Chapter 654: I hope You Reconcile (1)
[A rare-grade quest has been activated.]
[Protect the continent after 36 days and accept Benignore’s apology. (0/1)]
[Reward: Dinner of Love Made by the G.o.ddess]
‘I don’t want it, f.u.c.k.’
I could see why she had gone bankrupt.
I didn’t understand why the quest that she could create as common-grade was sent as rare-grade. She most likely didn’t establish how much she should spend when a certain divinity amount came in.
I thought about Benignore’s spending for a while, but I was forced to pay more attention to her words than to her spendthrift habits.
’36 days… 36 days…’
It was by no means a long time. I could only see it as a tight schedule.
Although I had overcome Jung Hayan’s awakening project safely, I couldn’t help but about whether Han Sora had solved it without sparing herself. Could the 2nd round’s Jung Hayan overtake the 1st round’s Jung Hayan in only 36 days?
That was a bit hard… Wouldn’t it be better to mobilize Han Sora as well?
“…”
‘No. It’s a crazy idea.’
That’s the way to make Jung Hayan explode.
I’d been doing unimaginable crazy things so far, so it’s too hard for me to predict how Jung Hayan, without her inhibitor, would react.
‘Han Sora has to be there no matter what.’
Jung Hayan’s inhibitor had to remain in her current position.
I tried to use my head quickly, but I didn’t think that it was too bad to watch for another five to ten days. If she was going to burst, it would be more effective for her to burst a day or two before.
That way, she’d be able to release her resentment against the fictional wizard to the pigeon-like demons. I might’ve had to face Jung Hayan before the angel trash if she were to explode prematurely.
[Believer Lee Kiyoung… you won’t abandon me, right? Right? (0/1)]
‘f.u.c.k, please stop talking, Benignore. I’m using my head.’
Aside from that, there was also a problem in the deployment of troops. Although Lee Jihye had drawn up the guidelines, it was bound to be a sensitive topic, and I was bound to increase my
Lee Kiyoung looked like a dictator, but he wasn’t in truth.
He tended to balance each armed group’s interests, and although sometimes he was coercive, he listened to various opinions. Wasn’t death the only words of a dictator who said, ‘Do this, do that?’
‘It would take more than a week just to harmonize and wrestle with opinions one by one…’
I wished Raphael could wake up within 36 days, but even if so, I didn’t know if the b.a.s.t.a.r.d would be able to fight properly. No matter how fast his recovery was, it would already be a miracle to wake up half-healed.
I really wanted to bring the unidentified genius wizard Park Mijin to block the northwest region if she actually existed, and I didn’t know how many angels had been made.
It was good news to be able to give divinity mainly to the named ones, but we were still in shortage of supplies.
Even if the quality deteriorated, regardless if it was better to fill in the gaps with numbers of quality, I had to choose one of the two.
‘If there’s no other choice… I really need to cut off.’
I wondered if there would be more time than just a month, but based on what I learned, I couldn’t help but feel that the candle was burning at both ends.
I didn’t even know how to solve the problem of Cho Hyejin and Kim Hyunsung.
It might’ve seemed like a minor conflict, but wasn’t Cho Hyejin one of the few avant-gardes who could a.s.sist Kim Hyunsung?
From my perspective, since I didn’t want to tolerate even a small amount of variables, it didn’t look good that Kim Hyunsung tried to push her away.
Of course, if one wanted to cla.s.sify by priority, they could cla.s.sify that situation in the lower level…
‘Wouldn’t it be better to take care of it later when I have time? Perhaps after I’ve finished all the work… Yes, I think it would be better to do that.’
It didn’t look so good that a third party kept getting involved in other people’s love affairs and relationships, and above all, wasn’t the current situation urgent?
It could be a painful time for Cho Hyejin, but it felt wise to put off the Kim Hyunsung x Cho Hyejin project for the time being.
The problem was her face began to appear in sight from a distance. As expected, when I walked faster than before, I saw Cho Hyejin’s pitiful expression and Lee Jihye comforting her.
“You came really fast, huh.”
‘Sister, don’t criticize me. I’ve been working. I’m also having a hard time in my own way.’
“Vice Guild Master.”
“Ah! Hyejin.”
“I’m glad that you woke up.”
“Hyejin… are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Haha, I’m fine.”
Of course, the voice I heard didn’t seem to be okay at all.
She seemed in more pain than me, despite my head hurting as if it was about to explode and having an appearance that looked like I had all the worries of the world.
I felt guilty for some reason. Unlike usual, I felt sorry upon looking at Cho Hyejin. Perhaps the divinity that filled my body was stimulating a handful of sympathies that remained.
It honestly wasn’t my fault, but she still looked pitiful. Wasn’t that the basic emotion that everyone had? She was pretending to be fine, but the atmosphere itself was too dark.
‘I’m sorry, Hyejin. I was really trying to fix it… I felt like I was running out of time… Can you understand? We’re friends. They say there are only 36 days left… I have to solve other things first, and today’s meeting might take quite a while. There’s are many things to do.’
“You don’t have to worry about me, Vice Guild Master. I can only boast about my strong body. Just that, haha…”
“Why are you saying it like that, Hyejin? You’re tall, and your skin is so nice. You’re also amazing at handling administrative affairs. The Blue Guild wouldn’t work without Hyejin. You’re good at chess too… Yesterday, I lost a lot.”
