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Chapter 428: She’s Still The Scariest (1)

Jin Qing was a kind of insurance for me.

It wasn’t easy to create a story where he was brainwashed, even though I would be the one making it. There were many things to be concerned and worried about.

No matter how much I were to think about this, there were many too many issues happening for me to deal with it.

Nevertheless, the reason why I had to put the keyword brainwashing or exploitation on him was quite obvious.

‘It’s because it’ll help me.’

That was what I had thought.

It could be a beautiful story for him, but that was likely to be a beautiful story for me as well.

Kim Hyunsung, who had been thinking a lot recently, was certainly the cause.

Personally, I thought the suspicion of the masked trash on me had been completely peeled off, but honestly, he didn’t seem to have been suspecting me from the beginning. Still, nobody would know what could happen.

Considering that the lovely returner might misunderstand me one day, that kind of insurance didn’t lack importance, no matter how much of it I did.

‘If…’

I could use it as an excuse if Kim Hyunsung misunderstood me as the villain in the story.

‘I think it would be great if I could make them think about the possibility of being brainwashed…’

The masked trash of the first round did not commit such vile acts by his own will.

Rather, the unlucky character who had constantly fought against inner evil suited him more.

Every night, he suffered from what he had done. He was nothing but a lonely and hurt man who covered his body in self-inflicted wounds.

My mind came up with a two-and-two morbid setting, wherein the mask was also a means to cover his crying eyes, but such a thought seemed so cringe that I decided to set it aside.

Still…

‘It’s not bad.’

It wasn’t impossible to pull off.

Even if it wasn’t perfect, moving with those frames in mind could be a way to get out of the worst situation.

Someone would laugh at me for thinking about such useless details when it was already over, but even if I was to be careful a hundred times over, all it would take was a single mistake for everything to crash.

Since I didn’t know when an accident would happen, it was only right to create as many fail-safe plans as possible. What was a little surprising was that Jin Qing had taken the job so easily.

‘Is it natural?’

Regardless, he wouldn’t have had any reason to live any longer except for revenge.

He could be thinking that he shouldn’t look more disgraceful since he didn’t have the means or opportunity to take revenge in the first place. The way I saw him was shocking. He was pretty broken up.

Even though his pride was huge, I thought that all the circumstances surrounding him were making him suffer.

‘Anyway, it will be solved properly…’

The process wasn’t short, but the strand had been caught.

Quests and dungeons being blocked would be solved through the upcoming Crack Land and the dungeons where demon officials resided.

In the former case, Max was handling it on his own, and in the latter case, if I left the matter up to Lee Jihye, I would be able to get the job done quickly.

Of course, I had to direct the Crack Museum creation directly to establish a billing system. It was also true that my heart sank for a second in such a ridiculous situation. The appearance of a customized solution that fit perfectly was enough to make me feel ecstatic.

A moment of thought during an uncomfortable meal was enough to make me feel good. Cha Hee-ra had begun speaking.

“You seem to be in a good mood, honey. Do you like the food?”

“Yes, Hee-ra. This is delicious. It melts gently in my mouth.”

“Although we’re already at the capital, I have to leave immediately. I lost interest. I was hoping that I’d be able to stay for quite a while. There’s a lot to change here due to the revolution, so there’s a lot to see, honey.”

“I also want to go around a little, but… something urgent happened. I told you. For the time being, quest creation and dungeon creation will all be blocked. It’s not a situation where I can stand still. Honestly, I was going to eat dinner at the guild… It’s such a waste to have come this far without doing anything, so I stopped by here.”

“Did you finish the Jin Qing job properly?”

“Yeah. It’s not that bad.”

It was Elena, the Elf Princess, who spoke next.

“Er… Lee Kiyoung, sorry to ask again, but is that really true?”

“Ah… Yes. Elena, this is the message I received directly from Benignore, so I’m sure of it. Maybe Elena can communicate with Elune.”

“Come to think of it. A long time has passed… I can’t feel him.”

‘It’s because you’ve been abandoned, but…”

I couldn’t just say that.

“Goddess Benignore said that something big happened up there. She said that the influence of the demon rooted in the continent is affecting their location as well.”

“T-Then how…”

“I can solve it without difficulty. Blessings will fall upon everyone, including those from Benignore and Elune, if we drive the demons that have rooted here away. Through the power of the light, we can once again prove our strong faith in them.”

“You have to work hard.”

“Yes. There is also a lot to worry about. Even the dungeons that the Goddesses manage themselves for the foreigners have been completely suspended. There will be great social confusion. To minimize that confusion, we have to do what we can. Monster subjugation quests are now too deeply embedded in our society. The eastern part of Castle Rock, where the monster forest is located, is fine, but Celia, which has a relatively small forest, will inevitably have a more serious problem. Yuno Kasugano, have you…”

“I couldn’t think of anything else, Honorary Cardinal. Please provide us with a guideline, and we will then follow it.”

