Chapter 182

Chapter 182. Stop. That’s enough. Chenbi Is My Friend

The morning sun cast shimmering, sparkling ripples across the surface of the chilly lake.

Guided by Myserln sunbae, we navigated through the hidden waterways of Giksen Lake to find a quiet, isolated shore where we ended up spending the night.

Just as I suspected, Demian possessed a sharp, calculating instinct.

“Wait, how did I figure it out? It was obvious just by looking at her reaction. She didn’t interrogate us or anything.”

“She didn’t interrogate us?”

Ultimately, the reason Demian decided to make a run for it was that Gamo had given her consent far too easily.

“You brought up ‘ancient ruins,’ yet she didn’t question what kind of ruins they were or where we intended to go. Besides, if she truly meant to let us go, she would have at least ordered Uncle Tohoman to accompany us.”

Ah. So that was the catch.

It certainly had struck me as odd at the time.

I knew there was no way Gamo would grant permission without making a fuss.

Furthermore, Gamo had dealt with Demian’s antics long enough to know better—would she actually buy into some absurd fairy tales about heroic deeds and simply let him walk away?

It defied all logic.

Regardless, we had managed to break away cleanly, so that was what mattered. However, a different query crossed my mind.

“……”

I looked over at Chenbi, who remained curled up in a deep, nearly comatose slumber.

“Why did you bring him along…”

Munching on a piece of dried meat, Demian grinned broadly in response to my question.

“Because it would be lonely to leave a companion behind.”

“……Ah. Right. Of course.”

“Just think about it, Friend. If only you and I went off on this grand expedition without Chenbi, would you really feel satisfied?”

Personally, I would have been perfectly content.

“A person must always consider the feelings of others. Especially when dealing with those close to you, you need to show even more consideration.”

Yet your actions suggest you don’t care about that in the slightest.

Even so, whatever the case may be, it was already done.

The events had already unfolded, and it appeared that instead of Myserln sunbae, I—who had merely been sitting back and eating snacks a moment ago—was going to be saddled with the entire blame.

‘Fine. I might as well just give up.’

Accepting defeat brought a strange sense of peace.

After all, how many times had this unforgiving world put me through the wringer? By this point, I had become the type of person who could simply shrug off adversity.

At any rate, after calming my agitated nerves as best as I could, I continued chewing on my dried meat while organizing my thoughts.

The festival dance was scheduled for tomorrow, wasn’t it?

‘For the time being, catching the fairies’ group performance is completely out of the question.’

Right now, our immediate predicament required full attention.

‘Lady Gamo… must be absolutely furious by now, right?’

Undoubtedly.

The previous day, the very moment our communication cut off, we effectively abducted Chenbi and fled the boundaries of the estate under Myserln sunbae’s guidance.

We didn’t spill any blood during our escape, but there was definitely a minor skirmish, so she would likely fly into a rage once the news reached her.

Yet, a part of me deep down had already resigned itself to that outcome as well.

If they decide to pursue us, so be it.

What truly mattered right now?

The ancient ruins.

What exactly was waiting for us within them?

If I were traveling entirely on my own, such a concern wouldn’t even cross my mind.

No matter what kind of perils lay hidden inside, I was a man who had exchanged blows with Destrow and managed to emerge alive from the depths of Lortel.

It wasn’t that I possessed no fear whatsoever—rather, if I were by myself, I felt entirely certain of my ability to survive and escape somehow.

But what about our current group dynamic?

“The ambiance out here is quite tranquil. Roughing it in the wilderness, are we?”

Liability Number One.

“P-please… spare me…”

Casualty Number One.

To be precise, when it came to sheer combat capability, the true dead weight wasn’t Demian but Chenbi—however, Demian’s mere presence created the actual complications.

Therefore, it was only accurate to view Demian as the primary burden.

In any case, because two additional companions had latched onto me entirely against my original plans, the mental strain of the journey plummeted into deep anxiety.

What of it? Since they chose to come along, shouldn’t I just leave them to fend for themselves?

Initially, that was exactly my perspective, but…

‘If I do that, I’ll genuinely end up as nothing more than a keeper of monsters.’

While becoming a master over ten thousand wyverns didn’t sound terrible, it was far too early for me to abandon civilization and bury myself in the wild forever—I still had plenty of years ahead of me.

Consequently, at the very least, I had to ensure they stayed breathing and pull them through this.

“Tsk.”

Reaching that conclusion, I took a sip of water to soothe my parched throat and shifted my gaze toward the heavens.

Wispy, feather-like clouds drifted lazily across the vast blue sky. A cool, crisp gust of wind swept through my hair. What truly cleared the fog of anxiety from my mind was the rustling melody—shaaah—echoing from the nearby woods.

