Chapter 117 (2/2)

“What?” Snake Eyes was expecting something along the lines of, 'I can't bear to watch any longer', and so she couldn't help but ask back hearing this unexpected answer. Even Straight Face widened her eyes a bit.

“I'm worried that this stage might have a time limit.”

“How do you know that?”

“Can you guarantee that there isn't?”

“Oh? Get a hold of this kid. We're playing with words now?”

“Two times.”

“You think I won't…. Hm?” Snake Eyes revealed a displeased expression before hearing Seol Jihu's muttering and blinking her eyes.

Seol Jihu continued, “Not including this Banquet, we have records on four Stage 1s and four Stage 2s. And out of these eight stages, two of them had time limits.”

Seol Jihu smiled brightly. “We're talking about a 25 percent chance. I could be wrong, but wouldn't it be a good idea to keep this in mind?”

Snake Eyes became speechless. With the Banquet being so volatile and unpredictable, 25 percent was not a number that could be ignored.

Scientia potentia est. 'Knowledge is power.'

If Seol Jihu had partic.i.p.ated in the Banquet relying only on his teammates, then he would have been at a loss for words. However, because he had investigated it thoroughly, he was rather knowledgeable.

And now that he was using this knowledge to convince Straight Face and Snake Eyes, he definitely felt it was time well spent.

Straight Face was showing various changes in her expression to the point she shouldn't be called 'Straight Face' any longer. At the moment, a hint of interest had surfaced on her irritated face, almost as if she discovered a new toy to play with.

“It's not like we don't have a choice. If the seven of us work together, we should be able to break through the first stage in no time.” Seol Jihu put more strength into his voice, “And even if there isn't a time limit, it wouldn't be bad to clear Stage 1 early. That way, we can investigate Stage 2 ahead of everyone else.”

Seol Jihu had taken a rather roundabout way of explaining things. To summarize, he was saying, 'Let's stop playing around and quickly get to Stage 2'.

Most Earthlings who partic.i.p.ated in the Banquet had Stage 2 as their minimum goal. That was because they could obtain the 'Dissonant Wish' in Stage 2.

In this sense, Seol Jihu had given a sound argument.

Right, what he said made sense….

'Interesting.'

But the problem was with the way he put it.

Seol Jihu's way of leading piqued Straight Face's interest. He seemed to be stirring a conflict at first, but he provided carrots in the form of keeper and coordinator positions and offered logic with a potential time limit.

Straight Face had no reason to go against him, but she was a bit hesitant. She felt like the youth was gently consoling her after smacking her hard.

'Should I go along with this?'

She was in the middle of contemplating her decision when her eyes met Maria's. The blonde-haired girl grinned before stealthily moving behind Seol Jihu.

The corner of Straight Face's mouth twisted. A skilled Priest who specialized in healing was siding with the youth. This wasn't something she could ignore. Although she had a skilled Archer on her side, strictly speaking, it was hard to call her an ally.

As she was touchy and hypersensitive, she didn't trust others easily. But even without this, she knew Snake Eyes was the type of person who wouldn't hesitate to backstab.

“Hnng….” She gave a condescending smile as if she found the youth's explanation laughable. “I was planning on taking it easy with you….”

One step, then another. She slowly approached Seol Jihu, and then stopped right in front of him. “But I see you know how to have fun.”

When Seol Jihu met her deep eyes that didn't give off a hint of emotion, he felt cold sweat flow down his back.

'What…'

What kind of things did a woman need to go through to be able to make such a face?

Calling her Straight Face was being nice. To be frank, Discomforting Face suited her more.

“Can you lend us a hand?” Seol Jihu asked in a deeper voice. On the inside, he was thinking that this would be the last time he asked her nicely.

He had a couple more cards under his sleeve to try and convince her. However, he didn't want to reveal all his secrets from the beginning nor cling to her desperately. Just like Prihi Hussey said, everyone had a limit to their vessel.

Perhaps Straight Face felt the line drawn by the youth as she slowly raised her hand and placed it on her shoulder. The way she looked up at him while fiddling with the ends of her hair, she gave off a seductive aura.

Soon….

“Mn….” She breathed out a short sigh before saying, “Fine, since our prince wants to look after us so much… I see no reason to say no.”

Next, she slowly moved her hand and placed it on her chest. “But… what should I do?”

She suddenly made a fake melancholic face. “The wound in my heart hasn't healed yet. It hasn't been long since a certain someone dug a blade into it.”

“You're exaggerating.”

“Exaggerating? I really wanted to get along, but I've been betrayed!”

Seol Jihu made a wry smile and spoke, “Then I'd like to try to soothe your wounded heart.”

“With words?”

“How many doors do you want?”

Straight Face's smile became even deep. “Hmm….” She rested his chin on her index finger, pretending to be deep in thought. Then, she opened her mouth, “Forty should be enough to console me.”

It seemed she at least had an ounce of conscience in her as she asked for the same number of doors she opened initially.

“Fine.” Seol Jihu agreed without arguing or negotiating. With this, he had gotten the biggest problem out of the way. Of course, he didn't think he did a perfect job. He had only prevented the festered wound from exploding, but that was more than enough to keep the group as a team.

In any case, he now had a clear goal. The rest didn't seem all that difficult.

“Are you willing to help me?”

Lara and Sophie nodded their heads in a daze. A rope had come down from the sky just when they thought it was over. How could they refuse to grab onto it?

“Thank you. Then….”

Currently, Lara and Sophie were suffering from low self-esteem. Since the reason for that was that they weren't doing much, Seol Jihu planned to resolve this first.

When the duo heard Seol Jihu's request, they doubted their ears.

“That's all we have to do?”

“That's the fastest way of breaking through the rooms.”

“But….”

“It's fine. I want to get to Stage 2 as soon as possible. Shall we get going?”

Hearing Seol Jihu's urging, Sophie hurriedly ran to the door with a face mixed with grat.i.tude and guilt.

“You don't have to give me a signal. Just open the door whenever.”

When the youth's voice flew behind her, Sophie didn't stop to look back and grabbed the doork.n.o.b. Just as she was told, she opened the door without hesitation. Immediately….

BOOM!

“KYAK!”

Along with a violent tremor, an explosive sound struck her ears. Sophie was in the middle of backing off but ended up falling on her b.u.t.t.

When she turned around reflexively, she saw Seol Jihu with his left arm out as if he had thrown something, and four women whose expressions were like the one she was making now.

To top it off, even the previously calm and collected Straight Face and Snake Eyes were frozen stiff.

Sophie blankly turned back to the door before letting out a gasp.

A huge monster was collapsed on the ground with its upper body blown to smithereens. It had been killed before it could even utter a death throe.

'That's one door.'

Seol Jihu spun his left arm around and glanced back. Perhaps surprised by the power of his Mana Spear, Straight Face's smile was nowhere to be seen. Seol Jihu felt himself becoming more relaxed.

For some reason—

“Alright.”

The woman who looked so big in the beginning…

“Let's keep going.”

…Now looked just like any other Earthling.