“After all the trouble I went through to carry you, why are you making such a fuss?”

“How can you even say that…”

Geon-joo, looking too stunned to even be angry, lowered his body and wriggled back into the blankets, hiding his face from view. First a cocoon, and now this. Was he planning on turning into a chrysalis?

“Are you going back to sleep?”

“Do I look like I’m sleeping?”

His tone was icy, clearly displeased with the turn of events. Sa-yoon, finding nothing unusual in this, simply readjusted his hold on Geon-joo and walked through the stunned crowd.

Whether he intended to be carried all the way, or whether his pride was too wounded to even think of getting down, the creature in his arms cooperated without a single complaint.

Sa-yoon placed the blanket-wrapped man, who had grown quite a bit taller since they first met, onto a chair before taking his own seat. Only after Sa-yoon was settled in the empty chair did Geon-joo poke his head out from the blankets and survey his surroundings.

Is he a meerkat or something?

It wasn’t his first time at the Association, yet he acted like he was in a completely unfamiliar place. As Sa-yoon observed him, their eyes met. Geon-joo openly scowled, his expression souring as he fumbled with his hands to free himself from the blankets.

“How tightly did you wrap this thing…?”

His quiet complaint was the only thing that broke the silence. The conference room was so deathly quiet that even someone without S-rank hearing could have heard him.

“If you have a problem, you can carry me around too.”

“How could I possibly do that?”

“Why not? You did it just fine yesterday.”

“That was different.”

He wanted to argue, to demand what was so different, but one look at Geon-joo’s face told him he wouldn’t get a very satisfying answer, so he held his tongue. But it seemed the future he’d predicted was destined to happen anyway.

Even without saying a word, Geon-joo was sulking, clearly conveying his disappointment: I took care of you when you were sick, and this is what I get in return? Sa-yoon propped his chin on his hand, tilting his head to look at Geon-joo with a wry gaze.

It was strange how his annoyed expression wasn’t unpleasant. It was a novel experience every time.

“So what more do you want me to do?”

“…I wasn’t asking you to do anything. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t do certain things.”

Geon-joo muttered something about how he’d never be able to just say, “Do whatever you want,” before straightening up in his seat and declaring, “Forget it.” Sa-yoon, who had been enjoying teasing him, swallowed his disappointment and turned away.

A fervent gaze had been sending him a love call for a while now. It was time to respond, whether he wanted to or not.

Oh. This is a bit much, even for me.

When he turned his head, the stares that met him were more intense and fiery than he had anticipated. Anyone would have mistaken them for fans who had just spotted their lifelong celebrity crush. Sa-yoon, who would have preferred to ignore them, was once again forced to acknowledge the one-year gap.

He had only been gone for a year, but the world had changed so quickly. Perhaps that was why the balance had crumbled so fast.

Well, some things haven’t changed, I suppose.

“A year has passed, but you haven’t aged a day, noona.”

Of the five Noah members present, besides himself and Geon-joo, the easiest to talk to was undoubtedly Mi-jeong. Contrary to the old saying that time’s passage becomes more palpable with age, the year didn’t seem to have touched her. She looked exactly as he remembered. Hearing his whispered comment, she smiled, her eyes crinkling. Snap. The fan in her hand opened, covering her lips.

“My, your lip service has improved while you’ve been away. Did your pretty boy teach you that?”

“As if.”

Han Geon-joo and lip service. He’d never heard a more mismatched combination of words.

If anything, Han Geon-joo is the type to earn a beating with his mouth.

But amusingly enough, Sa-yoon was even better at it. And even if they both deserved it, Sa-yoon was always the one doling out the punishment, leaving Han Geon-joo to feel unjustly treated.

Sa-yoon glanced at Geon-joo, who lately had a strangely wronged look on his face, and let out a small laugh.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

His reaction, as if he knew he was being both insulted and praised in Sa-yoon’s mind, was quite amusing.

Instead of answering, Sa-yoon just smiled and turned his gaze to the other members of Noah. Now that the conversation had started, it was time for the expected questions.

“What in the world have you been doing all this time? And what’s all this about a Tower? I read the articles, but I still don’t get it. You need to explain it yourself.”

Just as he thought. The first question was exactly what he’d anticipated.

It’s true, the articles the Association President released are hard to understand on their own.

Sa-yoon had also seen the official statement from the Korean Hunter Association, which Gyeongjin had shown him. It was a condensed version of their conversation, and the content was indeed sparse. He could understand their confusion. He tapped his fingers on the table.

They have a right to know.

Besides, he, Han Geon-joo, and Lee Jaehee needed to find some reasonably skilled people to help with their future plans. And the five people in front of him seemed the most suitable candidates to fill their empty spots.

“Ahem.”

He cleared his throat, organizing his thoughts. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to tell them what they needed to know. As Sa-yoon began to speak, everyone’s attention focused on him.

