S-Rank is My Side Character - Chapter 21

Ihyeon slowly looked at me before stepping into the dimensional crack, and Rude squatted down in the alley.

“Sigh. Why do I have to go this far?”

Rude heaved a sigh and rested his chin on his knees. There was nowhere he really needed to go, but it was more comfortable to enter the guild with a time difference from Kang Ihyeon.

[It’s already been a week since you joined the guild. How do you feel? asks the Lord of Chaos.]

“It’s more comfortable than before, but people are still annoying. The PR department says they’ll restrict it, but I hate being filmed too.”

Above all, it was a bit bothersome to have to constantly wear the Rude avatar. The Rude avatar required a high concentration of spiritual power.

‘Persona’, the high-class skill for illusionists. It was one of the highest-ranking skills an illusionist could obtain.

Originally, it was a skill to change one’s personality or character seen by others, but Nari completely reworked the skill to her liking to create an avatar that could change her appearance.

It required a significantly high level and large amount of spiritual power. That’s why clearing a 3-star gate was the maximum with the Rude avatar.

“But there are good things too. The salary comes in on time, there are incentives for good performance, and I can sell the items I’ve collected.”

Nari now finally understood why everyone gritted their teeth and tried to get a job at a company. Of course, there was a commission when selling high-grade items… But it was worth paying since they took care of tax issues too.

Whenever Nari felt a little anxious, she looked at the inventory full of cash, and her heart felt at ease each time.

‘It was a sight to behold when I turned in all the items I had collected and saw the guild leader’s face…’

Rude grinned again, thinking of the completely dumbfounded expression of the receptionist and the face of Guild Leader Kang Sujin who came running after receiving the receptionist’s call.

When the guild sold items, it was reported to the National Tax Service, so it was known what was sold. Right after the church sold Nari’s items, the guild’s stock price soared. It was natural since she had swept up only boss mob items.

“And the company cafeteria and cafe coffee are good too.”

[The problem is, does that make them your co-workers? asks the Lord of Chaos.]

“That’s right. Anyway, I should go now that I thought of it. It’s a headache if we run into each other again.”

After making sure no one was around, Rude opened a dimensional crack. The church lobby could be seen beyond the portal. Rude clicked his tongue and walked in.

High-class classical music, gleaming marble floors, and a light-reflecting chandelier caught the eye.

“Luckily there aren’t many people.”

In the middle of the lobby, a few passing employees glanced at Rude’s sudden appearance, but it was already a familiar occurrence, so they bowed their heads and walked by.

[He might come at any moment, so let’s get to the office as quickly as possible! The Lord of Chaos urges you!]

“No, wait a second.”

A sparrow can’t pass a mill. Unable to resist the temptation of a 1,000 won Americano, Rude stopped at the company cafe. An Americano for 1,000 won, even convenience store coffee was more expensive than that.

“Welcome~”

Rude nodded at the friendly response of the part-timer wearing a hat and looked up at the menu board. After contemplating for a moment, he took out cash from his worn wallet with a rabbit character on it.

“One iced Americano and one iced oat latte, please.”

[Why are you buying two? The Lord of Chaos looks at you with blurry eyes.]

“…”

[Who are you giving it to? The Lord of Chaos looks at you with a suspicious expression!]

“I have to apologize. They seemed upset.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing. Please process the payment. Ah, um… Please put it on a tray.”

“Yes, please wait a moment!”

The employee, who cleverly grasped that he was talking to a Constellation, smiled again with a service worker’s smile. Rude’s ears turned a little red.

Anyway, since only a handful of people had contracted with Constellations in Korea, it was common to be seen as talking to oneself by ordinary people.

[Ooh~ Nari is getting good at socializing~? The Lord of Chaos grins.]

‘I have to take care of my partner. They seemed very upset, and if they get more upset, it’ll bother me too.’

Rude let out a deep sigh. As he pulled out his card, the employee immediately turned around and ground the coffee beans. Rude clicked his tongue and scratched his head, seeing the coffee being completed with quick hand movements.

This was all because of that guy.

A week after coming to the church, Kang Ihyeon immediately changed partners right after Rude joined.

The partner system was awkward at first, but as he did it, it was quite nice not having to solve everything alone.

Above all, despite changing from taking the lead to a position of supporting Rude’s activities, Kang Ihyeon was handling it well without a single complaint.

Both inside and outside the church seemed quite satisfied with the 1st and 2nd place forming a partnership. Anyway, it seemed like everything was going smoothly, but…

“Hey there, Mr. 1st place. You’ve arrived?”

A sarcastic voice came from behind the hallway right in front of the break room. As Rude turned around, a middle-aged man with white hair slicked back and wearing horn-rimmed glasses was waving his hand.

“You’re still going around separately from our young master? He seemed disappointed.”

Rude sighed inwardly. A black indirect message appeared above him.

[Anyway, human relationships are the problem wherever you go. The Lord of Chaos shrugs.]

“Well, I don’t feel like going together when someone keeps making sarcastic remarks.”

“Haha, not just anyone can have our church’s young master. At least it should be someone trusted by the majority of the guild members. For example, a founding member of the guild.”

The middle-aged man making sarcastic remarks was Min Jaewon, Kang Ihyeon’s former partner. He was a proud A-class hunter in Korea and his occupation was a heretic inquisitor. He was the one who anxiously searched for Kang Ihyeon in the 2-star gate.

