After arriving at the guild house, the expedition party quickly unloaded their luggage and headed to the basement to check the guild master’s corpse. I thought about it for a moment before deciding that following them was the right thing to do. I wanted to talk to Lee Ji-Hye right away, but it wouldn’t be bad to talk to her after checking the guild’s situation. When I glanced at her and nodded, she did the same. She knew exactly what was going on without me having to explain it to her and I had an idea of what she was thinking about.

‘Match-made in heaven?’

The match-made in heaven comment that the system made before could have been referring to this.

‘We do think alike…’

Our way of thinking was pretty similar and not recruiting her to the Blue Guild was one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made. I had to use her a bit more.

‘Tsk.’

Of course, the position we were in now wasn’t so bad either.

“...”

Anyway, Lee Ji-Hye was an outsider to the guild, so we decided to part ways temporarily. After seeing her out, I headed to the guild’s basement and saw a space that was neatly organized. There was a man lying in a coffin in a room filled with white flowers. He looked a bit old and by looking at the wounds all over his body, I had an idea what kind of person he was. He had a mustache that covered his chin and gray hair.

‘40s maybe?’

He could be in his 50s as well. It was difficult to tell what his exact age was since magic had the effect of slowing down the aging process, but just by looking at him, he was obviously old. He closed his eyes very calmly and as expected, I heard people crying.

“Heuuuk…”

“Master…”

“Heuuk… mister, mister. You said you would live forever. Mister… heuuk…”

I couldn’t relate to their sadness. I didn’t feel sad as I quietly watched the situation, but seeing the others crying made me realize how sad they were.

‘Mister?’

Among them, Lee Sang-Hee was the one that had the biggest reaction. She looked like she was maintaining her composure before entering here, but after she entered, it seemed like she wasn’t able to control herself anymore. I didn’t know what kind of relationship they had, but I knew for sure that it wasn’t an ordinary one. The way she hugged the corpse and kept crying was similar to the reaction people had when a family member died.

‘Maybe they’re lovers.’

Based on their age, it wasn’t a convincing assumption, but she reacted as if the person she loved the most had died. Naturally, I thought that it would be best to leave her be and I saw a few members of party two quietly heading upstairs. Our party did the same. Kim Hyun-Sung looked like he wanted to comfort Lee Sang-Hee, so he remained by her side. Park Deok-Gu cried with the others, while Kim Ye-Ri quietly headed upstairs with her head down.

“I’m sure he’s in a comfortable place.”

After letting her holy magic flow into the corpse, Sun Hee-Young showed respect for the guild master and started heading out. I did the same. I headed upstairs while Jung Ha-Yan held onto my arm tightly.

“Ha-Yan,” I said.

“Yes, Oppa?” she asked.

“Did you feel… anything strange?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Like flow of mana… or traces on the corpse. Since I’m not sensitive to magic, I’m asking if you felt anything,” I explained.

“Oh, I see. I didn’t find anything strange. I’ll need to take a closer look in order to find out… I was standing far away and only saw the body for a moment…” she answered.

“Hm…”

Jung Ha-Yan looked guilty, so when I slowly patted her head, she started humming as if she was starting to feel better.

I had a lot of thoughts in my head. Jung Ha-Yan was sensitive to magic. Regardless of her magic stats, her potential stat was above legendary, so it was like a passive skill to her. The fact that Jung Ha-Yan didn’t feel even a tiny flow of magic or even saw traces of magic on the corpse meant that the guild master hadn’t been murdered with magic.

‘Ugh…’

As soon as I headed upstairs, I saw the members of party two. They were hanging out in the guild’s bar. When I approached them with Hwang Jung-Yeon in the center, I saw them welcoming me. I guess this could be considered as one of the benefits I gained from the dungeon.

“Oh, Mr. Ki-Young.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said.

“It’s fine. We’re sad, but compared to Miss Lee Sang-Hee…”

“The two must’ve been close,” I said.

“Yes, I’m sure she’s devastated since they were together since the tutorial…”

“They were together since the tutorial?”

“Yes. Now that I think about it, I guess party seven wouldn’t really know about it. Miss Lee Sang-Hee and Mr. Joo Seung-Joon were the ones that created the Blue Guild. When the two arrived in Lindel from the tutorial dungeon, they were the first ones to settle down. Since Miss Lee Sang-Hee was still underage back then, it happened a long time ago. I would say about 15 years ago,” a member of the party explained.

Since Lee Sang-Hee was 33 years old right now, 15 years ago meant that she was 18 years old back then. If people from other worlds started to arrive here 20 years ago, then she could be considered one of the pioneers.

“It has been a while.”

“It has. It hasn’t been that long since we joined the guild, so we don’t know the details, but Miss Lee Sang-Hee followed the guild master like a father. Even when the master got cursed, she tried to go to the dungeon by herself.”

“I see…”

“I recall them always moving together. When they first built the guild… and even during their first dungeon and hunt. I’m not trying to belittle her, but if it wasn’t for the master, then Miss Lee Sang-Hee wouldn’t be here right now.”

