Chapter 901. Sera (1)
'This bastard... is seriously...'
‘I was pretty hard on him as well.’
[I had a drink... Today... Today, I would like to offer a truly sincere apology. It’s fine... if you don’t accept my apology, but Mr. Ki-Young... just remember that I’m being serious. I won’t explain what happened. I just want to tell you that I regret my decision. You may not like my apology... I've been thinking about it day and night... I did my best and thought hard about it. These aren't just empty words. I hope you'll feel my sincerity. I’m sorry...]
Kim Hyun-Sung was spouting a bunch of nonsense, so he had clearly drunk a lot.
I had no idea just how much he drank to become this drunk.
Had he drunk a ten-thousand-year-old liquor brewed by a dragon? Actually, it wasn’t that important. What mattered here was the possibility that this cheesy post would stay on the first page of Kim Hyun-Sung’s dark history rather than staying as a sincere apology.
Naturally, the netizens immediately wrote comments, so I had to wrap up our little party.
‘This is tiring, damn it.’
First, I needed to check the reply he sent to me last night.
[Please stop.]
This was the message I had sent him.
[I’m sorry...]
And this was his reply. I had to reply. I looked really cold-hearted here.
[I just needed some time.]
'Yeah, I needed some time... Actually, I think I’m over it... but you acted so disgracefully. I’m doing this to discipline you. You understand, right?'
His post was actually working, which was absurd.
I wouldn't say that his "sincerity" was working; he actually appeared kind of pitiful by making that post.
This wasn’t the best example, but it was similar to a long-term couple pitying each other.
Kim Hyun-Sung and I had experienced many things together.
He always looked so big in my eyes, so this was the first time he looked so pitiful.
I looked at him using the telescope yesterday, and he looked pretty horrible.
I understood his feelings.
I was sure he was shocked because he struggled even more than children when it came to building relationships with people. His post sounded like we were breaking up, and from my posts on Benigoagram, it seemed like everyone was happy except him.
Those posts... Kim Hyung-Sung was afraid of becoming distant from his close friend, with whom he had a special bond. As always, he had to rely on alcohol to face the emotional turmoil of making a mistake and feeling heartbroken about it.
‘I feel bad for him.’
One would be able to feel the heartbreak that Kim Hyun-Sung was going through by imagining someone cooped up in their room for a long time to pass an exam. Upon passing the exam, that certain someone would then try to hang out with their friends only to find out that they had cut ties with them.
Of course, Kim Hyun-Sung had done the right thing by making that decision.
[Okay, I’ll be waiting. I’m sorry.]
‘Of course, you should wait.’
[Also, I think it’s best if you delete your Benigoagram account.]
This way, he wouldn't make another mistake.
[Okay... Mr. Ki-Young. Have a good day.]
[Thank you. ^^]
[I’m sorry. If I did something wrong...]
[Ah, it’s nothing like that. I'm looking forward to the result of the task I assigned to you.]
This emoticon was going to give him PTSD. It was kind of funny seeing him act like a scorched child afraid of fire, but he needed to experience something like this so that he would do better in the future.
I leaned halfway out of bed and heard a familiar voice.
“O-Oppa, are you awake?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.
“Yeah. Did you sleep well?” I asked.
“Y-Yes,” Jung Ha-Yan replied.
“You didn’t have trouble sleeping?” I asked.
“No,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.
‘I slept well, too.’
What was this tent made out of, and why was there furniture here?
There was a bed rather than a sleeping bag. I saw a water fountain, and even the table that was provided for me to take care of my business looked fancy. The blanket made with excellent materials was softer than the blanket in my room.
Now that I thought about it...
“Ah! O-O-Oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan called out, interrupting my train of thought.
“Yeah?” I answered.
“M-Miss Kim Mi-Young called. She said she wanted to talk to you about work...” Jung Ha-Yan informed me.
“I’ll call her now,” I said.
“A-Also, I prepared food for you. Y-You can come out when you’re done with your call,” Jung Ha-Yan added.
Except for the fact that I woke up kind of late, this morning was no different from the mornings I often spent at the guild.
“Miss Kim Mi-Young,” I greeted.
- Good morning, sir.
“I heard you wanted to talk to me about something...” I said.
- I took care of the guild master's post, just as you asked. We’re trying to stop the screenshots of the posts from spreading on Benigoa Net, but we can't take care of the related posts that are discussing it. I called to ask your opinion on asking Mr. Max to take total control.
“Ah, I see. Well, I don’t think that’s necessary. Just keep an eye out for the posts made by the press. Then, just take care of the silly posts and posts with ridiculous assumptions,” I ordered.
- Thank you for your confirmation, sir.
“Thank you for always working so hard, Miss Kim Mi-Young,” I said.
- I’m simply doing my job.
Once Miss Kim Mi-Young was done with her yesterday's report, coffee and newspaper were placed on the table before me. Honestly, I could use my hand mirror to read the news, but reading it from a newspaper felt completely different.
When I went outside, I saw Jung Ha-Yan sitting at an outdoor table. It was a picturesque sight, as the table was on beautiful green grass. I felt kind of embarrassed coming out in my pajamas, but it probably didn't matter.
“What about the others?” I asked.
“T-They've eaten already, and you woke up kind of late... I didn’t wake you up because you seemed kind of tired...” Jung Ha-Yan replied.
“I must’ve slept a little too long,” I commented.
“I-I haven’t eaten yet because I wanted to eat with you...” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.
“Really? Thanks,” I said.
Honestly, I was convinced that Jung Ha-Yan only managed to wait for me, as she didn't receive any tasks. However, her words still put me in a good mood. Eating alone wasn’t bad, but this wasn’t bad either. It was like I was enjoying my everyday life.
