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“Show them the dream of the attack.”

“As you command.”

Lee Ha Yeon turned. When she looks at Tae Yong, her gaze is cold, unlike the respectful attitude she showed just now. Standing straight like a military officer, Ha Yeon explained.

“As you are probably aware through your investigations, I am a succubus. You all should know what succubi are since they exist in this world as well. It is easy for me to enter the dreams of people who trust me. And what I read through the dreams are the memories of my stylist, Ko Hye Ju.” 

Lee Ha Yeon stretched her hand out, inviting them to take it. Unlike Jiho, who hesitated, Tae Yong readily grabbed it. Once Jiho also touched her hand, Lee Ha Yeon smiled.

And then, their view of their surroundings changed.

Maybe because it was a dream, the image wasn’t very clear and it shook with every step.

A dark alleyway at night. Ko Hye Ju was walking down the street while looking at her phone, which limited their view. 

Ko Hye Ju, who didn’t really care about her surroundings, suddenly lowered her phone and stopped. Then, she nervously looked around.

Someone appeared in Ko Hye Ju’s vision.

Park Sejin stood in front of Ko Hye Ju. The first guildmember who went missing from Mireu. 

Even from a glance, Park Sejin had a violent, murderous aura.

Ko Hye Ju tried to run away. However, by the time Ko Hye Ju noticed Park Sejin’s presence, he had already lunged for her. Ko Hye Ju tried to resist, but their difference in strength was too wide.

As a result, blood splattered in Ko Hye Ju’s field of vision. Her vision blinked like she was grimacing in pain, and when she closed her eyes, Lee Ha Yeon’s figure flickered like an illusion, as though Ko Hye Ju was thinking of her.

Only a few seconds later, Ko Hye Ju collapsed on the ground.

Because she knew her boss’s ability, Ko Hye Ju kept her eyes open and glared at Park Sejin until the end. Park Sejin looked down at her expressionlessly before leaving the scene.

That was the end of the dream Lee Ha Yeon showed them.

Lee Ha Yeon bit her lips and didn’t hide her rage, like Ko Hye Ju’s injury enraged her.

“You saw it, right? She’s still unconscious… you can have an awakened one on your side confirm the reliability of this recording if you need it.”

“No… there is no need. I will trust you.”

“After all, you’ve already checked it.”

Tae Yong probably used the skill he had once used on Jiho to check that Lee Ha Yeon was telling the truth.

The result is that Mireu Guild attacked first.

Kim Tae Yong covered his face in distress. He never thought his guild would attack an innocent person. For Kim Tae Yong, who is against indiscriminate violence, this is an extremely agonizing situation.

Kim Tae Yong sighed before bowing towards Lee Ha Yeon.

“I apologize for Ko Hye Ju-nim. It is due to my negligence of my guildmembers that such an incident occurred.”

“It doesn’t matter since it probably wasn’t your fault.”

Yiwon, who was listening, nonchalantly replied.

“It looks like Setero played a trick here too. This is just the kind of trick that bastard likes to use.”

“But why did Cho Seung Taek drag Ipeulis into this?”

“That’s….”

“Setero and I do not have a good relationship.”

Ha Yeon answered for Yiwon, who trailed off like it was difficult to explain. Unlike how she spoke to Kim Tae Yong, Lee Ha Yeon’s tone is respectful to Jiho.

“Ipeulis is a guild I lead for Yiwon-nim, and it follows solely Yiwon-nim’s will. As it is Yiwon-nim’s wish to live out the rest of his life on Earth, that, too, is my wish. However, Setero hopes that Yiwon-nim will return to Ipeulis, so I do not please him. Of course, Setero probably believes that he is also following Yiwon-nim’s will….”

“Not when he touched Jiho.”

Yiwon said indifferently. Yet unlike his indifferent tone, his eyes were burning with rage.

“He has the system, but manipulating memories isn’t something the system can do. Something else is helping him with this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Setero might be an SSS-rank powerhouse even in Ipeulis, but he doesn’t have any mind-related skills. And on top of that, he used Earth’s system. I don’t understand how.”

“I think he used that skill when he first came to Earth.”

Yiwon paused at Jiho’s guess before nodding. Then, Yiwon glared fiercely at the cat. 

“Those system fragments this idiot couldn’t gather… it looks like there’s someone using them for evil.”

