I heard loud cheers around me, so I opened my eyes.

‘Bahamut, you jerk… Looks like you’re finally dead.’

I wasn’t certain, but I had an idea. Why else would they cheer?

"Hyung-nim… Hyung-nim, are you okay?" Park Deok-Gu asked.

"Mr. Lee Ki-Young."

"Mr. Ki-Young… Mr. Ki-Young…"

I was in a blur, but I could hear several voices addressing me at once.

‘Uh, my eyes must still be closed.’

Why was it so dark?

"Please move. I need to check his condition."

I felt like I was dreaming.

‘Am I unconscious?’

I thought I had some energy left after Bahamut’s farewell party, but it seemed that I lost consciousness without realizing it.

‘It’s understandable since I've been withstanding it for a long time.’

It was probably because I was no longer nervous, and all the tension had left me. I had been at my limit a long time ago, and now that I thought about it, I never had a good night's sleep since I saw that scene through Kasugano Yuno.

‘I’m sure I have a lot of injuries…’

They were treating my injuries using holy power, but repeat injuries would eventually make my body break down. I also awakened as Light Ki-Young, so it was natural for me to be in this condition.

While everyone else was cheering, the leaders of the expedition group and the Blue Guild were wrapping things up. It was highly likely they were taking me to a camp. I couldn’t feel like I was being moved, but I heard loud noises outside.

I could also hear someone crying.

"Hurry up and take him. Hurry!"

"B-But… is it okay to leave him… like this? Just now, he clearly—"

"What?"

"You saw it yourself, didn’t you? F-Father Lee Ki-Young… a-a demon…"

"Shut up," Kim Hyun-Sung said.

"What?"

"I told you… to shut up before I break that mouth of yours," Kim Hyun-Sung threatened.

He clearly regained consciousness before me.

‘But you shouldn’t threaten people like that.’

"..."

Afterward, I heard Jo Hye-Jin’s voice.

"I’m sure you’re already aware, but everything you saw today is top secret. Forget everything you saw here. It’s also written in the expedition contract, so please keep that in mind." �

‘Yeah, that's what I’m talking about. Our Hye-Jin is doing so well. Hyun-Sung, you shouldn’t make threats like that, man.’

"B-But…"

"The Blue Guild and the Vatican are aware of your concerns, but right now, it’s hard to make any decisions," Jo Hye-Jin explained.

"Understood."

‘You need to be nice like her.’

Jo Hye-Jin's voice was getting farther and farther away.

With a

thud

, I heard Sun Hee-Young and Elena’s voices.

"There’s nothing wrong with his body.

Um…

about the other Mr. Ki-Young…," Elena said.

"As of right now, I don’t feel it. What do you think, Miss Elena?" Sun Hee-Young asked.

"You’re right, Miss Sun Hee-Young. I-I don’t… feel it. He’s just exhausted… so you don’t have to worry too much, Master," Elena replied.

"

Wheeew…

I’m… glad," Kim Hyun-Sung said.

Afterward, I could no longer hear any voices.

It sounded like they were having a serious conversation, but their voices were faint.

It sounded like they were talking slowly as well. Before I fell into another deep sleep, I started thinking about the commotion I heard earlier.

I didn’t think much about it because I was really out of it earlier, but now that I thought about it.

‘It was because of… Light Ki-Young.’

I knew it was going to be problematic.

‘Damn it. Why did I overdo it?’

I failed to control my emotions. It was such a desperate situation, so I got really agitated. In the eyes of a third party, however, I definitely looked like someone who had lost his mind.

It was highly likely that I looked like a psycho because I was crying and laughing for no reason.

Actually, some of the field commanders were aware of the reason behind my actions, but who could laugh off the appearance of the Monarch of Lust and Eternal Sleep?

I was sure they thought my unstable mind made me like a ticking bomb. I had a disgusting appearance, and from the point of someone unaware, I had to have treated Kim Hyun-Sung, the world’s strongest, as if he were a slave.

‘It’s understandable that they’d make a big deal out of it.’

Jin Cheong did not intentionally disconnect from the channel, so it was clear that he really wanted to see me fail.

"Hyung-nim… are you… okay?"

'Oh, the pig is here.'

"Are you sure… you're okay?" Park Deok-Gu asked again.

'I’m fine.'

"I hope I’m not making a fuss… but the situation I thought would never happen again actually happened again. I suddenly feel worried. I don’t know what happened… but hurry up and get up. Fix this. I also have many things I want to hear from you…" Park Deok-Gu said.

'What do you want to hear?'

"

Ah

, also, don’t hate Hyun-Sung bro so much. After hearing his side of the story, it sounded like everyone had agreed on it. I know you were trying to take on the difficult task by yourself like always, but you can’t expect us to stand by and do nothing after disappearing like that all of a sudden," Park Deok-Gu complained.

I wanted to keep listening, but I was getting sleepy.

Afterwards, I heard Jo Hye-Jin’s voice.

"Don’t do that again."

'Do what?'

"Don’t… Don’t try to do that again, you jerk," Jo Hye-Jin added.

'What are you talking about?'

"Do you have any idea how scared I was? Do you know how scary it is… to suddenly lose memories of you…

Heuk… heuuk…!

" Jo Hye-Jin cried.

'Why is she crying?'

"Miss Hye-Jin…"

"

Heuk… heuuuk…

"

'Wait, did you come here with Elias? He's not comforting you right now, is he?'

"

Heuk…

you jerk. You’re the worst person in the world," she said.

"It’ll all be fine," Elias said.

