I was not particularly surprised by the other person’s reaction.

I had never expected them to welcome Jang Taeheon with open arms in the first place.

It would have been stranger if they had welcomed an outsider from another zone staking a claim in their territory.

Since we would soon leave the Education Facility and never see each other again, I placated them appropriately.

“He doesn’t seem like a bad person after talking with him. I brought him here because I judged he would be helpful to our zone, so please don’t worry too much.”

“If you say so, Mr. Seo Kangrim… Well, still, please be careful.”

The other person still seemed uneasy, but soon left.

It didn’t matter, as I wouldn’t be seeing them for long anyway.

The real problem was the Flying Tiger Sect party.

In my past life, Shin Sooa and Jang Taeheon had cooperated and quickly formed a friendly relationship, but in this life, they had no such point of contact.

Neither of them had particularly abrasive personalities, so I didn’t think there would be any major issues.

Just as I was about to return to the cafeteria to talk with Jang Taeheon first, a lively voice echoed from somewhere.

“Ah, Seo Kangrim! So you were here.”

Dokgo Jun, appearing in the hallway, approached me with a friendly expression as soon as he saw me.

Despite having caused such a massive uproar in the Snake’s Room, he looked completely unbothered.

He glanced at my face and spoke.

“That’s a scar left from the venom, right? It’s cool. Suits you well.”

“If you like it, shall I make one for you? If I ask the dragon, he can make it in no time.”

The dragon and Rini, who had followed me out of the cafeteria, were lingering at my feet.

The dragon glanced up at Dokgo Jun and immediately grew wary.

Dokgo Jun looked at the dragon and Rini with curious eyes and spoke.

“That’s not bad either, but next time. By the way, doesn’t this guy have a name?”

As expected, I needed to give him a name.

I was terrible at this sort of thing in many ways, so nothing immediately came to mind.

I racked my brain for a moment before opening my mouth.

“Let’s go with Yonggari.”

“Are you serious?”

“…Then Yongdori.”

Dokgo Jun gave me a look as if he were staring at a pathetic creature.

For even Dokgo Jun, of all people, to look at me like that.

“Then let’s go with Yorongi.”

“Isn’t that a snake’s name?”

“Where did that come from?”

“It’s an old cartoon, don’t you know it? It’s based on the Twelve Zodiac. Ttolgi, Tteongi, Hochi, Saechomi…”

“I don’t know it. Even if it’s a snake’s name, if you give it to a dragon, it becomes a dragon’s name.”

The dragon—no, Yorongi—wore a sullen expression, making it hard to tell if he liked it or not.

He was merely slapping the floor with his tail—tak, tak.

Dokgo Jun watched Yorongi quietly before breaking into a grin.

“You picked up something else besides a dragon, didn’t you? Some guy named Jang Taeheon. Why did you bring him?”

Was he now taking an interest in Jang Taeheon as well?

I had expected as much from Dokgo Jun.

Since he was far more dangerous when interested than when hostile, I gave a noncommittal answer.

“He seemed useful. His abilities aren’t bad, and after talking with him, we seemed to get along well enough.”

“Hmm, really? Well, he didn’t look bad as a meat shield. But that’s not all there is to it, is it?”

Dokgo Jun believed I was a regressor or a possessor.

As such, he was likely guessing there was a deeper meaning to bringing Jang Taeheon along.

Of course, I had no intention of playing along with his tune.

“Even if there were a meaning, I have no intention of telling you. You’ve got some nerve, causing such a mess in the Snake’s Room.”

“The Snake’s Room… Right. You really are like a protagonist.”

Dokgo Jun looked slightly intimidated.

He even seemed a little regretful.

“I reflected on it a bit.”

“About what?”

“Just… I think I was too lacking.”

What part of him could possibly be lacking?

He had done more than enough crazy things.

Still, since he had drawn Gangcheol’s attention for me, I decided to cut him some slack.

Dokgo Jun muttered with a peculiar expression.

“It doesn’t seem like I was much help to you. At this rate, I’ll just be… Ah.”

Dokgo Jun, who had been muttering as if possessed by a ghost, suddenly looked up and turned around.

