It had been a while since we were so busy.

“

Ah!

I said move it over there! Ki-Mo bro, bring that here!” Park Deok-Gu instructed.

“Okay, b-but this is pretty heavy,” Ahn Ki-Mo said.

“Stop being such a baby, Mister Ki-Mo,” Kim Ye-Ri commented.

“Give it here. I’ll carry it. Man… didn’t you eat breakfast? You don’t have any energy,” Park Deok-Gu complained.

“I’ll… leave it up to you,” Ahn Ki-Mo said.

“Dummy.”

As always, the Park-Ki-Ri siblings were grumbling while moving the luggage.

‘They’re really…’

A part of me was worried about Kim Ye-Ri and Park Deok-Gu, but seeing them act like that put my mind at ease. They were still walking on eggshells around me, so I was convinced that they weren't completely comfortable around me just yet, but I believed this picnic would put

their

mind at ease.

‘They’ve been through a lot.’

Our pig was pretty simple-minded. I was sure he'd forget everything upon eating delicious food and taking a nap. Our sensitive Kim Ye-Ri also needed to relax.

“A picnic. All of a sudden? Sounds really. Stupid,” Kim Ye-Ri mumbled.

Despite that, she looked happy and was smiling like a purring cat.

Kim Ye-Ri was always wearing her combat gear to the extent that I questioned whether she had any other clothes except for her combat gear. However, it seemed that my assumption was just a bunch of nonsense, as she was dressed properly today.

I assumed that was the reason she went to square up with Hwang Jung-Yeon yesterday. I wasn’t sure who helped her pick out the outfit, but she was wearing a short one-piece dress and a rattan hat. Overall, she looked pretty good.

“Let’s leave our weapons behind,” Ahn Ki-Mo suggested.

“I already did. Mister Ki-Mo,” Kim Ye-Ri said.

“I’m talking about the daggers you’re hiding in your pocket,” Ahn Ki-Mo clarified.

Kim Ye-Ri took out her daggers, and the sight convinced me that old habits were truly hard to kill.

‘That’s her problem.’

“B-But…”

“I’m sure we won’t get into any fights, Miss Ye-Ri. A contractor has also agreed to provide guards, and we've taken care of everything around us. Our goal here is to really enjoy our break without any worries.

"I heard that you couldn’t sleep last night because you were so excited,” Ahn Ki-Mo revealed.

“What? Who told you that?” Kim Ye-Ri asked.

“I was just guessing—”

“

Eek!

” Kim Ye-Ri screamed.

Ahn Ki-Mo ran to the other side, and Kim Ye-Ri chased him. Thanks to Park Deok-Gu and Ahn Ki-Mo, Kim Ye-Ri could act her age. I had no idea when she started hanging out with them, but I was glad that they had influenced her positively.

‘But that doesn’t mean it took care of all the problems…’

Kim Ye-Ri learned how to use weapons instead of going to school and enjoying her life.

I was sure there was a rotten side of her, so we need to really take care of her mental health, especially at her age.

“Ah-Young unni! Get Mister Ki-Mo!” Kim Ye-Ri shouted.

“

Huh?

O-Okay!” Yoo Ah-Young answered.

“You’re dead, Mister!” Kim Ye-Ri yelled.

Yoo Ah-Young, who was talking to Lee Chang-Ryeol, grabbed Ahn Ki-Mo in response to Kim Ye-Ri's roar.

Ahn Ki-Mo couldn’t outrun her anymore, and he fell to the ground with a

thud

.

“H-Hold on! You're hitting me in the bones! My bones!” Ahn Ki-Mo yelled.

“Don’t lie! I didn’t even hit your bones,” she said.

‘Is this really a positive influence?’

The other groups weren’t all that different. Sun Hee-Young wearing her nun outfit for the first time in a while was organizing her luggage, and Hwang Jung-Yeon was stuffing her huge bag with anything she could stuff into it.

I wasn’t sure why she was bringing so many things with her…

“You’re bringing a lot more stuff than I imagined…” I remarked.

In contrast to her, Alps and Belier were busy moving luggage, so they had no time to pack their own bags.

‘They just look like they’re working.’

They were even sweating.

‘Our guild is really old-fashioned.’

II considered recruiting a few more young members.

The new recruits of our guild didn't have to move faster than the older members. There weren't any traditions like that, but I heard such traditions were common in the Black Swan Guild, as their members were pretty disciplined.

One of the Blue Guild's goals was to have a hierarchy, but rather than saying that someone had forced Alps and Belier into moving luggage, they probably volunteered for it.

“Do I… move that over there, Miss Alps?” Belier asked.

“That’s right, Belier. Did you hear when we were leaving?” Alps asked.

“I haven’t heard anything. I’ll ask after moving this,” Belier said.

I thought it'd be better if we got about five more new members. I couldn’t imagine how happy they'd be after hearing the news that we were going to get new members, but I was sure they would never imagine that one of them would be Colonel Smith.

Jo Hye-Jin was talking to Ji-Hye noona. Ha-Yan and Sora were standing next to me.

Park Lian was examining the carriage, but I actually didn't notice her arrival.

I got the feeling that no matter how much we tidy up, this would never end.

‘That’s why I suggested we take the warp gate.’

There were a few people suffering from the idea that traveling to the destination was part of the trip. I was talking about the guild staffers who were suffering more than Belier and Alps.

‘I feel bad for them.’

We were just going on vacation, so I couldn't help but think that Kim Hyun-Sung had made too big of a deal about it.

‘This is way too big for a break.’