When I glanced over at Hwang Jung-Yeon, I noticed her nodding.

“I feel a bit sad too. I wasn’t in the Blue Guild as long as Miss Lee Sang-Hee, but I’ve been here for quite a while now. Mr. Joo Seung-Joon is…”

“Yes?”

“He was an amazing person. He knew how to sacrifice for other people, but more than that, he cherished us a lot. The reason why he didn’t expand the guild was that it would become difficult for him to take care of each and every guild member if the guild grew bigger… Everyone in the guild liked Mr. Seung-Joon. Even party five transferred here all because of him, but of course… they’re no longer here,” Hwang Jung-Yeon said.

“...”

“I thought that I’ve gotten used to parting ways with people, but I guess not,” she added.

I didn’t know anything about this Joo Seung-Joon person, but I now understood that he was a very kind person. In addition…

“He was strong.”

‘He’s competent.’

He was a very competent person.

I was actually suspicious about the Blue Guild’s situation. Lee Sang-Hee was strong, but she wasn’t an ideal leader and even though she had a good personality, that wasn’t enough to lead a guild. The guild had a centralized system where everything was based on Joo Seung-Joon’s decisions. Since he wasn’t here anymore, the group would obviously fall apart and it was reasonable for an old man like Lee Seol-Ho to act the way he did.

“Was Lee Seol-Ho with them from the beginning as well?” I asked.

“Yes.”

‘I knew it.’

“I heard that Mr. Seol-Ho has been with them since the tutorial dungeon. He often worked as a combatant and contributed a lot to helping Blue Guild find its place. Of course, he and the guild master argued about everything, but I know that they still maintained a good relationship. The same thing goes for Miss Lee Sang-Hee, but it’s been different recently…”

“I see. She must’ve trusted the guild master a lot,” I said.

“Yes, as you can see… I’m sure Mr. Seol-Ho is heartbroken as well,” Hwang Jung-Yeon said.

“Who knows if he’s really in pain…” I mumbled.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“It’s nothing,” I said, dismissively.

When she tapped on the table, I noticed Hwang Jung-Yeon’s anxious face.

“Now, could everyone head upstairs, please? I have some things I need to discuss with Mr. Ki-Young…” she announced.

“Of course, Miss Hwang Jung-Yeon. We’ll take our leave,” a member said.

I guess there were a lot of things she wanted to talk about with me. When I glanced over at Jung Ha-Yan she looked at me with a pitiful look as if she was asking whether she needed to go too. When I shook my head, her face immediately brightened up.

“What did you say just now, Mr. Ki-Young?” Hwang Jung-Yeon asked.

“It’s just… I think that people are forgetting about the possibility that he could have been murdered,” I answered.

“Murdered?” she asked.

“Of course, it’s just an assumption,” I added.

“...”

“I thought you would be thinking the same, but I guess not,” I said.

“No, I honestly had the same thought. I didn’t rule out that possibility, but… after looking at Mr. Joo Seung-Joon’s corpse…”

“Are you saying that you couldn’t find anything?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“It was the same for her too. He didn’t have any physical injuries when she saw him and she couldn’t find any traces of magic either. Right, Ha-Yan?” I asked.

“That’s right, Oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“But on this continent, magic isn’t the only way to kill people. I think it’ll be best to leave the possibility open. There isn't anything that could be said as the motive for murder, but if the guild master is gone and we also disappear, then aren't there a few people that would benefit from it? Wouldn't that be considered a motive?” I explained.

“Exactly, what you’re saying is true,” she commented.

“No matter what it is, I’m sure we’ll find something if we investigate the body. If you convince Miss Lee Sang-Hee…” I suggested.

“Of course, I’ll tell her about it…”

“The faster the better. The vestiges of magic that we weren’t able to find may disappear. If we were even a little bit late, we probably won’t have the time to check the corpse and the murderers may try to hold the funeral as soon as possible. I’m really glad that we arrived before any of that happened,” I said.

“You’re right.”

“We may find something else so I think it’ll be best if I participate in the autopsy along with Miss Sun Hee-Young. Alchemy or holy magic could’ve been used… anyway, we have to leave all possibilities open,” I suggested.

“Whoo… I’m feeling a bit uncomfortable,” Hwang Jung-Yeon mumbled.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Being suspicious of a fellow guild member. Miss Lee Sang-Hee… must feel the same way, right?” she asked.

I knew for sure that she would feel worse than what Hwang Jung-Yeon was feeling. If she had experienced many life and death situations with that old man, Lee Seol-Ho, since the tutorial dungeon, then it would make the issue more complicated.

‘There’s no way.’

We ended our conversation with me comforting myself. The situation that I didn’t want to be suspicious of was unfolding and what was even more ridiculous was that the person who could see the situation objectively was me since I was the closest to being an outsider. Sometimes, looking at the situation from the outside rather than from the inside gave a better view.

Just when I was thinking while tapping the table…

“What are you all talking about?”

It was a very unpleasant voice. When I glanced over, I saw a face that I didn’t want to see.

“Who knows?” I answered.

It was Lee Seol-Ho and his lackeys.