DEB 139

Due to a single slip of the tongue, they had to endure an awkward, unbearable silence, but thankfully, it didn’t last long. 

As Ann, who had been focused solely on disarming the trap regardless of whatever was being said above, succeeded in doing so, monsters began to spawn throughout the lobby as if waiting for that moment.

“An… you did disarm the trap, right?”

It seemed like the more they meddled with the trap, the more monsters they encountered. 

Hee, who voiced what everyone else had only thought, was met with a cold stare from An.

“What, do you think I planted the trap? Of course I disarmed it. Those things were set to spawn here anyway.”

“So if we’d passed without disarming the trap, would we have avoided fighting them?”

“More likely, they would’ve shown up right after we were all half-dead from the traps and wiped us out.”

At Ann’s dry and humorless tone, Hee chuckled awkwardly. 

It was a cold attitude for a teammate, but everyone was already used to Ann showing no change in expression.

Huiyun glanced briefly at the icy Ann, then looked over his shoulder at Vina.

Hmm.

Still, my kid’s better.

Though both had cynical personalities, Vina was better-mannered and better-behaved in many ways. 

Comparing the two, Vina came out ahead. 

When Huiyun smiled faintly at the thought, Vina furrowed his brows.

“…What are you thinking?”

“Nothing.”

“…”

“I mean, nothing at all, sir.”

Correcting himself a beat late into formal speech, Vina looked even more suspicious. 

It was as if his gaze was saying, You really think you can hide your identity like this? Huiyun cleared his throat awkwardly—just in time, as a horde of enemies had already closed in while he was distracted. 

He gripped the sword formed from light.

“Doesn’t look like we’ve got time to chat. Let’s take care of this quickly.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll make sure to assist with support!”

Verita let out a hearty laugh as he cast a movement speed enhancement skill on the entire party. 

With that boost, Huiyun quickly entrusted support to Vina and charged into the battlefield alongside Vita. 

Ann and Hee followed to aid the assault.

“Mr. Vita!”

“…I know!”

Vita flinched slightly at being called by name—it still felt awkward to be addressed formally by his master—but he drew his sword and struck at the swarm of monsters.

Wielding his heavy greatsword as lightly as a feather, Vita slashed forward, generating a gust of wind that sent monsters flying. 

Huiyun leapt off Vita’s shoulder and slashed horizontally to finish off the toppled enemies.

Screeeech!

Judging by how they vanished in a single strike, they weren’t especially dangerous despite their numbers.

“Let’s speed up and head straight for the second floor!”

With the traps disarmed, there was no point lingering in the lobby. 

As Huiyun led the charge, Vita joined him to clear the path. 

Ann and Hee handled the monsters that slipped past them, ensuring none reached Verita. 

It was textbook team coordination to protect the healer from monsters.

“This should be enough. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Reaching the stairs to the second floor swiftly, Huiyun confirmed there were no monsters ahead and called for Vina. 

Bringing up the rear, Vina turned and unleashed a chilling ice storm across the entire lobby. 

The monsters caught in the frost froze solid like statues. 

Since their numbers had already been reduced, Vina could easily immobilize the rest without using excessive power.

“They won’t break free, will they?”

“No. They’re not that strong.”

After double-checking just to be sure, the party ascended to the second floor. 

Finally, they had time to properly investigate the ruined castle.

“Ms. Ann. Are you sure all the traps on the second floor are disarmed?”

“…I’ve taken care of everything I could detect.”

“Then we can climb safely.”

“Just in case, I’ll take the lead.”

As Huiyun grabbed the railing to climb, Vita stepped in front and adjusted his grip on his greatsword. 

Smiling at the reassuring sight, Huiyun gladly let him take the lead. 

Watching them closely with sharp eyes, Hee tilted his head.

“Hmm…”

He made a sound like he had something to say. 

As Huiyun glanced over with a questioning look, Hee’s eyes curved into a crescent smile.

“Oh, sorry. I just couldn’t help showing my surprise. If that bothered you, I apologize.”

