CH 199

“Is there any way to be more certain?”

“Incheon and Busan are difficult, and Seoul…”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who crossed his legs with his hands in his pockets, opened his mouth with a languid expression.

“After the management headquarters collapsed, it was still not properly restored, so the work is very slow. Still, I can’t let go, so I’m looking into it.”

“At least you can find out where the alcohol is distributed.”

“It’s not easy. It’s also a job to bring out talented people who have problems.”

“If you are alone, sure.”

Cheon Sa-yeon raised an eyebrow in response to my answer. I continued to speak, regardless of his displeasure. “I’ll talk to Roheon. And there is one guild master that I know in Busan.”

“Hm. Roheon… If it’s Busan, are you thinking of the Four Seasons Guild?”

“That’s right.”

Kwon Ji-hoon, Master of the Four Seasons Guild in Busan. He was also Kwon Jeong-han’s cousin and I had already met him many times.

“It wouldn’t be easy.”

“You should say something first.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who was expected to oppose, surprisingly shrugged his shoulders without saying anything. I narrowed my eyes at the gesture of permission that didn’t even look like permission.

“What with this half-hearted? There’s no other good way anyway. This case is your first time.”

“It’s because this is the first time. We need a better understanding of why this happened. I don’t want to move too hastily until I know the reason.”

I frowned at his cold voice.

Why did this happen. What was the cause of the situation that even Cheon Sa-yeon, who was trapped in time, had never experienced before?

“For now, it would be better to focus more on variables.”

The conversation with Elohim flashed through my mind. Variable.

“There may be people we didn’t expect. And it would be… very dangerous.”

An unpleasant feeling ran through the nape of my neck. If this case was really related to the Praus Cult…

“As everything changes, it seems that someone you don’t know has intervened, Cheon Sa-yeon.”

It was worthy enough. From the moment I entered Han Yi-gyeol’s body in the first place, this time was different from before.

I said to Cheon Sa-yeon, who looked at me calmly as if he had expected it.

“Come on. Let’s start with what we can do right now.”

* * *

Kim Woo-jin and Min Ah-rin, who stood with anxious eyes, sighed in relief when we left the bedroom. They both belonged to Requiem and it was amazing how they could do that.

Piik.

As soon as I came out, Fox got out of Min Ah-rin’s arms and flew straight away. I stroked Fox sitting on my shoulder and brought out the main point.

“That… Kwon Jeong-han.”

“Yes?”

I smiled awkwardly at Kwon Jeong-han, who looked at me with interest while drinking coffee, and opened my mouth.

“How is Master Kwon Ji-hoon these days? How is he?”

I confidently replied that it would be better to speak up to Cheon Sa-yeon before, but I was a little awkward when I tried to ask.

“Ji-hoon-hyung? Hm.”

Kwon Jeong-han, who blinked a few times at my sudden question, raised the corner of his mouth slightly. The tear spot under his left eye stood out particularly.

“Well. I don’t keep in touch with him often. Why Ji-hoon-hyung all of a sudden?”

“I would like to get some help, if possible.”

Hearing my answer, Kwan Jeong-han put on a surprised expression.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

At that question, I turned my gaze to Cheon Sa-yeon, who was standing next to me. I thought it would be better to tell the people in this room right now, including Kwon Jeong-han.

Cheon Sa-yeon quietly nodded his head, agreeing with me. I opened my mouth with a more relaxed mind.

“It’s said that people similar to the talented person I met yesterday appeared several times not only in Seoul but also in Incheon and Busan. It’s a crime of wielding a weapon or ability against a civilian while drunk.”

“Oh my, not only Seoul but also Incheon and Busan?”

“Yes.”

Min Ah-rin asked with a worried look.

“It’s a big deal. The management headquarters doesn’t do something about it?”

“Management headquarters is said to be very busy with the current restoration work.”

The important thing was from now on. I turned my gaze to Kwan Jeong-han, who was quietly listening, and continued.

“I and Cheon Sa-yeon thought that there was something wrong with alcohol. To know for sure, we need the person who drank the alcohol, but it’s hard for us alone. It will take a long time.”

“That’s why you’re asking the Four Seasons Guild for help. Because there were similar crimes in Busan.”

“That’s right.”

Park Geon-ho, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa until now, opened his mouth with a face that was difficult to understand.

“It’s all good… Han Yi-gyeol, but why are you asking for that? What does it have to do with that crime?”

“That…”

“I think the explanation is too short to help.”

From their point of view, it was a reasonable question to ask. I wondered how to persuade them.

It was difficult to disclose the fact that Cheon Sa-yeon had been fighting the Praus Cult repeatedly at the same time and it was equally difficult to say that if I failed this time, I would disappear.

‘I’m only going to confuse them by saying this…’

That’s why I didn’t even mention it to Cheon Sa-yeon. As far as I knew, there was nothing I could do about it right now. It would be better not to know.

I couldn’t give an honest answer, so I had to give a plausible excuse. I licked my dry lips with tension and then opened my mouth.