‘What, did you play chess with her yesterday? Hyejin, how could you leave me and play chess with Jihye…’
“Hahaha… Thank you for the compliment.”
“I’m not just saying it. Don’t you think so?”
‘Don’t ask me, Jihye. It’s a little bit awkward looking at Cho Hyejin’s face right now. But her skin is nice. I admit it.’
As I mumbled at Lee Jihye’s question and turned my head, I became concerned about what I could see in Cho Hyejin’s pupils.
‘She’s dead inside…’
In fact, if I thought about it from Cho Hyejin’s perspective, it could be considered as an extreme situation.
Her friend not only had a memory loss but also almost died after being kidnapped, and she tried her best to keep her friend’s secret, but it was eventually revealed.
To make matters worse, she won the hostility of the guy she liked in return for keeping the secret. How could she be well in that scenario?
Even looking at it that way, it was still difficult to understand how complex the emotions she could be feeling were. She probably didn’t know that Kim Hyunsung turned into Doom Hyunsung, meaning she would’ve been more shocked by his behavior.
‘She’s going through teenager feelings right now. You have to understand.’
I wanted to say that. However, it was Cho Hyejin who opened her mouth first.
“Sorry, Vice Guild Master.”
‘…’
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t keep the secret… as a result.”
‘No, Hyejin. Stop that… really. What are you sorry for? Don’t keep making me feel sorry. It wasn’t you that told him. Why are you trying to take responsibility?’
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong…”
“No, it’s my fault. It was me… who told Raphael in the first place, and it was me who caused all of this to happen.”
“No, there’s no need to apologize between friends. Strictly speaking, there are only a few people, including Hyunsung, that know it, so there’s no difference from before. You don’t have to blame yourself like that. And, understandably, there was nothing that Hyejin could do at the time.”
“Still…”
‘No, what’s up with you? Making me feel sorry… Please don’t make me feel guilty. I won’t be moved anyway.’
“Are you feeling better?”
‘I’m fine, but… you can’t worry about me now.’
“I’m glad that there are no other side effects.”
‘You’re stabbing at my conscience too much.’
It’s certainly been a while since my conscience had been damaged in such a way.
It didn’t matter if anyone spat out a bit of resentment or acted coldly, but the way she worried about me with all her heart made my heart resonate.
‘Ah, should I take this one out for about a day?’
I thought it wouldn’t be a problem anyway. I wondered if I would be able to get some time to take care of Cho Hyejin’s work if I gathered a bit of personal time.
I just needed to take a break in between. If Hyejin kept up her current state, as mentioned earlier, wouldn’t I be in trouble?
‘Ah, I shouldn’t keep rationalizing… I really don’t have time.’
“I was really surprised. Still, seeing you in such a healthy way, I’m relieved. I couldn’t afford to think about anything else… I sincerely apologize for not performing my mission properly. Sorry.”
‘Don’t lower your head, hey…’
“No, why are you lowering your head? It all worked out nicely. Now all you have to do is forget everything and start with a fresh mind. I’m embarra.s.sed to say that you are so worried. Hahaha…”
“But I really want to apologize… I think there are so many things to apologize for…”
“Are you crying?”
“No.”
‘Hyejin, don’t cry.’
I had to think that she was the real deal. I felt like I knew why the masked trash in the first round didn’t hate her.
I was aware that I shouldn’t think of it, but I started remembering Cho Hyejin in the dungeon.
The way she abandoned her weapons, saying to take her hostage instead, asking for the release of the Vice Guild Master, had shaken Lee Kiyoung’s emotions to the point that it wasn’t enough to say it was overwhelming.
It even made me remember Park Deokgu.
The tears in Cho Hyejin’s eyes weren’t crocodile tears, but tears that truly expressed her sympathy for me.
I didn’t know if she was aware that I’d been comfortable, but she seemed to think that I had suffered all sorts of hardships.
‘f.u.c.k, make me feel sorrier.’
In the end, I had to nod slowly.
‘I should take a day off.’
It was also a matter to be dealt with anyway.
“Er, Hyejin… Rather, I heard that Hyunsung said some pretty harsh things to you this time…”
“No, it’s not something for you to be bothered. I can fully understand the Guild Master’s position…”
“I am talking about that part, but it seems that there is something that Hyejin misunderstood… Actually, it seems that Hyunsung was a bit sensitive. I feel like his personality has changed slightly due to various things… I don’t exactly know what you heard, but he probably didn’t really feel that way.”
‘He’s a bit darkened right now.’
“I’m certain that the words he said to you aren’t actually true.”
In fact, Lee Kiyoung’s theory wasn’t very reliable, but Cho Hyejin’s face started showing signs of brightening up. She was like a candle lighting up a dark room.
“I’ll tell you more about it later. I’ll help you two get reconciled.”
“No, you’re busy… since we’re in a dangerous situation, there is no need to work on useless things for nothing, Vice Guild Master. I’m okay.”
She said she was fine, but she seemed to be looking forward to it. She couldn’t hide her emotion.
‘Hyejin, I’ll let you have the ending with Kim Hyunsung, for real.’
I didn’t know exactly when it would be, but I thought I had to push their relationship forward in earnest.