Chapter 636: One Week (1)
‘He’s coming late on purpose, isn’t he?’
“This is crazy. I’m so busy, but he wants to take his time? Ugh…”
When I turned my head slowly, I saw a mountain pile of documents and fatigue recovery pills.
I was already sighing without realizing it. No matter how many competent administrative agents there were, many issues had to be dealt with by maintaining security, so his absence was a big deal.
The problem was sending catalysts and materials to District 5, and there were a few issues to deal with as they hid the distribution process to maintain security.
That was not all. It seemed that the work had doubled without adding a single manager to handle the work that Lee Kiyoung had previously been in charge of.
No, to be exact, it seemed to have increased by 2.5 times.
‘I’ll have to stay up all night again.’
“Damn it, just wait and see. I will be rewarded. I better be rewarded no matter what.”
I wanted to write down a list of what to ask for, but I didn’t even have time for that at that moment.
I heard it would take some time, but it was taking longer than I thought.
It was then that the Goddess’s Mirror suddenly rang.
[Unnie, I think you should come here for a while? As soon as possible. It’s urgent.]
“What is it, Yeon-soo?”
[It’s really urgent. I sent you the coordinates. I think you’d better come by using a griffon. Hurry, don’t let anyone know. I’m not kidding. You’ll probably appreciate it if you come.]
[What is it?]
[I think you should come and see for yourself.]
Ha Yeon-soo was a younger associate who had been very close to me since I worked in the Black Swan.
Lately, the message itself didn’t feel strange because we were still communicating every day. However, apart from that, it began to feel increasingly uncomfortable.
That was what caused the unusual emergency network to ring.
The fact that the network of contacts rang could mean nothing else but that an incident broke out. Yet another matter happened in my busy schedule.
The coordinates on the mirror were in the woods not far from Lindel.
[You have to come right now. It’s really urgent.]
“I got it. I got it. Damn.”
[We can meet at Lindel.]
[No, I can’t get to Lindel. It’s a bit awkward to tell you by message too.]
“…”
‘Is she trying to do something to me?’
Doubts began to rise. I thought she was already my subordinate, but wouldn’t human relationships easily collapse in the face of small profits?
‘No, she’s not that stupid.’
I thought a little bit about it, but the possibility itself was completely ruled out. Yeon-soo knew the ripple effect that would cause. She couldn’t do such a reckless thing.
I was certain she’d take more escorts than usual because she had a lot of doubts…
‘I trust you, Yeon-soo. We won’t end here, right?’
I had no choice but to move immediately. As I opened the door, I saw familiar faces.
“Are you going out, Unnie?”
“Yeah, prepare the griffon for travel. I’ll be going out now.”
“Where are you going? If you’re going to meet the Chairman, shall we prepare as usual?”
“No, it’s not like that. I just need one thing I can put on. You don’t have to prepare it for me. They’re taking a break, right?
“Yes.”
“Three useful children, the heavy-mouthed ones.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and we’re going out in secret. I need one Illusion Magic wizard.”
“Yes, I’ll have them ready.”
While walking slowly to the takeoff, complicated thoughts continued to occur in my head.
Of course, that was a bad habit.
‘What the hell happened? I’m fully determined to stay up all night today.’
However, the moment I actually reached the coordinates given by Ha Yeon-soo, I couldn’t help but let out a few curse words.
What I saw was a face I had encountered a lot recently. I didn’t seem to get along with that person, so I tried to avoid contact, but I had no choice but to talk to her at that moment.
She was the female human waste that pretended to have memory loss.
The third-in-command of the Blue guild and a talented person who the Guild Master Kim Hyunsung trusted. I didn’t know why, but she didn’t look as neat as she usually did.
Her hair was loose, and she looked like she rolled around on the street.
Her stamina was completely exhausted, and she seemed physically drained.
Considering she had lost her mind, I drew out a conclusion. One of the worst things I’d ever thought of had become a reality: something happened in the dungeon.
I bit my lips tightly, but the sight in front of me remained unchanged.
When I sighed lightly, I heard a voice address me.
“I’m right, am I? You said you’d thank me.”
“What happened? No, when did you find her? Have you tracked her trail?”
“Yeah, I thought you’d ask me, so I did, but… I’m not sure yet. I’ve concluded that she ran away from a dungeon, however.”
“It’s the Queen’s Tomb, isn’t it? That’s quite a distance. It’s not a place anyone can just run from all the way here.”
“So an adventurer this big has been robbed of everything. She didn’t have a contact number, a window, or a bag. I don’t think she ran away. She’s likely trying to let us know that her destination was Lindel. I don’t think they failed in the dungeon raid, but I guess there was a problem inside. Oh, for your information, I lost my mind because I fell from the place where I depleted my physical strength and mana. Maybe that’s better for her.”
“Why?”
“Why not? If I ran all the way to Lindel, I might have died. I think I even lost my mind trying to crawl… It was good luck, I guess.”
“You’re the first witness?”
“No.”
“The first witnesses… Did you just let them go into Lindel?”
“I’ve got that person’s mouth shut for now.”
“Take care of them, and wake her up.”
“You… don’t even want to tell me that I did a great job?”
“I wouldn’t let you go without thanking you. Come here, Yeon-soo. I’ll give you a big hug. It’s a really big deal. You saved Lindel.”
“You owe me one. Don’t forget that.”
“You don’t have to worry, I’ll give you interest. Drink a fatigue recovery potion and take the rest of them with you. Yeon-soo, you… No. You can stay here.”
“Yes, oh, I’m going to get up.”
I tried to approach her slowly, but there was no sign of her getting up.
