CH 39

[Your contractor feels enraged.]

There is a saying about the strong and the weak. It means being weak to the eyes of the strong and being strong in the eyes of the weak, but unfortunately, I was witnessing it with my own two eyes. Where did Kim Ki-won, who was spitting on me and acting all arrogant, go? Was this the sound of a human having their bones broken?

[Your contractor seems to want to kill Kim Ki-won.]

Don’t kill him, just hold it in.

A constellation that calls their contractor in times of crisis. It couldn’t be helped since I was a pretty weak guy. I’m just a small boy, and a stronger person than me was restless to protect me. Wouldn’t it be strange not to use it?

Lee Myung-won grabbed my chin to examine my face.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“It hurts a lot less than from when I was stabbed, but….”

Kim Ki-won’s scream grew louder as I blurted out the end of my words. Lee Myung-won sighed.

“I didn’t want to let you go because I thought this would happen.”

“You knew it would be like this?”

“Yes. I originally had some friction with hunter Kim Ki-won. But I knew Choi Ga-hyun-ssi would also have some ideas. Why did you get hit on purpose?”

“That’s….”

Because it’s going to hurt more being hit by Baek Tae-beom than by me. However, Lee Myung-won’s eyes narrowed as I swallowed such words, inverting my eyes. As if he knew what I was going to say, he glared at me with a piercing gaze. I spoke.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to account for it as self-defense.”

“Did you worry about that while being beaten?”

“Well, I didn’t even get hit much, did I? Since you came running like this.”

“When Baek Tae-beom-ssi suddenly ran out, I thought he finally went crazy… No, I thought I was going crazy.”

Crazy or not, didn’t it still happen?

“Do you two have any other means of contacting each other? Without a walkie-talkie? If there is such a thing, please tell me sooner….”

“I’m sorry.”

“…Just stay still.”

Then, Lee Myung-won pulled out a potion from his inventory. I closed my eyes as I felt Lee Myung-won rubbing the potion on my face. In the distance, the sound of Baek Tae-beom beating Kim Ki-won with his sword just felt like background noise.

Jeon Pil-su was the only one who stood restless and at a loss.

“Aren’t you going to stop him?!”

“Why would we?”

“Right now, your hunter is beating our hunter!”

“This victim is over here. We’re just getting some revenge, don’t you think?”

It is a different response, very unlike Lee Myung-won. The thought struck me in the chest while Jeon Pil-su became frustrated.

“Just because he got hit in the face a few times…!”

“Think carefully, Jeon Pil-su-ssi.”

Lee Myung-won said in a blunt voice.

“The victim is an ungradable hunter. Kim Ki-won, a B-class hunter, didn’t move his hand because he was afraid of getting hurt. This is an obvious fact. Is that correct?”

“…….”

“On top of that, an S-class hunter threatened Kim Ki-won. It is a little unreasonable, but… what do you want me to do?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“If you’re so upset, our numbers are the same, so I think it would be okay to fight. If we just crush your mouth, you wouldn’t be able to say anything more even if you’re dissatisfied. I really like that kind of thing. It’s less annoying. That’s just what an armed solution is, isn’t it? You can just hit people without having to worry about every little thing.”

TL/N: An ‘Armed Solution’ is a solution to a problem or difficult situation that is a way of dealing with it so that the difficulty is removed.

So, what you’re saying right now is that if they’re dissatisfied, we’re going to have a face-to-face fight?

I opened my mouth wide. I knew that Lee Myung-won was this kind of person in the first place. Then, I chatted because I was worried about Apollo, who had not said anything.

[CH.#990O3/One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : Apollo?

[CH.#990O3/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun] : Yes.

[CH.#990O3/One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : I have a question.

[CH.#990O3/One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : When a constellation is angry, does the contractor also get angry?

[CH.#990O3/One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : So, in a way, they are interconnected.

[CH.#990O3/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun] : Why don’t you just ask me if I’m mad?

[CH.#990O3/One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : What did you make Lee Myung-won-ssi do?

[CH.#990O3/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun] : Why did you just get hit?

[CH.#990O3/One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : Is that why you’re angry?

[CH.#990O3/The One Who Guides The Dead]: I’m mad.

[CH.#990O3/One Who Guides The Dead]: Now. Pissed off. All this bullshit.

[CH.#990O3/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun] : Be quiet!

I could feel the swelling on my face slowly subside with the recovery potion.

[CH.#990O3/One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : Are you being shy right now?

