Regressor's Instructions Manual
Atmosphere (1)
It's not familiar to be defeated. At the time of the tragic kidnapping incident, I was wearing rags, and now I'm wearing tattered clothes that hang loosely on me.
As a result, these clothes feel oddly out of place. As I adjust my attire and take slow steps, I notice the priests and paladins sticking around on this side. They're probably here to convey various messages.
Though it seemed like they were hesitant to deliver shocking news to each other, eventually, one of the priests, whose eyes were tightly shut, spoke up.
"Ex... Excuse me, Honorary Cardinal."
"I am aware too, Bishop Pess."
"Oh..."
"We request a thorough and meticulous investigation into this incident. The probability of their misdeeds is high."
"Yes."
"I will do what I can within the Blue Guild as well."
'I'm standing my ground.'
Even though it wasn't an intention I aimed for, the confident demeanor feels appropriate.
It's not as though I planned to appear unyielding, but the setting doesn't seem bad at all.
The Honorary Cardinal, whom they thought would be despondent, crumble, or be overwhelmed by a great shock, stood up with determination.
As the incident took a new turn, I anticipated that something different from before would occur. Perhaps the changed clothes also had an effect.
It was a way to express that my mindset had shifted a bit. This outfit had more charisma than the priest's robe.
Up until now, the gazes directed at me had been full of sympathy and pity. Most were concerned about the Honorary Cardinal and whether he could overcome his wounds and rise again.
The nearby paladins and priests didn't send such expressions. Their attitude was that of facing a saint who had risen from his wounds, a determined mature individual, a hero of the continent who had established his place at its center.
'Kim Hyun-sung Isn't the only hero.'
I'm a hero too.
The massive conspiracies surrounding the Holy See, the unresolved anomalies of the continent, and the uneasy priests who couldn't hear Benigore's voice.
There were those sending worried glances, wondering if the situation was due to Templar Zen, but they weren't enough to influence the overall situation.
There might be reactions suggesting that it was a good thing. It would be natural to be concerned about the Honorary Cardinal, who had already weakened.
The problem was the guild members.
Kim Chang-ryul, who had a rough idea of the incident's details, kept his lips tightly sealed, but worry was evident in the eyes of most members.
Starting with Cho Hye-jin, Park Deok-gu, and Kim Ye-ri, who were just together a moment ago, of course, as well as the priests Seon Hee-young and Elena.
Already weakened by their bodies, they must be even more worried now.
An Ki-mo wasn't different from this perspective. He might have been a role model for the bloodthirsty berserker, but in the end, he was an inevitable paladin. [[I keep forgetting that he too is a priest]]
Blacksmith Yoo-Ah Young, Mage Hwang Jeong-yeon, holding the white dog closely, Alps and the still awkward new guild member Valerie.
Even Jung Ha-yan, who looked uncomfortable, and Han So-ra, who was watching Jung Ha-yan's reactions with an anxious face.
Although it was a gathering of all guild members, I was slightly glad, but their reactions were a little troubling.
Mostly concerned reactions, and even some were being cautious.
It was such a shocking incident, and the situation had become one where they could only confront the Vice guild Master, who was covered in wounds.
Unlike me, who claimed Zen's innocence and wished for a fair trial, the other side wanted to implicate the criminal, and during the trial, a cold war situation was inevitable.
It was my side that rejected the meeting, but were the guild members at ease?
There's no way they would be.
In their eyes, I was probably the image of myself before I fell, wounded and collapsed.
"The atmosphere isn't good."
"...."
"...."
'Can't even crack a joke, huh?'
Amidst the ambiguous silence, the first to speak was loyalist Chang-ryul.
"Nice to see you after a long time, Vice guild master."
'I'll make sure to look after you.'
Loyalist Chang-ryul, who turned a blind eye to this incident. But it wasn't merely that he turned a blind eye.
At the time, Kim Chang-ryul had been presenting himself as my escort.
With his reputation being tarnished due to the mission's failure, it would have been the norm.
Given Blue Guild's principle of not shifting blame onto others, they wouldn't have scolded him, but there's a high chance he received criticism from Kim Hyun-sung or Cho Hye-jin.
