Old Forces (1)
Upon arriving at the Guild House, our party hurriedly unpacked before heading down to the basement. After some thought, I had decided to join them in checking the body.
I initially wanted to talk with Lee Jihye, but I figured it could wait after. This decision was reinforced upon seeing her nod, understanding my decision.
However, I knew she was thinking of something else, too. I didn’t even need to ask what it was.
‘Is she still on that soulmate mindset?’
I had some inkling of what the status system meant about the two of us.
‘In fact, we’re similar in a lot of ways…’
Following this line of thought, I knew not bringing her in Blue with us was the worst mistake I’d ever made. I knew she had a lot she could have brought to the table.
However, I knew her current position wasn’t all that bad, either.
Putting this aside, I bid Jihye a brief farewell before joining others in the basement. Since she was considered an outsider, she was not be allowed in this particular area.
Upon reaching the basement, I saw a neatly organized room. A man was lying inside a coffin decorated with a multitude of white flowers. He looked a little old, and the countless wounds on his face were enough proof of his identity. A beard covered his chin, and gray hair covered his head.
This was our deceased Guild Master.
‘Is he in his forties? No… Perhaps he was in his fifties…’
Since aging had slowed due to the influence of magic power, it was hard to pinpoint his exact age. Upon seeing his comfortably closed eyes, never to open again, cries erupted from the group.
“Aaaah!”
“Master…”
“Uncle, you said you would live until the end… Ugh…”
Though I had never met the Guild Master, I still felt sad. Everyone around me had tears in their eyes, and it was obvious what the Guild Master meant to them.
And among them, the one expressing the most intense reaction was Lee Sang-hee.
Before we had gone down, she had a calm composure. However, that composure cracked the moment her eyes landed on the old man.
It wasn’t clear what had happened between the two, but I could tell that it was certainly not a normal relationship. Her reaction was similar to seeing a loved one die.
‘Or, perhaps, a lover…?’
That wasn’t a convincing guess, however.
Soon, the rest of us decided it would be best to leave Lee Sang-hee alone. The second unit slowly made their way up the steps, and our seventh unit followed suit.
However, Kim Hyunsung must have had a different idea, for he stayed by Lee Sang-hee’s side.
“He must have already gone to a better place.”
Meanwhile, Sun Hee-young cast a divine prayer towards the body and then went on her way. I did the same and soon was moving upstairs, with Jung Hayan clinging onto my arm.
“Hayan.”
“Yes, Oppa?”
“Have you felt anything weird?”
“What are you talking about?”
“About the flow of magic power within the Guild Master’s body… Or, I don’t know, some traces of other types of magic. I’m not sensitive to this sort of thing, so I couldn’t tell.”
“Ah… I didn’t find anything weird. I had only looked at him from a distance. Maybe I could’ve noticed something if I was able to get a closer look.”
“Ah…” Upon seeing Hayan’s guilty expression, I decided it would be best to stop speaking.
Instead, I decided to stroke her hair, which soon wiped off her sad expression. However, my thoughts had become a chaotic mess.
I knew Jung Hayan was sensitive to magic power. It was one of her passive abilities, seeing as her potential went past legendary, regardless of her current status.
The fact that she had not sensed even a sliver of magic on the Guild Master’s body meant that, whatever caused his death, it had not been from the usage of magic power.
‘Hmm…
Upon reaching the ground floor, I caught sight of the second unit, all seated by the Guild’s bar. When I approached them, people automatically gave way to me. This type of warm welcome had probably stemmed from their appreciation of me back in the dungeon.
If one achieved something in the dungeon, he or she warrants respect in the Guild.
“Ah, Mr. Kiyoung.”
“You must also be sad…”
“Perhaps he is, but not as sad as Lee Sang-hee…”
“Yep, the two of them must have been very close.”
“She must be so heartbroken. The two of them have been together since the tutorial dungeon.”
“Really? They were together in the tutorial dungeon?”
“Yeah. Come to think of it. The seventh unit doesn’t know much about that. The Blue Guild was created by Lee Sang-hee and the Guild Master, Joo Seung-jun. These two settled in after arriving in Lindel. At that time, Lee Sang-hee was not an adult, so it must mean that the guild is quite old… by fifteen years, to be exact.”
Considering that Lee Sang-hee was 33 years old now, it meant that she had been 18 when the guild was first created.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. We haven’t been in Blue for a long time, so we don’t know the details, but Lee Sang-hee followed the Master like a father. Actually, when the Master was cursed, she tried to enter the dungeon alone to solve it.”
