Childhood Friend Of The Zenith – Chapter 1265

Right after settling the barrier, I left the dumbfounded formation masters behind and headed to where Mi Hyoran was.

The state of the array we’d set up was satisfactory enough. The moment I saw it, I cleared the uncomfortable parts, and there was no way it could be better than that.

‘Not that I’m exactly thrilled with it either.’

It was the best that could be done in a short time. In truth, at that level it should be decent enough.

But—

‘Why were they groaning like that when they couldn’t even do that much?’

I couldn’t understand these so-called formation masters. All they had to do was lightly tie things off and tidy them up, yet they were huddled together doing that, which was suffocating to watch.

I ended up stepping in, and I still remembered the looks in their eyes back then.

‘Like they’d seen something strange.’

Eyes that looked at a bizarre being. The Palace Lord of North Sea Ice Palace once looked at me exactly like that.

Or maybe Shin Ui did too. I don’t know why they all look at me that way.

Anyway, leaving that array behind, I went with the group to Mi Hyoran’s quarters.

The moment we arrived, Mi Hyoran greeted us with a grave expression.

“…You met Young Master Gu.”

Apparently she’d already received the message the Cheolryong Vice Captain sent, because the first thing she asked on our arrival was about my father.

“Yes… We encountered the Divine Dragon outside the area.”

“What happened? Are you saying he went out beyond the base?”

“…Yes.”

“…Vice Captain!”

Mi Hyoran’s face twisted as she spoke.

“You above all should know how dangerous it is to go outside the area—how could you…!”

“…I judged it necessary. My apologies…”

“Haa…”

Mi Hyoran let out a long sigh and pressed her brow.

“…But you returned without damage, I trust?”

“…We did.”

As he answered, the Cheolryong Vice Captain flicked his gaze. At the end of it stood Amwang in disguise.

Seeing those eyes, Mi Hyoran narrowed hers as if grasping the situation.

“…For now, compile the others’ reports and bring them up. Young Master Baek and the Cheolryong Vice Captain, please stay a moment.”

“Understood.”

“Yes.”

The party withdrew at her word. In the midst of that, Dokbong looked at me; I nodded to say I was fine.

After sending them off, those who remained traded looks. A brief silence passed, and the Cheolryong Vice Captain spoke first.

“…Thank you for saving me, Great Hero.”

He offered his thanks to the disguised Amwang. Amwang’s reaction was flat—no, it was more accurate to say he showed no reaction at all.

This time, Mi Hyoran looked at Amwang and spoke with an odd expression.

“Earlier you said you wouldn’t involve yourself in anything—so why did you move this time?”

Her voice was full of questions. It seemed strange to her that Amwang had stepped into this.

Only then did Amwang open his closed mouth.

“Caprice.”

“…Caprice.”

“Yes, I was merely capricious. Nothing more and nothing less.”

“…Understood.”

Even at that rather slipshod answer, Mi Hyoran seemed to accept it—or rather, to act as if she did.

Then she looked at me.

“Young Master Baek.”

“Yes?”

“…The fact that Great Hero Amwang is here is a secret even in this area. I must ask you to keep silent.”

“Ah, yes. I will.”

Judging by Amwang’s appearance and his conduct, that made sense.

‘No wonder.’

That odd sensation I’d felt around Mi Hyoran—the one that slipped past my qi sense and hid—I’d wondered who it was.

‘So it was Amwang.’

In that case, it was understandable. For him, that was perfectly possible.

“Anyway… the problem is that Young Master Gu appeared here in person. What did his purpose seem to be?”

“I don’t know. The moment we stepped beyond the range, he initiated an attack. I suspect the purpose was hunting.”

“That won’t be it.”

Mi Hyoran was firm.

“Until now, Young Master Gu has never gone out hunting others. Except that very first time.”

“……”

“This time won’t be any different. It’s just that… if he launched an assault, he must have some purpose. And that’s probably…”

“Dokbong’s hideout is the problem.”

“…!”

When I cut in, Mi Hyoran looked at me in surprise—as if asking how I knew. How?

‘The situation makes it obvious.’

It clicked.

I didn’t know the reason or the circumstances for why Father became an Apostle. But the situational aspect was something that could have been grasped long ago.

‘Right.’

If this was anomalous, we had to look for the cause among the recent abnormalities. No matter how I thought about it, there was one problem.

‘The Apostle’s death.’

