Chapter 621: Untainted Truth (3)
Baaaaaangg!!!
“…”
“Cough… Cough…”
“Honey. Is this one really the warrior? He’s freakishly weak, so I don’t think we can use him anywhere. If he doesn’t want to do it, can’t you tell him to just give up?”
“…”
“Still, when I first met him, I thought he was okay. But looking at him up close, it seems I was wrong. I don’t know what made the Holy Sword think it should choose this one. No, is it really correct that he’s been chosen? Didn’t the sword mistake him for somebody else? How can you say that’s the warrior that’s supposed to save us? Gosh, Beningore…”
“…”
“Hey, warrior. Yes, you. I’m talking about you. Why? You don’t even have the energy to answer? I don’t know how much disgrace you’re trying to get, but it’ll be good for you too to get up quickly.”
“Sigh… Sigh…”
“Do you know how busy I am? Can’t you understand that the Guild Master of the Red Mercenary is here, and you’re wasting her time? It’s a funny story to say it myself, but an opportunity that won’t come even if my life just passed by…”
“…”
“Forget it… I’ll be wasting my breath. Repeat 25 sets of basic training and finish it. What could be more stupid than spending time on a student who doesn’t want to do it? When you’re done, you can leave on your own instead of hanging around and scratching my nerves.”
Raphael’s body had become rags due to intense training.
Of course, what stood out more than that was a face that seemed unable to hide his anxiety and concern. He looked as wasted as I expected.
‘Ah… Looks like the young warrior really had a mental collapse…’
It was also understandable that Cha Hee-ra, whom I had met after so long, was so annoyed.
Didn’t she especially free up her time even though she was working through a tight schedule?
She was giving up her time as a favor, and she prepared it only for him.
Nevertheless, he came to class with that attitude…
‘He’s lucky she didn’t smash his head.’
If it weren’t for me, she would have let go of his hand right away. No matter how important he was, she had a personality that didn’t do what she didn’t want to.
‘Was that so shocking?’
No, in that case…
‘I think it’s correct to say that she’s confused…’
Even after a few days had passed, hadn’t he been the same? It wasn’t unreasonable to worry about how to judge a guy in that state.
There were several hypotheses, but the most probable one was that he was yet to make a choice. If he had chosen between light and dark, he wouldn’t have responded that way.
It didn’t matter if he wanted revenge on me or to be awakened to protect the continent. He had to choose a faction.
Wasn’t his force what both of those options needed in common?
Seeing that he was unable to concentrate on training like that, it wasn’t wrong to judge that he was indecisive at the moment.
‘You can’t believe it even after seeing that.’
Of course, my predictions might’ve been wrong, but it was undeniably likely.
‘Whatever you choose, you should train properly.’
I came after leaving the fieldwork behind that day.
‘I’m wasting my time, fuck.’
My feelings weren’t that very different from Cha Hee-ra.
When I looked towards the sounds of movements, I saw the Red Mercenary queen Cha Hee-ra.
Her messy red hair, which became her trademark, and her tough-mercenary presence, were still there. While her anger hadn’t been relieved yet, she breathed in and approached me.
As I gave a slight smile, she wiped off the sweat with a towel and sat down next to me.
The way she gestured at me to sit next to her quickly was one of the typical features of powerful people. As I approached unknowingly and sat down, I started to feel her hands rising over my shoulders naturally.
‘Hey, look at your hand habits.’
“Thank you for your hard work, Hee-ra.”
“Well, I haven’t done anything, so hard work, my ass. I’m so annoyed. Where did you pick up a guy like that…? I think it would be better to give up if it keeps going this way.”
“…”
“If it weren’t for you, I would have given up already. Raphael hasn’t shown any progress in the past few days… That’s too much. I was so angry that I almost pulled out his head in the middle of training.”
‘You can’t do that…’
“It’s time I made by taking out our kids’ training hours. I don’t know how you’re trying to use that one, but frankly, from my perspective, it’s better to train one of our kids more than to waste time. At least, shouldn’t we make them be able to take care of their lives on the battlefield? Of course, if he performs well, it’s a good thing, but right now, it doesn’t seem like that’s possible.”
“I think it’s because he has something to worry about or think about… Wouldn’t he be better than how he currently is if he overcomes it? How does it look to you? I mean…”
“What? Are you still curious about that even after witnessing what just happened?”
“No, I asked about his physical abilities or his talents. I don’t know much about things like theory or how to move one’s body.”
“…”
“…”
“To be honest…”
“Yes.”
“The talent itself is excellent. No, it is a little higher than that. Even if there were no Holy Sword or other support, it’s possible for him to climb up to about the eight seats of the State…”
“Hmm…”
‘It’s different from what Hyunsung said.’
I was a little interested because it was different from what he said when I received advice from Kim Hyunsung before.
According to what he said, Raphael’s talent was just a little better than a fool’s.
