Afterwards, I had no idea what the two talked about. As the heavy door of the conference room closed, the voices from inside had been cut off, as if a mute button had been pressed.
However, Bae Jaemin opened the conference room door sooner than I thought and exited. Though I stood right in front of the door, the Priest strode towards the end of the hallway without giving me a single glance.
âIt seems like heâs angryâŠ?â
The moment Bae Jaemin had exited the door, I had briefly caught a look at his face; though it was a very brief moment, I clearly caught his crumpled brows. Since I had been wary of him from the very beginningâmy attention had been occupied by the Priestâthere was little chance I mistook what I saw. It sounded like he had an argument with Seo Dawon inside the room, and the argument didnât seem to have a good resolution.
âIs it okay for me to go inâŠ?â
I was concerned about Bae Jaemin, but Seo Dawon was currently my biggest challenge.
The room seemed to be plunged in a chilly atmosphere; I couldnât move and simply craned my neck to look inside. At that moment, as if he had been waiting for me, I heard a soft voice. âCome on in.â
ââŠâŠâ Faced with no other choice, I opened the conference room door and cautiously entered.
Inside, Seo Dawon looked at me with a smile. âYou did something wrong, huh?â
âYeahâŠ.Yes?â
âWhy are you so conscious of me today?â
At first, I thought Seo Dawon was interrogating me in his own particular way, but⊠after speaking, he made a startlingly mischievous face.
It was as if⊠No, to be accurate, it was as if he had a soft spot for the owner of this body, Jung Garam. His eyes were friendly and relaxedâa look I had not expected from the Mage; I was startled at its unfamiliarity.
Moreover, Seo Dawon did not seem to find my embarrassment strange. He just looked at my red face and beckoned me to come closer. âReach out your arm.â
âWhyâŠâ
Seo Dawon didnât answer and instead smiled. I couldnât refuse that smile.
Hesitating, I offered my right arm; Seo Dawon briefly grabbed my wrist before releasing it. When the Mageâs hands fell away, the [system message alert] rang, notifying that I had acquired a new item. Surprised, I stared down at my wrist.
On it, there wasâŠ
[Glow-in-the-dark Bracelet
Type: Bracelet
Durability: 10
Equipment restriction level: 10
Special Skills: None.
Description:
The glow-in-the-dark color changes when you shake the bracelet.]
A strange bracelet.
Seo Dawon laughed out loud at my stunned expression. âYou were expecting âBea,â huh?â 1
âNoâŠâ
âDonât lie. Your face turned completely red.â His tone was clearly teasing.
Of course, I was surprised. However, my surprise wasnât caused by the paltry item on my wrist but rather the Mageâs attitude.
Until now, I thought that Seo Dawon and Jung Garam had a hierarchical relationship. Although Jung Garam always acted nonchalantly, the young Assassin had always minded the line between them. So, I had imagined that the two would have a more rigid relationship. That is to sayâŠa relationship where Seo Dawon barks orders and Jung Garam listens? The other guild master-guild member relationships that I had witnessed were like thatâŠ
However, it seemed that during their lifetime, these two had a relationship where banter was easily exchanged. Even now, the perceptive Seo Dawon wasnât suspicious of me⊠As expected, it must be because I was wearing Jung Garamâs face.
Rather than doubting me, Seo Dawon just judged that Jung Garamâs mood and condition were different from usual. Well, I suppose when a close friend behaves a little differently than usual, most people would assume an off mood rather than guessing that theyâre a completely different personâŠ
âBea should be given at a formal occasion.â
ââŠâŠâ
âIâll distribute it to you the day before we raid [Second Company].â
ââŠYes.â After organizing my thoughts, I relaxed slightly.
Seo Dawon chuckled and immediately continued, âLim Jisoo entered the country secretly.â
ââŠâŠ!â
âItâs important to find out who she met, but we lost contact with the spy we planted. And, I think⊠the information leaked from our side.â
After hearing that, I recalled Bae Jaemin who had just left the conference room just now. Was he in league with Lim Jisoo ever since the [Second Company] raid? The probability was high.
However, I wasnât sure if, at this point, I could talk about Bae Jaemin to the Mage.
