Outside the garden

Two people escaped after dealing with enemies early before Balor blocked the entrance.

They stood opposite each other, and after a brief scuffle, the two soon entered a confrontation.

Fwwak!

A loud blow rang out.

The one who threw a fist was a woman in a black suit, Heukma.

Seodol, who was hit on the chest, did not show his pain, but he was actually hit so hard that he found it difficult to breathe for a moment.

Instead of protecting himself with energy waves, Seodol decided to take the hit on his own, something that he belatedly regret.

‘…I feel a cracked rib and a muscle completely destroyed. She never intended to pull her punch.’

Seodol recovered the destroyed rib and muscles as he tapped his clothes that were wrinkled from the incredible force.

Heukma looked relieved, with not a hint of guilt on her face.

Seodol didn’t hide his displeasure.

“…We’ve been in an alliance for such a long time. I can’t believe you hit me so mercilessly. I feel so sick and dirty getting kicked by a horse’s hoof.”

“You were the one who suggested a bet though? You talk a lot for a loser. Well, maybe ‘cos rats naturally cry loudly.”

The two made a bet on who would catch more enemies in the garden.

The result of the bet was Heukma’s victory.

Heukma got the right to hit Seodol.

The latter tried to make excuses, but Heukma shut him down and said “Let me hit you first, and then let’s talk.”

Heukma wanted to hit Seodol just enough to make him shut his mouth, but unfortunately, she couldn’t keep Seodol’s mouth shut.

“I could’ve won. I didn’t plan on getting kicked by your hooves.”

“What’s the point of saying that? You got hit already.”

Seodol endlessly complained about being hit by a “horse’s hooves”, but Heukma doesn’t seem like she wishes to hear anything more.

Hitting Seodol put Heukma in a better mood, so she was able to respond without making a disgusted face.

At the same time, Heukma had a thought in the corner of her mind.

‘What a disappointing gap. Seodol is a rat, but he’s one of the clan heads in the alliance.’

The long-term maintenance of the 12-point alliance is the result of the clan heads respecting the power of each other.

However, Seodol’s appearance in their bet just now was quite disappointing.

‘…There were suggestions before to exclude Seodol from the alliance.’

It was just before the 12-point alliance was formed.

Seodol had a personality that was easy for anyone to antagonize, and in vulgar terms, he had a tendency to be a “troll” who makes people mad for fun.

On top of that, everyone knew that Seodol grew up with extreme human hymnists.

‘The opinion was that one day he might put human interest before the interest of royal lineage or the alliance.’

In that context, some of the clan heads thought that someone else besides Seodol should be put in the alliance.

Most of the 12 clans reacted lukewarmly, but Jogangryeob and another clan head spoke out loudly.

When the topic of whether to include the Rat Clan in the alliance or not, some expressed their opposition.

— Seodol’s ability is annoying. He needs to be tied to a non-aggression treaty in the 12-point alliance.

Hwangho once witnessed a rotting disease caused by Seodol.

Seeing his power to dry and kill all the plants in the mountains and streams, Hwangho wanted Seodol as an ally.

— The symbolism and recognition of the 12-point alliance in the Korean Peninsula are never small. The existence of the alliance is mentioned every year, right? Twelve names are needed to build a boundary based on intelligence. If Seodol is out, that boundary will be weak.

The head of the Dog Clan, who was as knowledgeable as Hwangho, supported his opinion.

And so, the general opinion tilted toward including Seodol in the alliance.

The reason why Seodol remains one of the 12 clan heads in the alliance despite his antipathy is because his power is respected.

‘It’s a simple bet, but I can’t believe he was so confident. Would it have been better if it wasn’t the Rat Clan who was included in the alliance?’

Heukma pushed those thoughts back and decided to ask Seodol.

“Did you lose a lot of your senses while working as a designer? I didn’t know there would be such a big difference.”

Heukma caught nearly twice as many enemies as Seodol did.

Seodol couldn’t have held back since he was the one who suggested the bet.

If this was the extent of Seodol’s ability, Heukma thought, then she wasn’t happy that he was a member of the alliance.

From Heukma’s words of complaint, the corners of Seodol’s mouth went up.

“It can’t be helped, right? I met a crow along the way so I said hello, I didn’t notice that a lot of time passed by.”

“…A crow?”

That means someone else was in the Fomorians’ garden.

When Heukma expressed her doubts, Seodol became excited again, switching back to formal speech.

“Yes, a human under the wing of the Crow Devil King was looking for a stone. If he got close to me first, I would’ve given him an order. What a shame.”

* * *

The two immediately decided to escape the Demon Race’s territory.

Phantom Thief Neon still looked sorry that he couldn’t retrieve Imoogi’s Exorcism on his own, but he admitted his defeat and backed down.

“Let me introduce the escape route I secured. It’s relatively safe if you follow the coastline that extends south, and the power of the Demon Race is…”

“I came this way. The power of the Demon Race, you mean those gloved hands, right? They bothered me so I got rid of them. I thought it was dirty to leave those body parts behind, so I gathered them and threw them somewhere in the party hall.”

“…What a violent thief.”

Goo Seulbi got rid of the gloved hands at the party…

The two quickly synthesized an escape route based on the information they shared.

