IRNH C34

Chapter 34

“We’ve just returned from an adventure and don’t have any coins. Pay with this. And we’ll also need a change of comfortable clothes, men’s size. The rest is a tip.”

Just as Sihyeon began to break out in a nervous sweat, Kyu-min, seated across from him, pulled a tiny blue gem no bigger than a pinky nail from his chest pocket and handed it to the boy with practiced ease.

“Ahh!! Thank you!! Please wait just a moment. I’ll fetch it for you right away!!”

The boy’s pupils dilated as if the gem was worth quite a sum, and his voice climbed an octave in excitement. After bowing several times in thanks, he hurried off, his face bright with glee.

Sihyeon snapped his head around to stare at Kyu-min, who blinked innocently as though nothing unusual had happened.

The way he suddenly seemed like an entirely different person, casually ordering the errand boy around as if it were second nature, left Sihyeon’s jaw hanging slightly open.

“Wh-what was that?”

“Hm? Ahaha. Oh, this? I mentioned it earlier, didn’t I? I’ve been inside a few places like this recently. The most important thing turned out to be currency. And gems, in particular, were well accepted. Of course, they were all obtained inside gates!”

Only then did Sihyeon understand why Kyu-min hadn’t packed much besides that worn-looking little bag.

As he nodded vigorously, Sihyeon suddenly came to his senses at the warmth of Taewoon’s hand closing around his own. He cleared his throat softly.

‘Come to think of it, nothing’s really that different. The setting’s changed, but this isn’t much different from when I was in the martial world. Hmph.’

That thought brought him a small measure of comfort.

Soon he was dipping bread into the steaming meat stew that had been set before him, pondering how they ought to set their course.

But then, vital information that was enough to overturn his brief plans drifted over to him far too casually from the next table.

“Did you hear? I hear a knight order is setting out for the Crescent Valley soon.”
“Oh? Really?”
“I’ll be going to watch later. My granddaughter’s been pestering me, so I don’t have much choice.”

There was no need to track down some information guild or find someone secretly selling maps.

He had been thinking too hard, tied down by the word ‘quest,’ when the solution had appeared so easily.

Sihyeon set down his spoon, which had been steadily ferrying food into his mouth, and focused intently on the conversation.

He learned three things: First, that the king had dispatched knights to rescue the prince. Second, that they were recruiting mercenaries to handle the minor monsters along the way. Third, that Crescent Valley lay to the southeast.

From these conclusions, Sihyeon felt a deep sense of dissonance.

The quest told them to head southeast. The traces of the guild members also pointed southeast. And now, as if to drive the suspicion home, hints were pouring in from all around.

‘What’s going on?’

It might have been overthinking, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was deliberately herding them in that direction.

Strictly speaking, the only commonality was the direction; the destinations might be different. But looked at another way, for so many paths to overlap in direction could itself be a major clue.

Above all, Sihyeon’s instincts kept screaming that something about this was off.

“Do quests normally continue even if people enter separately?”

“Uh… I’m not really sure. Actually, it’s because of uncertainties like that that rescues often fail.”

Sihyeon tapped lightly on the table, lost in thought, then shook his head to clear the clutter. In the end, he couldn’t stray far from the quest, and he still had to accomplish the original goal of the rescue.

But time was short. As a substitute for a map, the knight order would serve perfectly as guides. Whatever happened, he would use what was given, and if danger arose, he would simply crush it.

“We’ll travel in the knight order’s wake.”

Forming his plan once more, Sihyeon rose slowly from his chair. It was time to move from thought to action.

That same night at midnight, the city shone brighter than before the gate incidents, illuminated by magic stones.

And in one of the most brightly lit buildings, in an upper floor room shrouded in deeper shadows than usual, two men were conversing.

“It seems the young master has entered the gate.”
“Kyu-min?”
“Yes.”

The man, staring into a shard of opaque glass, slowly lifted his head at the words.

“Tch. So it’s come to this. Then tell Kyu-min to proceed as well.”
“Understood.”

He had half-expected it anyway, but apparently Kyu-min had prepared thoroughly before going in, since it had taken some time for the news to reach him. He had more than enough matters demanding his attention, after all.

The one delivering the report quietly slipped out, leaving the man still seated, leafing through various documents.