He was also an early member of the church, so those words probably meant…

‘You dare to push me aside and become Kang Ihyeon’s partner? I don’t know how you manipulated our Ihyeon, but I don’t acknowledge a bone that rolled in like you!’

It was an advanced middle-aged way of saying he couldn’t accept Rude as Kang Ihyeon’s partner. The check had continued since Kang Ihyeon became good partners with Rude.

Rude touched his forehead once and frowned.

‘I didn’t consider that Kang Ihyeon is the church’s top idol…’

[There’s nothing that stimulates human psychology more than having someone you dislike next to the person you like. The Lord of Chaos sticks out his tongue.]

Nari was also accustomed to being disliked due to her past, but there were few who openly acted maliciously in public spaces like this, so Min Jaewon’s behavior was startling.

“And it makes even less sense for an evil-aligned illusionist to try to have our young master.”

“…”

“Evil-aligned ones are all bad guys, so it’s absolutely not allowed. Our young master is such a good person to be chosen by the 4 Archangels. What if the young master’s spiritual power gets tainted…”

‘No, if his spiritual power gets tainted just by me being next to him, he wouldn’t have been able to become A-class in the first place. Come to think of it, I’ve heard this a lot somewhere.’

[I trusted you alone and married into this family, and this is what I get?! Take responsibility for my life!! The Lord of Chaos fumes in anger.]

‘Right. If you think about it, isn’t this like going through a in-law’s house after coming to the guild…!’

Nari, who realized that Min Jaewon’s rebuke was similar to living in the in-law’s house, gnashed her teeth.

Indeed, the world was not easy!

Rude, holding a tray with drinks, let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…”

‘I really didn’t expect this to happen even in the lobby. It was just subtly jabbing in the break room or hallway.’

Knowing there was nothing more troublesome than someone who rationalizes aggressively treating others based on their own sense of justice, Rude lowered his head and pressed his brow.

‘He said he was responsible for Kang Ihyeon’s childhood…’

According to Kang Ihyeon, Min Jaewon taught him many things in place of his parents, who were all busy when he was young.

[He said he learned skill utilization from 1 to 100 by being partners with that ahjussi. The Lord of Chaos nods.]

‘He’s pretty much half a foster father.’

Anyway, if he was a Sebastian who took care of the young master’s childhood and supported the young master as a partner in the guild… It was understandable to dislike the new partner who would take the young master.

But that didn’t mean Nari had to accept that anger. They say if the in-laws are bad, you should break off the marriage. Rude scratched the back of his neck after seeing Min Jaewon’s gaze.

“So what?”

From a long time ago, Nari dealt with the various words surrounding her with no reaction and no response. However, she didn’t have the patience to ignore a fight that walked right up to her face, especially in front of other people.

“No, why would I follow your head around with puppy eyes because you like it? Shouldn’t you say something to Kang Ihyeon? Indeed, it would be quite effective to tell a young master over twenty years old not to hang out with that friend because he’s evil-aligned.”

Rude, who spat out the words in a sarcastic manner, looked at Min Jaewon. The honorifics slowly changed to informal speech under the pretense of talking to himself, seeming to indicate his mood was getting worse.

“That’s…!”

“In dramas, they usually give something and tell them to take this money and break up with our son, but there’s none of that here? The cost-effectiveness really sucks.”

“H-How can you say such profanity…! He is incomparable to the likes of you, someone who holds the key to Sephiroth…!”

“This guy really can’t come to his senses. Hey you.”

Rude sighed and approached Min Jaewon. Even though it was just that, the spiritual power around them disappeared. It was an absolute evil that made even the sages turn away.

Even though Rude was clearly shorter than him, Min Jaewon felt like Rude’s shadow was covering him.

“You were partners with Kang Ihyeon for a long time. You said you stopped him from hurting himself to the point of self-harm every time, but it couldn’t be controlled? Why do you think that is?”

In his black eyes, the bottom of a red hell could be seen. Min Jaewon stopped breathing in fear, as if there was a huge demon in front of him, unable to move easily.

After a long silence, Rude slowly opened his mouth.

“Wake up. You can’t handle him.”

“That’s…”

“Ha, now you’re openly harassing me in front of others. How many times has it been now?!”

In the end, his shout echoed inside the lobby. The employees who were watching their confrontation froze. Rude stared at him for a long time, then frowned and turned around.

“Do it in moderation, before I report it as workplace harassment. There’s a limit to leniency.”

Min Jaewon’s mouth was barely able to move only after Rude distanced himself from him, barely using honorifics again. As the murderous intent faded and spiritual power slowly filled the hallway again, Min Jaewon was finally able to breathe.

Watching Rude walk away in the distance, Min Jaewon shouted.

“What are you trying to do to the young master! He must not get close to evil! Absolutely not!”

Rude raised his middle finger high above his head without looking back and walked away leisurely. Min Jaewon shouted, possessed by evil.

“Young Master Ihyeon must always be good! That’s how he’ll lead the church much better than his parents! You’ll see! He will definitely do that! For that, an evil-aligned person like you can’t be with him!”

“…What?”

It was only after Min Jaewon uttered his last words that Rude stopped walking and reacted.