Chapter 32

It was a topic I couldn’t let go of.

Kim shifted in her seat to listen. Just as the mood was about to turn serious, Roscoe waved his hand.

“Oops, that was a bad way to say it, but it doesn’t mean there’s anything directly wrong with me, and I don’t hang out with the other players at all, so I don’t have to worry about any scandals breaking out.”

It sounded a little sad to me, like he hadn’t made a single friend in all his years in the league.

“As you can see, Lady Asterique has been doing quite well lately. I wonder when the streak will be broken, and the crowd is growing. I like to watch the crowd’s reactions during the games. The league is entertainment after all.”

“Oh. Now you definitely look like a manager.”

“You’re struggling and I’m struggling, so I have to do my part. Anyway, everything is going well….”

Roscoe scratched his beard.

“I’m starting to see some dudes in the audience, men, women, ages ranging from 20s to 50s.”

“The audience? What are they up to?”

“Not really. He watches the game in silence and then leaves. He doesn’t have a group, so at first I thought he was just a spectator.”

“From what I’ve heard so far, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.”

“……That’s why I said it might be a flutter. I’ve tried to change my mind a couple times because I think it’s a silly thing to say, and then the next game starts and I think about it again.”

My face stiffened with doubt and worry.

“They’re not purely enjoying the game. They watch all of Lady Asterique’s matches, and her expression never changes. Like she doesn’t care about the game at all.”

Roscoe patted my forearm as if it gave him goosebumps. To Kim, who didn’t know the details of the situation, it seemed like an exaggerated gesture.

But it couldn’t be downplayed.

“Could it be someone from the sponsor’s side?”

“I’ve already asked the other managers, they’ve never seen you before. I got some bullshit about being popular enough to have a stalker and being jealous.”

I click my tongue in annoyance. Roscoe then summarizes the story.

“I can tell you no more than that; I only came because I thought I ought to tell you before something happened; why, you care so dearly for Miss Asterike.”

“I care… but not that much.”

“No. That doesn’t work.”

Kim felt unnecessarily cool as he snorted. I answered as I thought of it, but I don’t know why the reaction was so intense.

“Well, I don’t see that feeling between the sexes, which makes it seem more cohesive.”

I wasn’t wrong.

It happens often. Players show affection for their game characters by calling them daughter or son, and Kim’s current feelings for Asterique are no different.

Kim laughed it off. She had no intention of denying it, but she also had no intention of dragging the Chapter out.

“Anyway, okay, I’ll look into it on my end.”

“Huh, thanks, that’s a relief.”

Roscoe sighed heavily at my earnest answer. He relaxed and put his weight on the backrest.

“You’re a strong willed man, after all.”

……wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

* * *

Same day.

As night fell, Kim stepped out into the streets, which were still lit up despite the fact that the date was about to change.

Rather, it was a neighborhood that came alive at night. Clubs and bars with flashing billboards. Staggering drunks and hustling waiters at nightclubs…….

It was a world I had no connection to. I had been to the club scene in Hongdae once before I went to the army. I don’t remember it being noisy.

“I don’t think it’s going to get better now.

I’d rather relax and unwind alone than go on a wild night out. I wasn’t out on the streets tonight to enjoy the nightlife.

“I don’t trust Rothko’s touch, to be honest.

There was a time when Roscoe thought Kim was a mafioso. She was just an office worker with three years in the reserves.

‘I may have induced some of that, but… confirmation bias is strong. Once an impression is made, it’s hard to dislodge.

It was a bad temperament, according to our information. If it turns out that Roscoe’s fears were unfounded, it won’t seem strange in the least.

But I had to check it out for myself.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen here.

The scenario has long since derailed. With the Legion out of the way, Kilikia’s future is in doubt.

“It’s a long time until the next main episode.

In the natural course of events, the Legion will take Kilikia and use it as an outpost and base from which to operate. The Legion’s ideas spread across the continent, and sympathizers flock to Kilikia in droves.

And only half a year later, the main episode 3 begins. It’s like the calm before the storm, and then it’s a civil war, a war between nations, and stellar events swirl like the Nodo.

‘The Legion won’t stand still, so one of them will blow up. I don’t know what’s going to happen to Kilikia.

The Legion might invade again. A shadowy criminal organization from the backstreets might try to start a civil war out of nowhere.

Buying time doesn’t mean you can relax. You have to be on your toes.

“I’ll just go around from here.

The signboard with the store’s name glowed a faint green light. The Shrine. A pub that also serves as a place for immigrants to exchange information.

That’s what I heard. Kim glanced at the passersby and went inside the store.

I looked around a bit, asked people for stories, and left. I ordered a drink out of politeness, and then went from place to place, visiting similar establishments.

And it was the fourth bar I entered.

“-Yes, it was amazing. I even thought I was dead at the time. No, I would have been dead if it hadn’t been for that pecatum. I still have dreams about it. It was fucking hell in there.”

Just then, she heard something that caught her ear. Kim glanced at the table as he passed by.

A man with a red complexion who appears to have been drinking heavily. He’s joined by three other men, all dressed in distinctly different ways. All three are wearing hoods so you can’t see their faces.

I sat down nearby to listen to the conversation. The other customers were also listening, so no one looked at her suspiciously.

“……, ……?”

“What? I don’t know, we were just a mob, which is different from the Outlaws, but who cared about that back then? All that weird smoke was killing us.”

