Chapter 137

Priest Komer.

He was a puppet controlled by the White Devourer, but his actions were no different from anyone else’s.

So far, he hasn’t threatened us or done anything shady. In fact, he’s even been accommodating.

Thanks to Priest Komer and the villagers’ permission, the expedition team set up a temporary residence in the village to stay.

We planned to rest in the village for a day and then move on the next day.

I wanted to tease Yoo Ju because of the way she was looking at Priest Komer earlier.

It was time to wrap up the day.

When I went to Yoo Ju’s tent, she greeted me with a happy face.

“Y-Yoon Seong! What brings you here…? Could it be…?”

She seemed to have some strange expectations.

‘…Nope, not that.’

I pushed aside my mixed feelings about how Yoo Ju ended up like this and spoke up.

“…Sorry for coming so late, Yoo Ju. It’s about what happened today.”

“Ah…”

‘Why does she look disappointed?’

“I see. So, it’s about the village, right?”

“Yes, it seems the villagers are continuously losing their memories. Only Priest Komer remembers Ha Yu-ri…”

When I brought up Priest Komer, Yoo Ju’s expression changed.

“Priest Komer seems like a good person. Thanks to him, the expedition team was able to settle in the village comfortably.”

I deliberately continued to praise Priest Komer.

If Yoo Ju knew there was something off about Priest Komer, she would at least react.

“…Do you think Priest Komer is a good person, Yoon Seong?”

“Ah… Honestly, I was wary at first, but Ha Yu-ri seems to trust him, and from his tone and actions, he seems like a good person.”

“……”

As expected, Yoo Ju’s expression wasn’t positive.

“…Yoo Ju?”

“It’s just… I don’t feel like he’s a good person. There’s something… off about him, I guess.”

‘Well… this much is clear.’

I don’t know if Yoo Ju participated in the first expedition or not.

Maybe this expedition didn’t happen in the first round, but since Yoo Ju seems to know Priest Komer, that thought is probably wrong.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that he’s the only one relatively unaffected while the villagers are losing their memories?”

Yoo Ju seemed eager to convince me that Priest Komer was suspicious.

“Listening to you, Yoo Ju… it does seem…”

“The Swamp of Oblivion is definitely different from other dungeons I’ve experienced. No, it’s different.”

“…..”

“I find it strange. Suddenly, there’s someone friendly towards us? In such a suspicious village? I think… we need to be appropriately suspicious and cautious.”

She’s definitely right. The reason Yoo Ju and I can think this way is because of our memories from the first round.

I don’t know why Ha Yu-ri isn’t suspicious of Priest Komer, but I can make a rough guess.

‘…Three years ago, during the expedition, maybe the priest didn’t directly interfere.’

Or maybe he pretended to help.

Even if he was hindering us under the guise of help, the expedition team wouldn’t have known.

“Anyway… I understand what you’re saying, Yoo Ju. What about the villagers…?”

“The villagers… I’m not sure…”

‘So, the villagers aren’t a problem, huh?’

Nothing is certain yet. But teasing Yoo Ju’s reaction will definitely help when it comes to moving Ha Yu-ri.

‘I can just give Ha Yu-ri an order, and if she finds it suspicious, I can always reveal my abilities.’

After all, even if she knows about my abilities, Ha Yu-ri can’t harm me.

******

The next day, just as the expedition team was about to leave the village, Priest Komer approached us.

“…You’re planning to go further in, I see.”

“Ah… Priest Komer.”

“Coincidentally, my prayers were answered yesterday. The god I serve has commanded me to guide you brave travelers.”

“Ah… So you’re planning to move with us again?”

“Yes, that’s right. How could I leave travelers without guidance in such a treacherous place? It wouldn’t be right for someone who serves a god.”

I almost laughed at his words.

To me, his words just sounded like he wanted to interfere with our movements.

At first, I thought about having Ha Yu-ri refuse, but then I changed my mind.

‘No, it might be better to keep him close. If we refuse and he does something shady behind our backs, it’ll be more troublesome.’

There’s a reason they say to keep your enemies close.

In the end, I didn’t say anything to Ha Yu-ri, and since there was no reason to refuse Priest Komer, he joined the party.

As we moved away from the village, we encountered another group of Shapes, but we dealt with them without much damage.

Though I say “without much damage,” it doesn’t mean there was no damage.

It’s just that the damage wasn’t the Damage of Eternity.

“Ha Yu-ri, reporting. Due to the battle with the Shapes at the front, two from the Plum Blossom Clan were injured, and one died.”

‘Tsk…’

“Understood.”

It’s only natural that the Plum Blossom Clan, positioned at the front, would take damage.

And it was also the result I intended.

‘So, if you run your mouth… you’ll have to pay the price, right?’

I feel no guilt.

If someone was destined to die at the front, it’s better to weaken the forces hostile to me.

