Haehyuk was coming along, which was of course reassuring. Not just reassuring, but given his skills ranked among the world's best, navigating the dungeon was expected to be easier than before. However, the increase in power was a separate matter from the pressure and awkwardness it brought. It felt similar to the reassurance and simultaneous pressure one might feel when a superior joins an important project. The actual situation wasn't much different.
"Are you really coming with us?"
"Would I lie about coming?"
"...Ah."
"You don't like it?"
"No, it's not that I don't like it."
It was just the pressure. The rest of what he wanted to say remained unsaid, swirling in his mind. Haehyuk, who had been staring at Kang Sihyun's expression, chuckled and informed him that even if he didn't like it, the decision was already made and could not be changed. It was a statement that hovered between despair and hope.
Think positively. With Haehyuk joining, our strength will increase exponentially.
The impact of having a skilled S-class was significant. His presence would make emergency situations much more manageable, so Sihyun shook off his worries and accepted the reality. Discomfort aside, looking solely at the results, it was a stroke of luck. He had resigned himself to the situation, so now the plan had changed.
"Ban Haru, Lee Hamin."
Tap, tap. Sihyun's hand alternately patted the shoulders of Haru and Hamin, waking the two boys who wore unfamiliar expressions.
"That's the situation."
His tone was as calm as when Haehyuk had mentioned he was coming too. Hamin, who came to his senses quicker than Haru, grimaced and gently moved away from Sihyun's hand, taking a few steps back.
"How do you become more like Haehyuk?"
What?
Sihyun's expression hardened as if he had heard something outrageous.
"Are you crazy?"
"If you deny it that strongly, it makes me want to say that such denial often substitutes for affirmation."
"Are you crazy?"
Sihyun frowned at the nonsensical conversation between the two brothers, not understanding why they kept saying he resembled Haehyuk. He glanced at Hamin, who was supposed to resemble Haehyuk, and when the boy noticed his gaze, he retorted. Sihyun, tired of the pointless argument, decided to let it go, and Haehyuk stood up with his phone.
"It seems we've talked enough. Shall we go?"
Haehyuk, who had taken on the responsibility for this mission to the Chinese dungeon, commanded their departure in a gentle voice. Until then, Haru had been frozen, but upon Sihyun waving his hand in front of him and asking if he was okay about three times, he finally moved, saying he was fine.
"...The guild leader, together."
His murmured words seemed to come from a place of shock.
Well, he did say he admired him.
Quite the peculiar taste.
After seeing Haehyuk and Haru work together during the Titan battle, Haru had said that although Haehyuk was a bit intimidating personality-wise, he was an idol in terms of skill. Despite the news being unwelcome to himself and Hamin, Haru was evidently thrilled, so Sihyun decided to understand and lightly patted Haru's shoulder.
* * *
Upon arrival at the airport, the journey to China progressed surprisingly quickly. The proximity and the fact that the association had arranged transportation upon hearing of the dungeon's appearance played a part.
Not wanting to sit next to Haehyuk, Haru and Hamin ended up leaving Sihyun to sit beside him, listening to various precautions about China. As they were about to disembark, Sihyun's mind was filled with negative thoughts about the Chinese association.
"Don't let go of your valuables and weapons since they might be stolen, and since you're not yet adults, there's also a risk of kidnapping. You must stick close behind Haehyuk." The more he heard, the more it sounded like a scary story.
"But they wouldn't kidnap us since we came to solve the dungeon in their country, right?"
When Sihyun questioned this, Haehyuk hummed thoughtfully for a long while before slightly raising one corner of his mouth and saying, "Who knows?" Sihyun sensed from his smile that being there to solve the dungeon wasn't enough to be reassuring. It seemed like a battle that would require a lot of attention on many fronts.
"How quickly we've arrived."
"It's faster than expected. The people from the Chinese association will be here shortly."
Just like in Russia, China was a new place for Haru, who was feeling nervous until Haehyuk calmly explained while looking at his phone. Sihyun couldn't help asking Hamin, the only minor who didn't seem awkward, if he
had been here before.
"Have you been here before?"
"Here, to China?"
"Yeah. You didn't seem nervous."
"What's there to be nervous about?"
"If it's your first time, you might not be nervous, but it's natural to feel a bit awkward. You don't seem to be. So, have you been here before?"
"I have, but it was when I was younger."
