Chapter 572: Mikhail (4)
[Mikhail]
‘How much does he know? Why did he call me here?’
I couldn’t stop thinking of bad situations.
‘He’s like the devil. No, even saying that he is the devil incarnate is being too soft.’
He had eyes that seemed to see through everything, smiles that seemed to know everything and words that seemed to have hidden meanings.
Reflecting on what had just happened, my body naturally began to shiver. Thanks to the resistance group, I knew what kind of personality he had and his effects on the continent.
No, in fact, I might have known the truth even before I met the resistance group. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have contacted me. As much as the resistance group risked their lives, I also risked my life.
I thought the work would be difficult, and I also knew that if I acted against him, only criticism and insults would follow me. However…
“Sigh…”
Everything was worse than I imagined. He had said, ‘Please say hello to your workers… Please invite your wife as well next time, haha.’
It was a threat. I didn’t know what the chairman knew, but it was definitely a threat.
‘I know what you’re doing and what you can do. If I had doubted your ability, I wouldn’t have put you in such an important position. I left it up to you because I thought you would do the work I entrusted to you properly by yourself.’
However, I doubted that the resistance group knew exactly what to do, as well as what they could do. According to them, ever since the Blue Guild got scattered, they were never caught even once, yet I doubted that since the Blue Guild’s influence had already spanned across the entire continent.
‘No, the existence of the resistance group couldn’t have possibly been found out just yet.’
As closely as Lee Kiyoung and his people were keeping an eye on the current situation, no traces of our organization could possibly be found. However, if not, I didn’t understand why they said those things.
If Lee Kiyoung, the chairman of the committee, was unaware of the resistance group’s existence and purpose, his words might have been entirely directed towards himself.
It was a warning to the workers that the site wasn’t being properly managed, and it was a threat for them to deal with the current situation as quickly as possible.
I thought he was saying that he would give us another chance. Maybe it was the last chance. No, in the first place…
‘Will he even give us a chance?’
Considering that those who opposed him all somehow disappeared, maybe he was waiting for something like that to happen to us.
Sending me back was to mock us, and it might have been for his little enjoyment. Maybe, he wanted to see the person whom he would kill with his own hands soon. I wasn’t certain, but I couldn’t completely erase that possibility. After all, I could tell what type of person Lee Kiyoung was from his past actions.
Ex-Blue Guild executives, the emperor and queen of the empire, the swordsman and the Republic’s army that were called devil worshippers, the demon summoners in Raios, the undead incident in the Republic, the 27th Demon Corps incident, and many other unidentified deaths.
He never yielded or showed mercy to his enemies.
‘I’m not afraid of losing my life.’
I wasn’t afraid to die. I didn’t have any fears about death, but…
‘But what about my wife?’
How could I put my lovely wife, who put so much trust and faith in me, in danger?
I had never regretted my decision, but at that moment, I began to doubt whether what I was doing was really the right decision. It had been hours since my mind began to be flooded with all sorts of thoughts while sitting in a small office.
I desperately tried to think of a solution, but I didn’t know how to act or if I had to give up my principle to protect my wife.
‘If I abandon the resistance group…’
If I was lucky, I could go back to his side. However, was that the right choice then? How would it be right to betray those who were risking their lives for the empire?
“Oh god… Oh god…’
I muttered to myself without realizing it.
Creak…
The door began to open slowly.
For a moment, I thought it might be an assassin, so I quickly picked up a dagger from the drawer. However, instead, I saw an unexpected person.
“Honey.”
It was Natalie, my lovely wife, who showed up. She spoke to me with a worried look.
“I think you’ve been here for too long today…”
“…”
“I know I might be bothering your work, but I’m worried about you. Are you alright? I heard you came to see Chairman Lee Kiyoung today. By any chance…”
“No, it’s nothing. You don’t have to be concerned. We just had to deal with a problem that occurred today… That’s why… I’m sorry, I probably made you worry a lot. Go back home first. I’ll come home soon…”
“But… these days…”
“I’m telling you, honey, that it’s not a big deal. You really don’t have to be worried.”
“But you look so tired. I was thinking you’ve been overdoing it lately…”
“…”
“Are you really not going to tell me?”
“…”
“Really…”
“…”
“Sigh, I think you do really need a break.”
“No, this is…”
“To unwind… How about a glass of wine? Just like before…”
“I don’t really feel like doing that right now…”
“Just in time, Chairman Lee Kiyoung sent us a special wine with other presents.”
“Wait, don’t… don’t touch that, Natalie. Don’t…”
“I thought you might be bottling up your worries by yourself, so…”
“Damn it!”
Thud.
Crash!
