Chapter 914

"It seems like it happened."

I thought he might have fallen back asleep, but I could feel his presence.

However, I didn’t open the door immediately.

In fact, if the worst-case scenario arose, I had already planned to break the door down, wake him up, and avoid a failure.

There were plenty of methods for forcibly breaking through using my abilities.

Still, I decided to wait for a bit.

Considering the behavior patterns of attention-seekers, I could vaguely guess their intentions.

After a short while, as expected, the events unfolded.

"…Why aren't you surprised?"

"It’s as if you anticipated our genius illusion."

The plain-looking entrance was covered with aurora-colored decorations, and plumeria flowers, which bloom only in tropical and subtropical regions, had bloomed in the flower bed.

The former was a decorative item summoned by Ong Gildong’s Gwangrim, "The Sorcerer’s Silk Hat," and the latter was a flower created by Guseulbi’s Gwangrim, "The Green Hand’s Grace."

The attention-seekers, who had just woken up, were wasting their energy on Gwangrim despite the test looming ahead.

But they didn’t seem entirely pathetic.

‘The decorations were probably made by Ong Gildong himself. The flowers were chosen by Guseulbi…’

On the aurora-colored silk, the phrase "Welcome" was embroidered in many different languages.

Except for the overly extravagant aspect, it was an artistic work crafted from silk, beads, and thread.

Also, among the meanings of plumeria flowers, one of them is welcome, so Guseulbi’s intentions to greet the visitors were conveyed well.

The attention-seekers, who looked like they had just woken up, looked at me with anxious faces.

"I’m surprised."

"…Really?"

"…Is it really true?"

"Yeah, is it okay to come in?"

Although it was a very obvious move, and a small prank mixed with a sincere welcome, I wasn’t lying when I said I was surprised.

Maybe they could tell I wasn’t lying, as the attention-seekers immediately became confident and said,

"Of course! Come on in."

"Good thing we cleaned up before we went to bed!"

"But how did you know we were here? No matter how ordinary we try to look, our specialness can’t be hidden, huh?"

"Well, if you have the qualities of a thief, finding a hideout isn’t that hard."

Before Ong Gildong started his usual thief talk, I decided to reveal the truth.

"Kim Yuri gave me your address."

"Ah…"

The two of them, who looked a bit down from such an insignificant comment, led me inside, and I was greeted by a space full of homeliness.

Guseulbi and Ong Gildong seemed to use the living room as a shared workshop.

One side was the self-proclaimed space of the great Druid Guseulbi, with a scale holding dried plants, a furnace, and an oak box filled with seeds.

The other side was Ong Gildong’s workshop, where I saw a mannequin with several pins stuck into it, a sewing machine, a sewing kit, and Trump cards with notes on them.

‘They’re both very distinctive, so I couldn’t imagine them working in the same space, but from this, it seems like they get along well.’

The boundary between the two workspaces was blurry, but there was something that could be assumed as a boundary.

It was a display case placed in the middle of the living room wall.

Inside the case were dinosaur mascot goods, likely purchased from an amusement park.

It seemed like they had visited the park together several times, as there were several seasonal limited-edition items.

Seeing them decorating the dinosaur mascots together and working was a heartwarming scene, but a sudden question arose.

‘But do they live together? Judging by the amount of their belongings, it doesn’t seem like a short-term living arrangement.’

Even Jin Chansol and Wang Chansol, who always stick together and cause trouble, don’t live together.

When did Ong Gildong and Guseulbi start acting together?

The two of them first met at last year’s Halloween, didn’t they? Back then, they were arguing, weren’t they?

Now it’s the end of June, so it’s been about eight months since then, and even if they became close immediately after meeting, it was still a short time to decide to live together.

I decided to ask them directly.

"Since when have you two been living together? You seem to get along well."

"You… You think we get along well? Well, of course…"

"Well, we’re flashy and noticeable thieves, so it makes sense that we live together!"

Guseulbi seemed more interested in the fact that we thought they got along well rather than answering the question, and Ong Gildong gave an absurd response.

Before I could ask again, Ong Gildong continued.

"Apparently, Guseulbi left home after passing high school and lived on the mountains. That lifestyle isn’t suitable for my partner."

What?

My playable character lived through that kind of hardship?!

Thinking back on it, it was Guseulbi’s choice to leave the perfectly good dorm at Yeonggwang High and live a wild life, but still, it was my fault for not knowing about that situation and failing to act accordingly.

There was a scene in Plamagoh where Guseulbi spent time in the mountains, but I thought it was because he was hiding his tracks for an important mission.

But Guseulbi really didn’t have a home to return to.

While I was drowning in guilt, Guseulbi interjected.

"It’s part of the Druidic training to live in harmony with nature. The mountains were a place where I felt at home. With my great power, nothing was difficult."

"Even so, I can’t accept that. The greatest Druid in Celtic mythology, Merlin, stayed in the royal castle of the Pendragon family in Britain, serving as an advisor. There was no need to endure danger and discomfort in nature."

Impressed by Ong Gildong’s gentle words, I still felt uneasy.

No matter how attention-seeking they were, even if one of them didn’t have a home, it seemed extremely risky to suggest living together with a classmate of the opposite gender.

