Every time I heard that calm, unfazed voice, I couldn’t help but feel a chill run through me.
Every time he casually spoke to me like it was nothing, I couldn’t help feeling a bit resentful.
And feeling this way every time made me feel a little ridiculous, too.
‘I don’t even know what I want anymore.’
“Alright. I’ll head to ‘Red Potion.’”
[I’m right behind you.]
“…Excuse me?”
Reflexively, I turned around—and there he was.
The Guild Master of Ruin was standing right there.
The familiar sights of the Street mixed awkwardly with his presence, making him feel strangely out of place.
It wasn’t just because I wasn’t used to seeing his face properly.
It was his uniquely overwhelming aura—something that couldn’t be hidden even in ordinary clothes.
Even though he completely concealed his pheromones, it still lingered.
We stood there in the middle of a busy street like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Realizing that made me feel strangely unsettled.
Yet here we were, facing each other—not as who we truly were, but as carefully fabricated versions of ourselves.
I dropped my gaze briefly.
The man in front of me wasn’t Raizen.
I didn’t know what he was thinking, why he kept hovering around me, or why he acted the way he did.
Honestly, I didn’t even want to dig into it.
Why should I be the one thinking about, guessing, and trying to understand the circumstances that even Raizen himself never explained?
‘I tried so hard, thought so much, struggled so much just to understand… and what did I get?’
If necessary… he was someone who could even agree to an engagement.
At the time, I couldn’t understand how he could be so casual about it, but now, maybe I understood a little better.
I had simply been judging everything by my own standards.
Raizen—Raizen Pantheon—was someone who could absolutely make decisions like that.
‘Marriage probably didn’t mean much to him to begin with.’
The typical idea that you marry because you love someone and want to spend your life with them—it might not have existed for Raizen at all.
If anything, he might have thought of it as a kind of business partnership.
As long as someone could offer what he wanted, he was willing to give them a spot by his side.
‘So really, there’s no need to feel wronged for being deceived.’
As soon as my thoughts reached that point, a sharp sting pricked at my chest again.
‘No, that’s not it.’
Raizen had deceived me.
He knew I liked him and deliberately led me to misunderstand.
Kissing me with no real feelings behind it.
So in the end… it meant I would do as I pleased, too.
I wouldn’t bother wondering about Raizen’s thoughts anymore.
I wouldn’t be the one trying to understand him first.
After finishing this long yet short train of thought, I lifted my gaze.
The Guild Master of Ruin was still standing exactly where he had been.
I slowly started walking toward him.
“How did you know where to find me? It’s kind of scary.”
“I just happened to see you.”
He said it casually.
Coincidence, huh…
Well, if he says so, then I guess that’s what it is.
“I see.”
At my reply, the Guild Master gave a slight nod and then shifted his gaze elsewhere.
“Talking in the middle of the street isn’t ideal. Shall we go somewhere indoors?”
I thought ‘Red Potion’ might be better, but it was a bit far from here.
Then again, just going into any random place worried me — who knew who might overhear…?
‘He suggested it first, so he must have somewhere in mind.’
I nodded and answered.
“Yes. Somewhere safe, if possible.”
“Of course.”
I couldn’t see his face, so I couldn’t read his expression, but I could sense him smiling faintly.
It would have been better if I couldn’t feel anything from him at all.
The Guild Master soon started walking, and I quietly followed behind him.
“……”
“……”
At first, our strides didn’t match well, but the distance between us slowly shrank, which made me feel just slightly uncomfortable.
∗ ∗ ∗
The place he led me to was a café by the roadside.
It was right in the main street of Scarlet, so it was packed with customers.
For a moment, it felt like I had somehow ended up back in Korea — the inside was that noisy with people’s chatter.
Naturally, there was no Americano on the menu.
I picked some random tea that caught my eye and ordered it.
As if it had been planned, there was exactly one empty seat left in the corner, and I took it.
‘I thought there wouldn’t be any seats left.’
A strange thought crossed my mind — could this place also belong to that man? — but I brushed it away.
That wasn’t important right now.
Not long after, the drinks we ordered arrived.
The staff member, who looked a little worn out, placed the drinks in front of us and quickly left.
Watching their retreating back, I took a sip of my rooibos tea.
‘No idea what this even tastes like.’
Tea still didn’t suit my palate.
“So, what is it you want to talk about?”
I didn’t feel like dragging things out, so I got straight to the point.
The Guild Master, who hadn’t touched his drink and had been watching only me, chuckled softly.
“Tommy has returned to the temple. But it seems that Priest Isol came out to greet him. With a rather kind face, he asked a few questions. In short, he wanted to know if Tommy had successfully invited his friends.”
I clenched my fists without even realizing it.
‘So they were scheming after all.’
“When Tommy said he had failed today, the priest looked disappointed.”
“Apparently, he told Tommy that at this rate, he wouldn’t be saved. That a soul born in sin and filth like his could only become a child of God through even more devoted missionary work.”
‘Insane.’
It was typical cult doctrine.
So that’s why Tommy had muttered about ‘salvation’ as he fled.
“They’ve put a lot of thought into this… In the worst possible way.”
I felt stupid for thinking they’d immediately resort to something like human experimentation.
It seemed the temple was aiming for more long-term, strategic benefits.
If they gathered children that way, it would be harder to catch them in the act.
And some of them… the ones they found useful… they’d probably raise as future missionaries.
“It seems they came here with a fairly large, long-term plan in mind.”
The Guild Master agreed naturally, as if he knew uncovering the temple’s true motives was my ultimate goal.
“…That’s possible. Though technically, that wasn’t part of my original request.”
“Ah…”
Maybe my response was unexpected.
The Guild Master hesitated slightly before speaking again.
“If I offended you, I apologize.”
The straightforward apology only made the tangled mess inside my chest twist even tighter.
‘What the hell am I doing?’
Hadn’t I promised myself I would treat this man simply as the Guild Master of Ruin?
And yet here I was, getting all worked up like this.
It was like… I was throwing a tantrum. I was disgusted with myself.
Even after living in Korea until my mid-twenties, I was still acting like a child.
Still unable… to let go of these feelings for him.
“No, it’s fine. I was just being a little sensitive. Sorry about that.”
“…It’s an issue worth being sensitive about. There are a lot of people on Crete Island with difficult stories.”
I smiled faintly.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Think nothing of it.”
And just like that, the conversation ended.
Between the Guild Master and me, only the noise of the café filled the air.
How long did we sit there like that?
The one who broke the silence first was the Guild Master.
“Hmm, it seems like we should modify the content of the request. What do you think?”
The original contract had been based on the assumption that something had happened to Tommy.
But today, Tommy had appeared safe, and we had even confirmed that he was at the temple.
In a sense, we had already obtained all the information I had commissioned from Ruin Guild.
And yet, instead of ending the contract, he was suggesting an amendment.
“Is this some sort of customer service courtesy?”
“No. It’s just that my pride won’t let me end it like this. Ultimately, what you want is Tommy’s safety, isn’t it?”
It was… very much something the master of a famous intelligence guild would say.
