𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐𝟑
Pababat-!
‘Huh?’
Did someone come?
I used a Return Scroll and came back home. I felt a presence outside, so I went out to the living room. To be honest, I already knew who it was. Probably Yua or Sina. Or maybe Raz. Anyway, with that thought in mind, I went out to the living room and as expected, I saw Yua and Sina.
“Oh? Rudin-nim?”
“Hello.”
Sina, who had a slightly surprised expression at my greeting, soon erased that expression and began to look me over with a satisfied look.
“I don’t know who tailored the equipment for you, but it’s really cool.”
“Thanks to you.”
She was talking about the Azure Guardian Set. Regardless of the process, I wouldn’t have been able to get all the pieces without them. And knowing that fact well, I naturally responded back, and Sina, who was looking over my equipment, spoke while strangely focusing on the helmet part.
“But isn’t it uncomfortable to see with that kind of helmet on?”
“No? It’s quite comfortable. I can’t see this helmet in my vision.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The Azure Guardian Helmet I’m wearing now covers the entire face. To be precise, it was a helmet that covered the entire face except for the eyes, but fortunately, it didn’t cause any discomfort to my vision.
Perhaps to prevent the helmet from obstructing my vision, the whole thing looked transparent. So I answered as if it was nothing, and Sina just nodded with a curious expression at my answer.
“So, you were out hunting?”
“Not hunting… I just went to the Guild Castle for a bit.”
“The Guild Castle?”
“Yes, the Iot Kingdom asked for help with subjugating the Kraken.”
After answering Sina’s question, I turned my gaze to Yua, who was quietly watching. Yua was looking at me with the same friendly eyes as usual, but she didn’t seem interested in participating in the conversation I was having with Sina.
‘Is she not interested in the subjugation story?’
“That’s amazing. To the point that another country would ask for your help. And they wouldn’t have just asked for help, right?”
“Well, they said they’d give me 1 million won.”
They raised it to 2 million won in the end, but since the initial offer was 1 million won, I mentioned that amount.
“1 million won? Considering Rudin-nim’s fame, that seems like too small an amount…”
“I refused. It felt iffy.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What would I do if I went there? It’s not like I can use long-range magic. Besides, what they said was that my role was to protect the people on the ship.”
Moreover, the number of people I can protect is limited. Thinking back to what my friend said yesterday, he said that over 10,000 people were participating, but they wouldn’t put all 10,000 people on a single ship. At least dozens of ships would be deployed, and I thought I would only protect one of them.
Of course, this is not accurate.
Since it’s that kind of place, there would be many variables. Also, if you think about it that way, there’s no need to hire me by even giving me cash. Yet, seeing how they raised it to 2 million won, there must be a reason, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find out anything because that guy Aizen left without telling me.
“If it’s just a protective role, there’s no need to ask Rudin-nim for help.”
And it seems Sina thought similarly to me.
“I was curious, so I asked, but they didn’t say anything else. Aizen seems to know something… Promotion? Guild rivalry? Anyway, he just said that and disappeared, so I don’t know the details.”
“Promotion and guild rivalry?”
Sina tilted her head at my words and seemed to be thinking about something, then soon after, she said this.
“I have a hunch… What was the name of the guild?”
“The Great Voyage Guild.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll look into it.”
“No, it’s already over, so you don’t have to go that far.”
“It’s okay. I have a feeling it’ll be interesting. And it’s not a big deal to just look into it. You’re curious too, aren’t you, Rudin-nim?”
“Well…”
As Sina said, I was curious. But I didn’t want to ask Aizen, so I eventually nodded and asked for her help, and Sina said she’d take care of it and logged out instantly.
“I’ll be right back. Logging out.”
‘That was fast.’
Did I really ask for an unnecessary favor? Sina offered to look into it first, but…
‘Let’s buy the iron ingots before Sina comes back.’
I needed at least a few thousand iron ingots to reach crafting level 20. It would probably take a considerable amount of time to buy them, but I couldn’t just sit still, so I was about to move when I heard Yua’s voice next to me.
“Rudin-nim. Have you had lunch yet?”