He likely faced disciplinary actions within the guild and probably even had his rank reduced.
Everyone here knows that Kim Chang-ryul is capable. It couldn't be described as anything other than work negligence if he lost my trail, even stepping on an Anti-Demon.
'Yeah. Chang-ryul, you've always been on my side.'
Sure enough, Jeong Ha-yan's gaze on Kim Chang-ryul wasn't ordinary. It would be fitting for her to show that kind of reaction when the target of resentment increased.
Even...
"Have you arrived Hyun-sung?"
"Sorry for being late."
Even Kim Hyun-sung, who came in a bit late, had an expression as if he was wary of him.
'Our Chang-ryul is innocent... What do I do? He must have suffered more than I thought.'
"I don't remember lifting the punishment for Kim Chang-ryul."
'You prevented him from attending the meeting?'
"I apologize, Guild master."
"I... I called him, so please don't scold him."
"Ki-young, I understand your feelings, but rules are rules. Due to work negligence, and not fulfilling his duties, Chang-ryul has been stripped of his status as a regular guild member. Hence, he cannot attend the meeting. Ki-young, what he did might have been suicidal if it were a battlefield."
'No, why are you digging into him so much?'
Damn it, maybe the situation was more serious than I had thought. Yu Ah-yeong's eyes, gazing at Kim Chang-ryul as he quietly stood up, were filled with tears.
It felt like he had received severe treatment up until now.
"It's not Chang-ryul's fault. Hyun-sung. Actually, there were issues in my actions..."
"Ki-young's actions were fine."
No, there were issues, really. Big issues.
"If you could have lifted the punishment just until this incident is over... Of course, we don't want the guild's integrity to crumble due to exceptional circumstances, but that's how much the Blue Guild needs Chang-ryul's strength."
The importance of the Ranger class in dungeon strategies could be talked about endlessly.
"But..."
"I sincerely request this."
"Hmm..."
"Others shouldn't blame Chang-ryul too harshly either. It wasn't just. Chang-ryul's mistake. This incident wasn't solely Chang-ryul's fault..."
"It's my fault. Vice guild master."
'No, it's not your fault. You did nothing wrong. Accumulate some contributions through this expedition and regain trust. Don't worry too much, Ah-Young. Kim Chang-ryul, Honorary Cardinal, won't forget your kindness. So, how are we going to proceed? Kim Hyun-sung, damn it. Are you going to be this emotional?'
"It's not solely. Chang-ryul's mistake, so it's only right for the punishment to be shared."
'We can't just leave Chang-ryul like this, right?'
"....."
"Phew..."
'Yeah. Damn it, that's right.'
"I will retract the punishment."
"I'll comply with your intentions, Guild master. As much as you've given us this chance... "
I must have pouted too hard. Kim Hyun-sung doesn't respond to Kim Chang-ryul's words.
The feeling of having no choice but to retract the punishment due to Lee Ki-Young's heartfelt plea.
I'm not sure if it's because of the aftermath of the recent incident, but the atmosphere still isn't good.
Instead of the lively atmosphere that usually prevailed, there was an uncomfortable silence in the air.
Instead of the chattering and camaraderie, the atmosphere now felt suffocating, as if everyone was holding their breath.
The joviality and laughter that once filled the room were nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a sound of suppressed coughs and throat clearing echoing in the hall.
"This is awkward..."
This was the perfect moment to glance furtively at Park Deok-gu.
"Hyung... Hyung-nim..."
'No, not that. We don't need sympathetic opinions.'
"Cough... cough..."
'Don't cry, Damn it. Don't cry.'
"Sniff... sniff..."
'Because you're sniffling, Shit. fuck. Ha-yan wants to cry too.'
"Vice guild Master"
'Because Ha-yan's crying Elena wants to cry too.'
'....'
'When Elena cries, Cho Hye-jin wants to cry too.'
I looked around to see if there was a guild member who could resolve this situation, but I couldn't find a definite answer.
Tears spread quickly. In just over a minute, it felt like half of the guild members were on the verge of tears.
Desperately, I tried to lock eyes with one of them. Since they were quick on the uptake, they might catch on to what I wanted.
'Please...'
