Ride of comfort (2)
The other parties’ shock lasted for a longer time than I expected. Of course, I knew this was only natural. Kim Hyunsung had been quiet all this time, and now he was surprisingly showing off his leadership skills. He was proving that being a leader wasn’t all about having high stats.
However, it could very well be that as well. Currently, Kim Hyunsung was showing a flurry of skills that were well over his current stats.
Watching him, and then observing Choi Young-ki and the others, I knew what they were all thinking.
‘He’s a monster.’
‘What a genius…’
Their thoughts were all written on their faces.
Of course, it wasn’t just Kim Hyunsung who was racking up all the attention. Jung Hayan and I were also getting our fair share from the magic power we were exhibiting.
The truth was that my alchemy relied heavily on Jung Hayan’s magic capacity to let out spells that were as intense as hers. Still, these people didn’t know anything about alchemy and were unaware of my secret, so they must have thought that I was doing spectacularly alone.
Added with Park Deokgu’s determined defensive prowess, Kim Ye-ri’s crazy accurate aim, and Sun Hee-young’s clear and effective spells, we looked like the perfect team.
This expedition suddenly felt fun. I knew Kim Hyunsung’s secret – that he was a regressor – so he probably secretly had ample knowledge of dungeons. It was great to have him lead the party.
‘This feels different.’
Indeed, we felt more confident now. We were working efficiently with each other almost as if on instinct. Even Jung Yura’s expression showed hostile confusion as she continued to watch us silently.
‘Ha.’
I knew she planned to show herself off as the necessary villain that would, in turn, improve the expedition’s results. She meant to show everyone that continually pushing us in a tough manner would be the key to our success.
However, I had thwarted those plans as early as now. Our team had also successfully shown everyone that we didn’t need much coaxing to be the perfect, functioning team. In the end, Yura only succeeded in destroying her influential position over the group.
Just the thought of her ruined plans made me smile.
“Next!”
We continued to defeat monster after monster with efficient teamwork, and soon, there came the inevitable point where all our opponents were on the floor, either slashed or decimated. A strange silence hung over the group.
Looking back at our comrades, we found them staring at Kim Hyunsung with skeptical expressions, finding what had just happened hard to believe. It was Choi Young-ki who spoke first.
“Ah, it looks like we’ve witnessed a real genius.”
“That’s an exaggeration. I was just trying to imitate you.”
“Haha, I don’t think so. You went past just imitating me, you did even better. I definitely wasn’t expecting this level of talent from you, or from Kiyoung and the others for that matter.”
“Then…”
“Your party has improved greatly ever since entering the dungeon. I won’t lie – when the Blue Guild paid such a high price for you, I really thought it was too much. However, seeing you all in action, I feel like their pricing was justified. It won’t take long before Blue Guild reclaims its glory through all of you.”
“I feel embarrassed to hear that, now.”
“Hahaha. If it does happen later, don’t say I didn’t tell you!”
I did like Choi Young-ki’s easygoing nature. I took a mental note to help him out in the future if the opportunity presented itself.
Even Park Deokgu and Kim Ye-ri, who at first received criticism, were now the center of positive attention as they had executed their roles so flawlessly.
Meanwhile, I searched through the monsters’ corpses to see if anything could be of use. Unfortunately, there was none. I then turned to assess the scene once more. In this pleasant atmosphere, only Jung Yura looked bad.
‘So what will her next choice of action be?’
From what I could see, she had two options. She would either stick to her initial ‘villainous for everyone’s betterment’ attitude or start striving for a good relationship with everyone.
Of course, if she were to stick to the former, certain conditions would need to be met.
She would need to be thick-faced enough to admit to her earlier statements, yet she also needed just the right amount of bashfulness to prove that she was doing this because she thought it was the best course of action to take. This may seem easy, but in actuality, it was not. This was especially true for someone who had such a position as Jung Yura.
This was the case for entrepreneurs and politicians who worked for self-benefit under the premise of serving the people.
I had to act as I respected her, but in reality, I didn’t. People like her did not know the importance of self-esteem and would gladly trade it if it meant getting away from dire situations.
The decision was up to her now. Would she prove herself to be a first-class or second-class type of person? Would she prove to be smart for once, or would she stubbornly stick to her ineffective tactics?
‘Come on, Jung Yura. Reveal yourself.’
She donned a complex expression.
‘Are you first-class or second-class?’
When her expression shifted into one of determination, I had my answer. She still stuck to being second-class.
‘Ah, still sticking to such tactics, I see.’
Was she still going to try to pick a fight when she knew she wouldn’t win?
“Watching you all was amazing, but I have to say, that really threw me off.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you suddenly had a change in plans, wouldn’t it be sound to inform us first? What if your new plan threw us off-course and accidentally ruined our formation? It would be detrimental for everybody.”
“Jung Yura, now…”
“Are I wrong? We got thrown off because of Mr. Hyunsung. I know some of you agree with me.”
“I admit that it was a little startling, but Kim Hyunsung’s sudden movement actually helped us defeat the monsters more efficiently. I’m starting to wonder about how intense their training in Blue Guild actually is.”
