Chapter 485: Blue’s Circumstances (1)
“Manager Kim Mi-young.”
“Oh, manager Park Joong-ki… I’m sorry. I couldn’t even say hello because I had a lot to do. Have all the goods arrived?”
“Yes. All of the supplies you mentioned have been processed and put in the warehouse. Some were loaded in a wagon so that they could go straight to the field. After confirmation, I will go to the Guild Master to get payment. If you’re busy, I’ll take care of your part too.”
“No. It’s crazy, but I’m sure I can do everything I’m doing. That is also important. Did the reinforcements arrive together?”
“The reinforcements might take a little time. It was so sudden… It is said that the State is recruiting all personnel available from the Holy Knights and Archbishops, including the Templars. Since the matter is important, I think it will move all armed groups run by the Holy See. The same goes for other big cities. Pope Basel has said that he is heading directly to the Federation without going through the joint-training grounds. It seems like there’s been a lot of internal talks.”
“That’s…”
“I tried to tell him otherwise, but because he is so fiery… Had it not been for Oscar and the other members of the Congress, he would have advanced directly to the Federation.”
“Lindel’s atmosphere must be unsettled.”
“It’s not just Lindel. The whole country is feeling insecure. While coming this way, I checked all other small and medium-sized cities, but overall, the residents’ faces were dark. Most of them are only praying. It seems like the country itself has been paralyzed. How about here?”
“It’s like a funeral. Of course, it’s understandable, but… in particular, Park Deokgu isn’t feeling well. As soon as Elena got the news, she fainted. Sun Hee-young and Cho Hyejin are not looking good, either.”
“And Jung Hayan is…”
“I bring her meals every day, but she’s not eating it. I hear her only crying all the time, but I can’t imagine how hurt she is. It was like losing the Vice Guild Master right in front of her… It hurts more because she seems to think it’s all her fault. Immediately after arriving, she was gibberish and mumbled about it being her fault. I thought she was out of her mind, so I recommended her to take a break for now…”
“…”
“She’s not meeting with Park Deokgu, as well as the Guild Master and other people, and her wounds hadn’t recovered. She’s refusing to have the priests heal her even if they enter. The Guild Master told me to keep an eye on her because there’s a possibility that she might harm herself.”
“Hmm. Gosh… sometimes, even being a good person is a problem. I heard that she got caught up in a job trying to save the fleeing federal people… There’s good news, though. From what I heard from Dialugia, she’s sure he’s still alive. In this situation, guild staff like us should be more alert. Party members will have a hard time paying attention to other parts.”
“Yes. We should.”
Manager Kim Mi-young’s face darkened.
‘It seems like she’s overdoing it…’
She pretended to be as casual as possible, but I was able to predict what kind of feelings she would be feeling at that moment, as the time I spent together with her as a guild employee of the Blue was long.
‘Why wouldn’t she be having a hard time?’
It was manager Kim Mi-young who acted as the hands and feet of Vice Guild Master for a long time. She was told that the demon had kidnapped the benefactor who saved her from a hellish life. Therefore, it would not be strange at all for her to react the same way as the others. She would want to shed tears and to sit back.
Nevertheless, seeing that she focused on her work, as usual, I knew that she was a person who deserved the trust of the Vice Guild Master. He probably saw her being like that from the beginning. Hence, he had used an insignificant person as the center of the Blue administration.
She knew that the priority was to get things done in a hurry rather than to be sad.
“Are you sure that the consultations with other countries are going well?”
“For now, the operation to recapture the Federation has been officially approved. The operation is also scheduled to be implemented in exactly a week, but…”
“Yes.”
“I am not a military expert, and I am not sure, but in many ways, I felt that it was not prepared properly. The passive attitude of some countries and large guilds also affected it, and they are still confused about the composition of the troops entering each region. Even the Federation members, such as Gerhan of Hellfire and Jamilla, seemed unwilling to move. It was like they have decided to abandon all the facilities in the Federation. It makes me bitter. They were so close to the Vice Guild Master… and as soon as the news was cut off, they cut contacts.”
“They’re trash humans. Well, such humans…”
“I don’t know if they don’t want to admit that it might be the turn of the other kingdoms after the Federation, or they’re just fools. In the worst case, the Guild Master seems to be thinking about the case of recapture operations only with the alliance and the Republic.”
“The Republic must be feeling enthusiastic about this.”
“Yes. It’s a fortune out of misfortunes. They seem to be trying to recover somehow the image that was hit by the last war. Perhaps one of the reasons is that the current President of the Republic has been against the demon. If you think about being backstabbed by the Demon Summoner Jin Qing, it’s completely understandable.”