[CH.#990O3/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun] : I said be quiet!

Lee Myung-won, who applied the potion, frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“My constellation… Ah, no.”

Lee Myung-won sighed loudly and called out to Kang Si-hoo, who was only standing awkwardly next to him.

“Kang Cheol-su-ssi.”

“Yes, yes? Me?”

“I don’t think you need to be like that unless you also beat up Choi Ga-hyun-ssi.”

“Ah….”

Kang Si-hoo approached him with his head lowered and mumbled.

“I’m sorry….”

“What do you mean?”

“I, I, couldn’t do anything… so, I’m so sorry….”

Then suddenly over the mask, Kang Si-hoo began to cry. Lee Myung-won looked embarrassed. And I was flustered, too.

‘What’s wrong with this bastard?’

Wasn’t he just acting? Is this his real personality? But it can’t be. Has his personality changed completely because of something in his past that I don’t know about? As I watched him sobbing with his head down even when he was so tall, I felt sorry for him like I was with the former Baek Tae-beom before. I hugged him gently and patted him on the back.

“It’s not something you should be sorry for.”

“B-but….”

“Because you can see, I’m fine.”

And when I gently pushed his shoulder, as I was afraid of him falling, Baek Tae-beom, who was dripping blood, stood next to me with an expressionless face.

For a moment, I was frightened and almost screamed.

“Beom-ah?”

“Hyung.”

Baek Tae-beom wiped the blood splatter on his face with the back of his hand, and casually pushed Kang Si-hoo in front of me aside with the back of his hand. He then leaned towards me.

“Please comfort me too.”

“Huh?”

“My fists hurt from that beating.”

You beat him with your sword. As if to prove it, blood was dripping from the sheath tied to his waist. Come to think of it, isn’t that the sword I gave you a long time ago? You still carry that around?

“Hyung.”

Baek Tae-beom called me again as if he was trying to focus my attention on him. My eyes and his golden eyes met. Hesitantly, I slowly raised my hand above his head, and stroked it carefully.

Then, as if he was satisfied, the man’s expression slowly softened.

That just now….

‘Were you jealous?’

Have you been soothed by anyone else other than me? My mind then became complicated. So, this wasn’t a kind of attachment relationship, but was more similar to a kind of separation anxiety that makes him not want to be separated from his constellation.

Come to think of it, Baek Tae-beom especially said that he would stay by my side after I came back. In fact, he even joined the Hansung guild just so that he could be near me.

I also wondered if the reason he liked me was because of separation anxiety.

‘I’ll have to train him later.’

With that thought in mind, I caressed Baek Tae-beom’s head and said to Lee Myung-won.

“Come to think of it, did you find anything while exploring?”

“Ah.”

Lee Myung-won pulled something out of his inventory.

“I did find this, but….”

It was the other half of the broken key. When I took out the same item he took out and put the pieces together, the broken fragments formed one whole key. And at the same time it glittered, the two pieces came together.

[Key to the Tomb F]

“I think this is the key to the boss room.”

“And people will be there too.”

“There was nothing at the end of the other hallway, so these stairs are most likely to be the way.”

Baek Tae-beom said as he pointed to the stairs in front of us.

“Then we’ll have to go up here… Jeon Pil-su-ssi?”

“Yes, yes?”

“I think you’ll need to support Kim Ki-won-ssi. He can’t seem to get up on his own.”

At Lee Myung-won’s dry words, I turned my head and opened my eyes wide. That was because Kim Ki-won, who I couldn’t even recognize, was staggering and trying to get up because it was only his face that was ruined.

“You, you, ugh, asshole….”

Even his lips popped out like a carp, making it difficult for him to speak. I was amazed at how he cut his face in such a variety of ways.

“We can’t just leave him alone, can we?”

Maybe it would be better to just leave him here?

Jeon Pil-su seemed to have the same thoughts as me, so he shook his head and stepped back.

“No, no! I think I’d better stay here with him since he seems to be in a lot of pain!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes! It would be better to take that Kang Cheol-su guy instead of us!”

Then, Jeon Pil-su slapped Kang Si-hoo on the back. The man who was hit staggered and stood in front of us, unable to focus properly.

“M-m-me?”

“Yeah, you punk. Come on, huh? Please.”

Jeon Pil-su said in a double-faced manner and pressed Kim Ki-won’s shoulder, who was constantly trying to get up.

“Then, shall we go up?”

Baek Tae-beom looked down at Kang Si-hoo with an expressionless face and then smiled kindly.