Chapter 60 - The King of Flags

"You."

"Yes."

I felt a headache looking at the blue-haired one answering brightly. Why on earth is she here.

I decided not to ask since she'd probably say things like 'There are ways!'

Come to think of it, Shin Chaeyeon had something like that. When she got tired of harsh training as a child, she would secretly switch with Shin Gayeon.

Since Shin Gayeon was more relaxed compared to talented Shin Chaeyeon. This is also why the younger sister takes care of the older sister.

"Aren't you going to ask?"

"Even if I ask I know the answer so why bother? I am curious about one thing. What did you do with your hair."

Aren't you long-haired? As if answering my question, Shin Gayeon's blue hair flew through the air as if freed from oppression. Long hair suddenly appearing.

I could tell how she did it without asking.

"Magic?"

"Yes!!"

What a useless magic. It doesn't seem like a particularly complex magic, so she probably won't have outbursts.

More importantly I'm really glad she didn't cut it. I almost got scared thinking she cut her hair just to follow this one thing.

"Hmm..."

"What is it?"

Looking at her still smiling brightly, curiosity crept up from somewhere.

The setting I made was just switching a few times when young.

Is our ice princess with a fully formed personality now going around pretending to be Shin Gayeon? Is that possible?

Their personalities are different to the extreme. It's not an exaggeration to say they're opposite.

One is an idiot with no end, and one is a cool patient with no end?

No matter how much I think about it I don't know so I decided to ask directly.

"Is Shin Chaeyeon pretending to be you and taking classes now?"

Shin Gayeon nodded vigorously at my question.

"Just once."

Nod.

It's a bit scary when she nods just once right away.

"What are you going to do if you get caught?"

"It's okay. I won't get caught. I've never been caught before!!"

"You just got caught by me right away?!"

"Nah. I revealed my identity. Saying I got caught is a bit inaccurate."

No. Really. I felt something was off as soon as I saw you? As if answering my question Shin Gayeon smiled brightly again.

Smiling brightly with her face stuck to her knees looking down at me.

The picture feels a bit off.

"It's okay. She doesn't have friends."

That's not an answer to the question. I don't have friends either. What does that matter. It feels different just looking?

"It's okay since no one talks to her either!!"

This is a bit sad. No but they'll still call attendance during class right.

"Chaeyeon has been good at acting since long ago. Don't worry."

"You don't seem to be good at it though?"

"Nah. I'm better. Anyway, I won't get caught. Do you know how much I begged to switch? I didn't eat a single meal all weekend?"

How old is she to do a hunger strike. I can't tell her to bring her back now either.

I nodded for now while pressing my temples hard. Well it's good not to get deeply involved with Shin Chaeyeon.

It's good not to have to argue about me being leader. Well. Let's think positively. Yeah. Positively.

People should live positively.

"Hehe. This will be fun. Next time when there's an event in Chaeyeon's class I should ask to switch!!"

I don't want to live that positively.

***

"This person is that person right? Miss Shin Gayeon."

That was the first thing Raphael said after looking closely when I returned with Shin Gayeon.

Yeah. I told you she gets caught right away? She clearly has an expressionless face, short hair, and the same face but she's different.

The feeling is different. She looks bright even with an expressionless face. You know Shin Chaeyeon.

She's a person with no emotions and hard to talk to with an expressionless face.

But you're just an expressionless idiot.

"H-how did you know?! It was perfect? Did the headband fall off?"

"It's properly attached."

"Then why?!"

Do you really not know? That's a problem in itself.

"There shouldn't be a problem right? We're going into the dungeon anyway. If she's going to get caught it would be there right? The person in Justitia."

"Ah. That's fine. I don't have friends!!"

Ishia sighed looking at Shin Gayeon smiling brightly. I'm not sure what she's sighing about.

"You don't have friends either."

"I-I do? I'm friends with Lucy??"

"No. Do you have any friends you made since coming to Justitia? As far as I know you don't? I'll say in advance Raphael and I aren't. If you want to be friends pay 1 million won in friend fees every month."

Raphael nodded at my words. I ignored her coming beside me and whispering 'Let's raise it to 2 million?'

This one definitely has personality problems.

"..I don't want to. I decline here."

She makes a Hmph! sound, but you're the one who got rejected no matter what.

It means we're the winners. When I held out my fist to Raphael she bumped my fist.

"What are you doing..?"

"Winner's ceremony."

"That's right."

Though she has an expression of not understanding, we won loser.

"......"

Though Ishia is glaring like she'll kill me? I'm not scared at all? I'm completely used to all your gazes like that?

"Seonghoon."

"What."

"Why are you hiding behind me."

"I'm not hiding. Something fell."

She makes a sound like Well well. No but. I could die if I get caught wrong. Ishia learned "Magic Chant Breaking". I almost died recently too.

"Stop doing stupid things and prepare to─"

"Then we'll start the experience now!! The time taken per team varies. I hope you wait with discipline!! First team!!"

My eyes met Raphael's at the instructor's call. I immediately gave a thumbs up.

"You're the flag king. How is everything you say full of flags?"

"Is that a compliment?"

Would it be a compliment?

***

We entered the dungeon.

I felt it as soon as we entered.

"I want to leave."

"It hasn't even been 5 minutes since we entered?"

"That's why I want to leave. What do you know. Look at these ominous walls! Look at these winding paths!! It's scary!!"

"Wow."

Raphael exclaimed as if disgusted, but it can't be helped. My instincts are screaming. To get out of here.

