The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

“Them…?”
“Yes.”

Dobin narrowed his eyes at the man, his expression filled with skepticism.

It was no wonder. After all, the only Returnee Dobin had seen was Do Haun.

Despite Dobin’s doubtful expression, the man continued, “And I am pursuing them.”

What nonsense.

Dobin dismissed the man’s words as drivel and decided to shift his focus.

“Why can’t you tell me about the Returnees?”

“As I’ve said, I’m not at liberty to share. I made a promise.”

Dobin frowned. This mysterious man’s evasiveness was beginning to annoy him, and he dismissed the statement as nonsense again.

“However, I do know who the Returnee you encountered is.”

Does he know her identity?

Dobin’s eyes sparkled with interest, and the man smiled faintly.

“It must be the Hero.”

“Impossible.”

“Pardon? But to my knowledge—”

“A Hero would never stoop to such cowardly tactics!”

Dobin cut him off sharply and stood abruptly, his voice booming with indignation. The sudden outburst drew the attention of everyone nearby.

The man, now flustered, lowered his voice. “M-Mr. Bin! Please calm down…”

“A Hero? This is why I shouldn’t have bothered meeting you! Look at that person! How could that possibly be a Hero… Oh?”

“Mr. Bin?”

Dobin hesitated mid-rant, his accusatory finger lowering as he mumbled under his breath, “Gloria?”

*****

|Pr. Hero|: Guild Master, are you talking about me?

“……?”

A sudden message from the Hero made me pause.

|Pr. Hero|: My ears are burning for some reason.
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Maybe the Grand Duke is talking about you. It’s like how employees always gripe about their bosses.
|Pr. Hero|: You think so?
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Definitely. Hit up the Grand Duke.
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Wait, are you talking about me? My nose is itchy for some reason.
|Pr. Hero|: Just pick it.
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: You little—

The Hero disappeared from the chat, but soon after, the Grand Duke sent a tearful message:

|Pr. Grand Duke|: Did you tell the boss something?! She just said “we’ll talk later” and hung up. What did you do?!
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: I don’t know.
|Pr. Grand Duke|: Please, I beg youㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

I chuckled softly at his desperate plea.

“Haun, what’s so funny?”

“Huh? Oh, this.”

Not wanting to seem like I was laughing at nothing, I pulled up a comedy video on my phone and showed it to Seoha.

Thanks to the Demon King’s ridiculous rant about labor, I had spat out the toast I was eating in front of Do Hain and promptly been kicked out of the house. Well, more accurately, I had fled to escape his nagging. With nowhere else to go, I called my trusty friend, Bae Seoha.

Seoha watched the comedy video like it was a documentary, then burst into a smile. “I should subscribe to this channel!”

She hadn’t laughed once, but now she wanted to subscribe? Even though she’s my friend, sometimes Seoha can be a bit… peculiar.

“So, why did you leave your house this time?”

“Do Hain’s nagging was unbearable.”

“Did you forget to clean your room again?”

“No, it’s because of the Demon King.”

“The Demon King…?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Seoha tilted her head as if she wanted more details, but I just shrugged.

“When are you going back home?”

“When Do Hain goes back to the guild.”

“You mean when he goes to work. Anyway, Do Hain must be really busy these days. It’s hard to even catch a glimpse of him.”

I shrugged again. Do Hain’s busy schedule wasn’t exactly my concern.

“But Haun.”

“What?”

“There’s a weirdo here.”

“……?”

Seoha gestured with her eyes toward someone nearby. I turned to see what she was talking about.

Turning to look, I spotted a man wearing black sunglasses sitting casually.

It was that guy. The one who’d stirred up my curiosity with talk of “Gloria” and then passed out after a single sip of a cocktail.

Seoha, impressed for some inexplicable reason, nodded as if she’d figured something out.
“Even lunatics have friends, huh.”

“Friends? What are you talking about?”

“Look, there’s someone sitting across from him.”

Seoha craned her neck, peering over my shoulder. I quickly stopped her.

“Hey, don’t keep staring.”

“But they’re looking at us too. Oh? They’re getting up.”

“……!!”

No way.

I thought that guy was a lost cause, but now this?

“Haun, the lunatic is heading this way.”

Her words made me groan and run my hands through my hair. I needed to ask him how he knew about the Returnee of Gloria.

But not here. Not now.

Just as I was about to turn my head away, I spotted someone blocking the lunatic’s path—a man with long, flowing black hair.

“Godslayer.”

“Ma… Hun?”

I barely managed to cut myself off.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Why are you here?

