episode_0054

He asked suddenly.

As if wary of an enemy.

Ceres, with Dobberman as his partner, bared his teeth despite facing a small, fluffy dog.

“I heard that the Guild Master has finished his work and returned. But why is the Guild Master leaving the home and staying here?”

“Oh? I’m not staying permanently, just backtracking for a bit~!”

– Backtracking?

“I stopped by the 20th floor to check the presence of the Seat. I also confirmed if the village where the fairies reside has moved. I was taking a break and working on some mapping~. Especially the fairy village, I wanted to be prepared in case any victims from this level appear~!”

Hehe~!

She raised her round glasses and shook her hips.

“Have you met the Seat?”

“I didn’t meet him, just observed from afar. I peeked from the top of the 20th floor and saw a knight laying a mat on the lawn in front of the bridge with a gate, repeating the same annoying words ‘When will they come~ When will they come~’, thankfully I didn’t count~!”

When the 5th ranker laughed and spoke, the identity of that Seat immediately came to mind.

As expected, the Knight of Pure Love is guarding the 20th floor.

“And one more. A knight who shines brightly like something precious was sitting next to that knight, sipping tea.”

“Hmm. Are you saying there are two of them?”

“Yes~! One is the kind of knight we associate with the Middle Ages. And the other one is sparkling like they’ve maxed out RGB to 255.255.255~! They look like they were carved from marble!”

One of them is unknown.

One is definitely the Knight of Pure Love, but could the Seat have two?

“Is that the Spearhead Brother~? Since the summoning~!”

She casually mentioned such high-level information.

Her long, messy hair may have seemed dirty, but because she was such a beauty, she turned it into a unique charm.

Calling me Brother might be a kind of role-playing…?

“Call me Soon-i.”

“Call me Soon~! Even though I look like this, I’m younger than you~!”

That’s how it seems.

If she looks older than me, then something is wrong with the world.

“Yes~! As you can see, a fresh 24-year-old! The selling point is my sturdy calves built from hiking~! My hobbies are hiking and map-making! I dislike the Tower’s curse! The nickname Soon-i was given by the seniors when I first joined the guild~!”

-Cute like a puppy.

-Well-behaved.

-Gentle.

-Friendly.

“So, Soon-i~! It might sound like I’m treating you like a puppy, but I don’t mind being called that now~! My preferences are still normal, so don’t worry!”

‘As long as she feels the Tower’s calling.’

She was naturally high-spirited and assertive.

She also seemed friendly and eager to make friends.

At first glance, she seemed like a good person, but Ceres remained cautious.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“This girl has a tendency to cover herself with bushes and dislikes being watched.”

“Huh?”

Really?

When I looked down again, her sharp gaze pierced me.

“It’s a misunderstanding~! I do argue with Brother Sung-yeon often, but it’s a difference in opinions, not emotions~!”

“Despite that, you seem to be prying into unnecessary things.”

“All my opinions are for the guild and the Tower, I don’t have any ill intentions~!”

She laughed while dodging the question.

The gentle atmosphere had disappeared, and it was definitely not my fault.

I thought we might end up arguing, so I tried to go with the flow.

“But are you two lovers?”

“Grr!”

Ceres stepped back.

It was a completely natural question.

We asked Sun why she was here, so it’s only natural for her to ask the same question back.

“Why do you think that…?”

“If you were a Ranker with such a glorious past that everyone knows about, wouldn’t you notice when a man is standing here with his arms crossed and pushing his chest out in this floor?”

“…Tsk.”

It was an undeniable defeat.

Seress’s defeat.

If she had distanced herself from us, she could have made excuses, but instead, our housekeeper pressed closer to my side.

“Oh. Is Lady Seress trying to hide her embarrassment by acting like this towards a man… Could it be that the Tower will collapse tomorrow?”

Jingle, jingle.

She skipped around us with light footsteps, as if teasing a friend.

“Are you two dating? Oh, I thought you would only date Senior Sungyeon or another woman, so this is really unexpected~.”

“Don’t tease us. We are not in that kind of relationship.”

“Really?”

“Yes… Master Changgi has someone he is dating separately….”

“Huh? Huh huh huh huh???”

Sun couldn’t understand and continued to circle around us.

Especially behind us.

“There are traces of a man on Lady’s neck or chest… and traces of lipstick on Master’s neck… ”

It’s obvious.

Trying to hide it in this state is foolish.

“Well, maybe they got injured during the Tower climb?”

“Oh, Lady Seress is so flustered~! Oh, you had a girlfriend, right? So, are you having an affair? Is that why you sneaked into the Tower to enjoy some intimate moments~??”

“That’s not it….”

Continuing like this would only deepen the misunderstanding, so I cut her off here.

“-I got permission from my girlfriend to have a fling.”

“Master Changgi!?”

At times like this, it’s best to just hit the nail on the head to avoid misunderstandings.

