Chapter 672: Han Sora’s Debut (2)
“Lee Kiyoung, I’m so glad you visited after so long.”
“It’s been a while, Hee-young. Meeting you always calms my mind. I haven’t seen you around the guild, so I thought you were busy doing other works.”
“These days, Deokgu, Ye-ri, Ki-mo, Jeong-yeon, and Chang-ryul are training together right after work. The same goes for Elena. I heard you’re the one who suggested doing tactical training. I don’t know how that would work out…”
‘That little pig… You’re doing useless things again.’
“Ahyoung seems to be making the shield and armor that Lee Kiyoung ordered… She rarely gets out of the workshop… It’s been a long time since I last saw her face. What about you, Kiyoung? How have you been? You don’t look as good as usual. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I think I’m okay. I’ve been having a bit of a hard time lately. There’s nothing wrong with my health, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Still…”
“It’s a tough situation for everyone. We only have 16 days left, so we have to work hard. The time is approaching to defend the continent, and most of the preparations are in the final stages… Actually, I’m more worried about Hee-young. It won’t be easy for you to manage the guild while completing your personal training schedule…Hyunsung has completely let go of his guild work, and Kim Mi-young is often away. Although Lee Sang-hee said she would help us, isn’t most of our guild work being done by you?”
“Someone has to do it, and it’s given to me now, so my answer is the same as Lee Kiyoung. I think it’s right to do what I can for the rest of the time that we have left.”
“…”
“Most of all… I know that if I don’t do this, you’ll have a harder time.”
In the end, I felt as if her voice got a little smaller. I didn’t know why, but the ending seemed evasive.
Her long hair and priest’s uniform remained the same. It was a thought I had every time I saw it, but it was definitely atmospheric.
Since it had been a long time since I last saw her, I couldn’t remember how long I’d been spending time with her.
Especially, it had been an even longer time since I spent time with her alone. In the past, we used to do volunteer work together, but…
‘I can’t do that anymore.’
I didn’t even have time for that. Hee-young was busy with guild work, and I was also busy with committee work.
Although we exchanged calls or messages on public matters, we didn’t have time to drink tea or talk.
Cho Hyejin used to come with us as an escort, but Sun Hee-young and I…
The positions were quite overlapping.
I felt sorry for Sun Hee-young, who had to rely on me quite a bit. If she had been in an accident or something, she would have shown her face to fix it, but Sun Hee-young was the type who was good at doing things alone.
She was a person who could be trusted and left alone without giving any instructions. She did her job incredibly well and even handled it perfectly.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Blue Guild was maintained through Sun Hee-young since Kim Hyunsung, Cho Hyejin, and even Kim Mi-young were out for training.
Recently, the administrative command seemed to be better than Cho Hyejin’s. There was no need to compare her with Kim Hyunsung, though.
‘But it’s a little bit of a hassle.’
To some extent, it was only proper to express gratitude.
“What kind of tea would you like?”
“Don’t worry about it, Lee Kiyoung.”
“No, I want to treat you today. It’s not much, but I just want you to know that I’m always grateful.”
“That… is not so.”
‘I’ll give you a service today. Just sit down, Noona. I’ll take care of everything.’
“You can sit comfortably.”
“No.”
“No, I want you to feel at ease. One of the plant-type catalysts I used in the garden is a good catalyst for fatigue recovery, so I turned it into a tea. It doesn’t work better than fatigue recovery magic, but it’ll probably relieve a few of your hardships.”
“…”
“…”
“I like the scent…”
Considering she raised the corners of her mouth slightly after she smelled its aroma, she certainly seemed to feel good.
It might’ve been because of my behavior armed with extreme kindness, but I considered it fortunate that Sun Hee-young could find some room to breathe for a while anyway.
Of course, I liked the way she looks at me. It seemed to be the case from the beginning, but she looked a little better today.
She deserved to feel good because she smiled kindly with a gentle face and was entertaining.
“How’s Alps?”
“She’s following the training smoothly. Of course, it remains to be seen whether she should be put into personnel appointments, but she seems enthusiastic about it. I’m also participating in training hosted by Deokgu.”
“I’ve heard that he follows Hee-young a lot, and I think he’s thought a lot about you. You deserve to be the object of admiration for everyone…”
“No, I don’t think so…”
We talked about a lot of things. Of course, She didn’t miss out on theology or books. She was also a priest, and her hobbies were quite similar to mine.
Of course, I didn’t like wine or play chess well, but if anyone asked me who I preferred to communicate with, it was definitely Sun Hee-young.
There was Jihye, but whenever we met, she inevitably talked about her work story.
