I didn’t have a choice to begin with since according to Park Deok-Gu’s design, it seemed like Jung Ha-Yan disliked the first choice. No, there was a good chance that she was heading towards the second choice despite my thoughts.

“Snore…”

When I looked at Park Deok-Gu, who was snoring beside me, my feelings became complicated. I didn’t even think about having a romantic relationship in this kind of place where we had no idea when we were going to die, so having that kind of feeling wasn’t rational.

It was completely different from being in a relationship. I didn’t like the idea of becoming closer to a woman that may cut off my limbs someday, but…

‘I have to do it.’

Ironically, becoming closer to her was the only way to avoid the severed limbs ending. She was the most dangerous person, but at the same time, the most trustworthy person for me.

I didn’t like to gamble, but if needed, I was prepared to throw the dice.

I lightly nodded at the reality I didn’t want to acknowledge and talked to Park Deok-Gu, who was still snoring.

“Wake up.”

“Ughhh…”

“Wake up, Deok-Gu,” I said.

“Ugh…what? Is it morning already?” he asked.

“We’re going to leave a little early,” I answered.

“Hey, noonim. Wake up,” he said.

“...”

“I guess she’s a heavy sleeper…noonim, it’s time to wake up,” he said again.

“...”

“Ugh…it seems like noonim has turned into sleeping beauty…don’t you think she needs a kiss from her prince?” he asked.

‘Bastard.’

He was teasing me without realizing how I was feeling.

My mana had been restored, so I wanted to put a fireball into his mouth.

His comment wasn’t even that bad, but it felt like I was being cornered. Still, Jung Ha-Yan had to wake up, so I had no choice but to lightly walk over.

“Ha-Yan,” I called out.

“...”

“Ha-Yan, it’s time to wake up.”

“Ugh…”

When I lightly patted her head, I saw her getting up while rubbing her eyes. I guess she wasn’t fully awake yet.

She was surprised when she saw me and I saw her getting flustered, but even that side of her made me feel a bit scared.

“Oh…oh. Okay, oppa,” she said.

“We’ll be heading to the shelter soon,” I said.

“Got it,” Park Deok-Gu answered.

“We’ll eat light and then head out.”

“Ahem, leave it to me,” he responded.

After eating a really light meal, it only took us a moment to prepare.

Someone once said that humans were animals that could adapt. Seeing as how everyone had their own way of preparing themselves in the morning, I realized that it was true.

“I know Kim Hyun-Sung is capable, but I’m not so sure if the shelter is doing okay since we’ve been away for a long time,” Park Deok-Gu.

“I’m sure it’s fine. As long as those guys don’t do anything unnecessary, like going out to hunt on their own…” I said.

“If they’re able to properly hunt, wouldn’t that be better? We need to increase the number of people that can fight anyways…” he said.

Of course, if they were able to properly hunt, then there was no reason for me to stop them.

“Those guys have been hiding in fear all this time and just because they have had a change of heart, do you think they’ll suddenly change? Not only are the chances that they’ll group up and go out to hunt slim, but even if they do go, they’ll all die if they don’t do it properly. Although, that’s probably for the better,” I explained.

“What do you mean?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“I’m saying that what happened to Park Hye-Young shouldn’t happen again,” I answered.

There was a small chance that the people back at the shelter were going to hunt on their own, but if they created their own party and went out to go find monsters, I could only think of the worst-case scenario.

Of course, I couldn’t say that all my assumptions were correct…

“The worst-case scenario would be us returning to the shelter while they are panicking and screaming which will attract all the monsters nearby,” I said.

“…”

“…”

“I don't think there's anyone who thinks the shelter could be in danger since everyone's busy trying to survive. People that are filled with fear can’t make rational decisions…In the end, they won’t be able to block a large group of monsters that comes charging in and when that happens, that’s the end for the shelter,” I said.

Such an outcome was awful.

“That was probably the reason why Mr. Hyun-Sung instructed us to take the long way back since there could still be monsters following us,” I told him.

“The more I think about it, the smarter I think you are hyung-nim,” Park Deok-Gu complimented.

I definitely wasn’t smart.

“It’s nothing like that,” I said.

I just knew to think about the worst possible scenario and act around that.

Even while walking, I couldn’t help but feel anxious because I kept thinking about the situation that I told him about earlier. Thinking of the possibility that it could happen made my mouth dry.

Honestly, I didn’t care what happened to those people, but I didn’t want to lose the shelter’s natural and economic resources.

We barely managed to stabilize that place.

We still didn’t have a plan in regards to capturing the dungeon, so the shelter was still a must for us.

As I thought about many things while walking, I noticed a strange silence around us. This kind of silence made me feel a bit uneasy, so after talking to Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan for a bit, we were finally able to see the shelter in the distance.

Unlike before, the entrance was completely sealed off. Lee Ji-Hye must have noticed us because I saw her coming outside after removing the rocks, but they must have sealed it really tight because it took her a while to come out.

She slowly approached us and with the same smile on her face, she spoke. “Ki-Young oppa, Deok-Gu oppa, you guys are back. Where’s Miss Hye-Young and Mr. Hyun-Sung…”

“Park Hye-Young died and Mr. Hyun-Sung will return soon,” I answered her.

“Oh, I see,” she said.

