RG 59

The competitive match between the Ronic Guild and the Circle Guild was scheduled for two weeks later. And the meeting arranged by Kwon Taehyeok, who had granted my request, was set for today, two days after my call.

‘I couldn’t bring myself to ask for a rush, but he set it up right away.’

Did he perhaps sense my urgency? Kwon Taehyeok was remarkably perceptive.

As I came down from the office with Cha Sahyeon, the driver waiting with the car greeted us politely, “Hello, Guildmaster of One.”

It was the car Kwon Taehyeok had sent for us. While I always welcomed such kindness from the wealthy, the driver’s excessively courteous demeanor was somewhat burdensome compared to last time.

I organized my thoughts as we headed to the meeting venue.

The meeting Kwon Taehyeok had arranged for me to “naturally meet Ryu Seonghyeon” was a lunch gathering. It was a very simple and ordinary method, which made it all the more natural. On the surface, it was a gathering to apologize for the unpleasant incident that occurred in the previous dungeon, and invitations were sent to all the guilds that had cooperated at that time. Naturally, the Circle Guild was among them.

Kwon Taehyeok surely knew that Guildmaster of Circle rarely attended such gatherings. It was likely that Ryu Seonghyeon, who had personally entered the dungeon, would attend on behalf of the guildmaster.

Kwon Taehyeok had fulfilled my request beyond my expectations. Now, the rest was up to me.

“We’ve arrived.”

After a 30-minute drive, we arrived at a Korean restaurant built in the style of a traditional Korean house (hanok). Considering this meeting was arranged at my request, a moderately priced restaurant would have sufficed. Renting out such a high-end restaurant was unexpected.

‘Is this the majesty of the leader of the number one guild in the country?’

Impressive. It must be nice to have so much money. Maybe if I get close to Kwon Taehyeok, I could enjoy such fine dining every day?

Crossing the garden with a small pond, we entered the restaurant, and an employee, not a secretary, led us to an inner room.

On our way to the designated room, we heard conversations from various directions, suggesting that members of other guilds had already arrived and were enjoying their meals.

“Please go inside.”

The employee quietly stepped back after guiding us. As the elegant sliding door slowly opened, I saw Kwon Taehyeok, who had arrived early, sitting there.

“You’ve arrived.”

Though no one else was present, Kwon Taehyeok was sitting upright with impeccable posture and gestured for me to enter. He then looked at Cha Sahyeon, who was holding my hand.

Cha Sahyeon met his gaze without averting her eyes. Caught in their unexpected eye contact, I felt awkward for no reason.

‘What’s this atmosphere?’

Cha Sahyeon always glared at everyone except me, so this wasn’t unusual for him… but I didn’t understand why Kwon Taehyeok was returning his gaze.

“Uh, you’re here early,” I made a casual remark to break the incomprehensible tension and sat down opposite Kwon Taehyeok, alongside Cha Sahyeon.

Taking a sip from the water glass in front of him, Kwon Taehyeok responded calmly, “Though we’ll be dining separately, since I hosted the meeting, I arrived early to take my place.”

“You’re diligent.”

When I shared my impression that I felt every time I saw Kwon Taehyeok, he looked at me with a curious gaze before speaking, “Isn’t your issue urgent?” After quietly setting down his glass of water, he continued, “It won’t be easy to persuade him.”

He had figured out my intentions completely. Unable to come up with a counterargument, I just smiled wryly.

The competitive match organized by the guilds was more like a sport where guild members selected by each guild would face off. Sometimes it was a best-of-three, sometimes a single match, and sometimes with teams of 12 or 6 members. The specifics were always coordinated by the two participating guilds. If my guess was correct…

‘The Ronic Guild will definitely propose a best-of-three with a full team of 12.’

That would be to their advantage.

Compared to the Ronic Guild, the Circle Guild lacked both members and ranks. Most importantly, they didn’t have enough people to fill the required positions.

In a 12-member match, the usual lineup would be six DPSs, four Tanks, and two Supports. While the exact numbers might vary slightly, this was the standard setup that yielded the highest win rate.

However, the Circle Guild… not only lacked DPSs and Tanks, but the bigger problem was the absence of Supports.

‘Even before my regression, the Circle Guild didn’t have any decent Supports apart from me, so it’s unlikely they have any now.’

