I felt like it wasn't enough to say that Lee Ki-Hye and I worked well together. If I were to exaggerate a bit, it felt like she was reading my mind.

‘Does she have a unique ability?’

I quietly looked at her status window, but that didn’t seem like the case. Our way of thinking was just similar. If people like her were an ally, then she would be really helpful, but if she was an enemy, then things could get complicated. Naturally, I thought about how advantageous it would be to slowly bring her into my party, but when I changed my expression a little bit, she immediately reacted.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

“It’s because I’m thankful. I honestly wasn’t expecting this much… you did better than I thought,” I answered.

“This was the first task you gave me, so of course, I need to do my best since I’ve gained some things thanks to you. It’s only natural. Stop looking at me so creepily. I think I know what you’re thinking,” she said.

“...”

“If you really want to pay me back, why not stay for some ramen?’ she asked.

I couldn’t do that.

“Sorry, but I have things I need to do, but let me know if you need help with something else,” I said, rejecting her offer.

“I don’t have anything other than that. Just make sure you get the job done,” she said.

“Of course.”

“You remember what I said last time, right? Oppa?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“It’ll be best if you return now. I’m sure your Ha-Yan is worried,” she suggested.

“Okay, thanks again,” I told her.

When I opened the door, I saw Jung Ha-Yan waiting for me just like last time. Next to her was a guide of the Black Swan Guild and they looked anxious for some reason. I guess Jung Ha-Yan still felt on edge even though she was right next door. I actually wanted to compliment her for not breaking the door down. I noticed that her self-control had increased a little bit. Feeling like I was watching a child grow up, I proudly patted her hair. She smiled brightly at me in response.

“Oh my, Miss Ha-Yan,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

“Oh… hello… Miss Ji-Ji-Hye,” Jung Ha-Yan greeted.

“You’ve become prettier compared to the last time I saw you. I’m glad you returned from the dungeon safely,” she said.

“Huh? Oh, thank you…” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Ki-Young oppa must be happy to have such a pretty girlfriend,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

“Oh… th-thank you, Miss Ji-Hye.”

I felt Lee Ji-Hye patting my shoulder. I felt weird by how casually she was acting as if she was dusting off my clothes. It felt like she was trying to show off my relationship with her, but the fact that she wasn’t overstepping her boundaries was even more amazing.

“You two should stay for dinner. Our guild master actually wanted to meet you two,” Lee Ji-Hye suggested.

“Not right now, but we’ll make time later,” I told her.

“I knew you were going to say that. You promised, okay? You and Miss Ha-Yan,” she said.

The way Lee Ji-Hye naturally spoke to both me and Jung Ha-Yan made me realize once again that she wasn’t an ordinary woman. Just as I was thinking that there wasn’t a woman alive, not even Jung Ha-Yan, that could deal with her, I immediately heard Lee Ji-Hye’s voice.

“I’ll visit your guild next time, Oppa. The three of us should eat together,” she suggested.

“Oh, okay,” Jung Ha-Yan answered quietly.

“Yeah, let’s make time for that. I’ll see you later, Ji-Hye,” I said.

I thought that she had somewhat improved, but I guess Ha-Yan couldn’t help but feel jealous.

After smiling at the waving Lee Ji-Hye, the guide led us outside after we exited the room. When the other members of the guild also saw us out, I realized just how much they care about us.

‘It’s understandable.’

Just like Lee Ji-Hye said, it wouldn’t be strange for us to transfer guilds. If Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t thinking about building his own guild, I would’ve transferred to the Black Swan Guild because right now, the Blue Guild had no merit.

The sun was still up when we left the Blue Guild, but it was already night and the city looked pretty quaint when we exited the Black Swan Guild. Jung Ha-Yan, who was holding my hand, must have felt the same way because her face turned red. Lindel looked a bit pretty as the sun set, so I was sure that she thought that this was a perfect atmosphere. I also felt the same way. Even though Jung Ha-Yan was always the same, she looked rather beautiful right now for some reason.

‘It’s because of the atmosphere.’

As we walked while having various conversations…

Buuuzzz-

‘What the...’

Juliena started buzzing out of the blue. I was surprised, but before I could look around, I noticed Jung Ha-Yan quietly looking at me. Her mouth was moving, but she wasn’t talking to me. I immediately realized what she was doing because a small amount of mana started moving around her.

“A spell?”

There wasn’t a reason to recite a spell in the middle of the city. Like the time when she was influenced by the curse at the Cursed Shrine, I thought that maybe she was having extreme thoughts, but I immediately realized that it wasn’t the case.

‘Sh…’

That was when I heard a loud roar.

Booom!

“Wind of Protection!”

I heard Jung Ha-Yan’s voice at the same time. I was able to dodge thanks to the barrier that Jung Ha-Yan had activated, but the inner city shook due to the explosion. I managed to suppress my scream.

“Shit!”

“Oppa! Th-This way! Windy Steps!” Jung Ha-Yan yelled.

Naturally, we ran through the smoke from the explosion. I immediately heard screaming everywhere. We weren’t the only ones affected by the explosion.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Ack!”

“Save… Save me!”

A few people were caught in the explosion, but we couldn’t help them. The desperation on Jung Ha-Yan’s face as she ran while grabbing my arm showed me just how dangerous the situation was. It would be strange if I still hadn’t caught on to what was happening. Someone was targeting us.

