Chapter 43

“So, from here on...”

Bang! While they were talking about what would happen next, the conference room door slammed open.

White hair and blue eyes. Jeong Suho stood in the doorway. If there was anything unusual, it was that he wore a full scowl.

“Oh, Suho, you’re here? Come in, come in.”

At Lee Jisung’s words, Jeong Suho strode forward. He stopped right in front of Lee Jisung, who was wearing sunglasses.

His blue eyes pierced through the tint. He typed something on his device and held it out. An AI voice rang out.

[“As I understand it, the conclusion was that I would clear the gate by myself. If you break the promise like this, that’s a problem. I was certain I could do it alone.”]

“Oh, right. That was indeed the plan.”

Lee Jisung covered the device’s speaker with his hand. A hard glare flashed between them. He raised one eyebrow, then gave a short laugh.

“But you lied to us. That’s a problem.”

“Lie?” Jeong Suho stared at him, eyes wide, as if to ask what he meant. Off to the side, someone’s dry voice came in.

“You didn’t tell your partner about the curse, did you?”

Snap, Jeong Suho turned his head. There were people he had never seen before. A black-haired man and a golden-haired man. The blonde had to be the rank 2 he’d seen yesterday. The black-haired one would be the rank 1, Lude.

When Jeong Suho glared, unable to control his anger, Lude lifted his eyes just as sharply.

“Watch those eyes. You look at someone you just met like that?”

“...”

Realizing he’d been rude, Jeong Suho bowed in apology and sat. Even so, his expression made it clear he didn’t like any of this, which grated on Lude’s nerves.

‘That brat... the same face as back then...!’

[“Why? What about that face?” says the Lord of Chaos, looking at you.]

‘He never does anything he doesn’t want to do! He hasn’t changed at all, just like dad, that son of a…’

[“Stop, Nari. Stop. Didn’t we agree to be bold and clear?” says the Lord of Chaos, calming you.]

It was exactly the face Nari made when she nagged about homework or chores.

Remembering that and feeling his chest tighten again, Lude barely managed to steady himself with the Lord of Chaos’s advice. A voice came from Jeong Suho’s device.

[“I heard you’ll be accompanying us to clear the Labyrinth on Crete to lift my status ailment.”]

“Yes, that’s right. Even if we clear it, if we don’t lift your curse, it won’t mean anything. So we need to bring you.”

Jeong Suho crossed his arms, wearing a dissatisfied look, and seemed to think for a long moment. Seeing that, Lude sighed inwardly.

‘Anyway, that face means negotiations are dead. He’ll never agree. He’s always been like that…’

[“Why go that far?”]

Jeong Suho looked at them, puzzled. At the core question, Lude and Kang Ihyun glanced at each other. They had no excuse ready. Watching them, Jeong Suho tapped away again.

[“In the end, it’s a faction fight inside our guild. And it’s tangled up with my personal situation.”]

‘And it’s tied up with my situation too...!’

Lude pressed his lips tight, his expression strained. He couldn’t even talk about it.

“Suho. Enough.”

Lee Jisung tried to rein him in, but Jeong Suho typed again. The AI’s cold voice came out.

[“I know the two of you are strong, but it doesn’t seem practical that two S-rank Hunters would join a gate strike just to help me. Is there some other reason I don’t know?”]

“...I’m nicer than I look. I heard your situation, and before it sticks in my head and keeps bothering me, I want to clear it out. That’s why I’m helping you!”

‘There isn’t any! I’m helping because I feel bad for you. If I walk away now, it’ll bug me! Take it while I’m still feeling charitable for the sake of old times!’

Grinding his teeth, unable to state his own circumstances and trapped giving only the public excuse, Lude clenched both fists.

But anyone could see, even Nari herself knew, it made no sense for the arrogant rank 1 who had steamrolled other Hunters to suddenly save rank 6 out of pity.

Seeing that Jeong Suho still didn’t drop his suspicions, Lee Jisung hesitated, then spoke up in Lude’s defense.

“Jeong Suho, I saw it. He finished talking it through with me. I have a good eye for people, don’t I? You don’t trust me?”

[“No. I trust Jisung hyung, but I will still dig until the end. Endless suspicion is necessary to protect my people.”]

“You little…!!!”

Lude shot to his feet with a bang. Jeong Suho stared at him, startled. Lude’s patience was at its limit.

He wanted to end this cleanly, the way Kang Ihyun had advised, so he would never have to think about it again.

“Enough with that suspicion! If you’ve never succeeded by clinging to your way, maybe you should change the method, huh?!”

Everyone in the room stared at Lude. His irritation was so obvious that a bit of spirit energy leaked, and Kang Ihyun had to spread sacred power through the air.

“How are you going to get anywhere suffocating us like this! You used to be…!”

‘You weren’t like this before,’ he almost said, then clamped his mouth shut. Lude clicked his tongue, sighed, and sat again.

