Chapter 931. Gen (10)
- Save me, Ji-Hye noona.
- I’m busy right now, too. You might as well enjoy your suffering while you’re out there. The more you suffer, the more heated things are going to become here. Isn’t that what you wanted?
- ...
- The public has turned their backs on the Vatican, and the reformation of the Vatican is going smoothly. I’m telling you, things have never been better. They’re on their toes, and the dungeon might soon be discovered.
- Are you sure it’s not because you want to see me suffer?
- No way. Do you really think that I want you to suffer?
You’re the only person I think about all day. I've been wondering if you're eating properly, sleeping in a warm place, and bathing properly.
- But what can you do? This situation needs to last longer so that we'll reap a ton of profit. More importantly, we’re getting so much holy power right now.
The priests are praying a lot more these days, and they're more sincere than usual as well. Benigoa is screaming in joy up above. Moreover, we also have to get ready for our business.
- Hold on.
- We need to get as much holy power as we can right now so we will have no regrets later. If we want to afford the project that our Commander Jin is preparing, we need to get as much holy power as we can right now.
- You already gave him a project?
- The continent is safe right now because he’s there. Kim Hyun-Sung is an idiot, but he’s not slow-witted. Commander Jin, who’s working hard both emotionally and mentally, needs to be rewarded so that his work efficiency will increase.
- Also, the project isn’t that bad. I can’t tell you right now, though...
- What would a rookie know? Noona, stop trying to side with him when talking to me... It makes me uncomfortable.
- I’m always on your side, but he’s pretty competent. He gets his tasks done while taking care of Kim Hyun-Sung, and whenever he has free time, he brings me a new project, so how can I not like him? Ah! Are you jealous?
‘Jealous, my ass.’
- I didn’t know you were the type to get jealous. You’re so cute. Don’t worry. He's competent, but he looks like an asshole, so he’s not my type.
- That’s true.
- I just can’t describe his annoying look. Especially when he submits a project, he becomes so sassy that I just want to pick on him. He knows that he’s competent, and he makes it very clear. That’s why he’s annoying. I’m sure he was part of the upper-class society when he was back on Earth.
- ...
- Ah, is Templar Gen or whatever treating you well?
- He is, but that's the problem. He’s not flexible. Anyway, I can’t stand it any longer. At this rate, I might actually call Ha-Yan, noona.
- Then try calling her... Anyway, that’s it for me. Enjoy your pig porridge.
- Ah...
- Pfft!
‘Damn it. I’m sure she’s enjoying this.’
It was true that we were profiting here, but Lee Ji-Hye was trying to annoy me about it. Of course, I understood what she was doing; we were actually earning a lot right now, even though there hadn't been any major events recently.
We needed to get as much holy power as possible, but she seemed to be enjoying the fact that I was suffering out here. Every time I contacted her, she'd complain about how busy she was, but she had never told me that she'd often be drinking coffee, doing half-baths while doing her nails, and relaxing while talking to me.
She was definitely making fun of me.
‘Damn it, do I really need to call Ha-Yan?’
'How come we haven't gotten caught yet? How come they haven't found us yet?'
Why was Gen so competent when it came to useless things?
Hadn't he trained as a ranger?
I was sure he had done ranger training, and it was probably faster for me to deduce the type of training he had never received than the type of training he hadn't received.
The rangers of the Holy Knight and Black Swan Guild were so incompetent that Gen easily hid our tracks from them. No, it wasn't just that. It was like Gen knew their movements for some reason.
Whenever he suggested that we go out, I could tell from his face that he was confident about our chances of not getting caught.
I looked around and saw a deserted building that was so dilapidated it looked like it'd collapse any time soon. It was about five pyeong[1], and we were kind of in between the basement floor and the first floor, so we couldn't receive much light.
Actually, wait, there wasn't actually any light, as we were behind a rotten tree. As for how it managed to get here, I had no idea, but it was blocking the sun's rays from reaching out. Of course, there were some bushes around us as well.
It was highly likely that some hunters in the distant past were treating his place as a temporary camp, but it didn’t really matter.
‘Ah, it’s leaking again.’
Perhaps it was because it had rained recently, but the ground was wet.
Half of the deserted building was buried in the ground, so it was constantly leaking into our temporary shelter. I used a broom to push the water out, but it wasn’t working.
I had long gotten used to the damp smell, and things were much better in the afternoon as well, even though they weren't any sunlight. Since I couldn’t turn on the light at night, I needed to clean up as much as I could while there was light outside to secure a comfortable sleeping space for myself.
‘Please get out. Damn it, just get out.’
I fought the water for a long time, but in the end, I had to bundle up the rags and press them against the leaking corner.
I couldn’t spend any more time on this because I needed to do something important today, and Gen would lie down on the wet floor anyway. He’d probably be satisfied by the fact that I actually tried to stop the water from coming in.
What I was about to do was more important than trying to stop the water from coming in.
I checked to see whether the sun was still up or not before immediately lighting the furnace.
‘I’ll finally be able to have a proper meal.’
We also had rum.
It wasn’t much, but I was sure it was better than the pig porridge that we had been eating these days. After taking out a huge chunk of ham wrapped in a large leaf, I marinated it with the sauce I managed to get.
