Chapter 478: Faithful Servant (1) |
The surprise on the party members’ faces made it clear that the sudden summons surprised them as well. I was surprised as well, albeit for a slightly different reason.
When I saw signs of mana exhaustion in Jung Ha-Yan and Han Sora, I had to think about this incident more seriously. The incident that I had considered as someone else’s problem ended up being my problem.
I felt like I had just heard that my neighbor’s house was on fire, but it turned out that my house was actually the one that was on fire.
‘What the hell did they do?’
It was also ridiculous how they sat next to each other. Jung Ha-Yan looked like she was in a better condition, but Han Sora looked pale, as if she had gotten food poisoning. Of course, it was obvious that she suffering from mana exhaustion.
Their skin was peeling off as well, in addition to their white hair, and this meant that they had sacrificed their life force after exhausting their mana. In the eyes of a third party, they were thoroughly exhausted, and I was sure that people would tell them to rest.
Actually, they would even suggest locking the two up because they looked like they would collapse and start vomiting blood at any time.
Jung Ha-Yan didn’t look well, but her mana recovery speed was unrealistically fast, so she was doing fine. Of course, it was all thanks to Jung Ha-Yan’s Legendary attribute: the Heart of an Archmage.
‘They didn’t just use a single spell…’
When I saw that even Han Sora was suffering from mana exhaustion, I became even more convinced that the party didn’t just drop a meteor on the Federation.
‘The undead?’
The worst-case scenario was that they could have summoned a demon.
If that were true, then it was highly likely that they had summoned one of the 72 Demon Lords. Otherwise, there was no way they could have laid waste to Amera. Kylie Yale probably got involved as well because her magic was in the 90s.
If she had decided to join Jung Ha-Yan’s party, then she had to have received a lot of benefits to do so. I wasn’t sure if they had summoned Belial, but they were definitely trying to wipe the Federation off the map.
‘Why are you doing this?’
Many things were bothering me, and I got even more suspicious of Jung Ha-Yan when I remembered how I once muttered that the world was too peaceful next to her.
Recently, I also kept on spending time with Jamila while giving Jung Ha-Yan the excuse that I was going out to eat and meet people. Of course, I didn’t make unnecessary physical contact with Jamila, but what I had done could be considered one of the textbook actions of a scum.
Naturally, there was a reason behind my recent actions, but it was still undeniable that I was a shitty guy who left his fiancee to go out and meet other people
‘Wait, what if she heard my conversation with Hyun-Sung yesterday?’
I started getting suspicious that Jung Ha-Yan heard the conversation between Kim Hyun-Sung and me yesterday. I wasn’t sure how, but she could have heard me saying that I was going to move over to the Federation, which made her lose her mind.
I wasn’t sure about many things, like how she managed to team up with Kylie Yale and why she immediately exploded without any forewarning, but I decided to continue looking for more puzzle pieces and complete the puzzle later on.
‘I knew she seemed a bit suspicious. Shit…!’
My stomach had sunk when I realized that a strange spell was cast on Kylie Yale. I knew that the caster was nearby, but I couldn’t have expected that the caster would end up being Jung Ha-Yan.
Of course, it was still unconfirmed that she was the one who had cast a spell on Kylie Yale, but based on Jung Ha-Yan’s track record, it would be safe to presume that she was the caster.
It was also more convincing than saying that Kim Hyun-Sung destroyed the entire Federation out of frustration and fury.
‘I need to really teach her a lesson this time…’
Of course, I wasn’t really sure if that was even possible…
I had to talk to her before she caused even bigger problems.
Everything was fine right now, but if Jung Ha-Yan also became an issue in addition to the upcoming threat to the continent, then I honestly wasn’t confident that I would be able to handle both of them at the same time.
Anyway, it was imperative for me to figure out what happened, and I also had to do my best to hide that three of our guild members were possible suspects.
‘It’s better this way. Shit… It’s better this way.’
I decided to look at the ongoing situation from a positive angle, and it didn’t seem that bad. It seemed like we were in the worst-case scenario, but the incident actually changed what everyone felt about the joint training.
‘I was actually thinking about abandoning those Federation bastards after all this.’
The leaders of the continent thought that nothing would happen, but something actually happened, which made them feel a sense of crisis.
I was actually thinking about causing trouble, so Jung Ha-Yan actually ended up helping me by taking care of my plan. The problem was that I wasn’t involved in the planning stage.
I wasn’t sure how well they took care of the evidence, and it was also difficult to imagine those three taking care of the incident perfectly without leaving a single clue or trace. It was even more applicable because Jung Ha-Yan was their leader.
They decided to involve Kylie Yale of the Federation, so I couldn’t help but hope that they took care of the incident thoroughly.
Unfortunately, a single piece of evidence would be enough for the people to track them, so I started to feel desperate.
It would be strange if I weren’t feeling desperate when there was a chance that everything would come to light.
After all, the truth was that Jung Ha-Yan had cast the spell that almost wiped Laios off of the map, Han Sora was a black mage, and the Honorary Cardinal of the Sacred Democratic Country had covered everything up.
