Xiaolin was confused, and she looked as if she was asking, “What the hell is this bastard doing here?” She had to be pretty shocked because she couldn’t react to my compliment.

The large Russian and Archmage Jin Cheong looked at us with interest. They realized that we had met before.

“Is he a guest?”

Jin Cheong didn’t say anything, but Valentin mumbled as if he was disappointed, and even though I didn’t know why he was disappointed, one thing I was sure of was that I had to get out of here as soon as possible. When I grabbed Jung Ha-Yan’s hand tightly as if telling her to calm down, her breathing became a bit more stable.

‘She wasn’t jealous.’

She was just extremely stressed. And when she saw that there were three strong people on the same level as her, she got worried about my safety.

“You…”

“I’m sorry for contacting you late, Miss Xiaolin…” I apologized.

“Don’t you think it’s a little too late for you to say that you contacted me late? I’m sure I told you that I might end up causing trouble if you don’t keep your promise,” she reminded me.

“Of course, I wanted to contact you, but as you know, the country has experienced a series of major events. I tried, but I just couldn’t make the time… It was difficult for me as well,” I explained.

“Is that right? I think we ran into each other earlier, but I guess that was my mistake. And if you came here to meet a lady, coming by yourself is proper manners, so why did you come here with another woman? And how did you even know I was coming here?” she asked.

‘Shit… I didn’t think about that.’

I shouldn’t have made that first comment.

I should have said, “What a coincidence,” instead of saying, “There you are.” Xiaolin had spoken as if she was questioning if I was spying on the foreigners of the Republic, and Jin Cheong looked surprised as well. He could be thinking, ‘were they trailing us?’ or ‘were they watching us?’ but it wasn’t anything like that.

We coincidentally ended up here, and it was by chance that we ran into Xiaolin, but the fact that a powerful figure from the Sacred Democratic Country was at a place located on the outskirts of the city was pretty suspicious from their point of view. They might think I had some kind of goal.

“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else because we coincidentally ended up here. By the way, you haven’t changed,” I told her.

“The way you talk is still the same, and the way you change your attitude is still the same as well. Out of all the places here, you’re saying that you coincidentally entered this place? I don’t know how you found this place or how you ended up here, but you do know that you’re in a bad situation, right? No matter how happy I am to see a guest, a guest who suddenly appears like this can become an intruder. Of course, it doesn’t really matter to me, but I’m curious as to what my friends think about this situation… You showed up here with such confidence, but you don’t seem to have anyone around you. You look like herbivores who had walked in here, asking to be eaten… What should we do? Should we eat them up?” Xiaolin asked.

‘Shiiit…’

“Who is he?”

“Ah, I’m sure you know him, Mr. Valentin…” she replied.

“So, who is he?” Valentin repeated.

“He’s the most popular person in the Sacred Democratic Country right now. He’s the Sub Guild Master of the Blue Guild in Lindel, a dragon’s chosen one, the first foreigner with an official position within the Holy Empire, a member of the Eight Seats, the Mercenary Queen’s—”

All of a sudden, one side of the wall broke down as a roaring noise filled the place. I didn’t know why, but Valentin suddenly punched the wall, and Jung Ha-Yan reacted instinctively by opening her eyes and moving her hands. She had a contract with beasts that could protect her, but a sword was instantly pulled out from behind her. A dagger was pointing at her neck, but Jung Ha-Yan opened her mouth as if she didn’t care. She was probably going to cast the spell even at the expense of her life, but I couldn’t afford to lose her in a ridiculous situation like this.

“Stop!”

Everyone stopped moving, including those pointing their swords at Jung Ha-Yan. A streak of blood rolled down Jung Ha-Yan’s pale skin, and Xiaolin sheathed her dagger.

“You and half the people here would have died if you had unleashed that spell… What happened just now wasn’t a big deal, so there’s no need to get worked up. Miss Mage, that guy over there is just somewhat hot-headed,” Xiaolin explained.

‘So, why did you react in that way?’

“Ah, it’s all because he had gotten into an incident with that red gorilla a while back. He got brutally defeated, right? And that scar was from that gorilla as well. He reacts like that every time the Mercenary Queen is mentioned… Maybe it would have been better if I didn’t mention her,” Xiaolin added.

Xiaolin giggled. It had apparently been just a simple joke, but it was pretty dangerous. The guy looked like a bomb about to explode at any moment, and he was glaring at us with his bloodshot eyes. He was breathing roughly, and his energy was oppressing us. I almost couldn’t stop my legs from shaking, but pretending to be weak wouldn’t be helpful. However, I felt like I was a mouse in front of a cat.

When Jung Ha-Yan grabbed my hand while biting her lips, I felt kind of relieved, and that was when that bastard suddenly swung his fist.

‘Crazy bastard!’

The wind pressure caused the items around us to fly around, and it sounded like the air was being ripped apart. Jung Ha-Yan bit her lips, and I tried to move my hand, but Xiaolin standing behind me was bothering me.

‘I’ll die if I get hit.’

