Chapter 77: The Poker Face and the Blue Shirt

“First of all… you are Priest Delwing, correct?”

At my question, the man raised his head slightly and gave a miniscule nod. It was a movement so faint that one might have missed it with a blink. Even seeing it, I was halfway unsure if he’d actually answered.

He must be incredibly introverted. Or maybe he’s just that wary of us.

Getting information out of him was going to be an uphill battle. I glanced toward Sephiroth, but he looked like he had zero intention of helping. He was wandering leisurely around the room, inspecting things as if he owned the place.

Fine. I’ll do it myself.

“Um, we’re here on a recommendation from Lord Doltec.”

“……Yes.”

“I heard you might know something about the pearl.”

“…….”

Delwing, who had been sitting stiffly, turned his gaze toward me for the first time. The emotion in his shaded grey eyes was not kindness. I had expected caution, but the faint trace of hostility was a surprise. Was there a reason to show animosity just because I mentioned the pearl?

“I know nothing.”

Delwing’s words were heavy, his voice so raspy it sounded like nails scraping a wall. As he spoke, he looked me straight in the eye for the first time.

“The pearl you are looking for is not with me.”

“Oh, well, do you perhaps know anything—”

“I do not.”

His voice sounded exhausted, yet it was firm. Beneath his navy robe, his eyes were filled with resolve. What do I have to say to get an answer? Just as I was stammering, caught off guard by his impenetrable wall, a voice cut in.

“Ignas.”

“…!”

“Do you know him?”

It was Sephiroth.

The moment the name Ignas was uttered, Delwing’s demeanor shifted subtly. Because I was focusing entirely on his face, I was certain of it. He momentarily bit his lower lip and his expression hardened, his grey eyes trembling as they lost focus.

Delwing’s head creaked upward, as if trying to meet Sephiroth’s eyes. I followed his gaze and looked back at my partner.

Sephiroth was standing behind the sofa I was sitting on, gripping the backrest with both hands and leaning forward. If there had been a light behind him, I would have been trapped in his shadow. He was staring directly at Delwing—a surprisingly proactive move for someone who usually left all NPC interactions to me.

“Judging by your reaction, you two are acquainted.”

“…….”

“What were you doing when Doltec captured Ignas?”

“You……”

I could feel emotions boiling over in that gravelly, cracked voice. Dozens of thoughts seemed to flash across Delwing’s face: anger, then remorse, longing, fear, and finally, hatred.

“Something definitely happened, then.”

“…….”

“Did you cooperate with Doltec when he used Ignas?”

Sephiroth, who had been firing off sharp questions, went back to being silent the moment I spoke up. I wasn’t sure why he suddenly brought up Ignas’s name, but I could ask him later. Did he find some evidence while he was rummaging through the room? Well, since this is a game, searching the house from the start probably was the right move.

Delwing’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“……It… it wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it?”

“…….”

He glared at me as if he wanted to kill me. It was a look full of resentment, as if it were my fault he had to talk about this.

Hey, what did I do? I’m just doing a quest. He’s the one who brought up Ignas…

I felt a bit wronged, but there was no time to explain. Delwing’s fists were clenched so tight they were shaking.

“How do you people even know the name Ignas? There’s no way Doltec would know that name……”

“Ignas told us himself.”

“……Impossible.”

He shook his head violently, denying my words. His grey-streaked hair swayed with the motion. His intense denial was flustering, but I was carefully recording every bit of info. Delwing began rubbing his thumbs together with an anxious, restless motion.

“Lord Ignas said it was his first time seeing a race other than the mermen. If you were close enough for him to give you his name, he wouldn’t have said such a thing. Unless… you are mermen.”

He glanced at my legs.

“You don’t appear to be mermen.”

It was clear there wasn’t a shred of trust. If I told him we met Ignas’s soul-thing through a pearl, he probably wouldn’t believe that either. Trying to squeeze out an answer was giving me a headache.

“Doesn’t the fact that we even know his name prove something?”

“You could have eavesdropped on it somewhere.”

