[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 152

……What is this, what's happening?

What did I just hear?

My head is a mess.

Because words that shouldn't be heard, and couldn't be heard in the current situation, echoed in my ears.

‘Think, think.’

3-Minute Tower Church Honorary Saint has a very deep relationship with Prisoner.

It's not particularly strange that he has such suspicions after seeing Outlaw's play.

But,

That is just a suspicion, nothing more; it cannot reach certainty.

People already know that Prisoner is dead, and this fact has been indirectly verified to some extent.

‘Wait, then could it be that I easily accepted the team offer….’

Because he knows I am Prisoner?

‘……No. It can't be.’

Prisoner and Outlaw.

I also acknowledge that there are some circumstances to be suspicious of between those two.

But, suspicion is just suspicion.

Even though it could never reach certainty, 3-Minute Tower Church Honorary Saint's voice now contained certainty.

It was impossible.

Could it be a top laner's intuition? There's no way it could be something so ridiculous.

‘……Or is it? Is it really intuition?’

If that were really the case, he'd be a beast, no, a true top laner devotee.

And…….

The time of thought, which was displayed in a crisis situation, flashed by, and I eventually return to reality.

“……Yes?”

Let's just brush it off for now.

I came to that conclusion.

“What do you mean? That I'm Prisoner?”

I am not Prisoner. I am not Prisoner…….

Self-hypnosis to deceive others was not an option but a necessity.

“Oh, I'm sorry. What did I just say?”

What's this now?

“You just said I was Prisoner……”

“Ah, sorry…. I just… I couldn't help it……. I've been thinking about Prisoner a lot while watching Outlaw-nim. So I guess I misspoke.”

Right?

That's it, right?

‘It must be…….’

For some reason, the feeling of unease doesn't go away.

My heart beat wildly, with a sound that was either *dugeun dugeun* or *kongdak kongdak*.

In all honesty, I wanted to get out of here right now.

‘……A mistake, right?’

I pretended to be calm and ordered coffee, sitting down.

I don't know if the coffee is going into my nose or my mouth.

“Seo Yeonwoo.”

“Yes?”

“My name.”

“Oh… Lee Yujin.”

Come to think of it, I've known 3-Minute Tower Church Honorary Saint for quite a while, but this was the first time we properly exchanged names.

In a way, it could be seen as a very shallow relationship… but if I recall that 3-Minute Tower Church Honorary Saint, or rather, Seo Yeonwoo, thought of Prisoner when looking at me, it didn't seem that way either.

“I watched the broadcast well.”

“Cough! Cough!”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… cough! Ah…….”

Apparently, the word "broadcast" itself has become something like an Achilles' heel for me, and I involuntarily have a fit.

After I showed such an unsightly appearance, the real conversation began.

“So… why did you want to meet today?”

To be honest, I wanted to postpone it, but you said you really wanted to meet.

……I obviously couldn't say that.

“Ah, um… I was thinking of discussing the team founding.”

“Ah, yes. Well, it's about time.”

Seo Yeonwoo even clapped her hands, reacting to my words more than necessary.

It was the first time I'd had such an active reaction while talking with someone, so I continued the conversation with a dazed feeling.

“First of all, regarding the most important thing, the annual salary─”

“It doesn't matter.”

“…Yes?”

“I will. No matter what.”

…What?

Why is he so enthusiastic?

‘Even though it's been like this from the beginning…….’

Even so, not even looking at the annual salary, which is arguably the most important thing in professional life, and agreeing to a contract no matter what?

‘Does he really think I'm Prisoner?’

No, even if he does, it’s strange.

Strictly speaking, the fact that I am Prisoner and that 3-Minute Tower Church Honorary Saint is joining a new team without caring about the salary were completely separate issues.

“…Why?”

So, I asked.

I felt like I would be uneasy the whole time if I didn't ask this and just let it pass.

“Why?”

“Yes.”

