Episode 23
In that way, sentence by sentence, the diary gradually regained its sense of everyday life.
“Hmm….”
Han Chasu, who had read all the way to the entry right before joining the company, where curses flew about how damn hard it was to find a place to live, closed the book.
With this, one of the questions that had remained unanswered since his possession had been resolved.
“So he affirmed himself and pulled himself together through his diary.”
If that had hardened into a habit and he had written in his diary almost compulsively, then the whole flow made sense.
Though he did not know the detailed circumstances, it seemed the Han Chasu of the original had suffered a great shock because of some experience of failure.
“It’s probably related to the titles, too.”
[ Title: Failed Assassin, Silent Star, Rebel ]
Han Chasu stared quietly at the translucent status window.
He had wondered where the title Failed Assassin had come from, but he had never expected to find a clue in a place like this.
Well, even so, it did not justify the crimes he later committed.
The Han Chasu of the original had committed crimes of his own will after joining the company. There was no room for extenuation there.
“If he’d managed to shake it off, he should have lived well just to show them….”
Clicking his tongue, Han Chasu picked up the bag he had set down on the floor.
Then he took out a palm-sized notebook and a round ball with an eye on it.
They looked like toys, but despite their appearance, they were items into which Han Chasu had poured half a year’s salary.
They could be called the “Endless Scribble Pad” and “I’ll Transfer Anything_Documents Ver.”
To explain simply, one was a notebook that could be placed in the inventory. The other was a copier that transferred contents into that notebook.
“All right, shall we begin?”
I’ll finish it by today. Han Chasu’s eyes shone brightly as he steeled his resolve.
Of course, once dawn passed, that resolve ended up going down the drain.
“Ugh….”
Finish it by today, my ass. Looking at the sky as the sun gradually rose, Han Chasu clutched his head.
It was only a little faster than copying it by hand. In the end, he still had to check the diary page by page and transfer it one by one. Ultimately, he stayed up all night and barely finished the work.
Blink. His bloodshot, gritty eyes closed on their own. Han Chasu shook his head, barely gathered his senses, and moved his feet.
“Coffee….”
It was when he was staggering toward the kitchen.
Chirrrr. The chime bell rang on and on.
“……?”
His hazy mind could not immediately grasp the situation.
But as the chime bell continued ringing, his mind snapped awake as if he had been splashed with water. His body, however, was still heavy as if waterlogged, and he remained leaning against the wall.
“Excuse me!”
A man’s voice rang out loudly. It seemed a guest really had come for him. Han Chasu narrowed his brow.
“Who would come looking for me?”
Judging by the fact that they had not barged in or smashed the window, they did seem like a normal visitor… which made it all the more suspicious.
The original Han Chasu had not been a sociable person. He had no close colleagues, so who would come to his house early in the morning?
Just as he was naturally calculating the motives of the person outside the door—
“Is no one inside? Guild Master Geum Myeonggyeol sent me. We would like to deliver a gift in person as an apology. Are you there?”
As if it had been waiting, a horn sounded outside. Han Chasu clutched his head and looked out the window.
A brand-new car that had clearly just been released from the showroom. The woman sitting in the driver’s seat looked up at him and smiled brightly.
“Ha….”
Before he could even brew coffee, his sleepiness vanished completely.
“No way.”
He wanted to think it could not be, but he could not ignore his intuition. The gift Geum Myeonggyeol had sent was probably that vehicle.
With a groan, Han Chasu pressed his forehead against the window. His breath fogged the glass.
But it could not erase the silhouette of the person waving from below the window.
“Why the hell is that bastard Geum Myeonggyeol suddenly imitating Jeong Iheun?”
Even in the meantime, the chime bell kept ringing without pause.
In the end, Han Chasu opened the door.
“Good morning.”
A man with a refreshing impression smiled broadly. In his hands were a bouquet and a fruit gift set. To anyone watching, it would have looked as if he had come for a housewarming party.
“I’m Lee Jihun from Exilis.”
The man held out the gifts in an affable manner.
“Please excuse the sudden visit. If you have time, could you come downstairs with us for a moment? We have prepared a gift for you, Mr. Han Chasu.”
“This is enough.”
Accepting the fruit basket, Han Chasu tossed the words out curtly.
“Pardon?”
“Is there any need to think so seriously about it? It’s already over, and neither of us was hurt, so this is enough.”
Yesterday, he had openly tried to kidnap someone, and today he was sending a gift, saying he was sorry. What a shameless bastard.
“Is he watching Jeong Iheun’s reaction or something?”
If not, there was no reason to go this far….
“Ah.”
Han Chasu, who had been looking at the fruit basket, let out an exclamation.
It was because, while his head was lowered, he felt a gaze carefully examining the area around his ear.
“So he came to check whether I’d shared the earring with someone else in the meantime.”
He had thought this was not the sort of thing that man would do. There was no way someone who lived as willfully as Geum Myeonggyeol would lower himself so easily.
