Chapter 934. Gen (13)
"I’ve arrived in the city, Commander."
— ...
"I told you I’m here. What are you planning? How come you haven’t said anything yet?"
— ...
"For your information, I’m staying at Emil’s Inn. Breakfast here isn’t so bad, but the room isn’t that great. Ah! I didn’t know this kind of city existed. It has a nice atmosphere, and the black market looks useful as well... Black markets must be pretty common in the Republic."
— ...
"I’m alone, so it’s pretty boring. You did receive the official document that the Continental Protection Management Committee sent to you, right? You're hiding it from Hyun-Sung, right? If you don’t hide it, he’ll cause a huge fuss.
"They've been focusing on the Federation, and I think it's because there are some rumors that I was spotted around there. Thanks to that, I have been able to work comfortably here, and I’ve been walking around by myself as well."
— ...
"It’ll get more complicated if you don’t come here, Commander. They might start notifying the public because there’s no progress in their search.
"The Vatican is in a state of total emergency, and the continent will fall into chaos again. I’m sure you don’t want that to happen, right? You worked so hard preparing for that project of yours. You really want a variable to ruin that?"
— ...
"If you don’t take care of this... how are you going to get your project done? Commander Jin, how can I leave the continent to you... when you can’t even handle an easy task like this?
"Am I wrong? If you’re doing this because of Ji-Hye noona, I’ll be hurt. You need to know who the actual manager is. Technically, it's me. You know that, right? Right? You didn’t curse me just now, did you? I’m the boss. I’m your boss."
— ...
"Hey, Commander Jin. Do you really think I'm joking? Is that what you think? Can you not hear what I'm saying?"
— Damn it...
"That’s right."
— Damn you, Lee Ki-Young. You don't have to nag me, as I've been taking care of it. If you hadn't told me to take care of that idiot musclehead, I would have been in the city by now.
"You mean Hyun-Sung? He’s doing well, right?"
— I’m telling you not to get me involved in ridiculous things like this. I have my own business to take care of... and watching that fool is not a part of it...
"Interns are normally in charge of miscellaneous things."
— You disgusting bastard. Why am I... Damn it.
"You want to quit?"
— ...
‘I know you don’t want to.’
"You can quit if you want to. We have a lot of manpower."
— Bullshit.
‘He caught on.’
"We actually have a lot of manpower... but why are you getting stressed out over things like this? I feel bad for offering you this position. You said you had a lot on your plate... and now you have to work on the continental project as well... so I just... feel bad...
"I feel like I’m burdening you a lot. Maybe... I overestimated your capabilities... Let me know if you have too much on your plate."
— ...
‘He must be mad.’
His pride was probably getting in the way as well.
He probably felt ashamed of himself, as he wanted to tell me that he'd definitely bring me down, but he just couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Based on his temper, I was sure he wanted to quit right now, but how could he give this up so easily when he already had a taste of it?
The ability to manage the continent and do whatever project he desired was probably like a sweet fruit that couldn’t be exchanged with anything else.
It was especially true for people like us.
‘Think about your project getting trashed while you’re working so hard on it. I’m sure it'll feel like it was all in vain.’
"Commander. I was kind of harsh."
— ...
"I will provide you with a generous research fund, so be careful on your way here."
— ...
‘He’s actually mad.’
— ...
"You better keep your promise."
I was sure he didn’t want to give up on the research fund.
When I heard his answer, I immediately started moving. It was time to act.
“Mr. Gen,” I called out.
“...” “Mr. Gen... it’s time to wake up,” I said.
“Ah... It looks like... I woke up late. I’m sorry,” Gen said.
“It’s fine. You worked hard last night. I packed you lunch, so have it during your lunch break,” I offered.
“Ah... you didn’t have to do this, Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” Gen said.
“I’d like to go with you, but it’s hard for me to move right now... This is the least I can do when you’re out there getting us some money. Don’t you agree?” I asked.
“But...”
“Don’t worry too much,” I told him.
“H-How’s your leg?” Gen asked.
“It’s kind of hard to move it, but I can walk, as you can see. I’m sure I’ll feel better by the time we get our new identities,” I replied.
‘We would have avoided this suffering if you had just brought more gold coins with you. You really thought that making a new identity would be easy with a mere sixty gold and by selling your rosario?’
Gen stared at me as if I was pitiful. I was fine, but I couldn’t move properly due to a recent incident. I was limping, and I couldn’t move my arms properly as well.
I couldn’t see through one of my eyes, and I often vomited whatever I ate.
I could no longer eat the pig porridge. My body had gotten ruined to the point that I couldn’t live a normal life anymore. Of course, it didn’t matter to me since I was a determined person.
It was like me to do my best to live an energetic life despite the hardships.
I smiled and opened the door, allowing the sizzling sun to pour into the room.
The honorary cardinal was desperate for freedom, so I welcomed the warm wind and sunlight with my body.
“The weather is nice today,” I said.
“You’re right. It does look nice. Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” Gen called out.
“Ah, one moment,” I said.
“Are you planning on going out today as well?” Gen asked.
“Yes. I need to go grocery shopping,” I replied.
'I’m going to drink some coffee and relax a bit.'
“I told you... you didn’t need to do that...” he mumbled.