As soon as I touched her cheek, thinking she had a prettier face than I thought, I saw her opening her eyes.
When I thought about it, my body’s balance had already collapsed, and the sleeve of my left arm had been pulled.
Of course, my body couldn’t react. I could see a sharp branch that was sticking on my neck because of Ha Yeon-soo, who was next to me.
“I almost died.”
“That was dangerous, Unnie.”
“What, are you still awake?”
“I’m going to get up. She seemed to have acted out of reflexes and instincts, but she’s what the rumor exactly describes. I’ll ask you to join me for dinner later.”
“Oh, uh…”
“Hey, do you remember me?”
“Who… Are you…”
“I’m Lee Jihye from the Continental Protection and Management Committee. We have the same relationship that you and the Vice Guild Master have. We’ve seen each other before, remember? We’ve worked together a few times. Get some water for her, Yeon-soo.”
“…”
“Can you recognize me? If so, then stop pulling on me. My sleeves are going to rip off.”
“Vice… Guild master… Kidnapping, Raphael…”
‘We’re screwed.’
As soon as the three keywords came into my ears, I understood what happened.
I thought it would be roughly the same situation, but…
‘Why is he kidnapping him?’
A question arose.
“A week later… Guild master… Dungeon… Alone…”
“What?”
“I have to tell him…”
‘No, that’s crazy… This is a really crazy hostage crisis.’
Something incomprehensible happened.
My heart was pounding for a moment, but strangely, I wasn’t worried.
The Doom Kiyoung incident was also a lie. It wouldn’t be that strange for him to do something similar to that.
For a moment, I had a bitter thought in my head, but at least I didn’t think my life was in danger. If it were really such a situation, I would’ve gotten out of it by choosing to abandon the continent.
Maybe that was proof that Lee Kiyoung was safe in a calm place as if nothing was going on.
The question was how to get through that situation.
‘Raphael… Raphael.’
“Unnie, is she going crazy?”
“You don’t have to make a fuss. I’ll solve it as quietly as I can.”
“Why, are you afraid you’ll get confused? If there’s any indication that sir has been kidnapped…”
‘No, it’s not because of that.’
Of course, that was worrisome, too.
The media would rush to report the kidnapping, and perhaps the continent would once again give a prayer meeting in grief.
It was clear that Pope Basel would immediately shout that he would send the Holy Knights and that the leader of the country, Oscar, would also declare a national crisis.
The plague dragon would cry out again. Just as a system that used to run smoothly had been blacked out, it had already been decided that everything would stop for a moment.
Even if I didn’t see it, I could expect it. It’s been like that so far.
But what worried me the most was the reaction of the Blue Guild. Among them, I was worried about the crazy woman who had always acted insanely.
‘Jung Hayan… she shouldn’t know about this, ever.’
If she heard that her Oppa had been kidnapped, she might do something crazy that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.
Lee Kiyoung wouldn’t want such a situation more than anyone else.
If one looked at her colorful records, they would get a rough idea.
“I’m heading to the Blue Guild right now. Ask her exactly what’s going on, and text me.”
“Uh, what are you planning to do?”
“What do you mean? I’ll let Kim Hyunsung know.”
“Will it be okay?”
“Maybe. I must persuade him. He’s more rational than I thought. First of all, they want Kim Hyunsung. We have to let the Blue Guild Master know whether it’s going to be bad or good. You can think about the next countermeasure together. We can negotiate if we need to, and I think there’s something he wants… We’ll have to talk about it.”
As I walked, thinking that I was walking around a lot that day, I arrived at the Blue Guild.
I checked what happened through the text sent by Yeon-soo and thought of words to coax Kim Hyunsung just before entering the premises.
I felt a bit of anxiety, but I had confidence. He’s different from Jung Hayan because at least he was capable of communicating.
When I knocked on the door and immediately went inside, I saw a cold-looking face.
I didn’t know the details, but I thought the atmosphere was a little sour.
When he sighed, saying that I came when he was in a bad mood, I spoke immediately of the main point.
“Long time no see, Blue Guild Master.”
“What’s your business?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but… I’ll get just get straight to the point. I think Kiyoung was kidnapped.”
“…”
“The Black Swan found Cho Hyejin, who came out of the dungeon and headed for Lindel. Raphael’s party kidnaped Kiyoung in there… And… and maybe he wants… In a week…”
“…”
“If you don’t go there… he said… he’d kill Oppa. I mean, in a week… He told the Blue Guild Master… to come to the dungeon…”
“…”
‘What…?
It felt like I had become stupid. Without realizing it, my jaw was shaking, and my legs were loosening.
I was trying to suppress the desire to sit down as hard as possible. My mind was fine, but my body wouldn’t listen. I got goosebumps all over my body, and it became hard to breathe.
“Crazy, sh*t… What the hell? What’s this?’
Even though he was suppressing his feelings as much as possible, I could still feel the pressure he emitted even when he looked at me, who was close to the general public.
“…”
“…”
‘Oh, I’m in trouble. I’m doomed.’
There was no room for negotiations in the first place.
Kim Hyunsung’s face hardening wasn’t enough. He had no choice but to accept that fact.
It was hard to describe his intensity as he slowly exited the room.
I wanted to ask if I should call for a meeting and discuss countermeasures, but that was already out of my hands.
“Let’s go to work… It’s their business, so they’ll settle it on their own.”
It’s unusual to be put in a near-death situation twice in a single day.
It’s a bad day, so wouldn’t it be better to go into my office and do things I hadn’t finished yet?
Anyway, by now, Lee Kiyoung…
‘He’s probably chewing on meat.’
I could be 100% sure.
* * *
“It’s melting in his mouth…”