Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

Fides declaring he would use force.

The impact of that statement was tremendous. The conference room erupted into chaos, as if everyone had been waiting for this moment. The atmosphere was in complete disarray.

“Why? Why? Are you trying to monopolize the resurrection stones from the quest reward?”

“Are you saying you’ll clear the quest alone?”

“If that’s truly your intention…… I’m deeply disappointed.”

A barrage of protests erupted simultaneously.

Despite Fides’ formidable power, there was a reason why people felt emboldened to protest so freely, despite their fear of him.

‘Fides’ was righteous.

The words most commonly used to describe him were ‘Mage of Conviction’ and ‘Righteous Hero’.

He possessed tremendous power but never used it for personal gain. He was hailed as a hero because he only used force against monsters that attacked humans and criminals who were undeniably evil.

Even when he caught criminals, he didn’t deal with them on the spot but handed them over to the police, ensuring they received lawful punishment.

‘Right. Fides has never been the type to casually threaten people.’

‘Surely Fides wouldn’t actually use force against us?’

Charitably put, he had a clean and righteous image.

Less charitably…

‘……They must think I’m a pushover.’

Hyun Siwoo smirked beneath his mask.

Perhaps he’d been too nice all this time.

[There might be some truth to that.]

Neaiba chimed in. Hyun Siwoo scoffed internally.

‘Hah, at times like this, I miss the Hyun Habin from the first round who was called a madwoman. Back then, she just boldly revealed her identity and took out anyone who came after her in one blow.’

Hyun Siwoo recalled the past.

Before the regression, when the System first issued a quest to kill Hyun Habin. Like today, Habin had called a meeting and calmly said:

‘Ah, yes. That would be me. Anyone who wants to kill me, please step forward.’

Hyun Habin, sitting exactly where Hyun Siwoo was now. Despite her calm tone, her overwhelming presence was so terrifying that no one dared to make a move.

‘That was truly incredible. Even I, watching from afar, got goosebumps. How should I put it? It was like she was the mad dog of the neighborhood.’

[Oh, why don’t you try that now? If you say, ‘If anyone wants to object, come forward,’ they’ll all flinch, won’t they?]

‘That would draw too much attention. The current Hyun Habin’s goal is to hide her identity, so it would be counterproductive for her.’

[Tch. You’re still not saying you can’t do it, are you?]

‘……I could if I wanted to, you know?’

[That resolve you’ll never actually muster? How long are you going to milk that?]

Hyun Siwoo heaved a heavy sigh.

To escape this endless cycle that never stops once you engage, the only option is to ignore it…

[What did you say?!]

‘Ah, did you hear that? It’s nothing, nothing at all.’

Anyway.

He quickly scanned the conference room with his eyes. Each person here was an Awakened recognized worldwide. Still, even if everyone gathered here attacked at once, they couldn’t defeat Hyun Habin.

‘Honestly, aren’t they the ones who’d be in big trouble if they carelessly went after Hyun Habin? If anything, I should be thanked for stopping them.’

Hyun Siwoo rested his chin on his hand, not bothering to hide his annoyance. Even without such reasons, there were plenty of reasons to maintain his ‘righteous’ image for now.

If he aroused unnecessary suspicion or created problems, it might draw attention to Hyun Habin.

To avoid suspicion-

‘Let’s go with the usual. Like someone obsessed with justice.’

Hyun Siwoo spoke in a resolute voice.

“Some of you seem to misunderstand. I won’t be clearing the ‘Guardian of Deception Quest’ either. This is not a proposal for my personal benefit.”

[Actually, it is for personal reasons. You’re saying you won’t stand by if someone tries to kill your flesh and blood, right?]

‘Neaiba-nim, could you please be quiet for a moment? I can’t concentrate. I need to maintain a serious demeanor right now, you know?’

[Oh, alright then. Go ahead.]

Neaiba closed his mouth as if to say, ‘Let’s see what you can do.’

Hyun Siwoo glared at the red-haired man who had been arguing with him the most.