I had to figure out how they created this incident, and I had to be one step ahead by making sure that they didn’t leave any evidence behind.
In the worst-case scenario, I could draw a beautiful picture by blaming Kylie Yale for everything, but it couldn’t be done unless I knew every detail about the incident.
‘I need to figure out if there’s evidence, and I have to handle everything… by myself.’
Kim Hyun-Sung adjourned the briefing despite the chaos. While Jo Hye-Jin was talking to the party members, I couldn’t help but talk to Kim Hyun-Sung.
“Mr. Hyun-Sung.”
“Yes, Mr. Ki-Young.”
“...Can I ask what the Blue Guild is planning to do about all this?” I asked.
“I honestly haven’t made a decision. We should send reinforcements right away, considering that people are trapped there, but the leaders decided to send a scout team first. We also don’t have enough information for us to just go there, and we also shouldn’t take unnecessary risks,” Kim Hyun-Sung replied.
“I see,” I commented.
“This will sound a bit cruel, but I honestly agree with the leaders’ opinion. The Federation is in a bad situation, but there’s no need for us to take risks. I’m planning on observing until we receive useful information. Without useful information, we can’t create a plan to tackle the issue,” he continued.
It was a reasonable decision.
“Right now, the only thing we can do is wait until they’ve collected enough information and help evacuate the denizens of the other cities. I’m sure they’ll reach the same decision as us as well,” he added.
If I were in Kim Hyun-Sung’s shoes, I would have thought the same. The top priority was to gather enough information because we still had no idea what exactly happened in the Federation.
We could probably help the denizens outside the city, but going to the epicenter of the disaster was too much. It was a reasonable decision no matter how much I thought about it, but…
‘I hope he’s not saying that just because he doesn’t want to go.’
It was nothing more than an assumption, but I couldn’t help but think that he was hoping that the Federation would fall just like this.
The Federation was a hostile force that was trying to destroy the Blue Guild, and Kim Hyun-Sung was probably thinking that he was about to win without much effort.
Our political opponent was about to collapse on their own, and their collapse would definitely stop me from moving over to the Federation.
‘Was he involved in this as well?’
He had a reasonable motive. However, I couldn’t do anything else but sigh, even though he was suspicious. And it was all because I had already figured out what he thought about the ongoing situation. In addition, he had decided to become passive as well.
It happened like a bolt out of the blue, so it was a good enough reason to stand by and watch. Of course, I was worried that he would just watch until the Federation collapsed, but it was a hundred—no, a thousand times better than charging in as heroes and suffering catastrophically as a result.
‘It’s not that bad for me, too...’
I still didn’t want people to know that Jung Ha-Yan and Han Sora could be the culprits.
“Forming a refugee support group should be one of the top priorities,” I said.
“I believe we have already received requests for support from the guilds and clans of the Federation. The Blue Guild will remain on standby for now. What about…” Kim Hyun-Sung trailed off.
“I’ll go and take a look around. Something has been bothering me,” I replied.
“Ah, let’s go together, then,” he suggested.
“No, there’s no need. I’m really just going to look around. I’ll be with Ha-Yan, so you don’t have to worry so much,” I declined.
“...”
‘Please don’t say that you’re going to follow me...’
I felt like I had to beat him to the punch…
“The guild needs a leader on the field, so you don’t have to come with me. It won’t take long as well,” I added.
“But…”
“There are many things we need to handle, and I believe you know them better than I do, Mr. Hyun-Sung… It’s better for you to stay here since I haven’t really been training these days. You don’t have to worry. I’ll be really quick,” I assured him.
“Well, since you said it like that… All right,” he said.
I wasn’t sure why, but he seemed disappointed. There was a chance that he thought that I was really going to leave the Blue Guild because I had just declined his offer. Well, what he thought didn’t really matter right now.
I pushed away the trivial thoughts and glanced at Jung Ha-Yan. The culprit behind this huge incident and the hero who had completely resolved the continental alliance’s laziness issue seemed happy that I was staring at her.
She flinched slightly, but she quickly smiled brightly at me. Jung Ha-Yan looked like she could never imagine that I would be suspicious of her. She also looked happy that we were about to take a stroll.
‘Yeah… the medicine’s wearing off as well.’
I was actually thankful that she managed to endure it for so long.
“Let’s go, Ha-Yan,” I said.
“O-Okay!”
“We’re just going to ride the griffon and take a look around real quick. I’m going to record everything, so we can watch it on the magic hologram in the future. You’re okay with that, right?” I asked.
“O-Of course, oppa. Hehe,” Jung Ha-Yan replied.
“We’ll be back, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” I told him.
“Okay.”
Would it be better to be straightforward and pressure her, or should I take a slightly different route and help her realize her mistake?
I thought about it, but I couldn’t find the right answer.
Of course, there was a way—a surefire way to resolve the issue with Jung Ha-Yan and Kim Hyun-Sung. It would be kind of difficult, but it shouldn’t be too much trouble as long as the conditions were met.
The two conditions that had to be met were the following: Han Sora and Jung Ha-Yan had to have summoned a demon to cause havoc in the Federation, and the demon had to be Belial, the Demon of Lies and Instigation.
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