Fortunately, there were no monsters higher than A-grade. The bigger and more aggressive ones seemed to be A-grade, and the rest were B-grade.
I disassembled the bones of the monster that rushed behind Cheon Sa-yeon's back while maintaining the wind that lifted us up.
Kkyeeek! Kyaak!
As I looked at the monster that melted, without leaving a trace, on the blazing sword, I said, "It seems you didn't know about this situation."
When I saw and heard it, I remembered Cheon Sa-yeon's expression, who frowned as if he was confused. It was an unusual reaction from him, since he was always relaxed.
Cheon Sa-yeon made eye contact with me and said in a whisper, "You are very quick-witted."
Hwiiing, black hair fluttered in the wind.
"I can't give you any more details than this, so I'd like to pass on it. I'm pretty flustered* right now."
Flustered, my ass, I replied nonchalantly.
"Go figure. I didn't expect you to give me the right answer anyway."
"There's no trust between us. How sad."
Of course, my speed was significantly slower than Cheon Sa-yeon's speed. Cheon Sa-yeon, who melted all the monsters in front of him, turned and flew upward. As we went up higher, I saw ordinary people watching us under our feet. There were also many large cameras.
"I don't care. Because I have something else to think about."
"Hmm."
As I swung my hand out wide, the four B-grade monsters that were running were split in two in an instant. The monsters I killed were soon engulfed in Cheon Sa-yeon's flames.
"Come to think of it, you said you had something to check when you were begging me to bring you along."
"Wait, what did you just say…? Begging?"
It was ridiculous, so I stared at Cheon Sa-yeon. He had a look on his face that asked what was wrong.
"Why? Aren't I right? Like an abandoned dog with pitiful eyes—how sad you looked."
"No. When did I ever look like that?"
The atmosphere was a bit off, so I was a little self-conscious. 'Pitiful'… I've never looked anything like that.
"It's even worse if you did it unconsciously."
"Stop talking nonsense."
The soaring annoyance naturally turned to the monsters that rushed in. I tied six B-grade monsters at once, lifted them up, and then slammed them down hard on the ground. The skeletons were shattered with a scream. Seeing the scene, Cheon Sa-yeon smiled.
"Our Yi-gyeol is tough, too. There's no one else who's as well-rounded as you."
"..."
Fine, fuck. It was weird when I listened to you.
I let out a deep sigh, shutting off my powers. Cheon Sa-yeon, who was holding me, slowly descended to the ground. There were corpses of monsters all over the place.
I got out of Cheon Sa-yeon's arms and took off the jacket.
"It took exactly 17 minutes."
Cheon Sa-yeon, who checked the time, roughly shook his bloody hand. Upon seeing that, I said, "At least bring some bandages."
"Bandages? Speaking of bandages—" Cheon Sa-yeon, who put his jacket and sword in his inventory, unbuttoned a couple of shirt buttons. "—the research team said that they had created a new A-class bandage that was good for haemostasis."
Oh, wasn't that nice?
"Not bad. There will be plenty of places to use it."
Since there were not enough healers, useful items for healing were always important. If the situation arose, I would buy it and keep it.
"Wrap it with something like that. It's much better than leaving your bloody hands alone."
I wasn't even acting smug that he got hurt. Clicking my tongue as I spoke, Cheon Sa-yeon's expression became stranger.
"..."
What was wrong with him? I didn't even joke like I did before.
I became awkward at the quiet gaze that only looked at me, so I shut my mouth, but a gasping voice intervened between me and Cheon Sa-yeon.
"Ma-Master Cheon Sa-yeon!"
I turned around and saw a slightly chubby man with a sweaty face. After that, Yoon Jae-min, whom I saw earlier, was also there.
"Ha-have all the monsters been dealt with?"
"Can't you tell when you see it?" Cheon Sa-yeon, who slowly looked away from me, looked at the man and answered indifferently.
