Day and Night (16)
When Awakened Ones entered a dungeon conquest, the principle was for Management Bureau personnel to wait outside until they emerged.
This was in case the Awakened Ones were injured during the conquest and needed treatment, and to prevent overflow—monsters escaping from the dungeon if the conquest failed. However, with instant dungeons sprouting up like mushrooms after rain recently, the reality was that it was already overwhelming for the Management Bureau just to keep track of all the dungeons.
The Management Bureau had only learned about the recent instant B-class dungeon “Subway of Deception” quite some time after it had occurred. Instant dungeons usually appeared suddenly and dragged in all nearby civilians as well. In the case of the Daejeon Station instant dungeon, hadn’t well over a hundred civilians all been trapped in the dungeon?
But this B-class instant dungeon that occurred this time, “Subway of Deception,” was peculiar in many ways. Despite being a dungeon that occurred inside a subway, there were only two dungeon victims. “Subway of Deception” had left all the other people riding the subway alone and only swallowed up Shin Jaehee and Woo Jeongwoo.
Though it was an unfortunate thing to say to the two people who had been pulled into the dungeon, Section Chief Yongtae Lim let out a sigh of relief when he heard the news.
Shin Jaehee and Woo Jeongwoo were Awakened Ones who had recently been standing out, and they were also the protagonists of the conquest of Daejeon Station dungeon, which had boasted the highest difficulty level. If it was those two, he didn’t worry much even if the dungeon conquest was delayed. Even though it was just the two of them, they were people who had conquered even an S-class dungeon, so there was no way they couldn’t conquer a B-class dungeon.
When nearly a week had passed like that, Section Chief Yongtae Lim received an urgent contact. The barrier of the B-class instant dungeon was becoming hazy, showing signs that it would be conquered. As soon as Section Chief Yongtae Lim received that report, he rushed to the subway station.
* * *
“You’ve worked hard again this time. Jaehee-ssi, Jeongwoo-ssi.”
“Oh, no… What do you mean.”
When receiving basic Awakened One education, he had heard that Management Bureau staff would wait until the Awakened Ones came out once they entered a dungeon conquest, but seeing Section Chief Yongtae Lim waiting for him directly left him bewildered. Jaehee had only recently learned that Section Chief Yongtae Lim was the actual head of the Management Bureau. How shocked he had been to learn that someone he thought was just a kind-looking uncle with a pot belly was actually the substantial head of the Management Bureau. Jeongwoo had said that this kind-looking uncle was someone who precariously held and released control over the Management Bureau, Awakened One guilds, the government, and civilians.
“Section Chief, here’s the medical questionnaire…”
“Oh, enough, enough. Stop saying frustrating things and go get something to drink. My throat is parched.”
“But, Section Chief, this is still…”
“Ah, even when I say it’s enough, you keep this up. Look at them now. Do they look injured anywhere? Oh my, Jaehee-ssi, Jeongwoo-ssi, I’m sorry. Making tired people stand around and bothering them repeatedly. A medical questionnaire, really. You have to read the situation before doing that. Come on, both of you, please come to this office first. Let’s have something cool to drink here while you tell us about your hardships. Hey, what are you dawdling around for? Hurry up and bring some snacks! Crackers or something like that!”
Jaehee glanced at Jeongwoo, unable to grasp this situation well, but Jeongwoo was expressionless.
Yongtae Lim waved his hand at his subordinate, then took Jeongwoo and Jaehee into the office. It was an office that had been used in the subway, but now the Management Bureau was temporarily using it.
“Wow, conquering a B-class dungeon without a single hair being hurt, just the two of you—truly amazing! The media has been in an uproar since Daejeon Station, and now there’s really no avoiding it. Oh, you said ‘Whisperer’ before, right? Now no one will say that Whisperers are pushed aside by fighters. Hahaha.”
Yongtae Lim spoke while subtly observing Jeongwoo and Jaehee. The truth was that Awakened Ones didn’t tell everything about themselves honestly. This was especially true regarding their characteristics.
But there was one time when Awakened Ones couldn’t lie well, and that was right when they had just come out of the tutorial. Since they didn’t know much, they couldn’t even lie. At that time, Awakened Ones didn’t know what other classifications existed besides their own, or what the characteristics of each classification were, so even if they lied, it was bound to be clumsy somewhere.
