Chapter 26 – LV.Two Warrior Lee Jongho – [Four]

Kim Jihyeok muttered.

“Is it a Swarm Mage?”

Seo Yun stared at the swarm of mosquitoes in the sky and answered.

“Seeing as the Soul Detection Spell isn’t reacting, it’s not that.”

“Then why are there so many mosquitoes?”

“These days in summer, puddles form everywhere. Mosquitoes also hatch in huge numbers all at once. It was somewhat manageable in the village, but it’s severe here.”

The mosquitoes began to swarm in.

They clung to various parts of the Party Members’ bodies. “Aack!” As mosquitoes covered his face, Park Taeyang screamed as if startled.

The Warriors wearing armor were better off, but they had to wildly wave their arms to chase away mosquitoes entering through the eyeholes or breathing holes of their helms.

They couldn’t keep doing that. Unable to bear it any longer, Seo Yun suggested.

“Shall I cast the Armor Spell on you? If that spell is cast, mosquitoes can’t bite.”

Kim Ak, still wildly waving his arms, asked in return.

“It’s a non-combat situation, is it okay to use spells so freely?”

“It’s fine. Since it’s summer, we don’t need to light fires in the tents, so we’ve recovered all the firewood, right? The First-Tier Spell Usage Count has also been restored.”

“If that’s the case… thank you!”

After casting the courtesy spell on Kim Ak, Seo Yun cast the same spell on Seong Juri and Kim Jihyeok. Brief words of thanks also came from them.

Meanwhile, Park Taeyang had also gotten up and was casting a spell on Lee Jongho. Seeing this, Kim Ak hurriedly tried to stop him.

“Hey, Taeyang? You…”

And beside him, Seo Yun spoke in a low voice.

“Wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

“Were you going to stop Park Taeyang from casting the spell?”

“But…”

“I think it’s better to just let him cast it.”

At Seo Yun’s insistence, Kim Ak blinked.

“That guy Taeyang has less than a quarter of your Spell Usage Count, right? So it’s right to save spells.”

“Even so, if you really stop him from casting the spell, that guy Park Taeyang will get really angry.”

Kim Ak opened his mouth as if to ask the reason, then stopped and nodded. He seemed to have thought a bit and understood the meaning.

It was clear that Park Taeyang was very conscious of the other Priest in the Party, and it was obvious that mentioning the difference in their abilities would greatly hurt his pride.

“Why did you call me and then not say anything?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Finally, as Kim Ak let it be, Park Taeyang just blinked, then cast the spell on Jeon Sangguk after Lee Jongho.

“Thanks, really. You saved my life…”

As Jeon Sangguk expressed his gratitude, Park Taeyang giggled.

“See, Warriors are useless anyway… They’re just Martial Artists wearing armor and holding weapons, right?”

Not long after, the day grew dark. Everyone had to stop marching and prepare to sleep.

It was while Seo Yun’s Party was finishing their meal and setting up their tent.

It seemed their Party wasn’t the only one suffering from the mosquito onslaught. A Senior Player from another Party came over and asked the Priests for help.

“You have two Priests here… Could you possibly cast the Armor Spell for us?”

Seo Yun granted their wish as requested. The Warrior Player who received the spell thanked her and lamented.

“I’m dying… Why are there so many mosquitoes?”

Kim Ak asked.

“Isn’t that natural since we’re outdoors?”

“It wasn’t this bad last year or the year before. I really don’t know the reason. Originally, mosquitoes were somewhat dispersed as they targeted Monsters, but now that it’s just us, have they all swarmed here just to target humans?”

People seeking spells from the Priests continued to come afterwards.

There was no need to save spells in a situation where the day was ending. Seo Yun cast the spell on everyone who came, and Park Taeyang did the same.

Park Taeyang held a high sense of pride in being a Priest, and he seemed overjoyed by this situation that satisfied that pride.

Park Taeyang showed no sign of annoyance whatsoever, beaming brightly and actively casting spells on the people who came to him. When no more people came, he went out to find people to cast spells on.

“Where are you going?”

At Kim Ak’s question, Park Taeyang shouted.

“I’m going to cast a spell on the Chief!”

“It’ll take about… fifteen minutes to walk to where the Chief is?”

“It’s fine!”

Eventually, Park Taeyang left the Party and disappeared somewhere. Watching his retreating back, Kim Ak muttered to Seo Yun.

“He really likes it, huh?”

“Indeed.”

“If we had stopped him from casting the spell, he would have really sulked. Thanks for stopping me…”

Park Taeyang returned about forty minutes later. Even after that, the smile wouldn’t leave his lips.

Why, did he get praised or something for casting a spell on Oh Haengbok? Is that something to be so happy about?

Seo Yun, inwardly finding it absurd, prepared to take the Night Watch. As she took a cushion out of her backpack and laid it down, she flinched.

