This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 592

【Chae-rim’s Perspective】

Yoonseo was in debt.

It was quite a hefty debt, too.

After all, it was Yoonseo who rolled up her sleeves and took it upon herself to help us out when we couldn’t move freely due to circumstances.

Of course, it was all based on her own hope, but still… the fact remained that Yoonseo took on something that was originally supposed to be our responsibility.

Just that alone made it so that I owed her, and this wasn’t exactly a common situation.

It was a relief that things went smoothly without any major incidents, because it could have easily put lives at risk—exactly what Yoonseo had handled on our behalf.

Because of that, I sincerely wanted to accommodate Yoonseo’s requests, as long as they weren’t too outrageous.

However, the request that just came from Yoonseo’s mouth was clearly far from ordinary.

Thus, my genuine stance was that I found it difficult to grant that request under any circumstances.

And it had to be that way.

While other matters might have been manageable, this particular issue was one I had to treat seriously because it was truly dangerous.

If you considered it, allowing me to participate in the exploration team might seem peculiar, but… it did look similar on the surface, yet when you analyzed it, the contexts were completely different.

To be frank, regarding the exploration team, if things turned unfavorable, there was a way out—using the rift I had once crossed into Heogye to return to reality and discard the rift, akin to a last resort.

So, while I could encounter dangerous situations as events unfolded, I didn’t think my life would be at risk.

In contrast, the operation Yoonseo was trying to join… there was no possibility of such measures.

The Others simply wouldn’t allow it.

Of course… it wasn’t that I could imagine that woman being physically overpowered; it was just hard to picture.

Still, you never know what might happen.

As I’ve said repeatedly, human affairs tend to be unpredictable.

Once things are set in motion, you never know what might unfold.

That’s why even when everyone was acting as though all the issues connected to the Others had been resolved, I couldn’t bring myself to join that atmosphere.

There were other unsettling aspects as well.

To be precise, it was something weighing on my mind.

For instance… the existence of ‘that monster.’

I hadn’t fought for long, but what I had been guarding, ‘it,’ was so horrifying that even years later, its image remained vivid in my memory.

Its actions imitated humans clumsily, but even when I reconsidered it now, the unreasonable learning ability it exhibited left a particularly strong impression.

When I first clashed with it, I thought, ‘Is this really the leader of the Others?’ because its battle skills were pitiful, but the more we fought, the more it adapted to the battle.

It felt as if it was growing in real-time during the fight.

In that sense, if that woman could eliminate ‘it’ in one swift blow, there wouldn’t be any problem. But what if she couldn’t…?

And if the thing that somehow survived were to learn again based on its newly acquired experience…

Then eventually, if it surpassed her level…

The future awaiting those deployed in that operation would be nothing short of annihilation.

Honestly, that was a concern I couldn’t dismiss.

There’s that saying, after all.

The pain that doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.

And from Chae-rim’s viewpoint, there was no being to which that saying applied more strongly than that monster, so I couldn’t shake off my worries.

That’s why, despite it being Yoonseo’s request, I couldn’t just simply agree.

Honestly, how could I?

It was evident that this could genuinely be dangerous.

It wasn’t just Dogun; personally, as someone who cared for Yoonseo, I absolutely couldn’t accept this.

Therefore, I wanted to convey a firm refusal with a resolute expression and voice to ensure Yoonseo wouldn’t bring up anything related to this again.

The original plan was definitely to go with her, but… amidst all that, there was one part I had overlooked: Yoonseo’s ‘will.’

What good would it do to say anything?

Yoonseo’s determination to participate in the operation was bigger and stronger than I had anticipated.

It had taken root so firmly that she showed no signs of being shaken by anything I said.

That meant it would be nearly impossible to persuade her with ordinary words.

“Ha…”

Since I was sitting face-to-face with Yoonseo, I couldn’t openly express it, but I let out a short sigh inwardly.

After all, no matter how I thought about it, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Did she really not understand that she could genuinely be risking her life this time?

“…If things go wrong, you might never see Dogun’s face again. Are you still okay with that?”

“I’m aware of that fact.”

“Then why…?”

Why would she want to crawl into such a dangerous place?

Was that the nuance behind the question I threw at her?

Yoonseo’s face, which had been stern, finally cracked for the first time.

I could barely notice the movement of her eyebrows shifting, but still.

“Why do you ask? I would like to ask you, though.”

What did she mean by wanting to ask something?

“If this isn’t the method, do other methods even exist?”

“Well… it might be a slower approach, but if we proceed like the current exploration team…”

“Ha… the exploration team.”

Her voice was full of incredulity.

Perhaps because of that, a smile that bordered on sarcasm appeared on Yoonseo’s face.

“Are you really convinced that’s a viable option?”

“Uh? Of course…”

Aren’t we pouring a tremendous amount of resources into the exploration team for that very reason?

Although matters related to the exploration team weren’t under her purview, just glancing at the documents that occasionally came through from related departments revealed that the association was quite literally pouring money into that sector.

That’s why I was speaking to Yoonseo in that manner…

“Then can I just ask you one thing? Have you heard of the ‘Nest’?”

“Huh, ‘Nest’?”

What was that?

I wasn’t pretending not to know; this was truly the first time I had heard of it, which naturally led me to tilt my head in confusion.

Did my reaction instill some notion of certainty in Yoonseo? Almost the moment I tilted my head, the sarcasm on her face deepened.

“Then have you heard of this? A villain wanted by the French Hero Association was captured by an exploration team that was probing Heogye and sent to France.”

“Such a thing… happened?”

While I might have been a bit skeptical, I wasn’t the type of kid to just reject what was presented to me outright, so I figured there must be some justification for Yoonseo’s words.

And I thought if I could resolve that part, it would be more than possible to turn Yoonseo’s mind around, so I approached her this way.

However, perhaps I had stumbled upon information I never expected.

It felt like I had gotten slapped in the back of the head by someone I trusted more than my own blood.

So much so that I momentarily wore a blank expression, and upon seeing that, Yoonseo’s face bore a bitter smile, as if to say she had expected it.

“I figured as much. You wouldn’t remain idle after hearing something like this.”

“I… acknowledge it. This was my mistake.”

I could only say it was careless.

Because I never would have thought that critical information regarding the Heogye exploration would be so tightly controlled.

Had I known this would happen, I would have shoved our people in there, even if I had to be shameless.

With the justification of urgency, before I could even attempt anything, they had wrapped up the personnel arrangement so quickly that now it seemed awkward for us to even try to join in, and the decision to withdraw was wrong.

Seeing Yoonseo’s reaction, she seemed to be using it differently.

“So, that’s why I intend to offer support to that side.”

Yoonseo, who had said this, added briefly.

In a place where even vital information wasn’t properly shared, what could you accomplish by putting in the effort?

Faced with Yoonseo’s words, I couldn’t find a single argument to oppose, so I couldn’t bring myself to dissuade her when she spoke as if to announce what she would do.

I was left with no choice but to just watch.