Chapter 112 (2/2)

When Chohong reb.u.t.ted, Seol Jihu continued nonchalantly.

“Kazuki went through a lot of trouble to invite her.”

“I know that. So what did you just call me?”

“Let's think positively. It's good to have two Priests.”

“You think I don't know that? But how am I supposed to entrust my back to her when I don't even know her name?”

“I understand, so calm down.”

“This Priest is acting all high and mighty! She won't even let us hear her voice! Argh, whatever, f.u.c.k it.”

Seol Jihu's secret technique – changing the subject repeatedly.

Chohong had a habit of giving up when a conversation got complicated. This was what Seol Jihu was aiming for.

As if the entire conversation was a ha.s.sle, she harrumphed and buried herself in the couch again. That said, she made it clear that she wouldn't get along with the Priest.

A few cracks appeared in the team atmosphere just from the first meeting, but Seol Jihu still greeted the Priest with a smile.

“Nice to meet you. I'm Seol.”

Tilt.

“Seol. That's my name.”

Tilt. She tilted her head again.

'Can she not understand me?'

Seol Jihu tilted his head back.

“Since it looks like we're done with introductions—” The awful atmosphere eased slightly when Kazuki opened his mouth.

“Let us start.”

Kazuki looked back at the huge map hanging on the wall. He pointed at a specific location before continuing, “I'll keep it simple. This is the entrance Hao Win handed over.”

“Question!” At that moment, Jun shouted with his hand up. “Has it been confirmed?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard that the Triads acquired two entrances, with one being used by the organization and the other being sold to another organization.”

He was asking this question since it was neither Carpe Diem nor Umi Tsubame that bought the other entrance.

“That is only what's known to the public.”

Kazuki must have expected this question as he responded without a thought.

“There are twenty-six entrances known to the public with twenty-one of them occupied by various forces.”

“You mean the Triads have entrances kept hidden from the public?”

“It's not just the Triads. It's an open secret. Otherwise, there couldn't have been over 300 partic.i.p.ants in last Banquet.”

Jun immediately went “Ah.” Since exactly ten people could enter each entrance, all it took was a simple calculation to know there were more entrances than what were publicly known.

“The Triads have severe internal conflicts. Naturally, the person who found the new entrance has been keeping it a secret.”

“Aha, so that's how it is.”

Jun sat down, seemingly convinced. Kazuki continued the briefing. “We set off tomorrow morning. We'll be traveling by carriage for two days using this road.”

The pen in his hand drew a smooth, curved line.

“We'll arrive at the Salt Desert's second oasis. It's not a safe place, but we shouldn't have any trouble with our power…. What is it?” Seeing Seol Jihu raising his hand, Kazuki asked.

“What about the Triads?”

“If you're asking when they'll be joining us, it will be during Stage 1 or Stage 2 at the latest.”

“Stage 2….”

“It won't be hard. We'll fight together and support each other if needed. I heard there will be another team helping us as well.”

“Well, s.h.i.+t, it's a 4-way co-op mission?”

Chohong grumbled as if she was still angry about the previous incident. However, that only lasted a moment as she soon fell silent. Knowing how the Banquet worked, she knew they had nothing to lose by having more teams on their side.

“Finally—” Kazuki slowly continued, “We'll make a clear identification of friend or foe.”

Not a single cloud was in the quiet sky, but Carpe Diem's office was buzzing with noise from early morning. Because Kazuki had set the departure time considerably early, they had to hurry before it was too late.

After putting on his new equipment, Seol Jihu wore the belt carrying javelins and the medicine bottles he got from the hideout. Once he finished readying himself by putting on the robe given by the Federation, he went outside.

Seol Jihu looked splendid in his new suit of armor, so much so that Hugo stared at him with a genuine look of envy. Unlike Seol Jihu, Hugo didn't have someone to gift him with a new set of armor. He had to sc.r.a.pe up what little money he had saved up to buy new armor and weapon. Even then, he had to make compromises.

Because of this, he was determined to use this Banquet as an opportunity to make a fortune.

Just before their departure…

“Be careful.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“With your current abilities, you won't die easily, but that's it. Don't forget that you always have to stay with your team.”

“I understand.”

Seol Jihu took Jang Maldong's advice to heart. With that, he headed to the rendezvous location with Chohong and Hugo.

When Seol Jihu, Chohong, and Hugo arrived at the rendezvous location, a bizarre scene was spread out before them.

Kazuki had borrowed two carriages, yet there were dozens of carriages lined up against the city gate. That wasn't all.

'…What?'

Even at a glance, he could see hundreds of people waiting nearby. They seemed to be Earthlings judging by their outfits, but the way they were looking at them was… not so friendly.

“Seol, avoid eye-contact and just look forward.” Chohong whispered into his ears. Seol Jihu also agreed that it was the best thing to do. Just as he sped up his pace….

“Here! Here!'

He found Sakamoto Jun, waving his hand from the distance. By the looks of it, Umi Tsubame had already arrived.

“Now, sorry for rus.h.i.+ng you when you just arrived, but we gotta hurry. Hyung-nim and Noonim, ride with me. Marichan and Hugo Hyung-nim, go on the other carriage. We're splitting up the Archers and Priests. Makes sense, right?”

