Chapter 476: You Didn’t Do It, Did You? (1)

Regressor Instruction Manual

‘I had never seen that kind of look on Kim Hyun-Sung’s face…’

It was actually shocking, considering his usual demeanor and attitude. It lasted only for a moment, but it was still undeniable that he had briefly failed to hide his emotions. I couldn’t find the right words to describe how his jaw had dropped unknowingly.

However, the best way to describe it was that he looked like the world was collapsing right in front of him. He looked both shocked and sad at the same time, but there was also a tinge of complexity on his face.

Of course, his expression instantly returned to normal, but traces of stupefaction could still be seen in his demeanor. It couldn’t be helped. He probably couldn’t have expected that things would turn out this way.

‘Yeah, it’s understandable.’

He had heard the rumor, but I was sure that he thought the rumor was baseless because he and I had a bond. It wasn’t strange for him to think that way because I had always been affectionate about Lindel and the Blue Guild.

He definitely thought that the rumor about me leaving the Blue Guild was a bunch of nonsense, and I was sure that he was hoping that I would say that the rumor was nothing more than a baseless rumor.

‘It’s just a baseless rumor...’

‘There’s no way that’s true…’

The shock had to have been too much to bear because Kim Hyun-Sung looked like a husband who had been working hard to provide for his wife, but he suddenly received a notice of divorce from his wife, who said that she was feeling tired and lonely because his husband kept on working hard.

‘Happiness begins at home, Hyun-Sung.’

Kim Hyun-Sung tried his best to remain calm as he said, “What do you mean by you’re seriously thinking over their offers?”

“It’s exactly like I told you. I honestly wasn’t planning on telling you like this since I haven’t made my decision yet. I was going to tell you once I’ve made my decision, but you asked, so… I think it’s best if I tell you now. Come to think of it, I think it’s best to tell you right now. We have to decide on a successor, and my tasks have to be transferred as well, so I believe that this is the perfect timing,” I replied.

“...”

“...”

“Y-You mean…” he stuttered.

“I’m sorry for telling you this out of the blue,” I apologized.

“Is that… true?” he asked.

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it for a few months now,” I replied.

‘I actually started thinking about it the moment you started avoiding me, Hyun-Sung.’

“...”

“I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to start over at a new place. Many things happened up until now, and I’m a bit embarrassed to tell you this, but the Blue Guild doesn’t need me anymore because it’s already in a good place, so I thought that it would be best for me to go to a place where I’m needed more than here. At least, that’s what I think,” I continued.

“Th-That’s not true. The Blue Guild is still growing, and there are many things we haven’t taken care of yet… That’s not the case,” he said.

Our Hyun-Sung was really shocked. I could tell from his eyes that he was having complicated thoughts. He wanted to stop me, but he couldn’t make up his mind on what he should say.

It wasn’t really strange because he had never been good at talking, and he stood there in a daze as if his head were struck by a blunt weapon. I wasn’t sure if he was aware, but not only was he stuttering like Jung Ha-Yan, but he kept moving his fingers. His eyes darted around as well.

I wasn’t used to this side of him, so he looked unfamiliar to me right now.

“It’s… It’s still too early. Of course, I understand what you’re thinking, but…” Kim Hyun-Sung trailed off.

“...”

“D-Did I do something to upset you?” he asked.

Fortunately, he wasn’t that slow-witted. It seemed that he finally started thinking that perhaps he was the reason why I was suddenly thinking about leaving.

‘I’m sure something is pricking his consciousness.’

I was certain that he was recalling his biggest mistake—avoiding me.

Of course, I didn’t say anything about that.

“Not really. As I said before, I’m thankful to you, Mr. Hyun-Sung…” I answered.

“Still… if there’s something that has been bothering you, please tell me right away. No matter what it is, I’ll do my best—no, I’ll make sure to accommodate it. Please,” he begged.

“Nothing has been decided yet. Despite what I said earlier, it’s highly likely that I’ll stay in the Blue Guild,” I told him.

‘I’m sure that he has at least caught on to the fact that I’m considering the matter of leaving...’

And it was obvious based on my actions so far…

“Still… if you need anything… I’ll try to accommodate it as much as I can. Come to think of it, your pay is really low compared to the amount of work you do… and you haven’t taken a proper vacation either. Everything you need will be provided by the guild—no, I’ll prepare them for you, so I ask that you think about it again after taking a break,” he suggested.

“No, there’s no need,” I said.

“The Blue Guild still needs you, Mr. Ki-Young. Actually, I need you more than the guild does,” he confessed.

‘Stop making comments that could cause a misunderstanding, Hyun-Sung.’

“I’m the guild master, but I don’t think I’m the only one who had contributed to the guild’s growth. I actually think that you’re the owner of the guild, so… I honestly don’t know how to respond because this is too sudden,” he said.

“You don’t have to worry so much,” I commented.

“But…”

“I’ll continue providing support so that the guild can continue the potion and Rift Museum business. I’m sure you won’t run into any problems financially. I’ll make sure that things will work out so that everything that I’m leaving behind will be maintained. There won’t be any issues, even if I’m not here anymore. It will be the same for the guild members. It’ll be a bit difficult to convince them, but I’ll talk to Ha-Yan and Elena so that they will remain in the guild…” I continued.

“No, I’m not telling you this because I’m worried about that. It’s not because of that…” he mumbled.

