Chapter 1583: A New Normal (38) |
I found myself observing Commander Jin’s face. I had done all sorts of terrible things to him up until now, but seeing him silently looking around at the devastation with a completely incomprehensible face made me feel like, for once, I probably ought to apologize sincerely.
What bothered me even more was the fact that my dream of becoming the lady of his estate had vanished like a fleeting illusion.
‘Damn it… m-m-my mansion…’
The beautiful landscaping, the annex buildings that looked worthy of architectural awards despite not matching the main mansion, all of them had been reduced to ruins.
Naturally, the place that suffered the greatest damage was the Shadow Mansion itself. The expensive artworks that once decorated the interior luxuriously had all become trash, and a massive hole now gaped open in the ceiling.
Just moments ago, my head had been filled with thoughts of somehow becoming the master of this mansion, but now, I wouldn’t want it even if someone handed it to me for free.
Honestly, all I wanted was to get away from this cursed place as quickly as possible.
The biggest reason, of course, was the gloomy aura radiating from the man standing right in front of me. I wanted to come up with some kind of excuse, but it was obvious that no matter what I said right now, Commander Jin would not hear a word of it.
Honestly, I couldn’t even bring myself to properly look him in the eyes.
“…”
“Sh-Should we… get going now?” I asked.
“Yes. Unfortunately, it seems best to postpone this meeting until next time, Mr. Ki-Young. More importantly… regarding what we were discussing earlier—”
“No, Mr. Hyun-Sung. W-we can talk about that after we return to the mansion. It’s embarrassing,” I said, interrupting him.
“Ah… right. O-Of course. S-sorry, Mr. Ki-Young,” he said.
“…” “…”
“Ha-Yan… Let’s go,” I said.
“O-okay… let’s hurry and g-go back, oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan said.
The two troublemakers with absurdly thick skin didn’t seem remotely concerned about the destruction of Commander Jin’s mansion. Their attitude stood in stark contrast to Han Sora, who kept nervously glancing at Commander Jin with a pale face.
It was obvious that she was worried that this incident could derail the Peace City Project altogether, or that even if the treaty proceeded as planned, the Black Tower proposal could get canceled entirely.
She was openly casting resentful glances at Jung Ha-Yan, and the sight of her doing that said more than enough. Naturally, Jung Ha-Yan, eager to escape the crime scene as quickly as possible, kept urging everyone to hurry back to the Blue Guild while subtly checking Han Sora’s reaction.
“Um… Commander Jin… I had a really nice time… Th-Thank you so much for inviting us. I think… it’s probably best if we end things here for today, right?” I asked.
“…”
“Th-This is really unfortunate… S-see! I told you! We couldn’t just sit around doing nothing! Things like this always happen all of a sudden… hehehe…” I giggled awkwardly.
“…”
“O-of course, I’m not blaming you, Commander Jin… Who could have known that something like that would be mixed in with the anti-peace treaty protesters… A-And I wasn’t lying about Lukifer's followers or the Hypnosis Guy either.
"T-This entire terrorist attack might be planned by one of Lukifer’s pawns. There’s a high chance someone manipulated the Holy Sword Hero to sabotage the peace treaty,” I explained.
“...’
“We really need to hold a countermeasure meeting. A dark shadow is falling over the continent once again. Please don’t forget what happened today. D-Don’t worry, Commander. You know you’re not alone… right?” I asked.
“...”
“The Blue Guild and the Democratic Country will never tolerate this shameless act of terrorism committed within the Republic. We’ll capture every single person involved and—”
“…”
“AAAAAAAAAHHH! Don’t stop me! My hyung-nim is inside that mansion!” Park Deok-Gu roared.
“You fool! Was this your doing?!” Old Man Han shouted.
“W-We’re not enemies! We just got caught up in this because of certain circumstances!” Park Deok-Gu said.
“The reinforcements are here! Capture every last one of them!” Old Man Han ordered.
‘Ha… damn it. The timing…’
Naturally, I saw Commander Jin staring directly at me as though telling me to explain myself one more time.
“W-We dispatched a few Blue Guild members into the anti-peace treaty protestors to capture Lukifer's followers. It seems there was some kind of misunderstanding,” I told him.
“…”
“…”
“Y-You know I really like you a lot, Commander Jin… right?” I asked.
“…”
“S-So… shall we head ba…”
“Just… where exactly… do you think you are going, Lee Ki-Young?” he asked, sounding and looking emotionless.
“P-Pardon me?” I asked.
The atmosphere instantly turned terrifyingly serious. I had seen Commander Jin make twisted expressions before, but I had never seen that face of his. One side of his face looked like it was smiling, while the other side looked furious.
It honestly felt like staring at the face of some ghost one was never supposed to see.
The sight of it made even me feel unsettled.
Naturally, my heart dropped the moment I heard his voice.
‘Wait… wait… he’s not going to ask us to pay for compensation, right?’
“…”
“…”
‘He’s not seriously telling us to compensate for all of this… right? Our Commander Jin has his pride… He’s not that petty… right?’
I didn’t want to panic, but compensating for a mansion like this was genuinely dangerous. I couldn't help but wonder whether the Blue Guild could actually face financial ruin. The mansion itself was bad enough, but the real issue was probably the artworks inside.
Wasn’t the place filled with paintings and sculptures from artists famous enough that anyone would recognize their names?
Considering this bastard had absurdly expensive tastes and was notoriously picky about art, there was a very real chance some of those pieces were priceless beyond estimation. I hated having to do this, but…
“C-Commander Jin… y-you’re rich… b- but I’m… p-poor…" I ended up muttering in a tiny, weak voice.
