Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 436

He’s recruiting for a guild here, out of nowhere?

Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

‘Why?’

What on earth is the reason?

Weren’t these bastards the type whose main objective was fragging?

Especially the Hex he knew was a guy with an especially severe chosen-people complex.

So it didn’t make sense.

‘He’s from the working class himself, yet he discriminates like filth.’

The era had changed drastically, but class discrimination still existed in Britain.

Simply put, in Britain the royals and nobles are called the upper class, the middle class the mid class, and workers or the poor the working class—and Hex was from the lower tier of the working class, the poor.

So when he became a star player, you’d have thought he’d talk more than anyone about freedom and equality, but a man is changed by where he stands: once he stood in the seat of a star, he acted as though he were upper class and displayed a vicious chosen-people mentality.

‘Why would that kind of guy suddenly ask me to join his guild?’

His intent was nothing if not impure.

But that was fine.

There were plenty of ways to check an impure intent.

And he felt like he might be starting to understand why that guy was suddenly adopting this attitude.

Su-ho frowned and asked,

“Suddenly?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“No.”

“So you’re serious?”

“Yeah.”

With his answer, a white aura appeared.

The effect of the Ring of Joy and Sorrow.

In other words, that statement was sincere.

“You hesitated to take my hand at first, and now this? I have no idea what your angle is.”

“For that I apologize. I’m a bit shy with strangers.”

With those words, the white aura turned to black energy.

Which meant: a lie.

‘Unbelievable.’

Suppressing a scoff, Su-ho said,

“Why not be honest? You got my buff and suddenly felt like you wanted to get chummy?”

“And if I did?”

“What?”

“Seems there’s a misunderstanding. I am shy with strangers. But separately from that, as the one leading a guild representing Britain, I believe that no matter how shy I am, recruiting talent for the sake of the nation is more important. And you happen not to have a guild, and I like your ability. So I’m proposing to recruit you.”

What a madman.

At his answer, Su-ho clicked his tongue.

He knew the man was blunt, but this blunt?

And still a white aura.

Meaning sincerity.

Which made it even harder to understand.

Hex, you came from the poor, so why act like a socially inept noble?

If you were poor, you would have had to read the room all the more {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to survive.

Of course, he knew why he did it.

Hex had a deep inferiority complex about status, so he deliberately behaved that way.

So that he would be seen as truly of the noble class.

There seemed no need to keep talking.

Su-ho asked one last thing.

“Then are you proposing to take me in as a comrade, or as a tool?”

“Well, of course......”

Hex’s gaze shifted ever so slightly.

“As a comrade.”

At that answer, Su-ho also replied slowly.

“Alright, got it. But I’ll think about your offer.”

“I hope you make a wise choice.”

Finishing his words, Hex left to resume his role.

Once Hex departed, Hiro muttered to himself with a baffled look.

“A madman......”

Yes, a madman.

Is there any word that describes Hex better than that?

There probably isn’t.

What was funnier was that Alex showed no reaction at all.

No matter.

Thanks to that, he could be sure.

That those two bastards were in cahoots. And—

‘That Hex is truly a rotten one.’

An offer to recruit him “as a comrade”?

Don’t make him laugh.

All that blunt talk, and yet for that final question he exuded a black aura.

Meaning, not as a comrade but as a tool—and that meant he was looking down on him completely.

And even as he was behaving like that, the fact that Alex stayed quiet suggested the two had coordinated this conduct in advance.

Otherwise there would be no reason for Alex to sit still at Hex’s sudden move.

‘Alex is also the head of a guild representing America. There’s no reason to sit still while a foreign Player publicly headhunts in front of him.’

They must have had some sort of prior agreement, which was why he stayed put.

‘Feels like this kind of “recruiting” isn’t their first or second time......’

A thought flashed through Su-ho’s mind—surely not.

‘No, surely not.’

Surely they weren’t doing this kind of headhunting, and if the other side refused, killing them all?

That would be truly beyond the pale.

But if that really was the truth......

‘Then you’ll live a life where you can neither die nor live.’

He knew Alex and Hex were valuable assets.

But so what?

Even if you brought him a truckload of the two—no, of those punks—if he didn’t want them, that was that.

He’d just have to accomplish dozens—no, hundreds—of times their share.

‘So it’s true what they say: the real enemy is inside.’

Suppressing his anger, Su-ho waited for Hex to return.

*

Only after a good while did Hex come back.

Hex explained the surrounding terrain and what kinds of monsters were around.

As Su-ho had expected, this place teemed with rabbit monsters.

The problem was that though they were called rabbit monsters, in reality they were closer to monster rabbits than cute bunnies.

Well, no matter.

Cute rabbits or monster rabbits—he’d kill them all just the same.

Hex, back again, said,

“I found what looks like the boss room, so I’ll guide you there by the shortest route.”

“Good. Then I’ll take point, Nguyen in the middle, and Yasuda at the rear. That’s textbook formation. Hex, I don’t need to tell you yours, right?”

“Right. I’ll cover from the periphery.”

Putting the tank in front and the healer in the middle was as textbook as it gets.

Then, just before the party set out, Alex stared straight at Su-ho.