“Why do you all believe that quest must be cleared?”

“Well, obviously because it’s a quest……”

“Even if the ‘Guardian of Deception’ turns out to be an innocent civilian? Should they still be killed?”

A brief silence fell. The red-haired man blurted out:

“But isn’t this a public quest given to everyone? Why would the System order us to kill an innocent civilian? There must be a reason.”

Voices of agreement rose from here and there.

“I agree. We’ve never had major issues from following quests before, have we?”

“That’s right. Why would the System do such a thing?”

The conference room buzzed with murmurs.

Hyun Siwoo calmly asked again.

“Indeed, why would the System do such a thing?”

Another silence.

Hyun Siwoo changed his question.

“So, if a quest to kill me right now were to be issued, you’d kill me without hesitation? Because it’s a quest.”

At Hyun Siwoo’s sharp words, the red-haired man stuttered, seemingly flustered.

“Th-that’s different! How could we possibly… Fides-nim……”

The unspoken part of that sentence was probably along the lines of ‘how could we possibly kill Fides, the world’s #1 ranker?’

Hyun Siwoo clicked his tongue and turned his head.

His gaze fell on Kang Taeseo.

Kang Taeseo was glaring at him with an expression of intense displeasure.

‘What’s his problem?’

Is he feeling guilty now, of all times?

Neaiba grumbled in his place.

[What’s he glaring for? What has he done right? Tsk tsk, that Kang Taeseo, he’s the one you mentioned before, right? The one from before the regression……]

‘……That’s not important right now.’

Hyun Siwoo ignored that gaze. Just then, someone else chimed in. It was the red-haired man who had been arguing earlier.

“Wait a minute, how do you know the ‘Guardian of Deception’ is an innocent person in the first place? And couldn’t the ‘Guardian of Deception’ be something other than human? Like a magical beast or a demon!”

Another hunter next to him chimed in.

“Moreover, even if it’s human, this is a quest with a reward of 10 resurrection stones! If we use that to save someone more important than that person……”

“Holley-nim.”

Hyun Siwoo addressed the hunter who had made the last argument.

“I suppose there’s no helping it. Since it’s come to this, I’ll tell you right now. The ‘Guardian of Deception’ is actually your son.”

“Gasp.”

Holley’s face turned beet red, as if he was choking on his breath.

Hyun Siwoo tilted his head. Though he had merely changed his posture, an overwhelming pressure emanated from him. Addressing Holley, who was now averting his gaze nervously, Fides spoke again.

“Would it be alright if I killed him?”

“N-no, that’s absurd…… Don’t lie!”

“Would it be alright if I killed him?”

“That’s……!”

“I asked if it would be alright to kill him.”

“N-no……”

“You just said it yourself. Even if it’s human, it’s fine if we use it to save more important people. We’d be sacrificing your son to save 10 lives. Isn’t that a good deal?”

“No! My son is!”

Holley shouted as if venting his frustration. Hyun Siwoo, as if having received his answer, turned his head again.

“Holley. Of course, it’s not true that your son is the ‘Guardian of Deception’. But I do know who the real ‘Guardian of Deception’ is. As you know, I have quite a network of information.”

“…….”

A brief silence fell at those words.

Fides’ intelligence network.

Everyone present agreed that it was far superior to anyone else’s.

While others might not know, Hyun Siwoo was originally a regressor. His level of information was on a different dimension compared to ordinary people. He knew in detail who would do what in the future, and even the secrets and futures of each guild.

Moreover, he had built a dense information network using the connections and funds of his World Rank 1 status.

It was Hyun Siwoo who brought new information and set the agenda at every meeting, and it was Hyun Siwoo who had prevented many crimes and accidents in advance.

To those around him, he would naturally appear to have an impressive intelligence network.

“According to my information, that person is indeed an innocent, ordinary human.”

Hyun Siwoo suddenly thought of Hyun Habin. A somewhat annoying sister, sometimes impossible to understand what she’s thinking…… and not exactly an ordinary human either…….

