Chapter 82

Currently, Yoon Yeon and I were heading to the place where Shin Joo-tae and Kim Jong-won were detained. The reason? Obviously for interrogation.

A clan member on guard spotted Yoon Yeon and approached her.

“Master, what brings you here…?”

“Obviously, I’m here to interrogate. Anything unusual?”

“No, everything’s fine. Please, go ahead.”

As we moved to the detention basement, we saw the guys tied up and thrown in a corner.

‘What a mess.’

They looked barely alive. The damage Yoon Yeon had inflicted must have been severe; they were practically half-dead. It seemed a priest had done some basic healing, but only enough to keep them from dying.

Sensing our presence, Shin Joo-tae opened his mouth with a blurry expression.

“…Yoon Yeon.”

“Hah, now you’re calling me by my name?”

“Keugh… So, you want me to call you Clan Master like before?”

Yoon Yeon chuckled at Shin Joo-tae’s words.

“Well… that would be funny too.”

“Master…! Please, spare me! It was all Shin Joo-tae’s doing!”

‘Wow…’

What tear-jerking camaraderie. Even I was impressed by how quickly he sold out his superior.

Shin Joo-tae was even looking at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“I was forced to cooperate! Please…!”

“Shut up, you bastard!”

“F*ck! You shut up, you piece of sh*t!”

Their bickering was a sight to behold.

‘Idiots.’

“Quiet! Did I say you could argue?”

At Yoon Yeon’s icy words, the two shut their mouths.

“You guys… do you even realize your situation? You’re now public enemies of the continent.”

“…What does it matter? We’re going to die anyway.”

“And you knew that when you became a spy?”

“…Just kill me already.”

Yoon Yeon frowned at Shin Joo-tae’s attitude.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. You think you’ll die easily?”

Their faces turned pale. Considering how outlaws are treated on this continent, thinking they’d get an easy death was nonsense.

“Master! Please…! It was really Shin Joo-tae who did it all…! Wait! Information! I’ll tell you everything I know!”

“…Kim Jong-won, do I look like a fool? And you’ll spill everything anyway. How long do you think you can last under interrogation? I guarantee you’ll spill even the information we didn’t ask for within three days.”

Basically, even an average player has a sturdy body, so they don’t die easily from torture. Meaning, they feel the pain but don’t die easily.

Plus, with priests in this world, unless you’re really unlucky, you might not even be allowed to die from the excruciating pain.

“We… we’ve been together all this time… how could you…?”

“Unbelievable. Did you forget what you were planning to do to me? Weren’t you going to humiliate me in every way possible?”

“That was… this crazy bastard had his own twisted ideas!”

‘Wow… this guy is something else.’

If there was a stat for survival instinct, his would be off the charts.

Shin Joo-tae seemed to have given up on survival, but his lackey clearly hadn’t. Of course, if I were in his shoes, I’d struggle to survive too, but seeing him like this was just pathetic.

“Oh? Weren’t you all so excited you couldn’t sleep? Or am I hearing things?”

Yoon Yeon seemed particularly angry, not just at their betrayal, but at their plan to collectively humiliate her.

Shin Joo-tae, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up.

“…Yoon Yeon, if you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have gone this far.”

“Now you’re dropping formalities. Hah… whatever, what are you even talking about? What did I do?”

“…You rejected me.”

‘What the hell is this now?’

“…Shin Joo-tae. You… just because of that…?”

There seemed to be some backstory I wasn’t aware of.

“…Just because of that? Look! To you, I’m just that insignificant! Why did you reject me? If you hadn’t, I… I wouldn’t have gone this far!”

‘This idiot… did he confess and get rejected, leading to this mess?’

From the context, it seemed like he had confessed his feelings to Yoon Yeon and got rejected.

“What was I lacking?! I tried so hard, why?! Yoon Yeon, you didn’t even give me a reason, just brushed it off as a joke!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. If even I felt this way, Yoon Yeon must be beyond words. Glancing at her, she looked equally dumbfounded, clearly not expecting such a ridiculous reason.

“Shin Joo-tae, are you… insane? You did all this just because a girl didn’t return your feelings?”

“I… I tried so hard! Just because?! Just because?!”

His eyes had a manic glint. Honestly, it was even a bit scary.

This went beyond liking or loving someone; it was almost obsessive.

‘This guy’s completely nuts.’

“This is all your fault… you brought this on yourself!”

“…Enough. Don’t make me angrier.”

Shin Joo-tae, having lost all reason, kept screaming despite Yoon Yeon’s icy tone.

“You’re angry?! I’m the one who should be…!”

*Thud!*

“Ahhh!”

*Crash!*

“Uwaaaaah! Stop…!”

*Thwack!*

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

‘Ouch…’

Just watching made me hurt. It seemed Yoon Yeon was holding back enough to not kill him, but her strikes were still brutal.

Seeing the usually composed Yoon Yeon this emotional was a first, so no further explanation was needed.

