I had intended to feed him only well-grilled skewers, but Geon-joo must have been very hungry as he devoured a total of twelve Black Horn Rabbit skewers, including the burnt ones. Sa-yoon, who momentarily considered deleting the file he had set aside for a light meal, put one of the remaining six or so skewers into his mouth.

“Are you sure you don’t want to eat more?”

“No, and… I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“……”

Hmm.

It seemed he had chosen the wrong words to reply. Feeling like he’d become a lover chiding an apologetic girlfriend, Sa-yoon pondered for a moment before offering options.

“For losing the base, or for shutting your… mouth after the wave ended?”

He had almost said ‘shutting up’ but managed to soften his language at the last second. Noticing Sa-yoon’s awkward phrasing, Geon-joo looked puzzled. Sa-yoon pretended not to notice and signaled for an answer.

“…Do I really have to spell it out?”

“If you wanted me to know without saying it, you shouldn’t have apologized in the first place.”

“You’re only articulate when it suits you, huh.”

“What?”

“…It’s nothing.”

As if it could be nothing.

Despite hearing such an impertinent remark, Sa-yoon thought, ‘Well, I’m a bodhisattva, I should endure it,’ and gave up on scolding. It seemed he was truly becoming a bodhisattva, and not just in words. At this rate, he might achieve enlightenment in half a year.

Sa-yoon briefly imagined that if the Night Rat guild members had heard this, they would have all burst into laughter without exception. He then opened his mouth to continue the conversation.

“So, what exactly did you do wrong?”

“…You’re not asking because you don’t know, are you?”

“Would I ask if I knew?”

“…I’m sorry for both. I already apologized for the base incident earlier.”

His attitude was ambiguous at best. His tone was somewhere between an apology and picking a fight, and sensing this subtlety, Sa-yoon nodded, signaling him to continue. “Ah, seriously.” Geon-joo grumbled like an eighteen-year-old high school student told to run an errand while gaming, then lowered his chin, avoiding Sa-yoon’s eyes.

“Look at me when you’re talking.”

When his attitude was pointed out, he did raise his head again. It seemed his apology wasn’t entirely insincere.

“As for what happened after the wave ended, it was because I felt useless and my pride was hurt.”

His voice grew quieter towards the end, but he managed to finish his sentence. Even if he had spoken more softly, Sa-yoon’s hearing would have picked it up, so he put a second skewer in his mouth.

“To be honest, I think there’s a problem with your training method, Guild Master. Despite my growth through the special training, during the first wave, all I did was kill a few monsters you sent. I couldn’t provide proper support or be of any help. I think that’s why I felt inadequate. I even compared myself to you, Guild Master.”

It’s hard to tell if this shows he has self-esteem or not.

Whatever change of heart he’d had, Geon-joo, who was now spilling his inner thoughts, looked slightly embarrassed but not with the curt or stubborn expression Sa-yoon was familiar with. He seemed rather at ease. His voice, too, only paused briefly when he was lost in thought or feeling awkward, but otherwise maintained a steady tone.

He was calm and composed. From a different perspective, he looked almost like someone who had reached enlightenment, prompting Sa-yoon to put down the second skewer he had finished.

“Back then, I was too embarrassed to say this outright, so I couldn’t.”

“And now you can?”

“As time passed, it became less embarrassing.”

“Does that make sense?”

“Why wouldn’t it? Aren’t these things supposed to be said impulsively?”

“Who says that?”

“…My father.”

“He gave good advice.”

Isn’t bringing up parents cheating?

Sa-yoon wrinkled his nose bridge once as he responded and observed Geon-joo’s expression. According to the report, Han Geon-joo didn’t have a good relationship with his biological parents. It was closer to being awkward, and as if to prove this, Geon-joo touched his mouth with an unfamiliar look after mentioning his father.

A brief silence covered the room like a blanket of ice.

Is that all you have to say?

“Anyway, that’s why I said I had something to think about alone after the wave. I’m sorry for ignoring everything you said.”

I guess not.

“As for the base, I didn’t expect it to be taken over like that. I’ll be more careful.”

“Why are you apologizing so meticulously, unlike your usual self? Just act normal.”

It was embarrassing.

Accepting apologies once or twice is fine, but when he suddenly became so polite, it felt uncomfortable. Sa-yoon frowned as if it was creepy, to which Geon-joo snapped that when someone apologizes, you should listen properly. Laughing in disbelief at this unreasonable behavior, Sa-yoon heard Geon-joo end his apology by saying that’s how it was anyway.

In the silence that followed again, Sa-yoon mulled over Geon-joo’s words.

To summarize, isn’t he saying that he felt inadequate because he wasn’t doing as much as Sa-yoon was?

If so, the solution is…

Simple.

Heh. Sa-yoon’s lips curled up. Geon-joo, who had been looking out the window, turned to Sa-yoon, sensing something ominous, and asked what he was plotting. Sa-yoon replied it was nothing, but kept smiling.

“What are you hiding?”

“I told you, I’m not hiding anything.”

“Your expression clearly shows you have some plan.”

“I said it’s not like that.”

Sa-yoon feigned innocence and waved his hand, telling him not to worry about it and just let it go. Geon-joo, as if he hadn’t just apologized so sincerely, repeatedly showed his distrust towards Sa-yoon, seemingly unaware that his attitude was rude.

He probably knows it’s rude.

However, it was clear to Sa-yoon that Geon-joo thought this behavior was justified, and Sa-yoon held back from smacking him on the head.

“Anyway, you’ll eventually accept it all as your karma, so I, like a bodhisattva, should endure it.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

…I, like a bodhisattva, should endure it.

Sa-yoon muttered as if chanting a prayer, then covered Geon-joo’s tired-looking eyes with his hand, telling him to get some sleep before the next wave.