‘It seems difficult to say for sure if we can raise him properly. Even if I take it easy on him, it seems like he’s mediocre… Of course, we have to watch a little more, but for now… Even if he borrows the power of the Holy Sword, he won’t be able to achieve what you’re thinking.’
‘What? Really?’
‘Yes, I don’t see much hope at the moment…’
That was what he said.
‘I’m glad I asked Hee-ra too.’
Perhaps I was acting like a parent who was happy to hear that their child was talented.
Although Kim Hyunsung’s outspoken comments felt a bit suspicious, I thought it was probably something he could say.
In the eyes of someone who had the title of genius among geniuses, there was nobody who could satisfy him. Even I couldn’t deny the fact that Raphael’s sword skills would also look pathetic compared to him.
However, Cha Hee-ra’s case was different.
‘It’s a bit vague to say that Hee-ra is a genius.’
Of course, she could be seen as a kind of genius, but Cha Hee-ra’s ability was closer to instinct. Her strength was created by experience, instinct, and pure power.
Since she thought that elaborate and polished sword skills were useless, her opinion naturally contradicted Kim Hyunsung’s.
‘That means he’s not bad at least.’
With Cha Hee-ra’s guarantee, he would grow, but only if he could overcome his current crisis properly.
“I feel better now that you said that. I’m relieved…”
“Well, what does it matter to have that talent? You saw his performance.”
“Maybe he’ll get better soon. I’ll help Raphael solve his personal problems. Don’t go too hard on him until then, Hee-ra.”
“Honey, you’re funny. I’m already going easy on him. The problem is that the other side is not. If you think I’m a bad cop, then there’s someone even worse than I am… Haven’t you seen how he breaks in another training ground?”
“It’s my first time attending his training…”
“Go watch it later. Well, putting that aside… I don’t think Raphael is the only one having personal problems… When will you solve the problem I’m having?”
“Is there any problem with the guild?”
“No, I mean my personal problem.”
“Ah… that…”
“I tried to control it, but I can’t seem to control it… Recently, even if my mind goes blank and I can’t see anything, I still think about you. You know what I’m talking about, right?”
“What…”
“Whenever I lose my temper, I move according to my instinct like a beast because there are a lot of things I have kept to myself. Various desires accumulate, and if they aren’t properly discharged, they become a problem when it is decisive. You know the gist of what I’m talking about, right?”
“…”
“You do, don’t you?”
‘No… I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
“You know, honey.”
“Roughly… Anyway… I wanted to examine your body anyway…”
“Is that a signal?”
“No, it’s not a signal. It’s exactly what I said. I’m trying to figure out exactly what caused you to go crazy.”
“There is no need to figure it out because the answer has already come out. I was thinking wrongly about it until now.”
“What does that mean?”
“I wasn’t really sure how to get stronger. Training like a dweeb doesn’t make much sense.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Have you ever seen a beast training? Have you ever seen them practice using their claws or their bite?”
“…”
“I changed my method in a way that relieves the desire that is tight in my head. I changed my way to living like an animal, that’s it.”
“…”
“Even when I thought about blood, I no longer suppressed it. There’s prey spread all over the place, so when I go to a nearby dungeon or forest, my mind gets a bit refreshed… I mean in that sense. You know what I’m talking about, right?”
I couldn’t remember how many times I heard the phrase ‘you know what I’m talking about, right?’, but I knew I had to keep nodding.
I thought I had to nod for some reason.
‘When Hee-ra said she was busy, was she busy doing things the way she wanted?’
Of course not.
Wasn’t she the Head of a group?
Perhaps she expressed that in the midst of that, she satisfied her own desires. Honestly, I was suspicious if Cha Hee-ra’s words were true, but when I looked at her with my Mind’s Eyes, I confirmed it right away.
‘…’
She had grown once, no, two more times.
It felt absurd to be able to grow like that just by being faithful to her own needs. I thought that those who lived with words such as ‘effort would not betray’ would fall into despair if they saw what I saw.
‘Does it make sense?’
What was that? Fuck.
“Anyway, that’s what it is, and I wanted you to know. Oh, pass me the water.”
“Ah… okay.”
As I handed her a cup of water, I noticed a crunching sound and a poorly broken cup of water.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to control my strength yet. I’ll get used to it soon, so don’t bother.”
Honestly, I had to be bothered.
“Let’s leave him alone and go get some wine. I prepared a good one because you were coming. You’ll probably like it. It’s a wine made with potions. Surprisingly, it wasn’t made by you. It’s an item that has been around since the beginning, but it doesn’t look bad.”
‘…’
“I know what you’re talking about. But today is a bit…”
“Well, do what you want… You can stop by once a week. Is your business over there?”
“Yes.”
Excluding all other reasons, I had no choice but to be concerned with the events showing subsidence signs, rather than her problems.