Shin Sooa was approaching from the direction of the cafeteria.

Upon seeing her, Dokgo Jun flashed a strange smile and reverted to his usual cheerful demeanor.

“Well then, I’ll be going first. I have a deadline to meet.”

“A deadline? Don’t tell me, your novel?”

“Of course. I’m a novelist, after all. I took a hiatus, so I need to do a mass release.”

To think he was still writing a novel in this situation.

I couldn’t tell if he was incredibly diligent or just a madman.

No, there was no real need to distinguish between the two.

Dokgo Jun was a diligent madman.

“Then I’ll be off. See you next time!”

Dokgo Jun said so and brushed past Shin Sooa.

He had used a deadline as an excuse, but in reality, it seemed he was avoiding Shin Sooa.

Shin Sooa didn’t spare Dokgo Jun a single glance either, approaching me to strike up a conversation.

“Mr. Kangrim, are you feeling alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine. What about you, Ms. Shin Sooa?”

“I’m perfectly fine. I woke up early and have been resting. Mr. Dokgo Jun didn’t do something again, did he?”

I had sensed the atmosphere between Shin Sooa and Dokgo Jun was unusual earlier; it seemed she had been wary of him.

Well, it was hard to act calmly after seeing him massacre all those snakes in the Snake’s Room.

Because of that, quite a few people had dropped out.

“Nothing happened.”

“That’s a relief. I don’t know what Mr. Dokgo Jun is thinking… The atmosphere has been pretty bad lately because the number of dropouts increased due to him. And with someone crossing over from another zone in the midst of it all, a lot of people are on edge…”

While the majority had dropped out, an outsider like Jang Taeheon had entered the fold.

It was hardly an atmosphere that would welcome him, by anyone’s standards.

Dokgo Jun was also partly to blame for Jang Taeheon’s unwelcoming reception.

“Still, Jang Taeheon doesn’t seem like a bad person. His skills are decent, too.”

“If Mr. Seo Kangrim brought him, he must be a good person.”

She said so, but somehow gave off a rather stiff vibe.

It was likely because Jang Taeheon and Shin Sooa lacked the bond they had shared in the past.

For now, I needed to bring the two of them closer together.

“Have you eaten, Ms. Shin Sooa?”

“Yes. I just came to grab a cup of coffee.”

“Let’s head inside for now.”

I entered the cafeteria with Shin Sooa.

Jang Taeheon, who had been eating alone, glanced at us.

Shin Sooa met his gaze, and they exchanged awkward glances.

“Hello. I’m Shin Sooa, Mr. Seo Kangrim’s colleague.”

“Oh, hello. I’m Jang Taeheon. I was originally from Zone 3, but I transferred to this zone this time. Nice to meet you.”

Jang Taeheon took her hand with an awkward expression.

The two shook hands and let go.

…An awkward silence flowed between them.

“Then enjoy your meal. I’ll see you next time.”

After exchanging greetings with Jang Taeheon, Shin Sooa grabbed her coffee and left the cafeteria.

I had secretly hoped they would at least converse, but she just left like that.

I glanced at Jang Taeheon.

In my past life, Jang Taeheon had followed Shin Sooa quite closely.

The combative Jang Taeheon had been fascinated by Shin Sooa’s strength and had constantly requested sparring matches with her.

Jang Taeheon watched Shin Sooa walk away before asking me.

“Your girlfriend, Hyung?”

“No. Anyway, Hyung?”

“Yeah. If you’re older than me, you’re my Hyung.”

Until recently, he had been calling me ‘hey’ or ‘you bastard,’ but his form of address had grown much friendlier.

It was a relief that he had grown closer to me than expected, but…

Jang Taeheon spoke as he ugeok-ugeok devoured the rest of his food.

“I need to finish eating quickly and go run the Demon Realm. I have to clear it from the beginning, so I need to hurry.”

“Are you planning to do it alone?”

“The people here seem to hate me anyway. And it’s possible to do it alone.”

With Jang Taeheon’s abilities, doing it alone wouldn’t be a problem.