Fortunately, there was a rule that both guilds must have identical positions in the competition.

If the Ronic Guild fielded two Supports, the Circle Guild would also need to field two Supports. If they didn’t have enough personnel, they would have to get it from elsewhere.

That’s what I was aiming for: to support the Circle Guild by filling in their Support gap. This way, the Circle Guild could win the competition. Even if it meant exposing that I had two skills, I would make sure they won.

‘But… Ryu Seonghyeon won’t easily accept this proposal.’

As Kwon Taehyeok pointed out, Ryu Seonghyeon was unusually cautious despite his appearance. Considering we had only met a couple of times, if I offered help, he would likely reject it without a second thought.

If this were our first meeting and I approached him for a professional reason, he might have considered it. He knew well that his guild was at a disadvantage. However, I had openly helped the Circle Guild in the previous dungeon, and that already made Ryu Seonghyeon feel indebted. There was no way he would readily accept my second offer of help.

Ryu Seonghyeon’s personality was such that he didn’t allow anything from people outside his circle.

Before my regression, I had thought he wouldn’t be easily swindled, which was reassuring. I never imagined I would end up being one of those outside his circle. Life is indeed unpredictable.

“Well… I’ll just have to try my best to persuade him,” I spoke half-jokingly and half-resigned, drawing simultaneous gazes from Kwon Taehyeok and Cha Sahyeon. What now?

“…I’ve felt this for a while,” Kwon Taehyeok began, turning his head as if it was nothing. “Hunter Cha Seohu, you seem particularly concerned about Hunter Ryu Seonghyeon.”

“Do I?”

“In the dungeon, and now with your current plans. Everything seems to be for Hunter Ryu Seonghyeon’s benefit, doesn’t it?”

Technically, it was more for the benefit of the Circle Guild, and Ryu Seonghyeon was just part of that.

“Hmm, I suppose so.”

But there was no need to explain this to Kwon Taehyeok. After all, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Helping Ryu Seonghyeon was indeed helping the Circle Guild.

Just as I was about to wrap up the discussion about Ryu Seonghyeon, the person we had been waiting for appeared as the sliding door opened with the sound of footsteps outside.

“Ah, Hunter Kwon Taehyeok. And… Hunter Cha Seohu?”

“Welcome.”

Ryu Seonghyeon, seeing Kwon Taehyeok and me, looked surprised. His face clearly showed that he didn’t understand why he had been invited to this room.

“Please, have a seat, Hunter Ryu Seonghyeon.”

Hesitant, Ryu Seonghyeon smiled awkwardly and took a seat next to Kwon Taehyeok. Damn, I expected this but it still stung a bit.

‘There’s a child next to me… and we’ve only met twice so it’s bound to be awkward… I understand, I really do.’

I muttered to myself as I took a sip of water, feeling a bit parched.

“Remembering how the three of us handled the monsters together, I arranged this room to express my gratitude.”

“Ah, I see.”

Kwon Taehyeok’s plausible explanation made Ryu Seonghyeon finally understand why the three of us were gathered. While wiping his hands with a wet towel, he awkwardly greeted me, “It’s been a while, Hunter Cha Seohu. Have you been well?”

“Yes, I’ve been well. It’s good to see you.”

For people who had only met twice in two months, this greeting felt excessively formal. Within ten minutes of meeting, it was clear how unfamiliar and distant I was to Ryu Seonghyeon.

Before the regression, we could have become friends faster because I was part of the Circle Guild. Realizing this made me a bit bitter.

Noticing Cha Sahyeon sitting quietly next to me, Ryu Seonghyeon added, “And, um, it seems your brother is well too.”

Upon entering the room, Cha Sahyeon had glared at Kwon Taehyeok with disapproval, but strangely enough, he didn’t give Ryu Seonghyeon the same look. He simply sat there, indifferent. He didn’t respond, though.

“Excuse me.”

An employee carefully opened the sliding door and began filling the table with dishes.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Even after the food was served and the employee had left, the chilly silence in the room remained unbroken.

Kwon Taehyeok picked up his chopsticks with a stern expression, Ryu Seonghyeon kept awkwardly sipping his water with a forced smile, and Cha Sahyeon sat there with a vacant expression, lost in thought.

Here I was, in such a fine place after so long, and it seemed like it would be a wasted opportunity. I silently swallowed a sigh.