He is a legendary prison guard

Episode 32

“Yes…?”

Shi-Hyun couldn’t hide his surprise. It was even more so because he heard unexpected words from an unexpected person in an unexpected place.

“You seem a bit surprised.”

“Not a bit, but a lot.”

“Wow, you’re completely the iron-fisted warden to the inmates, but you can be surprised too.”

He flinched.

“…Cough, cough.”

As Shi-Hyun was drinking water, he seemed to choke on it and cough violently. Seeing this, Lee-seol looked a bit flustered behind her glasses.

“Oh dear, did I say something wrong?”

“Cough, no… I just accidentally swallowed incorrectly… cough.”

Shi-Hyun waved his hand, insisting it wasn’t anything.

However, inside, he was wiping his startled heart. It had been a long time since he felt this flustered.

Iron-fisted warden.

The moment he heard that, he felt like something had been seen through, and he was incredibly flustered, but fortunately, seeing her expression, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m calm now.”

After a little while, Shi-Hyun wiped his mouth with a tissue and spoke.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. It seems like it was because of me.”

“No, really, it’s not.”

Shi-Hyun unconsciously denied it strongly.

Then, realizing this, he subtly managed his expression.

“Now that I’m okay, please continue speaking.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lee-seol adjusted her seating slightly and began to speak.

“Even though I’m an awakener, being E-rank isn’t anything special. However, that’s what sparked my interest in the existence of awakeners.”

“Is that so?”

“I awakened a bit early, and when I looked at my status window, it was fascinating. Especially the title, which is like a nickname; it gives a rough idea of what kind of person someone is. I grew up thinking Earth was the whole world until college,

but discovering that there are other worlds with various people living in them was so surprising and fascinating.”

“I see.”

In fact, who wouldn’t have been shocked at that time? The existence of monsters they had never known about. The fact that there was another world called the Otherworld. That the life forms they had been searching for in the universe existed there.

It was all shocking.

“For example, the person who had my powers in that world was a monk. Their job was a nun.”

While priests and monks generally participated as healers in raids, there was a clear distinction. The group categorized as priests at the top of the status window included jobs like priest, bishop, archbishop, and cardinal. They could not only heal but also use buff skills like blessings or prayers.

In contrast, the group categorized as monks included jobs like friar or nun. They could only use healing. And at the same rank, priests generally had better abilities or skills than monks.
It could be speculated that since priests held higher positions than monks, there would be more capable individuals among them.

Lee-Seol continued.

“But being E-rank, what does it matter? I’m a clumsy monk. My title is ‘The Sleepy Nun of the Meleshio Monastery.’ They say it was given because I often fall asleep while praying.”

“It seems like you were always short on sleep.”

Shi-Hyun forced a smile.

Just hearing the title gave me an idea of what kind of ability she possessed. If she couldn’t even pray properly to the deity, she would hardly be able to use divine powers.

“Hehe, isn’t it very human? We focus on and get excited about awakeners with excellent combat abilities like knights and mages, but in reality, many diverse people’s powers have crossed over. That’s what’s interesting. I suspect there are still many unknown and interesting jobs among awakeners.”

“Yes, I agree.”

Shi-Hyun responded a bit slowly.

Is being a guard an interesting job? Probably not.

“Now you understand why I’m interested in awakeners, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you heard of the continent of Reiter?”

“Isn’t that the Otherworld continent?”

“You mentioned you were a bit interested in awakeners, and you know about it. I’m really curious about the history of that place. When I read and analyze the public status windows, I can see there’s a large empire, several kingdoms, principalities, and various countries gathered there. However, it’s not clear.”

Lee-seol made a genuinely disappointed expression.

“Everyone must be curious about it. I am too.”

“That’s right. But what’s unfortunate is that many awakeners are reluctant to disclose their status windows. I understand their feelings, but it makes researching the Otherworld very difficult, which is quite regrettable.”

“There are complicated circumstances.”

Shi-Hyun thought of the worst murderer who skinned humans, the shameful technician. He felt that if he were in such a job, he wouldn’t be able to talk about it either.

“That’s true. But you know, I have a theory I support.”

Lee-seol’s eyes sparkled behind her glasses.

“There are various theories about why the gate phenomenon occurred. But I think it’s related to the religion of the Reiter continent.”

“Religion?”

“This place has religion, but it’s a scientific era. So it might be hard to understand, but over there, priests who can use divine powers can even revive dying people. If that’s the case, how strong must the true divine power be?”

Shi-Hyun thought for a moment and then spoke.

“It must be indescribably strong. But many people doubt the existence of gods. Atheists claim that even healing wounds is just a type of magic.”

“Can it be scientifically proven? So, it’s God. And magic and sword skills can’t be scientifically proven either, so why do people believe in those? Because they can see it? But healing is visible too. It’s just that God isn’t visible.”