Still, he needed to get close to others, so maybe I should ask the twin siblings or Shin Sooa to accompany him.

While I was having those thoughts, Jang Taeheon stared at me and spoke.

“By the way, Hyung, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have a Guardian God, Hyung?”

When I shook my head, Jang Taeheon’s face seemed to instantly light up.

He spoke with an excited expression.

“Ah, really? I thought you definitely had one, but what a relief! Hyung, I’ll introduce you to a great god!”

…A great god.

He sounded exactly like someone pitching a cult or a pyramid scheme.

My expression must have stiffened, but Jang Taeheon continued without caring.

“My Guardian God, Zhang Fei, really liked you, Hyung!”

“So Zhang Fei wants to make me a Manshin?”

“No, not my Guardian God, but another Guardian God from the same faction wants to recruit you. His Deity Name was the Hero of Born-without-Possession, I think?”

The Hero of Born-without-Possession was Zhang Fei’s older brother and lord, Liu Bei.

He was a great god, enough for anyone else to fall to their knees to receive him, but I had no interest.

“I have no intention of receiving a Guardian God.”

“Ah, why? You’d get much stronger if you did! And if you receive Divine Descent from the Hero of Born-without-Possession, he said you can use a special ability. Was it an ability called Peach Garden Oath1?”

Among the Manshin who serve Guardian Gods of the same faction, a sort of synergy effect occurs.

When three Manshin serving Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei gather, the ‘Peach Garden Oath’ effect is activated.

It was a Special Ability that drastically increased the stats of all three.

At first glance, it was an attractive Special Ability, but the penalty was equally extreme.

When forming the Peach Garden Oath, just like the vow that stated ‘though not born on the same day, we shall die on the same day,’ if one person dies, the rest die instantly as well.

I had no intention of bearing such a risk.

Knowing this fact, I changed the subject without letting it show.

“Peach Garden Oath? Isn’t that the oath where three people swear together? Even if I did it, it seems like we’d be short one person.”

“Ah, right. They said we need three. The Hero of Born-without-Possession is Liu Bei, and they said we need someone who serves Guan Yu.”

“Who are you thinking of for the Manshin of Guan Yu? Dokgo Jun?”

Right now, the only person without a Guardian God was Dokgo Jun.

However, upon hearing Dokgo Jun’s name, Jang Taeheon’s face twisted as if he had swallowed rotten food.

“Dokgo Jun? That bastard? The bastard who massacred all the snakes in the Snake’s Room. I hate bastards like that the most.”

Had he been watching that scene?

Well, even if he hadn’t, it was obvious he would hate Dokgo Jun.

For a loyalist like Jang Taeheon, there was no way he would like Dokgo Jun, who acted purely out of interest.

“Then who are you going to use? Most people probably have a Guardian God already.”

“…Does that person from earlier have a Guardian God too? What was her name, Shin Sooa?”

I felt a bit surprised that Shin Sooa’s name came out of his mouth.

Why Shin Sooa of all people?

Jang Taeheon smiled awkwardly and spoke.

“I just got the feeling that she’d be someone good to serve as an older sister. She somehow feels familiar, too…”

He said so, his eyes taking on a thoughtful look for a moment.

It was a gaze as if he were tracing his memories.

“Isn’t it strange? Why does she feel familiar? As if we’ve met somewhere before…”

He thinks he’s met Shin Sooa?

As far as I knew, the two were meeting for the first time here.

Was he mistaken, or…

“Is there anyone else besides Ms. Shin Sooa who feels familiar?”

“Hmm. You felt a bit familiar when I first saw you, too, Hyung. I wondered if you were some bastard who had picked a fight with me in the past.”

I was also included among those Jang Taeheon felt familiar with.

Was it a coincidence that he only felt a sense of familiarity toward the Flying Tiger Sect party?

Or were his memories from before the regression lingering in his unconscious?

“Anyway, Older Brother, let’s receive Divine Descent. Let’s become sworn brothers!”

“No.”

“I’m telling you, it’s a good thing for you, too! My Guardian God said he’ll provide you with full support!”