“…Is that possible?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure because I’ve never heard of a case like this, but since the system’s AI is supposed to gain its own consciousness once linked to the entity we call “Administrator”…. It’s possible that it was influenced by someone else to awaken a different consciousness when the system shattered. Or it’s possible that system acquired its own standards while it roamed Earth, and is now moving to meet its own goals.”

They can only make baseless guesses at this point, but nothing sounds simple. Even if they catch Cho Seung Taek, who ran away, they’ll have to take care of the person causing additional trouble for this matter to be fully resolved.

“So difficult….”

It’s difficult when they don’t know the person’s identity or even goal.

“For now… looks like this will be a long fight. Mireu Guild should discuss how they want to proceed from here. If you want to settle the score, that’s fine too.”

Yiwon looked at Tae Yong with a deadpan, like he was daring him to try. At this, Tae Yong solemnly shook his head.

“No. I will need to return to discuss this further, however… if there was a misunderstanding between us, then it cannot be helped.”

It seems like Kim Tae Yong decided to keep an eye on Joo Yiwon for now.

An awakened one who supports Jiho and even blocked a disaster by raiding the Great Dungeon. However, he can’t be fully trusted as he is a former administrator of another world.

Mireu Guild will probably be noisy for a while.

Once Kim Tae Yong left with a complicated expression on his face, Yiwon turned to Lee Ha Yeon.

“Rue, you track the trail Setero left behind. No need to track his movements. It’ll probably be difficult for you to find. Find what he’s been doing, no matter how small it is.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Though the command was cold and firm, Lee Ha Yeon didn’t ask any questions and quickly followed through.

Finally, Joo Yiwon looked at the cat.

“And this cat, leave us for a bit.”

No!

“I have something to say to Jiho.”

Joo Yiwon smiled somewhat bitterly at Jiho. Jiho looked at those dejected eyes before gently petting the cat’s head.

“Please.”

“Meowwwwww….”

“I’ll give you a name later, just like I promised. Hm?”

The cat made a low sound like it was reluctant, but its eyes sparkled when it heard that it would be given a name and obediently left.

Now there’s only the two of them left in the room.

A brief silence fell. Because there was so much Jiho wanted to say, he couldn’t say anything.

Joo Yiwon spoke first.

“Shin Jiho.”

“What.”

“Has there ever been a time you wanted to forget me?”

“Why would I want to forget you?”

Jiho answered without hesitation. Joo Yiwon is his family, his friend, and… an extremely precious person to Jiho. Why would he want to forget him?

Yiwon looked like he was in pain, as though an old wound was festering and rotting. Jiho stretched his hand out to him. Yiwon rubbed his cheek against Jiho’s hand like the cat did.

“Actually, a system window appeared. It said that I have… memories that were sealed by Setero.”

“…”

“Truthfully, it doesn’t really feel like my memories are incomplete. I remember you. But there’s a lot more parts I can’t remember than I thought, and part of that is that you and I….”

“Were in love.”

Jiho, who was just going to say that they dated, felt his ears burn from such a unexpected, passionate word. Yiwon stared at Jiho before pulling him into a hug.

“Hey, that was so sudden….”

“So you didn’t throw me away.”

Jiho’s hand, which was going to push Yiwon away, stopped at Yiwon’s trembling voice.

“You didn’t throw me away. You just forgot me, because that bastard took your memories…. You didn’t throw me away.”

Jiho looked down at Yiwon, who seemed weaker than usual today.

Though a head taller than him, broader shoulders; a lot more powerful than Jiho–who just awakened as an administrator–and might’ve lived a bit longer; standing incomparably far ahead of him is… a person.

“Yiwon-ah. Why would I throw you away….”

Jiho gently whispered as he pulled Yiwon into his arms. It’s a shame this is all he can do for Yiwon.

Yiwon buried his face in Jiho’s arms and breathed slowly.

‘Because you don’t know anything about me.’

Yiwon internally whispered. He managed to pass the incident with Mireu Guild, but truthfully speaking, Yiwon just killed whoever fell into his hands. After all, it’s a hassle to keep them alive and easier to kill them.

Only Shin Jiho tried to trust Joo Yiwon. Yet that trust is rooted in Yiwon’s past, and the fact that his past is so different from his present appearance that it’s nothing more than an illusion… makes him miserable.

But he’s happy.

At least he can still receive Shin Jiho’s love this way. At least he can see the face he’s longed for again.

For the first time in a while, Yiwon wants to cry. But many parts of Yiwon melted into the planet with an endless ocean, so what’s now left of Joo Yiwon has no more tears to cry.

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LaZ Bird Corner

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