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Those Who Meet Must Part (2)

This was the third time Seo Junho had gone to the Player Market since he’d returned. He enjoyed the crowd of bustling people, and the energy was infectious. When he saw people milling about, he felt like he had to try harder.

“My, this is an interesting place.” It was the first time the Frost Queen had come here. She twirled around, taking in her surroundings. Suddenly, she pulled on his shirt.

“Contractor! Contractor! Let’s go over there. There are so many peculiar items.

“Magic tea? I wonder how it tastes. Let us retrieve a glass.

“Eek! A stray cat! Those beasts are everywhere…”

“Hey. You always brag about Niflheim, so why are you so excited about a market?”

“…It can’t be helped.” She was worn out from long periods of flying around, so she sat down on his shoulder. “I spent most of my life inside the castle.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it suffocating?”

“Of course it was. If I had to describe it… A monarch’s life is ‘3D’.” As a queen, she should have been able to do whatever she wanted, but the bitter smile on her face said otherwise. “Leading the kingdom is difficult, dangerous, and dauntless. This is the weight that a leader must carry.”

“…So that’s why it’s ‘3D’.”

“You should understand. The more responsibilities you have, the more you must lower yourself.”

“Yeah.” Of course, he’d never been a king, nor had he led a country. But he’d once carried the expectations of an entire world on his shoulders. “I think I get it. There were a lot of times I felt that back then.”

Sometimes, he’d felt like he couldn’t breathe, as if all his freedom had been snatched away. He’d had no privacy at all and couldn’t go out in public like he could now, which is why he’d spent all his time at home. It had been the one place where he could take off his mask and relax.

“Though, I’d assume that a monarch would have it much worse than I did.”

“I have never experienced freedom from the moment I was born. However, I have never once hated my life because it was dedicated to my kingdom and people.”

He supposed that this was the difference between them. Seo Junho never wanted to live his life as Specter ever again. “So you were literally born to be a queen.”

“Fufu, I’ve heard that many times.” She laughed lightly. “But no matter how much you enjoy your life, there are times when you long for things that you cannot have.”

“Of course. I’ve felt that way many times.”

“I wanted to know what it was like to be carefree. I couldn’t experience it before I died, but I am enjoying my life here on Earth. Living like this is also nice.”

At some point, they arrived at the workshop. Seo Junho knocked on the door, and Kwon Palmo greeted him.

“Why, if it isn’t Player Seo Junho!” His bulky muscles were drenched in sweat, as if he’d just put down his hammer. “Welcome. You should have called ahead!”

He grinned, but it was almost scary, enough to make the Frost Queen tremble. “C-contractor. What is that monster…?”

“Chill, he’s a human.”

“Did you come to meet grandfather?”

“Yes. I came here to say goodbye.”

“I see.” When a player came to say their farewells, it either meant that they were retiring, or that they were going to the 2nd Floor. “So you’re going to Frontier.”

“Yes. There was no need to push it off.

“Now that I think about it, I never got to thank you properly for Black Armor. I’m truly grateful. Its defense capabilities are amazing.”

“Hehe, is that so?” He blushed. “Grandfather is upstairs, so you can head right up. Oh, do you want me to take a look at the armor? If there are a lot of defects, I’ll fix it while you two chat.”

“Really? I won’t refuse.” Seo Junho grinned. Black Armor had worn out a lot after the fight with Kis Bremen and Kal Signer. If Palmo hadn’t offered, he would’ve asked anyway. He placed it on the table.

“Let’s see…” Palmo’s face went pale. “…Who in the world did you fight?”

“Ehe.” There were too many to list them all, but if it weren’t for Black Armor, he would’ve died a long time ago.

“Hm. This will take some time. About six hours, give or take.”

“I’m counting on you. I’ll be with Noya until then.”

“Yes, it’s a good thing that you came so early. I’ll finish by lunchtime.”

As Kwon Palmo began his work, Seo Junho went up the stairs and down a familiar hallway. He knocked on the door.

“What?!” a voice barked.

“Geez, you should be nicer to your only grandson.” Seo Junho clicked his tongue and opened the door. Kwon Noya stared at him.

“Why are you here?”

“What’s up? I came to play.”

“Hmph.” Noya snorted, but he stepped aside to let him in. “What do you want me to make this time?” he asked, taking a seat.

“I didn’t come here for equipment. Though, I did ask Palmo to repair Black Armor.”

“Hm, if you didn’t come here for that… Are you going up?” he asked.

“Bingo.”

“You sure are fast,” he said, amazed. He had only opened his eyes a few months ago, but he’d already reached level 30. “I’ve been keeping up with the news. I saw that you’ve been busy.”