I wasn’t even sure whether he heard me or not, but soon enough, Commander Jin slowly continued speaking. “I… can’t simply… send my guests… away… just like this…”
“???”
“Without even… serving… them meal… first… huff… huff…” he said.
“???”
“That would be… far too… rude…” he added.
‘Th-this bastard… his voice… and breathing… are kind of weird…’
“It’s… regrettable… that the mansion… ended up like this… Sit down…” he said.
“Pardon…? Wh-Where exactly…” I asked.
“On the floor,” he answered. The twisted side of his face had apparently been the face of someone desperately suppressing their rage. He was trying his best to stay calm, but it looked like he could start screaming at any moment.
Just what exactly did inviting guests mean to this bastard? Under normal circumstances, I would smugly think that I held the upper hand here, but even I wasn’t shameless enough to entertain thoughts like that in this situation.
‘I-Is this bastard… an angel?’
“Huff… you should already know… that this isn’t… a situation where I can really… entertain guests… Even if the hospitality… is somewhat lacking… I hope you’ll… understand…” Commander Jin muttered.
‘He really is… an angel…’
On top of that, he started rummaging through the completely destroyed kitchen to gather ingredients and began cooking. I would bet my life that this was probably the first time he had ever personally stepped into his own mansion’s kitchen.
“…”
“…”
Soon, I caught a whiff of a familiar smell. It was that damned mapo tofu again. Han Sora, Kim Hyun-Sung, and Jung Ha-Yan carefully observed my reaction before quietly taking their seats.
Meanwhile, Jung Ha-Yan kept sniffing the air. I felt like she had gotten hungry after all the fighting.
I was kind of speechless at how shameless she was acting, but then I saw Kim Hyun-Sung looking like he was about to sprint straight into the kitchen himself, and I nearly lost my mind at the sight of it. Was this lunatic seriously thinking about having a cooking duel with Commander Jin?
Was Kim Hyun-Sung genuinely incapable of reading the room?
“Stay still, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” I said.
“Pardon?”
“I said stay still,” I repeated.
“Ah… right, Mr. Ki-Young.”
“…”
“Once we return to the Blue Guild, maybe I should also try—”
“Stay still,” I said, interrupting him.
“Okay…”
Even Sung Ji-Hoon and Oksana, who were still being restrained on their knees, were sniffing the air as well. Dozens of minutes passed while everyone waited for Commander Jin. Perhaps cooking the mapo tofu helped him somewhat regain his composure, as his face looked far better now than before.
Compared to the extravagant feast from mountains and seas I expected at a giant Chinese round table, the mapo tofu looked rather humble, but honestly, it didn’t feel out of place at all.
“I hope it suits your tastes,” Commander Jin said.
“…
“Please, eat,” he offered.
We were given half-broken plates and damaged utensils; everyone huddled together in a pitiful atmosphere, but…
‘Th-This atmosphere… isn’t actually that bad. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to bring up compensation…’
If anything, it felt strangely warm, and it wasn't just me saying that. Jung Ha-Yan and Kim Hyun-Sung both seemed much more comfortable with this sort of atmosphere. Was no one thinking that this bastard could have poisoned the mapo tofu?
The first person to pick up a spoon was Jung Ha-Yan, who had been licking her lips this whole time. Forget dignity or appearances, she shoved a mouthful of mapo tofu into her mouth.
“It’s good!" she exclaimed with her mouth full.
“It’s… really delicious…” Kim Hyun-Sung remarked with wide eyes, despite looking skeptical just moments ago.
“It’s… delicious.”
‘It… really does taste good, though.’
However, I once ate this often, so it was starting to get a little tiresome for me. Still, after tasting it again for the first time in a while, the familiar flavor immediately captured my tongue.
For quite some time, the only sounds were everyone quietly chewing in silence. Once Jung Ha-Yan finished an entire bowl, she stared directly at Commander Jin, who looked really dumbfounded before silently handing her another serving.
“H-Honestly, it does get kind of repetitive. R-right, Sora?” she said, whispering that completely insincere comment to Han Sora. I said "insincere," as Jung Ha-Yan still had bits of mapo tofu all over her mouth, making her statement completely unconvincing.
Her mouth was clearly burning from the spice as she fanned herself and sweated, yet she still couldn’t stop moving herself from moving spoon. When I finished what looked like a rather large serving, Kim Hyun-Sung looked genuinely shocked.
“You must’ve been very hungry, Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung commented.
“Ah… yes.”
“Lee Ki-Young, you want another serving?” Commander Jin offered.
“Yes, just a little more, Commander Jin,” I answered.
“Y-you really must’ve been hungry…”
The meal continued for quite a while longer, and eventually, Commander Jin said, “Normally, I’d like to see you off personally… but given the state of the estate, that may be difficult. Someone has to clean all of this up, after all."
“Pardon?”
“I’m telling you to leave now.” Commander Jin’s firm voice echoed through the ruined mansion. “Leave."
“…”
“Leave, Lee Ki-Young,” he added.
“…”
“Please… just leave…” he muttered, sounding really desperate. I knew that, for the sake of Commander Jin’s mental peace alone, it was only polite for us to leave immediately, but…
“…”
“…”
“Commander!” a messenger exclaimed.
“…”
“A man claiming to be from Murim… has been discovered inside the Tutorial Dungeon,” the messenger said.
I unconsciously straightened up when I heard the messenger's report.
