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Chapter 942. Trial (1)

‘Did you really kill them?’

I looked around using my telescope just in case, but I didn’t see them.

I had no idea if they ended up getting buried alive or if they even went to heaven, but the Blue Guild’s Republic branch, where I thought I would find them, looked like the scene of a gruesome crime. Things were scattered everywhere, and there wasn\'t anything intact inside of it as if it were an abandoned building.

The desks and chairs were broken in half...

‘That’s not blood, is it?’

There were strange stains.

The temporary guild house looked clean from the outside, but it was actually useless for quite some time now. I didn\'t really think that they would close the guild house because I saw a few staffers, but they looked gloomy.

I heard someone crying from one side of the room while another person was questioning what they were supposed to do now. Despite that, they were still working, but they all looked so desperate that I couldn\'t even hear them talking to each other.

‘What the hell happened?’

I turned my head to act like it was none of my business, but I noticed familiar objects on the meeting table.

‘Empty lunch boxes.’

They looked familiar. Han Sora always carried those around with her, and Jung Ha-Yan always ate from them.

“...”

“...”

‘I thought you guys were preparing for a wedding.’

Was Jung Ha-Yan connected to this as well?

I was sure we had already taken care of the kidnapping case. Could it be that they noticed what was going on?

The easiest assumption I could make was that perhaps Kim Hyun-Sung had asked for her help, as killing those guys was easy, but hiding them was hard. Jung Ha-Yan had enough spells in her arsenal to dispose of them. They’d be able to get rid of them easily.

Now that I thought about it...

‘I think Jung Ha-Yan isn’t the only one who’s involved here. Why did Ji-Hye noona lie to me and say that Jung Ha-Yan was preparing for a wedding?’

Lee Ji-Hye was suspicious as well. If she was involved as well, it was highly likely that she had taken care of the paperwork, as there was no way Kim Hyun-Sung could do something like that by himself.

Although it was common for adventurers to go missing or die under suspicious circumstances, the continent never really took action about that. If there was a murder or a missing person case, the police would naturally make a move, and many people would be deployed to investigate the case.

The bigger the case, the more organizations would get involved.

The media would also take an interest in the case.

The disappearance of promising new recruits would definitely attract attention, as those new recruits were the talk of the town.

I heard hiding crimes was nearly impossible these days, and there were also factions observing organizations and groups with a lot of power.

The Continental Protection Management Committee was a great example of that.

There were two ways to make people disappear—use spells or techniques that were imperceptible to the investigation groups and powerful rangers, or let Lee Ji-Hye handle it.

"Max."

— F-Father! It’s been a while. I was actually going to greet you with noona...

"Can you find identification or something to prove the identity of the temporary guild members at Blue Guild’s Republic branch? Anything is fine. I believe their names are..."

— Y-Yes.

"Did you find something?"

— Y-Yes, but the Republic Branch never picked temporary guild members. I searched using the names you gave me, but nothing came up.

"Are you sure? Search for people who exited the Republic’s tutorial dungeon as a raid group."

— There wasn’t... a raid party in the Republic\'s tutorial dungeon recently. That’s... what it shows in the logs... Should I look into it more?

"No, it’s fine. I’ll plan something out with your sister. I love you."

— I-I love...

"Okay, I’ll contact you again, Max."

It would be best for me to assume that he used both methods for this incident. Since even the Manager of Benigoa Net had no idea that they existed, then Ji-Hye noona was definitely involved.

I spent the last three days resting in my room...

‘She must’ve done it back then.’

Kim Hyun-Sung was definitely not the one who had come up with the overall plan. His gaze was kind of strange, but at least he was being nice.

‘She wasn’t being honest...’

Why would she hide this from me?

“Excuse me... Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Yes, Mr. Hyun-Sung?” I answered.

“So... where are you headed right now?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“I’m going to meet Mr. Gen. I’m worried about his condition,” I replied.

“...”

“...” “I’ll go with you,” Kim Hyun-Sung offered.

“What?”

“I’ll protect you in case something happens,” he said.

“There’s no need for that because I have a lot of guards. You should take care of your—”

“I do have other tasks to take care of, but this is the most important task for me,” Kim Hyun-Sung interrupted me.

‘Why is this guy following me?’

He was making me feel uncomfortable.

From his expression, there was no way he was going to let me meet Gen without him.

He looked like a determined general facing an army of a million troops.

“I have the Blue Guild and the Holy Knights of the Vatican,” I told him.

“I can’t trust them. If you’re going to visit that criminal, I’ll accompany you,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“...”

“...”

“Do... as you wish,” I said.

‘You’re the one who’s going to be frustrated.’

I walked quietly, and the silence made me feel really uncomfortable. It felt like everyone was looking at me, and all I could hear were footsteps. Of course, the scenery was changing and I no longer saw the temple that was filled with light.

I walked down the wet and dark stairs until I saw the pitch-black underground interrogation room. It looked like there wasn’t any interrogation or torture going on right now, as I couldn\'t hear any screams.

