Chapter 182 : Chapter 182

Chapter 182 - Resolution (2)

“Mr. Kim Gyu-sik.”

“...”

“Mr. Kim Gyu-sik.”

“...”

“If you make me call your name one more time, I’m going to seriously squeeze you dry.”

“...Squeeze what?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

I didn't know what it was, but it was a terrifying threat.

Thinking so, I looked back at Seo Ah-in, who was glaring at me with her arms crossed.

“Anyway, what is it. I told you not to bother me for a while.”

“That ‘while’ has already been two days. What on earth have you been doing, cooped up in your room?”

“Busy work.”

“...”

Seo Ah-in's gaze evolved into one that seemed to be contemplating whether to kill me or not.

“Right now, there’s a huge uproar outside with people wanting to have even a single word with you. Are you even aware?”

“I guess so.”

I replied with a huge yawn.

Seo Ah-in nodded at the sight and strode towards me.

Then, she smiled gently and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.

“...”

You know.

Haven't you completely evaporated any sense of personal space recently?

“If you know, then clean up your mess, you lout. Right now, the Hunting Alliance, the Martial Arts Alliance, and the Association are all mobilized and sticking to it, but the work isn't making any progress.”

“...What work?”

Seo Ah-in shrugged and slightly pulled back the blackout curtain on my window.

Simultaneously, a blinding flash of lights poured in from beyond.

“Oh, ohh! Ohhh! I can see, I can see his face!”

“That man! That man looked at me!”

“You idiot! He was staring at the horizon, not you!”

“...”

As I was squinting with a slight sense of disbelief, Seo Ah-in shrugged again and closed the curtain.

“You get the gist, right? They’ve been camped out near the guild house like that for days.”

“...Hey. Wait a minute. I don't think it was just climbers among those people just now.”

“Yes. There are spirits, and members of the Round Table too. You’ve got yourself a multidimensional fan club now.”

“...”

No, hey.

Weren't those guys hardcore human-haters?

Even I feel a bit burdened if they convert like that all of a sudden.

“Burdened or not, it seems like it’ll stay this way unless you say something. What on earth are you doing, just lying there motionlessly?”

That's something that's a bit hard to explain.

It would probably be a bit easier if I could show this to her too.

[ All Alteration Points have been consumed to pioneer a hidden branch. ]

[ The System is currently performing calculations to present you with a suitable ‘ending’. ]

Well.

Even for me, who can see all the information in ‘Conqueror’ as clearly as if it were on the palm of my hand, this is the first time I’ve seen such a phrase.

In most cases, the ending in Conqueror is described very simply.

The protagonist who conquered the top of the Tower lived a long and happy life enjoying wealth and fame. It usually concludes with an event that’s no different from a stereotype of a happy ending.

[ Kim Gyu-sik ]

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For a ‘normal’ character, it would be like that.

But I’m not sure if that would apply to me.

So I'm sitting here calmly and constantly racking my brain.

About which choice would yield the best result for me.

In my opinion, probably after the Elevation is over and I come face to face with the ‘final boss’.

At the very end of it, I'll surely be forced to make a choice between two options.

“...What is it. Why, why are you suddenly looking at me with those eyes?”

And on one side of the scale is the entirety of the human relationships I’ve built in ‘this world’, including this girl.

I let out a sigh at Seo Ah-in, who flinched and stepped back with a face flushed red when I looked at her with a slightly serious gaze.

“Hey.”

“Y-.... Yes?”

“Do you want to continue being with me in the future?”

Seo Ah-in furiously smacked my head.

“What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden, you geezer?!”

“...”

“Th-that kind of thing! You have to say it in a place with some mood! After building up a lot of atmosphere! In an atmosphere where this side is also throbbing with anticipation! Then I’ll also be ready to shed all my tears and snot...!”

“...Why would you shed tears and snot.”

I sigh and get up from my spot.

Well, it would be a bit flustering to bring up a topic like this out of the blue.

So it would be better to take care of work and listen to everyone's opinion at the same time.

“...Wait a minute. Everyone’s opinion?”

“Yeah.”

“...That sounds like you plan to ask everyone else the same question you asked me.”

“...? I'm going to.”

Seo Ah-in once again furiously smacked my head.

No, what's with her.

***

“...I'm glad Ah-in warned me in advance.”

Ms. Seo Hye-in sighed, sweeping a hand over her chest.

Her heart rate seemed to have skyrocketed. Her face was strangely red too.

“Even having heard it beforehand, I almost lost my mind to this extent. If I had heard it without knowing, really...”

“...”

“Don't give me that look like you don't know what I'm talking about. Even I get angry.”

“...I don't know what it is, but I'm sorry.”

Well.

Even I'm starting to feel certain that going around asking everyone one by one like this isn't a good idea.

Everyone I talk to either gets angry, glares at me strangely, or treats me like a pathetic person...