A rare moment of peace passes.

After getting adequate sleep, taking proper rest, and moving his body occasionally to awaken stiff senses, the system alarm rang as if on cue, signaling the start of the second wave.

Geon-joo watched as a visibly larger number of monsters than in the first wave came rushing from the mountain range. It was only when they approached close to the castle that he acutely realized what Sa-yoon had meant by ‘karma’.

“Aaaaaargh!”

As they say, old habits die hard. Sa-yoon had dropped Geon-joo down to the base of the castle where monsters were charging.

“Just avoid attacks that might kill you instantly and fight, pretty boy! Don’t worry about dying from health loss, you have the ring!”

Sa-yoon stood tall on the castle wall, smiling with a satisfied face as he kicked Geon-joo down.

If he was disappointed about not having enough to do, then increasing Geon-joo’s workload was the solution.

He had unconsciously held back a bit because Geon-joo had nearly died from poison symptoms before, but it was very clever of him to point out that there was a problem with that approach.

His pretty boy had said it himself, so how could a teacher not change his methods?

It seemed like things could be a bit easier, so he had kept Geon-joo safely on top of the castle wall, but Sa-yoon was glad that Geon-joo showed such enthusiasm. At first, he was terrified, but now he found it strange when he didn’t do it – isn’t that proof that he’s becoming accustomed to Sa-yoon?

There’s progress.

With this incident as a catalyst, Sa-yoon resolved not to become complacent and to train him even more harshly. He jumped down from the castle wall after Geon-joo, gripping his twin swords.

―Grrrr!

Sa-yoon, falling straight down, landed on the ground leaving a trail of red blood.

Five hundred.

It was definitely more than during the first wave. Sa-yoon dealt with dozens of monsters while watching Geon-joo, who had been cornered and surrounded by hundreds of monsters in an instant, frantically running around to survive and even climbing onto large monsters.

Just like with the Imugi, it seems my pretty boy really likes riding on opponents stronger than him, Sa-yoon thought.

“You crazy bastard!”

Throughout the second wave, Geon-joo’s screams and curses kept Sa-yoon’s ears from getting bored. Sa-yoon leisurely dealt with the remaining monsters while rescuing Geon-joo dozens of times, who seemed like he might lose his voice from all the yelling.

It was fun, but with Geon-joo fully involved in the battle, the pace of monster elimination slowed down and several annoying situations arose. Han Geon-joo usually disliked whatever Sa-yoon said, but Sa-yoon judged that the thought he just had was definitely better left unsaid. He saved Geon-joo for the eightieth time from nearly being eaten by a monster, kicking and breaking the monster’s jaw.

―Guweeeek!

The monster hit by Sa-yoon staggered backward and fell with a thud. Some monsters were crushed to death under the large monster. Seeing this, Sa-yoon put Geon-joo down again, and Geon-joo, while screaming and running around, drew all sorts of aggro while showcasing the eccentric feat of avoiding monsters in various ways.

“Well done!”

Bullshit!

Sa-yoon’s praise was met with a curse. Sa-yoon, deciding to take Geon-joo’s panting as endearment, swung his sword.

The maddening monster wave continued for a full two hours, and at the end of the time that took nearly three times as long as the first wave, Geon-joo collapsed on top of the monster corpses, drenched in sweat and blood.

“You’re not dead, right?”

“……”

“Well, you look like you’re about to die soon.”

Sa-yoon examined the unresponsive Geon-joo and gave a brief assessment. In response, Geon-joo voiced his complaints while being doused with potions by Sa-yoon.

Or rather, he was about to complain.

If it weren’t for the group of people visible in the distance, that is.

“…What is that?”

Geon-joo, who should have been angry as usual, expressed something else instead, causing Sa-yoon to tilt his head. Geon-joo pointed with his fingertip at people crossing the path from the mountain range to the cliff.

“Those people.”

“What do you mean, what? They’re people from the ruined world.”

“Are they coming to us?”

“No, they’re probably going to another base. It’s not just the hunters’ bases in the gates that are being taken.”

They seized any base they could see. It wasn’t a particularly surprising sight, so Sa-yoon spoke casually, but Geon-joo’s expression was more somber than usual. He clearly had an expression that recalled the people who had seized their base before. Sa-yoon was about to tell him to forget about it when—

“Do we really have to live like that?”

“Well, they’re doing it because they have to survive, I guess.”

“I don’t want to live like that, even so.”

“Then do you want to die?”

“…No.”

“……?”

Then what do you want to do?

Sa-yoon was dumbfounded by Geon-joo’s answer lacking any solution. He was about to ask what Geon-joo would do if he neither did this nor that, but Geon-joo was quick to provide an answer. It was as if he could read minds.

“I… I don’t want to live like that. Even if I were in the same situation as those people.”

It was close to a soliloquy. Despite looking exhausted from finishing the wave, Geon-joo’s eyes were clear as Sa-yoon observed him with a subtle expression.

…How interesting.

How many people of this type had he met in his life?

The time Sa-yoon had spent with Geon-joo briefly flashed through his mind. The expression Geon-joo showed now as he looked at the Awakened was similar to the one he had when they clashed over differences of opinion in the Yongho Guild. Sa-yoon felt he could vaguely understand in what aspects Geon-joo asserted his own justice, and a small sigh escaped him.

He was upright.

Consistently so, from their first meeting until now.

There was a kind of justice in the beliefs Geon-joo faintly revealed, and it was admirably straight. Sa-yoon inwardly chuckled, thinking that if Geon-joo didn’t have the talent to be described as peerless under heaven, perhaps being the possessor of righteous beliefs might have become his disposition.

Righteous beliefs, huh.

If he hadn’t been a resistor, I probably would never have met him in my lifetime.

It was a description that contrasted starkly with humanity’s true evil.