‘Why?’

The sudden terrorism happened because of me and Jung Ha-Yan. It was chaotic, but I didn’t stop thinking and naturally, it didn’t take me long to figure out who it was. I already knew the culprits that would do something like this.

‘Inside the city? They’re insane.’

There was only one person in Lindel that would target me.

The crazy gramp Lee Seol-Ho.

‘I got lazy.’

I never imagined that he would do something crazy like this inside the city. I thought the old gramp was at least reasonable, but thinking that way had been a mistake. I guess that he didn’t really have the ability to think about the consequences.

‘Is he insane?’

A person with common sense wouldn’t be able to do something like this.

‘I’m sure that he himself won’t be coming.’

The people that were targeting both me and Jung Ha-Yan were probably Lee Seol-Ho’s followers or members of the Yamato Guild. Anyway, we were in danger and before I could organize my thoughts, Jung Ha-Yan grabbed my hand and ran forward.

“Ha-Yan, this way is…”

“Th-There was someone else there. I wasn’t sure who it was,” she said, cutting me off.

‘There’s a lot more.’

Our opponent was moving systematically. I didn’t hear an explosion after the first one, but I felt magic heading toward us.

“Wind of Protection!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

The arrow that was flying toward us was blocked by her shield. Jung Ha-Yan turned again after running in a straight line because she realized that there were people targeting us there. It felt like they were driving us into a specific place, so I couldn’t help but bite my lips out of anxiety.

‘Shit.’

Jung Ha-Yan blocked the ranged attacks that were coming toward us, but there was a limit to her protection. No matter how fast she cast her spells, she couldn’t block every attack that was coming toward us. I was also reciting a spell, but the harsh reality was that I could only recite ordinary protection spells. In addition, I didn’t know where the enemies were.

“We just need to endure it,” I said.

“What?” she asked.

“Whether it’s the Blue Guild or Lee Ji-Hye, I’m sure that they’re going to come to us. It’s happening inside the city and they must have heard the explosion too, so they’ll definitely come this way,” I explained.

“Oh, okay! We just need to hold on until then,” she said.

‘I’m not sure whether we’ll be able to hold on or not though.’

“Juliena.”

The sword I was holding floated and then I heard the scream that I was waiting for.

“Ahhhh!”

Juliena had pierced into the archer that was targeting us. Jung Ha-Yan once again blocked the magic that was heading toward us. I heard swords clashing and heard another explosion after not hearing it for a while. I wasn’t sure how many people Juliena was fighting, but we were in a bad situation. I didn’t know how many of them were around, where the attacks were coming from, and where the enemies were located. But I knew for sure that the people that were closing in on this place were trained assassins and not some ordinary fighters.

‘Shit.’

Boom!

While running frantically, a long spear broke through a wall.

“Juliena!”

Crack!

The sword that was falling from the sky struck down on the spear that was flying toward me. I didn’t have time to watch.

‘We’ll die if we stop.’

“Those crazy bastards…”

“I-I’ll protect you, Oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Don’t overdo it,” I told her.

Losing my life or Jung Ha-Yan’s life in a ridiculous situation like this didn’t make sense. Even if I got hurt, saving Jung Ha-Yan was the right thing to do. The worst part of this was that I was running out of breath. This was the first time that I resented the fact that I had low stamina.

“Oppa!” Jung Ha-Yan yelled.

I heard Jung Ha-Yan’s voice when I kept running instead of stopping, so when I turned around, I noticed a sword coming toward us.

“Juliena…”

Before Juliena came back to us, I noticed Jung Ha-Yan biting her lips. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like time was moving slower and when her small hand pushed me, my body naturally started falling. When I fell to the ground, I saw a sword in Jung Ha-Yan’s chest as she wrapped herself around me. I couldn’t help but curse when I saw the unrealistic sight.

“Shit, shit. Juliena! Juliena!”

“My name…”

“Juliena! Shit! Juliena!”

“Please say my name, Oppa…” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Ha-Yan. Ha-Yan. Jung Ha-Yan!”

“Stay like… this…” she said.

I heard another stabbing sound and saw Jung Ha-Yan’s abdomen get stabbed by a sword. She was trying to block the attacks while hugging me.

“Protection! Protection!” I yelled.

The protection magic that was embedded in the ring activated, but it broke. During all of this, Jung Ha-Yan kept reciting a spell as her body flinched.

“Shit… Shit! Move away!”

“I don’t want to…” she said.

“Move! You idiot!” I yelled.

“You… hate me,” she stuttered.

‘Die.’

My mind went blank at the thought that Jung Ha-Yan was going to die. I tried to push her away, but she stuck to me like glue and I became even more anxious because she refused to leave my side.

“Wind of Protection…” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Forget about protection and move! Shit!” I yelled.

‘Die.’

‘You’re really going to die.’

“Go away!” I yelled again.

‘Die.’

Jung Ha-Yan was dying. I kept pushing her away while biting my lips, but it wasn’t enough and her blood kept dripping onto my body.

“Shit! Shit! Move! You idiot!” I screamed.

That was when I heard a loud roar.

Boooooom!!!

What I heard after was a familiar voice.

“How ridiculous. It’s really absurd. I guess there are a lot of bastards that consider me a pushover.”

“...”

“You dare point your sword at the Mercenary Queen’s lover?”

She was a woman with red hair.