Even Ms. Meirin, who was like a Golden Retriever, kicked me in the shin, and I was so shocked that I couldn't move for a moment.

Was my reputation this bad?

I don't feel like I've been going around causing that much trouble.

“Shut up and get to work.”

“...”

“Well, for now, the people Mr. Kim Gyu-sik asked to gather are all waiting in the reception room. How about you take care of that first.”

Her words were gentle, but the strictness embedded within them was almost at the level of a Siberian winter. To the point where I felt she would cut off any nonsense beforehand.

It was the kind of feeling that would make me nod and get dragged along without realizing it.

Well, for now, it would be best to take care of the piled-up work as she said.

I think I know why the humans and non-human species camped outside the guild house are acting like that.

“You’re finally here, my lazy son-in-law.”

The first one to speak was Ms. Han Si-yeon, who was sitting languidly.

“You wouldn't have gathered all these people just to have some trivial chat. What on earth is going on?”

And a lineup of prominent figures, for whom such words were not out of place, was deployed nearby.

An ancient dragon disguised in human form. Evangeline, who was serving as the temporary representative of the Round Table at the Guardian's request. Similarly, Ms. Meirin, the temporary representative of the Martial Arts Alliance. And a woman I'm seeing for the first time, who came as the temporary representative of the Association...

“...”

“...What is it. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I haven't said anything, my dear son-in-law.”

Ms. Han Si-yeon replied with a wide smile, but her eyes weren't smiling at all.

For some reason, it feels like everyone in this family is giving me these kinds of hints lately.

“Well, with a son-in-law of your caliber, I can look kindly on a little playing with fire. But if you do anything to make my kids cry, I'll tear you apart with my own hands, you hear?”

“...Tear what apart?”

“I’ll leave that to my son-in-law’s imagination.”

“...”

Hmm.

Even from my perspective, the gender ratio is seriously skewed.

It's not my fault, but I feel uneasy for some reason.

“Well, the people camped out there, and all of you. I think there's an answer you want from me.”

Saying that, I slid a PDA playing a recorded video into the center of the table.

And everyone's expression darkened at the scene playing inside.

The image of the Tower, familiar to any climber. But this time, it had transformed into an appearance that naturally gave off a feeling that something was ‘gravely wrong’.

The reason stemmed from the ‘golden mana’ enveloping the entire Tower.

The mana, surrounding the Tower as if to crush it whole, was slowly, but progressively, from the outer wall, gradually.

It was inflicting spiderweb-like cracks on the magnificent structure.

“...The feeling and concentration are different, but it’s mana on par with or greater than the great demon Mr. Kim Gyu-sik dealt with. The entrance to the Tower itself is completely blocked, so the entire climber world is in a state of emergency.”

If the King of Flies’ mana was one that felt like it would corrode and devour everything it touched, the mana currently surrounding the Tower was a more elegant one that gave off a ‘noble’ feeling.

But, even so, its threat level was by no means low.

“All the climbers who tried to force their way in are currently in a coma. They couldn't even resist; they all lost consciousness as soon as they entered a certain distance.”

Ms. Seo Hye-in briefly briefed the current situation while flipping through documents.

Undoubtedly, it was surely instilling one point in everyone: ‘No one will be let inside’.

As if a big event would happen soon—

“...Contact with the Guardian has also been poor for some time now.”

Evangeline added, rubbing her temples.

“I don't know what on earth is about to happen, but it's no ordinary matter. It’s not just me; the ‘connection’ of all the Round Table knights manifested in the material world to the Tower is being severed. It’s as if...”

“As if the Tower is about to collapse?”

Evangeline fell silent at my words, which I tossed out with a smirk.

“...I'm asking just in case. Does Mr. Kim Gyu-sik perhaps know? What happens if the Tower collapses?”

“All of humanity will be in a state where death would be preferable.”

“...”

“...Wow. Hearing that in a tone that suggests this summer will be a little hot doesn’t make me feel tense at all.”

Ms. Han Si-yeon replied in a dumbfounded voice, but what I said was undoubtedly a fact.

Because I know the owner of the golden mana enveloping that Tower.

The Platinum Knight.

The former head of the Round Table, and probably the hidden boss guarding the ‘Gate of Judgment’ on the highest floor.

Considering his tendencies, the events that would unfold when his mana brings down the Tower probably wouldn't deviate even 1mm from my statement.

“...Then, just one more thing.”

Following that, an additional question came with a sigh.

“Do you perhaps know a solution as well.”

Right. This is the very reason why the entire world, and even beings from other dimensions, are wishing for me to move quickly.

If there's a human who single-handedly handled everything from the dimensional rift created after the subjugation of the King of Flies to its resolution, relying on him first is a pretty natural step.

Then the words to give back to them are naturally decided.

“I do know.”

I finished my sentence with a sigh.

“But can you handle it?”

And while they listened to the ‘solution’ I presented.

A terrible silence descended heavily and lingered within the conference room.

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