"Everyone... it might be best to calm down. Although there was an unfortunate incident this morning, since the Vice guild master has regained his spirits, isn't this a good day? All the guild members gathered here... I'm sure the Vice guild master doesn't want to see all of you looking sad."
'Right, fuck. That's right.'
"Yeah, that's right."
"Hyung, the Vice guild master doesn't want to see you like this. Come on! Nuna, don't cry. Elena nuna, stop sniffling."
"That's right."
"Come on, everyone, show a lively attitude!"
Forced cheeriness amidst the sadness seemed even stranger. Nevertheless, it felt like the atmosphere was gradually improving.
"Well, how about we each have a cup of tea?"
Although it was a large round table, I sat next to Kim Hyun-sung and struck up a conversation with him.
While it had been a busy situation, it was still better than going on an expedition in the current state.
"Yes, that's right."
I also smiled at their empty remarks...
'This scoundrel is so happy.'
"By the way, recently, White Paul..."
"I heard about it too. It seems like they're getting along well, which is a relief."
We talked about Griffin too. After taking a sip of tea, I chatted with Ha-yan naturally, then talked with our pig, and asked the new guild member, Belle/Valerie [ One of the two, my translator is not picking one]], how she found guild life.
"Senior Alps took good care of me, so I had no trouble adapting! Vice guild master!"
"Yes. Valerie seemed to be very interested in the history of the continent. After she joined the guild, she was mostly engrossed in the guild's records room."
"Is that so?"
"Senior Alps... When was I..."
"I stayed up late almost every night. There were even times when I stayed up until dawn. 27th Division Summoning Incident, Resurrection Day... There were many difficult things to witness as well..."
'Yeah, Song Soo-kyung's case was a bit much even for me. The staging was too cruel.' [[Song Soo-Kyung, the person who Kiyoung conviced to gouge Kiyoung's golden eyes out lol]]
"I wasn't a guild member at the time, so I wanted to understand Blue Guild more... Things that happened in the guild are things that I alone didn't experience... I wanted to empathize with the pain you all went through... And... I wanted to... grow more... to be more of a support for Blue by becoming stronger..."
"Junior Belle... ... That's right... With a guild member like this, even if there are hundreds of them, they would be in favor."
"Admirable personality. I didn't think you were like that."
"Also, Hee-yeong nuna, try getting a bit closer to the new guild members. It seems like you're too distant."
"...."
'Gotcha'
It didn't take long for the atmosphere to return to the way it used to be. We chatted about trivial matters with each other...
"Valerie, aren't you here for another purpose?"
"No! No way! No!! I said no!!!"
"Why are you shouting so loudly, looking at the handsome face of our hyung-nim... No, why are you screaming..."
"Oh? Ah... Well, since Jung Ha-yan nim is here too, I am just... with a heart full of respect...."
"Enough, stop teasing. Deok-gu ahjussi, the new recruit. What will you do if you leave the guild?"
"Ah! I-I'm sorry. I might have been a bit harsh..."
The conversation that had been postponed continues.
"Eleana nim. How is the Elven Kingdom doing?"
"Currently, His Majesty... "
"Oh, I see. I'm glad to hear that things are going well."
"Oh, and His Majesty mentioned... that this time, he really wants to hear an answer from Cho Hye-jin nim."
The news caught Kim Hyun-seong off guard.
"Elios nim wants to hear an answer from Hye-jin? What could..."
"It's nothing, really."
"Did you receive a confession or something?"
"...."
"Really?"
"At this point, it's not something important."
If you say it's not important, how am I supposed to make him jealous? I should provoke some jealousy from Hyun-seong. You're really... dense. Quite dull.
Elena, the embodiment of pure evil, continues her conversation.
"His Majesty has formally proposed to Cho Hye-jin nim quite a while ago. Despite the opposition of the elders, His Majesty insisted until the end... He has been rejected twice already, so if he gets rejected this time, it'll be the third. Personally, I would like Cho Hye-jin to become part of the family, but... Our His Majesty has so many shortcomings... Even if he gets rejected, I can understand."
Suddenly, the unexpected news about Elios, the romantic guy, is surprising.
'Kim Hyun-seong, this guy really needs to be nervous.'