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Chapter 63
He followed me so insistently when he first saw me…Was I acting so suspiciously?
To be honest, at that time I was worried that Bae Jaemin may have recognized me and I was overly sensitive–disregarding courtesy in my hurry to avoid any confrontation with him…Since it was just a coincidence that the two of us met, I thought our interaction was just some momentary interest for the Priest. I didn’t expect him to reach out to Kim Sangyoon, my party member.
Attracting his attention is a huge issue, though. I needed to hurry and revive all the members of the Red Lotus guild, but now Bae Jaemin was clearly watching me.
My forehead crumpled–I could not know what was truly in that man’s heart–whether or not he was plotting something vicious. Suddenly, a heavy weight thudded on both my shoulders, shocking me. However, when I heard a familiar voice over my head, I calmed down.
It was Seo Dawon.
“I think we need to move the plan up a little. I smell something fishy.” Seo Dawon then turned to me and whispered. “I think it would be better for you to not meet with Bae Jaemin for the time being.”
So, I relayed Seo Dawon’s advice to Kim Sangyoon. “First….tell him I’m thinking about his offer.” Pretending to be troubled and contemplating his offer would buy more time than refusing him outright. I also did not forget to ask Kim Sangyoon to waste his time.
“It seems our Jaemin-ie is quite free nowadays? Then, I should make him busy……” Seo Dawon muttered, meaningfully.
* * *
Due to Kim Sangyoon’s intel, my impromptu shopping trip was naturally canceled.
However, as he dragged me back into the house, Seo Dawon ordered Kim Sangyoon to go grocery shopping in my stead (although the order was delivered by my mouth, not his). The Warrior rode away in his sports car to buy my daily necessities; in the end, I was left alone with my three servants.
Seo Dawon, our group’s real leader, sat us on the sofa and began to speak earnestly, “Since Bae Jaemin is paying close attention to Lee-kyung-ie, we need to revise some of our plans. We need to continue going to Dungeons and level up without their scrutiny.”
I shrunk a bit, worried that it was my fault, even though I knew that Seo Dawon wasn’t trying to blame me…I nodded shamefully; Jung Garam and Lackey also calmly looked towards Seo Dawon. The Mage met our gaze and continued, “So, to stop him from paying so close attention to us, I’m planning to create an incident over on that side. Lee-kyung-ie probably knows what I’m thinking. During the , Bae Jaemin had some collaborators…Garam-ie, you may not know this, since you were separated from us…”
“I know. I saw a strange spearman whom I’ve never seen before.” As Jung Garam replied, he crushed the cushion in his arms–his fierce spirit flared as if to stab the poor thing.
I also frowned, remembering the pain that accompanied the spearman from his memory.
Seo Dawon immediately asked, “What’s your impression of him?”
Jung Garam replied, “He had a huge scar on his face and a large body–although he wasn’t nearly as large as the red-haired guy just now…That’s why I thought he might be a Warrior.”
Listening to Jung Garam, I suddenly thought I recognized the face of the spearman from his memory. I think I’ve seen him around somewhere before signing a contract with the Treasure Hunter…
“Is it this guy?”
But before I could place my finger on it, Seo Dawon first found a picture on my phone. When I saw the image, both Jung Garam and I shouted “Yes!” at the same time.
“What the heck, is this punk famous?” Jung Garam grumbled.
“Lee-kyung-ie and Bae Jaemin ran into each other at the department store before you revived. I got a good look at some of Bae Jaemin’s party at the time. I remembered their faces and looked into them in advance….this man was one such companion.”
Ahh! That’s right! I saw him then……Once I matched face to memory, I couldn’t understand how I could have been so blind–no one else fit that distinctive scar.
There was a big scar in the shape of an X right on his nose, as if a gruesome butterfly was sitting on his face…It was as if he had been skinned in that pattern–the color was lighter and redder than his original skin color, so it stood out significantly.  As I looked at that picture, I wondered why he didn’t get rid of that scar using a potion? I was told that small injuries or scars may vanish after just one treatment.
…Did he perhaps receive that scar before he became a user?
My wandering thoughts were interrupted by Jung Garam, who gritted his teeth fiercely beside me. He couldn’t take his eyes off the screen and, without hiding his bloodthirst, asked Seo Dawon, “What’s this bastard’s name?”
