DEB 42

“Bureau Director Choi seems like a pretty good person….”

Huiyun intentionally trailed off, observing the reactions of Juan, Nameless, and Jiwook. 

He wanted to see if his judgment was correct.

Juan, who was closest, glanced towards the Bureau, then shrugged with a reluctant compliment. His face showed the expression Huiyun had seen a few times in Yasha’s memories, when Juan acknowledged something despite not liking to praise others.

“He’s not bad. He does his job right and doesn’t do any dirty work behind the scenes.”

“He’s a useful person.”

“Among those who could rise to the position of Bureau Director, he’s probably the best choice.”

As expected, all three had positive reactions. For them to give such evaluations, Choi Inhwa must be quite a decent person.

Satisfied that he had gained a reliable ally, Huiyun fiddled with the necklace that had granted him a second identity. He had been told that showing this necklace to Bureau members would earn him VIP treatment.

While examining it curiously, Juan reached out to the necklace with a look of realization.

“You’re not supposed to wear that out in the open. Just a moment.” 

“Huh?”

As Juan’s fingers touched the blue gemstone, it began to vibrate softly and then turned transparent. The chain also became invisible, leaving nothing visible to the naked eye.

He could still feel it when he touched it.

When he touched it, Huiyun felt the cold metal, confirming that only the necklace’s appearance was hidden. It would definitely help avoid unwanted attention, and he thanked Juan, who smiled proudly and guided him to the car.

“It’s about time to head back.”

“Is my place at your house, Juan?”

“No, the guild.”

“…The guild?”

“Yeah. There’s a bedroom in the guild, so don’t worry about sleeping arrangements.” 

“It’s not that…”

Whether or not there was a bedroom, it didn’t seem like a suitable living space.

In his understanding, staying at the guild was akin to living at the office. In Huiyun’s case, it was like staying at someone else’s office.

Huiyun turned to Jiwook and Nameless, hoping for clarification. 

“You don’t stay at the guild too, do you?”

“Of course not. Only that crazy guy stays there.”

“I have my own house.”

Fortunately, it seemed Juan was the exception. Living at the office seemed like the worst case for a boss.

If Huiyun had been a member of Ash Guild, he would have been horrified. When asked why he hadn’t set up a proper home, Juan hummed and winked, saying he’d keep it a secret.

There must be something.

If he, who usually spoke honestly, was hiding something, it must be significant. Sensing that delving further would only entangle him more, Huiyun pretended not to notice anything.

Juan loaded the luggage into the trunk and opened the passenger door. As Huiyun was about to get in, an arm suddenly extended, stopping him. 

His body turned out of the door.

“Contact us if Hong Juan does anything strange.”

“I’ll give you a doll to use as a communication stone.”

Jiwook and Nameless, standing side by side, left their respective warnings as they held onto Huiyun.

A communication stone.

Huiyun took the mysterious doll from Nameless. Is this another one of those dolls that says things like ‘I like you, Yasha’?

There was no harm in checking, so he pressed it, but no sound came out. Nameless, watching, frowned slightly.

“Ah, that doll doesn’t have a recording function yet. I’ll add it soon.”

“…No need.”

He had no desire for it. However, seeing Nameless’s determined look, it was clear he intended to make another doll. 

Giving up on persuading him, Huiyun inspected the doll thoroughly. 

White fingers tapped the doll’s eye area twice.

“If you tap the eyes twice like this, it activates the recording function. It’s useful for recording or sharing information. To use the communication function, press the fourth finger. It will connect directly to me, so remember it in emergencies.”

Though the doll appeared simple, it had all the necessary features like fingers and eyes.

With such abilities, couldn’t he make something else? Why does it have to be a doll?

Since ancient times, dolls have been considered ominous. It was believed that objects resembling human figures, such as statues or dolls, could contain a ‘soul.’ Moot, being an ancient being, must have known this old tale.

…I think I was the one who told him about it.

A faint memory of explaining the dangers of dollcraft to Moot surfaced, and as Huiyun muttered about dollcraft to himself, Moot’s eyes narrowed.

“I learned it while searching for Yasha. I thought it might help in finding him.”

“…”

“But it wasn’t particularly useful. So, now I just use it for personal satisfaction.”

Moot pressed the doll’s cheek and then stepped back.

He learned it to help find Yasha.

Huiyun pondered Moot’s words, feeling a cold sweat forming on his forehead.