He shared that he had traveled around the world following his father's business trips when he was younger. As the story went on, his deep purple eyes seemed to darken, indicating that what might sound like an exciting tale to others might not have been a pleasant memory for him. Sihyun decided not to delve deeper into Hamin's past, choosing instead to simply respond and change the topic. He didn't want to pry into memories that Hamin clearly found unpleasant.
"The being we're likely to encounter in this dungeon is Septimus."
"What's that?"
"A child of Gula. Since it's the fourth dungeon to appear, it should be the seventh child."
"You can know that in advance?"
"Who do you think has been spreading information about the dungeons to the association up until now?"
Hamin, who seemed to marvel at everything, finally remembered who had been supplying information to the World Awakeners Association and had a moment of realization about the person in front of him.
"Then, can you also know what powers they have?"
"No. But the children of Gula are involved with... Ah! Pia!"
"...Why Pia?"
Mid-sentence, Sihyun suddenly shouted, startling Hamin. Realizing this wasn't the time for explanations, Sihyun urgently grabbed Haehyuk's arm. There was no Awakener this time to defend against psychic attacks like Misha had during the Noxus event. The likelihood of a psychic Awakener coming from China to assist was slim, so Pia was necessary.
"What's going on?"
"Is there any way to send just one Irregular from Korea to China right now?"
"Suddenly?"
"It's necessary for the dungeon assault."
Despite understanding how crucial Misha's role had been during the Noxus event, forgetting to bring Pia was absurd. Sihyun's frustration was evident, but upon requesting assistance, Haehyuk, realizing the seriousness of the situation, picked up his phone.
As he called the association to inquire about the necessity of an Irregular, specifying Pia, Sihyun felt a mix of relief and self-reproach. It was fortunate they had discussed Hamin and Septimus, or he might have forgotten entirely. After quickly finishing the call, Haehyuk informed them that Yihun would bring her, so there was no need to worry. Sihyun felt guilty knowing Yihun had to work overtime because of him.
"Pia is the small fantasy species, right?"
"Yes."
"Why is Pia necessary for the dungeon assault?"
"The children of Gula can interfere with the psychic realm. If we can't block or bypass psychic infiltration, people will undoubtedly be brainwashed or see hallucinations. To prevent that, we need a psychic Awakener or Pia. Trusting Pia over China's Awakeners seems better."
"Ah, that makes sense...."
After scanning the surroundings and whispering the reason for calling Pia, Haehyuk, convinced, nodded his understanding.
No one would want to entrust their mind to someone they couldn't fully trust. Having finally grasped the situation, Haehyuk promised to expedite the process and began typing on his phone again. Sihyun felt another wave of guilt towards Yihun.
After the matter with Pia was settled, about 10 minutes passed before individuals from the Chinese association came to escort Haehyuk and Sihyun's group outside. One of the men in black suits handed them a small gem-like device. When asked what it was, an Awakener affiliated with the Chinese association, who spoke Korean, explained it was an automatic translation device.
The earpiece-style device would translate the speaker's words into the set language with a 0.3-second delay upon wearing it. Just as they were about to accept this fascinating device,
"We've prepared our own translator. Thank you, but we'll use what we've brought."
Haehyuk gestured towards Sihyun's hand, politely declining the Chinese translation device gift. He smiled graciously and slightly turned his head to signal with his eyes.
'Be cautious, as I warned.'
"Ah...."
Sihyun swallowed his embarrassment, not having expected to be cautious even of translation devices.
Fidgeting awkwardly, Haehyuk, who had just declined the Chinese gift, pulled out a small box from his coat and distributed emerald-colored gems to the group. These devices, similar in function and appearance to the Chinese ones but slightly different in color, were made in Korea.
"The domestic production is limited. They're
quite expensive, with only 7 available, so please handle them carefully."
Curious about the cost, Sihyun asked, and Haehyuk spread out his index finger.
"A hundred million won?"
Surprised by the price, Sihyun widened his eyes, but Haehyuk shook his head.
"Ten million won?"
Haehyuk chuckled.
"...A billion won?"
"Although the exact amount varies, it's roughly around that. It was made over several months by technology-oriented Awakeners who poured mana into it."
"......"
Unlike Hamin, who seemed to have expected it, Sihyun exchanged a solemn look with Haru, gently touching the earpiece. It felt like wearing a walking building.
Having a billion-won translation device in his ear made it feel slightly sore.
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