I felt bad seeing Jung Ha-Yan sniffling behind Kim Hyun-Sung. I obviously felt guilty because I could see her crying even as we were heading back to Lindel while riding our griffons. When she looked back, I was surprised, but I still managed to maintain my serious expression.

‘I’m sorry, Ha-Yan.’

It was because I had to show her that I was angry. If I hadn’t lied, then I would have been really angry because she suddenly barged into Kasugano Yuno’s room and injured the members of the Yozora Guild. To make things worse, she used magic inside the castle. She hadn’t used a powerful spell, but it had been strong enough to destroy the castle, so I was sure that woke everyone up. The nobles in the area considered it a serious incident that was second only to the Ito Sota incident, and their eyes naturally landed on us.

Some people discussed if the incident would sour the alliance between the Blue Guild and the Yozora Guild. I tried to put an end to this groundless rumor, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t hide it since it happened within the castle, and it was even more difficult to cover up because of the alliance between the two guilds. If Kasugano Yuno hadn’t taken over the Yozora Guild, this incident would have been enough to end the alliance between the Blue Guild and the Yozora Guild.

‘Shit…’

Of course, this was a big incident for me, and even though I had to convince Jung Ha-Yan somehow, I couldn’t do it because the evidence was so clear for me to use logic to try to convince her. In the end, I chose to be angry with her. Not only did I tell her that nothing happened, but I immediately yelled at her for being rude, which concluded the situation. I was sure there were other ways I could have handled the situation, but I had truly been in a panic when Jung Ha-Yan came to Yuno’s room, so I hadn’t had enough time to think. Despite sleeping with Kasugano Yuno on the same bed for one night, I had made an excuse that nothing had happened between us. We had been practically naked, but I had made an excuse and said that it was a ritual to perform a spell. My excuses were so ridiculous that it was like saying I drank, but I didn’t drink and drive despite being intoxicated in a car. Still, I got goosebumps when I lied straight to her.

‘I had been a complete piece of shit.’

It was only for a moment, but I had been a piece of shit who had surpassed the Lee Ki-Young of the Dark World.

What happened after my excuse was even worse, as I drove her into a corner before she became suspicious.

‘I’m disappointed…’

It started with that.

‘You have no manners.’

And…

‘You have to reflect on yourself.’

Using those as excuses, I demanded that she apologize to the Yozora guild members, and she immediately apologized to Kasugano Yuno. Yuno quickly caught on, so when she played along, Jung Ha-Yan immediately became the rebel. Unfortunately, my cold-heartedness at that moment had led to this current situation.

‘I’m sorry… Ha-Yan.’

Someone once said that when it came to relationships, the one who liked their partner more was the weaker one. I was able to confirm that this was true through this incident. I immediately locked myself up in my room at the thought that I had to fix Jung Ha-Yan’s future unpredictable actions amidst the guilt and embarrassment. I didn’t leave my room, and I also didn’t meet Jung Ha-Yan. Obviously, I didn’t contact Kasugano Yuno at all.

After the ceremony, I rode on my griffon without saying a word, which was why she sat behind Kim Hyun-Sung instead of behind me.

I was being hard on her to prevent this kind of incident from happening again. Kim Hyun-Sung probably thought we were just having a lover’s quarrel, but from my point of view, there were many hidden intentions.

‘I can’t let the same thing happen again.’

I thought my cold-heartedness would calm her down, but in the end, she changed her mind from being suspicious of me into not wanting to be hated by me. Jung Ha-Yan stood in front of my door while I locked myself inside, and even though she disliked Kasugano Yuno, she visited the latter on her own and apologized.

‘Wag the dog.’

I was like a living piece of trash that someone had drawn.

There wasn’t a single day that Jung Ha-Yan didn’t cry. When I looked back again while riding on Whitefall, I saw her wiping her face with one hand. I managed to endure it up until now, but I was at my limit.

“Let’s rest for a bit.”

The wind muffled my voice, but Kim Hyun-Sung, whose five senses were superb, turned his griffon’s head as if he had heard me, and naturally, I landed Whitefall on a nearby cliff. As soon as I got off, there was an awkward silence, and honestly, Kim Hyun-Sung seemed more awkward than me.

‘This guy...’

I knew he was pretty dull in situations like this, but I felt bad when I saw him frantically trying to read my expression and Jung Ha-Yan’s. I was sure this situation was like a bolt out of the blue to him. If it were a mistake between the party members, he would have somehow tried to mediate it, but as it was a personal issue between Jung Ha-Yan and me, he looked like he didn’t know what to do.

‘I wasn’t really expecting much anyway…’

It was amusing how he was pretending not to look at me.

“Let’s have a quick meal and then head out,” I suggested.

“Okay… that’s a good idea, Mr Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung agreed.

I noticed Jung Ha-Yan and me becoming further apart.

