Chapter 34: A Guide on the Edge

“Sss.

Sit properly.”

“Fuuungh….”

“What are you sighing about?

Can’t you be quiet?”

I can’t breathe.

My palms are sweating so much from nerves that I’ve already wiped them on my pants several times.

Even though the scolding isn’t directed at me, it feels like it is — my heart clenches every time.

The reason I’m so on edge is because of the “training session” happening in the living room.

“…Jaeyul, maybe that’s enough…?

I-I mean, talking to a beast won’t make him understand… r-right…?”

“Hyung.

This is exactly why Ppoppi keeps acting out — because you baby him.

Look at this mess.

He destroyed every single thing you worked hard to buy.

This isn’t something we can just ‘forgive as an accident.’”

…He’s not at fault.

He only did all that trying to protect you, you brat….

Ppoppi glanced at me with pleading eyes.

As if to say: *You caused this situation.

Fix it.*

“W-well, you know… dogs chew up everything when they’re teething….”

“That’s cats, hyung.

And how old is Ppoppi?

Why would he be teething?”

“Oh…?

R-right… yeah…”

I tried to help Ppoppi a little because he looked so pitiful, but this kid is too smart to be fooled.

Given how the house currently looks, it’s not something I can explain away anyway.

Even if a dog were teething, how would that explain smashing a TV into dust?

“Enough.

You go rest!”

“Hyung, resting isn’t the issue—”

“Sss!

Listen.

If you don’t rest properly after awakening, you could suffer long-term effects!

Go lie down on your bed.

Now.”

I made my expression stern and spoke firmly.

Honestly — this was the perfect excuse.

And Jaeyul did need rest.

Sure, it hurts a little to see our only safe house ruined, but as long as Jaeyul is fine, that’s all that matters.

Furniture can be replaced.

“…Fine.

Ppoppi, expect round two later.”

Flinch.

As Jaeyul disappeared into his room, Ppoppi’s small back trembled violently.

I really don’t understand why this beast is so scared of him.

I yell more than he does.

“…Sorry, Ppoppi….”

“Pffff.”

“Ppoppi…”

Ah.

Crap.

He’s seriously sulking.

With just the two of us left in the living room, I tried apologizing quietly, but he ignored me completely.

He waddled to the entryway, sat with his back facing me, and stared blankly at the door.

His signature sulking pose.

The “I refuse to interact” protest.

How much meat bribe will it take to fix this…?

My head already aches.

“Haa… my pathetic life…”

A teenage brother and a sulky monster-pet.

Life is hard.

I should at least start cleaning the house.

“Hmmm…”

Tap, tap, tap.

I absentmindedly tapped my desk with my finger in the shop.

Since I had to pick up a secondhand TV later this evening, I opened the shop to kill time — but strangely, there were no customers.

Not even one.

Hours passed.

Normally we always get at least a couple of people.

But today, silence filled the shop like suffocating air.

“What is this?

Did everyone get arrested or something…?”

I need to guide people to earn money for replacing the furniture…

This felt too weird.

I stepped outside the shop to check.

When I reached the entrance of the building—

“We said the shop’s closed.

Get lost, asshole.”

I froze.

A bunch of large men were blocking the doorway like a wall, preventing anyone from entering.

Faces covered — but obviously the Six-Pointed-Star bastards.

“What the hell are you doing?

You really crossed the line, huh?”

Even thugs have limits.

Threatening someone’s livelihood is the lowest of the low.

And they’d been stalking me and sending photos too.

I’d been holding back, but not anymore.

I grabbed one guy’s shoulder and pushed mana straight into him.

“Urgh…!”

His internal mana flow collapsed instantly and the huge guy fell down foaming at the mouth.

A glance confirmed it — Six-Pointed-Star scum.

“So you’re Jin Sehyun, huh?

Our boss was right — feisty.

But aren’t you the one crossing lines?

Killing our officer, ignoring our offer…

How long did you think we’d ask nicely?”

A new voice spoke.

Somewhat young.

Familiar.

My mind flashed to a certain face.

“…You!”

As he stepped forward, I understood why the voice felt familiar.

“Well, well?

You know me?

Guess I’m famous now.”

Know you?

Of course.

Tak Younghoon.

How could I ever forget you.

Back at the academy, I once came dangerously close to dying.

I was still inexperienced with controlling my dark flame.

While supporting a gate-break near the academy, monsters surrounded me — and this bastard shoved me further into the swarm and ran away alone.

“…So you were a mercenary.”

Mercenaries can’t enter the academy, so I have no idea what lies he used to sneak in.

But he was my paired partner that day — and abandoned me deliberately.

Later, during the investigation, he said, “Sehyun rushed out alone because he wanted glory.”

Bullshit.

Everyone knew he hated me.

“Of course I’m a mercenary.

What else?”

He was young — barely around twenty now — and apparently a B-rank officer of the Six-Pointed-Star.

To this day, I never understood why he despised me enough to try killing me.

I never wronged him.

And objectively, we weren’t even competitors — I was already rated SS-tier back then, while he was just B-rank.

Every time we met in the field after that, he caused trouble on purpose.

He was always trying to screw me over.

“So you get it.

No more nice offers.

I don’t know why our boss wants you this badly…

But join.

Now.”

He conjured several ice spears around him.

A threat disguised as an offer.

“How unfortunate.

I already hated the idea of joining you before.

Now I’m absolutely never joining.”

I’d rather stick my head inside a monster’s jaws than work alongside Tak Younghoon.

His ice spears looked flimsy.

Probably overexerting himself to show off.

“You little—!”

“This isn’t the time to yell, Younghoon.”

I kicked the huge guy on the ground toward him.

The heavy body rolled and distracted him.

In that moment, I ducked into his blind spot and grabbed his neck.

“Wh-what…!

Let go, you bastard!”

A combat-type Esper, but so sloppy.

I couldn’t fully restrain someone taller than me, but I wrapped one hand around his neck and the other around his waist — enough to touch him with both hands.

“Haven’t you heard?

There’s a crazy guide around here.”

His subordinates charged.

I was outnumbered — but I had one dirty trick left.

“Ugh—!

W-what are you—

ARGH!”

“Stop right there.

Unless you want to plan this kid’s funeral.”

I violently disrupted his mana.

He had a lot of mana — if not for the surprise attack, his ice spears might’ve impaled me.

It worked.

His men froze, terrified.

Finally — a moment to breathe.

“You bastard…

You think you’ll get away with—

Agh!

I’m talking!”

“Shut up.

I’m barely resisting the urge to kill you.”

There’s no way to destroy the entire Six-Pointed-Star organization.

Not with my current state.

But I couldn’t just let them keep targeting me.

If they kept pushing, they would eventually reach Jaeyul.

Better to make them focus solely on me.

And hell — it’s Tak Younghoon.

Just seeing him makes my blood boil.

“Kh…!

S-stop…!”

I’d gone too far.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

I almost killed him.

“Tell your boss this.

Stop your bullshit.

I’m never joining your mercenary group.

Come again — and it won’t end with just one or two deaths.”

“…B-bastard…

Just wait…

Ghk…!”

Sure.

I’ve never met someone who said “just wait” and was actually intimidating.

Tak Younghoon collapsed unconscious, even shedding bloody tears.

Pathetic.

“Take him and get lost.”

The rest didn’t dare attack.

The moment their officer fell, their will to fight evaporated.

Even as they dragged him away, my chest felt heavy.

A sense of dread washed over me.

An ominous feeling.

Like something terrible — something I might not be able to handle — was coming.