Chapter 525: Partial Confinement (3)
‘Then, when is it possible…?’
I had expected that he would be firm, but he proved to be firmer than I even imagined. It was not like Kim Hyunsung to cut off my words to discontinue the conversation.
It didn’t feel bad that he was earnest about my protection, but it was getting too much.
‘Should I just say I remember?’
At that moment, it felt better to say that I remembered, but…
‘Saying that will also cause some problems.’
I couldn’t imagine what would happen if I told him I remembered everything with great mental shock.
He might actually try to protect me even more and implement more security measures, such as by shouting at people that the Holy Cardinal Lee Kiyoung had to be examined and observed again.
Of course, there weren’t many who would do that, but I couldn’t really say there was none, either. Even if I was the vessel of Benignore, it didn’t change the fact that a demon had once tainted me.
The empire at least wouldn’t say such crap, but outside forces definitely might. That seemed to be even more of the case, considering many people were getting wearier about the empire’s increasing prestige due to Kim Hyunsung.
Even if they were on the same branch, it would be a political battle to scuffle amongst each other constantly. Even if the entire humanity had gathered together to fight against demons, it was only human nature for different countries and associations to move according to their advantage.
‘That’s only human.’
Holy Cardinal Lee Kiyoung was the easiest target they could aim for in the Blue Guild right now. I thought that might contribute to why Kim Hyunsung was trying to protect me so fiercely.
When outside forces showed their dissent, he must have concluded that it wasn’t a good time for me to go out.
‘Are more people thinking like this than I thought?’
No, that wasn’t possible. If they had even the smallest sense of principle, no one could criticize me directly. There might be some stifles, but I was sure that it would be a very small fraction…
‘I’m so curious I’m going crazy.’
I became more anxious by thinking about what people were saying about me, how the recovery process was going on, and what the state of the unified training proved to be.
With Benignore’s entrance included, I was sure that the empire’s entire system had been returned pretty much to normal…
Dungeons that were once closed would have been opened by that time, monsters would’ve started causing trouble again, and I was almost completely sure that there were many other small changes.
In addition to this, we were able to collect a lot of holy power, so I was sure that new dungeons and contents could be obtained. While Benignore’s 2.0 edition might have already launched, I didn’t particularly appreciate waiting while sucking my thumb.
I felt that way even more since I was used to swimming around in new information, but all information had been blocked recently.
This was why I looked forward to my meeting with my only ally, Lee Jihye.
“You should have shown some restraint. The saying that ‘you reap what you sow’ has turned out to be completely right. If you just restrained yourself a little bit more, it would not have been to this extent… You worked too hard on your scenario, directing, and acting… That’s why they’re all acting like this. Really, how could you not even call us once while that was happening?”
“…”
“Didn’t you say you could come out in my dream?”
“I’m sorry, Nuna. I’ve been reflecting on it.”
“I didn’t complain to hear you apologize. I’m not jealous either. I’m not sure if you would believe it, but I also felt a little bit sad because of you. But I soon laughed when I found out what was really going on. So haha, what is it that you are curious about?”
“I just want to know what’s going on outside. The more specific, the better…”
“…”
“…”
“That’s unfortunate, but I can’t tell you the situation…”
“What do you mean?”
“Just as I said. A restriction has been set.”
“…”
“…”
“Look at my tongue right now. If I want to even meet you, all external visitors need to be stamped with this. There are no exemptions. I was able to get a looser restriction because we know each other, but the people who don’t know you have to go through more rigorous examinations. Even if you ask me questions, I still can’t answer.”
“Why are they going so far?”
“They want to prevent any possible scenarios. People are just humans, and they can make mistakes when they talk. It’s just an extra precaution. Of course, I also think it is a bit extreme.”
“…”
“I wanted to organize the information into a document, but they told me that they were also going to check my belongings. The twin-blades user, Park Li-ahn, that bitch, seemed way too excited to search through all my possessions and me.”
“So what is the exact restriction?”
“No saying specific words. No writing. No bringing any dangerous items or items that could trigger your memories. The only thing I can tell you is that the new edition of ‘How The Genius Swordsman and the Alchemists Love Each Other’ has been released, and they are being sold like crazy. But you know…”
“What is it?”
“Honestly, I can understand them somewhat.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just think about it. How can you let someone who was half dead go just after two weeks? I bet they thought you should rest for at least half a year even if you don’t want to. And they are doing this so they can also protect your mental state.”
“But, even if that’s the case…”
“If you add the extra trauma, it’s only natural that you’re being locked up. It’s pretty reasonable that they feel nervous when you’re not in front of them, even more so the Guild Master who cares for you so much… How pitiful.”
“…”
“Really, who is he to care about your mentality? It’s rare for someone to be as trashy as you…”
‘That’s not for you to say.’
