Going Home (3)
I felt incredibly disappointed,
I didn’t know if this was the right way to express it, but it felt like seeing your beloved wife flirting with someone else on your way home from a business trip.
Plus, I had even prepared gifts, so the heavy feeling had doubled.
‘I worked really hard…’
I even pulled a griffon for him.
Of course, Kim Hyunsung could obtain it on his own in a few years, but it was I who had made it possible for him to acquire one earlier.
Few people owned one in this entire continent; its value was beyond description. Of course, that was not the only thing that I’d brought home for
him.
Currently, the items brought by the Red Mercenary Guild members could fill up a small room. It had all sorts of goods, including good quality items.
I could take all these things as my possessions, but I had set them aside for Hyunsung.
Seeing the bright smile he directed to her, one that he had never shown me, it was no wonder that the desire to give the griffon to him faded away in no time at all.
‘This bastard…’
Kim Hyunsung was already waving in my direction. He was smiling happily, but it wasn’t on a level to be compared with the sincere smile from earlier.
Still, I decided to act naturally and waved back.
“Kiyoung-ssi.”
“Ah, Hyunsung-ssi.”
He didn’t come running like Park Deokgu, but he walked quickly and hugged me, which made me feel a little better.
Nevertheless, the doll next to him bothered me.
“I found out that you came back after seeing the griffon returning. It’s good that I came out in advance.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“No. Of course I had to. Kiyoung-ssi must have gone through a lot too. I already knew that you were involved in various things… You’ve done really
well.”
“Haha.”
“What happened to Ito Souta of the Yamato Guild?”
“He was executed, just as you heard. He didn’t have any holes to escape through because there were various charges on him. Actually, I wanted to free him of the death penalty as well, but Cardinal Basel’s will was so stubborn.”
“I see.”
“There seemed to be an underlying situation besides what had happened, but I didn’t exactly get to find out…”
As I spoke, Kim Hyunsung’s relaxed expression did not change. In fact, it felt as if he was glad to hear that Ito Souta died. From this, I gathered that the man did not play a positive role in the future.
Considering Souta’s personality, that was highly possible. He was an arrogant guy, and he had attempted a preemptive attack on Lindel.
Of course, he wouldn’t be conspiring to overturn the Holy Empire by becoming a demon worshipper as I showed Cardinal Basel, but at least he was out of the way now.
‘It was a good thing I killed him.’
“Have you ever heard about Ito Souta?”
“Yes. If you talk with many people, stories about other cities come out eventually. I just know that he was a guy with poor qualities. It was a rumor that had been openly spread before this case broke out, so you can assume that he was punished. It is not something for Kiyoung-ssi to feel guilty about.
‘I don’t feel that way, Hyunsung.’
It may be the starting point of backstabbing the Holy Empire or the war between Lindel and Celia, but the important thing was that his death had made the future a little more beautiful.
Whatever he did in the first timeline did not matter anymore.
“How has Hyunsung-ssi been doing?”
“It was always the same for me. First, I had to stabilize the guild. In fact, when we heard the bad news, most of the work that Kiyoung entrusted had already been finished… … If Kiyoung-ssi hadn’t sent a letter stating that I didn’t have to come to the Holy Empire, I would certainly have headed over there right away.”
“Hahaha. There was nothing to worry about. Rather, things went smoothly. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but this time I got an official position from the Pope’s side.”
“What?”
“It was because Cardinal Basel liked me. I was given an undeserved position of Honorary Bishop.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Perhaps you haven’t heard of it in detail. I heard it’s been a while since the Pope’s side gave an outsider an official position. It has been more than 254 years. The rank itself is the same level as the Archbishops, and there are various benefits… It will also help our guild out.”
“Ah!”
It seems that no one had ever obtained the title of Honorary Bishop the first time, or perhaps Kim Hyunsung really wasn’t just interested in that sort of thing. However, when I mentioned that it was on the same rank as the Archbishop’s, his face began to brighten.
His reaction was only natural. There were a lot of benefits aside from being able to control the Heretic Inquisitors and the Holy Knights, especially when it came to the Holy War.
‘What can I say? I’m talented.’
“I didn’t expect anything like this at all… It’s more than I imagined. You did a really good job.”
‘You think that’s all, right?’
As I was thinking about informing him of the gifts, Hyunsung began to speak urgently. I already knew what he was going to do – he was going to introduce this unknown person to me.
In his own viewpoint, this was his achievement, and he wanted to show her off to me, but I couldn’t help but feel a little bitter.
“Actually, we have something new, too. I don’t know if you’ve already heard from Deokgu, but while Kiyoung-ssi was away, I recruited a new person.”
“Ah… So this is her.”
“Yes. This is Cho Hyejin, who just joined Blue.”
The person standing next to Kim Hyunsung was a woman holding a long spear. The hair tied to the back, coupled with her tall height, somehow reminded me of an old samurai.