“Park Hoseok. And, just as you thought, he’s a Warrior. The funny thing is…Park Hoseok was originally a member of the [Red Dragon] guild, but he was recently recruited as the deputy guild master for [HaHae]. This was the only article I could find when I searched for him.”
On the screen, a new photo showcased him, wearing a full suit and slicked-back hair, shaking hands with Bae Jaemin.
The photo was titled [New recruitment of [HaHae] guild executives]. Of course, back at the mall, he looked quite close to Bae Jaemin…I was, however, surprised that he wasn’t just an executive but a deputy guild master. Did that mean Bae Jaemin had considerable trust in him?
“Furthermore…[Red Dragon] guild was one of the groups that struck us in the back during the .” Seo Dawon turned off the screen.
I remembered vividly what had happened in Seo Dawon’s memory.
At that time, what did Lim Jisoo say to Seo Dawon…? To defeat his one guild, multiple famous guilds all joined hands?
“[Red Dragon] and…[Opera]? Were they already allied with Lim Jisoo and HaHae back then?” I asked.
Seo Dawon nodded and filled in some of the blank spaces. “That’s right. And the Virtuoso workshop is also another accomplice. They funded that operation.”
“What? Why would Virtuoso…Ah, fuck. Is it because of Choi Kyungsik?” Jung Garam jumped out of his seat. “Didn’t hyung give Virtuoso a lot of gold when you stole Choi Kyungsik? And they still joined in?” He stomped his foot in anger.
Of course, I didn’t know the full details between Kyungsik, Seo Dawon, and the Virtuoso workshop’s history…But if what he said was true, wouldn’t that make the workshop a total bully? Receiving payment and still actively cooperating in Red Lotus’s death…Moreover, seeing Seo Dawon smile slightly at Jung Garam’s righteous words, what they said seemed to be the truth. I grew even angrier on their behalf.
Seo Dawon continued to smile and said, chillingly, “Yeah. That’s why I’m going to destroy those three guilds first.”
His confident tone seemed to suggest that this feat was nothing too special…In fact, if anyone else had said it, they would have been uttering pure nonsense.
However, I believed whatever he said would eventually come true. Not only did he save my life back in the but he also made Kim Sangyoon, who had been reluctantly employed as my carry, 1 my subordinate.
All this had happened in less than a month. Jung Garam, too, looked steadily at his hyung without any change in expression. I felt that, like me, he had total trust in the Mage.
Reading the mood, Seo Dawon continued without hesitation, “Among them, the only ones we can possibly handle right now is the [Red Dragon] guild.”
“Good. 2 Who should I kill first?”Jung Garam’s face brightened as Seo Dawon revealed his intent to target the [Red Dragon] guild. He probably wanted to attack the spear user after quickly disposing of his former guild.
However, Seo Dawon smiled and shook his head. “For now, rather than that guy…We should deal with the [Red Dragon]’s guild master first.”
“Tsk.” Jung Garam clicked his tongue.
I pieced together the image of the enemy guild master from Seo Dawon’s memories.
Wasn’t he a bit thin and edgy? I think he was also wearing an incredibly tacky cloak…
However, I couldn’t let my guard down despite his amusing appearance. He was someone that wasn’t easily toppled–he carried with him powerful poisons. He was surrounded by at least 10 men that were Sangyoon’s size…How on earth are we supposed to siege that kind of security detail and kill him? As expected, are we planning to use Jung Garam?
Contrary to my expectations, Seo Dawon had not yet finished his explanation. “A long time ago, I received a request from the [Red Dragon] guild master. It wasn’t an official guild to guild request…but a personal contract. I refused.”
“Isn’t the [Red Dragon] guild master…Koo Kyungman?” I asked.
“That’s right. It was Koo Kyungman’s personal contract.”
“What was it about?”
Seo Dawon smiled mysteriously at Jung Garam’s question. “He asked me to kill his older brother.”
TL: Thank you for the Kofi, Nuutz, The last two chapters were pretty short, but please have a bonus chapter anyway!
Footnotes
“My carry”, in game terms, means someone who carries you through higher levels or to get good items. It’s what Bae Jaemin is for Ahn Joosung. This word was said in english in the original~