Park Taeyang, about to enter the tent, turned to look at Seo Yun, and then, of all things, spoke to her like this.

“You’re on Night Watch alone, right? All night tonight?”

“That’s right.”

Seo Yun answered casually with her usual indifferent voice, but Park Taeyang didn’t even mind that now.

“That’s a bit… sorry. Well, good work!”

After Park Taeyang said that and went inside the tent, Seo Yun froze for a moment.

What did that guy Park Taeyang just say? A ‘good work’ greeting, to me? She didn’t know how to react to this situation.

When Seo Yun silently looked at Park Taeyang’s two underlings, it seemed she hadn’t misheard.

The two clearly looked more shocked than she was. Both Lee Jongho and Jeon Sangguk were standing there blankly, eyes wide open.

Meanwhile, the Senior Player who had stayed behind to help the newcomers set up their tents asked.

“Seo Yun, you’re taking Night Watch alone?”

“Yes. I’m fine even without sleep.”

“Truly special A-grade? I’ll be so envious later, no matter which Party takes you, really…”

At that moment, Seo Yun clearly saw Lee Jongho flinch. She didn’t know the reason, but Seo Yun didn’t pay it any mind.

Finally, after it grew dark, Seo Yun’s Party Members went into the tent one by one, leaving words of apology for her.

Even Jeon Sangguk, who usually didn’t interact much, softly left a “Good work…” Amidst this, for some reason, only Lee Jongho went into the tent without saying anything, but Seo Yun didn’t pay it any mind this time either.

And it was about two hours after Seo Yun started the Night Watch alone.

A voice that had gone through puberty came from behind her.

“Um…”Seo Yun recognized the owner of that voice and sighed inwardly.

‘How many times has this situation happened before?’

Thinking that, she turned around and asked.

“What is it, Lee Jongho?”

Sure enough, Lee Jongho was standing hesitantly behind her.

Why was this guy suddenly talking to her after waking up? Seo Yun had no idea and was just staring blankly when he spoke.

Lee Jongho opened his mouth.

“That time before. You got mad at me, saying I ignored you after suggesting we get along, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, I did. Why?”

“That… that was probably because I wanted to get along with you, right? So, what I mean is… even if it’s late, I want to get along with you from now on.”

Seo Yun couldn’t understand why he was suddenly saying this. Still, she decided to engage.

“Then, stop ignoring me when I talk and ruining the Party atmosphere. Do you know how embarrassed I feel in front of the Team Leader and Juri every time?”

“I’m sorry…”

“So, are you going to stop ignoring me from now on?”

In response to Seo Yun’s question, Lee Jongho hesitated for a long time before answering.

“In front of people… I think I have to keep acting like I do now.”

“What?”

“You’re going to leave this Party someday, right? But I have to keep being with Park Taeyang, so I have to be careful around him…”

Seo Yun stared blankly at Lee Jongho. She was simply dumbfounded.

“So it’s okay now because Park Taeyang isn’t watching?”

“Really, I’m sorry. But personally, I genuinely want to get along with you. Even in a situation like this, I want to act friendly. Is that not possible?”

Seo Yun sighed. She stayed silent for a moment before speaking.

“It’s fine if you and I get along.”

Lee Jongho’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Yeah, if you want, we can drink together. We can eat together too, and it’s fine to suggest sparring with swords.”

Lee Jongho’s expression brightened.

“Then…”

Seo Yun cut off Lee Jongho’s words mid-sentence.

“But I don’t need a friend who only acts friendly when no one’s watching. What the hell is that? Are we supposed to be secret friends or something?”

“That’s a bit, you know… weird?”

“Not a bit, it’s very weird!”

Lee Jongho seemed to want to say something more, but Seo Yun didn’t want to hear it.

As Seo Yun turned her head away, Lee Jongho seemed to give up. Eventually, he silently went into the Tent alone.

Left alone again, Seo Yun sat blankly and stared up at the starless sky. Her face suddenly contorted.

Even thinking back on the situation now, it was absurd.

What kind of nonsense was it to only get along when the two of them were alone? Was he suggesting they have secret meetings or something between a man and a woman?

‘Oh Haengbok alone is already pissing me off. If he openly confessed, I could at least reject him, but what the hell is this…’

Of course, it might not have meant that. Maybe he felt sorry that she only had Kim Jihyeok as a friend in the village and thought it would be better if she had one more friend in some way, or maybe he felt guilty all of a sudden and said that.

She tried hard to think in that direction and console herself, but her mood didn’t improve much.

Amidst the desperate wish to quickly quit this damn Party and expedition, the day dawned.

And unexpectedly, that wish was granted surprisingly quickly.

After lunch, Oh Haengbok gathered the Players and announced the early termination of the expedition.