Chapter 16: ■■■ (3) (2/2)

“Back then, it was a sudden turn of events!”

“Is that why you couldn’t stop her? Because it was sudden?”

“…!”

“If you can’t even control that, you shouldn’t be letting her go to school. She’s not a hairy beast or anything. And if you can’t even control that, you shouldn’t be a guardian either.”

Mihailov felt his fist trembling. Yu Jitae’s words were wrong over and over again, but he couldn’t call out his mistakes. Back then, he definitely could have held Sophia back, but didn’t.

It was an emotional issue. He was also frustrated that his child was defeated helplessly and the fact that the redhead was provoking them in an unsightly manner was another factor.

Whatever the case, the redhead wouldn’t die, and because he himself was there, Sophia would be safe as well. Since there was RIL behind him, he would be able to ignore some small rumours. As long as he could show how scary the world was to that annoying kid… that was where his thoughts were at.

“Calling yourself a guardian despite having no skills, raising a hand to an opposing cadet, and getting hit on top of that.”

Hearing Yu Jitae, Yeorum blocked her mouth and giggled, as if she remembered what she had done.

“What. Why.”

When eyes gathered on her, Yeorum reacted indifferently.

Mihailov carefully chose his words. Yu Jitae’s words were exquisite with ill will. They pricked at his pride that usually wouldn’t have held itself back but if he were to correct it, his inner thoughts would be left in the open.

“And yet now you’re saying, ‘Sophia is young and immature’… Aren’t you embarrassed for blaming a young child for your own shortcoming?”

Yu Jitae continued provoking him. In fact, he did not have a single emotional discontent against Mihailov. He was just saying whatever he wanted, as if he was giving advice while watching over a game of chess from the side.

Even then, Mihailov’s expression was gradually becoming more ugly. He was distressed enough to feel displeased by the troubled gazes Wei Yan and the referee were facing him with.

In the end, he chose to change the topic.

“…So what are you trying to do? In a small world, are you trying to oppose RIL? It’s my first time hearing a household called ‘Yu’ though.”

He believed in RIL, as well as his power and position. Mihailov himself was a soldier that had entered RIL before the war, and threw himself for it during the past 20 years.

What about the guy in front of him? From what he looked up, both his name and household were things he had never heard of. Everything would be solved once he was pressured. That was what he thought.

“Why are you talking about households here?”

“I’m trying to say that nothing good will happen in the future by provoking me. Do you think Lair is a wide place?”

MIhailov forced a smile on his lips.

Yu Jitae was familiar – too familiar with that sort of expression. There were many that told him the same thing. They were ones with a lot of possessions, and were those that were used to suppressing others with force. In the end, half of them were dead, and the remaining half wished for death.

“Well, I’ll stop here as well since it was our mistake…”

Mihailov, who was continuing his words in confidence, slurred the end of his words.

Eyes.

His eyes were looking at him.

Those eyes that appeared strangely hazy until now were clear and suppressed him. Something heavy could be felt suffocating his heart.

“Before you go, let me look at your dagger.”

Before he could realise, there was a dagger in Yu Jitae’s hand. It was Mihailov’s. Despite having just left an artifact sheath with ‘cleansing’ spell casted, there was Yeorum’s blood remaining on the blade.

With the sleeves of his shirt, Yu Jitae started wiping the blood away.

He then reached the sword back towards the flustered Mihailov, who received the sword and unconsciously took a few steps back.

The things that had just happened were outside his comprehension. Did he just touch my waist?

His condescending heart vanished in an instant.

Thinking back, it was the same before as well. When he walked in through the dimension gap, Mihailov couldn’t understand it and had given up on comprehending it.

Squeezing the last bit of his pride, he opened his mouth.

“I will admit that it is completely our fault and will be responsible for it. Since you deem an apology unnecessary I’ll stop here. But… it will be better for you to be more careful. With that attitude, you might get hurt some day.”

Then, he regretted his words as soon as he finished them. At the end of that clear gaze was his own self. He felt tiny like a child standing before a beast, as cold sweat travelled down his spine.

Around the time he felt that the surroundings were oddly quiet, Yu Jitae opened his mouth.

“Use crowded roads.”

Words turned into a sticky poison and enveloped him. He could feel large thumping noises in his heart, enough to have it touch the ribs with a cold feeling. “If money… compensation for the situation is required, send it via a letter.” Without even knowing what he was saying, he spouted random words and quickly left.

It was because he had a thought that he didn’t know what would happen if he were to stay there.

There’s no way such a thing would happen with that many eyes watching. He’s a young dude.

His consciousness vehemently rejected the emotion called fear but fear, which had eaten up his emotions, selfishly caused him to imagine a future that hadn’t even occurred. His breath quickened, as he carried his uncontrollably trembling hand to touch a cigarette.

If he didn’t leave just then, he would have been dead.