Seongguk – Transaction (2)

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Ian’s path to meeting Lena was never smooth.

Even he had to expend a lot of effort and time.

This was all because Lena wasn’t where she was supposed to be.

“Annie, do you at least know where Lena is?”

“Um… Lena should be in the Underground Prison right now. Jade said she’d be locked up there until the inauguration.”

“Then I’ll go there right away. Wait here.”

“N-Now?!”

Ian headed straight to the Underground Prison for a quick resolution.

‘…She’s really not here.’

He couldn’t find any trace of Lena anywhere in the prison.

The plan was faltering from the very beginning.

In the end, Ian had no choice but to return to Annie.

“Oh…? Did you already meet her?”

“Lena isn’t in the Underground Prison. Haven’t you heard any other news?”

“R-Really?! Then did those bad guys take Lena somewhere else? If not, could it be….”

“Calm down. I’ll search the Great Temple first.”

They had no concrete clues about Lena’s location.

The only remaining option was for Ian to search the Great Temple thoroughly himself.

Of course, asking the people inside the Great Temple was also possible…

‘There’s no need to take the risk.’

The risk of the Pope finding out about his plan and intentions was too high.

While searching the Great Temple alone, the worst-case scenarios that came to Ian’s mind were twofold.

The first was that Lena had been transferred to a place other than the Great Temple.

If that were the case, he would have to search the entire Holy Kingdom, and even using magic, it wouldn’t be easy to find her.

The second was that Lena had already been ‘taken care of.’

There’s one fact everyone knows.

[The dead cannot speak.]

The incident had already been concluded as Lena’s betrayal in collusion with the Demons.

If Lena’s mouth were shut here, the truth would never be known.

Fortunately, however, the situation Ian feared did not occur.

As he was wandering around the Great Temple,

He happened to overhear a secret conversation between the Holy Knights.

“Hey, are you going to the welfare facility as soon as your shift ends?”

“Sounds good. I’ve got a lot built up too. I need to shoot my semen out.”

‘…Welfare facility, huh.’

There are various facilities for welfare inside the Great Temple.

However, they generally use specific names such as lounges and gyms, and do not refer to them collectively as welfare facilities.

Moreover, the strange expression of ‘shooting’ at the welfare facility was suspicious.

‘There’s something there.’

Ian, sensing something, followed the Holy Knights.

And he finally discovered the hidden place and was able to find Lena.

**

“It was nice meeting you today.”

Lena was waving her hand lightly.

‘Ha… This is driving me crazy.’

Ian pinched his forehead as he watched her.

A little while ago, he spoke as if everything was in his hands.

But it was an action filled with some emotion and bravado.

The time and effort already spent finding Lena were too great. Considering the benefits the Magic Tower could gain from this incident, even more so.

The most important part was the promise he made with his sister.

Having declared to Annie that he would meet Lena, he couldn’t return empty-handed.

To others, Ian is always seen as self-centered and arrogant.

But he was different when it came to his younger sister, Annie.

Calming his fluctuating emotions, Ian slowly scrutinized Lena’s face.

At first, he thought it was just bravado to gain an advantage in the negotiation.

‘Even so… I can’t understand that attitude.’

Lena didn’t seem to have any regrets about Ian leaving.

Objectively, Lena’s situation was close to the worst.

Yet, she was kicking away the rope of hope that had fallen from the sky.

It was an action only possible if she was sure that Ian wouldn’t give up on her.

‘…There’s no way a bitch who has sex outside would do that.’

She’s just so confident because she has no thoughts.

Shaking his head, Ian turned back to Lena.

“Haa….”

“Oh? Why did you come back?”

Lena tilted her head as if she didn’t understand Ian.

“Did you suddenly change your mind?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell you why I came. You sent a letter to Annie asking for help, right?”

“…Yes. But how do you know that?”

“Annie is my younger sister.”

“Oh….”

Lena froze with her mouth open.

“Annie thought it was impossible to help you on her own, and she asked me, who happened to be staying at the Great Temple, for cooperation. And I used my ‘precious’ time to find you, who is imprisoned here.”

‘I wonder how she’ll react now.’

I can’t believe it. Show me the evidence. Prove it.

These were the reactions Ian expected Lena to show.

Of course, he had all the answers to the questions prepared.

“You might not believe it, but—”

“…Now I understand why you’re acting like this here. Even showing off how much you hate me.”

But Lena believed Ian’s words without much suspicion.

“You’re taking my word for it?”

