LTTH C68

Chapter 68

“No! Absolutely not!”

“…Then, are you lovers?”

What on earth is the difference between that and being in a relationship?

“No, absolutely not.”

“Darling, you’re denying it so strongly that I feel like you’re hurting my feelings.”

James hunched his body like a puppy that had just crawled out of a hearth, perhaps because his hair was wet—or rather, half singed. But frankly speaking, he did not look the least bit pitiful.

‘That doesn’t mean I can agree with you!’

Hansol glared at James with all the resolve he had, but it seemed none of it went through. Damn it.

“No, I mean—why don’t you just stop using a term of address that invites misunderstanding in the first place?”

“But this one suits you best, darling.”

Was he seriously calling that an excuse?

With his shoulders squared and chest lifted, James declared himself proudly, leaving Hansol speechless. Biting back the incredulous laugh that nearly slipped out, Hansol belatedly presented a sort-of alternative.

“Since we’re talking about it, why don’t you just call me by my name?”

“No. I like how ‘darling’ sounds.”

Why did he have to find that pleasant sound in him of all people? Couldn’t he find someone else to use it on?

“There are too many eyes around. We should move somewhere else.”

The Tower Master, who had stepped in to calm the conversation before it escalated, scanned the surroundings and warned in a low voice. They were the only four people visible here, but there must have been something more. The Tower Master was not the type to say pointless things.

Hansol, lowering his voice upon noticing the Tower Master’s behavior, nodded. It seemed the conversation with James would have to wait.

“Then, to the Magic Tower first.”

Pushing James forward, the Tower Master tugged Hansol by the hand and threw a glance at Kassie, who had been standing there awkwardly.

“…You too. Come.”

His tone made it clear he wasn’t thrilled, but also that he had little choice. The moment the words left his mouth, Kassie was enveloped in light along with them.

The teleportation array, drawn so quickly that one would not believe it was a mana-interference magic circle, carried the four of them into the Magic Tower in an instant.

Their destination was the topmost floor—where the Tower Master had once provided Hansol and Sehyeon with luxurious guest rooms.

‘Come to think of it… Sehyeon must be doing better now, right?’

He had heard not long ago that Sehyeon was recovering, so he was probably already up and moving. Hansol would have to visit him soon.

“Please, have a seat.”

While he had been lost in thought about the young paladin, steaming cups of tea appeared before each of them.

The Tower Master and Kassie sat opposite James and Hansol, yet for some reason both the Tower Master’s and James’s gazes converged on Kassie.

One would expect such attention to feel uncomfortable, yet Kassie held himself with confidence. Instead, Hansol cleared his throat deliberately to shift their focus, because there was something he needed to ask both of them.

“So… how was the England you two went to?”

He had never managed to ask through communication spells. What had the real England been like? Were there really that many monsters? Had anyone survived? Was the system still functional?

“…Hell, just as the rumors said. At least at first.”

The Tower Master, who had been sorting his thoughts with a faint movement of his lips, lifted his gaze to Hansol and began speaking at a measured pace.

The situation when they first arrived in England. The level of the monsters. How the two of them managed to survive. The journey was anything but brief, yet perhaps because of the Tower Master’s calm demeanor—unexpectedly calm for someone recounting a hellscape—it never felt tedious. Even Kassie, hearing of England’s original state for the first time, remained composed.

“And strangely enough, after that endless marathon, the number of monsters began to decrease.”

At the final stretch of the story, Kassie’s and Hansol’s gazes met.

“And eventually, the once-red sky began turning blue. By the time we were ready to return, blue dominated the sky. Very few monsters remained.”

‘It was because of him.’

Berthel was the culprit. No matter how one thought about it, it was most likely Berthel’s disappearance that had changed England. Kassie seemed to share the same thought.

“That’s how we were able to return safely. It’s also the reason we arrived before you, Hansol.”