'Elias, you bastard. Don’t you dare lay a finger on her, you scum. How dare you approach her at her weakest—'

'Ah… I’m sleepy.'

I heard a voice again.

"Mister… wake up…"

It was Ye-Ri's voice.

"He… didn’t die again, did he?" asked Kim Ye-Ri. She seemed to have been traumatized by my death.

"

Kgh… heuk…

He’s not dead, right? He's not dead, right?" Kim Ye-Ri questioned.

I was clearly breathing, so why was she acting this way?

What’s wrong with them? It hadn't even been a week.

‘Wait, a week? It probably hasn't even been four days.’

The information I extracted from my visitors allowed me to deduce that the expedition group had yet to retreat.

Bahamut was dead, but the dungeon conquest wasn't over yet.

The Blue Guild and the expedition group couldn’t leave this place yet, so they had to have built a tent for me to rest instead of taking me up to the surface.

They had made the right decision. They had to keep an eye on me to deal with the Light Ki-Young incident. It was also better for me to be close to them, so I could deal with anything unexpected.

"I came to report the situation outside in case you’re curious, Mr. Lee Ki-Young."

'I knew I could rely on you, Hee-Young.'

"..."

"Miss Hee-Young has something to do in the afternoon, so I came in her place, sir."

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

'Ki-Mo is here as well.'

"There’s actually something I need to report first… It seemed like Miss Jo Hye-Jin and Mr. Elias has gotten really close recently," Sun Hee-Young reported.

'What?'

"I don’t think they’re dating yet… but I feel like there’s something going on between them. She wasn’t like this before… but it seems like Miss Jo Hye-Jin has finally become aware of Mr. Elias’s presence.

"They’ve been going on exploration tasks a lot recently. I don’t know what they’re talking about… but the worst-case scenario you’ve been worried about might be happening," Sun Hee-Young added.

'Shit, I knew this was going to happen. That bastard.'

The next one was Chang-Ryeol.

"As you’ve mentioned, sir, I’ve been trying to recruit Colonel Smith. We’re still discussing the details of his contract. I think it’s best… if you listen to the conditions…" Lee Chang-Ryeol suggested.

They were doing great.

They knew what to do without me telling them what they needed to do.

Since the expedition was on hold for now, everyone started poaching and recruiting people. There was also some trading going on, as the top adventurers of the continent were all here.

I was sure there were people they liked and groups that lined up with their ideals.

We didn’t need to follow this trend, but we needed to recruit Colonel Smith.

'Ah, Captain Sophia isn’t so bad, either.'

It was fun hearing news about what was happening outside from time to time.

"Mr. Ki-Young… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.

Heuk

…" Kim Hyun-Sung would cry a lot during his visits. Despite being the leader of the expedition, he had been spending too much time here.

"Hyung-nim… today is the fourth day. We’ve been searching everywhere… but we haven't been able to find anything. Can we even clear this dungeon?" Park Deok-Gu asked.

"Mr. Deok-Gu, it’s time to change shifts."

The pig and Hwang Jung-Yeon were complaining about many things.

"O-O-Oppa… you’re mean. T-This… is y-you’re fault. I-I did nothing wrong, so you’re… the bad guy," Jung Ha-Yan said.

"..."

"Y-You need to be punished… for being bad. Yeah… punished. S-Sora, there’s no one outside, right?" Jung Ha-Yan asked.

Jung Ha-Yan would come randomly and say ridiculous things about punishing me and that I was the bad guy.

"Darling, when are you going to wake up? It’s really boring here. Let’s head up soon. Show me your transformation again, you got it?" Cha Hee-Ra said.

"..."

"

Ugh

… this is driving me crazy. I need to hurry and get out of here," Cha Hee-Ra added.

After visiting me once, Hee-Ra noona did not visit me again.

"Can you hear me, Sub Guild Master? Can you hear me? Can you see me or hear me?"

Elena was focused on checking my condition.

Even new guild members visited me often and said ridiculous things. I wasn’t sure whether an order to visit was given to the entire guild or not, but I found it entertaining to listen to the rookies.

"

Woof!

" Shiro barked.

"

Ah!

Belier!" Alps greeted.

"Miss Alps. Y-You’re already here," Belier said.

"Yes. The others are outside. They said there's no one else who can work beside me… You didn’t… get a mission… Miss Belier?" she asked.

How was this not entertaining?

"It’s kind of hard… right? Miss Sun Hee-Young… is kind of scary…" Alps asked.

"Miss Kim Ye-Ri… always tells me that I've changed a lot since I joined. I understand what she’s saying… but it makes me kind of sad," Belier told her.

"And Miss Yoo Ah-Young is the same," Belier added.

Gossiping about other people was always fun.

The guild members weren’t the only ones who visited me.

"How long are you planning on sleeping, you idiot? Shouldn’t you end this since you started this?" Commander Jin asked. He visited me only once.

"Master…

Heuk

…. Master!" Kasugano Yuno visited me once as well.

Since entry to the room was pretty strict, only guild members could enter, except for Jin Cheong, Kasugano Yuno, and Cha Hee-Ra. In addition to them, I heard Ji-Hye noona mumbling something through the communication channel.

Exactly five days later, I finally opened my eyes.

"Y-You need to be punished—O-O-Oppa?"

Jung Ha-Yan hugged me with a shocked face.

"I can’t breathe, Ha-Yan," I told her.

"

Heuk… kgh…

O-O-Oppa…

Kgh…

" Jung Ha-Yan cried.

"I said I can’t breathe," I repeated.

All the guild members soon entered the room, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of them.