CH 145

Early in the morning, I lightly shook Luke’s shoulder, who was sleeping in an uncomfortable position.

“Luke-ssi.”

“Ah…”

Fortunately, he woke up quickly, looked at me, and flinched.

“You must be tired, but we have to leave soon.”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Luke stood up as he put on the checkered shirt he had taken off. I was cleaning up the bonfire that still had embers with my feet and Ha Tae-heon, who had gone out to look around the area, returned.

“We’re going after you’re ready.”

I looked at Ha Tae-heon, who was no different from usual, for a moment and turned my gaze away. Last night, Ha Tae-heon’s serious face, who said he believed in me, kept coming up in my head.

As a result, it was somewhat awkward for me to talk with him as comfortably as before. My not-natural attitude continued as I pushed Luke back towards the exit.

“That, Han Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

“Yes?”

Luke, watching Ha Tae-heon who was killing a couple of dragonfly-like C-grade monsters at the front, sneaked up to me and opened his mouth.

“Did something happen with Deputy Master Ha Tae-heon?”

“……”

In a way, it was the first question that Luke asked me and this was what it was all about. I smiled in vain, pretending not to know for now.

“No, that’s not true.”

“It seems that… you two have a bad atmosphere. I’m glad it wasn’t like that.”

After I blatantly denied it, Luke looked away with an awkward face. Seeing that scene, my conscience was pricked a bit, but I didn’t intend to tell straightforwardly.

‘It’s funny to be swayed by just one word of believe…’

Swallowing a sigh, I continued to follow Ha Tae-heon, who took the lead. Fortunately, we walked a lot yesterday, so the remaining distance to the exit wasn’t far.

“I heard that Han Yi-gyeol-ssi is also an independent… Is that true?”

To my surprise, Luke asked a question again. This time it was about me, so I answered with joy.

“That’s right. Luke-ssi also said you’re an independent.”

“Because producers have less need for membership than other talented people.”

“Still, this time, you entered the gate, saw the monsters yourself, and extracted the necessary materials… you look very happy.”

Luke hesitated at what I said and then nodded his head slightly.

“If you join the guild, won’t you enter the gate whenever you want?”

“That’s true.”

Squeak. Kiek.

Something swiftly passed over the lush stretched branches. The sound of leaves crashing as birds take off, the soil ground with footprints on it, and insects floating in the air shedding sparkling powder.

Luke, who looked around at all these one after another, scratched his nose and spoke.

“Every time I come, I get greedy, but it doesn’t feel right to work as I’m not a member of the guild.”

“You’re different from Luzel. I heard that she has been working as a member of the guild for quite some time.”

“That’s true. Luzel and I are very different. We get along well… um. Yes. Right.”

Luke cut off what he was about to say and turned his khaki eyes to me.

“Do you feel the same way? So, isn’t it burdensome to work for the place you belong to and fulfill your responsibilities?”

It was then that I knew what Luke wanted from me. Since we’re independent, he must think that if it was me, I would understand him.

Belong to. Feeling bitter, I made eye contact with Luke.

“I agree to some extent, but that’s not the only reason I don’t join the guild.”

I checked the location of Ha Tae-heon, a little further away, and lowered my voice so that he couldn’t hear me.

“It’s not a guild, but there is a place where I belonged and worked for. For some reason, I’m out now… I have no desire to go anywhere else.”

Of course, I have no desire to go back there. Even so, I had no intention of obeying anyone else’s orders. Obviously, it was comfortable being an independent who could easily get out of the way.

“So, Luke-ssi, have you never been to a guild before? Are you only taking orders?”

“Yes. Most of the ingredients are available at auctions or Red Market. It’s good to look around the inside of the gate myself, but I can’t go in just looking at it.”

“Right.”

There were some people who didn’t fit group life. While responding to his words, I suddenly turned my head to the conversation that continued without discomfort.

‘I thought you were shy.’

When I saw him talking to me like this, could I say that he liked me to some extent? I smiled broadly like the last time in anticipation, but this time, Luke avoided my gaze.

* * *

As Ha Tae-heon cleared the lush bushes that were blocking the view, the tightly closed gate exit was revealed. The darkly shadowed gate exit widened sideways as if waiting as we got closer.

“Should I use the item here?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Luke, who followed my question, answered.

It was said that if the gate coordinates were touched, they only changed for a short time and then return to their original state. After we leave for China, Luke would also go out through the gate exit where the coordinates were returned.

“Ah, wait, Deputy Master Ha Tae-heon. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Luke hurriedly pulled something out of his leather bag. It was a small brooch studded with khaki shiny jewels and black horn-rimmed glasses.

“Is it an item?”

“Yes. This is the note that Luzel wrote.”

Ha Tae-heon unfolded the paper folded four times. I approached Ha Tae-heon to see what was written on it.

「You don’t know how famous your faces are, do you? There’s nothing wrong with being careful! I said that I would return the coordinate converter item later, so this is a surprise gift that I prepared separately. I hope this helps. Luzel.」 (좌표 변동 아이템은 나중에 돌려주겠다고 했으니, I can’t figure it out about the subject here)

Surprise gift? Unlike me, who couldn’t understand even after reading, Ha Tae-heon looked around at the brooch and glasses he had received from Luke.