However, they were probably told ahead of time that I was coming.

“Heuk... heuk... O Benigoa... O Benigoa...”

“Kgh... Heuuung... O Benigoa. Please save me.”

Those were the noises I could hear.

“You bastards!”

I sometimes heard cursing as well.

“I... I really... don’t know anything. O Benigoa... I have never harmed him...”

I heard a voice full of regret, and I assumed that it belonged to Father Yohan.

‘He’s still alive?’

The deeper we went down, the more sealed doors appeared before me. They were all sealed using locks, spells, and holy power. Also...

“I’ll head in alone from here,” I told them.

“I’m sorry, but that’s—”

“He will not harm me,” I interrupted them.

‘I can’t trust them.’

“I’m here... to defend Templar Gen. It’s my duty to meet and talk to him so I can defend him. It’s his right. I know what all of you are worried about, but as someone who loves the Sacred Democratic Country, I don’t want to give up my authority and duty,” I explained.

“It’s Father Basel’s wish, Father Lee Ki-Young,” a knight informed.

“I respect his wishes, but I cannot deny the holy law of the Democratic Country established by Goddess Benigoa’s will. I understand how all of you are feeling, but I hope you all understand how I feel,” I said.

‘What’s wrong with them? It’s the holy law of the Democratic Country established under Goddess Benigoa’s will.’

They looked like they weren’t going to back down, and it was probably because of my kidnapping case. Perhaps it was because all of them had gotten a taste of Father Basel’s mace, but they looked like they’d rather die than leave me alone.

‘I have other plans today.’

“I’m sorry, Father Lee Ki-Young.”

“Whoo... in that case...” I trailed off.

“...”

“I’ll take four Holy Knights with me. If you don’t agree with this, I won’t back down either,” I offered.

“Then I’ll go with you, Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung offered.

‘Why is he butting in?’

However, the Holy Knights looked relieved. They were probably thinking that leaving the Sunset Swordsman to protect me was more effective than four Holy Knights protecting me.

“Then we’ll leave it to you, Sunset Swordsman,” a knight said.

I didn\'t agree to their arrangement, but they had already come to an agreement.

The Holy Knights stepped back while Kim Hyun-Sung moved closer to me. A few priests cast a holy spell, and the iron door, which was so secure that it seemed like the demon king himself was sealed inside, opened slowly before me.

I saw iron bars created by spells, and I saw Gen sitting quietly in the middle of the room.

“Mr. Gen,” I said quietly.

“Mr. Gen!” I shouted.

Gen opened his eyes slowly. He seemed fine physically.

He looked shabby, but he didn’t look hurt. However, I was sure his insides were in a mess. How could he not suffer any pain inside an interrogation room?

It was more convincing to say that his wounds were treated hastily when the personnel here heard that I was visiting him. As expected, I saw traces of his wounds receiving treatment from a holy spell.

I was sure he had a tough and difficult time here. This place was probably like hell to him right now. However, he wasn’t the only one who was having a tough and difficult time.

‘I\'m having a really tough and difficult time as well.’

Being locked up in a birdcage was really tough. I was in hell as well.

There was a stark contrast between us. Gen was wearing prison clothes in this dark place, while I was like a doll covered in all sorts of fancy accessories. It was like we were the continent\'s darkness and light.

Gen’s eyes widened upon seeing me.

He looked happy to see me, but he started frowning upon noticing my getup.

The more he looked at me, the more depressed he felt. After all, he knew that I was locked in a birdcage once again. This was the result of his mistake. I was forced to live the life I didn’t want to live because he couldn’t protect me.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young... Mr. Lee Ki-Young!” Gen shouted. He suddenly ran toward me, but he obviously couldn’t reach me because the chains binding him pulled him back. Perhaps it was because his wrists and ankles were chained up, but I saw red liquid dripping down his wrists and ankles.

However, he didn’t seem to care about his wounds.

“Are you okay, Mr. Lee Ki-Young?” Gen asked.

“...”

“Are you okay? Are you... really okay?” Gen repeated.

I had to force a smile.

“Yes, I-I’m fine,” I answered.

“...”

“...”

“There’s no way you’re fine,” he said.

‘No, I’m actually doing great.’

“Just because... you smile like that doesn’t mean you’re okay,” Gen added.

‘No, man. My satisfaction in life has increased by a ton since our return.’

“Y-You look sad,” Gen stuttered.

‘That’s because I need to look sad.’

Recently, however, I had been thinking that life was always like this, and I wasn’t lying about that. It was actually comfortable to stay inside a birdcage, and I questioned why I left it in the first place. I also discovered that I preferred meat over pig porridge.

“Mr. Gen... are you okay?” I asked.

However, I couldn’t mess this up.

This was the scene where we\'d reconfirm our bond. If this were a play, it would be sad enough to make people cry.

Our position had changed drastically, but we were still friends staring at the same goal.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyun-Sung was feeling anxious in this prison cell that was overflowing with emotions.