Old Forces (3)
“If many believe that something is real, then it will become the truth.”
Ah…’
Even as we walked, Jung Hayan continued mumbling to herself, almost as if memorizing what I had told her beforehand. This only added to my worries. However, I knew she would not act upon this new information, at least, for the time being.
It was correct to think so. This, it would be best to secretly inform the people around us that we were lovers. We had been dating for a long time, after all.
However, as time passed by, Jung Hayan’s expression grew darker.
Seeing as she had purposefully slowed her steps and kept tugging at my sleeve, I knew this expression meant she had discovered something she didn’t like. The hand that held my sleeve seemed to have renewed strength.
After we passed by the plaza and some general stores, a large-scale guild house came into view.
‘Black Swan.
It was one of the large guilds representing the Free City of Lindel, the Black Swan Guild.
“Ah…”
I had no choice but to stroke Jung Hayan’s head upon seeing her gloomy disposition.
“We came here because I have something to do.”
“Yeah…”
“We’ll have time to date later on. Everything has been hectic these days. You understand, right?”
“Yes, Oppa.”
It felt good being able to come here without having to hide from Jung Hayan. Of course, I couldn’t take her in the room where Lee Jihye and I would be talking, but knowing that we were in the same building would at least give her some psychological comfort.
Though I had conversed with the Black Swans countless times before, this would be my first time visiting their guild house. As I stepped forward, the door slid open for me.
‘Magic?
Probably so.
The Black Swans’ place was not only better than Blue’s in terms of size but also structure. I then heard a voice from the inside.
“Thank you for visiting the guild, Lee Kiyoung and… Jung Hayan.”
“Ah… Yes, thank you.”
“I’ll make sure that you can bring her inside. This is your first time to come to the Black Swans.”
Jung Hayan’s expression lightened up a bit.
“That’s right.”
“I shall lead you to the reception room.”
Our guide appeared to be calm, but upon closer assessment, he was actually very tense.
We were greeted by everyone we passed by in the lobby. However, all these people also seemed tense in our presence. I could never have received this type of VIP treatment in Blue.
‘Huh.’
I understood why Hayan and I were being treated this way, and I didn’t mind it at all.
“Have you already eaten?”
“Yes, we ate on the way.”
“Then I will prepare tea for you. If you are uncomfortable…”
“I’ll tell you right away. Is Lee Jihye already inside?”
“Yes, she’s waiting for you. I’ll prepare a separate room for Miss Hayan.”
“Yeah. I would be grateful if you could do that.”
“Miss Hayan, this way, please…”
“Ah… Yes, thank you…”
I tried my hardest to ignore Hayan’s beseeching look for as long as it would take. Upon finding out that she would just be in the next room, she thankfully stopped.
One of the guides bowed his head and opened the door for me, and I could see Lee Jihye inside, wearing neat clothes and a calm expression.
As soon as she was done examining me, she spoke.
“It’s good that you came. However, I didn’t know you would bring Hayan with you. Do you really not know the workings of a woman’s heart?”
“We had our circumstances to take care of. You knew I was coming?”
“Yeah. Someone already told me that you would be heading here once you finished your affairs in Blue. I’m just making sure, but… You have no intention of switching to the Black Swans, right?”
“Well, I’m sorry, but yes.”
“I knew it.”
Lee Jihye continued speaking once I shot her a questioning look.
“The guild panicked upon knowing that you and Jung Hayan were coming our way. They’re all aware of Blue’s recent events, so your transfer to our guild was somehow expected. Even I got excited… Anyway, did you see the tense expressions of the guides?”
“Yes, I did. I never thought I would be treated this much.”
“You both deserve the treatment. One of you is a genius who has the potential to become the best wizard in the city, and the other is a talent who possesses legendary items, as well as valuable information on politics and alchemy.”
‘Ugh…
| already knew that Blue had a bad reputation, but I never imagined it would reach this extent. The fact that Lee Jihye already knew that I had gotten Juliana meant that one of the guys in Blue had already leaked information to the Black Swans. Who would have known?
‘Shit.
“Don’t look like that, Oppa. You just have to be more careful next time. Honestly, I thought you would be considering a transfer. Still, because of Kim Hyunsung, I know you’ll stay in Blue.”
“That’s half-right.”
“Hey, Oppa.”
“Hm?”
I remarked and tilted my head.
“I am going to ask this seriously.”
“Huh?”
Upon seeing my distorted expression, she cleared her throat and asked.
“Should I also consider Kim Hyunsung as a rival?”
I fell silent
“You really have to tell me in advance. No matter how much my Oppa likes him, I have the confidence to overturn the sexual identity of an individual.”
When she saw that I wasn’t responding and I wasn’t planning to, she retracted her statement.
“I’m only joking.”
“Good, because I was just about to leave,” I said firmly.