To be honest, I had people who could back me up, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared. When the fear of death got too strong for me to bear, I instantly turned my head and looked for the bitch I could rely on, but Xiaolin wasn’t there. I cursed, but I had to make use of my contract, and Jung Ha-Yan was about to cast her spell again. However, my fingers stopped moving when I saw Xiaolin standing before us. And she stopped Valentin’s attack with her whip wrapped around her hand.

‘Y-You’re the best, Xiaolin!’

I heard another roar and their voices.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to kill them? Didn’t I tell you they were my guests?” Xiaolin asked.

“Let go of me…” Valentin ordered.

“What if I don’t? You’re the one who should back off before I get angry,” Xiaolin warned.

“You…”

‘These guys are a mess, too…’

No matter how I looked at it, someone had to fix this situation. The wild boar’s face turned red from the stimulation, and blocking his attack head-on had to have been too much even for Xiaolin because her arm was trembling. She was a mid-to-long ranged attacker, so I was sure Valentin’s attack had been a bit too much for her.

I wanted someone to stop this because I had to go to the bathroom, and thankfully, a normal person from their side interjected. Naturally, they needed someone to control this crazy chap and bitch.

“It’d be wise to stop, Mr. Valentin, Miss Xiaolin. We’re in neutral territory.”

It was Archmage Jin Cheong, who had been watching everything unfold from the back. The interesting part was that when he said that, the man with anger management issues and the crazy woman slowly took a few steps back. The Russian’s hands were still trembling, but he suppressed his anger by turning the table into dust. Xiaolin also received treatment from her minion.

The dandy man with a pleasant face slowly stood up. While walking toward us, he continued, “If this continues, we’ll end up in a bad situation as well. He’s the first foreigner to receive the Honorary Cardinal title, and he’s also one of the people under the protection of the templars managing the Sacred Democratic Country’s Vatican. I don’t exactly know who they are, but if Miss Xiaolin didn’t stop you, one of them would have done so.”

‘He’s well-informed…’

I had only heard that something like that could happen, but I had never actually tested whether a templar would really jump out to protect me or not. In fact, I had never even seen a templar before, and I had no idea how they would protect me. All I had heard was that they would react to danger.

‘It was really dangerous just now, so why didn’t they appear?’

I started worrying that maybe they would only appear after I was dead.

“The delegates of the democratic country are still in Laios, and according to continental law, fighting in neutral territory is forbidden. Obviously, killing a member of another country is illegal as well. We want to avoid criticism from the international community, especially during a sensitive time like this. I understand how you’re feeling, Mr. Valentin, but she’s not the Mercenary Queen.”

“...”

“You’ll get your chance later, although it would be the most ideal for me if something like that didn’t happen. Ah, I haven’t actually introduced myself, Father Lee Ki-Young. I’m Jin Cheong. I’m one of the Republic’s Five Tiger Generals, and I am also serving in the Republic’s military. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Jin Cheong introduced.

“Ah! It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you,” I said.

I honestly never heard anything about him, but he nodded quietly as if he knew I would say that.

‘His intelligence is at 99.’

He had a pleasant face, but he obviously had a lot on his mind. The intelligence stat didn’t necessarily prove that a player was smart, but the mage before me looked very smart. His title was Schemer, and his attribute was inaccessible. It was unlikely, but he might have a mythic-ranked attribute or an eye skill similar to what Kasugan Yuno and I possessed. Naturally, I was curious about him.

‘His level is high...’

Amidst this somewhat calm atmosphere was a truth I had realized once again, and it was the fact that they were a lot stronger than I previously thought. Xiaolin had simply been defending herself, but she still managed to go up against Cha Hee-Ra for more than thirty minutes. Valentin Alexandro was a walking bomb based on his nature and title. And Jin Cheong, who seemed like a nice person, felt like he was still hiding something despite his amazing stats, which meant…

‘Are they stronger than the Eight Seats?’

Of course, the Eight Seats had powerful members like Cha Hee-Ra and Kim Hyun-Sung, but the people before me had stats that exceeded the power of the members in the lower seats. Basically, the archer of Dawan, Park Yeon-Joo, and people like Cheon Kwan-Wi would be no match for them. Obviously, stats, attributes, and the quality of one’s arsenal wouldn’t define one’s strength, but it didn’t mean that there wasn’t a gap at all.

“Hm… I don’t know why you’re here, but it wouldn’t hurt to hear you out. I think we should get to know each other first. Ah! Please have a seat. You too, Miss,” Jin Cheong suggested.

“Thank you.”

I saw them pulling out chairs so that we could sit comfortably, but Jung Ha-Yan frowned as if Jin Cheong’s kindness was making her feel uncomfortable. And for some reason, I got the feeling that he was flirting with her.

‘Bastard…’

He knew there wasn’t another talented player like Jung Ha-Yan. I wasn’t sure if he was interested in her as a woman, but regardless, it was undeniable that it made me feel uncomfortable. However, Jin Cheong looked at me as if he were amused.

“Hm… it seems like you haven’t eaten yet…” he said.

“You’re right,” I answered.

“This place takes a long time to serve meals, so how about we play a simple game while we’re waiting for the food?” Jin Cheong suggested.

It was an odd suggestion.

‘What kind of bullshit is he saying all of a sudden?’