Song Junghye came up to me.
State: Confident / Having Fun / Contempt for the Weak
The other things aside, contempt for the weak? It seemed like she was feeling contempt towards me. But Song Junghye? To me? She shouldn't see me as 'weak' for no reason.
"Kim Hyukjin. A prominent Guardian called the Shepherd Boy has begun to hate you."
She put on quite a worried face.
"..."
I could surmise what she was trying to say. I had invited the hatred of a Guardian of Shepherd Boy's level, so I should drop down and crawl for mercy. She probably got some kind of quest from the Shepherd Boy. The situation sketched itself out in my head.
'And this energy is Gu Sungmin.'
The thief, the same Gu Sungmin who was left completely Coinless by Darongi in the past, was coming closer. Why was Gu Sungmin coming here, at this time?
'There he is.'
He was making his way relatively warily through the front gate of the DMC Riverview Xi's Complex 1. He seemed to be extremely on guard against something.
'Against what?'
What would a thief have to be wary about? There was something here to steal, obviously. Song Junghye was here to distract me, though it was pretty ineffective. Gu Sungmin was walking towards the Guardian Tower.
'He's going for the Red Eyes.'
The thief seemed to think he was moving quite sneakily, but his efforts fell short of escaping Observer's Eye. [!!!] marks popped up above Darongi's head, and the squirrel on my shoulder grinned upon seeing Gu Sungmin.
Darongi ran down my body onto the ground and scampered off towards Gu Sungmin. An outstanding thief genius was running off towards a promising thief; the result was already predetermined. Gu Sungmin nearly had the skin on his back filched by Darongi last time, but the guy had apparently not learned his lesson.
"While Playing, there may be people who do not like my Playing," I said.
That couldn't be helped. I couldn't satisfy every Guardian anyway. Flailing to try and meet the expectations of a few would make you lose the majority.
"So? Did you come here to kindly inform me of that?"
The Blood and Iron Queen, Song Junghye. It was strange. How did she become a queen? She was too obvious and foolish.
"If I were you, I would have kept this fact to myself."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I wouldn't flash a card that could become my opponent's weakness in front of my opponent like this."
Song Junghye's inner thoughts were obvious to the eye.
"You must have gotten some kind of quest from the Shepherd Boy."
That was why she showed up here.
"And that quest is definitely related to the Red Eyes." I pointed at Gu Sungmin. "There just so happens to be a thief class Player here. What might this mean, I wonder?"
"..."
I came closer to her.
"I don't know what you came here to do."
Did she want to scare me? As if that would work. This was the path I chose, and I didn't have any regrets. If I was going to regret it, I wouldn't have done it in the first place.
Junghye flinched. The gaze looking up at me wasn't very pretty.
"And I wouldn't make such an expression in front of my opponent, either. Because I am someone who could become a great business partner of yours."
Song Junghye's scowl disappeared. "Business partner?"
Her tone implied, 'The likes of you would dare?' The current Song Junghye was nursing a wounded pride. After all, I, a mere Player, had seen straight through her mind.
"Business partners are great, of course. But what business would I have with someone being hated by a Guardian like the Shepherd Boy?"
"I incurred the Shepherd Boy's hate due to an unfortunate series of events. That is an undeniable fact."
I was sure of that.
"But there are countless Guardians who cherish me."
I was their sole producer of content. That held true in the past, and it would continue to hold true in the future. Things weren't immediately over for me because one Guardian hated me. In fact, I could actually use this situation to extract more diverse content. That depended on me.
"That's why I simply did my best."
It was best to vaguely express my vision and aspirations here. What I was saying was basically 'by the book'. To put it another way, I was picking words with no faults to be targeted. I did that on purpose so that I could see what Song Junghye would say.
"Yes, fine. Do your best then."
Her expression changed again. She was trying to force a smile, but failing to. Her eyes were filled with an energy close to murderous intent.
'Sloppy.'
She was truly clumsy, so much so that I almost pitied her.
'Song Junghye is not qualified to be the Blood and Iron Queen.'
It was said that a healthy and magnificent tree could be recognized from a seedling. One thing about a person could say a lot about the rest of them. The 'Blood and Iron Queen' was just a hollow name with no substance. Right now, I could be sure of that.
'Song Junghye… has someone helping her in the shadows.'
She was just the storefront. The woman herself could absolutely never topple Song Kiyeol and Taeguk Shield and go on to become the ruler of Sungshin.
'Jackson and Song Junghye met, right?'
Then was Jackson the one puppeteering her?
'It feels… like the puzzle pieces are slowly coming together.'
The 'Great Explorer' said he had never come to Korea before, said he couldn't speak Korean despite being fluent. What if Jackson outright denied any connections to Korea because there was something he wanted to hide?
'It's too early to be sure, but…'
I still had to take it into consideration. The scenario where Jackson and Song Junghye's current relationship of using each other reversed, turning into a situation where Jackson used Song Junghye as a front to control Sungshin… was one I had to bear in mind.
"I should thank you," I said to Junghye.
She had given me a wealth of information just by showing up here. Her poor judgment had gifted me another piece of the puzzle.
"For what?"
"It appears that you have given me a present."
Darongi was already back. I heard a scream from Gu Sungmin.
"AHHH! MY ITEM!"
[Darongi requests you to open his Inventory.]
