The Saint Wants to Rest - vanish into fiction

At the sound of Ian’s voice, Vermouth’s shoulders, which had been radiating a murderous aura like a gatekeeper of hell until just a moment ago, flinched instantly.

“Is someone here? Why is it so loud?”

Ian was walking toward the entrance while rubbing his eyes. Dressed in a loose, plain t-shirt with pillow marks on his cheek and messy bedhead, he looked exactly like an unemployed man who had slept in late.

However, at that single voice, Vermouth’s attitude transformed in a split second. He withdrew the hand that had been aimed at Alexander’s throat and turned toward Ian with the gentlest face in the world.

“Ah, you’re awake. It’s nothing serious.”

“Really? But who is that guy?”

Ian pointed toward the frozen Alexander through the gap in the open door. Vermouth brushed off the hand he had used to suppress Alexander, furrowing his brow as if he had touched filthy sewage.

“He’s a solicitor.”

“A solicitor? But he’s a foreigner.”

“Yes. He is a malicious scammer who speaks Korean very well. It seemed he came to force a sale of useless items, so I was just about to kick him out.”

While Vermouth answered Ian as tenderly as a spring breeze, he shot a look toward Alexander filled with a murderous intent that signaled, ‘If you utter a single word, I will slit your throat right now.’

Alexander’s mouth hung open, his face a mess of indignation, rage, and the terror of the life-threatening experience he had just endured. To think that Alexander Gray, the Master of the world-renowned Empire Guild, had not only been suppressed by a mere bodyguard but was being treated like a common solicitor!

“Y… You! I am not a solicitor! I am the Master of Em— Ugh!”

When Alexander could no longer suppress his pride and tried to shout, Vermouth struck him in the solar plexus with a short, powerful blow in a clever blind spot where Ian’s gaze couldn’t reach.

It was pure physical force without a single drop of Divine Power, yet it was a perfect strike honed on countless battlefields. Though it didn’t even make a sound, Alexander’s breath hitched, and he doubled over.

“See? He’s talkative and persistent. It will only be tiring for you to deal with him, Ian, so please go back inside and don’t worry about it. I’ll clean this up neatly on my own.”

“Hmm.”

Ian tilted his head. For some reason, he felt like he had seen that flashy blond hair on the news before, but he didn’t particularly want to strain his memory. Above all, he was mentally and physically exhausted from the commotion at the hospital yesterday. Laziness won over curiosity. Since Vermouth said he would handle it, there was no need to step in.

“Really? Then send him away quickly and come in. I’m hungry.”

“Yes, I’ll be in shortly.”

As Ian turned away indifferently, Vermouth slammed the front door shut without a shred of mercy.

Kicked out behind the firmly closed steel door, Alexander stood leaning against the wall, trembling violently. His high-end custom suit was wrinkled, and because he had been hit in the solar plexus, a wheezing sound escaped with every breath. His pale face turned red and purple with humiliation.

“Th… That crazy bastard!”

How dare he turn away the head of the #1 guild in the US? And while treating him like a solicitor and physically striking him?

Losing his reason, Alexander reached out toward the doorbell again. He intended to tear the door down by force and rip that arrogant gatekeeper limb from limb. It was the moment he was about to draw up the fierce mana of an S-rank once more.

“Stop right there, Alexander Gray!”

The elevator doors opened, and a sharp shout echoed through the hallway. A man in a neat suit wearing nervous, silver-rimmed glasses appeared—it was Yoon Tae-gyeom of the South Korean Awakened Administration Bureau. He walked over with terrifying momentum, catching his breath after running so fast his tie fluttered.

“What do you think you’re doing in someone else’s country!”

“The Administration Bureau? Hmph, move aside. I have something to discuss with the Saint—no, the healer inside. I simply came to make a legitimate scouting offer.”

Alexander lifted his chin arrogantly, trying to restore his crumpled pride, but Yoon Tae-gyeom did not back down an inch and blocked Alexander’s path.

“This is a clear violation of the rules! If a representative of an overseas guild wishes to contact a domestic S-rank awakened person, they must go through official procedures and obtain prior approval from the Bureau. Coming to a private safe house like this is a serious criminal act equivalent to illegal entry!”

“Rules? The path I walk is the rule. Do you think a mere Korean Administration Bureau can control me?”

“This is not America. If you do not withdraw immediately, I will turn this into a diplomatic issue at once. I have the authority to suspend all business activities of the Empire Guild within Korea and move for deportation.”