“Of course, I am not saying that he hasn’t helped us. However, he should have warned us beforehand. If he was really so capable, couldn’t he have done that from the very beginning?”
This woman really was relentless.
“I first wanted to see if my party members would be able to adjust accordingly, especially in the case of Park Deokgu and Kim Ye-ri. When I knew we were capable enough, we shifted. I apologize for not issuing a warning in advance.”
“Oh no, I don’t mean to incite an apology from you, Mr. Hyunsung.”
Kim Hyunsung showed politeness amidst the subtle accusations directed at him and knew he couldn’t refute Jung Yura. The woman had a point, after all. It was true that Kim Hyunsung had moved unexpectedly and had utterly surprised Jung Yura.
However, thanks to previous circumstances, our group had fallen entirely in our favor.
“I think you’re being a little too harsh, Miss Yura.”
“I don’t know if this is because of jealousy or whatever, but I believe praise is supposed to be given when it’s due, and Kim Hyunsung has shown praiseworthy talent.”
“I thought we were already over this. It’s not Kim Hyunsung who needs to wake up, but you, Jung Yura.”
“What did you just say?”
“I can’t vouch for the others, but it’s so tiring hearing you criticize people every time.”
“I was doing it for the sake of the expedition!”
“In what way are you helping? If you really want to help, then lead your party efficiently!”
“What…”
It appeared that Choi Young-ki had had enough. Looking at Yura’s reddened expression, I knew her influence had reached an all-time low of zero. Even if her fellow Black Swans attempted to save her now, it would all be in vain. No one wanted to go against a Red Mercenary outright.
The intensity of the situation made me want to fan the flames even more. What better, alternative way to diffuse the situation and turn it into our favor by acting as the victim one last time?
First of all, I needed Kim Hyunsung’s permission for this.
It appeared that I didn’t even need to get his attention. Kim Hyunsung was already looking in my direction, apparently sensing that I harbored new intentions.
‘Can I please speak up?’ My expression said. ‘I’m good at this sort of thing, Hyung.’
The moment Kim Hyunsung nodded, I began to speak.
“Am I allowed to say something?”
Upon hearing me, several pairs of eyes turned to me.
“Yes, of course.”
It would be fun to provoke Jung Yura, if only for the last time.
“I would like to apologize. It seems that Hyunsung’s efforts in proving our worth backfired on us…”
“Oh, no.”
“I express my sincere apology towards the Black Swans, and to Jung Yura in particular.” I made sure to keep my acting on point.
“Actually, we’ve already talked about this beforehand. Our party joined this expedition simply to gain experience, but we know our stats must have annoyed you. This is why we thought it prudent to adjust first before showing our true potentials.”
“No, Mr. Kiyoung.”
“No, an apology is in order. We tried our best, but it still seems insufficient, seeing as Jung Yura seems unsatisfied with our performance. We will do even better next time. Assessing our teamwork earlier, I think I know what went wrong. Please give us the chance to fix ourselves.”
Jung Yura’s expression now revealed her increasing anxiety. She knew I had the talent to point fingers effortlessly, so why did she still go down this route?
After pausing to catch my breath, I began to speak again, making eye contact with every sheepish expression I saw within the group.
“It looks like all we’ve been doing is cause trouble for everyone.”
“What…?”
“It seems that our party is the one causing uneasiness within the group.”
“Ah…”
“We knew you would be unhappy to be stuck with having us in the team, but we never thought that you would feel uncomfortable as well. For this, we sincerely apologize.”
“No, no…”
“I know that maintaining the atmosphere within a group is crucial for a successful expedition so we tried our best to fit in, but it seems like we’ve been trash at doing it after all. We apologize for any inconveniences we have caused you.”
“No, it’s definitely not like that!”
Slowly, embarrassed voices began to respond to my words, offering comforting remarks coupled with sheepish expressions. I wanted to say more, but looking at Kim Hyunsung’s expectant face, I knew it was time to pass the microphone to him.
“I think our Blue Party is wrong, here.”
I tried my best not to smile. It was amazing how Kim Hyunsung could read my mind. At his words, the atmosphere within the group shifted even more.
“No, the Blue Guild has done nothing wrong. In fact, it is the opposing side who keeps trying to put you in a negative light…”
“You’re not to blame. Someone else has caused trouble…”
The group I had used as my shield transitioned into a spear that began attacking the Black Swans. And all this was possible because we had successfully manipulated Choi Young-ki’s thinking, as well as his emotions.
“It’s not that you didn’t help. In fact, you actually contributed a lot and helped us get rid of the monsters at a faster and more efficient manner. The only problem here,” Young-ki’s expression darkened, “is the opposing side.”
‘Ah, here it comes.’
“Jung Yura.”
“…”
“I’m really sorry that we’ve come to this point. However, I feel like now is the right time to make something clear to you.”
“And what is that?”
“I believe now is the right time to inform you I plan to make changes with the agreement of this expedition.”
“W-What? What do you mean?”
“I would like to formally suggest that you leave the expedition.”
This was the moment when my plans were completed.