“I needed to lighten up the atmosphere somehow. If you didn’t come here to transfer, then the reason why you came is obvious,” she explained.
“That’s right.”
“You will probably be satisfied. I can give you the data so you can review it back in Blue. To start with the conclusion, I’m not exactly sure about the details, but Lee Seolho really does seem to have connections.”
I felt as if a light bulb shone over my head. I knew it.
“Where?”
“In Japan.”
“I wasn’t expecting that…”
I trailed off. I was taken aback somehow.
“To be precise, it’s Yamato, a large guild in the Free City of Celia. They seemed to have been close for a long time, and the first contact had been after the rescue team left Lindel. They then had contacted several times after that,” she shared, “We confirmed about three times. Of course, I couldn’t check all of them. I don’t know the exact contents. Still, I found something, but it’ll be up to you to judge it.”
I knew it. Humans, like Lee Seolho, didn’t move without a backbone. Since they had already prepared for their escape, it probably meant that they had done various more things.
No wonder they did not want to join the expedition.
“‘They’re so obvious. Does this mean they wanted to extend their influence in Lindel under the guise of protecting the fallen Blue? Perhaps they only thought of it as an insurance policy. The old man must have already received a lot of bribes…”
“You’re probably right. I don’t have any interactions with Celia, but I think it would be more comfortable for them to spread their influence in Lindel than in any other city.”
This couldn’t be called a serious situation. In the first place, Lindel and Celia were already known as strong allies.
Both cities were managed by the Holy Empire, Benigor, which of course, upon considering the decline in power, did not appreciate the past battle between Lindel and Celia.
However, despite this, our trade with Celia was very active.
Considering this background, this type of agreement would not be considered an act of invasion. However, this information was still useful. Even the simplest partnership could be seen in a negative light if given a suitable motive.
“I thought their connections would be in Lindel, at best…”
“Well, this is a larger scale than what most would think. Do you know how creeped out I was when I found out? It seemed like a bug was crawling. Oppa…”
“You must have suffered.”
“It doesn’t just end with simply suffering. I had to pull so many strings to find all of this out. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have done it in the first place.”
I could definitely see how hard she had worked, seeing the thickness of the report that she held.
Excluding Lee Seolho, other information was written in abundance. Even the daily lives of all the people involved. If there were even one person like Lee Jihye within Blue, the guild would not have suffered its current situation.
I knew our relationship was purely beneficial, but I still felt grateful.
“Thank you, Jihye.”
“Well, it’s not much. And there was definitely a problem with the reinforcement organization. The request for assistance came into the Black Swan, and it was officially made two days after the expedition left the road. There were various circumstances, but I’m certain about our response.”
“Well…”
“I also looked around in the square. If the formation of reinforcements was really delayed due to unavoidable circumstances, then I’m telling you, their incompetence has reached an all-time high.”
“Is it all related?”
“Sure, it is.”
“How do you feel about the Guild Master?”
“As expected, my Oppa has also thought about the possibility of him being killed.”
“It’s only natural to think so.”
“I do not know.”
“Hmm… What else haven’t you found?”
“How can I find more at this point? I am considered an outsider when it comes to your guild.”
“Well…”
“Even if you look at who had come in your guild or even tracked down Lee Seolho, there would be nothing to catch. It’s also possible that he had died a natural death. Anyway, he was the Blue Guild Master. I heard that he was working himself to death, so a natural death sounds all the more possible. The timing is a little haunted, but the possibilities are still open.”
“No…”
When I realized that he might have indeed died from natural death, my head hurt. If it were really true, then this misconception would be a mistake on my part.
Still, it seemed better to assume that Lee Seolho had killed Joo Seung-jun.
Even with the meager information I had, it would still be possible to ruin some of Lee Seolho’s reputation, but I knew I would need to gather more conclusive data before taking action.
‘The death of the Guild Master may be our only shot…’
However, if I could plant some evidence… As I glanced at Lee Jihye, I caught her smiling. The moment I saw her expression, I knew she had already thought about the same thing.
She spoke before I could even open my mouth.
“What is this?”
She had handed me a very small potion.
“It’s a very difficult potion. It is not poison. Rather, it can be seen as a nervous stabilizer. It’s a bit complex, so I don’t know the exact details, but they said it could be quite fatal for particular types of patients.”
“Can I check it?”
“Ah, of course. This is a specialty potion.”
After receiving the potion from Lee Jihye, I began to assess it. Soon enough, I realized that she had spoken the truth.
“Ah…”
“I put a little on the clothes that Lee Seolho’s uncle wears every day. Is this enough evidence? I couldn’t prepare anything better because there wasn’t enough time…”
“No, no… This is more than enough.”
“That’s a good thing, Oppa.”
I couldn’t understand how she could trace my line of thoughts so accurately and so naturally. It felt creepy to me.
‘She really is a capable person…’
Now, I finally understood why the status system kept calling Lee Jihye my soulmate.