IH Ch 135

Chapter 135

“Shouldn’t we be asking the Guildmaster first before deciding anything? All the land around here belongs to him.”

The moment those words fell, every gaze swung back toward Hwang Jae-i.

Perhaps because their debate had reached peak excitement, everyone’s eyes were sparkling. Enduring the urge to dodge those burdensome looks, Jae-i finally spoke.

“So, you want to build new housing?”

“Yes, somewhere we can stay with our families if possible.”

“If it’s all right, near the guild would be ideal. The sea out front is incredibly refreshing and beautiful. While I work, my family can play on the beach, or climb the mountain behind us. It’s great. You can’t enjoy things like this in Seoul.”

These days, the world felt too dangerous to let children roam freely. But here was the guild building—on land purchased in advance and protected by layers upon layers of safety systems. Not that the facilities were designed as a playground, but they ended up providing that environment.

In Seoul, this kind of natural landscape was something you had to pay to experience—manufactured, controlled, safe. But this wide, expansive nature? Even money couldn’t buy it easily.

“School can wait. Let the kids run wild for once. Should we put up a sports field nearby? Let the children gather every evening to play, and we can have barbecues while we’re at it. How’s that sound?”

“Wow, that sounds amazing. I’ve always wanted to do something like that.”

“Let the kids play, and we can have a drink while looking at the ocean, yeah?”

The conversation was drifting far off course. Wasn’t the original goal simply to let the kids enjoy nature? Why were they talking about drinking now?

As if they’d forgotten he was there, they kept chattering. Jae-i’s brow slowly tightened. He didn’t want to interrupt, but he also couldn’t just keep listening to them spew nonsense.

“So that’s all you want to say?”

The room instantly fell quiet. Everyone looked at him, as if waiting to hear what he would say next. Wearing a scowl, Jae-i continued.

“If you have complaints or issues to raise, speak now. I won’t listen later.”

This gathering was for that exact purpose.

The relocation had been arbitrary. The inconveniences were obvious. This space was meant for grievances—but instead, they kept drifting into unrelated chatter. If they raised problems later, he planned to ignore them. The opportunity was here, the stage was set—so use it properly.

“Guildmaster.”

“……”

Without moving anything but his eyes, Jae-i glanced at Seowon. He was still smiling.

“What’s spilled is spilled. What can we do now?”

“……”

“Our jobs didn’t disappear. Only the location changed. And we’re already trained to endure anything under you, Guildmaster—we can handle this much. And also—”

Seowon paused and looked behind him briefly.

“All of us here think the same way you do. That’s why we stay in this guild. Our values align. So don’t worry about us—just do what you want to do. Honestly, you’ve put up with so much crap. At least once, people need to see your worth.”

Sitting straighter, Seowon gave a firm thumbs-up.

“……”

A warm atmosphere hung briefly. We trust the Guildmaster. We’ll follow him to the end. It was the kind of sentimental line someone might narrate.

But Jae-i’s face remained unreadable.

Staring directly at Seowon, he slowly spoke.

“What kind of nonsense—”

“That’s enough!”

A voice cut cleanly between them—Ahn Yuna.

As if she knew exactly the kind of words Jae-i was about to unleash, she spread her arms and blocked him. Then she jabbed his arm with her elbow, silently mouthing, Let’s go.

Jae-i stared at her for a moment, then abruptly turned away. It looked like he would simply stride out, but he stopped after a few steps and muttered,

“—Build a few buildings for those who want to stay. Near the guild. Don’t cut corners to rush it. Use whatever effects or resources you need.”

He started to leave, then added quietly,

“Sports facilities, barbecue pits… add whatever’s necessary.”

If you need it, I don’t care. Do whatever you want.

It was such an oddly prim, almost pouty phrasing—completely unbefitting him—that it felt surreal. And with that, he disappeared like wind.

A beat later—

“WAHHHH—!”

An explosion of cheers burst out behind him. People loudly speculated about what they had just heard and seen.

