These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me-Chapter 174

“It’s tomorrow.”

“What?”

I was dumbfounded by Yeon Seung-won’s answer.

Tomorrow? The meeting is tomorrow? And he’s only telling me now?

Yeon Seung-won looked at my stunned expression with an impassive expression and replied.

“They said the meeting was scheduled right after the prophecy came out.”

“Hmm… I see.”

If Delia Clemens hadn’t predicted the date, this meeting wouldn’t have been possible. Otherwise, everyone would have been too busy with other tasks to hold a proper discussion, and they would only have assembled in haste on the day the Final Dungeon opened. But by then, there wouldn’t have been any time for meetings or anything like that—they would have had to enter the dungeon immediately. I guess in the original story, they probably rushed in like that to clear it, which only landed them in even more trouble.

“Where will the meeting be held?”

“At the Odin Guild headquarters.”

“Not at the Association?”

“No.”

It was surprising. I had assumed the meeting would take place at the Association, but instead, it was going to be at the Odin Guild. Was it because the Odin Guild, where Kang Yoo-hyun was, would be leading the raid team? As I pondered this, Yeon Seung-won spoke in a low voice.

“After all, the Association is hard to trust.”

“Ah…”

I nodded at his words. The incident when Raisu raided the Association came to mind. On top of that, Director Na Ye-rim had always seemed a little suspicious. If we held a meeting in a place like that, there would be no telling what might happen. As I nodded in agreement, Yeon Seung-won stood up. With a faint smile on his lips, he spoke to me.

“Then, I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow.”

“Ah… okay.”

What’s going on? Yeon Seung-won, who usually gave off nothing but coldness, was smiling. They said it was a bad sign when someone started acting out of character.

But these days, Yeon Seung-won seemed oddly more relaxed. I had no idea why, and it left me at a loss. I needed to figure out why he’d changed before I could accept it—but I was totally clueless. After Yeon Seung-won turned and left the room, I let out a sigh. And when I turned around, I saw Yong-sik standing there with a sulky look on his face.

“Yong-sik-ah?”

“…”

Yong-sik frowned, glaring at the door Yeon Seung-won had just exited. Wondering what was wrong, I walked over, placed my hands on his shoulders, and gave him a gentle shake.

“Yong-sik-ah, what’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing, Dad.”

"Really?"

Yong-sik, who had now started speaking more maturely, shook his head. Somehow, it didn’t seem entirely convincing. Did he really mean it was nothing? I tilted my head and looked at him.

When Yong-sik first became human, he was really small, around ten years old. Now he had quickly grown into an adolescent, about the age of a middle-schooler, a boy in that awkward early-teen stage. I was a little worried, but luckily, Yong-sik didn’t seem to have hit puberty yet. Most of the time, he listened well and did as I said. Unless it was a special situation like the incident with Max Bryan, he rarely acted out and was generally well-behaved.

I was still unsure about taking such a well-behaved Yong-sik into the extremely dangerous Ginnungagap Dungeon. It seemed that Park Yoon-sung and the other hunters wanted to make use of S-rank Yong-sik’s power, but I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Of course, I knew that despite his appearance, Yong-sik was strong… but still. Seeing him now in the form of a young boy rather than a summoned beast filled me with guilt. That was why I had already decided to leave Yong-sik behind. With that resolve, I opened my mouth once more.

"Um, Yong-sik-ah."

"What’s the matter?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"That…”

But when I tried to speak, I hesitated. Even though Yong-sik had polymorphed into human form, he still retained the traits of a summoned beast. There was no telling how long it would take to clear the Ginnungagap Dungeon, and being apart from him for too long wouldn’t do him any good. If we failed to clear it, the world would end just like in the original story.

But even if I set that aside and only considered what would happen if we did clear the Ginnungagap Dungeon, it still seemed better to leave him behind than to take him along and risk putting him in danger. Having made up my mind again, I finally spoke.

“I’m planning to take only Yong-sun into the Final Dungeon.”

“…”

“Yong-sik, would you wait at the accommodation instead?”

“…”

Yong-sik didn’t answer. Judging by the way his expression darkened, he clearly didn’t like it. Sure enough, he quickly shook his head and asked in a flustered tone.

“I don’t want to. Why? Why can’t I go?”

“Because that place is far more dangerous than any dungeon we’ve been to so far.”

“And Yong-sun can?”

“Yong-sun is…”

“Ppiik?”

