Free City of Lindel(1)
However, I couldn’t blame them. Considering the time, money, and effort needed to cultivate effective personnel, they could barely recruit more than a few members to improve their guild.
If the Blue Guild hadn’t recruited our party, they might have had a chance, but they had already paid a high price to have us. This meant that the others had an almost zero chance of being chosen.
‘Thank God I haven’t shown any hint of incompetence…’
“Then…”
Upon this announcement, the trainees hung their heads. However, some of them had chosen to look straight up at us, right into one particular member.
“Hyunsung!” One of them shouted.
“…”
“That we… You were together with us… Take us in… Please.”
‘This is absurd.’
Of course, I knew who spoke. It was one of the guys we were with back at the shelter. However, I couldn’t remember his name. He was one of the people Kim Hyunsung readily fed and disliked Jung Hayan with a passion. Not only did he refuse to help one bit, but he had been the closest to Jung Jinho back when he was still alive.
I knew the man had a shameless streak, but this was embarrassing. Back in the tutorial, all they did was take up space in the shelter and waste the food we had accumulated. Now he dared to ask Kim Hyunsung to take him in again? Even the instructors seemed embarrassed by him.
In a sense, wielding power over a man like this felt great. This was because, in reality, my stats were weaker. However, even if our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t have the guts to speak like that.
I didn’t dare open my mouth. This wasn’t my battle to fight; it was Kim Hyunsung’s.
‘Hyunsung wouldn’t be that soft-hearted… would he?’
Worry gnawed at me.
I knew Kim Hyunsung knew his responsibilities as a new member of the Blue Guild. However, no ordinary person would willingly create a shelter for his fellow survivors inside a dungeon.
“In the end… You have to take responsibility for us…”
‘What bullshit is this man talking about?’
Desperation could make a man stiff sometimes, but would only end up making him look stupid at most.
Lee Sang-hee slowly and quietly turned to look at Hyunsung, curiosity plastered onto her expression. She seemed to wonder how he would treat his friendships back in the tutorial dungeon.
“Yes, together with us…!”
Thanks to the man responsible for the first outburst, more and more people began to echo his words. I resisted the urge to scoff.
“You won’t throw us away like this, right?”
“Hyunsung!”
“Hyunsung, take us with you…”
Kim Hyunsung slowly stepped towards them.
I was anxious, but the moment I saw him biting his lip, I began to relax. I knew this reaction of his. And who could blame him? In a situation like this, even a monk would feel angry.
Not surprisingly, Kim Hyunsung lowered his head slightly and began to speak.
“Sorry.”
“W-What?”
“I think that’s the end of my relationship with you.”
“You can’t possibly mean…”
For a moment, I thought laughter would come bursting out. This spectacle turned out to be more interesting than I thought!
“It would be better to live your own life in a new environment than to go with me. It was a short time, but I enjoyed it.”
“That… Such a thing…”
“Perhaps the city will be a safer place for you.”
“How irresponsible of you…”
Irresponsible? He dared to call Kim Hyunsung irresponsible? I shook my head and stepped in.
“We have no obligation to be responsible for you anywhere else.”
“Huh?”
“It will be safe in the city. Although it may be far from comfortable living, at least you will not be threatened with your life.”
“N-Nevertheless…”
“Once again, I’m not obligated to take care of you. Neither is Hyunsung.”
“…”
Even though I tried my best to explain kindly, the man didn’t seem to understand. Rather, he sported an expression that showcased just how unfair he found this whole situation.
‘How stupid.’
Didn’t they know? If you didn’t sacrifice anything, then you wouldn’t gain anything, either. From my perspective, it would take a long time for this guy to realize this.
Sighing, I figured the least I could do was to show some last bit of kindness. I took out some money from my pocket and handed it out to him.
“This is just little, but I hope it helps you out in the long run.” The guy’s expression was hilarious. He still had a betrayed expression, but he was still careful to put the money in his pocket.
I resisted the urge to laugh again. That was just a small sum. Nevertheless, there was gratitude in his expression.
“Thank you.”
“I wish the best for you. Please do your best to survive.”
“Yeah…”
He still hadn’t realized what I was trying to do.
Didn’t he know there was no surefire way of staying protected even in the city? In my opinion, I had just given him an additional reason to get robbed.
Lee Ji-Hye stared up at me with a stunned expression. Unlike the man, I knew she knew what I had just done. I was a little puzzled as to why she had not joined in the pleading until I finally realized a probable reason as to why.
