Chapter 84 : Chapter 84

Chapter 84 - Attendance

I'm not the type of person who enjoys bullying others.

No, really.

When I start to pick on someone, it's either because they picked a fight with me first, or because it's necessary.

You can tell just by looking at Sepia in front of me.

“...Are you serious.”

“Yes.”

Regardless of what the other person said, I swiftly delivered the matter that needed to be handled.

Anyway, this person was in a position where she had to follow my proposal at least once because of a promise she made with me before.

I didn't particularly want to bully her, so I just wished she would sign it quickly.

“This... is practically laying down my life. As someone who has devoted herself to religion, I am a person who teaches that suicide is a sin that must be avoided.”

Oh.

Did this person just crack a joke at me?

I thought she would be furious and try to find fault with everything.

“Your reputation is soaring higher than it appears right now. I would have listened even if you hadn't used such a petty method just for the collaboration itself.”

“...”

She was angry alright.

By the way, was my reputation that high right now?

Seo Hye-in-ssi and Darien had also said they would be really grateful just to be called to work together.

“The public just recognizes you as a super rookie. Although you showed an overwhelming performance, you're still from the Asian bloc, a barren land for Climbers. Not just the public, but some Climbers are also like that.”

Sepia, who said that, let out a deep sigh.

She added that it was pathetic how people couldn't see the true value.

“Anyone with a bit of a brain would have immediately realized what kind of significance you hold, and how advanced the ‘technique’ you showed against the Water Dragon was.”

Oh, really.

It was so obvious to me that while I understood it intellectually, I couldn't grasp it emotionally.

The salmon run was a technique with a difficulty of only 2 out of 5 stars by top-tier veteran standards.

If I had shown something like the 4-star ‘Crossing the Milky Way’ or the 5-star ‘Plop Plop’, which even top-tier veterans often failed, it would have been a real uproar.

“...I don't know why you're making such a baffled face.”

Sepia grumbled as she took out a pen.

Soon, Sepia's name was added to the signature line of the document I had handed her.

Before it were the signatures of Kim Kang-in and the Martial Arts Alliance Leader.

Well, to actually execute the contents of this document, I would need to bring in the name value of all three of these people.

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome. On the contrary, I'm also looking forward to it.”

“Hmm?”

“The fact that an Asian guild beat a Western guild is definitely a major incident, but conversely, it means they will have a severe backlash. Siding with you at a time when the Pope election is just around the corner is a huge gamble.”

That's right.

I had anticipated she would think that way, which was why I had secured the promise inside the Tower beforehand.

“However, conversely speaking. If you hit the jackpot, my position will become just as solid. This decision was made based solely on your potential, you know?”

Sepia winked at me.

Hmm, is that so?

My thoughts were a little different.

“Aren't you just enjoying it because you've been caught by a weakness and can't escape?”

“...”

She was dressing it up like a work of art, but that was the essence of it.

This person would always bet on the safe side if she could.

I chuckled at the now-speechless Sepia and stood up.

“But one thing is certain.”

“Yes?”

“That I have the potential to hit the jackpot.”

Saying so, I fluttered the document in front of Sepia.

“Wait patiently. You won't regret it.”

***

“...What is this?”

Evangeline tilted her head at the small plastic card held out before her.

A few days ago, he had made a fuss about taking her picture, and then a few days later, Kim Gyu-sik appeared before her with this.

“A Climber License. Take it.”

“I am a knight. Not some Climber.”

“Yeah, yeah. I'm not seriously telling you to become a Climber, just carry this around for the time being. You'll need it to operate outside the Tower too.”

“...Is that an order?”

“No. A recommendation.”

Evangeline looked back at the man with a slightly surprised expression.

She thought a violent and barbaric human like him would surely push everything on her as an order.

“People tend not to believe it, but I don't really have a bullying personality.”

“Right. I, for one, don't believe you.”

“...I have no intention of meddling in every little thing from one to ten. Especially not with a knight of the Round Table. You guys go through a lot.”

“What?”

“Considering why the Tower was built, why you all exist, and why the Guardian is there... humanity should rightly be grateful to you. That's the minimum courtesy and virtue.”

“...-”

If before was a little surprising.

This time, it was a shock on the level of a punch to the gut.

“You, you... what did you just...?”

“You heard me right. I won't say it twice.”

Kim Gyu-sik, who said that, grinned and passed by her.

However, this time, even Evangeline couldn't just let it go.

She could let other things slide, but what had just come out of this man's mouth was a top-secret matter known only to a very few in the Round Table.

At the very least, she had to hear how he knew about it!

“Wait! You, that information, where on earth did you...!”

As she said that and grabbed the man's shoulder, Kim Gyu-sik slightly turned his head and met her eyes.

And the moment she met those eyes, Evangeline had no choice but to stiffen her entire body.

Ah, right.

This was a very familiar atmosphere.

She had probably only just realized it now because she had never seen this man from this close.

It was the kind of eyes she sometimes saw glimpses of while serving the Guardian of the Tower by his side.

The eyes cursed by knowledge.