“I have to work hard to save my friends.”

Kwon Noya’s eyes darkened. He didn’t say another word as he brewed the tea and handed him a cup.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“Definitely.” If he kept going like this, he’d be able to save his friends eventually.

“That’s all that matters.” He didn’t say anything else as he sipped his tea. He trusted him. “If you get any good materials, come down from time to time. I’ll make you something good.”

“Of course. Who else would make my weapons?” There was no one as skilled as Kwon Noya. “Also, Palmo’s a lot more talented than I thought. Black Armor impressed me.”

“…Well, it’s good that you liked it,” he mumbled. Kwon Noya was weak to compliments for his grandson. “Is there anything you need? I have a lot of leftover items. They’re only Rare-grade, but they might be useful.”

“‘Only Rare’, you say… You better not go around saying things like that.” The items were from the Kwon workshop, after all. There had been an uproar when Black Armor had been revealed as well. “Thanks, though. I’ll make good use of this.”

“I believe in you.” Noya stood up and patted him on his shoulder before hugging him. Even though the old man was much shorter than him, he hugged him so hard that he almost choked.

“I’ll be back. Stay healthy.”

“I will. Whether you come back alone or with the others, I’ll be waiting.” He finally let go and smiled. “Well, I’ll just study Go while you’re gone.”

Seo Junho returned the smile. “Really, you should give up. You suck at Go.”

“What did you say?”

That day, they played Go for seven hours straight. Of course, Seo Junho won every single game.

Seo Junho returned to the Association with his newly fixed Black Armor and headed straight for Cha Si-eun’s cubicle at the secretary office. She was typing on her keyboard while talking on the phone.

“Yes, hello? Oh… You believed that you’re being defamed? Just a second. What was the name of the guild again? Tiger Moth? That’s a really nice name. Please call again if you have any other complaints.” She hung up and quickly wrote something down on a post-it.

<Guilds to bring to Junho-nim>

The Brave Ones

Figmore Clan

……

Tiger Moth

They were all guilds that had sponsored him, received refunds, and then had been publicly humiliated. She’d written down all the ones that had called to complain that they’d hurt their reputation.

“Junho-nim told me to bring him all the people that accused him of defamation…” She finished writing and smiled as she read it over. Seo Junho looked over her shoulder.

“You’re doing very well. So those are all the people who complained?”

“Yes, it’s so ridiculous how—Eek!” she yelped in surprise and leapt out of her seat. She covered her reddening face as people started to stare. “Wh-when did you arrive?”

“Hm… ‘Hello? You believe that you’re being defamed?’ From there.”

“Ack, so you were here from the very beginning…”

“You’re good at talking.” He smiled and plucked the post-it from her cubicle and put it in his pocket. “I’ll take care of these guys before I go, so don’t worry.”

“Really? Thank you!” She brightened. They’d been calling her nonstop. “By that, you mean…”

“I’m going to the 2nd Floor.”

“Of course.”

“You don’t seem very surprised.”

It was to be expected. She’d expected this to happen and had already turned in her resignation letter.

“I hope you find a better boss once I go up,” he said softly.

She chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll find a better boss than you.” In the last few years that she’d been a secretary, none of her former bosses had made her quite as comfortable.

“I’m honored. I don’t think I’ll be able to find a secretary like you either.”

“Thank you. Did you come to say goodbye?”

“Yeah… I think this is the last time we’ll see each other.” He scratched his head as he pulled a small frame out of his pocket. “This is a gift.”

“Oh, I don’t remember us taking a picture… Huh? This is…?” Her eyes widened as she saw its contents, and her hands started to tremble. “J-Junho-nim, is this…”

“It’s real. It was made fresh this morning.” He smiled and nodded for her to take it.

The frame contained a plain piece of paper with a single sentence on it.

– May you find success in all that you do. From Specter.

It was plain and detached, but she squeezed it to her chest and bowed several times. “Thank you so much! Really!”

It was a bit embarrassing to give his own autograph as a gift, but he’d wanted to give it to her nonetheless. How could he not when he knew how much she admired Specter?

“Thank you for your hard work.” Thanks to her help, he’d been able to focus wholly on training and hunting. He chuckled and held out his hand.

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I probably won’t ever see her again. She would remain on Earth while he went up to the 2nd Floor. It would be nice if she could continue to be his secretary, but it was impossible.

“Secretary Cha—no, Miss Cha Si-eun. You’ll do well no matter where you go.”

“You too. I’ll be cheering you on.”

She watched him leave. If I get the chance, I want to be by your side as a teammate, not a secretary.

After all, Seo Junho was the second player that she respected most.