“Hm. But Jeong Sihyeon? That name sounds familiar… Well, it doesn’t matter, since he went in with them anyway.”

Click.

A nearby drawer slid open, and on top of the stack of reports filled with incomprehensible charts, one page was placed, detailing the entry into the Divine Mine.

“Kyu-min, the world is already changing. I had wanted you all to live carefree for a while longer, but now that things are this way, we must accept it quickly.”

That is the truth.

Gyuhwan’s expression was that of a man bearing a heavy destiny.

Murmuring softly to himself, he straightened his wrinkled shirt with firm hands, his face set with determination, and rose slowly to his feet.

After feeding the report with Sihyeon’s name at the top into the shredder, he grabbed his jacket, turned his back, and walked out of the office without a trace of hesitation.

‘No matter how I think about it, this makes no sense.’

Sihyeon was trailing the procession of knights from a distance so great that without infusing inner energy into his vision, he wouldn’t have been able to see them at all.

There were too many strange details to count.

Among the long line of marchers, the so-called knights—those clad in plate mail—numbered only three. And they had no attendants to support them whatsoever.

‘Yet the mercenaries trailing them number over a hundred and fifty?’

The most suspicious detail of all was that, aside from one, the supposed knights had not even a flicker of aura within them. Not only that, their footsteps bore no trace of battle-hardened training.

They hardly seemed knights at all.

‘Why go to such lengths to gather mercenaries…?’

But recalling the information he had already gleaned by using his sensory field, Sihyeon frowned at how poorly it all matched.

[Knight of the Kingdom of Paliacent – Dave (-)]
[Knight of the Kingdom of Paliacent – Dren (-)]
[Knight of the Kingdom of Paliacent – Brihel (-)]

‘They seem to really be knights, but….’

For now, he could know nothing for certain.

But Sihyeon coolly cut off his wandering thoughts, reminding himself that his goal was to rescue guild members, not to unravel mysteries.

“Master. Are you tired? Shall I carry you?”

At that, Sihyeon’s steps faltered slightly, then lengthened again.

“No. This much is nothing.”

He glanced at his disciple’s face, keeping pace without missing a beat, and let out a small sigh.

Taewoon had spoken to no one else during the entire journey.

Back then, surrounded by enemies, he hadn’t had the chance to notice, but here he had hoped his disciple would at least interact a little with others and develop some social skills. It seemed that was already hopeless.

‘Well, I can hardly blame him, when even I’m like this….’

And though he wanted to ignore it, it was hard not to notice that the others seemed almost afraid of Taewoon.

‘Why is everyone so scared of him? I really don’t get it.’

Sihyeon had even hoped Kyu-min might strike up conversation and get along with him, but that had proven futile. Shaking his head, he halted when the procession ahead began preparing to camp.

“We should also bivouac here for the night. Yujun, how’s the compass?”

“Yes, the direction’s unchanged. And the signal is getting stronger.”

“Hm…”

If their goal had been to clear the gate rather than rescue guild members, they would have originally been marching within that procession.

That was what the quest wanted of them.

And if the guild members had received similar quests?

Though he wanted to consider as many possibilities as possible, his thoughts kept circling back to a single conclusion.

“Master. I don’t know what troubles you, but don’t be so disheartened. If something blocks our path, we’ll just sweep it all away.”

At his disciple’s words, which cut short his tangled worries in an instant, Sihyeon chuckled softly and ruffled his jet-black hair.

Yes, that was right. If no other way presented itself, then they would simply crush everything in their path. In the past, he wouldn’t even have bothered with such worries. Since returning to reality and losing his powers, he had simply grown too cautious.

Since emerging from that strange gate, Sihyeon hadn’t neglected his training. He wasn’t yet back to his old level, but he was steadily regaining his former mastery.

“You’re right. And if I can’t manage, then my disciple will do it in my stead.”

“Of course. Nothing will be left behind.”

The air between the two of them was warm and harmonious—leaving out, of course, the other three.

But just because the voices were gentle didn’t mean the words were comforting. To the others’ ears, the exchange between master and disciple sounded terrifying.

‘I’m scared… hyung…’
‘Sihyeon-hyung…’
‘I’d better never step out of line.’

And so, to Sihyeon’s regret, the emotional distance between them and him grew even further in that moment.