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

She was a woman with red hair.

‘Cha Hee-Ra.’

“Cha…”

“How dare they look down on me. Those bastards,” Cha Hee-Ra said.

She was wearing a simple outfit for someone that came to fight the enemy. She looked as if she only came out for a stroll. On top of that, she wasn’t wielding a weapon, but despite her casual outfit,  she didn’t look threatening. Just looking at her made me tremble. Her bloodshot eyes showed just how angry she was. Obviously, she wasn’t mad at the fact that I was getting attacked. It seemed like she was mad about the fact that they were going against her authority. All of a sudden, unknown people dropped from the sky and pointed their swords at her.

“Look out!”

Before I could say that, Cha Hee-Ra had kicked her foot into the air.

Craaaack!

Booooom!

‘What the…’

I only had a moment to think about how that the sound wasn’t one a person could make merely by kicking before my mouth dropped open at the sight that was difficult to comprehend. The bodies of the people that came down with their swords blew up. Their entire body disappeared just like that.

‘With just a kick…’

I probably shouldn’t be saying this to someone that was saving me, but I couldn’t help but think that she was a monster. Naturally, I felt relieved by the current situation. I never knew the insurance that I had would save my life like this.

My attention on Cha Hee-Ra only lasted for a moment as I looked at Jung Ha-Yan again who was still crouching her body in order to protect me.

‘Is Ha-Yan… breathing?’

It only took a moment for me to check her condition.

‘She’s still alive.’

Her heartbeat was slow, but it was still beating. Naturally, I thought that I should look into her more. I tried my best to push away Jung Ha-Yan, who was almost unconscious, but it was useless. She was basically stuck to me like glue. As I struggled in picking her up and then laying her down, I noticed injuries on her that I hadn’t seen before. Getting stabbed by the sword wasn’t the issue. Considering the arrows that were on her back and the injuries caused by magic, it was a miracle that she was still alive.

‘Shit…’

She was in pain and despite that, she continuously protected me. I was thankful to her.

“You idiot…”

‘What should I do?’

I couldn’t head to the shrine to get a priest’s help.

‘She’ll die before I get there.’

I thought that it would be best to give her all the first aid treatment that I could for now. First was the Ring of Healing that Jung Ha-Yan was wearing. When I reached my hand out to grab it, Jung Ha-Yan must have instinctively rejected it because her small hand formed a tight fist.

‘Even in this situation…’

It was a relief that she was still conscious. It didn’t take long for me to open her hand and place it in mine. After inserting my mana into the ring, I recited a spell and then saw a white light enveloping Jung Ha-Yan.

“Cure.”

“...”

Even though it was a lower grade cure, I thought that it would help improve her condition.

‘Next is…’

The potion I was carrying. I didn’t have a lot of it, but it was a good quality potion. After I removed the cap using my mouth, I poured it on her wounds and immediately poured some into my mouth. When I grabbed her chin to help deliver the potion into her mouth, I noticed her hand flinching.

‘It’s effective.’

But her condition was still bad.

It was ridiculous how I was able to feel Jung Ha-Yan’s tongue slowly move in my mouth.

‘She’s alive.’

She was definitely alive. I wasn’t sure why she was moving her tongue, but naturally, my anxiety went away. When I removed my mouth, her breathing seemed to have calmed down. My vision became blurry. I thought that I was not easily frightened, but for some reason, I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I wasn’t crying like a child, but tears were falling, my hands and feet were shaking at the thought that she could have died and my breathing became unstable as well. 

When I looked around after wiping my tears, I was able to see the situation more clearly. Cha Hee-Ra was fighting with the assassins. Actually, it couldn’t be considered a fight. Her actions looked as if she wasn’t in her right mind because the majority of the assassins’ limbs had either been ripped off or had been blown up. Of course, there were a few skilled assassins that were still fighting Cha Hee-Ra, but the fact that they were on the defensive side was undeniable. She had the advantage.

I was certain that the other guilds in Lindel were going to come to our help soon. When I was feeling a bit relieved, I noticed an assassin walking through the dust while wielding a sword. I flinched but I didn’t bother running away because I knew that his head was going to get severed before he could even use his sword. As I heard the wind blowing, I heard his head falling off his body.

“Sorry for being late.” It was Kim Hyun-Sung.