“I always have thoughts like that, but I’m comforted every time I see you. I comfort myself thinking… at least I’m not as rotten as you yet. I especially feel comforted this time… anyways, there’s just one thing I can tell you.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what exactly you are thinking, but all your guesses are probably right. We are doing a good job coping with our situation. I want to give you specific information about it, but there’s a lot of restriction on this subject. Anyways, it’s been a while but let’s have se-! Ah, Hayan must have put a restriction…”
“What?”
“It seems she put a restriction on all 18+ words. This was not in the contract. She’s changed, hasn’t she?”
“I mean, she did change, especially if I consider what she was like before. Still, I think it’s only the little things because people can’t change in a day.”
“Regardless, she’s more of a problem than the Blue Guild Master. She’s probably enjoying this situation the most.”
I couldn’t help but agree with this, but everyone was pretty much the same.
All the guild members and Cha Hee-ra, who visited me recently, also seemed to agree with me getting locked up.
It was unfortunate that I couldn’t see Lindel’s recovery, but maybe I thought it would be better to get out after all the dissent about me was gone. I thought that was better, especially when I considered that there was no way for me to get out.
Even my ‘you don’t know why I’m mad?’ didn’t work against Kim Hyunsung. He probably strengthened his mental guard to the maximum.
‘Fuck…’
Even Lee Jihye, who I thought would be a reliable source of information, couldn’t really help me that much. Of course, I heard that my conjectures were probably correct, but there was a lot of gap between educated guesses and reality.
Lee Jihye didn’t seem fazed, even though her “soulmate” was confined.
“But at least you seem like a bird in a cage. Is it kind of se…ah…really? Even that’s censored?”
“…”
“Man, I can’t say anything. Damn it, let’s just eat. I’m getting hungry.”
“I’m not going to eat today.”
“Why?”
“I’m planning on starving myself. I’m enduring by saying that I have no appetite. I think that in a few days, I might get some response.”
“That’s a cliche. How long have you been doing this?”
“About 20 days?”
“That’s pretty long… Why not think about the positive side? You can take a walk, eat tasty food, and look at all the luxury goods over there. Don’t you remember something that went viral around the internet? It was something about being locked up for one year doing nothing and getting one million in return. Just think of it like that. There’s a lot of stuff here to enjoy… You should learn how to relax a bit.”
‘Relax, my ass…’
“I would like it if you just confined me like this, especially if it was in your other form.”
“Nuna, don’t say what you don’t even mean.”
“No, I’m talking for real. Wait, that was not censored. Hayan censored random stuff but not important things like this. I guess she thought it didn’t need to be censored since I have a close relationship with you, and I won’t mention it. This is great!”
“…”
“Can you turn into your other form right now?”
“I can.”
“Really? Can you show me?”
She seemed a lot more excited than usual.
I wondered a bit about what to do, but then I thought it wouldn’t matter if I showed her my other form. As I changed my class, I felt my body change.
“Sh*t. That’s crazy. Do you have a mask? Did it get broken last time?”
“It recovered. It doesn’t have many options, but it recovers automatically… it’s a myth-level item that I can summon and reverse summon. As an extra option, it can’t be taken off by another person no matter how much they try.”
“I don’t care about the item options. Just quickly put on the mask, quickly.”
“Why so suddenly…”
“Wow, your whole atmosphere changed. It’s amazing how it’s completely different… it’s so se…hah. I should have brought my camera, but I wasn’t even allowed to bring that… does the Blue guild members know this?”
“Of course, they don’t know. Nuna, how could I tell them?”
“Can you use any attack abilities?”
“Of course, I can, but not like last time. Belial himself came down last time. But I don’t think it’ll be that bad. I can’t do a huge amount, but I can receive some mana. I was bored for the last two weeks, so I make ghosts and some basic black magic. I probably won’t use it much, but isn’t it better than nothing?”
“Why don’t you use it? You have to use it. Just create some basic scenarios and use them in your private life. This is just my personal wish, but I would like it better for you to be in that form when you are with me. Anyways, you want to get out, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then can you leave it up to me?”
“Hmmm?”
If she could fix it, it was only right that I should leave it up to her. At this, I nodded in fierce agreement.
Lee Jihye then suddenly pinched my thighs really hard, to such an extent that my mana shield was released.
“Aghhhhhh!”
I couldn’t help but cry out in pain. Then it was with a sharp crash that Kim Hyunsung immediately made his entrance.
‘This is… crazy…’
I quickly turned towards him.
For a second, I thought that the crazy bitch wanted to kill me for not coming out in her dreams, but I didn’t think that was something she’d do.
However, upon realizing that Lee Jihye was putting on her acting face, I finally caught up to what her plan was.
‘This girl is really trash. To someone who just recovered…’
However, I decided to follow alongside her plan.
I could see that Kim Hyunsung was already becoming pale, and there was confusion in his eyes.
“Hyunsung-ssi. I… I think I feel a bit strange.”