Chapter 185

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Woo Seo-heun barely managed to block Ruska’s kick, but even after blocking it, she ended up rolling on the ground.

‘Whoa…’

She quickly chanted a spell, and a magic barrier protected her, but it shattered with just one kick. Probably because she cast it in a hurry without any time to focus.

Even though I had told her beforehand that it was okay to go all out, I didn’t expect Ruska to take it this seriously.

Woo Seo-heun had long since dropped her act of being a gentle priest.

Her once soft, light brown hair was now dyed an unsettling shade of purple.

“Cough…! You…! Who the hell are you…!”

Woo Seo-heun’s pupils were trembling uncontrollably. She seemed quite shocked by Ruska’s military power.

‘Well, she’s a top-tier powerhouse herself, so if she’s barely holding on, it makes sense.’

If Woo Seo-heun had been prepared, it might have been different, but in a sudden one-on-one fight, an assassin would naturally have the upper hand.

While struggling to block Ruska’s attacks, Woo Seo-heun suddenly seemed to realize something and opened her mouth.

“You… Could you be the one who annihilated the Predator Clan…?”

‘She’s smarter than I thought. She figured it out in this situation?’

Her ranker-level military power, her being an assassin.

There were plenty of clues to guess, but I was surprised she noticed during the fight. It meant she was thinking even in such a desperate situation.

‘As for Wi Ho-yeon…’

Glancing over at Wi Ho-yeon, the situation there was the opposite. Wi Ho-yeon was pushing back against five people.

‘She’s too desperate.’

Those five probably had no intention of harming me, but Wi Ho-yeon was so desperate to stop them that they couldn’t even get close.

Wi Ho-yeon was gritting her teeth, determined not to let anyone near me.

“Ahhh!”

One of them even got injured by Wi Ho-yeon’s sword.

“Get lost. As long as I’m here, you won’t lay a finger on Lee Yun-seong.”

‘Why is she so charismatic?’

Her presence was so overwhelming that the others were hesitating and stepping back.

‘If we waste more time, things will get messy.’

It was about time to rescue Woo Seo-heun, and if we waited any longer, Wi Ho-yeon might end up wiping out the Acacia Clan members.

I immediately pulled out a seed from my pocket and infused it with magic.

Whoosh!

Of course, everyone was startled by the sudden appearance of the monster.

“Uh, bro?”

“Don’t worry, it’s on our side.”

‘Though it has a time limit.’

Wi Ho-yeon was also staring at me with wide eyes.

Well, it was natural for everyone here to be surprised since they were seeing this chimera for the first time.

‘First, Woo Seo-heun.’

I needed to pretend to rescue Woo Seo-heun from Ruska.

Boom!

The chimera’s charge pushed Ruska back for a moment. I took the opportunity to approach Woo Seo-heun and spoke with a concerned expression.

“Seo-heun, I’ll ask about your current state later. Let’s get you treated first.”

My attitude showed that I was more worried about her safety than her hiding her job.

I wanted to convey that I was more concerned about her being hurt than upset about her deception.

“… Yes, oppa.”

‘Let’s see…’

Ruska was pretending to be pushed back by the chimera.

If Ruska went all out, the chimera might hold out for a while, but it would eventually be destroyed.

Since Woo Seo-heun was next to me, I also needed to act a bit. If I was too calm, it would look suspicious.

“Dammit, why are these outlaws here again…? Don’t tell me they’re from the Execution Society?”

At the mention of the Execution Society, Woo Seo-heun flinched beside me.

‘Well, the Executive Member of the Execution Society is right here, isn’t she?’

“Those damn bastards… The Execution Society bastards… They say outlaws are worse than beasts, and here they are again…!”

To Woo Seo-heun, it probably sounded like I was talking about her.

I glanced at her face and almost burst out laughing.

‘She can even make a pitiful expression.’

Woo Seo-heun was making a face that said she was wronged.

“Right, Seo-heun?”

“Ah…”

“Say ‘Execution Society bastards.'”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, just saying the Execution Society guys are sons of bitches.”

“… Yes.”

“Sons of bitches.”

“……”

I was essentially cursing at Woo Seo-heun next to me, but she couldn’t react. After all, she wasn’t part of the Execution Society right now.

‘Enough teasing.’

I gave Ruska a subtle signal, and she stepped back and spoke.

“… Everyone, retreat.”

At Ruska’s command, everyone started to flee. Ruska also gave me a brief glance before disappearing.

“Phew… We barely made it…”

Not only Hyeon-jin but also Ho-won sat down, exhausted.

Wi Ho-yeon rushed over to me as soon as they left, checking if I was hurt anywhere.

“Lee Yun-seong! Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere…?”

“I’m fine. Thanks to you, I’m not hurt at all. Thank you.”

At my response, Wi Ho-yeon sighed in relief.

“Phew… No, it’s nothing. I’m just glad you’re safe. I thought I wouldn’t be able to protect you this time…”

“You did well fighting five of them. They were probably outlaws lying in wait in this dungeon. Maybe even Execution Society outlaws.”

“I think you’re right, Lee Yun-seong.”

“Bro… I thought I was going to die. It’s a good thing Ho-won and I managed to hold them off, but…”

“……”

An awkward silence fell over everyone.

The reason, of course, was one person.

Hyeon-jin kept glancing at Woo Seo-heun. Her appearance from earlier must have left a strong impression.

While everyone was awkwardly avoiding eye contact, I spoke to Woo Seo-heun first.

“… Seo-heun, what’s going on with your abilities? Is there a reason you hid them?”

