# 022. Long Live the King (6)
“Wow, a King?”
Jaehee couldn’t help but be sensitive to the word ‘King.’
Jaehee glanced at Jeongwoo once before looking at Ju Se-rin. Judging by how Jeongwoo’s talkativeness had suddenly decreased, he didn’t seem too pleased with Ju Se-rin. But Jaehee wanted to learn more about the King when there weren’t others around.
He still hadn’t decided what to do about Yeong-i. Taking in Yeong-i itself wasn’t really a problem, but the consequences of accepting her were the issue. Not only would his family find out, but his title would also change from Minor Sovereign to Great Sovereign. He’d grudgingly accepted the Minor Sovereign title that didn’t require subjects, but Great Sovereign felt somewhat uncomfortable. He had a feeling that from that point on, he wouldn’t be able to do things his own way.
“Se-rin-ssi, have you already decided on a King? How did you know who the King is…?”
After hesitating for a moment at Jaehee’s question, Ju Se-rin looked around. It seemed like an unconscious behavior, even though she knew there was no one else besides them.
“I can’t reveal the details yet because He told me to keep quiet. But He is… well, you should all keep your eyes open. He places importance on recruiting talented people, so He’ll probably contact Jaehee-ssi or Jeongwoo-ssi soon.”
“What?”
“He keeps watch over all Awakened Ones. And you two are the final Awakened Ones, after all.”
A chill ran down Jaehee’s spine at Ju Se-rin’s words as her cheeks turned a light pink. According to her, this so-called King was monitoring them. Was it possible that Ju Se-rin had joined their group at the end with the intention of watching him?
As this thought occurred to him, Ju Se-rin’s smiling face suddenly felt eerie. Moreover, he couldn’t guess why she was revealing this information now.
“Oh, don’t look at me so strangely. I did want to observe the two of you up close since He’s interested in you, but I wasn’t ordered to join this group.”
“That… person? You seem to really… like Him.”
“Of course! It’s beyond just liking! Ah, but please don’t think I’m being presumptuous enough to want a special relationship with Him! You absolutely mustn’t think that! It’s just that He is…”
Ju Se-rin gazed blankly at something with her flushed cheeks. A strange heat emanated from those unfocused, hazy eyes. Jaehee took a few steps backward with a creepy feeling.
“Jaehee.”
“Huh?”
Jeongwoo interrupted their conversation and helped Jaehee stand up. By then, his ankle had completely healed. Thanks to the potion, his physical condition seemed much better than before the injury. Jeongwoo completely ignored Ju Se-rin as if she didn’t exist.
“Let’s first check if we can exit the dungeon. Since it was a cleared dungeon, the gate shouldn’t be closed. If it is closed, we’ll have to assume everything has respawned, including the boss.”
“What should we do then? Isn’t it dangerous if even the boss has respawned?”
“It should be fine since the dungeon itself isn’t that high-ranked. Maybe the Awakened Management Bureau deliberately set this up to assess the abilities of Awakened Ones.”
“You seem to know a lot about dungeons, Jeongwoo-ssi. Come to think of it, you even have potions… How do you know so much? You seem like someone who’s conquered dungeons multiple times.”
While they were talking, Ju Se-rin had moved closer with sparkling eyes. Jeongwoo briefly looked at her, then pulled Jaehee back. He was treating Ju Se-rin as if she were something filthy. Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo in bewilderment, but Ju Se-rin, despite such treatment, just smiled as if nothing was wrong.
“Jeongwoo-ssi is quite cautious. That’s wise in times like these! Especially for someone who has a lot to protect. You’re lucky, Jaehee-ssi.”
“What?”
“To be loved by such a capable man. I should find a partner soon too; I’m really envious. Oh? Aren’t you two dating?”
Silence fell at Ju Se-rin’s words as she stared with round eyes. Jaehee’s face turned bright red, and he turned his head to the side. He didn’t dare look at Jeongwoo. What on earth was Ju Se-rin thinking, saying such things…!
“No matter how close friends you are, you wouldn’t casually offer such expensive potions. Ah, I’m not prejudiced about these things. What’s wrong with a person loving another person?”