“Mr. Hyun-Sung, Ha-Yan is…” I said.

“Miss Hee-Young is here as well,” he said.

“Oh…”

Just like Kim Hyun-Sung said, I saw Sun Hee-Young approaching us while hiding behind Park Deok-Gu who was looking around with his shield up. Not only that, but I was certain the Black Swan Guild and the Red Mercenary Guild were also nearby. It was a short moment, but we started to deal with the unexpected situation.

“Noo-Noonim…” Park Deok-Gu said.

As soon as he reached us, Park Deok-Gu started crying while touching Jung Ha-Yan’s face and Sun Hee-Young continued to let her holy magic flow into Jung Ha-Yan. I felt a bit relieved because she wasn’t just using high-ranked magic but looked like she was giving professional medical treatment.

“How’s Miss Ha-Yan’s condition?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“She could’ve died if we were a little late. If Mr. Ki-Young didn’t administer first aid, then I don’t think…” Sun Hee-Young answered.

‘That’s a relief.”

“...”

“Who was it?”

“I’m not sure yet. Ha-Yan and I were on our way back from the Black Swan Guild when we suddenly heard a loud explosion and I was able to confirm that the assassins were targeting us. During all of this, Miss Cha Hee-Ra helped us,” I answered.

“I see,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

Kim Hyun-Sung looked around with cold eyes. His eyes were so cold that I felt a shiver down my back. It was the strongest emotion I had ever seen from him. I thought about the possibility that he might have experienced something similar in his past life, but I couldn’t help but remain quiet. One thing I was certain of was…

‘All of you are dead, you bastards.’

The people that attacked me and Jung Ha-Yan had no chance. They wouldn’t be able to protect their own lives, much less win. Obviously, the situation in this war was changing. Actually, it couldn’t even be considered a war because the large group of assassins we couldn’t determine the numbers of were basically targeting me. Cha Hee-Ra was basically ripping apart the assassins with her hands and the members from the Red Mercenary Guild that arrived were surrounding the area and closing in. It didn’t take long for the assassins to start running away.

“Don’t let a single rat escape from this place,” Cha Hee-Ra ordered.

“Yes, Master.”

As soon as I heard Cha Hee-Ra’s voice, I saw Kim Hyun-Sung running to the nearest assassin that was running away.

The situation was coming to an end. At least there weren't any more assassins nearby. I guess Cha Hee-Ra must have noticed that too because she slowly walked toward me along with the executives of her guild. She was obviously annoyed and even the executives of her guild were walking on eggshells.

“Ugh… I should’ve let some of them live,” she said.

“All of them would’ve died anyway because they all carried poison. Those who lost their limbs or were injured had already ended their own lives.”

“I see… I’m not sure if I should feel relieved by that… I should fix this habit of mine though. Did you figure out who it was?” she asked.

“We’re currently looking into it. We asked the Black Swan Guild for help as well…”

“Since that’s their specialty, leave out a few and hand the rest of them over. I’m sure they’ll get better results than us torturing them all day,” she ordered them.

“Okay.”

“Don’t forget to clean up and as I’ve mentioned before, if I hear that one of those rats escaped Lindel, all of you will die by my hands,” Cha Hee-Ra warned them.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Before you do that…”

“I’m sorry.”

“You know what you did wrong, right?” she asked.

“I’m sorry.”

“I never imagined that I would see my darling get attacked with my own eyes,” she said.

“...”

“On top of that, it’s in Lindel… I guess your life in the guild has been comfortable these days. Right? Or do you see me as a fool like those assassins did? Have you become careless just because we recently came back from an expedition?” she asked.

“Th-That’s…”

“You should know by now that I don’t need idiots that just follow orders.”

“Yes, Ma’am…”

“I won’t say it again. If I see this kind of situation again… it’ll be your funeral,” Cha Hee-Ra warned them.

“We’ll keep that in mind.”

“Okay, great,” she nodded.

I felt embarrassed the more I heard their conversation because the man that was getting scolded by Cha Hee-Ra looked fired up as he looked at me. He looked like he resented me, but at the same time, he looked determined.

The other guild members around him had their heads down as well as they were getting scolded, making me feel a bit embarrassed.

The way Cha Hee-Ra walked toward me while wiping the blood off of her body with a handkerchief made her look more like a devil than a hero. Unknown red lumps were all over her body and she was taking them off as if they weren’t a big deal.