Chu Yeongyeon. I figured his death at my hands was the cause. Based on what I’d gathered from Mi Hyoran and the Cheolryong Vice Captain, Apostles were beings hard for warriors to kill.

If the number of Apostles killed over all this time could be counted on one hand,

then Chu Yeongyeon’s death would be a significant anomaly on their side.

So it made sense that they’d send another Apostle to investigate and confirm it.

The problem was—

‘If that’s the case—’

it would also mean they had a way to recognize an Apostle’s death on their side.

‘If it’s not that…’

I did need to keep other possibilities in mind. But to me, this was the likeliest for now.

‘And it looked like Mi Hyoran agreed.’

I could tell from her expression that she was thinking the same thing I was.

“If there’s a problem, that’s it, isn’t it.”

“You…”

Mi Hyoran reacted in surprise. I just shrugged at her look.

Then the Cheolryong Vice Captain spoke up.

“Then… in the end, are you saying we drew attention because our party went and dealt with the Apostle?”

At that, I knit my brows.

“What nonsense is that?”

“What?”

Unbelievable.

“If you’re tracing the cause, the problem isn’t that Dokbong’s group cleared an Apostle and came here—it’s that you pointlessly crossed the set boundary. Why drag innocent people into it?”

Who told you to go outside the boundary on your own.

“This happened because you took me out there for some useless ‘confirmation.’ If you’d just kept doing what you were told, would things have turned out like this?”

“…You little—!”

“Enough…!”

When the vice captain bristled, Mi Hyoran stopped him.

“That’s enough. This isn’t the time for us to fight each other. We need to make a plan.”

“……”

At her words, the Cheolryong Vice Captain bit his lip.

“Young Master Gu… Our location hasn’t been exposed to the Apostle. Thanks to Great Hero Amwang’s help, our position shouldn’t have been revealed. However—”

She looked troubled.

“They will have realized we did something in this vicinity. We’ll likely have to reinforce the formation.”

She was thinking defense and retreat rather than a head-on clash with an Apostle. I could guess what position Apostles held relative to warriors.

“Tomorrow… we’ll gather the Wind Dragon Unit and others for a strategy meeting. Vice Captain, announce this.”

“Understood.”

“And—”

Mi Hyoran’s eyes turned to me.

“As for this matter… I’d like you to attend as well, Young Master Baek.”

“Me?”

Have me sit in on the meeting? Why, exactly?

I did wonder, but—

“Very well. I’ll do that.”

I agreed for now.

With the talk with Mi Hyoran concluded, I stepped out of her quarters. The important matters were left for tomorrow, after the night passed.

When night fell, the lights around the hideout went dark. Even the few lanterns that had been left burning were now extinguished; it was only dark.

Probably, if we kept things bright, we’d catch the monsters’ eyes. I looked around at that.

People vanished from sight. It was the time when everyone began to sleep, as if determined to make not even a stir.

Then—I walked slowly. My steps led toward the lodging assigned to me,

but that wasn’t my destination.

“Shall we continue the conversation from before.”

At my quiet murmur, I felt a presence at my side. I glanced over; Amwang, disguised, was standing there.

“……”

Amwang looked at me expressionlessly.

“May I take it you’ve accepted my proposal?”

“…What do you want?”

Amwang asked.

I could say the ball had crossed Gu Hal’s court. Hearing that, I grinned and said,

“What I want is the same as at the start. A deal.”

“A deal.”

“Yes. Help me with what I have to do here. Then… once we’re out, I’ll fulfill your aim, Senior.”

“That means it can only be granted outside, doesn’t it?”

Ah—so it does. At Amwang’s words, I immediately revised the terms.

“Then let’s say I’ll grant it the moment my request is finished.”

“…Bold. Are you that sure of yourself.”

“Of course. It’s not hard.”

“……”

The way Amwang looked at me sent a strange chill up my spine. There wasn’t any killing intent mixed in, but just meeting his eyes did that.

As we held each other’s gaze in silence—

“What exactly is your request.”

Amwang asked me. At that question, I smiled.

“It’s nothing special.”

What I had to do in this world. And that I had to recover the qi that had disappeared and been lost.

The method for that was truly simple.

There was something I’d learned the moment I arrived here. There was no need to think long about it.

Recalling that, I spoke to Amwang.

“We need to kill some Apostles. Please help me do it.”

Hunting Apostles. No matter how I looked at it, that was the thing I had to do in this world.