Chapter 297: Time Has Passed (3)
In fact, there was not a big problem, even in Kim Hyunsung’s case.
He was still doing his job as a Guild Master quite well, and was also doing various things simultaneously as one of the state’s Eight Seats.
He took the newbies and went to a heroic-grade dungeon, and of course, he never neglected his personal growth.
Although he was a little hated by Charlotte, it seemed that he had rebuilt their relationship by meeting her regularly, and while also struggling to balance himself with Cho Hyejin and Kim Ye-ri, he continued to meet with Park Yeon-joo, the Guild Master of the Black Swan.
He was a handsome and capable guy, so it was no wonder a lot of women got hooked.
No matter what I was to think of it, he was having good days.
Although everyone was busy with the Church’s internal arrangements, no one could deny that they had a relatively relaxing and peaceful time.
The problem was that he was uncomfortable with ease.
‘Tsk…’
‘Can I stay like this?’
It was natural that he often seemed to think these thoughts. Perhaps the thing from a few months ago was crucial.
Actually, it was not much. In summary, it was a small event that happened to the guild members, but it was an event that could be classified as a little fun from my point of view.
Our returner, who had been serious for about two months, went ambitiously on an expedition after convening the guild members.
I thought that the expedition itself was unreasonable because, at that time, I was very busy with internal arrangements, but of course, I had to think that there must be some reason.
It was because it wasn’t common for that guy to summon all guild members, so I thought there might be a good reason. There had been a great sense of responsibility to prepare for one of the catastrophes that would happen in the future on Kim Hyunsung’s expression, so I also had to be nervous.
Kim Hyunsung didn’t seem to take the deceased into account, but things could get wrong.
In the case of other guild members, they had gone on an expedition, puzzled. But when I opened the lid, surprisingly, nothing happened.
The only thing I could see in front of me was a common-grade underground dungeon, and the expedition members had no choice but to send a disconcerted expression to Kim Hyunsung.
There were cute little monsters, and even non-starter monsters placed in the black curtain place that would drive Kim Hyunsung into a crisis in the future.
‘Er… I arranged this place… because I thought you had been too busy these days. This… it is a pep rally. A pep rally… Yes. That’s right. I hope… you can take a break.’
I still couldn’t forget the guy’s trembling face of the guy, who completely had no talent for lying. He carefully searched the dungeon to see if his memory was wrong, but nothing could be found naturally. He confirmed with his own eyes that the future had indeed changed.
He should’ve been relieved, but on the contrary, he seemed to be noticeably nervous.
It was heartbreaking to see our lovely returner anxious. Of course, I could understand to some extent. There must be many disconcerting things for him now.
‘I think he thinks the future has changed too much…’
If it were in the first round, it would be time for the city where Park Deokgu and I were living to disappear from the map, and Deokgu would have crossed the rainbow bridge.
It was also about the time when Yuno Kasugano would have discovered me in the ruins. There might be some time errors, but the rough calculations were indeed correct.
In the black world, I must have been recuperating in Yuno Kasugano’s room by now.
I did not know what happened in detail, but a city had been wiped out. There was no way this case wouldn’t be reported in the first round because, whatever the reason, the city I looked at through Yuno Kasugano had totally crashed.
That didn’t happen in this round. The filthy killer Jung Jinho was also killed before he had managed to grow, preventing the birth of the Murderer Clan, and demon worshipper Ito Souta was also prevented from seizing Lindel or summoning demons due to the performance of the Honorary Bishop.
Yuno Kasugano’s Yozora Guild also increased their moves after meeting me. With the press’s birth, some influential people started to act more carefully, and a sacred democracy was established in the country.
There were already many significant cases. There was no way that the butterfly effect would not happen.
Obviously, Ito Souta, Jung Jinho’s agents, and those who were with them also wouldn’t appear in this world. The number of the Murderer Clan itself had dramatically decreased.
It was not surprising that the future disasters Hyunsung knew had disappeared, as it was also thanks to the Free Cities of Celia and Lindel’s attention to security.
It was right to be happy, but he’d also be anxious about it.
The big picture that ran through the continent may not have changed, but there was no way to be happy that the merit of knowing the future was fast disappearing.
Kim Hyunsung poured his anxiety into concentration and training to become even stronger. He often traveled around the continent by himself and seemed to move with the intention of stepping on someone’s tail.
He was certainly in a situation where he could be at ease, but he was opting for a way to blow away his anxiety by whipping himself up.
‘Because this bastard is feeling nervous…’
I had become nervous, too. In Kim Hyunsung’s case, this was all. However, in Jung Hayan’s case, the situation was a little different.
“Uh? Hey, hyung-nim!”
I heard a voice calling out to me as I had been walking.
“Ah. Deokgu.”
