CH 484

- You wish to abandon your Chevaliers?

Master asked incredulously.

Knight Leveaux unhesitantly responded.

- Yes, Master.

- ...Isn't the Chevalier your knight order? Yet, you wish to abandon your own men?

Master's pointed questioning prompted Knight Leveaux to clench his teeth.

- Of course, I do not wish to do this. However, if it's necessary...! I don't see a reason to hesitate, Master.

“Have you let go of your sanity!” Knight Wiggins shot up to his feet. “Those loyal men followed your order and traveled to a country on the other side of the globe! However, you dare cast them aside like dirty laundry?!”

- No need to get this agitated, Knight Wiggins.

Knight Leveaux replied, his voice tinged with icy-cold rage. However, Wiggins still glared at him with contempt reserved for a disgusting bug.

- ...Please calm yourself and sit down, Knight Wiggins.

“But, Master! This...”

- I urge you to sit down, Knight Wiggins!

Wiggings bit his lower lip while slowly lowering himself on to the chair.

Master sighed before glancing at Knight Leveaux.

- Please continue.

Knight Leveaux nodded at Master's permission.

- Yes, their situation is very unfortunate. And more than anyone else in this conference, I lament their losses the most. They are noble knights who love France with all their hearts. Losing them will leave such a void in our organization. However...!

Clear anger and venom seeped into Knight Leveaux's voice.

- If they understand how their situation harms the Round Table, I'm more than certain that they will choose honorable death as noble knights! If we rescue them by paying massive compensation even though they have failed the mission, their honor as noble knights will hit rock bottom! And their lives will forever be filled with disgrace! That is why...! For the sake of our Round Table! We must make the decision that benefits us the most!

Knight Wiggins' glare of contempt burrowed into Leveaux's face on the screen. What a miss it was that he couldn't accurately hurl his current thoughts directly in that bastard's face!

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'It's for your own so-called honor, you son of a b*tch!'

How could Leveaux spew out such nonsense in this day and age? Rescuing the Chevaliers through whatever means possible was the commonly-accepted thought pattern, was it not?

However, what frustrated Wiggins even more was the response of his fellow knights. They didn't seem put off by this ludicrous suggestion. As a matter of fact, some even openly agreed with that bastard. And those who didn't openly agree with Knight Leveaux were unwilling to rebuke him, either.

- Sometimes, a noble sacrifice is a necessity.

“What are you on about?! Noble sacrifice?!” Knight Wiggins cried out, finally losing his cool. “If the shoe was on the other foot and you were the hostage, you'd never mouth off nonsense like a noble sacrifice! Do you not have any loyalty or sympathy toward your own men?!”

Knight Leveaux growled like a wounded predator.

- I say this precisely because I am loyal to them, Knight Wiggins! I thought your country also has codes of knights? The knight's chivalry? Do you not?

“There are no such nonsensical codes in chivalry!”

- Oh, really? How unfortunate.

Just before Knight Wiggins could raise his voice even higher, Master intervened first.

- That is enough, both of you.

Both knights clamped their mouths shut. If they had been alone, this argument would've continued on for some more. However, doing the same thing in their Master's presence was very much against the decorum.

- Both of your opinions have some validity. However, this crisis isn't as simple to resolve as you think. The first course of action is to... We should consider what conditions would satisfy Kang Jin-Ho first and foremost. And, if he demands something a lot less than we feared, it won't be such a bad idea to humor him.

- But, Master?!

- That is enough, Knight Leveaux. We shall end today's conference here. I ask all of you to take this time and cool your heads. Good day to you all.

Knights noticed the hint of annoyance in Master's voice and quickly disappeared one by one from the monitor. After everyone was gone... Only Master and Knight Wiggins remained.

- Knight Wiggins, wait.

“Yes, Master. I'm still here.”

- If it's possible to contact Kang Jin-Ho again through Elena... Please do so. We cannot afford to chase after floating clouds like this. Only by fully understanding what that individual wants can we minimize our losses.

“Understood, Master,” Wiggins nodded before cautiously asking a question, still somewhat unsure about something. “Master, if you don't mind... The suggestion put forward by Knight Leveaux earlier...”

- Knight Wiggins. Nothing is more important than the Round Table.

That reply could be interpreted in a number of ways. However, Knight Wiggins chose not to pursue the matter any further. He thought that... perhaps this line of questioning could put Master in a spot of bother.

- Also... I'd like to apologize to you, Knight Wiggins. Please forgive my incompetence in not paying much attention to your warning and letting the situation reach this point.

