I Have a Fiancee in a Parallel World

19 – The Heart of Egzel

The President’s Office

Eg Kangcheon was carefully brewing tea for Jihun and Sojeong, giving his all to make it taste good.

For someone who had destroyed his entire guild building and knocked out the guild members, he wasn’t showing any kindness.

But Eg Kangcheon was so focused on brewing the tea to perfection that he hadn’t said a word yet.

Pouring tea into their respective cups, he served them personally with both hands.

“Hmm… It’s delicious. It must be because it’s good tea, but your tea-brewing skills are exceptional.”

Eg Kangcheon laughed warmly at Jihun’s praise.

“hahahaha, thank you for noticing. I enjoy serving tea. Do you happen to like Pu’er tea? We’ve just received a good batch…”

“No, no. This is more than enough.”

Raising his hand to decline, Jihun felt quite uncomfortable in this situation.

He had wanted to meet Do Yi-sana and negotiate, but a complete stranger had suddenly intervened…

“You’re much older, and you seem to have good manners… Please feel at ease. It would make me more comfortable as well.”

Since Ji-hoon determined that the representative, who had patches of gray hair, was a polite person, it became uncomfortable for him to hear the honorifics.

The representative replies to Ji-hoon’s words.

“hahahahaha. The young hunter seems to be angry. Thank you for your consideration. Can I ask you a question now? The person next to you looks familiar…”

The representative speaks naturally without exaggeration.

“She is Han So-jeong, a friend who attends the academy with me.”

So-jeong’s mood quickly improves with Ji-hoon’s introduction. They haven’t been together for a long time, but she feels a close bond with Ji-hoon.

“I’m Han So-jeong. You met me when you were young, representative.”

“Ah… Oh, So-jeong! You’re the daughter of Representative Han! I didn’t recognize you because you grew up so beautifully. I’m sorry.”

Ji-hoon is surprised when the representative recognizes So-jeong.

“What? Are you really famous? Why does no one know about this?”

“I’m not that kind of person!!”

So-jeong spreads her shoulders cutely and takes on a lively appearance.

Ji-hoon chuckles.

“She’s not making a fuss for no reason. She came here to ask about an injustice. Director Do-won-hyuk sent hunters to the academy to catch her.”

Oh, so she has been acting like this on purpose.

While watching So-jeong talking to the representative, Ji-hoon feels a great sense of gratitude.

In this world without Yeon-hwa, he never thought he would have anyone on his side…

Ji-hoon thinks that he may have gained a good friend.

“Hmm… Director Do has… Why did that friend do such a thing?”

“Because I destroyed his son’s shoulder, wrist, and chin strap.”

“…?”

The representative looks at Ji-hoon with widened eyes, at a loss for words, while So-jeong rubs her forehead out of frustration.

“Hmm… Well, it’s understandable that he did that…”

The representative organizes his thoughts.

“But, causing harm to the guild building and other members may have been a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

As the representative responsible for the safety of the guild and its members, the representative calmly presses Ji-hoon.

“It wasn’t excessive.”

The representative is slightly surprised by his firm answer.

“May I ask why?”

“The guild’s high-ranking officials tried to impose personal sanctions on a student at the academy using the guild’s power. They sent people to use force without even considering their own son’s mistake. And they did it to the academy.”

“Then it would be acceptable to interpret this as a guild-wide declaration of war?”

“Ah…”

Taken aback by Jihoon’s momentum, the representative took a deep breath.

“A declaration of war…so, does that mean you came here…”

“Yes, I came to destroy everything. To ensure that no one ever dares to interfere with me again, I came to crush the entire combat force of the Ares Guild.”

The representative’s gasp sounded as if she had just eaten something wrong.

From the beginning, she had sensed that this young hunter’s momentum was far from ordinary.

But it was shocking to hear that he didn’t engage in this confrontation to voice his grievances, but rather to face the entire Ares Guild’s military strength.

It didn’t seem like a joke at all.

Nor did it seem like a boast from a young person.

Jihoon’s eyes, which revealed no emotion, clearly conveyed only one thing.

