”
-I was on pins and needles, too.
Hwang Yu-jin's voice came through the small earphone in my ear.
Before meeting Hwang Chan-jin.
I had a call active so Hwang Yu-jin could listen in on my conversation with her brother.
Conventional devices like this are actually easier to hide since they don't use mana.
Players tend to naturally focus on mana.
“So, what was that strange thing you said?”
-I told my brother he's 'definitely changed.' It seems he's been thinking about it.
Hwang Yu-jin let out a soft chuckle.
“...He has changed, for sure.”
I had to admit it.
Just look at how Hwang Chan-jin had acted a moment ago.
The lone wolf who never trusted anyone was now showing signs of trusting another person.
It might be limited to just me for now, but the fact that he was changing was what mattered.
-May I talk to you for a moment? About why my brother became so distrustful of people.
“Please.”
-Yes.
Hwang Yu-jin cleared her throat and took a breath.
It was a story I was curious about anyway.
I listened intently to what Hwang Yu-jin had to say.
-My parents were first-generation players. But they failed a mission and passed away. My health, which was already poor, worsened from the shock.
[Huh. I thought there was a reason that guy had such good abilities from the start. His parents were already players?]
‘Quiet. Let's just listen for now.’
-It must have been hardest for my brother. He was only sixteen. At that age, he had to take care of his younger sister, who was still in elementary school and couldn't leave the hospital, and he had to greet the mourners and hold the funeral all by himself. Still, their guild helped out, he said. Many of their colleagues came to pay their respects.
[I've got a bad feeling about this already.]
I told you to be quiet.
I irritably pulled on Besial's ear, and he let out a silent scream, flapping his wings.
-The problem started there. When the people who called themselves colleagues came and explained how our parents died, there were more than a few strange things about their story. My brother was exceptionally good at reading people's expressions and moods. He said they didn't seem sad at all; rather, they seemed desperate to justify their actions. I think he realized it then. That our parents hadn't died in a simple accident. That they had been abandoned by those very people who called themselves colleagues.
Hwang Yu-jin paused for a moment.
Though she tried to speak calmly, her emotions seemed to be welling up.
-Seeing such a young boy staring at them with cold, sunken eyes must have been unnerving for them. After fumbling through their explanations a few more times, they apparently fled. After that day, my brother changed a lot. He fundamentally stopped trusting others... he became completely distrustful of people. Besides me, his sister, he's probably never shown his true self to anyone.
“He told you that directly?”
-No. I heard him muttering it while holding my hand. He must have thought I was asleep.
I could hear Hwang Yu-jin's faint laugh.
“So his personality must have changed then, too. After something like that, it's understandable...”
-No? His personality was always like that.
Damn it.
The flicker of sympathy I'd felt vanished in an instant.
“Thanks for telling me.”
-Not at all. Thanks to you, Se-hyeon-ssi, my brother is gradually recovering. I've only ever seen him sacrifice himself for me, so I'm happiest about this. That's why I wanted to let you know.
After talking a bit more, Hwang Yu-jin said she'd see me in a bit and ended the call.
See me in a bit?
Did the twins ask Hwang Yu-jin to come with them?
“Well... I guess it doesn't matter.”
It seems she's getting along with the twins.
As long as Hwang Yu-jin was showing me her trust, I had no intention of putting up a wall.
Above all, she's a precious supporter.
A supporter walking the elite path, with none other than Hwang Chan-jin backing her with everything he has.
If she could lend her strength to my cause, there would be nothing better.
“What doesn't matter?”
Just then.
I turned toward the voice and saw Jun Bo-ra.
“...Ah.”
“That 'I forgot but just remembered' look on your face is really pissing me off.”
“You got it.”
“Someone risks their life crossing the border to Shanghai and back using only short-range teleports of barely one kilometer, and that's what you have to say, you piece of trash?!”
Hearing that, I felt I had been too harsh and immediately apologized.
When I apologized so readily, she looked surprised, but her anger seemed to subside right away.
Seizing the opportunity, I changed the subject.
“By the way, did anything happen while you were moving nonstop and suppressing the Miko?”
“Ah, that...”
Jun Bo-ra gave an awkward laugh and scratched her cheek.
“I got caught.”
“...Really?”
“Of course I did! I pushed my power to the limit to get there as fast as possible and even infiltrated past heavy security! The moment I stopped the Miko from singing the Lion's Song, I didn't even have the strength to lift a finger!”
True, Bonghwang hadn't brought all of their forces.
The fact that not a single B-rank was present meant, in other words, that all the B-ranks had remained there.
No matter how skillfully Jun Bo-ra could use her teleportation, it was natural that she'd have a hard time winning unless she had high base stats like me or Hwang Chan-jin.
“Then how did you get back?”