Lee-seol spoke passionately. It seemed she was more immersed in the topic because it was something she was interested in.

“Even if they believe in the gods over there, people here can’t gain any powers. So why would atheists have a reason to believe? Well, in a short period of ten years, the power of religion has grown here too.
Doomsday theories are trending. In a situation where gates and monsters are running rampant, it’s not strange to rely on religion.”

Shi-Hyun took a sip of water and continued.

“On the contrary, I think the fact that society is functioning so smoothly in this situation shows how amazing the civilization humans have built is.”

After the initial gate wave caused tremendous damage, it was true that, aside from S-rank gates, there hadn’t been significant harm to ordinary people, which lessened the sense of crisis. Many had become desensitized to the dangers of gates.

Still, despite experiencing such events, he couldn’t help but admire how the state and society were still functioning smoothly.

“Humans adapted. They’re animals of adaptation. If this were the past, people would have been treated as crazy for talking about magic and monsters, but now it’s accepted as completely normal. Now, when they hear that an awakener died in a gate, they accept it as naturally as a traffic accident.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Shi-Hyun nodded.

“I was saying earlier that I think the existence of the god of the Reiter continent might be related to the cause of the gates.”

“You think the god created the gates?”

“Not necessarily that, but I think it might be related to the being that created the gates. For example, if there is a god, wouldn’t there also be an opposing existence?”

Lee-seol spoke as if asking.

“Well, there could be.”

“Then, if that opposing being created the gates, and the god sent the powers of awakeners to stop it, w’ouldn’t that fit together? This is my thought, but what do you think, Warden?”

“Hmm….”

Shi-Hyun trailed off, his expression deep in thought for a moment.

The cause of the gates. No matter how much he thought about it, it was a question that didn’t yield answers, and debates about it existed everywhere. So most people just set it aside and lived their lives.

[Poahim advises you.]
[‘The Silver Saint’ or ‘The Dual-Eyed Sage’ might help you find out the cause of the gates.]

“Ah?”

Shi-Hyun was startled by the sudden notification window and opened his eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking too deeply.”

Shi-Hyun stammered.

This isn’t a quest. Just like when he met the great mage Hyris, Poahim was trying to tell him something.

He could find out the cause of the gates. That’s understandable, but who is the Silver Saint and the Dual-Eyed Sage?

They seemed to refer to someone, but it was hard to guess.

Could this be related to awakening? If so, is that a title?

His curiosity surged, but the message ended there.

<0x18> <0xCD> ◈

After parting with Han Lee-Seol, Shi-Hyun immediately searched for the keywords “Saint” and “Sage” on his smartphone.

However, nothing related to awakening came up. Only religious and other topics appeared.

When he got home, Shi-Hyun washed up and threw himself onto his bed. Staring at the ceiling, he fell into a daze.

“This is absurd.”

How could he find two people among billions with just that little clue? No, even if he had more clues, how could an ordinary warden find them?

It was a relief that it wasn’t a quest. Still, if Poahim’s advice was true, it was incredible information. But no one would believe him if he told them.

“…I should write it down.”

Shi-Hyun sat up and opened his notebook.

Poahim said I might find out the cause of the gates if I ask.
The Silver Saint? Since it’s a saint, it must be a woman, right?
The Dual-Eyed Sage? I don’t know their gender.

He wrote down those three short lines. Then he lay back down on the bed.

“Wait a minute.”

Shi-hyun’s eyes brightened. After thinking for a moment, he felt that Poahim had been watching him and occasionally speaking to him.

If so, could they communicate?

“Hey, Poahim.”

There was no message.

“Poahim, answer me.”

“Poah Uncle?”

“Respectful Warden.”

“Iron-fisted Warden.”

“Fanatical Executioner?”

“You are the best warden.”

“….”

Ugh… what was that nonsense?

Shi-Hyun kicked the blanket with his foot and squirmed.

<0x18> <0xCD> ◈

“Oppa?”

Hyung, who had come to Shi-hyun’s place to go to their parents’ house, stared at his tired face with wide eyes.

“I’m going to sleep. Don’t wake me until we arrive.”

As soon as he fastened his seatbelt in the front seat, Shi-Hyun took a sleeping position. He had been out late drinking with his guild members the night before.

This is why you should be careful with pretty women. Normally, he wouldn’t have drunk this much. But when Eunhye smiled brightly and poured him a drink, he felt like the taste of the alcohol was good and he wanted to drink more.

He was crazy, crazy. He was charmed by a pretty vixen

“What kind of alcohol did you drink so much?”

Seeing her brother’s condition, Hyung made a face of disbelief. She knew he didn’t like alcohol.

“I lost my mind for a moment.”

“Oppa, you drank with a girl. A very pretty girl, too.”

Hyung’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“I’m going to sleep.”