The kind of eyes that belonged to those who, having pierced through every single thread of truth that veiled the universe, had become unable to feel anything at all.

“...”

Evangeline staggered back, her steps shocked.

For a moment.

For just a single moment.

This man momentarily overlapped with the Guardian.

The image of the one she had dedicated her entire life to serving was superimposed over that of an inferior human.

And that fact brought a new shock that blew away even the question she had just had.

“...Later, I shall hear the story in detail.”

So for now.

Just saying that and disappearing as if fleeing was the best she could do.

***

“...Huh.”

She suddenly lunged at me as if she was going to eat me alive, so I thought she might actually attack and prepared by turning on my Observation skill.

But she just stared into my eyes for a bit and then ran away on her own.

I knew she was a whimsical person, but even I couldn't fathom this kind of reaction.

What was that all about?

As I was walking down the hallway, tilting my head, I ran into Seo Ah-in, who was carrying something with a grunt.

I looked to see what it was, and it was a computer.

“What's all that?”

“Yes, well. Meirin-ssi and I pooled our money and bought it. She said neither she nor I have ever had one of these before...”

“...”

Why does such a tear-jerking story come out so naturally?

Does it make sense that both of them, who are young ladies from good families, have never touched such a high-tech electronic device before?

“...But, Kim Gyu-sik-ssi.”

Seo Ah-in, who said that, carefully examined my eyes.

What is it? Is it a day for something to be stuck in my eyes?

Everyone and their mother is staring at me.

“Did you reel in another one? Ah, no. This time it's not quite reeled in... maybe just took the bait...”

“...What?”

“No, the atmosphere just feels like another big catch is coming...”

“...”

How on earth do you know that just by looking at someone's eyes? Are you a psychometrist?

And what do you mean by a big catch in the first place?

“I just met Evangeline and gave her the Climber License. That's all.”

“What? Why a Climber License? You don't need it unless you're entering the Tower, do you?”

Seo Ah-in tilted her head and asked back.

Well, one might think that.

The Second Ordeal had just ended a short while ago. There was no need to resume conquest activities by dragging that person along when no new ordeal had been updated yet.

But ‘registering’ her with our guild using a Climber License could have a different meaning.

“You know what. We're an official guild now.”

“...What?”

“The Association recognizes a guild as being able to function properly only when it can operate at least one team.”

And the minimum number of members to fill a team was four.

Excluding the board members Lee Si-yeong and Lee Seong-jin, and Meirin-ssi who was on loan from the Martial Arts Alliance and not part of our guild, the three of us—me, Yoo Ho-jun, and Seo Ah-in—hadn't even been considered a team.

But by adding Evangeline just now, we had finally completed the minimum unit of a ‘team’.

“...Then what were we until now?”

“A guild, but a half-paralyzed one that could never function properly.”

“...”

As if realizing anew what a bottom-tier guild she had joined, Seo Ah-in shivered in shock while I continued walking down the hallway.

The destination was the guild leader's office. Inside, Lee Si-yeong would be wrestling with paperwork.

I flung the door open and entered.

“Get out.”

“Don't want to.”

I returned a refreshing smile to Lee Si-yeong, who spat out a harsh word as soon as our eyes met.

On the other hand, Lee Si-yeong looked at me as if she had seen a demon crawling up from hell.

“...Every time you open the door like that, something bad has always happened.”

“Well. I don't know if it's a bad thing, but I did bring some new work.”

A gaze filled with 1,000% certainty that it was a bad thing fell on the document I held out, but I ignored it and continued.

“Ta-da, the year-end Guild Grand Unification Festival hosted by the Association is coming soon!”

The Guild Grand Unification Event was a place where all sorts of guilds gathered at the end of the year to hold various events together.

Originally, it might have started with the intention of fostering friendship among industry professionals, but these days, it had long since degenerated into a show of force for the large Western guilds to display their overwhelming power.

Even though it was a festival with various schedules to liven things up, the Western guilds were all guys whose pride had developed into self-righteousness.

It was stranger to hope that no trouble would break out when you gathered all those guys in one place.

‘...Well.’

Nevertheless, there was a reason why that festival continued to be held, why people grudgingly attended, and why no one even tried to stop it.

Because there were guys who only showed up there.

My goal was also close to that.

“So, what if it's happening. We can't go anyway.”

“Come on. What do you mean we can't go. I even got Evangeline a Climber License and we're recognized as an official guild. We meet the minimum requirements, don't we?”

“...I get that. But for a small guild like us to go, we need at least three recommendations from credible people-”

Lee Si-yeong, who was saying that while looking at the document, stopped talking when she saw the three signatures stamped on the signature line.

Right.

Did you think I would come and say something like this without preparing for it?

“...You psycho. You crazy bastard! That's a den of demons where all the Western guilds will be present! It wouldn't be strange for us to be publicly beaten up if we go there, especially since we've been drawing crazy aggro from them lately-!”

“Yeah. Probably.”

I smiled and calmly replied to Lee Si-yeong, who was on the verge of frothing at the mouth.

“It's okay. There's a simple solution.”

“What is it?!”

“We just have to crush every bastard who comes at us.”

“...”

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