You can tell just looking at the nearby walls. Walls with self-luminous stones attached. Thanks to that the surroundings were clearly visible.

Traces of battle everywhere. Caked blood and flesh. What about the smell. There's no smell of blood. No rotten smell unique to flesh.

Just the smell of death. It's hard to express in words. Anyway, there's a unique smell created by mixing the two.

It's even eerie since the temperature is low because it's a cave.

The feeling was different from the instant dungeon I entered before. That place was well implemented to be eerie too, but this place was real.

Traces of death were visible on every path. Most of it would be monsters', but that doesn't mean it's not scary.

Is someone who doesn't want to leave here human? They're a battle machine.

"I'm a being who only helps when you're in danger. Treat me like I'm not here and proceed. Dungeons are especially dangerous. The terrain can change moment by moment, monsters can regenerate─"

Shut up. I walked while listening to and ignoring the instructor's words who followed for safety reasons.

Perhaps because I received Raphael's blessing as soon as we entered, walking felt light.

You were helpful for the first time since coming here. Damn angel.

"My body feels light so I'm excited!"

"Ah. Is this your first time receiving it? Isn't it awesome? Our blonde?"

"Why is Seonghoon proud? This is ridiculous."

Shin Gayeon who received Raphael's blessing for the first time ran around as if excited. Her excitement could be felt from her gait. She'll fall at this rate.

"More importantly is this really a dungeon? Even a picnic would have more tension than this."

Raphael muttered as if bored. At those words Ishia beside her pretended to push up glasses she wasn't wearing and pointed a finger.

"It's because the boss monster died. The regeneration of monsters decreased because the dungeon's core, the boss, died. Low grade dungeons are sometimes used for experience like this with just the boss killed and the core left alive. For candidates lacking practical skills it's very─"

Blah blah so noisy.

This one won't be able to be a teacher or something later. Raphael walking with her pinky in her ear as if having the same thoughts as me.

Shin Gayeon isn't even listening since she's going far ahead. Only the instructor walking a bit apart nodded.

What are you anyway.

"So─ Hey. Are you not listening??"

Ignoring sounds like Hey─!! and walking, soon Shin Gayeon had stopped and was waiting for us. What is she going to do if monsters appear walking so fast like that.

"Fork in the road."

Looking in the direction she pointed, there really was a fork in the road. Three-way split.

I couldn't tell at all which way to go to go down. It wasn't visible at all where they led.

How many floors was this dungeon experience again. I remember it was 5 floors or so.

Since it's a rank D lower dungeon. The number of floors was low too.

"I wonder how long it will take."

[10 minutes.]

"Only that much?"

I petted the cat nodding at my question once. A voice heard along with purring sounds.

[Middle.]

"Middle."

Everyone walked without particular resistance at my words. Except one person.

"Oh. Why the middle? I'm curious."

You're so annoying when you said to treat you like you're not here. I spoke roughly because I was annoyed.

"Intuition."

"Intuition? Intuition is important in dungeons. But if you do that for pathfinding other teammates have a hard time. Is everyone else okay?"

Everyone nodded at that question. Ah. Except one person again.

"No. My legs hurt. If Seonghoon carries me I could go wherever─ Ow!!"

I hit her once because she was noisy.

Well pathfinding is important in dungeons. Because you can go down to the boss without losses depending on how well you find paths.

Even guilds give preferential treatment to people with pathfinder skills.

But what can I do. I have a cat who's superior to such guys.

I went on the path ignoring the instructor with suspicious eyes.

[Left.]

"Left."

[Right.]

"Right."

[Right path as soon as you enter the middle.]

"Right path as soon as we enter the middle."

"Hmm. Going straight like this will take forever."

How noisy. As we walked like that for a while, forks in the road kept appearing.

Fortunately there were no traps. Traps were removed since it's a dungeon that's been cleared once.

The proof is that "Magic Eye" isn't activating.

"Oh? It's the end."

"See. At times like this you should carefully grasp the surroundings and feel the flow of air, or─ Huh?"

The reason Shin Gayeon stopped. The reason she said it's the end is of course not because the path was blocked but because stairs going down to the next floor appeared.

I walked towards the stairs leaving behind the idiot blinking with round eyes.

Ah. I didn't do this. I smiled towards the instructor who couldn't believe it. Of course I didn't just smile.

Who am I.

"Seonghoon. You'll get scolded doing that."

"I won't."

Losers don't speak. After smiling annoyingly I slowly went down the stairs.

I feel all good seeing that stupid expression.

"More importantly there are no traps here. The instant whatever we went to before had lots of traps right?"

"Ask Ishia."

Ishia who flinched at those words looked this way. A face like 'I won't explain either.'

Don't.

"Is it because it's already been cleared? Hmm. This is completely boring. No monsters or anything coming out."

This one speaks well too. Without even fighting directly.

Ignoring and walking, soon the floor was visible. The instructor who followed belatedly joined too.

"Let's quickly go to the last floor."

"This is boring. My legs hurt. It would be fun if at least monsters came out."

As if reacting to those words a blue window appeared before my eyes.

[Threat detected, unique magic "Magic Eye" activates.]

Crack─!!

A refreshing sound heard simultaneously. The ground before my eyes splits. And what pops out is one thing.

《Kyaaaaaaah!!》

Small bodies all wearing the same red pointy hats.

They were monsters.

"Raphael."

"This isn't my fault!!"

"Your mouth is the problem."

Please be quiet. Flag king.