The Final Boss Has Returned - Episode 114
At Yujin’s words, the atmosphere in the meeting room grew cold.
Everyone present was a comrade who had been with Yujin for a long time, so they knew his kind personality very well.
And perhaps they had already expected that Yujin would react this way.
But expecting this result was one thing; the fact that Yujin had crossed a line was another, so the atmosphere turned frigid.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
In that situation, the one who took the lead was, once again, Musclehead.
Berda, Sharp, and Erena maintained their silence.
Not only was there no need to step in since Musclehead had taken it upon himself to tear into Yujin, but if they intervened for no reason and got on Yujin’s bad side, that would be a loss in itself.
Because even a small variable could cause them to be eliminated in the so-called "heroine scramble" that would unfold for the seat beside Yujin later on.
However, among them, Berda—who was the most wary of Drakan—had forced down the words "don’t trust Drakan" after they had risen to her throat.
"I mean exactly what I said. Drakan-nim isn’t such a bad person. So I wish you wouldn’t nitpick like that."
Yujin spoke slowly, but with a clear, deliberate voice.
Yujin.
He believed in Drakan’s goodwill, believed in his reform, and above all, had come to trust Drakan—who had perceived his difficult situation, listened to his worries, and finally presented a solution.
"How do you know that? How could you know?"
Musclehead pressed him, looking frustrated at the sight.
"Because I went with him personally. Because I experienced it, I know."
The basis for that was Yujin’s own experiences during the collaboration.
Until now, in the previous game, Yujin had fought Drakan as an enemy, and in Second had made indirect contact several times or had temporary meetings.
But spending a prolonged period in a non-hostile situation alongside him, as in this collaboration, was a first for Yujin as well.
And the Drakan that Yujin met in person was someone who had changed greatly from the past—someone who could be called a good person.
Of course, Drakan’s fabricated appearance was the result of thorough disguise and acting to earn Yujin’s trust, but the pure Yujin—whose principle was to believe in the goodwill of people—took Drakan’s act at face value.
And for Yujin, who evaluated Drakan in that manner, defending him was only natural.
A good person being unfairly cursed at was exactly the kind of "not right" thing that Yujin hated most!
Even if it was a comrade, Yujin could not overlook an act of injustice.
Treating everyone equally regardless of personal connections when it came to things that weren’t right—this was the "fairness" that Yujin pursued.
"Ah, seriously, I’m going crazy. Hey, haven’t you considered that it’s all an act?"
"What about you—haven’t you considered that Drakan-nim might have really turned over a new leaf?"
Feeling as frustrated as talking to a wall, Musclehead let out a sigh.
"Hey, Yujin."
At Musclehead’s call, Yujin’s gaze turned to him.
"It’s all fine and everything. But you, me, all the guild members here—our positions now are very different from the past."
"…."
"What I’m saying is, we have a responsibility to uphold justice for the four allied guilds and the countless users belonging to them, and for all the users adventuring in Arde World."
Musclehead reminded Yujin of his current position.
The difference in position between the Yujin who had sparked a revolution against Drakan in the past and the current Yujin could be said to be like heaven and earth.
Back then, Yujin had been a challenger—an underdog challenging Drakan, who stood at the summit. But now, Yujin was a top ranker who held hegemony over Arde World, and the de facto leader of countless users, including Five Eyes and its cooperating guilds.
Yujin was no longer just an adventurer; he was a ruler of Arde World, and a ruler needed to act in a manner befitting that position.
For example, exercising a certain degree of "flexibility."
But Yujin was still acting exactly as he had six years ago, when he was just an adventurer.
And Musclehead sincerely found that side of Yujin frustrating as a friend.
Because he was a friend, from a friend’s standpoint, Musclehead resolved to give Yujin a bitter piece of advice once more.
"And I think you need to exercise some flexibility for that. A danger like Drakan should be eliminated in advance; you shouldn’t be stepping up to nurture it like this. Even for everyone’s sake, there are times when you have to ignore your principles."
"...I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that."
Yujin avoided answering Musclehead’s words.
Because it felt like a fight would break out if the conversation continued any further.
Yujin didn’t want to fight with Musclehead, his precious friend, over something like this, but that answer only made Musclehead angrier.
He was always like this.
He always tried to avoid issues that were difficult to answer.
Just like how he would absurdly dodge the question or slip away from the situation every time he received clear expressions of affection from the three women.
"Yeah, you’re always like this. But this time…."
But Musclehead had no intention of letting it go, and just as he was about to continue speaking—
"Seonghyeon oppa."
Erena cut Musclehead off.
"Can’t you stop now? If you say this much, I think Yujin oppa will understand."
At the words of Erena—the one he had a one-sided crush on—Musclehead felt the strength drain from his entire body.
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
"Erena-nim is right. Moreover, the collaboration will inevitably continue until we escape the otherworld anyway, and since all the users’ attention is focused on the live broadcast, we cannot afford to openly clash with Drakan just because he is a potential danger. For the sake of external public opinion, it would be better to let this pass."