His conviction in himself.

Judging by Sojeong’s astonished expression beside him, it could be inferred that she followed him without knowing this fact.

If that’s the case, he must have come charging into the Ares Guild with absolute certainty of victory.

The representative’s mind quickly settled down.

“As the guild representative, I will formally apologize for not properly managing the executives and guild members.”

The representative suddenly stood up and politely bowed her head.

Jihoon remained calm, seemingly expecting this, while Sojeong was surprised by the sudden turn of events.

“I understand and appreciate that you take responsibility as the representative. However, I did not come here to receive your apology.”

Jihoon’s voice, filled with determination, made the representative see him in a new light.

Sojeong, who was sitting next to them, had been fidgeting and absentmindedly biting her nails.

She had accompanied Jihoon to resolve the situation smoothly.

However, as the conversation became serious, she realized that she was in a position where she couldn’t intervene.

“Please continue your conversation without any concern for me. I will go downstairs and explore the guild.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Upon Sojeong’s words, the representative picked up the intercom and called for her secretary, asking for her guidance.

***

After Sojeong left, a quiet silence filled the representative’s room.

“The Ares Guild has exceptional combat teams stationed at all times.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Lee Dae-pyo took a leisurely sip of the tea he had been served and replied.

“Do you happen to know the combat power of Ares Guild? We have three A-rank hunters in our guild…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence as he looked at Ji-hoon.

Would his expression change? Would he be surprised and lower his posture in an instant?

Ji-hoon’s unexpected response defied the predictions of Lee Dae-pyo.

“If those three had come out first and fought, the others might not have been injured.”

“Oh…”

Lee Dae-pyo exclaimed without even realizing it.

If someone else had made such a statement, he might have just laughed it off and ignored it as if he hadn’t heard it.

Because there was no way a sane person would casually mention facing three A-rank hunters.

But at this moment, Lee Dae-pyo couldn’t ignore the voice coming from deep within his heart.

It was telling him not to overlook this individual in front of him, who had naturally grown as a hunter over a long period of time while protecting the guild.

Having finished his tea, Ji-hoon clinked his teacup, silently pleading with his eyes for more.

Lee Dae-pyo immediately got up from his seat, preparing a fresh pot of tea he had mentioned earlier, and continued speaking.

“A few months ago, Ares Guild acquired the heart of the Blood Dragon, Egzel, at Hidden Gate.”

Ji-hoon didn’t respond to Lee Dae-pyo’s abrupt statement.

“That’s probably when Doy Sa underwent such a transformation.”

To what extent the tea had brewed, Lee Dae-pyo pulled out a new teacup and poured the freshly brewed tea.

“Ares Guild was originally known for all of its members banding together as one. You might ask how such a large guild can make that possible… but, we really were like a family.”

Pretending to listen earnestly to Lee Dae-pyo’s story, Ji-hoon’s full attention was on the tea.

He had only tasted tea like this in the Murim… he didn’t realize he could find such tea in real life. Ji-hoon thought he needed to earn more money.

“When there was a conflict within the guild about who should use Egzel’s heart, I never thought the problem would escalate to this extent. But in the end, it led to the creation of factions within what used to be a united guild… we used to be like family…”

Listening to Lee Dae-pyo’s lament filled with sorrow, Ji-hoon thought that the tea he was drinking now was better than the one from earlier, and he couldn’t understand why this person was talking about such irrelevant matters to him.

“Do you know what the effect of Egzel’s heart is? It forcibly awakens a hunter. That’s right, a forced awakening! Naturally, anyone would covet it… and that’s probably why Doi Sa from the Seoul branch and A-rank hunter Yoo Seong-hyun are taking separate actions from the headquarters, all because of Egzel’s heart…”

Puhuhu.

Ji-hoon blew out the tea he had been sipping.

“Surprising, isn’t it? I’ve never heard of an item that forces an awakening.”

Lee Dae-pyo was about to continue with his remaining words for Ji-hoon when it happened.

“Seoul branch of Ares Guild?!”

In Jihoon’s eyes, there is a sense of injustice.