Some of the staffers had determined faces, and I couldn't help but think that they treated this vacation as a project of a lifetime.

They were working as if their job security depended on this one project.

They were completely different from the guild members who were simply packing for a trip. They kept checking the list of items on the Goddess’ Hand Mirror, but some of them were even having debates.

Meanwhile, Miss Kim Mi-Young was mumbling nonstop while wearing earphones.

They brought items I had never seen before.

‘I think that's a large water tank.’

I saw Mirror Salmon swimming in the large water tank.

‘Rainbow Cotton Candy? I’m tired of it now, man.’

The cotton candy machine was sitting on a large cart. There was a giant, mysterious tent, and I wasn’t sure why there were pre-fabricated building frames.

‘We’re not moving bases, are we? Why… does it seem like we have more luggage than when we went to the Saint’s Sanctuary?’

'We aren't spending more money on this picnic than we do on expeditions, right?'

I saw carts filled with useless items. There were so many items that someone would think that we were on our way to heaven. If reporters were here, rumors would spread about how the Blue Guild was moving their headquarters.

“We’re here, darling.” A voice echoed beside me. It came from none other than Cha Hee-Ra. She was wearing jeans and a sleeveless top.

“

Ah

, Hee-Ra noona,” I greeted.

There were quite a few people from the Red Mercenary Guild who had decided to join us on our vacation. I could see them, and they were wearing casual clothes. The only person whose name I could still remember among them was Choi Young-Ki, the loyal subordinate of Hee-Ra noona. I had seen the faces of the other members before, but they were closer to Park Deok-Gu than me.

“Hey, it’s been a while!” Park Deok-Gu greeted.

“How have you been?”

“Have you been doing well?”

The muscular men hugged and greeted each other.

I turned and saw Hee-Ra noona greeting Jung Ha-Yan.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan said that she’s happy to see you,” Han Sora informed.

“I see. Have you been doing well?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan said that she’s been doing well. She wants to ask if you’ve been doing well—”

“What’s going on? Do I have to talk to you? Han Sora, was it?” Cha Hee-Ra interrupted her.

“

Huh?

Ah…

yes,” she replied.

“

Hmm…

”

“...” “Have you considered joining the Red Mercenary Guild?” she asked.

“What? I-I…”

Jung Ha-Yan bit her lips, and she looked as if she wanted to push Cha Hee-Ra away.

However, Cha Hee-Ra couldn’t be pushed back that easily, but she took a few steps backward and patted Jung Ha-Yan’s head.

Jung Ha-Yan wriggled, looking like she wasn't a fan of it.

“

Eek

… D-Don’t touch me!” Jung Ha-Yan exclaimed.

“I greeted you, so you should greet me yourself, don’t you think so?” Cha Hee-Ra questioned.

Leaving Cha Hee-Ra’s arms, Jung Ha-Yan grabbed both Han Sora and me before glaring at the former. As always, Hee-Ra noona didn’t really seem to care. She actually smiled and said, “I owe the Blue Guild a lot.”

“

Huh?

What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Our guys have received a lot of help from you guys. You guys made an exclusive contract with our guys for this picnic,” Cha Hee-Ra replied.

“...”

“...”

“The Blue Guild?

Ah

, the guard duty was assigned to the Red Mercenary Guild?” I asked.

“No, not that… We were assigned with a raid… Wait, you don’t know?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

‘I don’t know anything about this…’

I had never heard of it…

“The vacation spot. We were told to get rid of all the monsters there…” Cha Hee-Ra informed me.

I don’t know anything about this.

“A few incompetent guild members ruined a few businesses… so we needed something to raise money, and the Blue Guild sent us a commission just in time. Thanks to you, we won’t have to worry about our funds for the next few years,” Cha Hee-Ra explained.

'How much money did we offer? The Red Mercenary Guild actually won't have to worry about their funds for the next few years?'

“I recall you guys getting help from the Magic Tower. The Red Mercenary Guild is pretty skilled overall, but we can’t go up against those experts in the manufacturing industry.

"Having a potion business is just great. Your potions are being distributed everywhere, so you’re sweeping in the gold. You also spread all that gold over Lindel, which has been helping the economy.

"To be honest, Lindel is thriving because of you,” she continued.

'Did we give the Red Mercenary Guild a special commission or something?'

I couldn’t really understand what was going on.

“What kind of commission was it?” I asked.

“An expedition in the Laves Desert,” Cha Hee-Ra answered.

“

Huh?

”

“I heard you’re going there for a picnic. We had a hard time getting rid of all the monsters there, but I managed to relieve some stress. The Union was happy as well,” Cha Hee-Ra informed me.

'T-That’s an underdeveloped region, and it's the size of two hunting grounds combined.'

The desert elves and lizardmen even avoided that place, and the difficulty level of the region was so high that only Epic adventurers and above were permitted to enter. In other words, it was a desolate hunting ground.

It was abandoned by everyone because the monsters there were so useless that they couldn’t even be sold for materials. There was really no reason to hunt there, and it wasn’t rich in resources, so there was no reason to go on an expedition there.

The region's investment value was so low that the region was abandoned.

It was a desert—an endless desert. We wouldn’t get any profit from it even if we tried our best.

‘But our guild… decided to go there?’

'We’re going there… for vacation?'

“Kim Hyun-Sung…” I mumbled.

“...”

“You… crazy bastard…” I said, gnashing my teeth.

*An illustration of Lee Ki-Yeon is attached on the next page.

wooden spoon: It’s an illustration of Lee Ki-Yeon wearing a hanbok!

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