“No, don't say that, Master. I was... also merely passing along the opinions of a field agent while not believing them to be true. Anyone in our shoes would've thought the same.”

- Mm... Thank you for saying that. I feel a little better, then.

Master raised his hand to rub his face as if a migraine was assaulting him. His hand, with all those aged wrinkles, seemed to tell the unspoken life story of a man who had to suffer for the sake of the world for so long.

- According to Pawn Elena's opinion, Kang Jin-Ho is an incredibly dangerous individual. Which means we need to re-investigate him, this time much more thoroughly.

“I agree, Master. And it shall be done.”

- Thank you. Well, then. Good day to you.

Master's visage disappeared from the monitor next. Knight Wiggins leaned back in the chair, totally spent.

He called out loudly. “Is anyone outside?”

“Yes, Knight Wiggins!”

“Beer! Bring me some cold beer. Right now!”

“Yes, sir!”

Knight Wiggins groaned softly while looking up at the ceiling.

'That man is like a mystery, isn't he?'

Kang Jin-Ho was different from everyone the Round Table had dealt with until now. His behavioral pattern seemed impossible to predict, too. Even Elena's report didn't seem correct in some aspects of Kang Jin-Ho's character.

If he really was a monster who never compromised, just like Elena had warned in her report... Kang Jin-Ho would've slaughtered the Chevaliers by now. But that illogical monster captured the knights as hostages to push the Round Table into a difficult position like this.

Would running into an alien in outer space feel this way?

Wiggins shuddered at this feeling of disharmony born from how all of his common sense seemed to be getting distorted.

'And... Why did Elena have to be the only point of contact with Kang Jin-Ho?'

It wasn't as if Wiggins suspected his daughter's capabilities. If Elena wasn't his child, Wiggins would've unhesitantly appointed her for the role.

Quite often, parents and children would find it harder to trust each other on certain topics precisely because they were family; minor pros and cons most strangers would've dismissed out of hand were always amplified in the eyes of family members.

'Now isn't the time to act like a stuck-up...'

Identifying what kind of a man Kang Jin-Ho was even more crucial than ever. So crucial that it didn't matter which agent was tasked with this mission; their report would never be taken at face value. In that case...

There was only one thing left for Wiggins to do.

“...Time to head to South Korea, then.”

Knight Wiggins swore to finish all the work still piled up on his desk as quickly as possible.

“I shall personally confirm how frightening you are as a monster, Kang Jin-Ho...!”

Wiggins deeply sucked in the lungful of air while picturing the sinister figure of a bloodthirsty Kang Jin-Ho craving for more wanton slaughter.

***

“Why are you here, hyung?” Han Jin-Seong pointedly asked.

“...What's the matter? Am I not supposed to be here?” Kang Jin-Ho testily replied.

“No, it's not like that. But it's out of the blue, you know?” Han Jin-Seong muttered while tutting softly under his breath. How could he not, when Kang Jin-Ho waltzed inside the orphanage again without any warning? “Hyung, you came here again because you have nowhere else to go, right?”

“...”

“Hyung, it's time to accept that you have a serious problem. A problem! Especially when you have that face of yours, too!”

This time it was Kang Jin-Ho's turn to tut away. “Stop talking nonsense, okay? Besides, did anything happen while I was away?”

“Obviously. What could happen here, anyway? It's the same as always.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded at Han Jin-Seong's unperturbed attitude. Judging from the boy's relaxed expression, it seemed the orphanage had regained its peace.

“By the way, hyung... I heard Yeon-Ha noona went to China. Is it true?”

“Mm...”

“Did you really let her leave?”

“Huh? What?”

“...Nope, never mind.” Han Jin-Seong shook his head, then stared unimpressed at Kang Jin-Ho. 'Yup, this dude has a serious problem...'

When Han Jin-Seong was still a little snot-nosed kid, he thought Kang Jin-Ho was the real Superman. As far as he could tell, Kang Jin-Ho seemed capable of doing anything and everything under the sun. And Park Yu-Min was the world's most caring man. But...

After years started piling up one by one, the truth began revealing itself to Han Jin-Seong. Kang Jin-Ho was practically an outcast with zero social skills, while Park Yu-Min was a kind but idiotic gaming nerd.

'I hope they don't get scammed out on the streets or something...'

It wasn't as if they lacked abilities or money, so why were they behaving like this? Other people were busy enjoying their lives after acquiring some measure of abilities, yet a man in his prime crawled into an orphanage's living room whenever the sun went down and lounged here as if it was his own home! How could Han Jin-Seong not be frustrated by this sight!