Except for the bickering about thief talks, those two unexpectedly seemed to work together well.

With the information I have, we’d have the perfect escape route.

The two asked me first.

“You’re not coming?”

“Would you like to come? I still have a lot to say as a thief. I have yet to hear from you your philosophy, logic, and will as a thief so…”

“…Should I leave you two alone?”

I don’t like the sound of talking about thief stuff, but anyway, since my playable characters are so considerate of me, I wanted to go with them.

It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t go with them since my other playable characters are waiting for me.

“…I want to see you again. To thank you.”

“A thief must not leave any lingering feelings for goodbye!”

“You go without leaving your lingering feelings then.”

These two could hardly take their steps, so I decided to take my leave first.

Phantom Thief Neon said his goodbyes, but he left a greeting that led me to believe we’d meet again soon.

“See you at school.”

* * *

After dawn.

The Fomorians’ Halloween Party was cut halfway.

Neither Balor’s eye that was exposed to Spear of Lugh nor the garden had any trace left.

The only abnormal phenomenon was that the party ended without the auction taking place.

The blue-masked demon tried to hide his bloodshot eyes and went around the guests, asking for understanding.

While he was apologizing to the guests, his eyes landed on the people around him.

‘That person probably knows I’m mixed among the guests.’

As soon as the blue-masked demon saw me, he looked on alert.

However, right after I split ways with Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong, I wore a crow mask and costume with a slightly different design, and I regularly changed my appearance through my light skill.

On top of that, I’m not the only guest wearing a crow mask, so he won’t be able to pinpoint me.

‘They could’ve gone through all the guests’ belongings.’

But the Demon Race didn’t make that choice.

Because if they did that, the reason for the suspension of the auction will be confirmed — that the items were stolen.

If the party is ended without revealing the reason, guests would surely complain, but they would have a lot of room for excuses.

‘Well, even if they pat down guests in search of the items, they’d never find them.’

I have my item window, and Jeon Muyeong has a light skill that even the head of the Tiger Clan can’t detect.

The game is already over once we got the items and safely escaped.

We left the Fomorians’ castle.

Sung Gukeon, Jeon Muyeong, and I were reunited safely, and we returned to our hotel in an air limousine.

We didn’t talk about the Fomorians’ auction on the way, but when we safely arrived back at the hotel…

“I’m glad we returned safely.”

“Shall we toast to the return of Imoogi?”

Although they suggested a toast, neither Sung Gukeon nor Jeon Muyeong touched alcohol.

‘They won’t let their guard down until we’re not yet back home.’

I’m proud of their mindset.

The three of us drank carbonated water on rocks instead of alcohol.

Maybe it’s because I’m drinking with my playable characters while looking at the carded Imoogi’s Exorcism, the carbonated water tasted sweet.

“You didn’t show up until the end. Did something happen?”

After talking about how Imoogi’s Exorcism was retrieved, the topic shifted to me.

It’s natural that Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong to be curious.

‘We’ll talk about the sudden otherworld and the garden later, but as for the other things…’

In the end, I couldn’t properly answer the two.

“Nothing much. I’m sorry I couldn’t accompany you.”

“Haha! I didn’t bring it up to receive an apology. You say nothing happened, but then…”

Sung Gukeon didn’t seem to believe me at all.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of questioning me further, but I can sense him formulating speculations in his head.

“We didn’t run into Balor until the end. We didn’t even meet Phantom Thief Neon who appeared at the party with such a grand entrance. We didn’t see Merlin’s disciple either.”

Sung Gukeon has all the elements of what I went through.

Despite everything, Sung Gukeon only smiled, and he doesn’t seem like he wants to confirm his speculations.

Holding the glass in his hand, Sung Gukeon raised his drink once more.

“You did a great job, Euishin-ah.”

Hearing those words seemed to relieve my fatigue.

At first, the afterimage of the death I saw in Balor’s eye was still faintly on my mind, but as I talked with my four playable characters — Phantom Thief Neon, Goo Seulbi, Sung Gukeon, and Jeon Muyeong — the thought gradually faded.

After our little celebration, we decided to take a break before returning home.

‘Considering the time difference, it would be better to stay awake and sleep on time after we return home.’

The two, who were completely sleepless, decided to get some sleep.

As for me, I decided to stay awake.

I decided to recall some events in PMH as I lay on my bed.

After some time, Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong woke up much faster than I thought.

“Shall we head to the airport now?”

“Don’t you want to rest more first?”

“Something urgent came up, so I think we need to go to the airport right away.”

What happened in Korea?

They didn’t explain anything in detail, but since Sung Gukeon is a politician, I didn’t ask further.

“I asked Yeom Bangyeol sunbaenim for his understanding. The private jets are on standby. Let’s all go back together.”

Sung Gukeon’s words seemed to imply something else, and somewhere in his face, I saw a hint of playfulness.

And one more thing…

‘…Did he just say private jets?’

That strange feeling was affirmed when arrived at the airport.

At the private jet terminal, I saw a man who couldn’t have been there.

“I haven’t seen you in a long time, Jo Euishin.”

Hwang Jiho is in England.