'We need to save so we get the money we need quickly. Also, why do I need your permission for every little thing I do? You remember what happened last time, right? If you don’t support me, who’s going to support me?'
“You must be careful,” Gen warned.
“Yes, I know. Nothing happened last time either,” I told him.
“It seems like the Vatican’s attention is on the Federation, but this place isn’t safe either. It’s possible that someone has been observing us, and we also have to consider the possibility that someone has been tracking us.
"You have to promise—promise me that you'll only go to the places that I told you about and walk down the path I had plotted for you. If you go to other places—”
“I’ll only stop by the market,” I interrupted him.
“Whoo...” Gen sighed as he wore his equipment.
It was obvious what he was thinking as he looked at his items that suddenly became sparkling clean overnight. He was feeling guilty.
The more I did things for him, the more guiltier he became.
He probably wanted to tell me I didn’t need to do this, but he couldn't bring himself to say that and simply went silent, falling into the quagmire of sadness and affection toward me.
He cried when he saw me limping and moving with difficulty. He was trying his best to hold in his tears, and he turned around to grab his equipment, making sure that I wouldn't see him crying.
For some reason, he looked pitiful in my eyes.
“I’ll be back,” Gen said.
“I’ll see you later,” I said.
However, I was really happy to hear him cry.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can today,” Gen said.
“Okay.”
“Also...” Gen paused.
“Yes?”
“I’m always grateful,” Gen continued.
“It should be me who should tell you that,” I told him.
“Thank you... very... very... much,” Gen said.
“Be safe out there,” I said.
'Stop talking and go. I want to enjoy my free time.'
Gen stood at the door for a while before heading outside.
I wrapped the washed blanket around myself and headed out as well.
I had washed the blanket and dried it under the sun, but it was still dirty.
Unfortunately, I had no choice but to do this if I wanted to hide my identity.
Gen was right. We were still in a dangerous situation.
I placed the blanket over my head...
‘Let’s go get some coffee.’
I had been cleaning his equipment this morning and had spent the latter part of it packing his lunch, so I was pretty tired. I needed a break.
I started walking away.
This city had a pretty interesting atmosphere.
Since there was a black market here, I thought it would be underdeveloped or dangerous, but that wasn’t the case at all. The adventurers frequented this place to buy and sell items they couldn't buy or sell through ordinary means.
It wasn’t as luxurious as the black markets built out in the open, but it was lively. It would be safe to say that the Republic had indirectly acknowledged their existence. I was sure they were making a ton of money, and ironically, they were pretty transparent.
‘I’ll just ask Jin Cheong later.’
Of course, the city had the typical, cliched black markets as well.
Gen frequented those places to accept requests or get rid of items, but it was none of my business.
I stopped by the market and bought food that we were going to eat for the next four days...
‘I found a cafe.’
I started walking toward the cafe...
“It’s the Blue Guild," someone said, and I immediately cowered in response.
‘What the? They shouldn’t be here.’
They were supposed to be at the Federation right now.
Did they not stop Lian and Chang-Ryeol from coming here?
I remained silent to eavesdrop.
“Who? I don’t see any familiar faces.”
“They're Blue Guild members from the Blue Guild's Republic branch.”
I nodded at that. I was sure they had decided to accept new guild members, as I had put them in charge of establishing a branch in the Republic. They could be temporary adventurers or interns.
Still, it looked like Kim Hyun-Sung was doing his job properly. I considered the possibility of Jin Cheong taking care of most of the tasks, but Kim Hyun-Sung had achieved a pretty good result.
I was happy. I could start a new business and enter dungeons by then.
‘Where did they go?’
“Huh?”
I was curious about the stats and nature of the new guild members. I didn’t need to avoid them, as they didn’t know me, but I wrapped the blanket around me even tighter.
“I can see the Blue Guild's seal from here,” I mumbled.
“Over there. I heard they’re a promising group of adventurers who had cleared the tutorial dungeon the quickest among this bunch of newbies. Looks like they ended up joining the Blue Guild.
"I heard they were promised a really high salary. I’m jealous. They just arrived here, but they're already living on a bed of roses.”
“The guilds in the Republic didn’t make an offer to them?”
“They were afraid that people were going to make rumors, as the Guild Master of the Blue Guild had announced that he had picked them himself. I’m sure they joined for the sake of money, power, and strength. I’m sure no guilds in the Republic can offer half the benefits that the Blue Guild is offering right now.”
“That’s true.”
This story sounded familiar.
‘Perhaps I should have paid attention to them.’
It honestly didn’t matter, but it was interesting.
I wasn’t sure whether Kim Hyun-Sung had actually picked them himself or not, but they were members of the Blue Guild. In other words, we’d inevitably meet later.
Of course, they had just completed the tutorial, so it’d take some time for them to become an official guild member, but if they were skilled, it was going to be fine even if I gave them special support from the sidelines.
I looked around and bumped into someone.
I staggered backward. Perhaps it was because I had been acting like I had a limp, but I immediately lost balance and rolled on the ground.
I looked back and saw someone with the Blue Guild’s seal on their chest
“What the hell is wrong with this beggar?” they said.
'What?'
“There’s a beggar on the road...”
'What did you just say?'