“Yeah, whatever. What’s the use of overthinking it.”

Everything is ultimately meaningless.

Life is essentially like a hard-boiled egg.

No matter how you cook it, it remains tough. If you strike it, it cracks apart—whether you’re talking about a person’s skull or an eggshell, the end result is identical.

What did that piece of philosophy mean?

It meant I felt an overwhelming urge to crack Demian’s skull open.

“Friend, were you lost in thought?”

“I was just reflecting on the fact that I haven’t landed a single punch on you yet.”

As I shifted my posture slightly to glare at him, Demian—who was happily devouring his dried meat—offered a completely oblivious smile and smoothly pivoted to a new topic.

“Setting that aside, when do you think Chenbi will finally wake up?”

“You should have knocked him out with a gentler blow.”

“You were the one who instructed me to strike the back of his neck, so I simply followed orders.”

“A slight miscalculation could have cost him his life.”

Granted, Demian had applied his restorative magic to heal him afterward, but if the strike had connected poorly, Chenbi might have permanently lost all feeling below his shoulders.

Even so, a sense of anxiety began to creep in.

‘How on earth am I supposed to explain this to Chenbi when he opens his eyes?’

Should I tell him that Demian dragged him away against his will?

That we ended up cornered by adversaries?

Or perhaps that a dangerously thrilling journey lies ahead, where his survival isn’t guaranteed, so he should brace himself?

If I left the explanation to Demian, I wouldn’t have to stress over it…

‘No. Absolutely not him.’

He cannot be trusted with a single important task.

Pondering the immense psychological distress that the unfortunate Chenbi would soon face, I mentally rehearsed various phrases over and over, trying to select the words that would cause the least amount of emotional shock.

Naturally, it took almost no time at all for me to realize that such deliberation was entirely futile.

“Ugh…”

Chenbi slowly opened his eyelids, appearing disoriented and half-conscious.

Before I could even utter a word, Demian grabbed Chenbi and shook him awake with startling intensity, letting a bizarre phrase slip from his lips:

“It is time to trouble!”

Trouble?

Did he mean travel?

However, the truly remarkable part of this encounter wasn’t Demian’s butchered vocabulary—it was how Chenbi reacted to the statement.

“……What hour is it.”

“Around seven?”

“…… wake me back up when it hits nine.”

Chenbi immediately closed his eyes once more.

Yet Demian refused to back down.

“Friend, the hour of adventure has arrived! Observe our surroundings. A grand journey is calling out to us—”

“Right, right. I get it. I’m filled with anticipation. Truly thrilled. However, Demian, my skull is throbbing painfully at this moment. I have a feeling someone struck me yesterday… but surely that’s just a figment of my imagination, correct?”

“……”

“Wake me up at nine o’clock.”

With those final words, Chenbi drifted back into slumber.

Observing that exchange, I couldn’t help but quietly marvel at him.

‘Wow… so this is the absolute pinnacle of understanding how to handle Demian?’

Chenbi hadn’t failed to comprehend his circumstances.

In fact, he understood the reality of his situation better than anyone else present.

From this moment onward, I decided to recognize him as Chenbi of the Unshakable Soul.

Myserln sunbae, who had departed earlier to inspect the water passages, made his way back shortly after Chenbi had briefly stirred.

He appeared remarkably exhausted after just a single night of travel, and the moment his gaze landed on the conscious Chenbi, an odd expression flickered across his face.

“That fellow is…”

“Shh.”

I gestured quickly to silence Myserln sunbae, lowering my posture to speak in a hushed whisper.

“If you provoke Chenbi right now, it could trigger a massive crisis.”

“……For what reason?”

Instead of offering a direct explanation, I cast a meaningful glance toward Aiki, the water elemental resting right next to Myserln sunbae.

“Just observe.”

“……?”

Aiki had emerged from the water’s edge and was busy cleaning his front paws.

Initially, the creature would hiss aggressively whenever it encountered me, but over time it had grown reasonably accustomed to my presence. Naturally, it had also tolerated Demian to a certain degree.

However, in that instant—

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak—!

The second its eyes locked onto Chenbi, the elemental’s fur stood completely on end as it let out a fierce hiss, behaving as though it had just stared into the face of pure horror.

“What in the world is the meaning of this…”

“Chenbi has succumbed to a dark corruption.”

“……”

“It is undoubtedly a byproduct of Demian’s influence. To the untrained eye, he may appear to be the same old Chenbi, but internally he has transformed into a corrupted entity, broken by malevolence. If you disturb him, you will certainly regret the consequences.”

“You possess an astonishing lack of shame… do you know that?”