‘Lee Ji-hye…’
She must have received an offer from another guild. Knowing that she could be just as resourceful as me, I knew this was a possibility.
‘I’m sorry…’
It felt like a waste to let her go, but I knew she wasn’t needed in the Guild. However, I also remembered all those times where she had flaunted off her self-confidence back in the dungeon.
‘I don’t have to be with you.’
It felt like she was telling me this. However, after a quick run-through with my ability, I knew she still had less than I did.
Still looking at her, I began to speak. “…I’ll see you again.”
“Yeah… Yeah.”
It was the man I had spoken to, but she knew I was talking to her.
Lee Ji-Hye, who deliberately maintained eye contact with me, nodded slightly.
I don’t know if I’m going to apply for Blue, but I’ll see you someday, her facial expression seemed to say.
Before I could even retreat, I heard voices once again.
“Kiyoung is really warm. Of course, the basic living support fund from the guild doesn’t seem that bad, but…”
“Hm. Still, they lived together in the tutorial dungeon. So, are you going to Lindel right now?”
“Yes. The cleanup has already been roughly finished. Actually, I want to have a little more time, I have a lot to prepare for.”
“Ah. The trainees…”
“You’ll be heading with us straight to Free City. Let’s go first.”
“Alright.”
With this, I felt like my life back in the tutorial dungeon was over. I wasn’t very fond of it, but life in a completely new city seemed just as scary.
I also noticed that some of the guild members were sticking around, trying to see just how many gifts I had gotten from Cha Hee-ra.
“Hyung.”
“Oppa!”
Of course, Park Deok-gu and Jung Hayan were also preparing to leave.
Jung Hayan, looking a little shy, approached my side, and Park Deokgu began to speak.
“I didn’t know we were going to move this early on. What a pity…”
“What…”
“I mean this!”
He pointed towards a small ferry tied to a rope by the shoreline. It wasn’t finished yet, but it looked very promising.
Surprisingly, I don’t know if Park Deokgu had agility built-in, but it looked pretty good as it was.
‘How did he make it so well?’
“…”
“If I had a little more time, I was thinking of boating at a nearby shelter… It was hard to make, so I decided to take it along with us.”
“There must be a lot of luggage…”
“There’s no problem with luggage, apparently. In fact, carrying this around will be more or less like exercise for me. If your brother is having a hard time walking, can’t I help you if you ride with Jung Hayan?”
“It’s not that far. You don’t have to do that.”
I didn’t want to ride it as of the moment.
“Oh, I heard that there is no lake near the Free City… Pity.”
“Let’s ride together later… Oh, Oppa…”
“Fine. Let’s do that.” Jung Hayan brightened at my words, and I felt relieved upon seeing her looking better than before. I wasn’t sure, but it seemed that she talked to Park Deokgu about me.
Worry again began to gnaw at me. It seemed that Park Deokgu also had a firm grip on Jung Hayan’s mental state.
“We’re going to leave soon.”
“Yes, Hyunsung.”
And thus, the entire Blue Guild began to walk. It felt like such a hassling physical activity, but it was fun all the same. This was because I spent some time with Park Deokgu, Jung Hayan, and Kim Hyunsung.
“So… I tried a new magic spell today…”
“Oh?”
“I saw it myself and it seemed really great… Ooh, the lake suddenly cracked when Jung Hayan chanted the spell. It reminded me of one of those stories that the neighborhood Ajimae told me in the past. I forgot it though…”
“Maybe it was the story of Moses.”
“Ahhh! Yes, I think it was that man. Hyung is very smart. Anyway…”
Park Deokgu continued to ramble on while Kim Hyunsung wore a pleasant expression. Jung Hayan walked while holding my hand tightly. I had quite a hard time focusing, but I made sure to keep up with them, squeezing Hayan’s hand now and then.
After walking for quite some time, a tall clock tower began to show up in our line of vision. I glanced to my side and saw Kim Hyunsung with a peculiar expression on his face.
It was a start for me, but it was a start for him too. I couldn’t figure out the complicated expression on his face, however.
I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I knew he had some worries about what happened in the past and what would happen in the future, with Blue Guild and our party.
In the meantime, Jung Hayan and Park Deokgu stared up at the tower with open mouths.
“There…”
This was the place where the people of the Earth resided within the Holy Empire.
“Lindel…”
This was the Free City of Lindel.
“Lindel, Park Deokgu is here!”