Shin Joo-tae’s lackey was trembling on the side. If this kept up, Shin Joo-tae might not make it, so I had to be careful.



He spoke to Yoon Yeon.

‘Damn… this is scary…’

“…. Yeon noona, calm down.”

It seemed like she regained her composure after my words, as she let go of Shin Joo-tae and took a deep breath.

“Phew…”

“…. Are you okay?”

“… No need to worry. I just got a bit emotional for a moment. More importantly, I must’ve looked pathetic.”

“… I understand.”

Honestly, maintaining composure after betraying and spying for such a stupid reason would make someone a saint.

‘More than that… this is troublesome. I still have questions to ask.’

Just as I was debating whether to call a priest to treat Shin Joo-tae, a sound came.

“Ugh…”

‘Wow, he’s still conscious after taking that hit?’

“Damn… fuck… what’s your relationship… ugh…”

“What?”

“… Why the hell is that bastard… calling you noona? Ugh…”

‘This guy’s really insane.’

“… Are you seriously crazy?”

“Just… answer the question…”

“Sigh… I told you to drop the formalities first. Is your curiosity satisfied now? Now it’s my turn to ask questions. Do you contact the Outlaw Clan with this crystal ball?”

As she spoke, Yoon Yeon pulled out a crystal ball. It was something her subordinate found while searching Shin Joo-tae’s room.

“…… That’s right.”

“How do you contact them?”

“You need to infuse it with magic… and say a password.”

So, they need a password to communicate. I figured there’s no way they’d contact each other without any security measures.

“What’s the password?”

“… I can tell you, but it’s probably useless now.”

“What do you mean?”

“… Spies have to make regular contact first.”

“… Explain in detail.”

“… Yesterday was the day I was supposed to make contact. Since I got caught and couldn’t make contact, they probably sensed something was wrong and cut the line.”

‘Hmm… this is a problem.’

I was planning to use Shin Joo-tae to contact the Outlaw Clan and gather more information, but now that’s impossible. I didn’t expect luck to be this bad.

‘Of all days… damn it. Why are these guys so cautious?’

Yoon Yeon’s face also twisted in frustration.

“Sigh… I get it. I’ll verify the facts myself, so just write down the password.”

“Huh… it’s probably a waste of effort… but fine.”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

“Hey, straighten your attitude. Unless you’re begging to be killed.”

Annoyed by his attitude, Yoon Yeon grabbed his hair and shook him as a warning.

“Ugh…”

“Tell me the name of the group you belong to and the members you know. And there aren’t any more spies in the clan, right?”

“… There are no more in the Myth Clan.”

“… That’s a weird answer. It sounds like there are spies in other clans?”

“I don’t know everything, but… as far as I know, there are a few spies in the Mardan Clan and the Brother Clan. Of course, there are probably spies I don’t know about.”

‘Damn, this is a mess.’

The Mardan Clan is one of the current three major clans. If Shin Joo-tae’s words are true, the Outlaws have planted spies in two of the three major clans, including the Myth Clan. The Brother Clan isn’t a large clan, but it’s still a fairly powerful mid-sized clan.

“…. Do you know the list of spies?”

“I know some of them. A piece of advice… if you’re going to catch them, do it quickly. They’ve probably noticed something’s wrong with me, so the ones I know will likely disappear soon.”

‘He’s right. This is a race against time.’

They’ve probably already sensed something’s off, but there’s still time. It takes time to communicate, so if we act fast, it’s not impossible to catch them.

Yoon Yeon seemed to think the same, as she immediately called for guards.

“Guards!”

As Yoon Yeon shouted with magic in her voice, a clan member on guard duty came running.

“Master, what’s the matter?”

“Call Park Seo-hwa as quickly as possible. Right now!”

“Yes, understood!”

As the guard disappeared, Yoon Yeon spoke again.

“Shin Joo-tae, write down the list of spies. If you write false information, you know what’ll happen, right? It’s better to write the truth.”

“… I’m not stupid enough to write lies.”

“Good, then tell me about the group you belong to.”

“… Before I say anything, I want one promise.”

“What?”

“The information I’m about to tell you is extremely valuable. So, if the information I provide turns out to be true, I’d like to be sent off comfortably…”

“…. I promise. Of course, only after the information is proven true.”

“… The name of the criminal group I belong to is the Execution Society. I don’t know the leader’s name. Really. I don’t know their face, name, or even if they’re a man or a woman.”

“.. You…”

“Damn… I get why you’re suspicious, but it’s the truth. Out of the seven executives, only two know who the leader is. I’m the newest executive, so I don’t know much.”

This is the first I’ve heard about there being seven executives, but it’s true that Shin Joo-tae doesn’t know the leader’s name or face.

“… Then tell me about the other executives.”

“First, I’m the only executive working as a spy… the others don’t act as spies. And out of the executives, I only know two for sure. You’ll probably recognize them, both are infamous outlaws.”