âAnyway, this place is⊠inside the [Vengeful Ghost Memory]âŠâ
No matter what was done here, the future wouldnât change. However, Seo Dawon seemed to have gleaned something different from my darkened expression. âThe information leak is just a guess. Still, just in case.â
ââŠâŠâ
âTell me if something peculiar happens.â
âIâŠunderstand.â I nodded, my head weighty. Seo Dawon patted me on the shoulder. With my head bowed slightly and followed the other out of the conference room
* * *
Mired in my complicated thoughts, I walked around aimlessly; suddenly, I found myself in front of Jung Garamâs lodgings.
Actuallyâsince I was stuck in a time long before even the [Tower of Command] raid, before even the [Second Company] raidâI knew no other place and had no choice but to return to Garamâs house.
However, the problem was⊠Upon entering the home, there were unexpectedly people casually watching TV inside the living room.
âWhat onâŠâ
âAh, Garam-ah.â
âI believe Iâve said around 10 times that you have horrible interior design taste, Jung Garam-kun.â
Sitting on someone elseâs sofa and munching on potato chips, Choi Kyungsik and Bang Eunji greeted me.
I had wondered how I should find Choi Kyungsik who had disappeared after leaving the guild building, but, now that I saw the two of them casually sitting in someone elseâs house, I felt strange. Did the original Garam-ie give the other guild members his home passcode?
In addition, even though she was watching TV and snacking in someone elseâs home, Bang Eunji didnât stop her criticisms.
I couldnât believe my eyes, I wanted to say something, but, no matter what I say, I felt like Iâd just get more exhausted. Besides, how could I retort when I saw them eating the snacks deliciously and swinging their legs softly back and forth?
âHow old is Bang Eunji anyway?â
I know that Jung Garam had been a User since he was a minor, but Bang Eunji looked unnervingly young.
I stared at the two, released a deep sigh, and walked over to the sofa and flopped on its seats. Choi Kyungsik sat on the living room floor, leaning his back against the sofa. As soon as I sat down, he immediately rested his head on my lap. He was naturalâas if he had done this more than once or twice.
Bang Eunji tilted the cylinder container of potato chips towards me. I reached my hand insideâperhaps she was sharingâbut there was nothing inside.
âIâd like one more; salty-caramel flavor, please.â She casually requested.
She frustrated me, but I stood up from the sofa, went to the kitchen, and retrieved the same snack from the alloted snack box. Feeling emotional, I threw the cylinder at her, but Bang Eunji simply caught the flying snack with her eyes fixed on the TV. Once again, she began eating diligently.
Even more frustrating was that Bang Eunji fed Choi Kyung-sik, who was still watching TV; the young girl simply placed a snack in his mouth. Of course, I, sitting next to the Alchemist, didnât even get a pieceâŠ
âWhy on earth am I sad?â
So, I blatantly glared at Bang Eunji until she was caught off guard; I stole the container and popped one chip into my mouth.
Then, Bang Eunji softly turned her head from where she had been watching the screen to give me a cold stare⊠The potato chip inside my mouth was pretty tasteless, but her upset expression was the most delicious seasoning.
Then, as if taunting her, I picked up a handful of the chips and ate them. I felt a cool energy on the back of my neck and instinctively leaned my torso back.
Shhaaaâ!
A red line ripped through the air where my head was and vanished; if I were in my own body, I would not have been able to avoid that. In a blink of an eye, Bang Eunji was once again holding the cylinder of chips.
Bang Eunji smiled brightly and returned my taunt, tilting the barrel as if to pour out all the remaining snacks into her mouth. With my left hand, I snactched them from the air before the potato chips disappeared into her mouth. All she ate were a few grams of potato chip seasoning.
âYouâre quarreling again.â
I could hear Choi Kyung-sik sigh from where he was sitting on the living room floor, but I was too busy running awayâso her [Gunblade] wonât slice my finger. My mind was too chaotic to listen.
Bang Eunjiâs attacks grew more blunt as she got more agitatedâher attack pattern had changed. She was now aiming at my neck instead of the sweets. I dodged every attack I could see, but, in my bid to escape her attacks, my hands inadvertently crushed the snacks held within.
However, it was so much fun, so we continued to fight childishly over the empty container of chips until Bang Eunji finally split the living room sofa in two.