She had distinct features, but she seemed to have a strong-minded personality for some reason.
‘It seems like she actually is….
“I’m Cho Hyejin. I heard a lot about you, Vice Guild Master Lee Kiyoung.”
“Ahhh. So you’re Cho Hyejin. Nice to meet you. I am Kiyoung Lee.”
“Yes. It seems like you’re exactly what I heard. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Of course, I immediately assessed her with my Mind’s Eye.
[Name: Cho Hyejin]
[Title: Castle Rock’s Stubbornness]
[Age:25]
[Disposition: An Inflexible Woman of Principles]
[Class: Spearmanship Expert (Heroic)]
[Class Effect: Acquisition of basic spear skills]
[Class Effect: Acquisition of intermediate spear skills]
[Class Effect: Acquisition of advanced spear skills]
[Class Effect: Acquisition of advanced magic power management skills]
[Stats]
[Strength: 75/Growth potential: Hero or higher]
[Agility: 82/Growth potential: Hero or higher]
[Health: 87/Growth potential: Hero or higher]
[Intelligence: 51/Growth potential: Hero or lower]
[Durability: 71/Growth potential: Hero or lower]
[Luck: 50/Growth potential: Hero or lower]
[Magic: 60/Growth potential: Hero or lower]
[Attribute: Hard-worker: Legendary]
[Overview: Nothing stands out, but before the growth potential, she knows about the military more than anyone else. Also, due to the influence of her disposition and attribute, she has the capacity to grow even more than her supposed potential. She is a different type of genius than the other genius players Lee Kiyoung has seen so far.]
‘There’s nothing that stands out, my ass…’
Many people lived in Lindel, but this was the first time I’d seen someone with these stats and talent levels, all except for people on Cha Hee-ra’s level.
Of course, there were no stats beyond legendary, but her potential was already enormous.
I already knew she was strong, just by looking at her stats. They were either Hero or higher or Hero or lower, and it felt unfair that I had been stuck with such sucky stats on my end.
“I think it’s my first time… seeing you in Lindel. Of course, I haven’t seen all the people in this wide area…”
“Ah. Yes. Kiyoung-ssi is right. Cho Hyejin is from Castle Rock and not Lindel. Due to unavoidable circumstances, she left her previous guild and made connections with Blue when she came to Lindel.”
“Castle Rock”
“Yes.”
Castle Rock was not a free city where free people settled. It was a territory contained within the Holy Empire.
Since there were many hunting grounds and dungeons that could be used in its surroundings, I had also heard that some free people had settled over there.
Considering that it was a little further south and close to the Monster Forest, it certainly didn’t seem like a bad place to settle in.
Of course, some disadvantages certainly existed. First of all, as it wasn’t a free city, the tax rates were higher, and there were significantly more restrictions. Free people were somewhat free from imperial laws, but that only applied to areas such as Lindel.
“I see.”
Come to think of it…
‘Was Marlin Young-ae from Castle Rock?’
I felt like I was right. Anyway, it wasn’t my business if she came from Castle Rock or Camp Rock, for that matter. The important thing was, Kim Hyunsung seemed to have known Cho Hyejin from the first timeline, and even trusted her quite a bit.
Her title was Castle Rock’s Stubbornness; the disposition being Inflexible Woman of Principles.
No matter which angle I tried to see her in, I didn’t think we would have any affinities. I can tell she was just straightforwardly inflexible. To work with me, who throws principles in the trash, there was no way we could have good chemistry. However, I knew Kim Hyunsung wouldn’t know about how I was feeling.
I began feeling nervous for some reason.
I really don’t think we’re compatible…’
It wasn’t just prediction, it was conviction. Her disposition had already spelled it all out for me – we wouldn’t fit well together.
“Actually, Hyejin helped with the work that Kiyoung-ssi entrusted to us.”
“Ah… Yes. I see. There was a lot to do, but thank you very much.”
“No. I just did what I had to do. I simply handled it according to the documents you had organized.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
“She’s a really competent and kind person. If you talk to her, you will understand what I am saying.”
“I see.”
“She also has a lot of power. I wanted to appoint her a key position in the guild right away, but I think it’s a matter that requires Kiyoung-ssi’s consent, so it’s been pending.”
“Ah…”
I at least appreciated this. I had no reason to reject her appointment, but I appreciated the fact that Hyunsung respected my authority.
Even so…
“No. The offer is still overwhelming.”
It felt nice seeing her reject the position.
“We can’t be like this, let’s go back to the Guild House quickly. Ye-ri and Heeyoung will also come right after work.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, Master.”
As anyone could see, Kim Hyunsung was very excited about the idea of introducing new friends to an already-existing group.
Although he was evidently hoping for some synergy between the two of us, I could already roughly predict how things were going to be from now on.
For me, who wanted to remain as the closest person next to Hyunsung, this was quite the crisis.
‘Hyunsung… I’m going to believe in you.’