“Surprise?”

“Yes. Judging by this group, I thought Mr. Jiwook would be the leader. Or perhaps the priest.”

“…”

“But after observing for a while… it seems like Mr. Yun is actually the leader here.”

It wasn’t for nothing that Huiyun had initially mistaken Hee for an assassin. 

His eyes were already narrow, but when he smiled, they became slits. 

Now, wearing that faint smile and speaking so eerily, Huiyun’s guard went right back up.

Still, sensing no ill will from Hee’s tone, Huiyun shrugged.

Where did I slip up?

Aside from that one verbal slip, he didn’t think he’d done anything to give himself away. 

Still, he kept a calm exterior.

“If that’s how I come across, I’m honored. After all, everyone else here is quite well-known.”

“Your pulse is steady, which makes me even less sure. Are you just that good at acting? …Well, either way, it’s not that important. Shall we begin the exploration?”

“…”

Talking about his pulse and then casually moving on to exploring? 

That wasn’t normal.

Feeling slightly on edge, Huiyun swallowed hard and checked his own pulse before scratching his head and joining the investigation.

In truth, being identified as the leader wasn’t a huge problem. 

It would just draw a bit more attention.

He just wanted to keep a low profile to hide his identity, but since these people weren’t demons, there was no need to be so guarded. 

With that, he lightened his mindset and began investigating the second floor.

They opened the doors of every visible room, fought the monsters inside, and checked every nook and cranny—but found nothing of significance. 

Considering that Ann and Hee specialized in infiltration and scouting, it wasn’t an issue with the people conducting the search.

Of course, if Moot were here, the outcome might have been different, but by general standards, the issue was clearly with the floor itself, not the team.

“Seems like there’s nothing noteworthy on the second floor.”

It wasn’t just Hee’s opinion. 

After crawling under beds and even flipping one over, he stood and dusted off his hands.

“Which rooms haven’t we opened yet?”

“We’ve checked both sides… just the end room remains.”

“Then let’s check the last one and head to the third floor. Yas… Y-yawn, I’m tired.”

Vita almost called Huiyun by his real name Yasha, but upon receiving a sharp glare from Vina, he quickly changed direction with a fake grunt and started stretching. 

It was amusing enough to make Huiyun chuckle as he put the drawer he was checking back in place and stood up, or tried to.

The moment he pressed on his knee to rise, something reflected in his eyes. 

If not for the glint of light catching his attention—

“Hm?”

Between the drawers—inside that narrow gap—something was there. 

He formed a glowing sphere and brought it closer for a better look. 

A black brooch lay wedged in the crevice.

“What is it? Did you find something?”

Vita approached curiously. 

When Huiyun showed him the brooch, Vita drew his sword with a whistle.

“This looks like a clue. Should I slice it open?”

“Wait, Mr. Vita. What if you damage it? Let me handle this.”

Hee, who dashed over before Vita could even swing, pulled a small knife from his coat. 

Having fought in ten battles together, it seemed he’d learned something about Vita.

Feeling awkward, Huiyun shifted his eyes as Hee skillfully disassembled the drawer. 

After pulling both drawers out, he inserted the knife into the narrow gap and twisted. 

As the wood cracked open, Hee pulled out a long pair of tweezers from who-knows-where and reached into the gap.

“Careful…”

He gently rolled and tapped the brooch with the tweezers until it finally slipped out into the moonlight of the demon realm.

“…Doesn’t look like much of a clue, does it?”

Just in case there was some mechanism, Hee carefully inspected it and looked to the others for agreement. Huiyun was about to nod, but then—an eerie tingle crawled down his neck. 

Before he realized what he was doing, he snatched the brooch and poured power into it.

A bit of dominion flowed into the brooch, which suddenly flashed with a brilliant glow. 

As the light beamed outward and struck the wall, a blurry projection appeared, just like a holographic beam.

Within that murky projection, a masked man appeared.

—Hello, Yasha?

He spoke the name that should never be uttered here.