Upon arriving at the Guild House, our party hurriedly unpacked before heading down to the basement. After some thought, I had decided to join them in checking the body.
I initially wanted to talk with Lee Jihye, but I figured it could wait after. This decision was reinforced upon seeing her nod, understanding my decision.
However, I knew she was thinking of something else, too. I didn't even need to ask what it was.
'Is she still on that soulmate mindset?'
I had some inkling of what the status system meant about the two of us.
'In fact, we're similar in a lot of ways...'
Following this line of thought, I knew not bringing her in Blue with us was the worst mistake I'd ever made. I knew she had a lot she could have brought to the table.
However, I knew her current position wasn't all that bad, either.
Putting this aside, I bid Jihye a brief farewell before joining others in the basement. Since she was considered an outsider, she was not be allowed in this particular area.
Upon reaching the basement, I saw a neatly organized room. A man was lying inside a coffin decorated with a multitude of white flowers. He looked a little old, and the countless wounds on his face were enough proof of his identity. A beard covered his chin, and gray hair covered his head.
This was our deceased Guild Master.
'Is he in his forties? No... Perhaps he was in his fifties...'
Since aging had slowed due to the influence of magic power, it was hard to pinpoint his exact age. Upon seeing his comfortably closed eyes, never to open again, cries erupted from the group.
"Aaaah!"
"Master..."
"Uncle, you said you would live until the end... Ugh..."
Though I had never met the Guild Master, I still felt sad. Everyone around me had tears in their eyes, and it was obvious what the Guild Master meant to them.
And among them, the one expressing the most intense reaction was Lee Sang-hee.
Before we had gone down, she had a calm composure. However, that composure cracked the moment her eyes landed on the old man.
It wasn't clear what had happened between the two, but I could tell that it was certainly not a normal relationship. Her reaction was similar to seeing a loved one die.
'Or, perhaps, a lover...?'
That wasn't a convincing guess, however.
Soon, the rest of us decided it would be best to leave Lee Sang-hee alone. The second unit slowly made their way up the steps, and our seventh unit followed suit.
However, Kim Hyunsung must have had a different idea, for he stayed by Lee Sang-hee's side.
"He must have already gone to a better place."
Meanwhile, Sun Hee-young cast a divine prayer towards the body and then went on her way. I did the same and soon was moving upstairs, with Jung Hayan clinging onto my arm.
"Hayan."
"Yes, Oppa?"
"Have you felt anything weird?"
"What are you talking about?"
"About the flow of magic power within the Guild Master's body... Or, I don't know, some traces of other types of magic. I'm not sensitive to this sort of thing, so I couldn't tell."