I was giving her a chance to explain. I hoped she would take the opportunity well.

“Ah… That’s…”

‘Don’t hesitate, just say it.’

In situations like this, hesitation isn’t good. Wi Ho-yeon was already looking at Woo Seo-heun with suspicion.

What I wanted was to slightly tarnish Woo Seo-heun’s reputation and make her feel that her charm was working on me, not to completely expose her.



Being labeled as a dangerous person is not the case.

“That… I didn’t have any bad intentions. It’s just that the appearance of my ability was unsettling, so I hid it…”

“…Because of the appearance of your ability?”

“Yes, oppa. Really. Please believe me. It’s just that in the past, I was discriminated against because of my ability… Sob…”

The sight of her suddenly crying is ridiculous.

‘Good, squeeze out some tears, and put on a sad act.’

“Sob… Before, in the clan I was in, I was ostracized because of this ability. They said, ‘Why does a priest have such an unsettling ability?'”

‘Not bad for a hastily made-up excuse.’

“I, I was afraid of being abandoned by Eternity too! Please believe me!”

Of course, Woo Seo-heun had no intention of revealing her true colors here.

We were already outnumbered, and they had seen my chimera earlier.

“I believe you, Seo-heun.”

“Sob… Thank you, oppa…”

The situation is subtly tense. As I patted her back without refusing, her trembling began to subside.

She wasn’t really trembling. She just stopped acting for a moment.

‘You think you’re safe just because your face isn’t visible in this position? Not very professional.’

Even if I had truly believed her, I would have found it strange if her trembling suddenly stopped in this situation.

Anyone with sharp senses would have noticed.

While Woo Seo-heun was doing this, Hyeon-jin cautiously spoke up.

“Um… I didn’t know you had such a story, noona. It must have been really hard for you.”

‘Damn it… You’re really…’

Hyeon-jin seemed to have no suspicion of Woo Seo-heun at all.

Ho-won seemed to think something was off, and Wi Ho-yeon…

“Lee Yun-seong, a moment.”

Tap.

She even went as far as separating me and Woo Seo-heun.

“Ah, Ho-yeon.”

“I understand Woo Seo-heun’s situation. But please keep your distance from Lee Yun-seong. As his bodyguard, this is a necessary action. I hope you understand.”

“Yes, yes… I understand…”

Wi Ho-yeon seemed to be in a very sensitive state. Probably because we were just attacked, she’s reacting sharply to my safety.

The atmosphere has become strange, and it’s practically impossible to continue the dungeon raid in this state.

‘Dungeon wasn’t the goal in the first place.’

“Let’s… return to the clan. It’s too much to continue the dungeon raid in this situation.”

“That’s a wise decision, Lee Yun-seong. We don’t know when those attackers might strike again. It’s best to hurry back…”

“Right… that makes sense.”

“Hyung… It’s a bit disappointing. We were almost done with the raid…”

Everyone else had already responded.

“Seo-heun, what about you?”

“Ah… Yes. I think… returning is the right choice.”

‘Good, report it, okay?’

It’s practically impossible to report to the Execution Society here.

I expect Woo Seo-heun will contact the Execution Society as soon as we return to the clan house.

I just need to listen to Woo Seo-heun and the Execution Society’s conversation and then decide on the next course of action.

******

“…What?”

Seo Yoo-ju was shocked by the news we brought back.

“You were… attacked by outlaws?”

“Yes, Yoo-ju. I think… it might have been retaliation from the Execution Society…”

‘Huh?’

Everyone, including me, flinched. An overwhelming killing intent was emanating from Seo Yoo-ju.

‘Damn it… Calm down.’

“…Yoo-ju.”

“…..”

“…Yoo-ju!”

“Ah…”

She finally reined in her killing intent at my words.

“Ah, everyone… I’m sorry. I…”

“Haha… It’s okay, Yoo-ju noona. I understand.”

‘What do you understand, punk? You were trembling in fear just now.’

For a moment, Hyeon-jin’s eyes showed fear of Seo Yoo-ju.

Of course, Hyeon-jin isn’t afraid of Seo Yoo-ju herself. But the killing intent of a strong person can override the reason of the weak.

“Yoo-ju, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“…What is it?”

The anger hadn’t left Seo Yoo-ju’s face yet. But this wasn’t something that could be delayed.

‘Seo-heun, handle this well if you want to live.’

To proceed with my plan, I can’t deal with Woo Seo-heun just yet.

“…Let Seo-heun explain it herself.”

Calling her “Seo-heun” affectionately in front of Seo Yoo-ju would be impossible to handle.

“Ah… Yes, yes. Clan Master, um, it’s like this…”

Woo Seo-heun tearfully confessed to Seo Yoo-ju that she had hidden her job.

The gist of her story was the same as before. She was discriminated against because of her ability’s appearance, afraid of being abandoned, etc.

“…So, you hid your job because of that?”

Of course, as an experienced Returner, Seo Yoo-ju didn’t take her words at face value.

“Yes, yes… It’s true.”

“……”

Seo Yoo-ju began tapping the table with her finger. She seemed to be deep in thought.

‘If Seo Yoo-ju has seen Woo Seo-heun’s ability before, she’s dead.’

Or maybe she’ll live.

Honestly, it would be a shame if Woo Seo-heun died right now, but it wouldn’t be a big deal if she did.

It would be a shame to lose the plan to grow Seo Yoo-ju, but it would cut off the Execution Society’s schemes at the root.

Woo Seo-heun’s life depended on Seo Yoo-ju’s next words.