Chapter 476: You Didn’t Do It, Did You? (1)

‘I’ve never seen him make such a face.’

When I thought of how he usually acted, I simply thought it was shocking. Although it was momentary, it seemed he couldn’t hide all of his feelings.

I couldn’t find an appropriate word to express how he looked with his mouth open. If I had to, the most appropriate would be that he looked as if the sky had fallen.

He looked like he had lost a country, causing me to feel surprised as well. He seemed both startled and sorrowful.

Kim Hyunsung’s face, filled with all kinds of emotions, quickly returned to its original state, but it still remained flustered. It must be clear that he couldn’t have imagined that things would turn like that.

‘Right. It’s understandable.’

He had heard the rumors, but he had thought that there would be no way I would do that.

He would have thought there was that much of a bond between us. In fact, considering the attachments I had to Lindel and the Blue, it was natural to judge that such an outcome would not be possible.

Even if he heard rumors that I might suddenly transfer, he wouldn’t have felt it was real.

Amid the changing surroundings, he would have regarded them as rumors, and he was probably hoping that was the case.

However, the rumors ended up becoming true.

It was enough to say that he looked like a husband who did nothing but work hard but still receiving a sudden divorce notice from his wife, who was tired and lonely.

‘You should have followed the famous saying, ‘the strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home,’ Hyunsung.’

Kim Hyunsung, who looked at me while pretending to be calm, continued to talk.

“What do you mean you’re in a stage of serious consideration…?”

“It is as I said. Actually, I didn’t want to tell you about it this way. I haven’t come to a definite decision yet. I meant to tell you when I was a bit more resolute with my decision, but since you brought it up first… I thought it would be better to tell you now. Come to think of it. It was better to say this first. You’ll have to decide on a successor and go through the handover process… I think this is just the right timing.”

“…”

“…”

“T-That’s…”

“I do apologize for having to tell you this out of nowhere.”

“Is that… true?”

“Yes. Actually, I’ve been thinking about it for a few months now.”

‘Exactly from the day you started avoiding me, Hyunsung.’

“…”

“I think it wouldn’t be bad to start anew in a different environment. There have been many things that have happened in the meantime, and I am a little embarrassed to say this, but I think that the Blue Guild now would remain strong and powerful even without me, so I thought it would be nice to move… where I’m needed more.”

“It’s not. The Blue Guild is still growing, and there are piles of things that have not yet been completed… It’s absolutely not.”

Our Hyunsung felt very embarrassed as he said this. I could see that he had a lot on his mind.

He wanted to stop me, but he didn’t seem to know how to say it. He was originally a man who had almost no conversation skills, after all.

I didn’t know if he was aware of it, but he was stuttering like Jung Hayan, and his fingers were constantly moving. His eyes were also running around all over the place… I wasn’t used to such behavior coming from him. It made me feel like his expressions were unfamiliar.

“Still, it seems a bit premature yet. Of course, I can understand Kiyoung’s thoughts to some extent…”

“…”

“I-If there’s anything you’re upset about me…”

Still, I knew he was not that slow.

It seemed that he was entering an internal investigation into the cause of my sudden thought.

‘He must have a guilty conscience.’

His behavior wherein he had been avoiding me must be coming to his mind. Of course, I couldn’t say anything about the reason.

Wasn’t I doing this to get a bit better treatment in the first place?

“There is nothing like that. As I said earlier, I’m just grateful to Hyunsung…”

“Still… if anything is bothering you, I would like to hear from you immediately. Whatever you are uncomfortable with, we will try to accommodate it as much as possible- no, we’ll accommodate you unconditionally. Please.”

“I haven’t really decided on anything yet. I know what I said, but there is a high possibility that I will still remain in the Blue.”

‘I guess he could still tell that I already had one foot out of the door.’

I was already acting like that.

“Still… if you have any concerns… we will meet your conditions as much as possible. It seems that you are getting paid much less than how much you work… and I don’t think you’ve been able to enjoy a proper vacation so far. The guild, no, I will set up everything you need.”

“No. You don’t have to.”

“The Blue still needs you. No, actually, I need you more than the Blue does.”

‘Please refrain from making misleading comments, Hyunsung.’

“I’m sitting in the Guild Master’s seat, but I have never thought that I made the guild grow alone. I always thought of Kiyoung as the owner of the Blue too… If you tell me you’re transferring so suddenly, I honestly wouldn’t know how to react.”

“You don’t have to worry.”

“But-”

“I will still help with the potion business, and the Crack Museum operated by the Blue will keep going on. There probably will be no problems with income. In addition to that, I will try to teach what I’ve done so far so you can maintain what I have left behind. You won’t have problems without me. The same goes for the Blue members. It will be a bit hard to convince them, but I’m taking some measures to ensure that either Hayan or Elena remains at the Blue…”

“No, I’m not saying this because I’m worried about that. It’s not because of that…”

‘This is fun. I should have done this earlier.’

