Chapter 322

“No one will notice just because you’re wearing one ring.”

“You’re the only one who won’t notice, Guild Master. And it doesn’t fit.”

“It doesn’t fit on your index finger?”

“Yes, let’s wear them separately. You can wear yours on your index finger, Guild Master, and I’ll wear mine on my ring finger. That should work.”

As if it would. I nodded as if I had roughly understood and put the ring on my ring finger. It did not seem like we would reach any agreement even if we talked more here anyway.

“There’s a Skill demonstration hosted by the Association chairman a little later.”

“Didn’t they do that earlier?”

“This one is participatory. Do you want to go out?”

“No?”

“Yes. I thought you’d say that.”

Then why bother telling me? Im Haekyung glanced at the time and said,

“I need to go in. The conversation got interrupted earlier.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, will it be all right to leave Mr. Yehyun alone? This is already the third time he’s received an offer.”

“Why are you paying attention to Yehyun, Guild Master?”

At my words, Im Haekyung slightly wrinkled the area around their eyes, then answered as if it were obvious.

“He’s my guild member. Then who should pay attention to him?”

“You’re not particularly interested in him.”

“Well.... As an individual, not particularly. As a Hunter, I’m interested. You know Mr. Yehyun’s results are much better than yours, right?”

“Yes.”

“Enter Dungeons diligently.”

“My body hasn’t been good lately.”

It was true, though? Im Haekyung’s expression shifted subtly, as if they were dumbfounded. Well, whether they believed me or not was none of my business, and I really was in a state where one rank had been nerfed, so I had to be careful. Besides, after that day, whether some real physical abnormality had appeared or the demonic beast was trying hard to block it, the demonic beast would occasionally start acting up inside my body. Like a burning pain rising around my arm, or my Skills going out of control.

“I’m serious.”

“You don’t look unwell at all.”

“Ever since you used Mental Domination, Guild Master, my body has been a little....”

“Ah.”

Only then, as if somewhat convinced, Im Haekyung slightly furrowed their brow.

“Is that true?”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

“I thought you might, Mr. Jehyun. You didn’t go to Mr. Yehyun? He’s a healer.”

“Well, it’s not that my body is bad in that way.”

“.......”

The bastard faced me and waited quietly as if demanding an explanation, but I did not add anything else. After a brief silence, Im Haekyung lightly tapped my shoulder and said,

“Enter mostly low-rank Dungeons. You at least need to look like you’re entering.”

“Yes.”

“And....”

Im Haekyung cut off their words, stared at me, then continued as if it were nothing.

“Don’t wander around too much. I know you’re excited because you’ve met a lot of people you know, but if you came here on Haeseong’s side... you should listen to me.”

“Yes.”

When I replied simply, Im Haekyung nodded with a face that still had not put away its suspicion.

“Go.”

“Yes.”

“After the event ends... I’ll see you.”

Im Haekyung, who had been looking steadily at me, lowered their hand, gripped the ring on my ring finger tightly once, then let go. It did seem like they had done it as a warning for me to listen well, but it did not particularly feel like a warning. It just felt like someone holding my hand.

When I even waved to Im Haekyung as they disappeared into the distance, Im Haekyung stared at me for a long moment as if they had a lot to say, then turned their head.

I fiddled for a moment with the foreign sensation on my ring finger after so long, then moved my steps toward the event venue.

I opened the Status Window, found Seok Jiwon and Do Yehyun, and as soon as I went near them, Seok Jiwon pointed straight at me.

“Where did you....”

“I was talking with the Guild Master.”

“Ah.... Really?”

Of course, it was not only talking with Im Haekyung. I had talked with Kwon Taehan, gotten a spy order from the Association chairman, threatened Kwon Taehan again, then met Kang Sojeong for the first time in a while and had a light conversation about our personal situations before going to find Im Haekyung.

“You were gone for a really long time....”

“They said they had something to talk about.”

“You didn’t fight, right?”

“I got scolded.”

“Ah.... I see.”

Ignoring Seok Jiwon, whose lips were twitching with a face that looked like there were many things they wanted to ask, I headed toward Do Yehyun.

“Yehyun, any interesting news?”

“Where did you go?”

“I heard you got a lot of offers.”

“.......”

“I heard from the Guild Master.”

At that, Do Yehyun, who had been expressionless, slightly lifted the corner of his mouth and nodded.

“They’re not very important. I’m not going anywhere else anyway.”

“Where did you get them from?”

“Clavis and... the place Hunter Kim was at too.”

“Good places.”

When I answered indifferently, Do Yehyun’s gaze lowered. Do Yehyun stared near my hand, then raised his gaze back up and asked,

“What is this?”

What do you mean no one would know? He noticed almost immediately.

I fiddled with the ring on my ring finger, lowered my head slightly, and whispered to Do Yehyun.

“An artifact.”

“Ah....”

“I exchanged it with the Guild Master. They said they wanted to listen in.”

“.......”

At that, Do Yehyun tilted his head slightly and asked as if he were truly puzzled.

“Why?”

“Who knows.”

“Why are you listening to that? It seems like it wouldn’t matter if you didn’t, hyung....”