As I turned, Park Deokgu, who had not changed much, came into view.
He was still the same, except that he had gotten a little bit bigger. It was a spectacle to see him running this way, being on the lookout. It looked like he was guarding me, but unfortunately, I was not under threat.
“I mean. It’s dangerous to go around alone like this. If you had sent even one pigeon, I would have met you in the nest.”
“There’s no danger… we’re not in another country. It’s Lindel. Didn’t Hayan come along?”
“It seems she is stuck in her room today… I asked her to come to meet you together, but she refused, saying there was work to be done.”
‘This kind of thing makes me nervous.’
I’m sure Jung Hayan would never have made this choice. She was not only strangely quiet, but there had been a small change in her behavior.
“Come to think of it, you’re kind of separated from her these days… Did you two fight?”
“That’s nonsense.”
“If you have any concerns, get a consultation from Dr. Park Deokgu…”
“It’s nothing like that.”
“Even if it’s Hyung-nim, you’ll have a couple of worries. You’re welcome to speak frankly at any time.”
‘I wish it had been a fight, you bastard…’
That’s right. If we really had a love fight or something, I wouldn’t be this nervous.
In fact, her behavior hadn’t changed significantly from the usual. I still could feel relieved that Jung Hayan had not stopped stalking me yet.
She sometimes observed me through Anemone’s Eyes, and when I went to meet her, she still stuck to me like crazy.
She often insisted that we should go out on a date, and she still tried to have physical contact with me in any way.
What had changed was that she had not been sticking to me for 24 hours like before. If I calculated the average amount of time we were together per day, it was less than 5 hours. It was an unbelievable situation if I compared to the old days when she tried to stick with me all day long.
I thought about whether she had matured or not, but the odds would be small.
‘No. Maybe she has really… matured, but…’
In fact, there were many times where I felt like she was trying to restrain herself.
As a great example, when I went out to meet Hee-ra or Yuno Kasugano, she didn’t even cause a scene, and even when I went out for dinner or didn’t come back to the guild house for some time with work, she didn’t come to look for me.
She was still biting her lips, waving her hands, and telling me to come back quickly, but she seemed to have a notion that she should not cause trouble to these people.
I couldn’t complain about that, but I felt like Jung Hayan herself was under more stress.
I could see how stressed Jung Hayan was, just by looking at her.
She bit her nails so much that her right fingernails were all messed up, and there were many times when she looked tired as if she didn’t have a nice sleep.
I even witnessed her muttering alone or screaming loudly, saying she was an idiot, so it was not unusual for me to tremble at the thought of what she could change into.
Right now, she had been quiet and well, but her condition was like a bomb that might explode at any time. As this situation persisted for several months, there were times when I approached her first.
‘She’s not playing games with me, right?’
Of course, I couldn’t picture Jung Hayan doing that. If this was a strategy, she was half-successful. I had spent a lot of time actually worrying about Jung Hayan.
“What is she doing?”
“Well, it seemed the same as usual… isn’t Hayan going to Laios with you?”
“Yes.”
“I think I’ve heard that… she’s preparing for that…”
‘Has she really matured?’
I couldn’t imagine Jung Hayan waiting for us after packing things up first, but if Park Deokgu’s words were true, I could think of the possibility that she had really matured.
As I slowly walked, I arrived at the guild house in Lindel. The guild staff greeted me one by one, including the newbies and others.
“Hee-young-ssi.”
“Oh. You’re here, Kiyoung-ssi. Do you need to leave right now? I have something to discuss with you about the Holy sector…”
“Yes. I think I have to pack and go right away. If it isn’t anything that will take long…”
“No. If so, I think it would be better to talk next time.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No. No. There is no need to be sorry.”
After greeting Sun Hee-young, it was natural to take care of Han Sora, who had decided to come with me.
The urinary incontinence symptoms that popped up when she saw Jung Hayan were somewhat cured. I thought it would be appropriate to take her as an assistant because she had actually proved herself to be competent.
I couldn’t keep Hee-ra and Yuno Kasugano, who were coming together, waiting again, so I had no choice but to go upstairs to pack.
‘What is she really doing… Is she really getting ready?’
Of course, even at that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jung Hayan was doing.
It was the first time wherein she didn’t show her face to me, even though I had arrived at the guild.
It was just when I tried to divert my happiness circuit without even realizing it that something unusual happened. With a short bang, the door in the next room bounced out.
“I… I did it. I did it… it’s done! Hehehehehe! It’s done now!!”
Hayan seemed to be in a good mood.
Of course, I looked at the door. After seeing Jung Hayan in the room with my own eyes, I had no choice but to swallow hard.
‘What is this…?’
I wanted to laugh because it was so ridiculous.
‘Magic power… her magic power stat… Ninety-nine.’
Jung Hayan stared back at me.