“I’m not really worried about that… Actually, it doesn’t matter if the business we’re doing in the Blue is maintained or not. That’s not where my concern lies.”

‘Why didn’t I do this earlier? Fuck…’

“Oh! I-If you’re transferring, can I ask which one you’re thinking of going to?”

“I’m not sure yet, but the federal side…”

‘The answer is too obvious.’

“If it’s the Federation…”

“Yes. I’m considering transferring to Gerhan and Jamilla’s Federation. Exactly which guild or clan I will enter is still under discussion, but the region will certainly be on the federal side. They said that the view of the sea is very beautiful.”

At this, his face became ambiguous.

He looked as if he was saying that he knew it all along. The puzzle was being put together in his head right at that moment.

Since he already had a firm belief, he could finally make a proper judgment at that moment.

He found the answer to, ‘Why did Lee Kiyoung, who loved the State and Lindel, think about moving to the Federation?’

He tried to find the problem on himself, but when things didn’t go well, it seemed safe to assume that he started looking for problems coming from external forces. Even if I didn’t say it, he must have thought of Gerhan of Hellfire and Jamilla when the word Federation came out…

One of the Blue’s pillars had suddenly revealed his intention to transfer. His expression had now become colder.

I had to be a little curious about how he would come out.

“Contrary to popular rumors, they are good people. It seems they are very thoughtful… Honestly, their level doesn’t seem to be very high, but it felt like they have potential. In particular, it seemed that their guild is going through a lot of difficulties, so they asked for my help.”

“I… see.”

“Come to think of it, isn’t Kylie Yale, who has been recently hanging out with you, a member of the Federation?”

‘What a coincidence, Hyunsung, right?’

“Yes. Probably so. She hasn’t been coming to the guild recently, saying she was busy…”

‘Since she thought she had achieved her purpose, it’s natural for her to stop coming.’

“Then you must have heard a lot about them. In fact, from the perspective of the State, the least known place is the Federation… It seemed there were a lot of amazing things there, and a lot of things I could gain. It was especially interesting that many dungeons have not been attacked yet. Of course, the legendary-grade and heroic-grade dungeons are currently being blocked, but… anyway, it was nice to have a conversation after such a long time, Hyunsung. Excuse me, but I have to go…”

“Ah… yes. I’m sorry. I took too much of your time…”

“No. You didn’t. It was also a fun time for me. Ah! I’m saying this just in case, but I hope you keep this a secret from guild members or any external forces until it becomes clearer. We have some important training ahead, and I am worried that they will be confused in this situation. As you know well, they are shaken very easily.”

“…”

“I hope you don’t tell anyone, especially Deokgu or Hayan.”

“Okay.”

“Then… I’ll be heading out first.”

“Okay. Then…”

‘Hyunsung. It hurts a bit, but this is all for you. I think you know better how to do it.’

I finished this by showing a sweet-bitter face quietly.

I depicted that I confessed everything I was worried about.

My facial expression acting deserved to be called perfect. I passed by Kim Hyunsung as if I were saying goodbye, but all he did was look at me with a complicated expression.

I was sure he’d move to get to the bottom of the matter after I leave. He had such a desperate face, after all.

Obviously, he would continue to investigate the federal side, which he was already doing, as well as ponder what he could do to keep me. I was also curious about how he would come out when it had been confirmed that a third party was involved.

I was worried that he would tell me to leave without regrets, but I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about it when I saw his desperate expression. This meant that Kim Hyunsung never intended to let me go.

It felt like he was going to try to keep me at any cost.

I was curious as to what cards would come after the salary negotiation card and the vacation card, and it became a little fun overall.

All I needed to do then was sit quietly and wait happily since I had already prepared the ground and threw the bait.

What was different from before was that the waiting wouldn’t be as long.

He’d come up with an answer that day if he was quick or tomorrow if he was slow.

Since he was in a very desperate situation, he would solve the problem using any means possible.

The probability was low, but there was also the possibility of appealing to the fact that he was a returner which was why he’s me to remain. I knew it sounded too much, but with the cards he had, he’d have a plausible justification.

The situation wasn’t all that bad.

Until I heard his news exactly 28 hours later, I had to think everything was perfect.

“Vice Guild Master…”

“Yes.”

“The Federation… The Federation…”

“Yes?”

“The Federation has collapsed. We’re trying to figure out exactly what happened, and the rumors are… that one-fifth of the northwest area is completely ruined. The damage continues to accumulate right now… they said that their function as a nation could no longer be restored.”

That was completely unexpected bullsh*t.

‘Hyunsung… fuck… you didn’t do this, did you?’