Chapter 199 : Chapter 199

Chapter 199 - Side Story Chapter 6

“...What does that mean?”

The person who heard my words asked back blankly.

Well, I suppose.

Even I would think that if I heard myself saying such things, I wouldn’t quite grasp what I meant.

Even though the concept it implies is quite simple.

“It just means I’m going to be a little more honest.”

I approached her with a smirk.

And I swiftly pulled off the hood she always wore.

“...Huh? Hmm?”

The Guardian started to fluster in great confusion.

I, who had always treated women as if looking at a cow or a chicken from a distance, was now actively initiating physical contact, so how could she not be?

As the hood was removed, her long, flowing black hair cascaded down.

It was a familiar face. The face of Kim So-jin that I knew and remembered, a perfect copy without a single detail out of place.

And I pulled the utterly bewildered woman into a tight hug.

“...! ...!! ...?!”

The Guardian could only let out fragmented breaths, her mouth just opening and closing.

It was clear that her brain couldn’t properly keep up with what was happening.

“Actually, well. It’s true that I found you a little uncomfortable until now.”

I continued speaking with a sigh while holding her.

“It’s a face I know. And just looking at you reminds me of her, which gives me a very strange feeling.”

“...W-wait, wait a minute! It’s too, too close! It’s close! Just a little further away! Wh-why are you like this, like a different person?!”

“I have changed.”

As I playfully stroked the back of her head once, she let out a hic and her body started to tremble.

“It’s just that, honestly, I was a little burdened before, so I avoided you. It felt like I was sinning against her.”

But, no matter how much I thought about it, that didn't seem right.

If I just stayed still, a situation would arise where these people would contort themselves like this, trying desperately to get my attention.

And for me to just stand by and do nothing with such people next to me, my conscience pricked me too much.

It would be one thing if I didn't know the direction of those emotions at all. But once your perspective opens up, there are things that come into view.

So.

“I have to repay you. Including you.”

As I said that, I kissed her on the forehead.

“Wa, waaaaaak! Hyaaaaaaaak!”

Then, the Guardian, with her pupils fully dilated, let out an almost convulsive scream and opened a portal.

And then she fled into it with the look of someone who had just witnessed the end of the world.

“...”

What was that.

Anyone would think I was some monster from a horror movie.

“...Well, anyway.”

Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

Now that I’ve made up my mind, shall I quickly put it into practice?

“...Uh, yes. Seo Jin-seong-ssi?”

First, I tried calling the person who seemed most suitable for advice on such matters.

“No, it’s nothing in particular.”

I continued with a sigh.

“It’s just that you’re the only married man I know around here. I’d like to get some related tips.”

From the other end of the line, I heard the sound of the other person grandly falling over.

***

“...S-so, what do we do.”

Meirin cautiously brought it up, but no one was in a state to give a proper answer.

A thick silence, in which even the sound of breathing would sound like thunder, had settled in the Guild House.

They were all just glancing at each other, looking at the empty space of the man who had always filled that spot, and feeling deep, deep regret about the current situation...!

“...No. Is there really a need to be so serious?”

Meirin let out a deep sigh and interjected.

These people, despite boasting of near-endgame achievements in their respective fields, became strangely timid when it came to topics like this.

Was it because none of them had any real dating experience?

“...What, does that mean?”

“Exactly. If he gets angry now, isn’t it true that we have no way of appeasing him?”

Everyone reacted to her words and spoke up with gloomy expressions.

She had no choice but to reply with a dumbfounded voice.

“...Couldn’t we just apologize? In the first place, Gyu-sik-ssi and we aren’t that distant, are we?”

Even now, it just felt like he was a little sulky because they had gone too far, not like he was so angry that everyone would fall into a state of panic.

“...Was there such a method?”

“That... I hadn’t thought of that either...”

“...”

After confirming the reactions that followed one after another, Meirin quietly clutched her head.

Anyone would have shown a similar reaction upon seeing that they hadn’t even considered that option.

These people, did they really not know moderation?

How could their stat distribution be so extremely divided?

‘Ah, come to think of it.’

Like attracts like, as they say.

The very subject of these people’s reactions, Kim Gyu-sik, was a man who had a certain knack for extreme stat distribution.

As people who had fallen for such a man, they probably showed similar tendencies.

‘...Hmm, oh.’