“Lunch? No, not yet.”
Come to think of it, is it lunchtime now?
I took the bus early in the morning and came back home. I immediately logged into Twilight, and thanks to that, I haven’t eaten yet. In addition, I easily figured out the intention behind Yua’s question, so I immediately asked Yua.
“How about you, Yua-nim?”
“Not yet…”
“Then shall we go out and eat together?”
“Yes!”
Yua answered as if she had been waiting. Looking at her, I decided to put aside the thought of iron ingots for now and go out with Yua.
By the way, is this the first time I’m having a meal alone with Yua?
‘Well, it’ll be fine.’
“I’ll go out and wait.”
I left those words to Yua and logged out, then came out of the capsule. After briefly getting ready, I went outside and waited for Yua, and not long after, I saw Yua coming out.
“Did you wait long?”
“No, you came out quickly.”
As I answered, I unconsciously looked at Yua. She was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, a simple outfit. Even though she wasn’t particularly dressed up, my eyes were naturally drawn to her.
“Giwon-ssi?”
“Ah, what do you want to eat?”
For some reason, Yua’s appearance in reality caught my eye more than her appearance in Twilight. Even though her appearance is the same. But I pushed aside that question and asked her first, and Yua answered without even thinking.
“Anything.”
“…”
The most difficult answer has come.
I nodded and tried to move while thinking of a few menus, but I realized that an important problem remained.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t know the geography of this place.’
How would I know the geography after only moving here a few days ago? Still, I knew where the downtown area was, so I moved in that direction, and Yua stood next to me and started walking together.
“I’m sorry. I originally wanted to make something for you at home, but I didn’t have anything suitable to make.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I was briefly curious about what food made by Yua would be like, but I didn’t show it and said,
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“Yes.”
By the way, perhaps because it was the weekend, the streets were crowded with people. Was it Saturday today? Also, among them, a few people glanced back and forth between me and Yua, and just that alone made me feel subtly uncomfortable.
‘…Am I overreacting?’
Or maybe it’s because I’ve never received this kind of attention before, I thought, and looked at Yua next to me. Surprisingly, her expression was slightly stiff, so much so that you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely. It seemed like she was nervously tense.
“Should we eat at home instead?”
“Huh? Why?”
“…No, I misspoke.”
Did I see wrong?
Her expression as she looked at me and asked back was the same as usual. Feeling awkward for no reason, I replied that it was nothing, and Yua also brushed it off and started asking where we were going.
* * *
[May you find what you desire in the streets illuminated by Twilight……]
After having lunch with Yua and returning home, I immediately logged into Twilight. This was partly due to Yua’s suggestion that Sina would be waiting for me. Anyway, as soon as I logged into Twilight, I saw Sina, who had logged out before me.
“Where have you been all this time?”
“I had lunch with Yua.”
“Ah, is that so? Then it can’t be helped. More importantly, I found out.”
Sina easily accepted the mention of Yua. It seemed like I could use this often in the future whenever similar situations arose. Anyway, what Sina found out must be the reason Aizen didn’t tell me.
‘But she found out faster than I thought.’
Impressed, I decided to hear the reason from Sina.
“First, you need to know about the Iot Kingdom. There are three biggest guilds in the Iot Kingdom……”
Sina’s explanation was as follows:
The Iot Kingdom originally maintained a near-perfect balance among its three representative guilds. However, with the appearance of the Kraken and the kingdom showing signs of collapse, problems began to arise.
First, hunting became impossible due to the Kraken. Several subjugation attempts failed. Moreover, seeing the Kraken grow stronger, many players lost hope and began to leave for other countries.
Furthermore, as a considerable number of guilds left, the overall strength continued to dwindle.
Feeling the crisis, the guilds decided to join forces to defeat the Kraken. It was an inevitable choice, as if they remained idle, everything, including the guilds, would perish.
Therefore, the three largest guilds in the Iot Kingdom took the lead and began various preparations. During this process, the Great Voyage Guild had this thought:
‘Perhaps this subjugation could be a stepping stone for our advancement?’