Although we were in a different location, we had experienced many extraordinary things recently, so I had been missing moments like waking up later than usual, drinking coffee, and eating while reading the newspaper.
“I heard the other party prepared the food. T-That man, Rafael, supposedly cooked the food,” Jung Ha-Yan said.
‘He’s pretty attentive.’
I looked around and saw that the others were in the middle of training.
They had woken up so early to start training that it felt like the party last night had never happened at all.
Rafael and Thronus were exchanging moves with their swords.
Cherubim and the hunting dog were talking to each other while swinging their swords at each other.
I had no idea what they were talking about, but they were covered in sweat, so it seemed that they had been sparring for quite a while now.
Just then, I saw Rafael swinging his sword powerfully. In response, Thronus spread his wings and swung his greatsword, but Rafael easily blocked Thronus' attacks.
‘Rafael grew stronger as well.’
Back then, Rafael couldn't really control his power, and he had been taking advantage of that fact by using it to corner his enemies.
I could tell that his experience in battle had honed his attacks, and my jaw dropped unknowingly while I was staring at him. He wasn’t as graceful as Kim Hyun-Sung, but it felt like Rafael was moving according to his personality. His style wasn’t fancy, and it seemed like he had given up on making his movements graceful and fancy upon realizing that his swordsmanship would never reach Kim Hyun-Sung’s level.
“Hyah!” Thronus exclaimed as if he was trying to show me something upon noticing that I was staring at him.
“Eek!” Thronus shrieked and rolled on the ground upon being countered by Rafael.
Thronus looked pretty cool when he kicked off of the ground to recover his balance.
If Thronus were himself a long time ago, he would be much stronger.
On the other side, Lee Joo-Hyuk and Cherubim were talking to each other nonstop.
Cherubim swung his scythe nonstop, but Lee Joo-Hyuk blocked all of his attacks.
“That’s enough,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.
“Okay. Whoo...”
“I understand your level now, Cherubim,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.
“How was it?” Cherubim asked.
“And it's so low that it's extremely boring. I was so bored I felt like dying," Lee Joo-Hyuk answered.
“What...?”
“You should train like you're in the middle of a battlefield. If you had truly learned something from the Mercenary Queen, then you should know what I’m talking about,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.
“...”
“What’s training for you?” Lee Joo-Hyuk asked.
“What?” Cherubim asked.
“For me... training is killing,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.
‘Lee Joo-Hyuk, stop teaching him strange things.’
“Haha... you’re a strange one...”
'Stop encouraging him, guys.'
“Come. I’ll be your opponent for now,” Lee Joo-Hyuk ordered.
The two continued their sparring.
I thought it was too much to have Lee Joo-Hyuk train Cherubim, but they weren’t that bad of a pair. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t going easy, but Cherubim looked really surprised. He claimed to be Rafael’s rival, and I could tell that he had been working hard to overcome his limits.
Rafael had a small crossbow in one hand to create a variable.
Lee Joo-Hyuk was most likely the reason behind Rafael's rapid growth.
‘He’s stronger than I thought.’
Cherubim couldn't counterattack at all. In the end, Lee Joo-Hyuk grabbed Cherubim’s long hair, and I chuckled when I saw Cherubim hanging from Lee Joo-Hyuk’s hand.
While my eyes were on him, Thronus and Rafael wrapped up their training and approached me.
“How was it, Mr. Rafael?” I asked.
“It was great, hyung. He just has to train consistently, and I think he’ll become even stronger... It seems like he's standing before a wall... but I think the problem lies with the training method rather than with Thronus,” Rafael replied.
“What?”
“I know because I learned from him as well. The guild master isn’t considerate of his students,” Rafael answered.
‘Really?’
“I’m not denying the fact that he’s a genius swordsman, but his training method is too much for a child to handle. It takes a separate talent to teach someone. It’s nothing serious, so you don’t have to worry about it... By the way, did you guys enjoy them?” Rafael asked.
“Yes, thanks to you,” I answered.
“I-I-It was delicious,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.
“Mr. Rafael, I’d like to talk to you in detail about Thronus...” I requested.
‘I can... see what he's talking about. It’s not like someone will become a genius just by learning magic from Ha-Yan.’
“Thronus, come here and sit, too...” I told him.
‘Honestly, Hyun-Sung was pretty frustrated with Thronus as well. He said something like Thronus doesn’t have talent and that he wasn’t that useful.’
I was kind of worried because I thought he'd grow in the wrong direction.
“H-H-How’s Sera doing?” Jung Ha-Yan chimed in.
It was an unexpected question, as Jung Ha-Yan had never really been interested in Seraphim. She had been making Han Sora take care of Seraphim most of the time rather than training him.
I reckoned Jung Ha-Yan had decided to ask that question, as I had been talking about Thronus for quite a while now.
“Ah, I think it’s because if you look at him yourself, Miss Jung Ha-Yan. Lee Joo-Hyuk has decided to take care of Seraphim...” Rafael replied.
Seraphim and Lee Joo-Hyuk were actually dueling right now.
“Come at me, kid,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.
Seraphim looked pretty serious with a sword in his tiny hands.
He seemed to have noticed that we were watching them because he bit his lips, looking quite nervous.
“Hyaaaah!” Seraphim shouted and swung his sword with all his might. He swung it so hard that the sword flew out of his hand. It was a mistake that not even beginners would make. To make things worse, the sword flew toward my table.
‘Is he trying to assassinate me or something?’
I didn't bother dodging, as I knew that the sword was going to get blocked, anyway.
Clang!
As expected, the sword bounced off the barrier.
“W-What do you think you’re doing?!” Jung Ha-Yan yelled.