The man appeared to be a bounty hunter who had participated in the defense of Kilikia. He might have given a shit about confidentiality, but that was none of my business.

The events of the day were already known. The surviving bounty hunters and mercenaries talked about it, and Asterique became quite famous.

The problem is the three hooded men. Their voices were muffled by the commotion around them. Some of them were talking in hushed tones.

“That Pekatum? I told you, it was amazing. I used to think pecatums were bad, but now I’m reassured by their horns.”

“……. …….”

“Forget it, I’m not going to believe a hundred words. If you want to know, you can go see for yourself. Turns out he plays in the second division, so I’ve been going to every game lately.”

The man chuckled, saying he was a big fan, and then repeated the same thing over and over again. If you want to know more, pay to watch the game.

The three listeners were surprisingly good fans, and they didn’t ask any more questions, probably sensing that I wasn’t going to say anything nutritious.

“Okay, good night. Thanks for the drinks.”

It wasn’t long before they left.

Kim also got up off his butt. I followed him out of the bar with some distance between us.

‘I’ve done all sorts of crazy things with …….’

At 26, I was doing things I’d never done as a kid, even as a joke. I was chasing people I didn’t even know.

What’s even more absurd is that the idea of ‘following in their footsteps’ came naturally to me. Even the idea that I should wear a hoodie myself, just in case I saw their faces in a bar.

How did we end up like this? No, it’s because he’s stuck in a Polaris.

Contrary to their complicated minds, their legs moved steadily, and they continued walking down the street without going indoors.

The road got narrower and darker the further we went.

The noise of the bustling streets gradually faded away. The silence that descended on the area was different from the relaxing tranquility that Kim enjoys, and it was eerie.

My steps grew cautious, and by the time I’d made it through the alleyway for what seemed like the umpteenth time, I realized that I hadn’t even realized it.

“…….”

The muzzle of a gun suddenly loomed in front of him. A physique not unlike Kim’s. The attacker, who appeared to be male, pointed a gun at Kim’s head.

Ironclad.

At the same time, Kim cocked the hammer of his pistol. An old double-barreled revolver. The barrel of the [Webley Mark] touched the monster’s abdomen.

“You’d better put it down first.”

As they stood at point-blank range, Kim spoke, and suddenly a memory came back to him. For the first time in his life, he was threatened with a handgun.

It was recent. The cobwebs hadn’t yet settled, the dust hadn’t yet settled, and yet I wasn’t as scared as I was then.

“I have a friend who is looking this way. His eyes are bright, his hands are light.”

The other man remained silent. Kim continued, eyeing the two behind him warily.

“Don’t believe me? I can show you a demonstration. There, that mullet is easy to hit…….”

“Hold on a second.”

The tone is familiar, I thought for a moment.

The shorter of the three stepped forward. He lowered the barrel of his companion’s gun with his own hands, then removed his own hood.

“-This voice, is that you, Mr. Hyun?”

Kim’s eyes widened. He was surprised by the unexpected encounter, but his gaze never left the other man’s face.

“Mr. Hyun. Is that right?”

He’s already convinced, and his expression shows it. His eyes stare straight at the other person. Even the title of Mr. Hyun.

It was Leila, just like I remembered.

“Not a disguise.

Only after reaching this conclusion did Kim remove the gun from his hand. Similarly, he lowered his hood and turned his attention to the man who had pointed it at him.

“You have Leila, and this is Pablo?”

“……Surprise, surprise. Why are you here?”

“That’s something I would say.”

Pablo and Ghost came forward, and unlike Leila, they were more embarrassed than happy to see each other.

“Ghost, it’s been a while. You’re as big as ever.”

“I never thought I’d run into you in a place like this.”

I reached out my hand, and the ghost clasped it. After a quick shake, the ghost spoke in an uncharacteristically stilted voice.

“You’re… not the same, you’ve changed a lot.”

Instead of words, Kim replied with a faint smile, which was enough for Ghost to figure out that she’d been through a lot in the short time he’d known her.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have happened. The person who realized the biggest change was Pablo, who had a brief nervous breakdown.

Pablo’s hands had been sweaty for a while now, and he wiped them on my pants so Kim wouldn’t see them.

“I’m surprised Leila recognized her.

I’m pretty sure I recognize it as Kim now, but if Leila hadn’t stepped in, I might never have noticed.

The vibe was different.

Gone is the overwhelming, precarious look that was there before. What has taken its place?

At least it was a different kind of gentleness than Leila’s. Not the wild side of a tramp. Instead, it was cold, sharp, and refined.

Kim’s eyes turned to Pablo.

“By the way, you need to grow a pair.”

“What?”

“The guns-for-hire thing. I guess that’s true everywhere, but it’s especially bad in Kilikia.”

“……Was that a toy you were holding?”

“Me what?”

Kim shrugged, holding out his empty hands. Pablo chuckled to himself. Her shamelessness was worse than before.

The mischievous words flew through her senses, and it was only then that Leila could breathe a sigh of relief.

“When did Mr. Hyun come to Kilikia?”

“It’s been a few months, but wait.”

Kim held out her palm for him to wait, and he touched her ear. Tiny words drifted out like noise from the communicator in her earlobe.

That’s when Ghost realized one more thing: The warning “I have a friend looking this way” wasn’t bluffing.

“Come with me. Let’s move.”