Frankly, the chances of this subjugation failing were high. But what if they could create some variable and succeed in the subjugation? Of course, it was questionable whether the departed players would return even if they succeeded, but it might be possible to attract the remaining players and expand their influence.
Therefore, they needed to be more active than anyone else during the subjugation. If they became the leading guild in this Kraken subjugation, the aforementioned plan was likely to succeed. That’s why the Great Voyage Guild traveled to various countries, scouting renowned players.
If the Kraken subjugation failed, it would be meaningless, but if they succeeded, they could surpass the two rival guilds.
“……For just that reason?”
“Just that reason? You know how many subjugation attempts have failed so far. Besides, most people believe this subjugation will also fail. But imagine if the Great Voyage Guild hired around 50 A-rank magicians and managed to catch the Kraken.”
“Well, then their reputation would definitely increase.”
50 A-rank magicians would definitely be a helpful force, regardless of contribution. Hwaryeon’s A-rank skill, Flame Storm, was a testament to that. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they made a significant contribution to the Kraken subjugation if they hired that many.
“But is it really necessary to go that far?”
“The Iot Kingdom is on the verge of collapse right now. Skilled players have already left for other countries, and the subjugation force was barely assembled by gathering the remaining mediocre players. It’s not that they need to go that far, but even if they do more, it wouldn’t be strange.”
Then I remembered what Jaehoon said yesterday.
‘It’s not ruined yet. All the guilds in the Iot Kingdom have decided to unite. Plus, they’ve decided to hire skilled players, so if they fail this time, it might really be the end.’
At the time, I just brushed it off, but it seems like the situation was quite serious.
“Anyway, you’re saying they hired me to outperform other guilds.”
“Who knows? You’re a celebrity, Rudin-nim, so they might have thought it would be helpful just for you to appear under the Great Voyage Guild’s name.”
“……”
Now that I think about it, Sina’s words seemed more plausible. They probably didn’t think I would actually contribute to the Kraken subjugation.
“Ah, but don’t think too deeply about it. It’s just my speculation.”
“……Yes.”
“Or you could just ask Aizen-nim?”
“I’d rather not know.”
Anyway, was the Great Voyage Guild planning to use me for publicity? Boasting that the Great Voyage Guild even hired Rudin of the Emperor Guild! Thinking about it that way made me feel used and upset.
‘These guys are trying to mess with me.’
No, putting aside the publicity, I didn’t like the fact that they tried to use me for a mere 1 million won. How nice would it have been if they had been honest and asked for my help? Of course, I wouldn’t have accepted, but still.
Anyway, thinking about it that way wouldn’t let my anger subside.
Pop━
“……?”
Suddenly, I looked up and saw Yua, who had come home with me, logged in. Did she just log in now? Anyway, Yua glanced at me and then tilted her head, asking Sina,
“Did something happen?”
“He’s probably thinking about the Great Voyage Guild. By the way, you said you had lunch with Rudin-nim? What did you eat?”
‘Huh? Wait a minute?’
If Sina’s story was true, the Great Voyage Guild must have been asking for help discreetly, so other guilds wouldn’t notice. But how did Jaehoon know? After a brief thought, I easily figured it out.
‘That guy…… was a member of the Great Voyage Guild.’
He kept saying he wanted to be an executive, so he must have been talking about being an executive of the Great Voyage Guild. Knowing that he belonged to the Great Voyage Guild, I became momentarily interested in the subjugation.
“Sina-nim. What will happen if this subjugation fails too?”
“Well, they’ll be ruined, of course. I told you, they barely assembled the subjugation force by scraping together people from everywhere. Plus, they must have invested a huge amount of money. Building just one ship costs a lot, and there are over 200 ships prepared right now. So if the subjugation fails, they might never be able to recover.”
‘Is that so.’
I nodded. My friend also said he would be ruined if they failed this time, so it wasn’t surprising. Moreover, I wanted to help him since he was my friend, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to help the Great Voyage Guild that tried to use me.
“……”
What should I do?
After a moment of contemplation, I came up with an idea.
‘They only asked me to help with the Kraken subjugation, right?’
Alright, I’ll help you.
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