Then, Berda’s answer—which provided a plausible justification for Yujin’s actions—pierced Musclehead’s ears.
"I’m hungry. When are we eating?"
Having heard Sharp’s words, whose intention to change the subject was blatantly obvious, Musclehead sat down on the spot and said,
"Yeah, let’s talk about this next time. This. Next time."
Musclehead swallowed a bitter smile inwardly.
He said "next time," but he knew better than anyone that there would be no next time.
Berda and Sharp, and finally Erena, whom he loved one-sidedly.
All three had ultimately taken Yujin’s side at the decisive moment.
They probably wanted to look good in front of Yujin.
He understood it rationally, but moments he couldn’t accept emotionally were growing more and more frequent.
‘There’s no way he’s pretending not to know while actually knowing, right?’
Musclehead harbored a slight suspicion but soon shook his head to scatter it away.
His best friend Yujin was truly insensitive when it came to romance. That was a fact that he, who had been by Yujin’s side as a friend for a long time, knew better than anyone.
But what if, just what if, he was pretending not to know….
Musclehead, whose thoughts had reached that point, calmed his pounding heart.
Because if that were really the case, he might end up fighting with Yujin even more severely than now.
And so, Lightwing Guild’s meeting ended once again by simply sweeping an important issue under the rug.
And the seeds of discord that Drakan had planted slowly began to take root in Lightwing Guild.
* * *
The next day.
[Welcome to Arde Saga Second, User.]
Having logged in early to match the promised time with that Yujin bastard, I watched the scenery change along with the bland notification.
An overcast sky, a forest with purple leaves, and even a village made of wood.
The sight of Lycanthrope Village in Broken World was reflected in my eyes exactly as it was.
And together with it, the figure of the handsome man, Yujin, standing in the middle of it.
"You’ve logged in, Drakan-nim."
As soon as Yujin saw me, he approached with a polite smile, and I nodded in greeting.
Just thinking about having to act friendly toward this bastard again today while doing a joint broadcast made me feel nauseated, but I suppressed my boiling emotions as they were.
Anyway, there weren’t many days left to see this bastard’s face.
Once the return quest was completed, there would be no reason to see him for the time being.
Thinking so, I spoke.
"Should I turn on the broadcast now?"
"Yes."
This time as well, both sides had completed negotiations to turn on the broadcast on my channel.
It was also already pre-negotiated that profits such as donations received through the broadcast would be distributed fairly at exactly 5:5.
Moreover, it had been decided that this collaboration would be broadcast not only on Arde Live but also on the two major game broadcasters, JGN and SBC Games, and we had agreed to conduct the appearance fee negotiations with those broadcasters separately.
Anyway, although it twisted my guts somewhat, thanks to broadcasting with that Yujin bastard, my subscriber count had greatly increased, I had received enormous donations, and the flow of public opinion had turned favorable, so the collaboration with the bastard was profitable when looking at results alone.
Yeah, I thought I could calm down only if I thought of it that way.
Thinking so, I turned on the live broadcast immediately.
[Yoo-ha~ It means Yujin-hi~]
[Wow, the stream’s finally on haha nice, I’ve been waiting for this day haha]
[For real, I’m catching the live premiere today;]
[That’s Drakan over there, Drakan!]
[So this is the otherworld? Nothing special]
[When are you going to do the quest?]
[Now I laugh just looking at those two faces hahaha are they normal?]
[Beep beep, they are normal.]
The chat flooded in endlessly the moment the live broadcast began!
Perhaps because I had announced the stream in advance rather than suddenly turning it on like last time, people were truly flooding in like the tide.
I watched that scene and took a deep breath inwardly.
Because it had been agreed that I would do the opening lines for today’s stream.
"Hello, black cow friends."
Black cows!
No sooner had I mentioned my fandom name than the chat window began to shake violently.
[He said black cows hahahaha]
[Uhck hahaha no, hearing this out loud makes me burst out laughing irl hahaha]
[Friends? Friends? Did he say friends?]
[I’m not seeing this wrong right now, am I? Just what kind of broadcast am I watching?]
[Drakan’s greeting is insane haha look at how groundbreaking it is from the start hahaha]
[A broadcast that shows you more than anything you could have imagined, absolutely insane;;]
[Is it just me seeing Drakan drop lines for the first time?]
[Mong-kkul mong-kkul]
[Moooo~]
['Special-Grade-1-Black-Cow' has donated 100,000 KRW.]
['From-Today-I'm-a-Black-Cow-Too' has donated 200,000 KRW.]
The chat shook frighteningly and donations exploded continuously as soon as I greeted.
I looked at the dizzyingly flashing chat window and continued speaking.
"Today, as announced before, we plan to raid the place called the Final Ruins."
[Oh hahaha are you finally returning from the otherworld?]
[Ah, hurry up with the raid, I’m getting dizzy haha]
[For real, we don’t have time for this, let’s go quickly gogo]
[But how are you going to clear it?]
I looked at the last question asking about the clearing method and smiled.
Now it was time to officially begin the second collaboration with that Yujin bastard.