The Demon King hesitated, closing his mouth before sending me a message.

|Pr. Demon King|: I thought you might be here. You are a regular, are you not?

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Regular or not, why did you come?!

|Pr. Demon King|: I just finished a commission.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: ?
What does that have to do with coming here?

Apparently, my confused expression prompted the Demon King to open his mouth.
“What do you think? Do you think I’ve gotten stronger?”

…
Right. I’d forgotten. This guy is an even bigger problem than that lunatic.

Seoha looked at me, her eyes begging for an explanation. I avoided her gaze entirely.
Sorry, my friend. There’s no way to explain this.

Meanwhile, the lunatic called out to the Demon King, who was blocking his way.

“Hey.”

“Are you speaking to this body?”

I facepalmed as I watched the meeting of two catastrophic personalities.

I’ll deal with Gloria later.

Sometimes, you just have to pick a side to survive. I decided to back up the Demon King.

“Why are you so late?”

“Were you waiting for me?”

No.
I barely swallowed the word and instead sent him a message.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Demon King, play along.

|Pr. Demon King|: What do you want me to play along with?

The Demon King glanced around the café.

|Pr. Demon King|: I see nothing to play with.

Oh, for…!

I clenched my fists and forced a smile.

|Pr. Demon King|: Godslayer, your face— It reminds me of something from my castle. I once hung a gargoyle’s head on the wall, and your face is exactly like it.

What the hell.

Rubbing my face in frustration, I sighed deeply.

“Mahun.”

“Why do you call me, Godslay—”

“Hey.”

I shot him a glare. Stop calling me that in public.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Do Haun.

|Pr. Demon King|: Whose name is that?

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Mine. It’s my name!!!

The Demon King nodded solemnly, as if committing the name to memory.

“Why do you call me, Do Haun?”

“……”
What am I supposed to do with this guy?

“And you, Dobin.”

“So you do remember my name, Godslayer.”

And what am I supposed to do with this guy either?

At this rate, I’m going to die and leave behind relics. Somewhere far above, some enlightened soul is probably bowing in respect.

“Dobin, didn’t I give you my number? Why are you here again?”

“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding,” Dobin said, narrowing his eyes. “This body was here first, engaging in conversation.”

“Then keep talking. Leave me out of it. I’m hanging out with my friends right now.”

“We’re friends—”

I slapped a hand over the Demon King’s mouth before he could finish and sent him a message.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Demon King, shut up while I’m still asking nicely.
|Pr. Demon King|: Understood.

Removing my hand from his mouth, I wiped my palm clean with a napkin. Then, resting my chin on my hand, I addressed Dobin.

“You and I have things to discuss that only concern the two of us. It’d be better to set up a time for that.”

Dobin narrowed his eyes, as if calculating something.
“…The odds of you ignoring my messages?”

“Zero. There are enough people in this world who leave me on read, so I make it a point not to do that myself.”

At my words, the Demon King began feigning nonchalance, looking off into the distance.

You feel guilty, don’t you?

Seoha muttered softly beside me, “You do it to Hain though.”

That’s different! He’s my little brother! Anyway, Seoha, stay quiet too!

After silently yelling at her, I turned back to Dobin. He seemed to be pondering something before tilting his chin slightly upward.

“This body is extraordinary.”

“Ah… yeah… okay.”

What am I supposed to do with that?

“It takes no effort for this body to identify your identity,” Dobin declared.

“Sure. That’s great.”

“Do you realize how extraordinary this body is—”

“Okay, that’s enough. Get lost.”

My patience had hit its limit. I didn’t care how extraordinary his body was—I just wanted him to disappear.

Before Dobin could say more, another man appeared and covered his mouth.

“Mr. Bin, let’s leave now.”

“……?”

Who’s this now?

Dobin tried to protest, but the man gave us a polite bow before dragging Dobin away.

“So, he’s not friends with the lunatic after all?”

“Seems that way.”

“But, Haun.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve never been friends with that guy. So, since when did we become friends?”

“…….”

The Demon King furrowed his brow slightly at Seoha’s pointed stare, tilting his head in confusion. I pulled him to sit down next to me.

Alright, time to fix this mess.

“Woo Mahun, introduce yourself.”

“I am the Demon King.”

“No!! Not that!! You idiot!!”

At the Demon King’s shocking introduction, Seoha choked on her breath and burst into a coughing fit.

After recovering, she wiped her mouth, looking both impressed and incredulous.
“Wow… Demon King, huh.”

I could feel a cold sweat forming. I quickly decided to fabricate his identity to escape this insane situation.

It was my only way out.