Chapter 74: Black Rose Guild Leaves

After driving Kang Ian away, Kei let out a deep sigh.

He raised a hand to rub his temples, the man’s pitiful voice still ringing in his head.

"I don’t know why, but whenever I’m near you, my nerves seem to relax a little more."

The more Kei thought about it, the more his head hurt.

Now he understood why Moon So Yeon always seemed so strained when dealing with Kang Ian. Insomnia lasting more than three years had surely left the man’s mental health in terrible shape. Moon So Yeon probably had to watch every word and every action, afraid that the man might suddenly lose control.

"What a troublesome person..."

Kei muttered, but there was no anger in his voice. Who could be angry at someone suffering from an incurable illness?

He turned his head to look outside the shop. The street in front had grown much quieter, with only the fading evening light stretching the shadows of the buildings across the ground.

In the afternoon, while Kei and Sora were reorganizing the goods in the store, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Welcome."

Sora spoke as she turned her head.

The person walking in was Ular. Walking beside him was Yudian, while Lee Jae Ji and Hanna quietly followed behind.

"Ular?" Kei looked at them in surprise. "Why are you all here at this hour?"

Ular didn’t answer right away. He strode quickly up to Kei and grasped both of Kei’s hands with his own.

"Kei! Finally got to see you!"

"Huh..."

"Thank you! I really can’t thank you enough!"

Ular squeezed Kei’s hands tightly, his expression so moved that his eyes were slightly reddened.

"Thanks to you, we were able to make it back alive. If it weren’t for those rings, everyone in the Dungeon this time..."

Ular paused, unable to continue.

Yudian, standing beside him, also bowed deeply.

"Kei, thank you. I don’t know how to say it enough. You saved our lives."

Kei quickly pulled his hands free and waved them in front of him.

"There’s no need to thank me that much. I just sold you all some items."

"No." Yudian raised his head and spoke seriously. "It wasn’t just selling items. You trusted us, even when no one knew what was going to happen."

Ular nodded vigorously.

"That’s right. Those rings brought us back from a place where no one should have survived."

Seeing that the two still showed no sign of raising their heads, Kei could only force a wry smile.

"It really is fine. Everyone coming back safely is what matters."

At that moment, Lee Jae Ji stepped forward.

"Kei."

"Yes?"

Lee Jae Ji stood up straight, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. His expression was so rigid that it made others feel like he was about to announce something extremely important.

"I have something I want to say as well."

Hanna immediately tilted her head, looking at her rough-mannered teammate with amusement.

"What are you going to say?"

Kei asked, startled.

Lee Jae Ji didn’t look at Hanna. He only bowed deeply before Kei.

"I’m sorry for the bad attitude I had toward you before."

The shop fell silent for a few seconds. Hanna was the first one who couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

"Pfft... Ha ha ha! You finally said it!"

Lee Jae Ji’s face turned red, and he raised his head to glare at her.

"Is there something funny?"

"Nothing, it’s just that your expression was too serious." Hanna wiped the corner of her eye, trying to hold back her laughter. "I almost thought you were about to swear loyalty to Kei."

"Don’t talk nonsense."

Kei quickly waved his hand.

"It’s fine, that’s all in the past. Besides, back then you were just worried about the injured person."

Lee Jae Ji was silent for a moment as he looked at Kei, then nodded.

"Even so, I should still apologize."

"Then I accept your apology." Kei smiled. "From now on, let’s pretend nothing ever happened, okay?"

Lee Jae Ji nodded slightly.

"Alright."

Hanna looked at the two of them, her smile growing even more apparent.

"See? Isn’t talking properly better?"

Lee Jae Ji replied coldly:

"You could learn from it too."

"Why should I learn from you?"

"Because you’re the noisiest one here."

"What did you just say?"

Lee Jae Ji and Hanna glared at each other,It was as if they were about to jump into a fight any second now.

"Alright, alright." Ular quickly stepped in between the two. "We didn’t come here today to argue."

Kei let out a soft laugh. The atmosphere in the shop became lighter as well.

Ular turned to look at Kei.

"Actually, we came here for another reason too."

"What is it?"

"Tomorrow, the entire Black Rose Guild will be moving to a new city ranked B."

The smile on Kei’s lips slowly faded.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Ular sighed, but his voice still kept a friendly tone. "That place suits our Guild’s rank better. After everything that happened this time, we can’t keep staying here forever either."

Yudian lowered his head to look at the floor. Ever since receiving the transfer decision from the Hunter Management Association, he still hadn’t been able to calm himself down. It was truly too hard to face his own failure.

He spoke softly:

"Dong-San is a good city. But the Black Rose Guild as it is now no longer has the ability to protect this place."

Sora gently gripped her apron, asking sadly:

"So... everyone is going to leave here for good?"

Ular looked at her and smiled reassuringly.

"Don’t worry, Miss Sora. We’re only moving our headquarters. I’ll still come back to the shop regularly."

"Really?"

"Of course." Ular patted Yudian lightly on the shoulder. "After all, Kei’s rings are very important to hunters. We can’t easily cut off contact with him."

Yudian nodded.

"We still have a lot more items to buy."

"Then just come by next time." Kei smiled. "The shop welcomes everyone anytime."