‘This is fun. I should have done this earlier...’

“It’s not because I’m worried about those things… The guild’s businesses don’t really matter. That’s not the only thing I’m worried about,” he continued.

‘Why didn’t I do this earlier? Shit…’

“Ah! If you are planning on transferring to another guild, can I ask which guild you’re planning on joining?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“I’m a bit cautious about this, but perhaps I’ll join the Federation…” I replied.

‘The answer is pretty obvious.’

“The Federation…” he repeated.

“I’m thinking about joining the Federal Leaders Alliance, where Sir Gellahan and Miss Jamila are from. I’m still thinking over which guild or clan I’m going to join, but as for the region, I’ll most likely head to the region where the Federal Leaders Alliance is based. The sea view there is apparently really beautiful,” I answered.

Kim Hyun-Sung looked troubled as if he had already known my answer.

I was sure that for him—the puzzle pieces in his head were coming together.

Since he already had a feeling about all of this, he could finally make a decision.

It was obvious why Lee Ki-Young, the man who loved both Lindel and the Sacred Democratic Country, was thinking about transferring to the federal region.

He tried to find the issue within himself, but since that wasn’t working, he probably started looking for an external reason, and I was sure that Gellahan of Hellfire and Jamila popped into his head the moment I mentioned the Federation was mentioned…

At this point, I was almost sure of it.

The pillar of the Blue Guild was suddenly thinking about transferring to another guild, and there were people trying to split us up.

It was pretty easy to deduce what was going on, and Kim Hyun-Sung looked sad for some reason upon realizing that.

Of course, I was curious about what Kim Hyun-Sung was going to do.

“They’re good people, unlike what the people here think about them. They’re very thoughtful, and even though they aren’t that… powerful, they still have potential. They’re having issues managing the Federal Leaders Alliance, so they asked me for help,” I continued.

“I see…” he said.

“Come to think of it, Isn’t Miss Kylie Yale part of the Federation? I’m talking about that woman who has been visiting you recently,” I asked.

‘What a coincidence, right, Hyun-Sung?’

“Yes, I’m sure she’s part of the Federation. I’m not sure if she’s busy these days, but she hasn’t really been visiting the guild…” he answered.

‘Well, I’m sure she won’t visit anymore. I’m sure she thinks that she has already achieved her goal.’

“In that case, you must’ve heard a lot about the Federation. To be honest, the Sacred Democratic Country knows the Federation the least among the many regions of the continent, and I think the Federation is a region full of interesting surprises…”

”I reckon that there are many interesting things that we can obtain from them. They still have uncleared dungeons as well. Of course, the Legendary and Epic dungeons are currently blocked off, but… Anyway, it’s been a while since we talked like this, and it was nice, Mr. Hyun-Sung. I’m sorry, but it’s time for me to head out…” I told him.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I took up too much…”

“No, that’s not true. I enjoyed our time together. Ah! Until I’ve made my decision, please don’t tell the guild members or anyone outside the guild. We still have the joint training, and I’m worried that the news will cause chaos. I’m sure you already know, but there are people in our guild who are easily rattled by bad news,” I requested.

“...”

“Especially Deok-Gu and Ha-Yan. Please don’t tell them,” I added.

“Okay.”

“Then… I’ll be heading out first,” I told him.

“Alright.”

‘Hyun-Sung, this breaks my heart a bit, but this is all for you. I believe you know better than I do about what you should do...’

Our conversation ended with mixed feelings from both sides, and I had just basically told him that I was still thinking over the offers.

My expression was impeccable throughout the conversation, and I walked past him as if this would be our final conversation.

Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t do anything other than stare at me with a complicated look.

However, he was probably going to—no, I was sure that he would do his best to figure out the truth behind the matter. He simply looked that desperate in my eyes. In addition to investigating the Federation, he would definitely do his best to stop me from leaving.

I was curious about how he would respond after finding out that there was a third party that was driving a wedge between us.

I actually got a bit worried that he was just going to let me go, but when I saw his desperate look in our conversation just now, it seemed that I didn’t have to worry about that.

Kim Hyun-Sung definitely had no intentions of letting me leave.

He looked like he would do everything in his power just to get me to stay. He had mentioned increasing my pay and giving me a vacation, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he still had more up his sleeves.

Overall, I was enjoying all this.

The bait that I had thrown out ended up landing on the waters at the perfect time, so all I had to do now was wait.

Fortunately, I was sure that I wouldn’t have to wait that long anymore like before. He would probably visit me again with an answer either today or tomorrow at the latest.

Kim Hyun-Sung was in a desperate situation, so he had to resolve the ongoing situation one way or another. There was a low chance of it happening, but he might reveal to me that he was a regressor and use that to make me stay.

It was a bit of a stretch, but the regressor card did exist, and he had a reason to use it.

The overall situation wasn’t that bad, and I couldn’t help but think that everything was perfect until I heard a particular news exactly twenty-eight hours later.

“Sub Guild Master…”

“Yes?”

“The F-Federation…”

“Huh?”

“The Federation has fallen. We still have no idea what happened, but according to the rumors… one-fifth of the northern region is in ruins, and the damage is still accumulating as we speak… It is said that the North can no longer function as a nation.”

The news was so unprecedented that it sounded like a curveball covered in bullshit.

‘Hyun-Sung… Damn it… You didn’t do this, right?’

I wanted to go over to him and ask.