An item called 'Tomb Pilfering Shovel' was in Darongi's Inventory.
[Tomb Pilfering Shovel]
An artifact that can collect the 'essence' of ruins, artifacts, and relics.
*Grade: Legendary
*Thief class exclusive
Well, hello.
'Legendary?'
Even for someone like me who had encountered two transcendent items, the legendary grade was surprising to see. This was a legendary item in the beginner period, of all times.
'Maybe it's like… a class specialty.'
This shovel might be the first and last legendary item in Gu Sungmin's life.
[Darongi demands praise.]
I patted the squirrel's head.
[Darongi demands intense praise.]
I rubbed him a little more vigorously.
[Darongi demands very intense praise.]
Darongi flopped on his back on my shoulder.
[Darongi demands even more intense and enthusiastic praise.]
I tickled his exposed belly. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether Darongi was a squirrel or a dog.
[Darongi is satisfied by his owner's petting.]
I petted Darongi a few times and got a legendary item out of it.
"What were you planning on doing with this shovel, I wonder?"
Song Junghye was calm.
"What's that?"
She hadn't been able to hold her poker face earlier, but she was doing so very well right now. She seemed to have a knack for misdeeds.
"I wonder. What is it, indeed?"
If Song Junghye wouldn't spill the beans, I'd have to rustle it out of Gu Sungmin. I heard Seohye's voice.
(Um… um…)
That's right, I know. That title is hard for you, right? It's pretty meh for me too. Yes. Master. I get it, so just move on.
(What should I do with this guy?)
What else? Thieves must be caught. Especially if they're a thief who tried to steal the Red Eyes.
Red thread rushed out. The power of the Guardian Tower Tintin was fused with the power of the Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye. There was a barrier set up here, in the Guardian Field, and Gu Sungmin's limbs were firmly tied up by the threads.
"If you don't tell the truth, you'll never be able to escape." I turned to Yeonseo. "Try cutting these threads with your sword. Oh, right. Your sword's really amazing, right? Remind me, what was its base attack?"
Yeonseo grinned. She was indeed quick on the uptake. "Oh, about 100."
Of course, that was a lie. Even for Asura, 100 was impossible. That was a lie, but well… A little lie against a thief could be forgiven.
Yeonseo brought down her sword on the red threads.
Clang!
It sounded like steel meeting steel.
"See? They can't be cut even with Yeonseo's sword. Of course, axes or knives made with science are meaningless."
"Pl-Pl-Please spare me."
Gu Sungmin's face turned paper white. He seemed to believe he was completely trapped.
Still smiling brightly, Yeonseo mumbled, "I heard starving to death is the most painful way to go…"
I glanced at Song Junghye. This truly amateur woman had no thoughts whatsoever to salvage this situation… or did she?
'Surely not.'
She didn't come alone. Her right arm, Kang Woongmin the Adamant, and the 'Poisoned Dagger' Jung Sangchul who could be called her left arm, were with her. Jung Sangchul was in the vicinity of the front gate of the DMC Riverview Xi Complex 2.
'Surely she can't be planning that.'
Just then, Gu Sungmin shouted, "I-I-I'll tell you everything! Ju-Just let me live, I beg you!"
And then, I was forced to acknowledge the situation I didn't want to believe. Because Jung Sangchul poised himself to attack Gu Sungmin.
Jung Sangchul was the Poisoned Dagger. As was obvious from his name, his class was one that dealt in assassination and poison. His specialty was ambushing and poisoning. His ability to attack his target from afar was especially remarkable, and he was quite the tricky opponent in GVGs.
'He wants to attack Gu Sungmin even though it's not a PVP or GVG?'
The captured thief was completely defenseless. If Jung Sangchul attacked Gu Sungmin right now…
'Gu Sungmin would die with almost 100% certainty.'
And if Gu Sungmin died?
'The blame would fall on me.'
There was quite a lot for Song Junghye to gain from Gu Sungmin's death, his sacrifice. But even so, that was a method you shouldn't use if you were human. Even if it was profitable for you, if that profit came at the cost of someone else's life, you shouldn't do it.
"It's true that theft is reprehensible." I looked Song Junghye dead in the eye. "But murdering is an even worse crime."
Song Junghye underestimated me too much. No, she didn't underestimate me; she lacked the competence to judge me accurately. Did she really think that she could successfully kill someone in front of me using Jung Sangchul, a beginner far from the Poisoned Dagger in his prime?
I was mentally connected with Seohye right now.
'Seohye. Move.'
The red threads shot out, knocking something away in midair. I glimpsed a thin poison needle about ten centimetres in length.
I stared at Song Junghye.
"It seems there's no way for us to work together."
No—
"I refuse to work with you."
Song Junghye had made a big mistake just now.
"Now, and forever."
She crossed the line a person should never cross. From now on, Song Junghye was my enemy. I erased her from my list of potential business partners.
(Master is hated by the Shepherd Boy, but that person is getting hated by Master.)
Seohye had definitely gotten a lot sunnier. I thought I could hear her giggling.
(If you were to ask me to choose, I would rather get hated by the Shepherd Boy. Sigh, I feel sorry for that woman.)
So what was next? What would produce the best quality content? Since something like this had happened, I might as well make a show the Guardians would go crazy for.
But just then, someone else suddenly involved himself, and in a way I hadn't seen coming.
____