“Haa, enough, stop it.”
“I’m just saying I support the beautiful love between you two…”
“There’s no need for you to babble about what kind of relationship we have or what’s what.”
Jeongwoo had never been so cold before. He stared at Ju Se-rin with an expressionless face devoid of any smile. As he tilted his head slightly, the ominous sound of cracking bones echoed.
Jaehee was startled and flinched as he looked at Jeongwoo.
…Surely he wouldn’t hit a woman? Jeongwoo wouldn’t do that.
But despite this reassurance, he couldn’t relax due to the murderous atmosphere Jeongwoo was giving off. As Jeongwoo approached her, the smile gradually disappeared from Ju Se-rin’s face.
“Hey… Hey, please…! Hnnngh…”
The tense atmosphere was broken by a groan from somewhere. All three turned toward the source of the sound. They realized they might have been too relaxed, especially when they weren’t even sure if this was a safe zone. Then they spotted someone crawling out from under a low bush.
“Eek! W-what…!”
“Who’s there!”
The three immediately assumed battle positions and stared ahead. In an instant, they each drew their weapons from their inventories. After taking out their weapons, they exchanged surprised glances. Both Jeongwoo and Ju Se-rin had underestimated each other’s abilities.
“I’m… I’m Instructor… Jang In-ho… Kugh…”
Jang In-ho was the instructor who had led them into the practice dungeon. Jeongwoo’s expression hardened upon seeing the man’s face. He strode forward to examine the collapsed man, with Ju Se-rin following. After checking once more that there was no one else around, Jaehee joined Jeongwoo.
The instructor’s condition looked quite serious.
“W-what should we do?”
“Ah! Jeongwoo-ssi, don’t you have potions? You had enough to both feed and apply to Jaehee-ssi’s slightly sprained ankle earlier, didn’t you?”
Jaehee swallowed hard as he looked back and forth between Ju Se-rin and Jeongwoo. He couldn’t tell if Ju Se-rin was being tactless or deliberately trying to provoke Jeongwoo. When Jeongwoo silently stared at Ju Se-rin, Jaehee’s mouth went dry.
“If… if you have a p-potion, I’ll… go out and… compensate you.”
“Fine.”
At Jang In-ho’s words, Jeongwoo nodded and took out a potion. It was a glass bottle containing the same fluorescent pink liquid he had given to Jaehee. Jang In-ho, hands trembling from excessive blood loss, drank the liquid straight from the bottle.
Afterward, a faint light seemed to emanate from his wounds, and they began to heal instantly. Since Jaehee hadn’t observed closely when his ankle was sprained, he watched the scene in a daze.
Although Jang In-ho still looked pale, the bleeding had stopped, and his hands no longer trembled.
“Thank you. You saved my life.”
“What happened? Why are you in this state, Instructor…?”
“We were suddenly attacked by intruders. All gates should be managed by the Bureau, but I have no idea how they got in. They reset the dungeon.”
“Reset? So the dungeon is closed now?”
“Yes… Because the dungeon has been activated, the gate is closed. This dungeon can be reset with an item obtained after defeating the boss. But… I don’t understand why those intruders reset the dungeon. It’s only a D-rank dungeon… Although the Awakened Ones currently in the dungeon are all beginners, they should be able to conquer a D-rank…”
“Tch, ignoring the Bureau like that, and here we are following their instructions…”
“Ah, this is the first time something like this has happened! Even though the Management Bureau was established not long ago, they’ve handled things well, but we never anticipated being attacked by such intruders…!”
Jeongwoo clicked his tongue as Jang In-ho defended the Bureau’s position with excuses. No matter how it was explained, this incident was clearly the Bureau’s mistake. They had gathered novice Awakened Ones for dungeon practice but couldn’t even manage the dungeon properly.
“Check the dungeon rank again. It’s not D-rank anymore.”
“What? That can’t be…”
“They probably used an amplifier when resetting the dungeon. Check the dungeon rank now.”
[A-rank Dungeon: Ouroboros Cave]
Everyone checked the dungeon rank at Jeongwoo’s words and wore blank expressions.