When I spoke a bit calmly, Lee Ji-Hye closed her eyes for a moment, nodded and then continued the conversation.

“How…”

“It’s a long story. More than that, did anything happen at the shelter?” I asked.

“Um…can I tell you in private?” she asked.

I was certain that she wanted to talk with me in a comfortable setting.

I guess something did happen because Lee Ji-Hye didn’t look so good.

How was it that whenever I get a sad premonition, it would never be wrong?

When I slightly looked back at Park Deok-Gu, he nodded as if he was telling me that it didn’t matter to him. It wouldn’t matter since he would want to hear it from me later on, but what I was worried about was Jung Ha-Yan’s reaction.

However, I did need to speak with Lee Ji-Hye, so I had no choice but to talk to her after patting her head a little bit.

“Can you wait for me inside? I’ll be right there.”

“Oh! Okay…okay, oppa,” she answered.

I was worried that she might cut up Lee Ji-Hye and kill her later for this.

While walking towards the shelter, she looked back towards me and for some reason, that look reminded me of Park Hye-Young. When we no longer saw the two, Lee Ji-Hye softly opened her mouth.

“How did Park Hye-Young die?” she asked.

“She deserved to die. She screamed when there were monsters everywhere and that’s the reason why Kim Hyun-Sung isn’t with us right now…do you want the details?” I asked.

“No, I think I have an idea about what happened,” she said.

I saw Lee Ji-Hye looking behind her, and I wasn’t sure if she was looking at the path that Jung Ha-Yan took, but for some reason, I had a feeling that she had caught onto what happened. It may be a simple deduction, but I realized that Lee Ji-Hye had caught onto things faster than I thought.

“I’ll quickly tell you what happened,” she said.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Yoo Seok-Woo and a few people went outside,” she answered.

“When?”

“Yesterday morning.”

“You...”

“Yes, I know that I shouldn’t have just let them go outside,” she said, interrupting me.

“But…why.”

“Right after you and Hyun-Sung oppa went out, they had been consistently telling me that they were going to go out to hunt. I’m not sure if they had a change of heart after seeing your magic or if they were dissatisfied with the situation they were in, but they said they were going to take a few men that wanted to go with them. Idiots…at first, I tried to convince them that it was more reasonable to go out after you guys came back, but…”

“...”

“I’m a powerless woman,” she said.

I had an idea about what happened. Showing my magic to those people had an adverse effect.

The issue between Yoo Seok-Woo and Jung Ha-Yan had put the former at a disadvantage. In addition, since his position had been taken away from him, it wasn’t a bad idea for him to think that he needed to do something. Not only did he think about obtaining an unknown power, but I was sure that he secretly thought about wanting to be like us.

Excluding Lee Ji-Hye, who was considered as the manager of this place, me, Kim Hyun-Sung and Park Deok-Gu’s power here were absolute.

After releasing a sigh, I continued talking. “Wasn’t it your job to stop them?”

“I tried my best to stop them. Since you were coming back late, people started feeling anxious…so how could I reject them when they suggested sending a rescue team?” she asked.

“Rescue team my ass…they didn’t even care about us…is that why you blocked the entrance?” I asked.

“Yes, since we can’t all die together,” she answered.

So that was the reason why they completely blocked the entrance. They prepared it just in case Yoo Seok-Woo and the self-proclaimed rescue team requested help from the shelter while being chased by the monsters. Seeing as how Lee Ji-Hye thought about blocking the entrance and not opening it for them, she was obviously trying to protect the shelter.

“I was hoping that those dumb bastards who only knew how to make trouble would die…but you came back after the wrong person died. Oh my…I’m sure the people will be scared…do you still need people that are able to fight?” she asked.

“The more the merrier,” I answered.

Honestly, capturing the dungeon was Kim Hyun-Sung’s idea, not mine. He was also the one that believed that we needed more people that could fight. He probably thought that we needed to increase our numbers no matter what before we head down the stairs.

“What about you?” I asked.

Using my Mind’s Eye, I was able to confirm that her stats were trash, but she was better than Park Hye-Young. She wouldn’t randomly swing her spear and she wouldn’t scream in the middle of the fight, so there was a good chance that she may do her part properly while calmly staying behind Park Deok-Gu.

“It’s scary and I don’t like the idea of dying because I got caught up in something. The power that you showed was definitely interesting…and I am envious, but greed is a shortcut to death,” she explained.

“...”

“If a crow tit walks like a stork, it’ll break its legs. Crow tits have their own way of living,[1]” she explained.

I probably knew what she was talking about.

For some reason, it felt like it applied to me as well, and that thought left a bad taste in my mouth. But her way of thinking was reasonable.

“Rather than living on a battlefield where you have no idea when you will die…don’t you think it’s better to meet a capable man and live with a peace of mind?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

While we continued our conversation, I felt someone’s presence. When I naturally turned my head, I saw a few figures walking towards us.

‘Yoo Seok-Woo?’

I was certain that the person that was walking in the front was Yoo Seok-Woo, however, the three figures that were behind him were people I had never seen at the shelter.

“It seems like the person that I hoped would die has returned. He even brought baggage…” she said.

1. Crow tit refers to someone who's trying hard to fit in by becoming someone they're not ☜