“From whom?”

“…….”

Delwing shut his mouth tight. He glared at the floor while I glared at the top of his head, both of us locked in a silent standoff. Just as it felt like the silence would never break, Sephiroth tapped my shoulder.

“What?”

“I think we need something more. Let’s head out for now.”

“Really?”

“For starters, we haven’t hit the Diamond League in the Battlegrounds yet.”

True. The quest had two requirements: One, find Delwing. Two, reach the Diamond League. It was a reasonable guess that the two were linked.

“He definitely knows about Ignas, but he’s not going to spill easily.”

“How did you know he knew Ignas anyway?”

“There was a diary over there, so I took a peek. The name Ignas was written in it.”

Is it okay to just look at someone’s diary? Well, I guess he is an NPC…

Because of Sephiroth’s past behavior, I kept finding myself judging his actions through a skeptical lens.

Feeling a bit apologetic, I stood beside Sephiroth. I stood on my tiptoes to see the cover of the diary he was holding behind his armor.

“What does it say?”

“Nothing much, really. No big info. Just ‘Lord Ignas’ written there.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah. And a lot of ellipses. Want to see?”

“……Um, no thanks.”

It still felt icky to think about reading someone’s diary—especially right in front of them. The downside of an overly realistic VR game, I suppose. When I waved him off, Sephiroth just nodded, seemingly having expected that reaction.

“At least we found Delwing’s house. That’s a win.”

“Yeah. Let’s come back after we hit the Diamond League.”

Sephiroth held out a fist. I balled mine and lightly bumped it against his. In the moments we were actually playing the game, there was no better partner than him.

After Monday, the day you can’t believe has returned, comes Tuesday, the day that just makes you angry. Even though it was a Tuesday stained with lectures, school work didn’t occupy a single corner of my mind today. The only thing I could think about was the group meeting with Na Eun-hyeok.

“Ah, what do I do!”

I stayed up all night finishing my assigned problems. To be honest, I was so nervous that I ended up solving the problems for Eun-hyeok’s part, too. If he said he was sorry for not finishing them, I’d say, “It’s okay, I did them.” I simulated the conversation perfectly in my head, but I knew the truth. The moment I saw him, the simulation would crumble, and I’d be left as a stuttering mess.

I couldn’t let that happen. Even Gyu-tae was convinced I hated Na Eun-hyeok. Me? Na Eun-hyeok? It was ridiculous, but I knew it probably looked that way to others. There was a high chance Eun-hyeok thought I was uncomfortable around him, too.

Maybe the reason he was so nice to me was because he thought I was uncomfortable.

Aaaargh, that’s not it!

I was bound to be awkward at the meeting today. I’d gotten a bit better at looking at him without shaking, but my mouth still occasionally blurted out things I hadn’t even thought of, surprising me. This might be my last chance to be involved with him; I couldn’t let it pass while leaving a negative impression. I had to do something.

I racked my brain desperately. I think I focused harder than I did for my final exams.

I headed toward the business school classroom I’d reserved. Room 334—a room people couldn’t agree was on the 2.5th floor or the 3rd floor—was a tiny space that felt full with just six people. Above the light-blue plastic door was a long, rectangular pane of clear glass. Through it, I could see the back of Na Eun-hyeok’s head as he sat facing away.

Naturally, even the back of his head is handsome.

Tension immediately flooded my body. My heart pounded as if I’d just run a hundred-meter dash. I licked my parched lips, feeling the rough texture of dry skin.

Calm down, Un-ha. You can do this.

“You’re here?”

Na Eun-hyeok turned around as I opened the door. His light-blue shirt complemented the white table perfectly. His sleeves were unbuttoned and rolled up twice, revealing well-defined forearms with faint blue veins. I walked toward him, trying my best not to look awkward.

Wait—my right foot and right hand are moving forward at the same time!

Oh no, Un-ha! The dreaded “robot walk” in front of your crush! Do you try to play it off as a weird stretch, or just freeze in place before you trip over your own feet?

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