“Ah…”
“They always moved together, even in the guild, or whenever the time came for hunting or exploring. I don’t mean to degrade Lee Sang-hee, but if it weren’t for the Guild Master, she probably would have never reached this point.”
Upon saying this, the second unit member looked toward Hwang Jeong-yeon, who nodded in reply.
“I’m a little bit bitter, too. Maybe not as long as Lee Sang-hee, but I’ve been in Blue for quite a while. Joo Seung-jun is…”
“Yeah.”
“He was a great person. He knew how to sacrifice for others, and most of all, he cared about us a lot. He did not increase the size of the guild because it would be too difficult to care for each guild member if he did. Actually, all guild members liked Seung-jun. In our unit’s case, it was enough just seeing him every day. Of course, this won’t be the case now.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment. The atmosphere became heavier.
“I thought I’d get used to separation at this point, but…”
I didn’t know much about Joo Seung-jun, but it seemed that he had been a good person. It wasn’t only that. He also seemed like a strong and capable person.
Still, my worries about the current state of Blue did not go away. Lee Sanghee was also strong, but she was not an ideal leader. She had a good character, but that wouldn’t be enough.
Blue had a centralized system that centered on Joo Seung-jun. Since the head had been cut off, it was only natural for the body to panic. In cases like these, old geezers such as Lee Seolho would surely try to take advantage of the guild’s weakness.
“Was Lee Seolho already here from the beginning?”
“Yeah.”
‘Ah…
“I heard that Seolho had also been with them since the tutorial. He worked a lot as a combat agent and contributed a lot to the guild. Of course, he had some personal affairs with the Master, but I know that the two’s relationship was good. The same could be said for Lee Sang-hee. Of course, that’s not apparent these days…”
“Ah, I see. He was also quite trusted.”
“Yeah. Perhaps Lee Seolho is also in pain…”
“Huh, I’m not so sure about that?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing.”
At this point, Hwang Jeong-yeon’s expression had shifted into a nervous one.
“Can the rest of you go up for now? I need to speak to Mr. Kiyoung privately.”
“Of course, Hwang Jeong-yeon. Take your time.”
Jung Hayan glanced at me with a sad expression, silently asking if she had to climb up with the rest of them. When I shook my head, her face lit up.
“What did you mean earlier, Mr. Kiyoung?”
“It’s just… I don’t think Joo Seung-jun died naturally. I think he had been killed.”
“Murdered?”
“Yes. Of course, it’s just a wild guess…”
“I thought Jeong-yeon would have guessed the same, but it seems that this isn’t the case.”
“No. In fact, I’ve also thought about that. I didn’t rule out that possibility… But when I saw Joo Seung-jun’s body…”
“You mean you couldn’t find anything?”
“Yeah.”
“Same here. At a glance, there was no trauma, and no signs of magic could be found. Right, Hayan?”
“Yes, Oppa.”
“But the only way to kill people on this continent is magic. I think it’s right to keep the possibility open. There is no motive for murder, but how many people would benefit if the Guild Master disappears and if we didn’t come back from the expedition? Oh, this can also be called a motive.”
“Yeah. That’s definitely true.”
“We can find out if we can examine the body. If you can persuade Lee Sanghee…”
“Of course. I’ll inform you.”
“The faster you can do it, the better. The remaining magic power might fade away at this point. If we were a little later, we wouldn’t have time to check the body. Perhaps the murderers would have cleared all evidence by the time of the funeral. I’m glad we were able to get back earlier.”
“I feel the same way.”
“In case you may find something else, it would be better if you and Sun Heeyoung go into the autopsy. Alchemy or divine power may have been used… Anyway, it’s best to keep all our options open.”
“It’ll be a little complicated, though…”
“Yeah?”
“I mean, to be suspicious of one guild member doesn’t mean others would feel the same… yet, I hope Lee Sang-hee is also thinking similarly.”
Hwang Jeong-yeon had a point. Upon hearing her explanation, I felt the situation would become even more complicated.
‘It can’t be.’
I did not want to harbor any doubts, but if Lee Seolho and Joo Seung-jun had really been together since their tutorial dungeon days, this could become a problem.
As I thought about this, someone tapped on our table.
“What are you talking about?”
It was a familiar yet very unpleasant voice.
“I want to know.”
It was Lee Seolho and his followers