Chapter 114 : Chapter 114

Chapter 114 - Resolution (1)

One day at the guild house.

“...”

Seo Jin-seong looked at me with a rotting expression, but I continued speaking without a care.

“He is your new tutor.”

“...Pardon?”

“Uh...”

The Seo sisters in front of me looked at each other with expressions that said they didn’t know how to take this.

It probably wasn't a reaction from recognizing that this was their father. Seo Jin-seong still maintained the face of someone in his early 20s.

Considering the lore, it had probably been a long time since he last showed his face to his children directly, and even then, he would have been in his early 40s.

The reason he maintained such an appearance now was because he had undergone a change after reaching a certain ‘level’... but I'd talk about that later.

Anyway, the reason they were reacting like that was because they heard that a no-name climber called ‘Kim Jin-gyu’ was suddenly going to be their tutor.

“W-well, if you’re saying this, Kim Gyu-sik, you must have a reason, right?”

“We look forward to working with you. You’re Kim Jin-gyu, right?”

Seeing Seo Ah-in and Seo Hye-in politely bow their heads to him, Seo Jin-seong’s expression rotted even further.

-Kim Gyu-sik. What is this?

And a voice echoed in my head.

“...”

Hmm.

This kind of thought transmission using mana was clearly a specialty of mages, so why was a vanguard-type climber like this man using it so naturally?

-It becomes possible for anyone once their qi sense becomes sensitive. More importantly, I would like an explanation.

“...”

That kind of bullshit, like saying a person could breathe underwater if they exercised hard enough, came out so naturally.

As expected of an S-rank climber who was close to EX-rank, he did strange things so casually.

‘Well, I know very well that you feel guilty towards them, Seo Jin-seong.’

Seo Ah-in practically suffered from PTSD at the mere mention of Seo Jin-seong’s name.

Seo Hye-in might be a little better, but since becoming an adult, she had probably only repeated ‘murderous disposals’ according to unilaterally issued orders, without any proper human interaction with this man. There was no way she would have good feelings for him.

So, if he revealed that he was their father now, there would be two major reactions. Either they would run away or they would rush to kill him.

It was a natural outcome considering this man's actions since Han Si-yeon collapsed.

‘But you can’t keep running away forever, can you?’

“...”

Seo Jin-seong looked at me with slightly widened eyes.

Well, I was telling him to start interacting with them as human beings, little by little.

“...”

That would be the starting point to save not only you but also those sisters in the Third Ordeal.

And it seemed he had decided to go along with my idea in the end, as Seo Jin-seong drew his sword with a deep sigh.

“...I apologize, but I’m not very good at teaching.”

“I-is that so...?”

“But I can help you realize it.”

With those words, Seo Jin-seong walked to the center of the training ground.

The Seo sisters flinched simultaneously upon seeing his naturally lowered sword stance.

It must have been a sight they had seen to the point of being sick of it while growing up.

“...Um, by any chance.”

And just as she was about to put that suspicion into concrete words, Seo Hye-in quickly shut her mouth and carefully observed my reaction.

No way, no, that can't be? It was a gaze mixed with such feelings, but I didn't answer and just let out a faint laugh.

It would probably take some time for all the old feelings related to him to be resolved, but still.

“Both of you, come at me together. You learn everything with your body, originally.”

I gestured with my head for them to focus on Seo Jin-seong, who was warming up as he spoke.

For now, I told them to learn for sure.

When it came to swordsmanship, he was a master unmatched by anyone in this entire world.

‘Well, so you three have a nice, cozy time together as a family.’

-Where are you going, Kim Gyu-sik?

‘Since you listened to my request, Seo Jin-seong, I also have to do my part.’

That is, the job of breaking the curse on Han Si-yeon.

There were quite a few people I had to go through for that.

Seeing the Seo sisters go up to the training ground, I gave a nod and turned my body around.

***

“...Wow. This is the first time this has happened since Kim Gyu-sik.”

Seo Ah-in said, breathing heavily.

At the edge of her vision was the ‘tutor’ who was sheathing his sword again without a single drop of sweat.

My god, to think she couldn’t even graze his clothes even after attacking with her Mind’s Eye.

And this was the result even though she didn't attack alone.

Just looking at her sister spread-eagled beside her, gasping for breath, it was clear they hadn't been taking it easy.

“...Hmm.”

She couldn't even remember the last time she had coordinated with her sister to attack someone like this, but she knew well that whenever such an act occurred, the person on the receiving end was never left unscathed.

Except for Kim Gyu-sik, who seemed like he would be fine even if a truckload of her and her sister came at him.

And, well, it had been over 10 years since she last saw him, so she wasn't sure, but there was one person who seemed like he could do a similar thing.

“You, do you happen to know our father?”

She felt her sister next to her flinch and turn to look at her, but for her, it was a question she couldn’t help but ask.

A person who made her feel such a ‘wall’... at least in her memory, there was only the person who used swordsmanship that felt so mysterious.

“...An acquaintance, I suppose. Yes. We’re not strangers.”

“A disciple, a close friend, a comrade... you’re close in some way, right?”

“...I won’t deny it.”

She could feel her sister looking at her with a gaze that said to stop, but she still couldn’t stop.

She took a deep breath. Otherwise, her voice might rise without her realizing it.

I have to ask this one thing.

“...Right now, where is our father and what is he doing? Is he even around? Does he even have any interest in us-”

“Stop.”