“But in many ways…”
“There are many unknown factors. It is our job to reduce them as much as possible. In the absence of the Vice Guild Master, I think I will probably be in charge of all other tasks, but it would be better for manager Park Joong-ki to prepare well.”
“I am worried that things will go wrong.”
“…”
“…”
A brief silence sank in the room. Manager Kim Mi-young probably had a similar thought.
The administration team of Blue was said to be much more competent than the administration team of other guilds.
However, it was undeniable that the touch of the Vice Guild Master and Honorary Cardinal Lee Kiyoung entered there. It wasn’t unreasonable to worry about how far we could do it without a manager who held fine details.
That was even more of a case, especially for something big like what was happening. Perhaps her silence meant that. I wondered if we could really do it properly.
As we keep walking in a moment of silence, I could see the Guild Master’s office.
After taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door, and a voice resounded, saying, ‘You can come in.’
Manager Kim Mi-young nodded and slowly began to open the door of the office.
‘The shock must be great.’
Since the relationship between the Guild Master and the Vice Guild Master was so special, it was natural to think that he was shocked to some extent.
In fact, I was a little worried.
It seemed like he’s pretending to be okay, but witnessing how he looked a little emaciated, he certainly looked affected by what unfolded.
I felt like he wasn’t properly tidy, and there were dark circles under his eyes as if he couldn’t sleep properly.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his body language showed overall anxiety and nervousness.
“We can omit the greeting. Show me the receipts to be paid immediately and go out immediately… No, please wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“Yes?”
‘The atmosphere…’
It was far different from usual. It felt like ice. It was so cold that I trembled a little without my knowledge.
‘Was he always like this?’
I didn’t know what to say. In the absence of the Vice Guild Master, the principle was to receive payment from the Guild Master.
It wasn’t the first time I had seen him up close, but I remembered that the usual Guild Master was very different from how he acted at the time.
He was subtly smiling, and yet he still remained expressionless. Even if he had to pretend, he would’ve shown kindness regardless. I had doubts if he really was Kim Hyunsung.
“Is this the end of supplies?”
“Yes. First, as much as we can get… Since the war is not over, the overall quantity is insufficient. There are some items that we have more than enough of, but…”
“Please prepare the same quantity one more time within three days.”
“What?”
“Prepare it. It doesn’t matter what method you use. You just need to have it ready.”
“If you say it doesn’t matter…”
“Should I explain it some more?”
“N-No.”
“Just adjust the quantity by yourself.”
“Okay.”
‘Sh*t…’
“As you know, Kiyoung is absent. The Tactical Support Team, the Strategic Dissemination Support Team, and other administrative teams that have not been mentioned will be handled by two people, Kim Mi-young and Park Joong-ki. On behalf of Kiyoung, we will participate in the joint conference with Hyejin and the official conference of the Blue. I thought you should know that in advance so you can prepare for it.”
‘I knew it.’
“I think you already have a gist about the current situation.”
“I do…”
“And manager Kim Mi-young…”
“Yes, Guild Master?”
“Please make a list of people who are considered to be obstacles or risk factors in the federal recapture operation and bring it to me. Of course, the contents of the list are confidential.”
“…”
“I’ll give you two days. The faster, the better. You can get help from Lee Jihye from the Black Swan.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Since you are both capable people, I believe you will do well.”
‘…’
For some reason, I felt ominous about the situation.
My ominous premonitions had never been wrong. Our heavy shoulders were getting heavier, and I knew it was no illusion.
I understood what he was thinking about.
However, his appearance was very different from usual to the point that it made him feel unfamiliar. No matter how much I thought about his order, it only sounded like he was making a hit list.
He even ordered us to bring in supplies and to use any means necessary.
‘Is he planning to rob a small town?’
In fact, it was almost impossible to prepare the same quantity within three days without doing so.
Considering that he was willing for the image of Blue to be damaged to prepare the supplies, it meant that many situations bothered him in many ways.
There was no disagreement over the fact that there wasn’t enough room to prepare, but I had to question why he chose such an extreme method.
I bit my lips hard.
“Meet the Guild Master…”
The door quickly opened, and a familiar face was revealed.
“Just tell me what it is.”
“A message has arrived.”
“…”
“While the wizards are still going through the verification process, the message from the federal side appears to be a magical hologram… It is confirmed that it contains the appearance of the Vice Guild Master. Whether there are other traps…”
Just after the messenger spoke, I started to feel so much pressure I couldn’t even breathe.
‘W-what is this?’
The body of manager Kim Mi-young next to me was also trembling visibly.
‘I can’t breathe…’