But Ong Gildong had sincere eyes that held no ulterior motives.

Ong Gildong looked at Guseulbi intently and spoke seriously.

"Unfortunately, my power is insufficient to keep my partner at the castle, but we can stay together at the thief’s hideout. I truly hope you stay here for a long time."

His exaggerated tone made it feel like I was watching a comedy, but there was no mistaking that Ong Gildong’s sincerity was real.

Perhaps Guseulbi felt that sincerity too, as his cheeks flushed slightly.

I wasn’t sure how Ong Gildong’s thought process worked, but it seemed that Guseulbi regarded this thief partner as special.

This might be a strange comparison, but right now, Guseulbi seemed similar to when Ju Su-hyeok saw Anda-in after completing his shooting training.

During the autumn picnic, when they were playing treasure hunt, Guseulbi seemed upset seeing Ong Gildong getting closer to Min Green, but judging by his expression now, it seemed his feelings had grown stronger since then.

‘So much has changed.’

They hadn’t met in Plamagoh.

Seeing them meet, become attention-seeking partners, and develop special feelings for each other felt surprisingly moving.

It made me really happy to see that they were both my cherished and respected playable characters, living a new life in this world.

While I was watching them happily, Guseulbi, who seemed to have just regained his focus, suddenly realized something.

"…I’m his partner, but not a thief, you know? I’m flashy and noticeable, yes, but still not a thief."

Guseulbi seemed to be aware that he had emphasized twice that he was Ong Gildong’s partner.

Upon hearing this, Ong Gildong nodded firmly.

The attention-seekers seemed to take it for granted that they were partners.

Although I had no choice but to wake them up, I felt a little bad for interrupting such a harmonious pair.

But that sense of guilt quickly disappeared with the sudden shock.

"I knew about my partner’s situation, and it was because of you that we ended up living together. It started when we cooperated to find the Red Wall Thief."

My body shuddered with a sense of awkwardness, and my head became dizzy.

I didn’t want this situation to arise… but in the end, after weighing the awkwardness and the risk of the others failing, I had no choice but to come.

But did they really start living together because of me…?!

While my head was spinning from hearing ‘that word,’ I also learned something I didn’t want to know.

"Now that I’ve said this much, you probably already figured it out."

"Figured out what?"

"This is the thief’s hideout, and you’re the Red Wall Thief. Isn’t it obvious what’s here?"

"Right, you were the Red Wall Thief long before him. It’s only natural that it’s here."

While my head was still dizzy from hearing ‘that word,’ Ong Gildong pointed toward a corner on the second floor, beyond the stairs.

I could barely see a door, and it was red.

Since the whole house was covered with attention-seeking colors, it wouldn’t have been strange to have a red door. However, since it was linked to ‘that word,’ it didn’t look good.

I had been trying to avoid acknowledging certain facts, but Ong Gildong nailed it.

"That’s right, this thief’s hideout has a room for you, the Red Wall Thief!"

Without me knowing, a room for ‘that word’ had been prepared…

I didn’t want to know that such a thing existed in this world, let alone in Yeonggwang District.

While the two of them excitedly prepared to show me the room, I didn’t feel pleased at all about the existence of the room with ‘that word’ attached to it.

‘…Wasn’t something similar happening recently in the Dragon Palace?’

At the Dragon Palace, not only did rooms appear, but three palaces became my property, and a pavilion with my name was also created.

The two were so excited that they seemed ready to introduce the room.

"And there was also an empty room prepared to welcome another comrade, right next to your room, the Red Wall Thief’s room…"

"...I brought breakfast to go. Let’s eat before it gets cold."

Unable to bear ‘that word’ any longer, I desperately changed the subject.

My hands, which had grown more awkward than when I first arrived, tightly gripped a paper bag.

Inside the paper bag was the breakfast I had prepared for the two of them.

Finally, the attention-seekers stopped chanting ‘that word,’ and with moved expressions, they said,

"What? We were going to treat you!"

"If we start cooking now, we’ll be late. I’ll leave it at the restaurant. Get ready to go to school."

"Ah, now that you mention it, we were almost late again!"

"You can’t be late now that you’re here!"

The two disappeared into their respective rooms on the second floor in a hurry to get ready.

Meanwhile, I opened the paper bag and prepared the meal.

If they kept sleeping in, there wouldn’t have been enough time to prepare breakfast, so I had bought it in advance.

I had chosen the menu thinking about the foods they liked during picnics or snack times, but since I didn’t know their breakfast preferences, I prepared both Korean and Western options.

‘I’m glad it didn’t take too long to wake them up. I picked a menu that could be eaten in the classroom in case we ran out of time.’

I set the table with black sesame beef bulgogi rice balls and rye bread turkey sandwiches, along with warm and cold drinks.

Just then, I heard a door on the second floor open.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Creeeak...

The sound of the door opening made me feel uneasy.

The door that opened wasn’t Guseulbi’s room or Ong Gildong’s room.

And to add, it wasn’t the room of ‘that word.’

When I looked up, I saw someone unfamiliar at the top of the second-floor stairs, looking down at me.

The moment our eyes met, I recognized who it was.

It was the school refuser who had been searching for nightmares.