“Fuck, I must be crazy for asking.”

Egru stammered at Levian’s response.

“Y-your face has a lot of scars, so it’s hard to tell…”

“While you look like a pea with legs.”

And a withered pea at that. An ugly, unattractive pea with no market value. Grumbling complaints, Levian asked with pursed lips:

“Did you like it?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if you liked chatting with the Pope.”

Egru thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Fuck, what was so good about it?”

“H-he extended his hand first, and his tone was gentle…”

Suddenly, the black potion came to mind, but Egru shook it off. Despite the inexplicable incident at the end, the fact that the Pope was his benefactor remained unchanged.

“A-and he was very gentlemanly…”

“You probably don’t know, but I can be quite gentlemanly too.”

“…Huh?”

Seeing Egru’s expression of genuine incomprehension, Levian closed his mouth for some reason. He seemed somewhat hurt.

“That Pope is a complete psycho. Just a shiny exterior with a pitch-black inside.”

“N-no. He was super kind.”

“How can you tell after meeting him once? Divine power my ass. He’s just a petty con artist deceiving people with healing magic.”

“D-don’t speak ill of him. You’ve never even met him.”

“Ha! If you had a tail, you’d be wagging it furiously? Like a dog welcoming its master.”

Levian sneered with an unpleasant tone.

“This is why I warned you. And yet, you half-demon bastard can’t even keep an oath sworn on the god of light.”

“N-no, I…”

“Forget it, fuck. What’s the point of arguing about this? You’re such a bat.”

Egru couldn’t understand why Levian was angry.

‘H-he’s always been like this…’

He had a reasonable doubt. Perhaps Levian was struggling to control his anger.

“Did you eat what he gave you?”

“?”

“That Pope bastard must have given you something.”

“I-I didn’t eat anything…”

“What? Nothing at all?”

When Egru nodded, Levian’s expression became somewhat serious.

Beep beep beep beep.

It was then that the communication device started flashing again.

Click. Levian checked the caller ID again and hung up.

“W-why don’t you answer?”

“I don’t need to. More importantly, you didn’t eat anything? Not even a glass of water?”

“Mm-hmm…”

Beep beep beep.

But the communication device kept ringing after that.

Beep beep. Beep beep beep beep beep beep.

No matter how many times he hung up, it immediately rang again. Finally, Levian irritably fiddled with the communication device in his ear.

“Fuck, I’m sure I told them not to bother me today.”

-G-Guildmaster…!

‘You bastards, block them with your lives! Burn the vault ledgers first!’ Behind the voice of the man on the call, the vice guildmaster’s shouts echoed loudly.

-It’s a surprise inspection, Guildmaster!

“Ha, did I teach you to call me for such trivial matters?”

Levian frowned as if genuinely annoyed.

-B-bribes aren’t working! The guys we used to feed aren’t showing their faces at all!

The man’s voice was urgent.

-These aren’t the guys who were in charge until recently! It’s not the Imperial Army, but the Holy Knights Order! A whole unit is barging in under direct orders from the commander, and we can’t handle it!

The veins on Levian’s angular jaw tensed.

“Explain again.”

-T-they said it was a direct order from the commander! The guild is being turned upside down right now! We’ve barely managed to hold them off by mobilizing everyone, but I think they’ll break through soon!

Crash, bang. The sound of something breaking and shattering pierced sharply through the call.

-You need to come back right away! Guildmaster!

***

Levian immediately operated his communication device. While he was dialing someone else, Egru stood beside him, glancing around nervously.

The dial tone continued for a long time. Levian, grinding his molars, put Egru on the merry-go-round and started it.

“N-no, I don’t want to…”

“Shut up. Just ride quietly. Don’t make a fuss beside me.”

It was before he could even step on the stirrup with his short legs. Clunk, the merry-go-round started moving up and down and rotating.

“Gasp…!”

Egru, startled, grabbed the vertical support pole tightly. His eyes widened with tension.

Levian moved away beyond the fence in the blink of an eye. Egru couldn’t bring himself to get off. He reached out his hand as if to say “don’t go,” but then hugged the long pole precariously again.