"Hey, Master Cheon Sa-yeon. This time, I'm really embarrassed!"
The man's behaviour of hurriedly making excuses was very distracting. Stepping back from Cheon Sa-yeon's back, I thought, 'This time?'
When Cheon Sa-yeon didn't say anything, the man's complexion brightened up a bit and added more excuses.
"Really! It's been a while since the clear team went in, and I just happened to have an outside schedule today, so I went…"
"When?"
"Oh, huh?"
Cheon Sa-yeon slowly tilted his head to one side and asked quietly, "When was the last time you cleared it?"
"That—that…"
The man wiped the sweat running down his chin with a bewildered expression. Cheon Sa-yeon smiled slightly and said softly, "If you're a guild master, shouldn't you know about the timing of clearing the gates in your area?"
"Ahem, yes, yes. Maybe… a little over two months…"
I frowned involuntarily.
The clear cycle for each gate was two months. For safety reasons, most guilds, including Requiem, had managed the gate every 50 days.
'It means you missed the clear time.'
It was like a time bomb where you didn't know when it would explode if it's been over two months, but even that was uncertain.
"More than two months."
Cheon Sa-yeon looked down at the man in a crooked position and opened his mouth.
"Master Kang Seung-geon (강승건)."
The S-rank master of Blun Guild, Kang Seung-geon, trembled at Cheon Sa-yeon's cold tone.
"I must have told you clearly then. If you can't manage the gate properly, disband your guild and live in a foreign country."
A fire burned in Cheon Sa-yeon's black eyes as he murmured quietly.
"Up 'til now, the C12 Area incident was not properly organized, then the C13 Area exploded, so this time it will be difficult to avoid disciplinary action from the headquarters."
"Ma-Master Cheon Sa-yeon! I'm really sorry! I mean, I need you to talk to the headquarters, okay? Headquarters—we'll die if you tell them the truth! Besides, there was no major damage this time—hgh!"
Before Kang Seung-geon could finish speaking, Cheon Sa-yeon grabbed his neck with one hand.
"Hhh, Master!" Yoon Jae-min, who was waiting behind him, screamed with a pale face.
"Haha, you must be a piece of trash. It's hard for me to listen because I'm afraid my ears will rot."
"Keuh, hgh, wai…"
"Have you forgotten, Master Kang Seung-geon? During the C12 accident, I definitely gave you one last chance. Did I only give you a chance? You made a ruckus about how you had no money to pay the penalty, let alone the cost of rebuilding an area that was wrecked by monsters—I gave it all to you. I also held funerals for the victims. You said you would never forget this grace and you hit me in the head like this after three months?"
"Hgh, c-can't br… please…!"
Kang Seung-geon's feet floated in the air. With his body caught in Cheon Sa-yeon's right hand and he struggled without even using his powers.
"Because of the Sector C12 incident, Requiem has taken over control of the entire sub gate in Sector C."
"Master Cheon Sa-yeon, please stop! You'll be in big trouble!"
"I'm in a very bad mood right now because this shit happened in my sub-management area. I'm wondering how this will be compensated."
Cheon Sa-yeon threw Kang Seung-geon to the ground. Kwaang, the ground was dented and the dust rose. Yoon Jae-min ran to Kang Seung-geon, who was lying on the ground and coughing harshly.
"Ma-Master! Are you all right?"
"Cough, this fuckin'—cough, you son of bitch! How dare you!"
Kang Seung-geon's veins rose on his neck, where the reddish handprints were clearly visible, and shouted, "A bastard like you, if I tell my father, you'll…!"
"Let's go."
Cheon Sa-yeon with a heartless expression turned his back on Kang Seung-geon. As I followed Cheon Sa-yeon, who left without any regrets, he continued to shout in anger.
"What a dirty orphan! I won't leave you alone! I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!"
* * *
When I returned to the parking lot, there was another car beside the car I had been riding in before.
"Go back to the guild. I have a place to go right away," Cheon Sa-yeon said to me, opening the back seat door and looking at me.