“Of course, it doesn’t make sense that a brother and sister are in the Great Temple by chance. But seeing your dirty personality and old man-like speech, you’re definitely Annie’s brother. Annie told me a lot about you.”

“…I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my personality. I’m just treating each person according to their worth.”

“Thoughts are free. I don’t think this is the first time you’ve heard that?”

“No one has ever said that to my face.”

“They must have been afraid of the consequences. Well, fine. Then I’ll think of it as a generous personality… I’ll drop the honorifics from now on.”

Lena shrugged lightly.

“It’s okay, right? You’re not going to get angry about something like this, are you?”

“You, you….”

Ian almost showed an emotional reaction again for a moment.

Lena’s skill in subtly scratching at his temper since earlier was extraordinary.

‘Yeah. It’s best to ignore the nonsense of a crazy bitch.’

Fortunately, he was able to maintain his composure this time.

“Haa… Whether you use casual or polite language is not important to me. Do as you please.”

“Hehe. Then I’ll keep talking comfortably.”

“Anyway, I’ve told you what you wanted, and now it’s your turn to explain everything you know.”

“I’m sorry, but… can you magically clean me up one last time?”

“What?”

“My body is too sticky….”

“Haa….”

Even Lena, who had been confident until now, seemed embarrassed and fidgeted with her fingers.

Her body was still covered in the semen of the priests from earlier.

‘Instead of having pointless arguments… it’s better to just do what she wants.’

Too lazy to argue, Ian lightly waved his hand.

-Swish.

Then, the filth on Lena’s body disappeared in an instant.

The reddish marks were still there, but she looked much better than before.

Lena smiled brightly, satisfied with her clean body.

“Thank you!”

“….”

But Ian was just standing there blankly.

“Ian?”

“…Ahem!”

Only after Lena called his name did Ian clear his throat and come to his senses.

“You suddenly look dazed. Is something wrong?”

“I was just thinking about something else.”

Ian pretended to be nonchalant on the outside, but…

‘No way.’

He was feeling a great deal of confusion inside.

Until now, he hadn’t felt anything even when seeing Lena’s naked body.

But the moment he first saw Lena’s naked body, cleaned by magic, and her bright smile.

[Beautiful.]

He clearly recognized the thought that struck his mind and the reaction of his body at the same time.

‘…I, of all people, felt desire for a woman like that?’

Ian couldn’t just deny it as a misunderstanding.

There was no way a Wizard who had reached a high level wouldn’t be aware of changes in his body.

The male instinct to react to a woman’s body is something everyone has.

Ian was just offended that he felt emotions for Lena, whom he had been ignoring.

‘Am I in bad shape because I’ve been stressed for the past few days? I should rest when I get back.’

In the end, Ian subtly turned his gaze to the side while rationalizing himself.

“Hurry up and explain.”

“Um… where should I start?”

The only fortunate thing was that Lena didn’t seem to notice his strangeness.

“There’s plenty of time, so explain from beginning to end. I’ll take care of it if anyone comes.”

“Okay. First, when I first came to the Holy Kingdom…”

Lena told Ian everything from her first meeting with the Pope.

“I was careless at this time. I never dreamed that the Pope would try to get rid of me out of the blue. And the Pope has an Artifact….”

She even revealed the things she had done while hypnotized by the Artifact.

“That’s all I know. It’s your choice whether to believe it or not.”

“I’ll think about it for a moment, so wait.”

After hearing everything, Ian crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

In his opinion, Lena’s claims were credible enough.

Brainwashing using Artifacts.

The division of the Hero Party.

Ambition through war.

None of it was a simple matter.

‘The Pope was definitely not an easy opponent.’

Ian completely changed his assessment of the Pope.

At first glance, the Pope is a greedy and foolish pig who is blinded by money.

But the hidden truth was that the Pope was an ‘evil man’ with dangerous ambitions and meticulousness.

The reason for the conflict with the Magic Tower and Potions was clearly preparation for war.

“I’ll understand if you say you can’t trust me. All the evidence points to me. All of this is… my fault for making a fatal mistake.”

“Hmm… Well, the story seems to fit together roughly. The contradictory appearance of confessing to the Hero and then claiming innocence now is also understandable.”

“R-Really?”

Lena’s face lit up for a moment at Ian’s positive response.

But she was soon plunged back into gloom by Ian’s next words.

“Even so, it’s still not enough to completely believe your words.”

“Ugh… But there’s nothing more I can show you here. If you help me escape, I’ll get the evidence—”

“There’s no need for that. I have a good method.”

“…What is it?”

Ian held out his hand to Lena.

“It’s simple. Make a contract with me.”