Suddenly, Meirin’s intuition rang with a foreboding feeling.

In that case.

If, just if.

If these people were so easy to handle, if Kim Gyu-sik decided to wield them, couldn’t they all be dragged along by him?

She didn't know why that thought suddenly came to her, but at least she was the type to trust her intuition greatly.

Throughout her life, she had far more memories of losing out by not listening to it than by listening to it.

“Hi, hiik, hiiiiik-!”

“...”

And seeing the Guardian pop out of a portal while making strange noises, that feeling was further amplified.

She was the type of person who would usually go around with a mysterious air, letting out a ufufu laugh. But now, she looked as if she were being chased by a ghost.

She wasn’t even paying attention to the hood she always wore, and her hair was scattered everywhere, so it seemed her mental state was quite shattered.

“What’s wrong? What on earth happened?”

“W-we, we might have to run!”

“...”

What am I supposed to do with that.

For a warning, it’s too vague.

Everyone present narrowed their eyes with that thought, but the Guardian paid them no mind and continued to speak while trembling.

“Th-that guy, after he decided on something strange. He suddenly changed as a person! He might be coming this way right now!”

“...Excuse me, just a moment. I really don’t understand a single thing you’re saying. How about you calm down and explain one by one...”

“There’s no time for that! Even now, this way... ee, hiiik! He’s here!”

As the Guardian let out that shriek, the door to the Guild House burst open.

From behind the door, Kim Gyu-sik slowly revealed himself.

“...”

“...”

“...”

And, as soon as they saw his slightly languid face, as always.

Everyone present could understand why the Guardian was reacting this way.

It was a face they were all familiar with because they had been through countless battles with this man.

The atmosphere that Kim Gyu-sik had worn when he committed crazy acts as if it were a daily meal and toyed with the powerful beings that the world trembled in fear of, was now surging on his face.

Right. That was a ‘combat stance.’

They didn't know what he was planning to do to have entered such a determined state.

“Well, since everyone is gathered, I’ll just say it. I’ve been thinking a bit.”

The sound of someone swallowing dryly echoed like thunder.

Did all the opponents who had made this man their enemy feel this kind of pressure?

It felt crushing. It was hard to even utter a single word...!

So we shouldn’t have laughed at them for being so thoroughly beaten, but rather, we should have seen it as them having put up a good fight for being that skilled...!

“Whatever the case may be, I’m in a position where I’ll be in big trouble if I don’t make a ‘family’ within a few days. And you all have volunteered to help me with that, haven’t you? Right?”

Kim Gyu-sik, who had frozen everyone in the room by himself, put on a refreshing smile.

Seeing that, some of the women began to tremble like the Guardian.

Oh, something is ominous.

Didn’t this man always show this kind of appearance before nonchalantly committing some outrageous act that would shock everyone...?

“I thought it would be a bit strange for me to just sit back and do nothing while there are people like that.”

As he said that, Kim Gyu-sik started to drag something into the Guild House from outside with a heave, ho.

A very elaborate... giant bed.

An overwhelming presence, as if several people could lie down together without any problem.

Where and how on earth did he get such furniture?

“I had it custom-made.”

To the confidently speaking Kim Gyu-sik, Seo Ah-in asked while wiping the cold sweat that was flowing down her forehead.

“...May I ask the reason?”

“Well, you already know, don’t you? It has a very obvious purpose, this.”

Know? What?

A sentence consisting of only those two words floated in everyone’s minds.

No, really.

They couldn't even guess what he was plotting.

“No, I mean. Since you all are showing so much sincerity, I’m just going to show some sincerity myself. It’s obvious.”

“...It’s not obvious at all. In the first place, who are you? It hasn’t been long since I last saw you, but your character has completely changed.”

“No, I just suddenly thought that if I kept acting like that until the end, it would be frustrating to watch.”

Kim Gyu-sik, who was spouting incomprehensible words with a broad smile, pointed to the bed with his thumb and continued.

“So, well.”

In a flat voice.

“One, seven, all of you, come on in. Let’s give it a try.”

“...No, wait. Wait a minute. The development is too sudden, I can’t keep up?!”

“It’s okay if you can’t keep up.”

Kim Gyu-sik’s smile deepened.

“I’ll make you keep up.”

It was, without a doubt, a terrifying declaration.

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