“Who, me? How so?”

He was spouting absolute nonsense.

There exists a concept in this world known as meta-cognition, which involves maintaining an objective awareness of one’s own capabilities and position.

How exactly do you think a common fixer like myself has managed to stay alive for this long? By my own estimation, it is precisely because my capacity for meta-cognition is vastly superior to that of the average person.

Regardless, now that Myserln sunbae had returned, our entire group gathered in a tight circle around the burning campfire.

The assortment of individuals present was incredibly pathetic.

“Hmm…”

Myserln sunbae looked physically drained after a single sleepless night.

“……”

The literal root of all mischief sat nearby, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Munch, munch.

And then there was Chenbi, supposedly tainted by dark forces.

To be absolutely clear, from the precise moment he first opened his eyes until this very second, Chenbi had not uttered a single query regarding our location or the events that led us here.

That level of stoicism was deeply impressive, even to me.

Then, an intrusive thought entered my mind.

‘If I were to mess with things further in this situation…’

No, stop. Drop it.

Chenbi is a companion of mine.

Regardless of how intrigued I might be, warping someone’s fundamental disposition is entirely immoral.

If I stooped to that level, what would separate me from Demian? Harboring that brand of curiosity was fundamentally wrong.

Setting aside the notion of a corrupted Chenbi from some dark dimension, we turned our full attention to discussing the ancient ruins.

“To begin with, I have mapped out a basic trajectory for our journey. The actual transit won’t consume too much time. However, there is one final matter I wish to verify…”

It was evident that he harbored reservations about guiding such young companions into the depths of ancient structures.

In fact, he seemed particularly concerned about Chenbi, who had essentially been brought along under duress, akin to a hostage.

Yet Chenbi, sensing Myserln sunbae’s subtle evaluation, finished swallowing his dried meat and offered a cheerful, radiant grin.

“Lord Myserln, you needn’t worry about me.”

“Are you truly at ease with this?”

“What was destined to occur has merely come to pass. It represents a tribulation that everyone must confront at least once throughout their existence. If anything, I consider it a stroke of luck that this trial manifested while Lord Myserln was by our side.”

Incredible.

Chenbi had already foreseen that an event of this nature would inevitably happen one day.

I silently marveled at his exceptional clairvoyance, while simultaneously sending a quiet prayer of sympathy for Chenbi’s future, given how thoroughly entangled his fate had become with Demian’s.

Moving forward.

Accepting Chenbi’s humble and resilient attitude, Myserln sunbae offered a single nod before continuing his explanation.

“In that case… regardless of the chaotic methods utilized to get here, I extend my profound appreciation to you all. While some of you are likely aware, this endeavor is aimed at fulfilling a dream this old man has harbored for a very long time. Once my obligations are fully discharged, I will make absolutely sure to return this favor.”

Concluding his speech with an earnest and solemn demeanor, Myserln sunbae inclined his head respectfully before looking back up at us.

Right on cue, Demian’s mouth twitched as though he were preparing to voice some grand declaration, but Chenbi reached out swiftly and clamped his hand firmly over the boy’s mouth.

‘Excellent execution, Chenbi.’

I had no inkling of what he intended to say, but as a general rule of thumb, whatever comes out of Demian’s mouth serves as a beacon for absolute catastrophe.

Once Myserln sunbae straightened up, he proceeded to outline our upcoming objectives with calm precision—reiterating exactly why we had assembled in the first place.

Since I was already well-acquainted with that portion of the plan, I chose to tune it out.

As his briefing drew to a close—

“Therefore, I humbly request that you lend your strength to aid the spirits who have endured torment for so many agonizing years.”

With those final words, Myserln sunbae offered another deep bow.

The reactions from the group were entirely distinct from one another.

“A true champion always champions the helpless. Master, set your mind at ease!”

The actual source of trouble still failed to realize his own problematic nature.

“Those helpless creatures. They are just like me.”

The victim of the twisted situation felt a bizarre sense of shared trauma.

As I observed these wildly contrasting behaviors, Myserln sunbae suddenly directed a sharp inquiry right at me.

“You… what is the reason behind that grin on your face?”

“Oh, it’s just that I feel genuinely delighted. To realize that we possess the capability to liberate these suffering elementals. Could there possibly be a more noble pursuit than this?”

A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of my lips. My pulse quickened with genuine excitement. I assumed this must be the sheer euphoria that accompanies performing a righteous deed.

With a sense of profound pride swelling in my chest, I focused my attention entirely on Aiki.

‘Don’t worry, you little rascal. I’m going to rescue your entire species.’

Kyaaaaaaaaak—!

What a feisty creature. Are you really that thrilled?