Chapter 118 (2/2)

When he entered the room leaving behind several gazes, he saw Straight Face sitting against the wall. In that short period of time, she had taken care of the remaining monsters in the room.

“Don't just stand there. Come sit.”

Seol Jihu nodded and sat down next to her.

Straight Face closed her eyes before slowly opening her mouth, “People often tell you that you don't know how to read the air, right?”

“You told me to come sit.”

Hearing the youth speak like he had been wrongly accused, the young woman looked up at the ceiling. Soon, a deep sigh escaped her mouth.

After a brief silence, she spoke again, “Now that I've seen how you play, I understand why you were so bold.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Yep.”

“Thank you, but it would still be nice if a certain someone helped out.”

Hearing Seol Jihu's subtle suggestion, a smile appeared on her face. She faced the youth and spoke with a delicate smile, “I've put some thought into it and I think you're right.”

“We're only at Stage 1. Clearing it quickly will be convenient…. That's why I wanted to ask.”

With Straight Face being oddly submissive, Seol Jihu became worried. He was being sarcastic when he asked her to help him. Now, he somewhat regretted that decision.

“You, me, and that snake. Why don't the three of us go?”

“…What?”

“Ah, you can bring that kid too if you want. She's infuriating, but she does seem to have some skill.”

“That sounds like you want to abandon the other three.”

Straight Face smiled, “Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying. You can even include that Priest of Invidia. She might seem useless now, but we never know.”

“By that logic, Miss Lara and Miss Sophie should also—”

“Are you joking?” Straight Face cut him off as if he had just told the funniest joke.

“I didn't take you to be a fool who would place a Warrior and an Archer on the same level of importance as a Priest.”

Seol Jihu was about to disagree and call that a flawed argument, when….

“Plus, you know more than anyone else that those two aren't useful.”

He became speechless.

“You don't have to think so hard. I get how strong you are, so just support me like you did in the beginning. I'll also give it my all, and we should be able to get through this place in no time.”

Seeing that the youth had fallen silent, she continued with a look of joy on her face, “If this stage really has a time limit, or if it's advantageous to get to Stage 2 faster, wouldn't it be better to do as I say?”

She wasn't wrong. If Straight Face and Snake Eyes partic.i.p.ated at full power, their speed would increase significantly. Maria would also be able to save her spells. However, Seol Jihu couldn't help but think that this was all an excuse.

Seol Jihu stared fixedly at the woman.

“Am I wrong?”

And just as he expected, she was looking at him with eyes full of antic.i.p.ation. He felt like she was testing him. Although he couldn't be sure, he had a strong hunch that this woman simply wanted to see him abandon the two women or, at the very least, retract the offer he made.

'What a personality.' Seol Jihu grumbled inwardly while clearing his throat. This wasn't all too surprising. After all, he didn't have the slightest bit of expectation to clear Stage 1 so peacefully. Since he couldn't fully st.i.tch up the wound, he expected a critical moment like this to come.

“Yes, you're wrong.” Seol Jihu opened his mouth, “I think it's better to bring them all with us.”

“Hnng. Well, I'll be looking forward to it.” Straight Face let out a nasal hum as if she had expected this answer. “So, how are you going to console me?”

“I think you mean persuade.”

“Well, go ahead.”

“First, you know that this Banquet is different from the previous ones, yes?” Seol Jihu didn't want to prolong this conversation, so he cut straight to the chase.

“You mean the fact that teams were separated.”

“Yes.” Seol Jihu continued, “But why? This has never happened before in the history of the Banquet.”

Straight Face didn't react. Taking this to mean that she was listening attentively, Seol Jihu got to his main point, “Haven't you noticed that something is strange?”

“Strange?”

“Don't you think this Stage 1 is too easy?”

Straight Face's eyes narrowed.

“We've cleared 160 rooms so far, but none of them felt particularly difficult. In fact, they were all so-so.”

“The problem is that Stage 1 and Stage 2 have never been considered easy in the history of the Banquet.”

“I'm not sure what you're getting at.”

As a reply, Seol Jihu began to recite a summary of all the past Stage 1s—

That the partic.i.p.ants were allowed to enter the past four Banquets as teams, and that Stage 1 had been difficult from the very beginning. Also, according to the records, every member of a team had to work together to barely sc.r.a.pe by.

“It's almost as if the Banquet imposed cooperation among the members who entered through the same entrance. If we were in their shoes, we wouldn't have been able to abandon a team member so easily. After all, unless someone was a total troll, every head would be important.”

However, this Banquet was the opposite. Teams were separated, and Stage 1's difficult rate dropped significantly.

“Maybe the difficulty dropped because of the separation of teams.”

“That's certainly a possibility, but it's too convenient of an answer.” Seol Jihu shook his head at Straight Face's counterargument. “Cooperation was the only factor that remained unchanged in the past Stage 1s and 2s. This Banquet is the first time the need to cooperate disappeared. I believe that this is a trap.”

Although Straight Face did not notice, her eyes were widened to a circle. Her previous statement had been a lighthearted teasing, but the answer surpa.s.sed her imagination and made her mind reel.

“So….” Straight Face murmured as if she was talking to herself, “We'll fall into the trap the moment we abandon someone.”

“Exactly.”

“…Hmm.” Straight Face tilted her head slightly and mulled over the idea. She was intelligent and surely wasn't a fool. She didn't take Seol Jihu's words lightly.

“I understand what you're saying… but it does sound a bit forced….” She tilted her head side to side before asking a sharp question, “What made you think this?”

Seol Jihu smacked his lips. He couldn't just say, 'Because this entire area has the color of the Golden Rule.' He had to make her understand some other way.

He didn't need to think for too long. Since what the white-hairband girl said gave him the idea in the first place, he could just tell her about that. Of course, he couldn't just say to her face, 'You're the self-centered maverick.' So, he changed the words around a little.

“Counterparts, is it….” Thankfully, what the frail girl told him was enough to pique her interest.

Straight Face rubbed her chin more seriously than ever before. After thinking for a long time, she glanced at the youth who was anxiously waiting for an answer.

“Our prince,” leisurely sweeping her hair back, she opened her cherry-red lips, “…sure has a way with words.”

'I wish you'd stop calling me a prince.' Seol Jihu smiled bitterly.

“Iyaa~ This is hard.”

“You don't need to keep tugging them along. It will only be until Stage 1 ends.”

“You're right, but…. With my personality, letting them hitch a free ride is—”

It was then….

—Woooooooow!

Before Straight Face could even finish her sentence, a loud cheer broke out in the room next door.

The duo's gazes went up simultaneously.