Yong-sun, who had been playing with a toy beside us, suddenly let out a sharp cry and turned her head as if she realized we were talking about her. The memory of her transforming into her adult form in the Muspelheim dungeon was still vivid in my mind. She might look like a small, harmless lizard now, but in reality, she was a fearsome dragon. And perhaps because of her size, her adult form carried an even stronger presence than Yong-sik’s. I hesitated to answer, but as if he saw right through me, Yong-sik frowned and spoke in protest.

“Is it because I still can’t transform into a dragon?”

“Mm…”

That was another reason why I couldn’t bring Yong-sik into the Ginnungagap dungeon. Even though he had polymorphed into a human, he should have been able to turn back into a dragon, but every attempt had failed. Once he changed into a human, he simply couldn’t return to his dragon form, no matter how many times he tried. I couldn’t possibly take him on a dungeon raid in such an unstable state. I gave a slow nod.

“That’s right, so don’t push yourself. Just stay here and rest, okay?”

“…”

I thought Yong-sik would accept it, but he didn’t. To my surprise, he started rebelling.

“I don’t want to! I’m going too!”

“What?”

“I said I’m going with you!”

“Yong-sik-ah…”

Feeling troubled, I looked at the whining Yong-sik. I hadn’t expected him to quietly go along with it as usual, but I also didn’t think he would act like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.

Of course, he was still cute, but… no, that wasn’t the point. At times like this, I needed to be firm. Ahem. I cleared my throat, steeling myself to harden my expression and speak seriously.

“Hyung! Did you hear there’s a meeting tomorrow?”

“Huh… Do-gyul-ah?”

The door suddenly burst open, and an uninvited guest walked in. It was Do-gyul.

Do-gyul, who had suffered a heavy mental blow from Max Bryan, had recovered surprisingly quickly. It seemed that because he had struggled with his ability since he was young, he was also quick to recover mentally. Still, even though we were brothers, he couldn’t just barge into my room without knocking like this. I felt like I had to say something. Completely startled, I tried not to show it and put on a stern expression again.

“Do-gyul-ah, even if it’s my room, you can’t just barge in like that all the time…”

“Huh? There’s a meeting tomorrow. We’re going together, right?”

“Uh…? Go together… where…?”

“The dungeon strategy meeting tomorrow!”

“What?”

I looked at Do-gyul in surprise. He stared back at me with an innocent expression.

“Why are you going there?”

“Of course I’m going to the Ginnungagap dungeon too.”

“Who decided that?”

“I did.”

“No!”

I shouted, huffing and glaring at Do-gyul. Where did this kid think he was going? He was talking about the Final Dungeon—the one even the original protagonists couldn’t clear—as if he were going to an amusement park! They said that when something was too absurd, it could leave you speechless. That was exactly how I felt. All I could do was shout, “No!” in frustration.

“But Guildmaster Park Yoon-sung said it’s okay?”

“No… he’s really…!”

Park Yoon-sung, that cold-blooded man with not a shred of humanity. He was going to push even young Do-gyul into the Final Dungeon? I could understand if it were Kang Soo-hyun, who would soon be an adult, but Do-gyul was still a child. How did that make any sense?

I was about to leave the room to confront Park Yoon-sung when Do-gyul grabbed me. He held onto my waist with both hands and whined.

“It’s already on the list! I can’t change it! We even signed the contract!”

“Hey! You should’ve told hyung beforehand!”

“If I had, hyung would’ve just said no like now!”

“Of course, you idiot!”

It was a total shock. I couldn’t believe he had completely blindsided me like this. I hadn’t expected Do-gyul to do something like that, so the shock hit hard. Feeling my anger boiling inside, I gritted my teeth.

“What on earth are you thinking? Huh? Do you even know how dangerous that place is?”

“I know!”

“If you know, then you shouldn’t say you’re going!”

“But hyung, you’re going even though you know it’s dangerous too!”

“I’m fine!”

“What do you mean, hyung, you’re fine?”

“I…!”

I was about to shout again, but Do-gyul’s question made me pause for a moment. Going to the dungeon was only natural. I had no choice. If I, with my S-class auxiliary skill, didn’t go, we might not be able to clear the Final Dungeon. No matter how dangerous it was, I had to go. I didn’t have any grand plan to save the world; I was just going to survive.

Ironically, I was willing to face a deadly dungeon simply to stay alive. Until now, I had assumed it was obvious that I had to go, but when Do-gyul asked, I couldn’t answer immediately. It felt like something was clogging my chest. I felt suffocated.

“Hyung, you’re going to a dungeon where you could die, so why can’t I?”

“…Do-gyul-ah.”

“So what, I just have to wait here all alone? Until you come back?”

“…”

Tears welled up in his eyes as Do-gyul stared at me with a piercing gaze. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.