A brief silence fell over the room as he slowly recounted the story of the foretold Tower and the final battle that was to come. He omitted the headache-inducing truths about the war of the gods and the balance, but he gave enough clues that anyone with a bit of sense could infer the involvement of transcendent beings and a war against them. The sharp ones would catch on quickly.

And merchants are quick-witted. Their lives are entangled in money, deals, and calculations of profit and loss.

As expected, the first to grasp the situation seemed to be Mi-jeong. Sa-yoon watched him as the man thoughtfully folded and unfolded his fan before tilting his head.

“So, to sum it up, you’re going to be a hero? You, your pretty boy who came back with you, and Jaehee?”

“It just turned out that way.”

“From villain to hero. Things are getting interesting. Did you get a promotion, Guild Leader Kwon?”

Mi-jeong’s tone was teasing, but his eyes held more affection than mischief. Knowing this, Sa-yoon remained silent, and Mi-jeong’s smiling eyes deepened.

“Hmm. So, you want our help?”

His eyes, heavily lined with purple eyeshadow, looked even more sinister. It was for good reason that Sa-yoon considered him the trickiest person he’d ever dealt with as a hunter. Even as an ally, he could sometimes make the hair on the back of his neck stand up. As an enemy, he would have been a massive headache.

If he were to ask for help, it would put him in a subordinate position in the deal. Sa-yoon had no intention of saying that. He held information that put him in the superior position; he had no desire to play the part of the supplicant.

“I’m not asking for help. I’m saying that anyone who wants in should speak up. If I let you in, you’ll get information about what’s happening faster than anyone else, won’t you? I even have information about the gates that will open in the future.”

A few of the seven people in the room, including the Association President, flinched at his declaration, made while holding all the cards. Sa-yoon glanced quizzically at Han Geon-joo, who knew the same information he did. Why was he surprised? He then looked back at the Noah members, whose expressions had changed subtly, and a smirk played on his lips.

“I’m presenting the options. The choice is yours. You can either stay with Noah, prepare for the coming gates, and listen to me, or if you don’t like it, you can leave.”

A smile, described by some as wicked, by others as foxy, and by a few as one capable of unveiling a person’s deepest desires, curved across Sa-yoon’s lips. Several people drew in sharp breaths. At that moment, a reply, more cutting than he had expected, was hurled back at him.

“Why should we let some guy who’s been gone all this time boss us around?”

A rough, low voice, laced with an undisguised, potent hostility.

Taeseok, who seemed even more agitated than during their first meeting, ground his teeth.

What’s with him?

The animosity was so excessive it made Sa-yoon frown. Mi-jeong struck the table with his fan.

“Don’t get worked up.”

“How can I not be worked up? Do you know how we were treated because of that bastard?”

Taeseok let out a bitter laugh of disbelief, biting his lip and clenching his fists. None of the Noah members seemed surprised by his struggle to contain his rage.

Mi-jeong, Ho-cheol, Dong-ju, Yi-han, and even the Association President, Min-cheol, all responded with understanding. Han Geon-joo blinked.

“Looks like something happened.”

He didn’t even bother to whisper. Sa-yoon, agreeing, crossed his legs and looked at Ho-cheol.

“Tell me.”

“…”

“You said you were treated a certain way because of me. What way was that?”

He was quite curious. When he’d looked up the domestic public opinion, Noah’s reputation in Korea had actually improved since his disappearance. It was likely due to the rumors that he had vanished in another country, which increased the public’s reliance on and expectations for the S-rank hunters who remained.

So, if they were angry about being treated a “certain way,” it couldn’t have been, at least, within the country. Unless they had been blamed for something he had done.

Having made his assessment, Sa-yoon turned to the Association President.

“Are you cooperating with any overseas guilds?”

Min-cheol hesitated for a moment before nodding. Hearing the answer, a crooked smile spread across Sa-yoon’s lips.

Look at these guys.

There’s a saying that in a cave without a tiger, a fox becomes king. He couldn’t just let that slide. Just as a sparrow can’t simply pass by a mill, Sa-yoon couldn’t ignore something that provoked him. Tap, tap. The sound of his long fingernails tapping on the table echoed quietly. Then, Sa-yoon stood up.

“Crazy—stop him!”

Seeing Sa-yoon head for the exit, Min-cheol shouted urgently. The Noah members moved to block him.

“Let go. What, you think I’m going to cause trouble? The most I’ll do is overturn a guild and come back.”

“You crazy bastard! That is trouble! What else would you call it?”

“Calm down!”

“Overturning sounds good! Need a hand?”

“Oh, for crying out loud…”

One trying to stop him, one cursing, one agreeing, one sighing… a colorful array of reactions with not a shred of unity. Geon-joo, still seated, watched Sa-yoon trying to push past the Noah members, who were now using their skills to block him, and took a sip of the tea on the table.

Slurp.

Sip… slurp.

“Hmm.”

The tea was just right for someone who had just woken up and was still feeling groggy.