The Saint Wants to Rest - vanish into fiction

Sarah tried to draw a sharp line to shatter his fantasy, but Alexander chuckled and held out a tablet screen toward her.

“That is why I released some informants. I discovered a very interesting fact. It seems the Saint has not yet completely finished the ‘Gate Adaptation Training’ prescribed by the Korean Administration Bureau since his recent rank re-evaluation to S-rank.”

“Adaptation training?”

“Yes. It is that damn regulation where any promoted individual whose rank rises sharply or who has re-awakened must leave data by clearing lower-rank Gates while accompanied by a Bureau employee. The Saint has not yet filled those training hours, so he is mandatory to enter a B-rank dungeon with those Bureau fellows soon.”

Alexander’s blue eyes flashed mischievously like a playful boy, or perhaps like a predator that had discovered its prey.

“Contact the Korean Administration Bureau immediately. Tell them that in exchange for providing Empire’s top-tier equipment support and handing over Gate byproducts, we want to accompany them on that adaptation training as observers. With an overwhelming bribe like that, the Korean Administration Bureau will be salivating and absolutely unable to refuse.”

Sometimes, Sarah felt that she couldn’t keep up with his way of thinking.

***

In front of a B-rank Gate located on the outskirts of Seoul.

Though it was B-rank, it was on the lower side of the danger scale. If the Gate’s size had been just a bit smaller, it might have received an even lower rank. Thus, it was usually an ordinary Gate one would enter with a light heart for farming, but today was different.

Yoon Tae-gyeom, looking around the area, narrowed his eyes.

“Did I sell out the country in my past life?”

Gathered around Yoon Tae-gyeom was a party so bloodthirsty and suffocating that even the air felt frozen. Standing before him as the person in charge of the adaptation training was a lineup of members that was truly maddening.

The first to catch the eye was Choi Jae-heon, dressed neatly in a black coat but emitting a cold murderous intent that seemed to freeze the air within a 100-meter radius.

Beside him, with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, the strongest Holy Knight, Vermouth, added to the terrifying momentum, his purple eyes flashing as if he would lop off the blond man’s head at any moment.

And in the midst of that horrific atmosphere, there was one person circling around Ian while smiling brightly without a shred of tact: Alexander Gray, the Master of the American Empire Guild.

“Ah! Mr. Ian, your outfit today is truly practical yet dazzlingly beautiful! There is no need for the Saint to even lift a finger in a mere B-rank dungeon. If you just watch comfortably from behind my back as if on a stroll, I will beautifully slaughter the monsters for you!”

“Ah, yes. I appreciate the sentiment, but could you please stay at least one meter away from me? My head hurts from the smell of your perfume every time I breathe.”

Ian, with a hollow face exhausted from fatigue, coldly pushed Alexander away. Though he had been polite at first, his tone had changed at some point due to exhaustion. Alexander’s secretary, Sarah, watched the scene from the side but did not bother to point it out. Yoon Tae-gyeom felt like he understood that sentiment.

The higher-ups at the Bureau had completely fallen for the sweet bribe of Empire’s equipment support. Because of that, Ian’s mood, having to suddenly run through a Gate with these crazy S-rank awakened individuals, was surely nothing short of miserable.

“Ian. If that tactless American keeps buzzing around you and bothering you inside the Gate, tell Hyung immediately. Observer or not, I will quietly bury him inside the dungeon under the guise of an accident.”

Choi Jae-heon muttered in a calm, chilly voice, slowly letting invisible telekinesis creep up toward the nape of Alexander’s neck.

“You may leave that laborious role to me. I will kill him off so that no one will ever know. The sin of defiling Mr. Ian’s vision deserves to be paid for with his life.”

Choi Jae-heon and Vermouth, who usually would be anxious to kill each other, had formed a miraculous duet of murderous intent in front of this massive uninvited guest named Alexander. However, the person receiving that horrific momentum was merely humming a relaxed tune, brushing off the terrifying pressure with a sly attitude.

Yoon Tae-gyeom did not even have the energy to stop them.

“Today’s training objective is strictly Choi Ian-ssi’s safe adaptation to the Gate. Therefore, I ask that you refrain from any standout behavior. Let’s clear this quickly without unnecessary friction.”

Sensing that if left alone, there would be casualties from a diplomatic dispute before they even entered the Gate, Yoon Tae-gyeom hurriedly settled the situation and pushed everyone’s backs into the Gate.