I also had bread and potatoes, so I had a pretty balanced meal. I immediately took out the wooden table and placed the food on a wooden plate. The criminal would be back soon...
‘He’ll be surprised since we’ve been eating pig porridge every day.’
Just as I expected, I felt a presence outside. Since he didn’t enter immediately, he seemed to be in the middle of surveying our perimeter. He'd check his disguise and see whether there were any traces of mana nearby. They were his most important tasks, so he'd never neglect to do them.
'What has he been up to today? I’m sure he didn’t go out just to get some ham...'
“Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” Gen called out.
“Come in, Mr. Gen. Was everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes. It looks like the patrol nearby lightened up a bit. I think we can start moving tomorrow afternoon,” Gen replied.
“That’s a relief,” I commented.
His eyes landed on the wooden table.
‘This is what you call a meal.’
Gen looked at me in disbelief.
He seemed like he wanted to tell me something, but he seemed to have been waiting for me to say something.
“I prepared all this, Mr. Gen.”
“Ah...”
“You’ve been working hard every time... so I just wanted to help...” I told him.
I pretended to be shy.
“I have rum as well, so how about we eat?” I offered.
'I’m proud of myself as well.'
“Where did you get this?” Gen asked.
“What?”
“Where did you get all of this, Mr. Lee Ki-Young?” Gen questioned.
“Ah, there were farmers nearby...” I replied.
'If you walk south a little, there’s a small rural hamlet. I went there.'
“I obtained some leather from the monster you hunted last time...” I muttered.
'I can’t even begin to explain how hard I worked to get it. My bloody hands became swollen, but I managed to do it.'
“I’m not sure whether the price was right, but I exchanged it for food that will last us a few days,” I informed him.
The price was obviously right. If anything, I profited from the deal. We'd be able to eat proper meals instead of just pig porridge for a few days at least, and I even got rum for us to drink.
“They were kind,” I said.
Actually, they were kind of rude, but I didn’t have a hard time talking to them.
“I’m sure you’re hungry, so let’s eat,” I suggested.
'Let’s sit down and open the long-awaited party. Hey, there’s no point in living a painful life every day. We need days like these—relaxing days.'
I revealed a business-like smile and tapped his seat.
And that was when Gen said, "I never... asked you to do this.”
I obviously thought he was going to smile, but I was mistaken.
“What?”
“Do you understand the situation we’re in? I can’t believe you went to a farmer’s hamlet,” Gen questioned.
Gen’s distorted face frightened me.
‘Damn, what’s wrong with you?’
I was careful, all right?
“I made sure that they wouldn't know me, so don’t worry so much, Mr. Gen. Since it rained, my traces are probably...”
“That’s not the problem!” Gen shouted.
‘What’s wrong with you? Did you just yell at me?’
“The world is a lot more dangerous than you think. Everyone isn’t friendly. The farmers who live here all have a reason why they’re here. It wouldn’t be strange at all if something happened to you,” Gen said.
“I was once—”
'I’m kind of strong... My Strength...'
“Please stop, Mr. Lee Ki-Young! Do you still not understand how immature your action was today? They could’ve captured you and sold you as a slave. A-All I’m saying is that you were lucky. You were lucky today,” Gen interrupted me.
'Then stop cooking so much pig porridge. There's a reason I did all this...'
“I... I didn’t want to bring you to a place like this. If... If you hold out just a bit longer...” Gen trailed off.
'How long do you want me to endure this? How long? You can’t do anything, so I should at least try to do something. I somehow managed to put meat, potatoes, and rum on the table, and this is how you treat someone who’s been working hard all day to do that?
'I know you’re frustrated, but you shouldn’t treat me like this, you incompetent fool.'
“I-I thought—”
“Now is the time to be careful. They may have notified the rangers about your presence, and they might be tracking you right now using the traces that you've left. Erased traces are nothing to competent rangers,” Gen explained.
'I know that.'
“I didn’t think it through,” I admitted.
“The continent... the world is a lot more dangerous than you think,” Gen warned.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
'Why should I apologize?'
When I showed a pitiful look, however, Gen seemed to come back to his senses. I understood his feelings, and the heartbroken Lee Ki-Young cared about how his feelings as well.
“Mr. Lee Ki-Young...” Gen mumbled.
“...”
“I think... I was being too harsh,” Gen added.
“It’s fine, Mr. Gen. I should’ve been a little more careful. I’m sure you had a plan... I think I was being a bit presumptuous. I simply wanted to express my gratitude...” I told him.
“It’s fine. That’s not what—”
“S-Still, you should try it,” I interrupted him.
Gen’s expression was beyond words. I was sure there were many things he wanted to say to me. He probably felt bad because he had offered to show me the world and brought me out, but it had been two weeks since we were stuck in this deserted building.
He even got mad at me for trying to do something different, so I was sure he felt ashamed of himself. He seemed to have regretted his words upon seeing my guilty face, but it was too late.
It was too late for regrets.
Gen turned around as if saying that he had no courage to look at me.
“I’m going to take a quick look around again, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. Feel free to... eat first,” Gen said.
“Don’t be like that and eat—”
“I’m sorry,” Gen interrupted me.
I wasn’t planning on forgiving this criminal...
‘But you’re seriously in trouble...’
I gnashed my teeth.
1. roughly 20 sqft ☜