Across from him, Jeong Suho, eyes round with surprise, just stared. Lude pressed a fingertip into the desk, visibly annoyed, and delivered his ultimatum.

“You don’t seem to get who needs this more. We can just serve out our term and fly off. So if you’re not in, say so.”

Jeong Suho blinked, then hastily typed on his device. The AI’s level voice didn’t match the heat of the moment.

[“I tried many methods. All failed. I tried talking. I tried overwhelming it with force. I set traps, and more.”]

“Give me a break, are you me? You think you’re more capable than I am?”

Lude pressed his fist into the table with a thud. With the sunglasses on, he looked even more like a thug. Intimidated, Jeong Suho flinched.

“You haven’t tried bringing three S-ranks and beating the boss to a pulp. You think this kind of chance comes often?”

[“At the start I did beat him to a pulp. Even overwhelmed by force, he never lifted it.”]

“Yeah, well, you were one. We’re three. I don’t care how strong he is, nobody wins against a dogpile.”

Jeong Suho looked like he couldn’t believe this counted as a plan. Lude cleared his throat. Then came a line anyone here could understand.

“...It’s, well, personal experience. So trust me.”

* * *

“It looks like it worked out.”

“Yeah, but like they say, give a wicked bastard an extra rice cake… I won’t feel relieved until I settle this somehow.”

Only after Lude blew his top did they finally seal the alliance. To be precise, Jeong Suho was cowed by Lude’s aura and ended up nodding along.

It was decided that the three, Jeong Suho, Kang Ihyun, and Lude, would clear the gate the very next day. For smoother coordination, Kang Ihyun and Lude’s lodgings were reassigned.

Fourth floor, the top floor just under the roof where Wargod’s core members stayed. In their two-person room, Lude was reading a report.

“When you face the boss monster, it jumps straight to class 2. Before that, it’s class 4. It’s a maze as soon as you enter, so be careful. The moment you hear a roar, the curse starts...”

Sitting by the window, Lude murmured the report as if fixing every line in his head. Kang Ihyun quietly came closer.

“Mr. Lude, do you think the operation will go well?”

“With three S-ranks on it, how could it not? We cleared the last class 2 with just the two of us.”

“Haha. You know if you get complacent, you get bit, right? You always have to enter a gate on edge.”

Kneeling in front of him, Kang Ihyun reached out carefully. Lude blinked at him, and Kang Ihyun smiled.

“Are you feeling any better? Let me help a little.”

“...Ah, please.”

When Lude held out his hand, Kang Ihyun took it gently. As sacred power seeped in, the fatigue eased, and Lude let out a small sigh.

Keeping the Lude avatar up twenty-four hours a day was exhausting. He was even taking birth control pills regularly.

“Still, I hope letting your temper out once at Mr. Jeong Suho cooled you down a bit.”

“That’s...”

Lude muttered as he looked at Kang Ihyun’s smiling face. “Excuse me?” Kang Ihyun asked, and Lude exhaled hard.

“He wasn’t originally like that.”

“Who... was?”

“Jeong Suho. He wasn’t a guy that sharp-edged. He was soft. Tap him a little and he’d tear up. He definitely changed here. If not...”

He’d been a clueless kid. Even walking, without her he’d shuffle along, and if Nari didn’t take care of him, there were so many things he couldn’t do. In the middle of that, he’d dig like crazy into whatever he liked.

“...Mr. Lude. With me right here, if you keep talking like that...”

Kang Ihyun squeezed his hand. At the chill in his voice, Lude turned his head. Kang Ihyun was looking down, smiling, still just holding his hand.

Soon the sacred power dissipated. Kang Ihyun let go and looked up at him with his usual expression. Lude blinked, and Kang Ihyun spoke kindly.

“You look really tired. You should sleep. I’ll stand watch from the next room tonight, so it should be fine to release the avatar.”

“Ah. Yeah. Thanks.”

‘Something about the way he talked sounded oddly different…’

Thinking that far, Lude only nodded blankly. He figured he could shower and sleep with the avatar down tonight, but a heavier unease lingered.

Since yesterday, Kang Ihyun’s attitude has been a bit off. Lude noticed, but he’d been too pressed by his own issues to address it.

Kang Ihyun gave him a bright smile as Lude’s thoughts turned grave, wondering if something strange had happened.

“Do you want the bathroom first?”

“...Sure.”

He stared at Kang Ihyun a moment, then turned for the bathroom, only to stop and look back.

“Hey, Kang Ihyun. Did… something weird happen to you? Did someone mess with you?”

“Oh. No. Nothing happened.”

“...Mm. Okay. If anything did, tell me right away. I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry.” With that last smile from Kang Ihyun, Lude stepped into the bathroom.

For a moment, he felt he shouldn’t leave Kang Ihyun alone like this, but his head filled back up with other thoughts, and he forgot it just as quickly.

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