When Yasha had taught Moot about dollcraft, he wouldn’t have omitted the taboos. Merging a soul with a doll turns the practitioner into a necromancer-like dollcrafter, blending their identity and driving them mad.

Using a soul in dollcraft was forbidden, but Huiyun had a feeling that Moot might have attempted it.

Moot had the power to deal with death.

If someone like him learned dollcraft to find Yasha, what he intended to do was obvious.

“…It’s best not to do anything reckless.”

 “I’ll consider it after finding Yasha.”

Moot’s response, though given with a smile, had the undertone of a threat. He implied that if Huiyun revealed himself as Yasha, he would stop doing anything foolish. 

Avoiding his pointed gaze, Huiyun climbed into the passenger seat. He needed to distance himself from the three of them before they could unsettle him further.

Moot didn’t try to stop Huiyun as he hurried into the car. Jiwook, closing the door, gave Juan and Huiyun a final warning.

“Don’t think that just because it’s your guild, there won’t be any monitoring, Ash. I trust you’ll act wisely without me needing to warn you against doing anything foolish.”

“Hmmm… I should start by cleaning up my place?”

Juan’s nonchalant response to Jiwook’s casual mention of spies in his guild was unsettling only to Huiyun.

How can they have such grim conversations every ten minutes?

Anticipating a rather taxing month ahead with these three, Huiyun gestured to Jiwook before closing the car door. Once Juan started driving and they were a distance away from the other two, he finally let out a frustrated yell.

“Ugh, their nagging, and nagging, and just keep nagging. Isn’t it infuriating, Yasha? After everything I did to raise them! I even let them pull out my hair for fun, and they don’t remember a thing. It’s true what they say, raising kids is pointless.”

The complaints were familiar. As Ash, he had often whined to Yasha like this, and Yasha would comfort him by stroking his hair. Overwhelmed by nostalgia, Huiyun focused on the scenery outside instead of responding.

“…You all seems the same.”

From Yasha’s perspective, they were all equally exasperating disciples, albeit to varying degrees. Hearing this, Ash protested, saying not to lump him in with the others, but Huiyun couldn’t see it any other way.

If he had to be fair, Ash was indeed the most loyal and mature. At least Ash hadn’t dabbled in forbidden arts or gone insane due to Yasha’s absence.

The fact that he found solace in such thoughts was telling.

This was unbecoming of the first dragon. Huiyun now understood that his teaching methods as Yasha had been flawed.

He kept silent, not wanting to provoke Ash’s curiosity or confrontation about being Yasha. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze through the window as Ash drove them to the guild.

At first, Juan tried to engage in conversation a few times, but seeing Huiyun’s content expression, he turned on some soft music and maintained silence.

The gentle music filled the car, and the cool breeze caressed his cheeks. The wind rushing past the fast-moving car brought a slight sense of liberation.

Thanks to this, Huiyun didn’t find the trip to Ash Guild as unsettling as he had feared. However, as soon as he got out of Juan’s car and entered the guild, he felt uneasy again. 

The guild members, seeing Huiyun enter with Juan, swarmed around him.

“So, is he your boyfriend, Juan?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Eh? But the Guild Master said anyone he brings to the guild is either a member or his lover… Are you a new guild member?”

“Not that either….”

What on earth does Hong Juan usually tell his guild members?

Boyfriend or guild member. Couldn’t he broaden the options to include just guests?

As Huiyun struggled to answer the flood of questions, Juan, who had been dragged away by the vice guild master and returned with a sad face, wrapped his arms around Huiyun’s shoulders, whining.

“You’re heavy, get off me.”

Startled by his childish behavior, Huiyun pushed him away, causing the guild members to look confused.

“If you’re neither a member nor his boyfriend, who are you?” 

“I’m just here to check out the guild….”

He was about to give a vague answer to divert attention when Juan, who had been holding Huiyun, grinned mischievously.

“He’s my master.”

“Juan!”

Huiyun’s belated shout was futile.

“M-Master?”

“Him?”

“Who knew the Guild Master had a master… Then he must have been properly educated, but why is his personality…?”

The guild members’ eyes were now filled with awe and curiosity, making Huiyun uncomfortable.

Their eyes seemed to say, ‘Oh, so you’re the great one!’

This is driving me crazy.

Feeling like he was facing a group of fanatics, Huiyun pressed his forehead.

Really, from the start, things weren’t going smoothly. 

Somewhere in his mind, he could almost hear a system voice announcing that his life had entered hardcore mode.