“I left this place without anyone knowing, not only to meet my acquaintances in China but also to get away from the SS-rank mental ability who kidnapped me for a while.”

Park Geon-ho tilted his head slightly at my words, which seemed a bit sudden.

“Watching Kwon Jeong-han get hurt and young Edward suffering, I needed a way to prevent that from happening again.”

“Did you find a way?”

I did find it. However, my intervention ability wasn’t an all-round type either.

“Yes. But it’s unstable and not perfect. So, considering the safety, that talented person… I must kill him.”

Everyone’s eyes focused on me at the remark that I had to kill him. But I never went back on my words.

The red book I found in Elohim’s small house, where I and Ha Tae-heon stayed before. The terrible battle written there.

“I would like to give you a present.”

Samael’s figure holding Park Geon-ho’s back head, who was seriously injured, and holding the sword to his neck, followed like a shadow.

“Haha… hahaha! Haha!”

The sound of mad laughter echoed in my head. I closed my eyes slowly and opened them.

‘I’m rather glad. It was a short fragment, but seeing it gave me a bit of a sense of how thoroughly I have to fight in the future.’

Now there was nowhere to retreat. If I didn’t kill him, I would have died instead.

Many people had been killed and injured in the gate bombings and the attack by a puppeteer called Abel.

“Are you sure that the talented person with mental ability will approach you again?”

I was confident enough to answer this question. I lowered my eyes and smiled slightly.

“Isn’t it obvious? Everyone here knows how useful I am.”

As expected, no one objected. Park Geon-ho raised the corners of his lips calmly as if he was having fun with my confident appearance.

“And the approach has already been made. One of them was the bombing in front of the new gate, Area D45.”

Min Ah-rin, who had entered the D45 Area gate with Cheon Sa-yeon, had a dark face as if recalling her memories of that time.

“It was done by one of the talented people with mental ability. She’s an SS-rank puppeteer called Abel. Except for Team Leader Park Geon-ho, who went on a business trip, everyone else must have seen her during the Gangnam incident. She is a girl doll.”

“I came back later and heard the news on the news and on video.”

Park Geon-ho, who thought something while stroking his lips, smiled strangely.

“Come to think of it, Han Yi-gyeol was kidnapped not only by the Gangnam incident, but also by a person with mental ability. After that, you ran away to China without a word.”

“…why are you suddenly talking about that?”

Because of Park Geon-ho, who pointed out the wrong part, Min Ah-rin looked at me with dissatisfied eyes instead of rabbit-like eyes. I was dripping with cold sweat.

“Anyway, collisions will be unavoidable. The opponent has already started the activity. As you would know if you watched the video of the attack on the guild management headquarters, both the talented person with mental ability and the puppeteer belong to the Praus Cult.”

“Praus Cult…”

“They are deliberately creating a riot so that the relationship between the talented and the ordinary people deteriorates.”

Park Geon-ho, who had a hardened face from the moment the story of the Praus Cult came out, nodded his head slowly.

“So, I think it must have something to do with this case where people openly cause problems after they turn talented people into disrepute.”

“Now that I’ve heard it, it certainly makes sense.”

“Yes. Anyway… this is the reason why I made a rational decision up to this point.”

Taking a small breath, I stroked the nape of my neck and continued speaking.

“Emotionally… I don’t want to fall for the same trick twice. Above all, if it’s true that the Praus Cult really did something to alcohol, we need to stop them as soon as possible. Later, you won’t be able to handle the speed of the spread.”

“……”

“All of the incidents that have occurred so far have been those who have lost their temper due to alcohol and committed crimes. If we go later, one of us could be beaten. So there is nothing wrong with preventing it.”

“Good.”

Kwon Jeong-han, who had been quietly listening to my explanation without interrupting, answered with a bright voice.

What did you mean by good? Kwon Jeong-han shrugged his shoulders slightly and opened his mouth when I looked at him shakily.

“I’m going to call Ji-hoon-hyung. Actually, Hyung has also been asking about Yi-gyeol-hyung since the last time. I’ll call him to say about it, okay?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could.”

“No. To be honest, I was going to listen even if you didn’t explain the reason. You overlooked my big mistake before. You didn’t even cut my job as a bodyguard.”

Were you talking about the time when Samael kidnapped me? No, wait a second.

“Then why did you ask?”

“I was going to move on if you were in an atmosphere where you wouldn’t say anything, but I stayed quiet because you answered easily.”

“……”

“Pfft.”

A small laugh was heard from Cheon Sa-yeon, who was standing next to me. Park Geon-ho was already giggling with his face down.

“You’re going to help me, right?”

“Yes. I’ll do my best. But it’s hard to give a definite answer. From what I heard, it’s not like Ji-hoon-hyung’s personal strength, it’s like the scale the guild needs to move.”

“I know. It’s enough just to tell me.”

I was relieved by that. After exhaling a breath of relief, I turned around and looked at Cheon Sa-yeon.

“Master Cheon Sa-yeon.”

“What?”

“Now, let me unlock this.”

I said, pointing to the shackles, which were hanging in chains loosely.

“I’m going to go see Deputy Master Roheon.”