“Oppa!”

However, the girls reacted totally differently from Han Jin-Seong. They rushed toward Kang Jin-Ho after discovering his presence. Even the younger boys quickly crowded around Kang Jin-Ho while grinning like idiots.

Kang Jin-Ho didn't miss anyone and warmly greeted them back. He even hugged and patted them, too. Soon, the older boys sauntered closer to welcome Kang Jin-Ho and... They looked pleased when the rather-chuffed Kang Jin-Ho patted them on the head.

Han Jin-Seong pouted and muttered to no one in particular. “Wow. We have a celebrity in the house.”

Other kids shot him a glare.

“What's gotten into him again? What's with all that pouting?”

“Let him be. Jin-Seong's going through his puberty.”

“Wow. Why so late, though?”

“His mental age is still young, you know? We all went through that in our middle school, but he's fallen behind everyone and is only experiencing it now.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently listened to the other kids explaining the situation, then glanced at Han Jin-Seong with all the pity in the world.

“No! You're all wrong!” Han Jin-Seong desperately tried to defend his honor, but Kang Jin-Ho tutted away at that unseemly struggle.

“What about supper, Jin-Seong? You're not skipping meals, are you?”

“Of course not. Whenever I say I'm not hungry, everyone says I'm trying to be rebellious and stuff, so...” Han Jin-Seong groaned as if he didn't want to talk about it.

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Huh? Why wouldn't you be hungry?”

“...A man will sometimes want to skip meals, you know?”

“Huh. Maybe you really are going through puberty?”

“I'm telling you, no!” Han Jin-Seong cried out before pounding his chest in frustration.

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled at this sight. When he thought about it, Han Jin-Seong was still in elementary school when Kang Jin-Ho first showed up in the orphanage. Realizing that a kid who cutely whined after failing to understand his homework had grown old enough to shout in embarrassment like this...

For some reason, Kang Jin-Ho felt his heart growing full. His chest felt warmer.

'What am I... to these kids?'

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly started wondering about that. Had he been any sort of... help in these kids' lives? Had he been a dependable pillar of strength to them? Maybe not as much as Sister Yi or Park Yu-Min, but still?

He had no way of figuring that out. After all, that answer wasn't his to decide. All Kang Jin-Ho could do was believe that he had been helpful. Even if he asked these kids, they wouldn't answer him honestly, anyway.

“I'm glad to hear you guys are doing well,” Kang Jin-Ho smiled gently while nodding away.

“Not all of us are doing well, though?” That was when Jo Mi-Hye contradicted Han Jin-Seong by whispering those words into Kang Jin-Ho's ear.

“Huh?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“Actually, Jin-Seong oppa's school grades fell off a cliff recently, you see? At this rate, he won't get admitted to university…”

Kang Jin-Ho's expression hardened as he stared at Han Jin-Seong.

“...N-no, hang on a sec. Hyung, that's not what, uh, happened, so, like...” Han Jin-Seong stuttered ungainly while trying to come up with an excuse.

It was true that his grades had nosedived a little lately. Back when bullies were messing with him in school, he used to stick to his desk and studied as that was the only thing he could do. But he gained plenty of friends recently, which naturally decreased his study time.

This thing called school grades was an extremely honest thing. So, when Han Jin-Seong didn't study as much, his grades started suffering immediately.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded in contemplation. “Mm... Well, life isn't all about studying, anyway.”

Han Jin-Seong perked up. “Y-you think so, too? I knew you'd come around to my point of view, hyung!”

“However, being a student means it's your job to study. Full time.”

“...!” Han Jin-Seong's cheeks twitched.

Kang Jin-Ho smirked at that nervous look on the boy. “You can relax since I'm not thinking of doing something. It's not a sin to suck at studying, Jin-Seong.”

“Y-yes, that's right! I knew you'd be...”

That was when Jo Mi-Hye decided to interfere. “But, oppa!”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at her. “Yeah?”

“Other kids at my school get pretty good grades by attending cram schools after class. But we gotta study by ourselves, so... No matter how hard we try, our grades aren't improving at all! It's so unfair!”

“...!”

“I want to attend a good university and get a nice job later, but what if I can't even pass the entrance exams? What will I do if that happens...?”

Kang Jin-Ho's nodding suddenly gained renewed energy. “I see. In that case, we shall convene an emergency meeting.”

Suddenly, glares of resentment began stabbing into Jo Mi-Hye for failing to let the sleeping dogs lie.