Chapter 949. Trial (8)

— Lee Ki-Young, you bastard! It’s no use pretending, you rat!

Kim Hyun-Sung had done his job perfectly. I had doubts whether he could play the role of an assassin, ranger, or thief, and I was sure that doubt was due to the fact that he had the typical swordsman image.

‘But I don’t think he left any traces...’

I expected nothing less than that from a regressor.

I assumed he had done a similar mission in his past life because his past life was quite troublesome, unlike his current life, where he was walking down a smoother path. I was sure his experience in his tumultuous first life had helped him immensely.

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had built a reputation in the underworld.

‘It was a difficult task.’

We were talking about the underground prison of the Vatican here, after all.

It would be easy for him to just break in and help Gen escape, but helping Gen escape without anyone noticing was difficult.

The continent’s worst criminal had disappeared overnight.

There were no traces of mana, and there were no traces of holy power being as well.

A few people got injured, but no one died.

Templar Gen was the only one who disappeared. He managed to avoid the eyes of that demon summoner, who definitely was prepared for this kind of variable, so I could definitely say for sure that...

'He’s no different from the continent’s number one assassin. Shit.’

He definitely got himself a second job advancement for what he had done.

If Kim Hyun-Sung were the one who kidnapped me instead of Templar Gen, no one would find me ever again.

I peeked outside and heard a loud voice.

“What the hell were the Holy Knights doing?!” Father Basel shouted.

“I’m sorry,” a knight said.

“Father Lee Ki-Young... where is he? Was he...” Father Basel asked.

“Thankfully, we confirmed that he’s in his room,” the knight answered.

“You must tighten up the security. You have to protect Father Lee Ki-Young with your life. He might come back for him,” Father Basel ordered.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” the knight said.

“Is Father Lee Ki-Young aware of what happened?” Father Basel asked.

“He’s probably not aware of it yet,” the knight replied.

“What do we do...”

They prioritized security, and there were quite a few people worried about me.

‘It’s only natural.’

Criminals had the tendency to return to the scene of the crime.

Gen's crime had ended up in failure, so there was a chance that he'd come back to take me away again. I saw Holy Knights standing near my room, and I also saw members of the Blue Guild.

Just as I thought that they'd soon enter my room, I heard knocking on the door.

“Hyung-nim,” Park Deok-Gu said.

‘Damn it, it’s the pig.’

“I don’t want to see you right now,” I said.

“H-Hyung-nim...” Park Deok-Gu mumbled.

“If there’s something you want to tell me, tell Jo Hye-Jin to come in,” I instructed him.

“All right,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Sir, it’s me,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“Come in, Miss Hye-Jin,” I said.

Jo Hye-Jin, Park Deok-Gu, and Kim Ye-Ri entered the room.

‘Go away, you pig!’

When I glared at Park Deok-Gu, he immediately flinched. He looked like a rain-soaked puppy.

I eventually stopped glaring at him, and he quietly took a seat. It had been a few days since the trial, and we were still in the middle of a cold war. I could already deduce why the guild members had come here to visit me.

“So... what brings you here?” I asked, going straight to the point.

Jo Hye-Jin nodded and replied, “Templar Gen has vanished."

I already knew that he was gone, but I still pretended to be shocked.

I entered a state of denial and looked at Jo Hye-Jin as if I couldn’t understand her words.

“...”

“...”

“What?” I asked.

“Like I said, Templar Gen disappeared, sir. The Vatican is investigating all the Holy Knights who stood guard during the estimated time of his disappearance. They are still trying to figure out what happened.

"The Magic Detection Unit and the rangers were dispatched to investigate the scene, but they haven’t found any traces at all,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“Ye-Ri... have you checked the scene?” I asked.

“Yeah, but there weren’t any traces of mana or holy power. He probably just used brute force... I can’t really explain it... but there’s no one on the continent capable of doing that.

"This must be the work of an assassin with a skill to erase traces, or perhaps they have a skill that allows them to conceal their mana. The latter is an attribute that has never been recorded on the continent just yet, or at least I'm not aware of anyone with that kind of attribute.

"Chang-Ryeol oppa is currently investigating my former assumption... but if that isn’t the case, then it’s the work of someone unknown to us,” Kim Ye-Ri explained.

“We believe Templar Gen has yet to escape the Vatican. The Vatican and the Blue Guild have determined that we need to focus on protecting you more than tracking him down, so we’re planning on staying here to protect you in the next forty-eight hours.

"It is going to be uncomfortable, but..." Jo Hye-Jin trailed off.

“...”

“Sir.”

“...”

“He’s a criminal,” Jo Hye-Jin continued.

I frowned because the idea that I'd have guards so close to me sounded annoying, but it seemed that Jo Hye-Jin had misunderstood me.

“I completely understand how you’re feeling, but you can’t deny the crimes that he has committed. The guild’s Investigation Team believes that the Templars are behind his escape,” Jo Hye-Jin added.

— You coward! Are you... not feeling embarrassed at all? You shameless bastard!

‘Ah, our commander is so loud.’

“I’m sure there was some kind of reason he approached you in the first place. I know it’s heartbreaking, but...” Jo Hye-Jin trailed off. Then, she nodded and added, “You don't have to sympathize or empathize with him.”

“You were tricked, hyung-nim,” Park Deok-Gu chimed in.

“...”

“You can tell if you just think about it a little. That jerk fooled our hyung-nim to take advantage of him. I don’t know what those Templar bastards are going after here... but if Templar Gen really cared about our hyung-nim, he wouldn’t have disappeared without a word.