“Ah… Okay.”

“It makes sense to deal with the confusion that foreigners will feel. I agree with your sentiments. There is something wrong with the system that maintains and balances this continent. Perhaps in time, all the foreigners will realize. We have to make an official presentation, and we have to be prepared for those who would dare threaten the Honorary Cardinal.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I saw Yuno Kasugano smiling faintly. The problem was that she wasn’t the only one sending me a smile.

Cha Hee-ra and Jung Hayan were seated on either side of me, and Yuno Kasugano and Elena were next to them.

Also, Cho Hyejin was sitting next to them. I didn’t regret bringing them all for safety, but I had to regret it to some extent when this kind of situation came instead. No incident occurred, but I still regretted having brought all of them together.

‘I’m sitting on a bed of anxiety and laying down on a bed of thorns. Fuck…’

Sitting alone felt tiring.

They weren’t fighting and yelling at each other, but no one looked at each other. With their gaze fixed only on me, they muttered their own story.

The way they acted like the others weren’t there was spectacular. If there was anyone who didn’t notice what was happening in that situation, I would definitely applaud him.

When one person asked a question or talked, someone else would talk at the end of that first person’s sentiments.

As soon as the conversation with that person was over, I was swept into a talk with the next person.

Even for me, who liked to talk, it was hard to withstand it.

It was completely inappropriate, but it felt like I was a human cake getting eaten piece by piece by the people there. It was like they were taking turns, or it was as if I were in a high-pressure interview.

One of the anxiety factors was Jung Hayan being depressed because many talks were about work-related things, and she couldn’t compete with it. At this point, I couldn’t predict when she was going to start behaving unexpectedly.

However, it was Cho Hyejin who quietly threw a stone in that situation.

“Come to think of it…”

“Yes?”

“Hayan has something on that I’ve never seen her wear before. I thought it was an artifact… it doesn’t seem like that… have you received a gift?”

‘Fuck…’

It was a violent herbal medicine that was more bitter than the backstabs that was set up by Jin Qing and Charlotte.

‘Why is she wearing that again?’

In an instant, everyone’s eyes converged on the ring finger of Jung Hayan’s left hand. Everyone was aware of it, but it was the first time that someone mentioned it directly.

Jung Hayan, who hadn’t been in a good mood ever since sitting at that table, began to show a delicate act of covering her precious wedding ring with her hand.

It was akin to Gollum, which was an inappropriate example, however, even a child would know that she wasn’t in any way trying to hide the ring.

She covered the ring with her hand, but she intended to show it off with that very action.

She raised her chin up, her confident eyes telling them exactly what she wanted to say.

“Ah… T-This is nothing.”

‘Damn.’

What awkward acting.

Jung Hayan’s face that laughed at the other women there seemed annoying, even to me.

It was a skill to have such a cute face depict such a saucy expression.

The others’ faces were no different.

I could see everyone flinching as if they had seen the ‘one ring that would rule over them all’.

The problem that had been buried under the water had now risen above the surface.

It was quite the sight to see her taking the ring away, as if what couldn’t be caught was caught.

Yuno Kasugano and Elena, who had already known about the ring in advance, looked at it bitterly.

“What ring is it?”

“N-Nothing. It was just a gift from oppa.”

“So, what is it?”

“I-It’s a secret. A secret between the t-two of us. Hehe.”

“…”

“Since it’s a secret. I should never say it.”

The way Jung Hayan smiled and answered Cha Hee-ra was overwhelming. So far, Jung Hayan’s words felt more powerful than the provocations I had done to my enemies.

It was childish and ridiculous, but that kind of provocation was extremely effective when used in the right situation.

However…

Surprisingly, Cha Hee-ra possessed a rather gentle mien. I knew she would not fall into provocation.

‘As expected of our Hee-ra!’

Yuno Kasugano and Elena seemed a little bit envious, however.

‘I’ve already told them…’

I don’t remember when exactly, but I remember talking about an important person to me and wanting to be together and stuff.

They probably recalled that memory clearly. I mean, they were certainly jealous, but I felt that they were deeply comforting themselves, saying it was okay.

‘I-I guess it’s okay…’

The result wasn’t too bad, considering that Cho Hyejin had just dropped a bomb.

Nothing happened throughout the entire duration of the meal, and the situation seemed to be over.

“Then… shall we go?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going straight to Lindel?”

“I think I’m going to go to Celia, Elena.”

“Okay. It was nice to meet you, Yuno Kasugano. Please go carefully.”

“Honey. And second. Come quickly. You said you didn’t have time.”

Until I witnessed that one side of the table where Cha Heera was sitting was torn like a sheet of paper, folded and discarded…

‘It’s made of iron… that table. Fuck…’

I quickly realized that the laughing Cha Heera wasn’t really laughing.