When the Tower Master finished his recollection, a brief silence settled over the group. The quiet atmosphere, maintained for some time, was soon broken by James, who had been fidgeting non-stop.

“What about you, darling? I want to hear your story too. Where on earth were you?”

So he really had no intention of changing that pet name. With a sigh, Hansol glanced toward Kassie.

“…I was—”

Talking about the England he’d been in wasn’t difficult. But to speak of it, he needed Kassie’s consent. Kassie had lived there far longer, and this wasn’t Hansol’s story alone—it was theirs.

“It’s fine, Hansol. It’s only a matter of time before people find out.”

Unlike Hansol, who hesitated, Kassie nodded lightly.

Perhaps, when Kassie chose to come to Korea, he had already anticipated this. There was no way to explain what had happened to him without explaining the England he had lived in.

“To begin with, yes, I was in England as well. But not in the version the two of you visited.”

“I thought as much. No matter how much detection magic I used, I couldn’t sense anyone besides the two of us.”

The Tower Master nodded, listening attentively.

“The England I was in also experienced gate breaks, just like the original England you visited. It was a place where war against monsters continued without end. The difference was… that people were still fighting to survive there.”

“It truly is different. In the England James and I visited, we didn’t encounter a single human being.”

Perhaps the England the Tower Master experienced was the future that should have originally unfolded. The England the system had wanted to erase. And in a sense, it had succeeded—because in the present world, England was essentially gone.

“At the very least, in the England I was in, many non-Hunters survived.”

“Ordinary people… not Hunters.”

More than ten years had passed since England became a monster paradise due to the gate breaks.

The Tower Master looked skeptical, understandably so—ordinary civilians enduring that long was hard to believe. Hansol knew that he himself wouldn’t have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes.

“If Hansol had come alone, I might not have believed it.”

The blunt truth was directed at Kassie. The Tower Master’s gaze swept over Kassie from head to toe, appraising him, before he finally spoke again.

“Forgive the forwardness, but… how old are you?”

“……”

Kassie did not answer.

His appearance suggested early thirties at most. Of course, including the years he had endured in England, he was surely much older—but his outward appearance did not show it. Still, it was clear the Tower Master had not asked out of idle curiosity. Kassie understood that too.

“I’ll change the question. Is the England you came from safe?”

Receiving no reply, the Tower Master pressed on.

“For the moment, yes.”

With Berthel gone and the remnants no longer visible, Kassie was right—it was safe for now. There was still the risk of gate breaks, but at least that particular village would likely remain safe. Hansol agreed with Kassie’s assessment.

“Then Hansol has no reason to return there anymore.”

“…!”

What? Why did the topic suddenly veer off like that?

Startled by the Tower Master’s abrupt shift, Hansol opened his mouth—only for Kassie to speak faster.

“What do you mean by that?”

Kassie’s eyes glinted cold, unmistakably displeased. This was bad. They looked one wrong word away from throwing punches.

“In case you haven’t heard, our visit to England was due to a request from the Association. And I just canceled that request. Meaning, there is no longer any need for Hansol to go back.”

“That may have been true at the beginning, but not anymore. England is important to me now.”

Before things could get truly ugly, Hansol grabbed Kassie’s thigh—partly to calm him—and responded in his stead.

He understood the Tower Master’s concern. Even now, the gate breaks continued, and neither the Tower Master nor James nor any Hunter could assist there. Sending a healer alone into such a place must have troubled him.

But what began as a simple Association mission had changed. England had become essential to Hansol. Partly because of the people fighting to survive there. But also because England was fundamentally different from this world—experience points, the system, even the items were different.

‘There might be more to uncover.’

Hansol had obtained things like the shop, quests, and achievements in England, but surely that wasn’t all. There were still unknown elements waiting to be discovered. And those things would only help him—never hinder.

“Hansol, how much do you trust this man?”

“…What?”

Why were they suddenly doing a friendship test here?