Chapter 477: You Didn’t Do it, Did You? (2) |
I was happy to hear knocking on my door in the middle of the night. It was already three in the morning, but I became very emotional because I thought Kim Hyun-Sung was here to finally confess his sins.
I was sure that he was already at his wit’s end in this game of playing hard to get. I was really excited to hear him confess because I heard that he got so devastated that he was actually having a hard time finishing his work.
He abruptly stopped his swordsmanship class, and he even stopped attending mock battles. In addition, he apparently got himself drunk last night until he collapsed. In the end, I thought that he was here to visit me because he couldn’t take it anymore.
‘Haaa. This is going to be difficult if he’s drunk…’
Of course, my thoughts betrayed my feelings, so I was all smiles as I opened the door.
However, I saw Jonobono rather than Kim Hyun-Sung, and she brought with her a piece of news that I couldn’t have expected at all.
“Sub Guild Master…” Jo Hye-Jin called out.
“Yes?”
“The F-Federation…”
“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,” she said.
‘What kind of bullshit is that?’
What happened? The first person I thought of as the culprit was Kim Hyun-Sung. I felt a shiver down my spine as goosebumps broke out all over me, but I shook my head, thinking that it couldn’t be him.
‘There’s no way…’
It was possible, considering the timing, but it would be a bit of a stretch to consider Kim Hyun-Sung as the culprit. The ongoing situation was starting to change the direction of everything, but it was changing in a direction that I couldn’t have expected. Even Jonobono looked like she couldn’t believe what she was saying.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Let’s head out.”
‘Is this a hidden camera prank?’
I couldn’t help but get suspicious that all this was a huge hidden camera prank that Kim Hyun-Sung had prepared as a prelude to a party that would prevent me from leaving.
Unfortunately, I had no time to think about what was going on. I tried to be optimistic by thinking that all this was just a prank, but when I saw the grim faces of the people upon entering the meeting room, I instantly realized that all this couldn’t be a prank.
‘This is serious…’
The soldiers and adjutants were running around frantically. The faces of the people in their seats were dyed with shock and anxiety. This joint training was to prepare for the upcoming threat, but no one expected that the threat actually existed.
The leaders of the Federation reacted more aggressively than the other regions.
“Father Lee Ki-Young.”
“Ah, Sir Gellahan,” I greeted.
“W-What happened? Do you know what’s going on?” he asked.
‘Why are you asking me that? It happened in your region, you bastard.’
“I just heard the news as well. You didn’t receive any news from the Federation?” I asked.
“We’re not sure what’s going on, but around two o’clock, we lost contact with them. I-I also heard about all this from my adjutant,” he replied.
“There hasn’t been a separate briefing?” I asked.
“No. Not an official briefing, but… I believe it’ll start soon. F-For now—”
Gellahan was interrupted when the door to the meeting room was opened.
A familiar face walked into the meeting room.
“Ah, Mr. Ki-Young.”
“Guild Master of Blue. It’s been a while.”
Gellahan greeted him, but Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t give the former any attention. Kim Hyun-Sung seemed to have become a bit emotional and biased, which was unlike him.
I thought he would at least make eye contact with Gellahan, but he completely ignored the former.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
Kim Hyun-Sung had always been the type to remain calm no matter the situation, so it was a bit surprising to see him acting like this. However, it didn’t take me long to figure out what was going on.
‘He reeks of alcohol. How much did he drink?’
People with a ton of mana, like Kim Hyun-Sung, would find it incredibly difficult to get drunk. Seeing him up close, he was a mess. He would always make sure that he would have a neat look, no matter where he went, but he looked really haggard today.
However, I couldn’t help but think that it was kind of unfair to see that he still looked handsome despite his messy hair.
Kim Hyun-Sung eventually sat down.
I was sure that it wouldn’t happen, but I couldn’t help but get worried that he might go crazy and start swinging his sword.
‘He must be having a hard time…’
I was sure that he felt like his head was about to explode. He was already having a hard time mentally, but a huge incident suddenly broke out.
There was a high chance that he was already at his wit’s end because the joint training wasn’t going according to his plan.
Fortunately, we managed to make him take a break in between all this mess. Otherwise, I was certain that he wouldn’t have been able to remain sane all this while.
After being ignored, Gellahan’s mood soured, so I patted his back to console him.
Then, I sat next to Kim Hyun-Sung as the Federation members started the briefing. I thought perhaps the destruction was caused by the upcoming threat that Benigoa had mentioned and Kim Hyun-Sung was worried about, but…
‘I’m sure this isn’t it...’ When I thought about the recent events, the threat couldn’t be the one behind this incident. ‘I don’t know what he’s thinking…’
He looked worried, but… I thought I should take a rain check on finding out what Kim Hyun-Sung thought about the incident. Right now, the briefing was more important.