“I told you not to touch it. Damn it! You didn’t drink from it, did you? Tell me you didn’t. Please… god. God, god, I shouldn’t have left it there… Please, god, I beg of you. Damn, damn it, please, god.”
“…”
“Hurry up and say something… You didn’t really drink it, did you?”
“As expected…”
“What?”
“You… must’ve thought I was oblivious to everything.”
“What? Just now…”
“I’m not stupid. I know what you’re doing. I know what’s bothering you and why you’re hesitating. I can’t always be with you, but I’m the closest person to you…”
“…”
“I love you.”
“…”
“I love you because you are always upright and act according to what you think is right. I know what’s bothering you and what’s blocking your way. If what’s on my mind is right, please don’t feel burdened. Move along with what you believe is right.”
“I don’t want to be a burden to you. I chose to be next to you so that we can walk the same path together. You don’t have to send me away or hide me. You don’t have to ask the people who share the same meaning with you to protect me. I want to support you and stand by your side. After all, I know that if I’m in the same situation as you are in, you will do the same for me too. Didn’t we promise each other that we’ll always walk the same path together no matter what happens?
“Natalie…”
“I’m going to head back in. I meant what I said, honey. Don’t worry about me and move on with what you think is right. That’s what the Mikhail I know would do.”
Thud.
I looked down, and there were pieces of broken glass and spilled wine.
I looked down at it with a blank expression, but still, I couldn’t think of any solution.
After all, there was no solution to my dilemma.
I still couldn’t figure out what was right, but I had no choice but to make a decision. I didn’t know if I would regret it or not. I wouldn’t be able to know until the very end.
“Conviction.”
Yes, that was conviction. I had to do what I believed was right.
* * *
“Will conviction feed you? Or will it make money? I hate people who cling to such things. I’m so annoyed.”
Lee Jihye poured out a series of complaints towards me.
In fact, I didn’t expect much, but it wasn’t good to hear that the situation might happen again.
I looked at her face, and it seemed as if she also didn’t expect much.
“Isn’t Kim Hyunsung the same type, though?”
“Well, I’ll exclude Hyunsung. And he knows how to compromise. He’s basically a master of it. So… what you’re saying is that those old farts are being stubborn after all? Anyway, you have to acknowledge the obstinance of those old dwarves. What nonsense are they talking about magic not being helpful? You can save so much time with magic.”
“They’re arguing that problems with quality can arise, so it’s kind of difficult for me to push only my opinion. In the first place, it’s made up of mana stones, so… Regardless, those old dwarves might have a point… They say we can make it in time…”
“Ah…”
“What can we do when they argue that they have never magically built a building in their entire history? They’re telling us that if we force them to use magic, we should just work with elves instead. I think it’s right for us to make a slight concession… Don’t we just need to meet our time goals?”
“But even so…”
“And they actually do work fast… Above all, I think it would be more effective to work with their craftsmanship. Also, I’m tired of dealing with those old farts. You should try to persuade them.”
“I don’t know. My style doesn’t really fit with the Dwarves, you know.”
“But they seem to like you… Well, then I guess we can’t help it.”
“Let’s think about that later. I’ll try to send Deokgu there soon.”
“Oh, I feel like he’s going to fit well there. That aside, you have to hear the next report. This is the main one.”
‘Finally, the main course.’
“How did it go for you?”
I wanted to say that it went okay, but it had gone better than I expected.
Mikhail confidently told me he would solve the internal problems in his area. After he received some gifts from me, we concluded our conversation on good terms.
I thought it was only proper to say that we became much closer. We even said to see each other again next time.
‘I mean, we even played chess together.’
“Well, I think it went pretty well… My opinion doesn’t matter much anyway. How was it for you?”
“Well, how do you think it went?”
“Huh?”
“Nothing was really discovered.”
“Well, I expected that…”
“But I’m going to search again.”
“…?”
“It’s a little weird because not even a small trace was found. I’m sure they’re hiding something… It’s a little frustrating because it doesn’t show up on the surface. I can’t say what exactly, but something is definitely going on. Actually, it wasn’t a full-on strike yet, but there was a slowdown strike going on…”
“I know.”
“The treatment of workers there was different from other regions.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can only say one thing for certain. There’s a problem with Mikhail, that guy. I don’t know about anything else, but I’m sure about that.”
“…”
‘I loved you, Mikhail, Fuck…’
The chessboard, which we had shared a short friendship over, was quickly trampled on in my eyes, as well as the warm and deep conversations we had.
‘That son of a pig.’
“I’m sure if we search more thoroughly, we’d definitely be able to find some dirt on him. No, I’m sure that something would definitely erupt from his area first.”