Levian stopped at a place where he could still see Egru. The pea with legs was frozen on the merry-go-round, bobbing up and down. His awkwardly stiff posture was quite amusing.

-Good evening, Levian.

Suddenly, the light on the communication device flickered, and a soft voice flowed through.

“Good evening?”

At the calm tone, Levian’s smile completely disappeared. His face, already full of scars, twisted fiercely.

“Cut the crap. After all these years I’ve covered for you, how dare you backstab me like this?”

-What’s the matter?

“Don’t play dumb. Is it even possible for you not to know the internal affairs of the order?”

-I’m hurt that you’re doubting me first. Someone could have acted on their own.

“Forget it, fuck. Keep your precious commander in check. Unless you want to see him die overnight.”

-You’re saying such frightening things. Still as impatient as ever.

The sound of the other party sighing softly echoed.

-I’ll let it slide since it’s an exceptionally joyous day. Is that all you have to say to me?

“No. And that thing.”

-That thing?

“That thing! Fuck! The kid said he didn’t eat it, what happened?”

-What do you mean?

“Ah, shit.”

Levian glanced at Egru swaying in the distance and rubbed his forehead, veins bulging.

“You know, that enhancement potion or whatever.”

-Ah, that! Levian, you should speak more clearly!

Levian was about to burst out again but stopped. It was because of the unexpected answer.

-He refused to drink it himself.

“What?”

-No matter how many times we tried, he didn’t want to. We even tried to force it on him.

The area under Levian’s eyes twitched. His fist clenched with rising anger.

“Fuck, do you know how many years I’ve waited for that? Because of that, I couldn’t even imprint and was on edge…”

-Don’t tell me you’ve already imprinted? He’d die if you did.

“I didn’t, damn it!”

-You did well. Not only is his body incomplete, but he’s also a recessive omega. He wouldn’t be able to withstand an alpha’s imprint and would collapse from the core. Unlike our commander, who’s a masterpiece without a doubt.

“Make sure to lock your door when you sleep tonight. You might not wake up tomorrow.”

-Don’t get too angry, Levian.

A voice of utmost calmness continued from the communication device.

-I really tried to make him drink it. Truly. I keep my promises better than you, don’t I? But for some reason, he was terrified.

“Don’t bullshit me, you must have done something first. You never intended to give it to him from the start, did you?”

-I swear on the god’s name, there’s not a shred of lie.

“God’s name my ass, fuck.”

Levian muttered quietly and pressed his temples.

“Anyway, I’ll send one of our new recruits, so give it to him…”

Levian suddenly remembered the chaos at the guild.

“…Ah, forget it. I’ll come get it myself, so just make sure the door is open.”

-You’re not coming to harm him, are you?

“Want to smell the sea?”

-I’ll open the cloister window. I can’t wait to see you.

“Creepy bastard.”

-Ah, I forgot to mention…

Click.

Levian coldly cut off the communication.

Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. The communication device kept ringing again, but he ignored it and started walking.

“Damn it…”

But that didn’t last long. The midnight communication was persistent.

He tried to hang up with each step back to the merry-go-round, but the other party showed no sign of giving up. Finally, Levian stopped near the fence again and irritably pressed the communication device.

“Stop calling, you bastard! Do you know what time it is?”

-I’m sorry. There’s something I forgot to mention.

“If it’s not important, you’d better watch out. Got it?”

-Don’t worry. It’s news that even you will welcome.

Infinite joy seeped into the voice heard through the communication device.

-The Hero has been reborn.

Levian froze. As if time had stopped for him alone.

His expression, which had been at a loss for a long time, soon changed to one of disbelief.

“W-what? What did you say?”

-You heard me correctly.

“…Don’t talk nonsense.”

-I’m so glad Levian hasn’t imprinted yet.

The other party was busy listing what they wanted to say.

-It doesn’t matter much since we only need to collect the heart. But wouldn’t it be fresher if he’s alive?

Levian’s fingertips began to tremble slightly.