Anyway, after we took our seats, we started taking out the food we had brought from the castle, and even though Jung Ha-Yan was doing her best to set everything up, she was still crying. It felt like the weight of her tears was making me feel even more guilty. She looked like she didn’t have any appetite, but she was still obediently eating her lunch box. Sometimes, she would hiccup as if she was about to burst into tears, but after seeing my serious face, it seemed like she was trying to suppress it.

“T-The weather is nice,” Kim Hyun-Sung suddenly said.

“Yeah… it is,” I replied.

The weather wasn’t nice, and Kim Hyun-Sung must have been embarrassed after saying that because he didn’t speak again. Meanwhile, Jung Ha-Yan was forcing herself to eat, and since I was the reason why the mood had become like this, it was up to me to fix it. In the end, I had no choice but to hold out an olive branch to Jung Ha-Yan first. To be honest, this wasn’t really necessary because I was the one who had made a mistake and pretended to be angry with her just to get out of jail. When I nonchalantly gave her a piece of my meat, she looked at me as if she was surprised, and tears started rolling down her face again. She must be really happy that I was taking care of her.

“Heuk… heuk… hiccup…”

“Here, eat some more,” I said.

“Okay… heuk…” Jung Ha-Yan while sobbing.

“Take your time,” I added.

“Okay. Heuk… I… I’m… I’m sorry…” she apologized.

“Stop crying,” I ordered.

“I’m sorry… heuk…” she apologized once again.

“Your stomach will hurt,” I warned her.

I was really uncomfortable.

‘This wasn’t what I wanted…’

Recently, I had the feeling that I had done something kind of bad, but I felt like I had reached the peak with the recent incident, so I remained silent.

Jung Ha-Yan and I were maintaining our official position as lovers regardless of my feelings. My feelings for her were kind of a lie, but we had confirmed our feelings for each other, and we were even discreetly petting. Moreover, we sometimes went on dates and whispered sweet nothings to each other. Jung Ha-Yan was aware of this facade.

If a woman were suspicious of her boyfriend spending the night with a different woman, a normal girlfriend would think about going out and finding out the truth. However, I had no choice but to reason with myself that I had to maintain this kind of situation because, first of all, we weren’t on Earth, second, there were special circumstances surrounding me, and lastly, Jung Ha-Yan wasn’t normal.

‘Yeah… I had no choice.’

I didn’t even reason with myself during the Ito Sota incident, and the crazy gramps incident when I sent them to their graves.

Despite Jung Ha-Yan and I being in a romantic relationship, there had to be some tension, and I wanted this even more when I remembered the Cursed Shrine incident. Some people might think of me as a piece of trash if I said this, but I had to have absolute superiority in our relationship.

‘That’s the way...’

Seeing Jung Ha-Yan eating the tear-stained meat while hiccuping was enough to soften my heart, but I had to remind myself that I had to stay on my toes.

After we were done eating, we got on our griffons again. When Jung Ha-Yan was thinking about which griffon to ride on, I reached out my hand, and she happily sat behind me.

“Heh… hehe.”

I guess she was feeling better, and I liked this, too.

“Hold on tight, Ha-Yan,” I told her.

“Okay!” she replied.

She sounded more energetic compared to before. I reckoned she must have thought I had somewhat forgiven her.

‘I needed to do some research anyway.’

Before I could decide whether I could continue to endure my uncomfortable relationship with Jung Ha-Yan or not, I suddenly remembered that I had work to do as soon as I returned to Lindel. In this case, making a compromise like this was the right thing to do.

‘The Park Deok-Gu Remodeling Plan.’

And…

‘The career change.’

I would be able to kill two birds with one stone. The research would be kind of difficult, but it had already been confirmed that the results were achievable.

‘But, how?’

It would be through Lindel’s treasure trove of knowledge. I couldn’t research the details because I didn’t have time, but Dialugia was a living sample. She was a fine specimen that could give me all the knowledge about dragons. I was a bit worried about whether I would be able to comprehend Dialugia with the knowledge I currently had or not, but I didn’t think it was going to be a problem. The catalyst itself was legendary-rank, and it was the only way to transform Park Deok-Gu into Captain Lindel.

‘A serum.’

The most realistic plan to strengthen Park Deok-Gu was already being drawn in my head.

After spending some time in the sky, I could finally see the Free City of Lindel. I wanted to rest, but since I was going to be busy, I nodded and decided to immediately start my research. However, I noticed an unfamiliar building; no, it wasn’t a building.

“Huh?”

The building looked like a cave, and the materials used to build it were…

‘Mithril?’

The building looked like it was covered in mithril and metals whose names were unknown to me. They stood out, and I instantly knew they weren’t ordinary metals. The large building made up of epic-ranked or higher materials was big enough to fit Dialugia’s entire body and more. All of a sudden, I remembered what I had told Dialugia before I left Lindel.

- It’ll be customized, so you can build it however you want.

‘Idiot! Idiot!’

- You don’t have to worry about money.

‘That crazy…’

- You can do whatever you want.

“That crazy woman!!!” I screamed.

This was an incident that showed what would happen if someone who had no idea about economics managed your bank account. I had to return as fast as possible and check my safe.