Han Chasu clicked his tongue soundlessly.
It was common knowledge that the core function of a couple item, “sharing,” carried lower risks the lower the wearer’s rank was.
In other words, it meant that “B-rank potion maker Han Chasu” could share the earring with anyone without issue.
“He must be getting anxious.”
Han Chasu’s side was in a situation where it did not matter who he shared it with, but the same would not be true for the other side. Perhaps his insides were burning up right about now.
That was why he was doing something so unlike himself. With a face that did not look pleased at all, Han Chasu set down the fruit basket.
“It was a good thing I decided to stay with Cheollyeong Guild.”
If it had been after he quit, things could have gone badly. Who would care if one unaffiliated production-type Hunter disappeared? He would probably have been kidnapped by Geum Myeonggyeol long ago.
But he belonged to Cheollyeong Guild, and he was under Jeong Iheun’s direct protection.
Now that Geum Myeonggyeol had realized he could not touch him carelessly, he must have changed tactics.
“So he’s given up on using force and plans to coax me gently, is that it?”
Unfortunately, however, the changed approach did not have a very high chance of success either.
That was because of the original Han Chasu’s original sin. Hadn’t that bastard broken Geum Myeonggyeol’s earring?
If he pointlessly accepted this and that, then later, when the truth came to light, it might add resentment to the list.
For the sake of preserving his body, behaving obediently was the best course.
Besides, there was no telling when an item far better than the one he had might appear.
“I don’t need the car. I’ll accept the thought. Please tell Guild Master Geum Myeonggyeol I’ll enjoy the fruit.”
With an indifferent expression, Han Chasu issued an order to leave. Lee Jihun looked troubled.
“Exilis is not such an uncourteous guild, Mr. Han Chasu. After causing that kind of trouble, just a fruit set would be—”
“No, this is enough.”
It was the moment Han Chasu tried to close the door.
“No, it’s not!”
With a desperate cry, Lee Jihun dropped to his knees.
“Has he lost his mind?”
Startled, Han Chasu pulled back the hand that had been closing the door. Lee Jihun knelt with such sincerity that Han Chasu felt as if nonexistent dust had puffed up around him.
“I’m sorry! But could you at least take a look first? It’s a car we snat— no, bumped up the priority order for and barely managed to get for you, Mr. Han Chasu. A full ninety percent of the car body is made from dungeon byproducts…!”
“I don’t live here alone.”
Han Chasu cut Lee Jihun off. When he raised his hand and pointed at the corridor, Lee Jihun pressed his lips shut.
But the gaze looking up at him was still the same. No, now that his mouth was closed, his eyes somehow seemed even noisier.
“Get up. Isn’t there someone else who should be kneeling?”
Strictly speaking, it was not something Lee Jihun needed to apologize for.
“He’s suffering too, having met a hopeless superior.”
When Han Chasu pressed hard against the space between his brows and muttered, Lee Jihun’s expression turned subtle.
But he did not change his posture.
“No. We did wrong as well.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We knew the guild master was the type to run wild without thinking, but we failed to stop him. When he said he was going to bring Mr. Han Chasu in, we assumed he was just spouting nonsense like usual and let it go, but that bastard went ahead and caused an incident without looking ahead or behind….”
Han Chasu’s face turned strange.
The secretary had been like that, and so was Lee Jihun before him. Strictly speaking, they were his subordinates, yet their assessments of Geum Myeonggyeol were quite free-spirited.
It seemed the guild atmosphere was freer than he had expected. As his idle thoughts continued, there came another thud.
Han Chasu lifted his head and let out a groan.
“Lee Jihun, what the hell are you doing!”
It was the woman who had been honking the horn inside the car. Her bobbed hair, which reached her shoulders, whipped fiercely.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Han Chasu!”
The woman shouted with force and grabbed Lee Jihun by the collar, hauling him up.
“Actually, instead of this guy, I should have dragged the Master here by the collar, but we were busy with the follow-up processing for the irregular gate, so I couldn’t go that far. I’m sorry!”
So that was what had happened. After hearing the guild member’s words, Han Chasu nodded. It seemed Geum Myeonggyeol had remained detained ever since he had been caught by a government official yesterday.
He was not particularly curious, but now that he knew, that was fine. Han Chasu decided to send the two of them away quickly.
“It’s fine. And Mr. Lee Jihun didn’t do anything wrong. So let go of his collar first.”
“Pardon? Then why on earth was this guy acting like that….”
It was then.
An ominous sound came from beneath their feet.
Craack.
“…….”
“…….”
Precisely where Lee Jihun’s knees had been touching. As if someone had struck it with a hammer, a thick crack split through the marble.
After a brief silence, Lee Jihun cautiously began to speak.
“If you don’t like the car, how about a house…?”
As if that would work.
A vein popped out on Han Chasu’s forehead.