My European sister next to me was confused, but Sun seemed to understand.

“Oh~! This kind of relationship exists in the Tower too! Since there are many men who are in open relationships inside the Tower, there’s no need to be embarrassed~!!”

“…Is that so?”

“It’s a bit suspicious that the other party is Lady Seress. I wonder if you’ve been brainwashed or something~?”

Her reasonable opinion made me angry again.

If earlier I felt like dominating the room slowly, now I felt like a predator ready to pounce.

“Have I fallen so low as to be brainwashed and treated like a fling?”

“Noong~! Really! Since the other party is Lady Seress, it’s a bit suspicious, so I thought I should mention it~!”

“……….”

The air in the room returned.

Sun’s opinion was valid.

If anyone who knew Seress’s past saw her in this situation, they would definitely suspect brainwashing.

“Did Master take care of Lady? Oh, how sweet~! Really!?”

“Where is the fool who teaches a chatty parrot like you to swear?”

“Oh, just us girls~! Let’s talk about love~! Love sto-ry~!”

“It’s creepy, so please stay away.”

When Sun clung to me, I pushed her away.

Her rank of 5th place was nothing as she rolled around on the floor of the sauna.

“Is it okay to do that to the Guild Master?”

“That person is also a pants-wearer. After the disappearance of the guild master, Don Quixote, she took control herself.”

“I’m trying my best~!?”

“How’s that going? Lately, it seems like there’s a lot of noise. Are you worried that the guild might collapse?”

“Oh, you’re interrupting our date. Saying something about the guild is too much~!”

“Kkueuk~~!”

No matter what I said, Seress returned to her old self.

Poor thing.

Unable to bear any more embarrassment, the aura from my side dispersed and fled, leaving me and Sun to look pitifully at Seress.

“What on earth happened… for Seress to show such a side… really….”

I didn’t say that.

In a moment, with a low-pitched voice, I sincerely admired.

…The voice that revealed the concept was unexpectedly deep and mellow.

To put it nicely, it was dignified, but to put it bluntly, it was a voice that suited the somewhat shabby appearance.

“Ahem. Did you come to take a checkpoint photo up to the 19th floor, sir~?”

“Since the layout here is unique, they say it opens even without conquering the 20th floor.”

“Yes. Once you receive the buff, you can teleport right in front of me~.”

Sun-i sat down at her spot and I followed suit.

On the makeshift desk laid out in front of us, a newly drawn map was spread out widely.

Even though I was ignorant about maps, it was clear that this was not something one could create alone.

“This will be distributed starting tomorrow~! How do you like it~!?”

“Wow, this is amazing. It’s incomparable to the makeshift maps sold by guilds.”

“That’s a mini version, this is the map used by me and the executives~!”

The expansive 11th floor was detailed on the map.

From the buildings in this area, to what is sold in the shops, and even the existence of hidden passages, everything was recorded. In front of this map, the lower floors were laid bare, almost as if stripped naked and forcibly exposed.

“I found that there were no changes from the 11th to the 18th floor~! So I thought of surveying more accurately~!”

She boasted proudly.

I also admired, praised a few more times, and asked again.

“If there were no changes up to the 18th floor, did something change on the 20th floor?”

“Yes~! The entrance location changed slightly? Fortunately, there were no casualties since no one had to challenge the gate to reach this floor~!”

Well, it is a resting floor.

If you want to rest, you can do so on the 16th floor, and there is no reason to reach the 19th floor.

Maybe just for the checkpoint?

There is no reason to head to the 20th floor after marking the checkpoint….

“People are aiming to break through the gate or deceive others?”

“That kind of sinister intention is thick in the air~! Oh, just in case, I’ll give you the map of the 19th floor! Please pass it on to Lady Seres~!”

“Isn’t this expensive? Can I just give this to her?”

I promised to pass it on and received the map.

It was broad and hefty.

“I think work is almost done, shall we head back~!”

“Why. Since we’ve met, shouldn’t we stay a bit longer?”

“Here, it’s basically a couple’s spot, and it’s a bit awkward for us to intrude….”

It was a reasonable statement.

As I carefully took the map, I felt sorry if we had caused any trouble.

“Come to think of it, are you planning to conquer it?”

“What?”

“The 20th floor.”

“I didn’t come here with that intention. I just came to rest.”

“Oh, I see~?”

She seemed to know something.

“No, if you don’t know, then it must not be true~! Anyway, I’ll be going. See you later at the Tower of Dawn~!”

I rolled up the map and stuffed it into my travel bag, then rushed towards the wall.

Thud!

Clearly hitting the wall, I fell backward.

Is this what reporters do?

“Ouch, that hurts~!”

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, wait a moment. This is the activation condition for my skill….”

-Ping!

He disappeared right after finishing his sentence.

“What the.”

The orange sauna suit and key left lying on the floor.

The 5th ranker I had just met disappeared with a poof right after hitting the wall.