“Right, you should cast on me too.”

[ Blessing is activated. ]

As the Blessing effect coiled around Alex, his eyes went as wide as Hex’s had earlier.

“Your eyes will pop. What’s so shocking?”

“......Nothing.”

He said that, but the corners of his mouth curled up.

Of course—he could only laugh.

It was the buff from the greatest healer in the world right now.

Even so, the question remained.

Alex was the most greedy among them—so why stay still upon seeing a talent like him?

‘Don’t tell me they’re taking turns with the scout offer?’

If that’s why he was holding back, it would make sense.

Su-ho then cast the buff on Hiro as well, and Hiro’s face also showed surprise.

“......That’s incredible.”

“I have my moments.”

“Haha, as expected.”

Hiro’s admiration was pure respect.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he’d ever cast Blessing on Hiro too.

And the party set off.

“Kiyahoo!”

Not long after they departed, a monster rabbit emerged from the brush.

— Wild Rabbit Lv.207

The name was Wild Rabbit.

Contrary to the simple name, it was a massive, ferocious rabbit easily three meters tall.

Like a lion wearing a rabbit mask.

As the Wild Rabbit appeared, Hiro leapt to the front and swung his sword.

“Master... no, please protect Mr. Nguyen!”

Hiro stepped up boldly, parried the Wild Rabbit’s attack as if to show off, and then landed a counter.

‘Good boy.’

Hiro fought better than expected.

Looks like he’d completed Yasuda-ryu while Su-ho wasn’t looking.

Compared to the previous life, the pace was far faster.

While watching Hiro, Su-ho also checked the situation around them.

Judging by the occasional arrows flying in, Hex seemed to be covering them well.

The four pushed forward slowly like that.

There were fewer Wild Rabbits than expected.

Perhaps thinking the same, Hiro raised his voice to praise Hex.

“Britain’s top Player really is different. A 2-star Gate called Rabbit Hell—I thought Wild Rabbits would be pouring out like crazy, but it looks like you found the optimal path to the boss room.”

At that moment.

“Kiiik?”

“Kaak?”

Grating metallic cries.

At the same time, killing intent surged from all directions like a tidal wave.

— Wild Rabbit Lv.206

— Wild Rabbit Lv.209

— Wild Rabbit Lv.210

— Wild Rabbit Lv.205

......

The source of the killing intent was a legion of Wild Rabbits.

Seeing that, Hiro’s lips parted slightly.

“My big mouth. I just raised a flag.......”

“Was it really a flag?”

“Sir?”

“Heave-ho!!”

In that instant—while Hiro was asking back—Alex slammed into him bodily, shield and all.

“Kh! What are you doing?!”

“What do you think?!”

Shoving Hiro far away, Alex then climbed a tree with a speed hard to believe from that massive frame.

And the instant Alex got up into the branches—

Crack! Kraadadadak!

An arrow flew from somewhere and struck near Hiro’s feet; in an instant, the ground around it froze solid.

Hiro’s and Su-ho’s feet, of course—and the Wild Rabbits’ as well.

The owner of the ice arrow was Hex.

Having used a wide-area freezing technique, Hex revealed himself with an indifferent expression, and Alex boomed,

“Haha! Now it looks like you’re ready to talk. Isn’t that right?”

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Whoa, whoa—keep your voice down, why don’t you. Shout like that and every Wild Rabbit in the area will swarm us.”

“What are you—!”

Hiro ground his teeth.

At that, Su-ho raised a hand to hold Hiro back and asked Alex,

“What do you want?”

“Answer.”

“Answer what?”

“That you’ll come under us. Then we’ll spare you.”

Hex was the one who answered.

At his words, Su-ho let out a small laugh and said,

“Don’t tell me Team 1’s sub-30% clear rate was all because of you?”

“That’s right. Because of us. So just answer. We’re only interested in you. Say you’ll come under us, and we’ll let you live.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then both of you die.”

“Hah?”

At Hex’s answer, Su-ho snorted.

Seeing that, Alex said,

“Why don’t you accept while you can? You’ll like it better that way too. I don’t know what you were thinking staying guildless all this time, but rather than living as some rice-noodle hero in a failing Vietnam, enjoy wealth and glory under us. Oh, and for the record, we’re only interested in you. If you don’t accept, you die together with the Jap. Not that it changes much—the Jap dies even if you do accept.”

“Jap” is a derogatory term for Japanese used overseas—about the same as calling them “little Japs” or “Wae-nom” in our language.

He’d been using names until now; switching to “Jap” meant he was convinced he held all the cards.

After a brief thought, Su-ho asked,

“Fine. Then before I answer, let me ask one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Who’s behind you? Doesn’t feel like this is something the two of you cooked up alone.”

There was something he’d been curious about ever since he was killed in his previous life.

It was true that the entire last-stand unit stabbed Su-ho in the back, but he didn’t believe the idea came from their own heads.

There had to be someone behind them that Su-ho didn’t know.

And at this moment, Su-ho was feeling the same kind of discomfort he’d felt back then.

“Answer.”

A strange light flickered in Su-ho’s eyes.

Because the moment had come to see the bare face of a truth that had lain buried for a long time.