“Xie, was it? The Bonghwang Guild Master came back and released me right away.”
“Xie did?”
Since they had her captured, they could have used it as leverage to demand something from me.
The fact that they sent her back so obediently... do they really intend to betray Salvatio and side with me?
This is giving me a bit of a headache.
“By the way, what's your relationship with that woman?”
“We don't really have any relationship.”
“Really? That's strange. Then why did she ask that question?”
“What question?”
“It's nothing. If you say so, I guess I don't need to worry about it. It's no big deal. Ah, I'm starving. I've never used this much power before.”
Jun Bo-ra cut off the topic with an exaggerated gesture.
If it were truly important, Jun Bo-ra wouldn't hide it from me.
I chose not to press the issue.
“Let's go. My treat.”
“Huh? You're treating?”
“Why, is that strange?”
“No, it's not that... Have you ever treated me to anything before?”
“So what if I haven't? People treat each other sometimes.”
“Is... that so?”
Jun Bo-ra followed me, half in doubt.
It was both an apology for the harsh joke earlier and a small reward for completing an important mission.
If the Lion's Song hadn't stopped at the right moment, I would have had to resort to more dangerous methods.
“The residential area is a total mess. Are there even any restaurants left in this situation?”
“I checked beforehand. They're open for business.”
Not all players are combat-oriented.
Just as there are blacksmiths, various production classes are not uncommon.
Among them are those with cooking-related abilities.
It's thanks to their existence that food shortages don't easily occur in these apocalyptic conditions.
“We're here.”
“Here? Where?”
“Here. Right in front of you.”
“...Here?”
Jun Bo-ra glanced at the building (?), her eyebrows knitting as she turned to me.
“Kim Se-hyeon. You can't call this a building.”
“After all that chaos, it'd be harder to find an intact building. Besides, look. It's written right there. 'We're open for business.'”
“...Hey, Kim Se-hyeon. I really don't think this is it. Or is this some kind of vintage vibe? An Instagram vibe?”
“Sorry the place looks like this, young lady.”
Jun Bo-ra, who had been badmouthing the place, gasped and covered her mouth.
I smiled and greeted the man, the owner of this place.
He paid no mind to Jun Bo-ra's words and guided us inside.
“Ah, it's Hyung!”
“Oppa! Over here!”
The twins were already there.
Choi Yeon-soo, with significant dark circles under her eyes, also waved.
She seems to be having a hard time.
Next to her... Seong Woo-hyeon, Lee Min-hwa, Jeong Ha-yeon, and even Hwang Yu-jin?
I expected Hwang Yu-jin, but the other three are a bit of a surprise.
“What a coincidence, Se-hyeon-nim.”
“I wonder. Is it really a coincidence?”
“It really, truly is a coincidence. This is one of Min-hwa-nim's regular spots.”
Seong Woo-hyeon gave a wry smile.
Ah, I remember now.
The reason I remembered this restaurant so vividly was because I frequented it while progressing through Lee Min-hwa's sub-story.
I exchanged brief greetings with Lee Min-hwa and Jeong Ha-yeon before taking a seat.
“Are you sure this place is good?”
“Lee Min-hwa, whose character setting is having a picky palate, is a regular here, so you can assume the food is guaranteed to be good.”
After coming here a few times with the twins, it had earned a proud spot on my list of great restaurants.
Considering my standards for great restaurants are so high that I can count the number of places in the entire city on one hand, that's quite an achievement.
[Where does this confidence come from...?]
“I'll have the usual. And the same for this disrespectful young lady.”
“Who are you calling disrespectful?!”
“Understood. You mean 'that dish.'”
The chef nodded with a serious expression and disappeared into the back.
Jun Bo-ra seemed to feel a strange sense of unease, but when a delicious-looking steak was placed in front of her, she started drooling as if she'd forgotten all about it.
“Wh-What is this smell...! It's on a whole other level compared to the super high-end steaks I've had! Aaargh, I can't take it! I'm eating first!”
“Go ahead, eat up.”
She must have been starving, the way she devoured it.
She's practically burying her face in the plate.
I watched her for a moment before speaking.
“Now, for the main topic.”
“*Cough.*”
Jun Bo-ra, who had stuffed her mouth full of meat, choked and coughed.
How gross.
“*Cough, cough. Ugh... Phew.* Damn it. I knew it. There was no way you'd treat me to a meal without a catch, Kim Se-hyeon!”
“I'm not asking for it as payment. It's just a request.”
“It's the same thing!!”
'You could have at least waited until I finished eating!' Jun Bo-ra fumed, and her eating pace slowed.
She probably thinks that if she drags this out, I'll suggest we talk about it tomorrow.
Not a chance.
“By the way. That steak is made from monster meat.”
The fork dropped from Jun Bo-ra's hand.