“First of all, I would like to apologize and thank you all for gathering here so early in the morning.”
It seemed that every nation had the same opening spiel.
Anyway, the official briefing finally started.
“The first report was at 12:34 PM. The chief mage of the Federation felt a massive flow of magic around 11 PM. There was a violent tremor, and the region went off the grid. The accident happened in the large city of Amera. The denizens of the Federation were evacuated around 11:43 PM and around 2:32 AM, everyone had already evacuated except a portion of the ordinary denizens and adventurers.”
“...”
“We believe that those who had failed to evacuate are trapped in an underground shelter. We’re still investigating what happened. We heard that there was a large explosion and incessant loud noises.”
‘That isn’t enough information...’
The large city of Amera was the capital of the Federation. The tutorial dungeon of the Americans was located at Amera, and it was such an influential city that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was the driving force of the Federation’s economy.
Since Amera was the capital of the Federation, it had many important facilities, so it would be an understatement to say that Amera was important to the Federation.
‘Even though that’s the case, the way they’re handling the issue is pretty slow.’
They had done a good job at evaluating the damages and evacuating the denizens, but I was shocked by the fact that the report only arrived at 12:34 PM when the incident occurred at 11 PM.
It meant that the report was delayed for an hour and thirty-four minutes.
Obviously, I got curious about what Kylie Yale and the people like Gellahan were up to. I wasn’t sure what Kylie was going to do, but I was sure that Gellahan was going to do something stupid.
“The investigation team we sent to Amera still hasn’t returned. It was also difficult to figure out what was going on, even using griffons or other methods. The ground is still trembling, so the nearby cities are preparing to evacuate their people…”
“However, the monsters in the nearby forests are furious, so they’re having trouble moving people around.”
“Hm.”
“The chief mage of the Federation is still looking for clues, but the traces are thin, so… we need support from high-ranking mages. This is all the information that we have received so far. We’re currently trying to think of a way to receive news systematically.”
‘It’s decent...’
The information we had on hand wasn’t enough for us to come up with theories. We also couldn’t completely exclude the possibility that the Federation was hiding information from us, so I had no choice but to be cautious.
They were trying to split Kim Hyun-Sung and me, so it wouldn’t be strange if they had something else up their sleeves.
Yes, there was an explosion, and a city was completely ruined. However, we had no idea what was actually happening within the Federation.
This continental alliance…
It was possible that this was one of their tricks to stab the Sacred Democratic Country in the back and shatter the continental alliance.
No, it was highly likely that this was one of their cards.
‘Oh, they’re really cunning… Who’s supporting you guys?’
I saw that Kylie Yale’s hair had turned white.
‘Mana exhaustion.’
She was pretending like she was fine, but she was obviously stressed.
She used advanced magic to hide her hair color, but I could clearly see her white hair through Mind’s Eye. I couldn’t find a connection just yet, but Kylie Yale’s white hair and Amera’s sudden plight were really suspicious.
‘They’re putting on a show.’
“We must prepare the soldiers and rescue the trapped denizens…”
“No. First of all, we must figure out what happened.”
“That’s going to take too long. shouldn’t we rescue the denizens in the other cities first?”
“We must move cautiously. We still don’t know who the enemy is or what their intentions are. I’d like to hear what the others think about all this.”
“I think it’s best if we observe a bit longer…”
“Didn’t we gather here for incidents like this?”
“Let’s start off by making preparations, so we’ll be prepared for anything. I think it’s best for us to prepare so that we can leave anytime.”
“I agree.”
“I agree.”
‘They’re just trying to show off…’
It was a funny sight. The people who weren’t part of the Federation were trying to back out, while the Federation members were crying out, saying that reinforcements should be sent over to Amera right away.
The sight was so ridiculous that the meeting was rendered meaningless.
I could understand the feelings of the scums who were relieved that the incident didn’t happen in their region. After all, it was none of their business.
However, the fact that those scums looked so sure that what had happened to the Federation wouldn’t happen to their region was suspicious.
Right now, they should have suggested that we should send reinforcements over to Amera, but they didn’t say anything like that.
Kylie Yale was here, so I thought that it wouldn’t be too bad to observe in the meantime.
There were apparently many denizens who had gotten trapped in Amera, but they weren’t really my problem. In addition, I couldn’t ignore the possibility that the Federation members were lying and that no one really got trapped.
‘I wonder if three days are enough...’
I couldn’t help but wonder if three days were enough for us to do a background check on Kylie Yale and create an advantageous situation for us.
There were variables, but it was possible.
However, I had no choice but to remain quiet when Jung Ha-Yan and Han Sora showed up with white hair.
‘What the hell did you guys do?’
Their white hair meant that they were suffering from the effects of mana exhaustion.
Comments 5