Even outside the hall, the shouting echoed faintly. Jae-i’s expression darkened.

“……”

He should’ve just walked out quietly. Speaking more than necessary had been a mistake. Feeling too awkward to go back and say anything else, he walked quickly. Reaching the guildmaster’s office, he quietly opened the door.

Inside—on the sofa positioned perfectly to face the sea—sat Dohwa.

The moment he saw that round little back of Dohwa’s head, the tension drained from his face. He was taking a step forward when something small suddenly popped up beside Dohwa.

A short, tiny figure. A face that resembled him. Wearing a striped long-sleeve shirt with hair tied in a high knot—it was the beast.

For some reason, it looked delighted, lips curved high and cheeks puffed. Seeing that, Jae-i’s expression froze instantly. Meanwhile, the beast also sensed his presence, whipping its head around and glaring, face scrunching up.

Tch.

Just as Jae-i moved quickly toward it, the beast darted ahead and plopped itself on Dohwa’s lap, wrapping its arms around his neck. Surprised, Dohwa held the beast and looked back.

“You’re here?”

“……”

One look at Dohwa’s bright smile—and the frown between Jae-i’s brows faded away. He quietly moved behind the sofa and stood close, eyes shifting to Dohwa and the beast glued to him. Jae-i badly wanted to grab the creature by the scruff and fling it across the room, but he suppressed the urge and instead pulled out a mana stone.

“……!”

The beast, stuck to Dohwa as if it would never let go, instantly froze. Its eyes widened.

Holding the mana stone, Jae-i swung his arm slowly from left to right. The beast’s head followed the movement in perfect synchronization, and when he tossed the stone toward the far corner, it bolted after it.

Like a nimble cat, it sprinted, grabbed the stone in one hand, then looked back at him—as if saying, This is mine now. With triumphant energy, it scampered into the side room. Moments later, the sound of crunch, crackle—crunch echoed from inside. Jae-i narrowed his eyes.

How long would he have to deal with this creature? It transformed well into a humanoid, but at the end of the day, it was still a beast.

“He slept for a while, but he woke up earlier. Yuna-ssi gave him clothes…”

Dohwa fidgeted with their interlocked hands, glancing up at him as if wary. Disliking the implication, Jae-i sat beside him and answered calmly,

“You did well.”

“…….”

At those words, Dohwa’s expression brightened.

For reasons unknown, Dohwa always looked after the beast. He seemed to know nothing about gates or beasts, yet his behavior suggested otherwise. Perhaps he cared simply because the creature resembled him—but there was something more.

“You came back quickly. Did the meeting go well?”

“……”

Dohwa’s face clouded with worry when Jae-i stayed silent.

“Did they say something bad to you?”

“No. It was fine. I said one thing and they said ten back. They were having the time of their lives.”

“……”

“And not one of them said anything unpleasant to me.”

Jae-i wondered what Seowon meant by sharing the same direction. He was simply doing as he pleased. Sometimes he thought the people working here must find him exhausting. But perhaps… he had been understood a little.

A gentle poke touched his cheek.

Jae-i flinched and lowered his gaze. Dohwa had poked his cheek with a fingertip. Their eyes met; Dohwa’s narrowed softly.

“That’s good.”

“……”

Jae-i’s earlobes turned red.

Without another word, he shifted and lay down, resting his head on Dohwa’s thigh. His long legs slid off the sofa’s edge; Dohwa tried to adjust to make him more comfortable, but Jae-i held him still, burying his face against his thigh with his eyes closed.

It was comfortable. Body and mind—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever been this relaxed. And maybe that was why, words he normally would never say began spilling out easily.

“I thought I’d be blamed and criticized… but no. They let everything go.”

“……”

“They didn’t even frown. They laughed, they chatted loudly… you’d think they were on vacation.”

The unprecedented relocation of the guild base—yet everyone seemed remarkably at ease. But even as he grumbled, Jae-i himself didn’t seem the least bit troubled.