Before I could say anything, Cha Hee-Ra spoke first with the corner of her lips raised.

“Are you okay, honey?”

I thought for a moment whether I should talk formally or casually. In the end, I decided that talking casually would be a bit better.

“Thanks, Hee-Ra noona.”

She patted my head as if I was some kind of cute doll and then hugged me tightly. The smell of blood immediately filled my nose.

“This is the least I can do when my honey got hurt. I guess more people resent you than you thought. Wait, we shouldn’t stay here. I’d like to head inside there and talk…” Cha Hee-Ra requested.

“Oh…”

“Hyung-Jin!” she yelled.

“Yes, Master.”

“Place the guild members on standby 50 meters around this collapsing building. Also… take my darling’s girlfriend back to the guild and treat her. Make sure that there wouldn’t be any scars on her body. A woman’s body is precious,” Cha Hee-Ra ordered.

Despite knowing that, she had fought aggressively just now.

When I glanced over at Jung Ha-Yan, I noticed her sleeping quietly while Sun Hee-Young continued to take care of her. I honestly wanted to keep an eye on her condition, but staying here with Cha Hee-Ra was the right thing to do.

“Miss Hee-Young.”

“Don’t worry. She’s stable right now. It’ll take a while until she regains her consciousness, but I’ll take care of her physical recovery,” Sun Hee-Young said.

“There you go… let’s head in, darling. There are a lot of people watching and as your legal wife, it hurts my pride when you’re so focused on your girlfriend. I understand that she’s injured, but… you should know that I’m a really jealous person,” Cha Hee-Ra said.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry, noona,” I said.

We headed in toward the collapsing building and as soon as we entered, Cha Hee-Ra started talking. “I was hoping you’d tell me what’s been going on with you, darling…”

“It’ll take a long time to explain everything,” I told her.

“You can talk casually,” she said.

“If that’s what you want, Hee-Ra noona.”

“Anyway, you did well. I never imagined that there would be a guy crazy enough to do something like this within the city, especially while I’m around. I may look fine on the outside, but it kind of hurt my pride. You understand what I mean, right?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“It’s a bit extreme to say that this happened all because of the new legendary-ranked item you obtained recently… they should already know that an item that chooses their owner can’t be used even if they kill the owner. I want to know exactly who caused this and where they are…” she said.

It only took a moment for me to think about whether to tell her the truth. If I told her about Lee Seol-Ho, then he might disappear without anyone knowing, however…

‘That’s too easy.’

It would be such an easy death for an annoying old man.

She wasn’t the only one that was angry. Even I couldn’t make a reasonable decision and despite knowing that I needed to be more cool-headed during a situation like this, it wasn’t easy to control my emotions.

I didn’t want to hand Lee Seol-Ho over to Cha Hee-Ra and that was my true feeling, however…

‘I can’t lie.’

I thought that lying would be the worst decision.

“I’m not sure yet, but Lee Seol-Ho from the Blue Guild.”

“Ohhh, Lee Seol-Ho… so it’s Lee Seol-Ho,” she mumbled.

“We kind of annoyed him a bit. You already heard the news that our guild master died, right noona?” I asked her.

“That was the first news I heard as soon as I returned to the city,” she answered.

“I’m not sure yet, but I have proof that the old man killed our guild master. Besides that, he’s involved in a lot of things, but I don’t want to explain all of it. I’d like to make an additional request. Please don’t touch Lee Seol-Ho,” I told her.

“...”

I noticed her frowning.

“Honey.”

“Yes.”

“You should know that you’re not in the position to make requests. Even though I’m staying quiet, you should know that I’m a little bit angry right now. My anger probably won’t go away until you bring that bastard here this instant,” Cha Hee-Ra said.

“...”

“I’ll be honest. I like you. Even if we spent all day getting to know each other, I probably wouldn’t be bored. But you know, even you shouldn’t try to hurt my pride. I can understand your feelings and I know that you want to pay him back for what he did to you. But if I hand over that old man to you, then where should I go to vent my anger on, huh?” she asked.

I expected her to say something like that. I couldn’t help but answer after making eye contact with her again.

“Yamato Guild.”

I saw her smiling.

“You’re a piece of trash that I really like,” she complimented.