“If the majority believes that it’s true… then that’s the truth,” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

‘Stop mumbling…’

Even while walking, she mumbled as if she was trying to memorize it. I was already worried about what she was going to do, but I thought that nothing big was going to happen. I was certain of it because I was sure that she still remembered the things that happened at the dungeon. The only thing she would do was discreetly tell people that we were dating. She seemed like she didn’t know where I was currently heading, but she seemed happy because it felt like we were on a date, but the farther we walked, the more serious her expression became. I didn’t remember her having that kind of expression when we ate outside. The way she quietly pulled my sleeve and tried to walk slower made it obvious that she wasn’t able to control herself in this situation. It became painfully obvious from the way she tightened her grip around my sleeve. After passing the plaza and the shops, we saw a large guild house.

‘The Black Swan.’

The Black Swan Guild was one of the largest guilds that represented the Free City of Lindel.

“Oh…”

She immediately looked sad, so I had no choice but to explain while patting her head.

“There’s something I need to do.”

“Okay…”

“We can go on a date later. You understand that I’m busy right now, right?” I asked.

“I do, Oppa,” she answered.

I guess Jung Ha-Yan was happy about the fact that I didn’t come here discreetly. Naturally, I couldn’t let her follow me when I talked with Lee Ji-Hye, but I knew for sure that she felt comforted mentally by the fact that we were in the same building.

‘I think this is my first time here.’

Even though I encountered the Black Swan Guild many times, this was my first time entering their guild. When I took a few steps, the door opened.

‘Magic?’

I was certain of it. I guess the size of the guild wasn’t the only thing that was better than the Blue Guild. I heard voices before I had the chance to look around.

“Thank you for coming to the guild, Mr. Lee Ki-Young and… Miss Jung Ha-Yan.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I’ll lead you inside the guild. Is this your first time visiting the guild?”

“Yes, it is.”

“We’ll head to the living room.”

When I lightly nodded, I immediately saw people moving around busily. The guide that was leading us with her quiet voice looked very calm, but it was obvious that she was feeling anxious. Not only were there people greeting us whenever we passed by, but the guide kept looking at us to see if we were feeling uncomfortable, which was a treatment that we never received at the Blue Guild.

‘Huh.’

I had an idea as to why they were treating us so kindly like this and it actually felt good.

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes, we ate on our way here,” I answered.

“Then I’ll prepare some tea for you. If you feel uncomfortable about anything…”

“I’ll let you know right away. By the way, is Miss Ji-Hye inside?” I asked.

“Yes, she’s been waiting inside. May I guide Miss Jung Ha-Yan to a different room?” the guide asked.

“Yes, I would appreciate it,” I answered.

“This way, Miss Jung Ha-Yan…”

“Okay, thank you.”

Jung Ha-Yan looked dumbfounded. She looked at me desperately, but that only lasted for a moment because once she realized that she was heading to the next room, her face brightened up. When the guide bowed and opened the door, I saw Lee Ji-Hye waiting while wearing neat clothes. As soon as she saw me, she started talking.

“I’m surprised that she didn’t come in with you. Geez, I didn’t think that you’d bring Miss Ha-Yan with you… you really don’t know how a woman feels.”

“It’s because I have my own problems to deal with. By the way, I guess you already knew that she was coming,” I said.

“I did. I received many reports and told the guild that you would be visiting once the situation at the Blue Guild was settled. By the way… how about joining the Black Swan Guild?” she asked.

“Sorry, but I don’t plan on doing that,” I answered.

“I knew you were going to say that.”

When I looked at her for an explanation, she continued talking. “The guild became a mess when they received a report saying that you and that woman, Jung Ha-Yan, were coming here since the Blue Guild is on the verge of destruction… it wouldn’t be strange if you decided to transfer to another guild. The guild got excited since you and I knew each other and if you think about it, it’s not totally unreasonable for you to join the Black Swan Guild. You saw how tense the guide was, right?” she asked.

“I honestly never thought that I would receive this kind of treatment,” I answered.

“You two are worthy of this kind of treatment. One person is a genius that has the potential to become the greatest mage and the other is not only skilled in politics and alchemy, but he also possesses a legendary ranked item,” Lee Ji-Hye explained.

‘What a mess.’

I knew that the Blue Guild was in a mess, but I didn’t think that it was this bad. The fact that Lee Ji-Hye already knew about the fact that I had Juliena meant that one of the Blue Guild’s members had shared the information with the Black Swan Guild. Even if the Blue Guild was on the verge of collapse, I never knew that its security was this bad.

‘Shit.’

“Don’t make that kind of face, Oppa. You just have to be careful next time. I thought that you would at least think about transferring to another guild… but I guess it’s because of Mr. Hyun-Sung that you have decided to remain at the Blue Guild,” she said.

“Half of it is true,” I told her.

“Oppa.”

“What?”

“I’m going to ask you a serious question,” she said.

“Okay.”

“Should I add Kim Hyun-Sung to the list of rivals?” she asked.

“...”

“If my assumption is correct, then you should’ve told me sooner. Even if you’re my type, I don’t have the confidence to change one’s gender identity,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

“...”

“I’m joking.”

“That’s good cause I was honestly going to leave just now,” I said.

“I just made a joke because the atmosphere seemed tense. If you’re not here to transfer, then there’s only one reason why you came here,” she said.

“You’re right,” I answered.

“I’m sure you’ll be satisfied. Here are the documents… you can look over them carefully when you return to the guild. Basically, there’s something fishy going on. I thought that Lee Seol-Ho was merely acting out without knowing his place, but I’m now certain that he has a connection somewhere else,” she explained.