"I can go alone."
Well, it was convenient for me. I climbed up and asked the question I had been curious about for a long time. "Do you know where Kim Woo-jin's house is?"
"Why are you asking?"
Why? I'm going to go see him, why?
"I thought I'd ask. Do you know or not?"
"What if I do know?"
"Take a picture of the location and send it to my phone."
Cheon Sa-yeon looked at me without saying a word for a moment. What's wrong with you? You've been like this since before. As if we were having a snowball fight, I set my eyes on Cheon Sa-yeon and stared blankly.
He asked, with an unknown look on his face, "Is this the first time you actually met the Blun Guild Master?"
"…maybe. Why?" I couldn't answer yes hastily, so I deliberately answered this way.
"What do you think of him? Of the Blun Guild Master."
I frowned. I couldn't figure out the intent of the question.
"What do I think? I don't know. What…"
"..."
Cheon Sa-yeon, who was silently looking at me, shook his head as if it was nothing.
"I'll send you a message where Kim Woo-jin lives. Go."
The car door closed firmly. After hearing a few words from Cheon Sa-yeon from outside, the attendant nodded and got into the driver's seat.
"I'm going to the guild."
"Yessir."
The car started smoothly.
I looked out the window and tapped my knee with my finger. Cheon Sa-yeon's question kept running through my mind.
The master of Blun Guild, Kang Seung-geon. Why were you asking about him?
'Did this guy have something to do with Han Yi-gyeol?'
Has he ever appeared in the novel? I didn't know. I tapped my forehead to the window and closed my eyes.
* * *
I returned to the guild and opened the door to the 23rd floor. After going out, I immediately noticed a backpack that I had not been able to organize because I was following Cheon Sa-yeon to the C13 Area.
Unlike when I went out at dawn, I put my empty backpack in the closet, and Ha Tae-heon's cell phone was hidden under the bed mattress, just like the last time.
It was close to 7 o'clock after I washed my body and changed clothes after fighting in C13 Area. It was around that time that my original cell phone rang.
After possessing Han Yi-gyeol's body, a message popped up on the smooth screen of the cell phone, which had never received any contact.
「This is a message from an unregistered user. Please be careful not to suffer financial demands and avoid damage.」
「Cheon Sa-yeon: (Photo)」
「Cheon Sa-yeon: ^^」
The picture was part of the map. Judging from the location, it was a place not too far from the guild. This is enough for me to go alone.
I thought about it for a while, instead of closing the phone screen without replying. Still, he might've thought I left him on read**. I slowly touched the keypad.
「Han Yi-gyeol: ㅇㅋ (ok)」
「Han Yi-gyeol: ㄱㅅ (gamsa = ty)」
This should be enough. I closed the phone screen with a satisfied smile. I was about to put my phone in my pants pocket, but it vibrated again.
「Cheon Sa-yeon: Is that it?」
「Cheon Sa-yeon: That's unfair.」
I was a little embarrassed because I didn't expect a reply. I pressed hard on the keypad. Even if I pressed carefully, mistakes kept popping up.
「Han Yi-gyeol: ?」
「Han Yi-gyeol: What do you want?」
This time, I kept staring at the screen without turning off the screen. As expected, the reply came quickly.
「Cheon Sa-yeon: I wonder.」
「Cheon Sa-yeon: A sincere greeting?」
So nothing important. I snorted, but this time, I wrote my reply carefully so as not to make a typo.
「Han Yi-gyeol: Thank you very much (감사합니다).」
「Cheon Sa-yeon: ^^...」
When I saw the smiley emoticon, Cheon Sa-yeon's unlucky face came to mind. You use emoticons that look like you. I turned off the phone screen and tucked it into my pants pocket.
Perhaps because of the time, I was hungry. The abalone porridge eaten during the day had long since been digested.
'I'll have to buy something to eat and go.'
I left the room while thinking about the menu.