“It turns out that Pope Basel wrote…”
“Yes, I’ve read it. Oh! That’s why I’m telling you, but he said he’d come… Oh, I found an old book in the dungeon a few months ago. I brought this because I thought Lee Kiyoung would like it.”
“It’s a coincidence. I’ve had a similar idea.”
Of course, I didn’t think of that, but when I took out the books in the infinite bag, Sun Hee-young’s delighted face quickly unraveled.
Other than that, there were many conversations. To be honest, it was such a good time that I didn’t know how long it had been. Perhaps she felt the same way. It was then that Sun Hee-young seemed like she was thinking something different.
She looked as if she was holding back what she wanted to say, and for some reason, someone’s appearance overlapped hers. It was Kim Hyunsung’s face when he was about to confess something.
Sun Hee-young might suddenly confess that she was a regressor, but that couldn’t happen.
“Well…”
“What?”
“…”
“…”
‘What’s wrong with the atmosphere?’
The hall was silent, but soon Sun Hee-young bowed her head again.
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“I’d like to tell you later when I’m done…”
“You can speak comfortably.”
“No, I don’t think this is the right time to say it… I think you’re going to have a headache…”
“Then we’d better set up a separate meeting.”
“Well, I’ll set it up.”
“…”
“…”
“I see… by the way, look at the time.”
“I know you’re busy. I must’ve taken too much time.”
“No, I’m fine. Originally, I came to see how the guild is doing, but Hee-young already told me everything. And I also thought I needed a break. Thanks to Hee-young, I was able to rest well. I can’t remember when I had a cup of tea and chatted with ease… After work… I really hope we have more time like this.”
‘Yes, sh*t, this is how I want to spend my old age.’
“Thank you for saying that…”
“Thank you very much, Hee-young.”
“Well, come to think of it, I have a favor to ask of you… I did… but I forgot.”
‘Now it’s down to earth.’
“Is it because of Raphael’s condition?”
‘Honestly, it’s time for us to take off his life support. He can’t get up.’
I went there to find out how the guild was going, including Sun Hee-young, but there was actually a more important reason for my visit.
“If not, may I ask why you’re here?”
“It’s not very important, but…”
“Yes.”
“I’d like you to put on a debuff on me…”
“What?”
“On me.”
“…”
“I’d like one for Sora, too, please.”
“What do you mean… I don’t quite understand.”
“You don’t have to worry too much. If the debuff is uncomfortable for you, a buff will be fine. I have something to experiment with personally. I mean…”
“Yes.”
“I know you don’t want to think about it, but Hee-young has been in and out of the room already. It would be easy to understand if you think it’s because of that…”
“Ah.”
“You look like you’re still here. No, are you perfectly seated?”
“Yes, as I reported, it’s still in my body. It’s a bit of a different kind of power than divine power, but there’s something wrong with it.”
“Not exactly. Hee-young’s condition is indeed intact, and there are indeed no other side effects. It’s not really meaningful, but it’s better to study it if you can. Don’t think about it too much and just relax. Oh, I’d like to have a potion as well, please.”
“Of course, I want to help.”
“I’ll tell you as soon as I get the results.”
“Yes, but where is Sora… Doesn’t she live with Hayan?”
“No, she’s been living somewhere else lately, so… She’ll probably be here soon.”
A long silence fell on us.
“Is she… Is she okay?”
‘No, she doesn’t look very well.’
Considering Sun Hee-young asked if Jung Hayan was okay, it seemed that I wasn’t the only one who realized that Han Sora was Jung Hayan’s suppressor.
‘It’s understandable.’
Jung Hayan, Han Sora, and Sun Hee-young stayed in Lindel but didn’t stay in the guild together.
I thought it wouldn’t be difficult to notice that Jung Hayan relied on Han Sora.
Just in time, I heard a knock on the door.
“She must be here.”
When Sun Hee-young opened the door, Han Sora slowly stepped into view.
Naturally, an anxious look was wrapped around her face. Her expression wasn’t appropriate for a person who got her dream transfer.
“Long time no see, Sun Hee-young.”
“Yes, it’s been a while, Sora. First of all… Have a seat. How have you been?”
“I… I’ve been well.”
“How is Hayan?”
Of course, Han Sora seemed to have no idea. The place where I turned my head unknowingly was towards the place where Jung Hayan lived.
-…
I heard Han Sora’s reply as I saw Jung Hayan in my head.
“She’s doing fine, isn’t she? Yes, she should be fine.”
-Huhuhu, huhuhuhuhuhu…
‘No, I don’t think she’s doing well.’