Chapter 93 (1/2)

Chapter 93. Addiction (2)

While the treatment room was bustling with visitors, Ayase Kazuki stayed silent with his back leaning against the wall.

'It's quite loud here, huh….'

He found the situation quite rowdy, but he was surprised at the same time.

'I heard he was a Level 2 Warrior.'

Almost everyone in the room was a well-known Earthling. Seeing how they all came to wish the youth a speedy recovery, Ayase Kazuki could easily guess they had some sort of a connection with him. In other words, these people were friends, if not acquaintances, of the Earthling known as Seol.

'Hm?'

Just as he turned around thinking it was time for him to leave, he caught sight of a woman peeking into the room through the half-open gap behind the door.

'That's…!'

Kazuki was shocked inwardly but tilted his head at the same time. The woman was staring at one particular man in the room. Her eyes were fixed on him somewhat uncomfortably. Rather than being sad, she looked more worried.

'Who is she looking at?'

Following the woman's line of sight, Kazuki turned his gaze, which landed on the youth sitting on the bed. The youth was talking with a bright smile while occasionally bursting out into a hearty laughter. He said he was fully recovered, and he seemed fine mentally as well.

'Looks like there aren't any lasting effects….'

Kazuki turned back to the door and his gaze met the woman's. Kazuki quickly unfolded his crossed arms and respectfully bowed. The woman smiled gently and bowed back before turning around.

Ayase Kazuki was the first to leave. Following him, the visitors began to return one by one. Seol Jihu's safe return was something to celebrate, but it was hard to see it as a perfectly happy ending. The loss of the Level 5 Arch Shooter, Edward Dylan, was a cold, harsh reality.

Losing the leader of a team was a matter of serious consequences, especially if that leader was a High Ranker. It was no different than losing the captain of a s.h.i.+p mid-voyage.

It was an undeniable fact that Carpe Diem would no longer hold the position it used to. After all, no one was insane enough to entrust an important mission to a team with only three Warriors.

As visitors purposefully took their leave, the treatment room was eventually left with just three people. Once the commotion died down and silence descended on the room, Seol Jihu was left feeling a bit bitter. He couldn't help but think how happier he would be if Dylan was here with the rest.

“Why are you so depressed?”

Chohong must not have liked how he was acting as she shouted with a displeased look.

“Raise your shoulders! Open your chest! The mission was a success. We rescued three people and saved three others. You even screwed the Parasites' plans big time. Do you know how big of a wave you caused in Paradise?”

“She's right, Seol. There's no reason for you to feel guilty. No, you should be proud. Dylan would have surely said the same thing.”

Hugo also chimed in.

“…Dylan.”

Seol Jihu carefully raised his voice after listening quietly for a bit.

“He's doing well… right?”

“If you're talking about the penalty… well.”

Hugo scratched his nose.

“It's not easy. The sense of emptiness and loss you feel when you lose your memories of Paradise is something that's hard to deal with for most.”

“Then….”

“But if it's him, I'm sure he will be able to overcome all difficulties. I trust Dylan.”

Hugo continued with a firm voice.

“What's important is that Dylan returned to Earth as a human. We should focus on that.”

Hugo's words touched Seol Jihu. He really did wish Dylan would be able to overcome the infamous penalty. No, he was certain Dylan would be able to overcome it.

Seol Jihu clenched his fists. A moment of silence ensued before Chohong opened her mouth.

“What are you going to do from now?”

Seol Jihu was slightly taken aback. Was she talking about the future of Carpe Diem? He wanted to ask her about that himself. He never expected her to be the one to ask that question.

“Hugo and I are going to return to Earth for now.” Chohong continued, “We're, well, a bit exhausted. We want to rest easy… and we also need some time to organize our thoughts.”

“Are you disbanding Carpe Diem?”

“What are you talking about?”

Chohong snorted and waved her hand.

“I'm just saying we should rest since we just completed a huge mission. Don't jump the gun.”

Thankfully, it seemed Chohong had no plans to disband Carpe Diem. That was enough. Seol Jihu internally heaved out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, also, I need to tell you something.”

Hugo, who had his hand in the basket, suddenly spoke as if he just remembered something.

“Miss Foxy wanted us to pa.s.s you a message. She said you should come to Earth when you're awake.”

“Miss Foxy…. You mean, Kim Hannah?”

Seol Jihu asked in surprise.

“Yep. I was surprised too. Who knew you were contracted to Sinyoung?”

“No, I'm not.”

“You're not?”

“No, they did ask me to, but I refused. Kim Hannah and I just have a personal contract between us.”

“You refused? And you signed a contract with Miss Foxy?”

“Yeah.”

Hugo's eyes widened in surprise. Then, his hands started moving again. He took out a well-ripened fruit and muttered in admiration.

“Wow… I can't believe you refused Sinyoung. Ah, well, I guess you are a Gold Mark.”

Crunch. He bit down on the fruit and began snickering.

“Still, I was really surprised.”

“Why? Did she say something?”

“No, not that… Kik! Don't take this the wrong way, but… how come all the women in your life are crazies?”

'Crazies?'

“What does that mean?”

Chohong must have been curious too. Hugo continued to snicker as he pointed at Chohong with his chin.

“I mean, you have four of Paradise's Six Crazies around you.”

“Four of the Six Crazies? Uh, Miss Foxy, Maria Yeriel, Claire Agnes… ah, you're right.”

Chohong counted with her fingers and eventually burst out laughing.

“He's contracted to one and two came to visit him! He, he's screwed! Are we going to find his corpse one day in an alleyway somewhere? Puhahaha!”

Chohong cackled as she smacked Seol Jihu's back.

“Who's the other one? Ah! Cinzia! Cinzia noonim! Puhahaha!”

But for some reason, Hugo wasn't laughing at all.

In fact, he was staring at Chohong with an expression that was a mixture of bitterness and confusion. His lips were twitching like he wanted to tell her something, but he just clicked his tongue and bit down on the fruit again.

“…Be careful, Seol, especially of the one close to you. I'm not kidding.”

He whispered to Seol Jihu while chewing on the fruit. Seol Jihu returned a wry smile.

“But calling them crazy… isn't that a bit rude?”

“Rude? Do you know how long I've known her? Crazy doesn't begin to describe her. Her nickname is Slaughter Maiden. Slaughter Maiden! It's not even Battle Maiden.”

“S-Slaughter Maiden?”

While Chohong was busy cackling to herself with her hands on her belly, the two men whispered to each other.

“Didn't I tell you before? She acts all coy and innocent around you. Really.”

“Chohong? Coy? Eii, she almost beat me up today. Though, that was my fault.”

“Exactly! That barely counts as being angry. It has to be at least ten times what you've seen today to say, 'Ah, she's really triggered today.'”

'Ten times?!”

Seol Jihu couldn't believe it. He immediately activated Nine Eyes and glanced at Chohong.

[Chung Chohong's Status Window]