But these two people had been lying quite naturally from the very beginning. Both of them answered that they were “Whisperers,” but Yongtae Lim found it hard to believe. In the Namyangju area where the two had emerged after finishing their tutorial, a giant spider had taken up residence. This spider hadn’t been defeated by anyone from when it first appeared until now, so they had blockaded that area. They were planning to form a team to deal with it after conquering urgent dungeons that needed to be handled. But the spider hadn’t been seen since the two finished their tutorial. Both people denied that they had done anything, but it was too coincidental to believe their words at face value.
Yongtae Lim had been keeping an eye on the two since then. And major incidents kept occurring around these two people without rest.
“Jaehee-ssi, Jeongwoo-ssi, you’re not hurt or uncomfortable anywhere, right? If there’s anywhere uncomfortable, please tell us. You two are great pillars of our country, aren’t you? Hahaha.”
“No. I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“If you need anything, please say so. I’ll do my best to help.”
Jaehee answered while secretly letting out a sigh.
Section Chief Yongtae Lim had been kind when he first met him, but today he thought he was being a bit too excessive. Moreover, perhaps because of what Jeongwoo had said, his smiling face kept feeling uncomfortable.
“Section Chief, here are the snacks.”
Just then, Yongtae Lim’s subordinate entered carrying a plate. On the plate were a few crackers and individually wrapped juice boxes.
“You don’t know how anxiously we waited here for days. Oh, your families have already been contacted that you’ve returned. Don’t worry. I have some things I’d like to ask about the dungeon, but let’s wet our throats first. Come on, please have some.”
“Section Chief, you said to tell you if we need anything, right?”
When Jeongwoo, who had been keeping his mouth shut for the most part, spoke up, Yongtae Lim’s face lit up as he nodded.
“Of course, just say anything. The guilds are quite impressive these days, but they still can’t compare to government agencies.”
“Hmm… then first, please bring some pu-erh tea. Not those half-hearted imitations, but brew it properly here for us. And for snacks, I’d like handmade macarons and éclairs. My favorite is from a famous bakery in Hapjeong, but I haven’t been able to go there recently because I’ve been conquering dungeons. I’d really like it to be from that shop specifically. Ah! Please make sure the pu-erh tea is ripe tea.”
“…What?”
Bewilderment showed on Yongtae Lim’s face for the first time. It was completely unexpected. But Jeongwoo just kept spouting what he had to say with an expressionless, nonchalant face.
“I’m a bit picky about what I eat, you see. When visiting the Management Bureau, it would be really nice if there were favorite snacks I couldn’t eat because of dungeons. Oh, by the way, I don’t drink coffee.”
“Jeongwoo, stop fooling around.”
It was true that Jeongwoo was sensitive about food, but what he was doing now was clearly being spiteful. Jaehee shook his head and lightly hit Jeongwoo. Only then did Section Chief Yongtae Lim awkwardly smile and nod.
“Ah, Jeongwoo-ssi was joking. You always seemed so quiet, but you have a playful side.”
“Section Chief, I actually have something I’d like to consult with you about.”
Jaehee looked at Section Chief Yongtae Lim while thinking about the conversation he had with Jeongwoo inside the dungeon.
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“Well… how do you establish a guild?”
“A guild…?”
Actually, the decision to establish a guild had been made while listening to the office workers’ conversation at the sushi restaurant.
Seeing people worried about what to do in the future and feeling at a loss, he had thought about creating a guild that would accept civilians as well.
Before leaving the dungeon, he had consulted with Jeongwoo. Jeongwoo had nodded saying it was a good idea, but somehow he felt like Jeongwoo would say anything he did was good, so he didn’t trust it. That’s when he thought of Section Chief Yongtae Lim. Considering that the Management Bureau and guilds were in an adversarial relationship, it might be a reckless thing to do, but he remembered that Section Chief Yongtae Lim had gotten along well with Lee Shinhoo too.
“Yes. I want to establish a guild.”
“A guild…”
Jaehee nodded with a slightly reddened face. Section Chief Yongtae Lim seemed to think about something for a moment, closing his eyes, then looked at Jaehee.
“Establishing a guild isn’t really that difficult. To create one, you need at least three Awakened Ones first. You also need a permanent office where the Management Bureau can contact you.”
“Is that all you need?”
“For starters, yes. However, maintaining it is difficult. Since this is an organization, quite a bit of money goes into it from the moment it’s created. In the early days, there were quite a few small guilds like this. Now they’re mostly being consolidated. It’s about money, and since there aren’t that many Awakened Ones, there are ultimately limits to maintaining them.”
“I want to create a guild that civilians can join.”
Section Chief Yongtae Lim blinked with an expression that showed he didn’t quite understand what that meant.