As Seo Hye-in’s voice, tinged with a cold air, fell beside her, Seo Ah-in finally shut her mouth.

Yes, certainly.

No matter how close the other person was to her father, it would be rude to suddenly pour out such words.

It's just. Simply.

If her father was someone whose face she had never even seen properly since birth, who had left her with such a terrible memory when she was young, and who had now disappeared without any contact.

She just wished that at least these words would be conveyed.

“...I am not him, so I cannot give you as clear an answer as you would like. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no. I’m the one who’s more sorr-”

“However.”

Kim Jin-gyu, who had cut off Seo Ah-in’s words, met her gaze straight on and opened his mouth.

“He would never have abandoned you.”

“...”

“I can say that with certainty. You can believe me.”

Seo Ah-in opened her mouth slightly, then quickly closed it again.

Normally, this would be the timing to burst out in anger, saying, how can I believe that? Don't you know how many things I've suffered because of him?

Strangely, her mouth wouldn’t open. Her head said no, but she was emotionally persuaded.

“...Damn it, this is all because of Kim Gyu-sik.”

“...Pardon? Why him all of a sudden...?”

“I don’t know. Just looking at someone who seems similar to him is enough to persuade me. I guess it’s because I’ve been around him so much...”

“...”

Hearing those words, a strange smile appeared on Kim Jin-gyu’s face.

He was definitely smiling, but it had a chill that made everyone watching flinch.

“You seem to be... very close? Are you perhaps lovers?”

“...Huh? Pardon? L-lovers... we’re not! No!”

“Then, if you’ll excuse me, what is the relationship between you two?”

If Seo Ah-in had been able to think just a little more keenly, she would have realized that this was a question she didn’t need to answer.

If only she hadn’t gotten so caught up in the keyword of ‘herself’ and ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ being ‘lovers’.

“N-no, we’re not in that kind of relationship yet! Th-that’s not to say I dislike Kim Gyu-sik! But I didn’t say I like him either! So!”

“...Not yet. Yes. I see.”

The chill in his smile deepened even more, and Kim Jin-gyu turned his gaze to Seo Hye-in, who was spread out on the floor.

It was a gaze that held a strange expectation that this one would be fine.

“...A lover, huh. Hmmm... With Kim Gyu-sik...”

Seeing that this one, too, was making an expression of mixed feelings about the word lover that just came up, Kim Jin-gyu’s lips began to twitch in earnest.

“Agh! Enough of this topic! More importantly, we’ve rested enough, so let’s resume training!”

Seo Ah-in said that and drew her sword again, but she couldn't help but flinch and take a step back.

The expression on Kim Jin-gyu’s face was, even to her eyes, a terrifying... ‘something’.

“Um, uh, why are you suddenly like that...?”

“...No. It’s just.”

Kim Jin-gyu lightly swept his hair back and looked up at the sky.

“I was just thinking that if I make even one of them cry, I’ll have to kill him.”

“...?”

***

“A-a-achoo-!”

“Wow. That was so dynamic.”

“...”

It was a sneeze so violent that Chang Meirin next to me let out a small exclamation.

What was that? Why the sudden chills?

“Should we go in and rest if you’re not feeling well? Kim Gyu-sik, you seem to have been running around everywhere lately...”

“...”

Wow. To think there was still someone in the world who worried about me.

Lately, the number of people around me treating me like some kind of monster had been increasing, so this kind of human concern felt rather novel.

“But if I go in to rest, you’ll have to stick with Evangeline again, Meirin. Are you okay with that?”

“...That’s not very okay.”

Chang Meirin replied with a smile still on her face, but her expression hardened.

I had attached her as a spare battery to that side once before. It seemed Evangeline had recognized this person’s ‘abnormality’ at a glance and was taking her to experiment with various things herself.

Well, it was good for me. Those were things I originally had to break through. From the looks of it, that side was taking care of all the training now. Though from Chang Meirin’s reaction, it seemed she was being worked a little hard.

Most importantly.

[ Special Quest: Share Skill Upgrade ]

[ Subdue 2 SS-rank demonic beasts. (2/2)]

[ Quest Complete! ]

[ The skill will be upgraded! ]

The Share skill had also leveled up due to the quest I completed a while ago.

And if that effect was combined with Chang Meirin... a rather interesting phenomenon would occur.

The place I was going with this person now would probably be a place to check the ‘results’ of how much that had been unlocked.

“By the way, it’s been a while since it was just the two of us, Kim Gyu-sik.”

Chang Meirin spoke to me in a refreshing tone.

Well, I hadn't told her the destination and had just dragged her out saying, ‘hang out with me for a bit’, so she seemed strangely happy.

Was being with Evangeline that hard?

“Well, I figured the two of us would be the most comfortable.”

“...Hehe. I-is that so?”

Chang Meirin’s smile deepened even more.

Since she was happy, I also felt a little...

My guilt was disappearing. Good.

“More importantly, where are we going? Surely, it’s not a d-date...”

“No, it’s not.”

“...”

“We’re going to threaten someone. We’re going to use a very vicious method.”

“...”

“The other humans are all guys who seem like they can’t control their power, so I thought Meirin, who is good at support rather than direct combat, would be the most comfortable. Don’t you think so?”

“...Ah, yes.”

What's this.

She suddenly became cold.

Did I say something wrong?

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