But the person involved couldn’t take it.

Seo Mi-kyung, who was at the front, approached Ha Yu-ri with an angry face.

“Switch us out! We even had a death in our clan because we were at the front!”

‘Oh no, this won’t end well…’





“…Sorry, but that’s impossible.”

“Why not! At least take turns being the vanguard! Our clan is taking a huge loss here!”

Logically, it makes sense. Since the vanguard position is burdensome, taking turns would be the way to go.

Just as I was starting to think the Plum Blossom Clan couldn’t be used as a shield anymore, human selfishness unintentionally came to my aid.

“Ahem… Once the positions are set, they should stay that way…”

“Wasn’t it decided fairly through a vote?”

*Snort…*

Other clan masters subtly began opposing Seo Mi-kyung’s words.

Well, thinking about it, it makes sense. From their perspective, if the vanguard position is rotated, their own clans would suffer losses.

‘This is so annoying.’

No one here was on the Plum Blossom Clan’s side.

“What, what did you say? Are you kidding me?! There have been casualties! Your clans haven’t had any casualties, so it’s easy for you to say!”

“Ahem… Well, in large-scale expeditions like this, casualties are inevitable.”

“What, what?”

Seo Mi-kyung looked incredulous, stunned by the shamelessness and selfishness of the others.

“Plum Blossom Clan Master, you need to stay strong in times like these.”

‘Wow… impressive. I couldn’t be that shameless.’

Seo Mi-kyung bit her lip in frustration, ignored the other clan masters, and dropped a bombshell on Ha Yu-ri.

“I… no, the Plum Blossom Clan will withdraw from this expedition!”

“…What? Seo Mi-kyung, are you serious?”

“Ha, what do you expect us to do? If this continues, our clan will be the only one suffering losses!”

Of course, the other clan masters couldn’t stay silent when the clan acting as their shield was leaving.

“Now… Plum Blossom Clan Master, isn’t this a hasty decision? Even so…”

“Withdrawing from the expedition all of a sudden? What are you…”

“Enough. Ha Yu-ri, anyway, our Plum Blossom Clan is withdrawing from the expedition.”

‘Stupid girl.’

Once you’ve joined a large-scale expedition like this, you can’t just leave because you want to.

Whether she doesn’t know this or is just throwing a tantrum, it’s just childish behavior.

“…Seo Mi-kyung, the expedition has already entered the Swamp of Oblivion. The Plum Blossom Clan can’t just leave because you want to.”

“What nonsense!”

‘It’s not nonsense, you idiot.’

“…Anyway, withdrawing from the expedition is impossible at this point. And how do you plan to return? We’ve already entered the Swamp of Oblivion, and your clan has members who’ve lost their memories.”

“That’s…”

“Giving up on the expedition is also impossible, and even if you do, those who’ve lost their memories will have to live without them forever.”

“But…”

“And if you wanted to rotate the vanguard position, you should have brought it up before the vote.”

Ha Yu-ri is right. Honestly, from her perspective, it’s understandable she’s upset.

But she probably didn’t think her clan would be the one to take the vanguard position before the vote, so she didn’t suggest rotating it.

Not just her, but everyone here.

If they wanted to rotate the vanguard position, they should have said so before the vote.

“So please return to your position, Seo Mi-kyung.”

“Dammit!”

All Seo Mi-kyung could do was express her frustration.

After treating the injured and recovering the bodies of the deceased from the Plum Blossom Clan, the expedition moved on.

‘…A fork in the road?’

After some time, we reached a fork in the road.

“Ha Yu-ri, what do you think we should do?”

“Ah…”

She seemed slightly flustered by my question but quickly answered.

“…Last time, we went to the right.”

‘Ah, so we’ve been here before?’

“Is that so? Then if we didn’t achieve much by going right last time, maybe we should go left this time…”

Before I could finish, Priest Komer interjected with a blank expression.

“You must go to the right at the fork.”

“Priest Komer? Three years ago, we went right but didn’t achieve much…”

“You must go to the right.”

‘…What’s wrong with this guy?’

“Uh… Priest Komer? Last time, we followed your advice and went right, but we gained nothing. So this time, maybe we should go left…”

“The Lord has spoken. You must not go left. For the sake of your journey, you must go to the right.”

‘Bullshit.’

It seems last time, we followed this guy’s advice and went right, only to gain nothing.

His insistence on going right, spouting vague words about divine revelation, made even Ha Yu-ri suspicious.

Naturally, confusion arose over which path to take.

‘…Is he deliberately steering us to the right?’

I had a strong feeling we shouldn’t go right.

Just as I was about to approach Ha Yu-ri, Seo Yoo-ju had already started talking to her.

“Ha Yu-ri, if we didn’t achieve much by going right last time, I think we should try going left this time.”