Jun gave a rapid-fire explanation before pus.h.i.+ng Seol Jihu and Chohong to the carriage. There was already someone sitting inside – the Priest Kazuki invited. She was wearing the same style of clothes as when they first met.

“h.e.l.lo.”

Seol Jihu sat on the other side of the carriage and greeted her. The Priest cusped her hands together and returned a polite bow.

'Looks like she's a courteous person.'

“Yes! We've got everyone now! Go on ahead!” Jun shouted into a communication crystal before shutting the carriage door.

“Mister Coachman! Let's go!”

Clunk! The carriage shook. Soon, the window frames shook as the outside scenery began to travel backward. They closely followed behind Maria, Kazuki, and Hugo's carriage.

“By the way, you look super cool, Hyung-nim.”

Seol Jihu was thinking, 'Should I sleep?', when he heard the sudden compliment and opened his half-closed eyes. He saw Jun checking him out from head to toe with a look of surprise. One thing that he couldn't understand was that the mysterious Priest sitting next to him was also nodding her head in agreement.

“Thank you for the com—”

Dudududu, dudududu

Before he could finish saying the word 'compliment', he was startled by a sudden noise that sounded like a cavalry was galloping forward. When he peeked his head out of the window, just as he expected, the carriages he saw at the city gate were following them.

“Whew~ Look at all those flies~” Jun muttered leisurely.

“What… are they doing?”

“I wonder. Want me to get off and ask them?”

“I'm kidding. Just think about it. There are five entrances unoccupied by organizations. That's fifty people.”

“Right.”

“Now the problem is that there are more than fifty individuals or team members who want to enter the Banquet.”

Seol Jihu finally understood what Jun meant.

“They were probably wrecking their heads trying to think of a method to enter the Banquet, and lo and behold, a new entrance has been found. What would you do if you were in their shoes? Especially if you knew only seven people were entering it. That's three empty spots!”

“How can they be sure that we're going to an entrance?”

“Kazuki Hyung-nim would have been disappointed if he heard that. And look, those people aren't idiots. They're taking a chance because at the end of the day, they have the highest chance of entering the Banquet this way.”

Indeed, given Kazuki's fame, it made sense for them to a.s.sume he was partic.i.p.ating in the Banquet. Where else would he lead his team this early in the morning when the Banquet was just at the doorstep?

“Hold on.”

Seol Jihu was nodding his head when he suddenly arrived at a frightening conclusion.

“Could they possibly….”

“Hyung-nim, I know what you're thinking. Don't worry.”

Jun smiled and shook his head.

“Like I said, those people aren't idiots. Although there are only seven of us, they know they stand no chance against us.”

“If you say so….”

“We have three High Rankers, one in each common cla.s.s, so our team's balance is perfect as well.”

Now that he put it that way, Seol Jihu agreed. The team composition of two Archers, two Priests, and three Warriors were indeed well balanced.

“Then that many people will compete over just three spots?”

“Well, I doubt they'll decide with rock-paper-scissors.”

Jun giggled as if he found his own joke funny. But seeing that Seol Jihu didn't laugh, he let out a dry cough and once again put on a serious face.

“Now that I think about it, this is Hyung-nim's first Banquet, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I guess the shock might be too great. Brace yourself.”

“Jun, cut the nonsense.”

Chohong was listening quietly but chose to cut in here.

“Nonsense? Noonim, this is valuable advice.”

“Cut the bulls.h.i.+t.”

“You're so mean.”

Jun dropped his head dejectedly but quickly regained his energy.

“It's nothing special, but… Hyung-nim, you've been doing well in a good team ever since you entered Paradise.”

He wasn't wrong. Thanks to his Nine Eyes, Seol Jihu was able to choose a good team and distinguish good people. If he didn't have this Innate Ability, who knew where he might be right now?

“Don't think all teams are like— Ah, don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to belittle Hyung-nim's achievements. But I'm sure they wouldn't have been possible if you didn't have a certain level of trust and faith in your team members.”

“Ri…ght.”

When Seol Jihu easily acknowledged it, Jun raised both of his hands. That was because Chohong's glaring eyes were getting stronger by the second.

“Geez, you don't have to be so protective of him. Anyways, as a senpai who partic.i.p.ated in the last Banquet, let me give you a piece of advice….” Jun took a brief pause before saying with a grin, “Don't expect too much.”

“Don't expect too much?” Seol Jihu immediately asked back.

“Yep. The more you expect, the more disappointed you will be. On the contrary, if you don't expect anything, you can't be disappointed.”

What did he mean by that?

“You'll find out soon enough, but to explain it simply… the moment you go through the entrance, you'll get to meet all sorts of people.”

His voice became quieter.

“All I'm saying is that you shouldn't be too disappointed. With humans.”

With a grin, Jun stopped talking.

'Don't be disappointed… with humans?'

It was ambiguous, though he felt like he could understand the gist. With a short sigh, Seol Jihu looked out of the window once again. There were still dozens of carriages following them from behind.

If there was one thing that caught his attention, it would be that the carriages each had huge distances between them.

Looking at them, he couldn't help but think, 'Maybe, for them, the Banquet has already started.'