No.88 Gathering of Villains (8)
It was broad daylight, the sun high overhead — a terrible time of day for theft.
Of course, Dang Gyu-young was the exception.
Wherever you go, somewhere with shade always exists, and she was a Shadow Weaver.
Using the shadows cast across the grounds, we slipped into the estate, and whenever there was nowhere proper to hide, Dang Gyu-young conjured a temporary one with her shadow butterflies.
Chaining that into Shadow Leap for instant teleportation meant we finished the job practically on a free pass.
The estate held no gold, no rare elixirs, no treasure-grade items to speak of — but there was something of comparable value.
An old book that Dang Gyu-young flipped through quickly as she read.
Even if none of our party members used formations, the academy had plenty of people who did.
Dang Gyu-young closed the book and said, "This one's Sso— Jegal So-so's cup of tea."
"Please handle the disposal, then."
Jegal So-so would show enormous interest in the Cheonji Jinhae, and as vice president of the Swordsmanship Club, she'd pay a fair price for it.
I could have brokered the deal myself, but my rapport with Dang Gyu-young ran deeper, so I left it to her.
"What now?"
"Let's check on the others first."
It had been a while since I'd sent Go Hyeon-woo toward the Blood Demon Cultists, and plenty of time had passed during our looting.
The results should be in by now. I sent a transmission, and he answered within three seconds.
- Brother Kim.
"How did it go?"
- Wrapped up without much trouble. Thanks to Brother Jang and Senior Chae's help.
"Good work. What's your plan now? You can regroup with us, or just kill time where you are."
- As it happens, there's a hidden piece nearby that Brother Kim pointed out. I'd like to investigate it, if I may.
"You actually remembered it. Well done."
There was indeed a hidden piece near the Blood Demon Cultists' activity zone.
I'd mentioned it in my strategy guide, but given how hectic things had been, I assumed it had slipped his mind — yet he hadn't missed it at all.
For thoroughly carrying out the mission assigned to him, he deserved high marks.
He'd even smoothly coordinated with Jang Mu-geuk and Chae Da-bin despite this being their first time working together. If we ever assembled a large-scale expedition, Go Hyeon-woo could hold down a team leader position without question.
"Go for it, then. Our location's not great, so we're just going to rest here."
- Understood.
On his side, there was a hidden piece close at hand; for us, the next one was a long trek away.
With the clear in its late stages, moving now would almost certainly mean missing the timing, and pushing our luck would only invite disaster. Better to call it here.
Go Hyeon-woo, knowing this too, agreed readily.
- Then we'll meet once it's done.
"Yeah, good work."
The transmission ended.
Dang Gyu-young, who'd been listening at my side, asked, "So we're done, then?"
"Done."
Just as I'd said before entering the estate, I intended to buy up any local specialties or snacks on the way out.
As we walked side by side, Dang Gyu-young opened her mouth.
"Hey, Kim Ho."
"Yes?"
"I've been thinking it over."
"About what?"
"About why you sent those three off and kept just the two of us behind."
Her eyes were narrowing at me by degrees — she'd clearly figured something out.
Honestly, the estate's security wasn't so airtight that I couldn't have robbed it alone if I'd wanted to.
So the reason I'd insisted on bringing Dang Gyu-young along was—
"Shadow Leap shuttle service, right?"
Truthfully, the thought hadn't been entirely absent from my mind.
It had been enormously convenient thanks to her, after all.
Still, words can be sharpened or dulled depending on how you use them.
"'Shuttle' is such a negative word. There are plenty of nicer ones."
"For example?"
"For example — 'premium workforce.' 'The right person for the right job.' Things like that."
Perhaps it sounded persuasive, because Dang Gyu-young looked briefly tempted — before her eyes narrowed again.
She'd noticed that only the words had changed.
"Anyway, you talk a good game. But if they're a 'premium workforce,' shouldn't they get treatment worthy of it?"
"That was always the plan. I intend to treat you properly."
Her ears perked up again.
"Oh? Where exactly are you treating me?"
"Something to eat, obviously. Do you like dumplings?"
"Dumplings work."
"Then let's go—"
"Lead the way—"
We set off toward the market street.
Just as when we'd first entered, it was utterly deserted. The inns, too, all had their doors firmly barred.
If horsemen suddenly burst in, or a brawl broke out inside, an inn wouldn't just be wrecked — lives would be at stake.
But the key point was that they'd closed out of fear, not out of unwillingness to do business.
In other words—
"If you look carefully, some places only shut their doors on the surface."
"Ah, makes sense."
Inns that pretended to be closed while secretly serving customers naturally existed.
And I already knew exactly which ones were operating — and which of those were actually good.
I've turned over every last stone in this dungeon, after all.
Compared to digging rare herbs out of weed patches, combing through inns was easy mode.
Before long, Dang Gyu-young and I stopped in front of one particular inn.
Its signboard showed a doodle-like duck holding up an egg, with a wobbly scrawl beneath it:
🏛 Famous for: Savory duck soup & duck-egg dumplings
⚔ Danger zone: Gathering of Villains market district
📍 Status: Doors "closed"...
"Duck egg? Do they serve boiled duck eggs or something?"
"See for yourself."
The door here, naturally, was bolted shut as well — but I gave it a light knock-knock.