"I’m sure he’s up to something, but don’t worry. I’m going to stay right beside you until the day I die,” Park Deok-Gu said.

'Get away from me and give me my coffee.'

“And... we discovered a suspicious place, sir,” Jo Hye-Jin informed me.

‘I know.’

It was all because Templar Gen was basically telling me his location in real time.

Honestly, I thought it was kind of late because it had been quite a while since I assigned the task to Rafael’s party and those children.

I wasn’t sure if he had missed his chance to tell me, if he was too occupied by the sudden kidnapping case, or if he was busy purging Father Yohan and the remaining evildoers, but I was honestly happy that he completed the quest I gave him.

"There's a high chance that it's the dungeon you mentioned before. I’m sure Templar Gen and his conspirators are inside that dungeon. Rafael’s party and the investigation team of the Black Swan Guild have been dispatched, but there’s nothing to report yet,” she said.

“Templar Gen...” I mumbled.

“That jerk is probably there. I’m sure they’re coming up with some sort of unimaginable plan. The anomalies happening on the continent are getting worse... and the reason he kidnapped and tortured you was definitely to delay us from dealing with the anomalies.

"You are the protector of the continent, after all. He's probably trying to get rid of anything that might get in his way,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Mr. Gen is—”

“Sir,” Jo Hye-Jin interrupted me.

“Yes?”

Jo Hye-Jin looked pretty cautious as she asked, “Can you tell me exactly what happened when you were with him?"

“I don’t want to talk about it. I testified everything in court,” I replied.

Park Deok-Gu and Kim Ye-Ri exchanged glances.

They stepped back, thinking that we were going to have an important conversation.

“I’m sorry to tell you this... but you might have been brainwashed or hypnotized...” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“What?”

“There were no signs of mana; not even similar artifacts were found. You said you're okay, but you were already experiencing mental issues even before the War against the Outer Gods, so there’s a chance that you've been hypnotized by him,” Jo Hye-Jin explained.

‘Hypnotism? Really, Hye-Jin? Have you been reading some weird novels lately?’

“Sir, I’m being very serious... right now,” Jo Hye-Jin added.

‘What kind of novels has she been reading these days?’

“No, it’s nothing like that so don’t worry. I was simply thinking about him as a human being. I have more good memories than bad memories now,” I told her.

“....”

“I’m going to enter the dungeon as well, so please be prepared,” I instructed.

“No way!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“I have things I need to handle for Benigoa's sake,” I explained.

“Stop talking nonsense! It's because of that Gen or Gwen, right?!” Park Deok-Gu yelled.

“...”

“If it’s truly because of Goddess Benigoa, then you don't have to do that. The continent has plenty of talented people—”

“Hye-Jin noonim is right,” Park Deok-Gu interrupted Jo Hye-Jin.

'Let me set the mood first. A serious face and atmosphere always helps.'

“I just... I just want to see it with my own eyes,” I said.

“Hyung-nim...” Park Deok-Gu mumbled.

“I want to know the truth and what’s real... I still believe him, but I think there’s something wrong. There might be something... in that dungeon,” I told them.

— Lee Ki-Young, you coward! You losing like that...

‘He’s being so loud.’

"What? Is something wrong?"

— What you did was just...

"Did you get the rosario?"

— The rosario?

"Now that I think about it, I heard Templar Gen broke out of prison."

— Don’t act like you don’t know.

"How can you do this?"

— What?

"You should have just said something if you think you’re going to lose. You're so scared of losing that you even ruined the trial where I was winning..."

— What? You arrogant bastard! Put your hand on your chest and think about what you just said.

"

I

was going to win, you dumb commander. You knew I was going to win, so you went ahead and did

that

. The secret weapon I prepared all night long is useless now. Thanks to you, the situation has gotten even more complicated... Haa..."

— Bullshit. Stop talking nonsense, you bastard!!! Secret weapon? Secret weapon? I know every single detail of your plan. That useless and meaningless rosario is in my hands; you can only make so many objections, and we've prepared a counterargument for every single objection of yours!

"I’ll forget about it since I’m not the type to dwell on the past."

— Don’t make me laugh, Lee Ki-Young. You’re so shameless. Don’t... Don’t contact me for personal reasons from now on.

"Is it okay to contact you as long as it's about business?"

'Aren’t you going to play games with me? You’re really not going to play with me?'

"Don’t be like that and get ready to enter the dungeon. This isn’t for a personal matter."

— What?

"It’s a pretty big dungeon, so prepare yourself. Come to think about it, do you have any knowledge about clearing dungeons?"

'What are you going to do now? This game is a really, really fun one.'

— ...

"We’ll quantify the dungeon's clear results and convert them to points. We’ll duel, and the winner is the one with the highest points."

'It’s a duel. It’ll be really fun. A battle between brains. A battle between a prodigy and someone with mediocre talent.A battle between the symbols of the Sacred Democratic Country and the Republic.'

Obviously, I had a bit more of an advantage, but games were more fun if one had an edge over the competition.

"If you’re not going, then I’ll take Hee-Ra noona with me. In the meantime, you can just catch up on your work. As I promised, I’ll make sure to give you a massive fund for your project. I’m expecting... good results."

— ...

— I’ll...

"Yes?"

— I’ll play with you one last time.

"..."

'This guy...'

“I’ve decided to convene a meeting. Please summon all the guild members,” I ordered.

It had been quite a while since I met all the guild members.