“Looks like a changing item.”

“That’s right.”

“If it’s a changing item…”

It was an item that changed the appearance for a certain period of time. It was an item that could change from hair colour or eye colour, a man to a woman or from an adult to a child. However, since there weren’t many of them, it was quite difficult to obtain them.

“It’s definitely safer to use.”

After thinking for a while, Ha Tae-heon put a brooch on the inside of the coat, near the chest of the suit jacket. Then, with the sound of an electric boom, his height suddenly decreased.

“Ha Tae-heon-ssi!”

Ha Tae-heon, whose height as well as everything became smaller, was seen. His face, which was so round that couldn’t be compared with before, was fatally cute. Ha Tae-heon, who was buried in a large garment, shook his head alone and said in a youthful voice.

“Gender transition doesn’t change much in appearance, so it’s better to be younger.”

“Crazy…”

My heart ached at Ha Tae-heon’s act of stroking his chin and taking a serious look at himself. Grasping my chest, I barely controlled my trembling body. Those fierce eyes were so big and gentle… the look that was reminiscent of a puppy made me dizzy.

“How long does it last?”

“From what I know, both the brooch and the glasses will last until two hours. Reuse takes six hours.”

“Thank you. Say my thanks to Luzel.”

Ha Tae-heon, who spoke confidently in a child’s voice, frowned and waved his long sleeve back and forth. He sat down with his knees folded and folded his sleeves.

“Everything is good, but the clothes are too uncomfortable.”

“You can’t move like this. Do you want me to carry you?”

I asked, pretending to be calm, forcing down the corners of my lips, which were constantly wriggling and rising.

Ha Tae-heon, who was struggling with a grumpy expression as if he was dissatisfied, finally allowed me to carry him. He couldn’t help it because his pants got bigger and he was sure to fall off as soon as he took one step.

Ha Tae-heon, who became small like a 10-year-old child, was very light. I lifted Ha Tae-heon and held him with one arm.

“You can wear glasses.”

When I received the horn-rimmed glasses and put them on, stinging static electricity passed through my head and the corners of my eyes.

“Is it working?”

“Yeah. It turned black.”

Ha Tae-heon, who was staring at me with a strange gaze, nodded and answered.

Pulling the bangs that covered my forehead and looking up, I could see that my originally brown hair had turned black. My eyes must have changed as well. Black hair and eyes. I was definitely used to this.

With a small, pure white hand sticking out of his folded sleeve, Ha Tae-heon pulled his inventory item tie and a black ball appeared.

“Drink it.”

What Ha Tae-heon brought out was the paralysis potion that Luzel had prepared in advance. As soon as I drank the pale sky-blue potion from the bottle, stinging pain like a bee sting passed through my tongue and throat, and a heavy sensation spread throughout my body.

“Ugh…”

Maybe I’m not the only one who felt uncomfortable, Ha Tae-heon also responded that it was very uncomfortable. Luke explained to us as if he knew it.

“Even though it’s diluted, it’s still a monster poison. If you’re expecting something like orange juice…”

Yeah, that’s, indeed. The paralyzed body moved slowly as if drunk. In the meantime, Ha Tae-heon, who took out the coordinate converter, pressed the red button. (좌표 변환기를)

Giing—

The item vibrated along with the sound of the machine moving. At the same time, the red light flickered for a brief moment at the gate exit, which was shimmering in black and blue.

“It’s working just fine. You can go now.”

“Thank you for being with us this far, Luke-ssi.”

When I turned my back to the gate and reached out to say my thanks to Luke, he smiled shyly and accepted the handshake.

“I’ll see you next time if I have a chance.”

“Yes. Be careful, both of you.”

In case of a dangerous situation, I hugged Ha Tae-heon and slowly put myself through the gate exit. Unlike the normal gate exit, sparks flew several times, causing throbbing pain and an upset stomach.

I was sure it would have been quite difficult if I hadn’t taken the paralytic drug.

The dark blue smoke that filled my eyes disappeared, and a damp and dirty alleyway covered in the darkness appeared. Feeling the cramped air somewhere, I asked Ha Tae-heon.

“Did we arrive at the right place?”

“Yeah.”

A pipe connected to the wall spewed white steam from various places and several mice ran around in the pile of garbage piled up in the corner.

“It is a low-grade and poorly managed gate that is owned by a gang or a hunter, not a guild. China has a lot of things like this.”

As the effect of the paralytic drug gradually disappeared, the disgusting smell that stung the nose gradually grew worse. I covered my mouth with my hand and said.

“What’s this smell?”

“It’s a drug. It smells like a mixture of common drugs and hallucinogenic fluids extracted from monsters.”

It was a drug. There was a lot of stuff to do. Disgusting, I hurriedly raised my ability.

“We need to get out of here quickly.”

As I soared high in the sky, I saw a large city filled with colourful neon signs over a small city engulfed in darkness.

The gap between the rich and the poor was clearly visible even though it was a nearby city.

“Where should we go?”

Ha Tae-heon pointed to the big city with his small hand. Just in case it was cold, I covered Ha Tae-heon with his coat well and then moved towards the destination. (하태헌의 코트를 잘 여며 준 후에 목적지를 향해 움직였다)