It cracked open a sliver, and a man who looked like the innkeeper peeked out at us with just his eyes.
I asked in a tone of perfect nonchalance.
"Are you open for business?"
"...Yes, we are."
The innkeeper let us in, then immediately barred the door behind us again.
I placed my order the moment we stepped inside.
"One duck soup, one plate of dumplings, please."
"Ah — yes, of course."
My easy familiarity made the innkeeper's expression flicker oddly, but deciding it was none of his concern, he headed for the kitchen.
Dang Gyu-young gave him a passing glance, then looked the inn over.
"Nice atmosphere."
The inn had clearly been rooted in this spot for a long time; traces of the years seeped from every corner. Still, it was tidily kept, so it didn't feel shabby at all.
We sat across from each other at a table in one corner, chatting about this and that, until the innkeeper came out with the duck soup and dumplings.
Staring down at the plate, Dang Gyu-young laughed in amusement.
"Ah, so that's why they're called duck eggs."
Each dumpling was round like a duck egg and bite-sized.
She picked one up with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth — and after a moment of chewing, her eyebrows shot up in genuine admiration.
"This is a real gem. Man, best dumplings I've ever had in my life."
"Right? Let's dig in."
"Yeah."
For a while, we let the conversation dwindle and focused on whittling away at the duck soup and dumplings.
Then, when the plate was nearly empty, Dang Gyu-young looked around the inn and said, "Kind of a shame, though. When are we ever coming back here? It being this good just makes it worse."
To visit this inn again, we'd need to clear Gathering of Villains or another dungeon set in this city.
Dungeons like that were few and far between to begin with, and the difficulty of conquering one for the sake of a food trip was absurdly high.
Realistically, this had been our first and last visit.
I answered lightly.
"It's not like this is the only good restaurant out there. There's plenty more."
"You'll take me to other places too?"
"You're a premium workforce, aren't you? I have to treat you accordingly."
Dang Gyu-young's face bloomed into a full smile, and she slyly extended her pinky.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She hooked her pinky around mine, even stamped a seal on it, and only then let go.
Then, as if something else had occurred to her, she fired off another question.
"Oh right — what are you doing over summer break?"
"Nothing's set in stone yet, but I'm thinking of staying at Seo Ye-in's place for a while."
"...?"
Dang Gyu-young went blank for a moment, and the smile slowly drained from her lips.
"...Why there?"
"Remember when we talked about the underground floors, and I said her family was strongly against her going down there?"
"I remember."
"That's why I'm going. Probably for some kind of test, I'd guess."
If Seo Ye-in participated in underground floor expeditions, the range of dungeons she could choose from would widen considerably.
So while I'd said it wasn't confirmed, things had leaned heavily toward a visit to the Hyeseong Group — especially since Ahn Jung-mi had brought it up, and Seo Ye-in kept tossing invitations at me every chance she got.
When she was begging that hard, was there any need to schedule something else? It seemed reasonable enough to Dang Gyu-young, and she nodded.
"Guess you have to go at some point, one way or another."
"Better that way."
But for all her casual tone, Dang Gyu-young's chopsticks were idly poking, poking at the duck-egg dumplings on the plate in front of her.
The shadow at her feet had grown a shade darker too, and it squirmed restlessly.
I could roughly guess the psychology behind it, but I deliberately played dumb and said, "We should hang out during the break too."
"I thought you'd be spending it all there?"
"No way. I'll be getting mentored, obviously."
"...Oh!"
Dang Gyu-young's eyes went wide and bright.
The second round of mentoring.
It varied with the mentors' schedules and the mentees' participation, but it usually took place over summer break.
Since it was Dang Gyu-young's first time as a mentor and the official notice hadn't circulated yet, it had completely slipped her mind.
"So you'll come?"
"Of course."
As long as it opened, I was in — guaranteed. Just like last time, quests would be granted and event bonuses were on the line.
This time, I asked the same question back.
"You'll be doing it, right?"
"Obviously."
Dang Gyu-young burned with enthusiasm, declaring she'd shelve even the Thief Guild's schedule for it.
After filling our bellies with dumplings, we strolled leisurely down the market street and picked up a few local specialties.
Go Hyeon-woo's trio was still toiling away at their hidden piece, so I figured I'd at least prepare snacks to share once they finished.
Meanwhile, I kept up contact with Paeng Mi-ryeong. When she heard how things had gone on our end, she asked the same question over and over, as if she couldn't believe it.
- A real 3-kill? Actually, truly?
"I'm telling you it's true."
Dang Gyu-young answered with a smug grin.
Only then did it start to sink in, and Paeng Mi-ryeong marveled.
- I'd have been grateful for just 2 kills. You've taken a huge weight off. Thank you.
"How many is that in total now?"
- 11 kills counting you two. The last team is working on their final one. They'll wrap up soon, so get ready.
"Okay."
I gave Go Hyeon-woo a heads-up as well, then killed a little more time splitting a pastry with Dang Gyu-young.
Soon, the whole area shuddered as if an earthquake had struck, and a teleport portal materialized some distance away.
Just as Paeng Mi-ryeong had said — the third team had slain the final horseman and cleared the dungeon.
We exchanged a quick glance.
"Let's go."
"Let's."
And together, we walked into the teleport portal.
All that remained was to climb back up without getting caught by the Disciplinary Committee.