I thought he would just accept it and move on, but apparently he had gotten stuck on a strange point. I looked at Do Yehyun curiously, then answered with the corner of my mouth raised.

“Curious?”

“Yes....”

“I see.... But I have no intention of telling you. You’re not asking because you want to be convinced anyway.”

“That’s not true.”

“Are you jealous?”

I lowered my hand and lightly flicked the ring on Do Yehyun’s little finger. After seeing Do Yehyun’s body flinch and tremble, I curved the corner of my mouth into a smile.

“You wear what I gave you too.”

“.......”

“That’s strange. You don’t have jealousy.”

“Jealousy...? I do have jealousy.”

This time the answer was quick. Do Yehyun turned his head to the side and said, almost muttering,

“I have it... but you said you needed it  so I’m holding back.”

“How admirable. But do you feel that way toward Haeseong’s Guild Master too?”

“I didn’t before. I just disliked them....”

So he had disliked them. That was a bold answer when one of Haeseong’s Im Haekyung fanatics was right behind us. I blocked Seok Jiwon with my body so they would not hear what Do Yehyun was saying and asked,

“Then?”

“It feels like you suddenly got close to Haeseong’s Guild Master.”

“You’re quick. I’m in a bit of a hurry right now.”

“Are you all right, hyung?”

“I’m fine.”

After answering, I became curious about what he had been asking about.

“In what way?”

“Because they’re a mental-type Hunter.”

“Hm....”

Was he thinking about the possibility that Im Haekyung, being a mental-type Hunter, might have messed with my mind?

I looked at Do Yehyun, laughed shortly, and slowly opened my mouth.

“Now, Yehyun.... You’re not jealous.”

“.......”

“You’re just... anxious right now, thinking I might no longer need you. Isn’t that right? When I was with Seowon, the roles were clearly divided, but now, little by little... it might not be like that anymore, so a sense of crisis has found you.”

That was the most plausible deduction. If a bastard who had steadily appealed to his own necessity from before suddenly changed his attitude like this, it probably meant he felt threatened in that area.

Joo Seowon and Do Yehyun had, in any case, clearly divided areas where I needed them. Joo Seowon was mostly used for procuring information or as reference when I needed to use my head moderately or make a judgment, while Do Yehyun was someone I mainly looked for when I entered Dungeons. After all, to me, he was an irreplaceable healer.

Of course, aside from that, there was a clear reason I needed Do Yehyun. A person I had never seen in the original work. Even when Kwon Taehan asked everything from Im Haekyung to the Association chairman about my intentions, he did not ask about Do Yehyun. That meant he had not placed high importance on him in the first place.

And Do Yehyun was important precisely in that part.

I moved the hand I had placed on Do Yehyun’s shoulder and lightly caught Do Yehyun’s chin, lifting it. When our gazes met again, Do Yehyun pressed his lips shut, then obediently confessed.

“Haeseong’s Guild Master can... do everything. Even Seowon hyung’s role.”

“That’s right, and they’re good when entering Dungeons too.”

“.......”

“I told you it’s not jealousy.”

“It’s still jealousy. You, hyung... you do what they ask.”

“That’s true, in any case.”

If it was not something I was unable to do, I tended to do it well enough. Do Yehyun glanced down at the hand holding his chin and, unusually, slightly furrowed his brow. It was not particularly threatening, though.

“I know that artifact.”

“You know it?”

“It works as a pair, doesn’t it? Haeseong’s Guild Master has the other side, right?”

“That’s right.”

“What is Haeseong’s Guild Master thinking....”

To ask what they were thinking, honestly, it seemed more like they just were not thinking.

I lightly shrugged as if I did not know. At that, Do Yehyun quietly stared at me with a strange expression and said,

“...I saw Seowon hyung.”

“Did you greet them?”

“We talked.”

The two of them? Why have a conversation they had not even had when living together?

“What kind of conversation?”

“It wasn’t anything special.... I didn’t answer properly, in case Seowon hyung might leak information.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

They did not particularly have any bad blood left between them, yet the distrust was strong. Or maybe he had simply listened well to what I said.

“So why are you telling me that? Are you telling me to go see Seowon?”

“Yes.”

“You’re making a strange judgment. You said you were jealous.”

“Rather than Haeseong’s Guild Master....”

I had not known he would dislike them to this extent?

I let out a short laugh and adjusted the ring in front of Do Yehyun. His eyes wavered for a moment, then fixed on me again. I met that gaze and twisted the corner of my mouth up.

“That won’t do.”

“Because of Seowon?”

“No, just because I... need Im Haekyung.”

“What does that mean?”

“Think about it. Make your head all complicated....”

I trailed off and giggled slightly, then tapped Do Yehyun’s cheek with the back of my hand.

At that moment, a sudden commotion rose from the stage, and the Association chairman began clapping. Since I did not know what the context was, I looked at Seok Jiwon, who must have been listening to the talk all this time, and Seok Jiwon moved their lips with a face that could not hide their bewilderment.

'What are they saying?'

At that moment, a sound like the speaker tearing apart rang out, and the host’s voice was heard.

“Hunter Seo Jehyun from Haeseong Guild has agreed to give a demonstration as the representative. Hunter Seo?”

Fuck, what is this now?