[How can the strongest person in this world be called ordinary in the first place?!]

‘But she is innocent, and wanted to be ordinary, right?’

[Ahem…….]

Leaving Neaiba speechless, Hyun Siwoo continued.

“You might not grasp it yet. So let’s think about it this way. What if that person were your colleague or family member?”

Hyun Siwoo’s mask turned towards the red-haired man, Carter. Carter made a gulping sound.

“If this quest is openly carried out, what’s next? If another ‘assassination quest’ with a big reward is given, will you commit murder for that reason too? Will you weigh the value of that person’s life on a scale every time?”

Human life cannot be casually measured. Therefore, this kind of quest should never be accepted, regardless of the reason.

‘That should be a suitably justice-filled argument, right? Is it ‘Fides-like’ enough?’

[……Well, it sounds plausible.]

Hyun Siwoo concluded his speech.

“This quest should never have been carried out, no, not even discussed in the first place.”

“…….”

A brief silence followed.

“I agree.”

At that moment, a voice firmly expressing agreement cut through the silence.

Everyone turned to look. It was the blonde woman who had been sitting quietly until now.

Solaris Guild Master, Chae Jise, had raised her hand.

“I agree with Fides-nim’s opinion. I also think this quest should be put on hold. There are too many suspicious aspects besides that reason.”

The meeting participants glanced at Chae Jise with conflicted looks.

‘Chae Jise is agreeing……!’

All the rankers here knew it. That Solaris’ Chae Jise was a genius investor.

The rumor that her choices never fail, regardless of the field. This fact was already well-known even among hunters.

“I-I agree too.”

“So do I.”

“……Me too.”

“If that’s true, isn’t this the first most inhumane quest to appear?”

“We might need to establish regulations or criteria for such things in advance.”

“I was against carrying out the quest from the beginning!”

As if they had been waiting for this moment, other members who had been quiet suddenly spoke up.

They were the numerous other representatives and hunters sitting among those who had been clamoring to solve the quest.

Kang Taeseo, sitting next to Chae Jise, also slowly opened his mouth.

“……I, too, think the quest is wrong.”

“…….”

For a moment, all eyes turned to Kang Taeseo.

Chae Jise observed his expression carefully. He had been wearing a displeased look throughout the entire meeting.

Somehow, he looked as if he had been caught off guard once again.

‘What on earth is he thinking?’

◆◇◆◇◆

“……So now, everyone has agreed not to recklessly attempt the ‘Guardian of Deception’ quest.”

After returning home from the meeting, Chae Jise carefully shared the details with Jiseok.

“To think Fides-nim personally stepped in to stop it. It’s good for Habin, but unexpected. Who would have thought he’d intervene?”

Chae Jiseok wore a puzzled expression. Jise continued.

“Moreover, Fides said he knows who the ‘Guardian of Deception’ is.”

“He knows who it is? Does that mean Fides-nim knows Hyun Habin’s identity too?”

“That’s what he said……”

Chae Jise tilted her head.

“But on the other hand, it seems like Fides doesn’t really know. He said the ‘Guardian of Deception’ is an ordinary person.”

“Ordinary……?”

Chae Jiseok tilted his head in turn. Memories of Hyun Habin flashed through his mind.

Hyun Habin, who single-handedly wiped out hordes of monsters in the Mirror Dungeon, and who walked around with an incredibly powerful constellation and a dragon.

“Or……dinary, huh.”

[The constellation ‘Nearest Light’ clutches its chest in frustration, saying if that’s ordinary, then all ordinary humans in this world must be dead!]

An ordinary human…….

Chae Jiseok furrowed his brow. After being lost in thought for a moment, he continued. His tone was filled with certainty.

“I think Fides-nim must be mistaken. How is Hyun Habin ordinary in any way? Maybe he just said that without really knowing?”

“Right? Fides must have gotten it wrong.”

Jise nodded as if she had expected this.

“Still, since it’s about our Habin, I agreed with that opinion. You never know.”

“You did well.”