“Where?” I asked.

“Japan,” she answered.

“I never expected this to happen,” I commented.

“It’s a large guild called Yamato and they’re located in the Free City of Celia to be exact. It seemed like they knew each other for a long time and after the rescue party left Lindel, they made contact a few times. Unfortunately, what we could only confirm was their third contact since we couldn’t check all of them. We don’t know the details, but… we did find something, so you can decide after reading the report since it’s up to our Oppa to make the decision,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

I had a feeling this would happen. People like Lee Seol-Ho never made their moves unless they had support. Since they had already prepared an escape route, they caused all these problems and now, I understood why he was adamant against joining the rescue party.

“It’s obvious what’s going on. The Yamato Guild is trying to expand their influence to Lindel by pretending that they’re protecting the Blue Guild that’s falling apart and can’t act on their own or they’re trying to provide financial aid. I’m sure that old fool has been receiving a lot of nice things from them…” I said.

“You’re probably right. He did have a few exchanges with Celia, but I’m sure that it’s more comfortable to settle down here,” she said.

The situation wasn’t that serious because the Free City of Celia and Lindel were alliances. They were cities that the Benigoa Holy Empire was managing and considering the decline in power, Benigoa wasn’t happy about the fight between Lindel and Celia. They would sometimes have arguments, but they weren’t on bad terms to the extent that they would rip each other apart. The trade system with Celia was actually very active right now so when putting that into consideration, they probably weren’t planning anything grandiose like an invasion. But this information was useful. Even if it was a simple partnership, aid, or even protection, depending on what Lee Seol-Ho said, I could turn the situation into an even more serious one.

“I thought that it happened within Lindel…” I said.

“Me too, but it’s bigger than I thought. He’s very greedy and while we’re on the subject, the way he looks at us is really creepy. It feels like a bug is crawling up my skin. When I called him Oppa, you have no idea how much he liked it…” she explained.

“Sounds like you went through a lot,” I told her.

“That’s not all that I had to put up with. I had to act all cute in front of him and then find out what he was up to behind his back… if you didn’t ask me to do it, then I seriously wouldn’t have done something dirty like that,” Lee Ji-Hye complained.

I knew just how hard she worked and just by looking at the thick report I was holding, it became obvious. The report was filled with a lot of information and not only did it include Lee Seol-Ho’s information, but it also included the other gramps’ information and even their daily routine.

If the Blue Guild had a member like Lee Ji-Hye, then I was certain that we wouldn’t be in this kind of situation. We were in a relationship where we were using each other, but of course I was thankful for it. When I slowly started talking after our eyes met, I noticed her blushing, which wasn’t like her.

“Thanks, noona.”

“...”

It also wasn’t like her to quickly change the subject.

“It was nothing. Also, there was a problem with forming the support party. The Black Swan Guild received the request for support two days after the expedition party left and that’s when it was officially formed. The Blue Guild were the ones that kept saying that they needed more time to prepare. I’m sure that they had their reasons, but I’m sure that they weren’t doing their best,” she explained.

“Hmm…”

“They walked around the plaza a lot. I would’ve shaken my head if I were asked whether their actions were beneficial or not, but it seemed like they were doing something. If something really did come up that they had to delay the creation of the support party, then I’m confident that they’ve reached their limits in being incompetent,” she added.

“Information regarding that is written here, right?” I asked.

“Of course.”

“What do you think about the guild master situation?” I asked.

“Ah, so you’re thinking that he was murdered as well,” she nodded.

“It’s only natural for me to think that way,” I replied.

“Who knows?”

“Hm, you weren’t able to find anything?” I asked her.

“How could I? I’m an outsider, you know. I did try and… he was clean,” she answered.

“Hm…”

“He was very clean. Based on the people that entered the Blue Guild that day and Lee Seol-Ho tracks, there wasn’t anything unusual. It’s to the point that maybe you should consider the possibility that he really died from natural causes. I heard that the guild master’s death was approaching anyway, so it’s not strange for him to die… the timing of it does seem suspicious, but you should leave that possibility open,” she explained.

“Ugh.”

My head started to hurt a bit at the possibility that the guild master really died of natural causes. No matter what it was, I still had to create an issue. Of course, it would be a little bit easier if I made the assumption that Lee Seol-Ho actually killed the guild master. The information I received so far was more than enough for me to bring Lee Seol-Ho down, but I needed a more conclusive blow.

‘That blow was the guild master…’

It was unfortunate, but I could make proof whenever I wanted. When I glanced at Lee Ji-Hye, I noticed her smiling quietly. When she looked at me as if she wanted me to compliment her, I immediately realized what kind of arrangement Lee Ji-Hye had made. Before I could talk, she spoke first. “What’s this?”

She was holding a small potion.

“I had trouble obtaining this potion. It’s not poison. It’s more like a tranquilizer. It’s a bit complex so I don’t know all the details, but I heard that it can be pretty lethal for some patients,” she said.

“Do you mind if I check?” I asked her.

“Oh right, you’re a specialist.”

After getting the potion from Lee Ji-Hye, I looked at it and realized that what she said was true.

“Pffft.”

“I applied a little bit of it on the clothes that Lee Seol-Ho wears every day. How about using this as proof? This was all I could prepare since I didn’t have time…”

“No, this is more than enough, noona,” I said, cutting her off.

“That’s a relief, Oppa.”

I couldn’t understand how she knew me so well. It seemed like she knew everything that I was thinking, which gave me goosebumps.

‘She’s really competent.’

I finally understood why the system kept saying that we were a match made in heaven.