“It's not really a grand reason……”

“It doesn't matter. I'm just genuinely curious.”

“Uhm.”

Seo Yeonwoo seemed to be hesitating, resting her chin on her hand and lost in thought.

It's strange, but… that scene was, how should I put it, something that made people confused in many ways.

“Actually, I was quite close to Prisoner-nim.”

“Ah, yes…….”

I know that too well.

Well… Even though it couldn't be helped, I was a little sorry for disappearing without even saying goodbye when deleting the account.

“When I played games with Prisoner-nim before, I thought like this. If I were to go pro with Prisoner, being a pro would be worth it.”

Seo Yeonwoo's eyes gazed at a distant place.

I don't know where she was looking, but maybe Seo Yeonwoo also received quite a few offers as a Challenger.

But what was the reason she rejected all those offers, and why did she accept my proposal?

Perhaps, what Seo Yeonwoo is saying now is the answer to that.

“I'm not Prisoner.”

Of course, that's that, and I have to address it.

I was worried if I could lie well, but surprisingly, the lies came out smoothly.

“I know, I know, of course I know. Prisoner is……”

3-Minute Tower Church Honorary Saint, Seo Yeonwoo, showed a gloomy expression for a moment, then forced a bright expression.

“I told you that when I saw Outlaw-nim, I thought of Prisoner-nim, right?”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

“I made a mistake after watching Outlaw-nim's plays. I think Outlaw-nim is as good a jungler as Prisoner. That's why. If I team up with Outlaw-nim, I think I can be a pro too.”

“Ah…….”

Tap tap, each word Seo Yeonwoo utters stings my heart.

However, the intention behind it seemed genuine.

Not that, Seo Yeonwoo's eyes, staring at me a moment ago, were shining so brightly.

“…Here’s the contract.”

Because that gaze was so burdensome, I took out the contract from the bag I had brought to change the subject as much as possible.

“As you can see when you read it, it's the standard contract for professional gamers. The basic contract period is one year and seven months, and the annual salary is 60 million won.”

“60 million won?”

“Why? Not enough?”

“No! Rather… isn't it a bit too much? Am I worthy of receiving that much……?”

That was understandable.

Because the ‘standard contract’ I presented was not the annual salary commonly offered to amateurs, but the standard contract for a first-tier league.

Of course, I didn't present this contract without any measures.

“Don't worry about that.”

Rather, for me, this amount was the amount for recruiting a player cheaply.

“We will definitely go up to the first tier within this year.”

*

The plan was simple.

“We will participate in the 2nd tier league promotion playoffs preliminary round in May.”

Seo Yeonwoo looked blank for a moment, and then, as if she remembered, she slapped her hands together.

“Ah!”

In a way… the reaction was, that… something, something.

“If it's the promotion playoffs… isn't that against the teams in the 2nd tier league?”

“Yes, yes. That's right. If we pass the preliminary round, we'll meet in the main round.”

Legend of League Challengers Korea.

Commonly known as the Legend of League 2nd tier league.

There, the bottom two teams compete with two teams that passed the promotion playoffs preliminary round from teams commonly called 3rd tier leaguers for the 2nd tier leaguer qualification.

In other words, if they win there, they will get the qualification to participate in the 2nd tier league.

“We will play the summer season in the 2nd tier league, and we will finish the season in first place.”

“…First place?”

“Yes.”

Actually, finishing in first place in the 2nd tier league itself doesn't have that much value.

Not many people know about the team whether it finishes first or wins the 2nd tier league, and the actual treatment was the same.

What's important is after that.

It was not an exaggeration to say that the real value of finishing in first place in the 2nd tier league's regular season was in the 1st tier league promotion playoffs that would follow.

1st tier league.

A place where the name 'professional gamer' can be written in the job without a sense of incongruity.

“Of course, even if we don’t finish first, if we win all the playoffs, we can go to the promotion playoffs… but it's better to finish in first place if possible.”

“Ah……”

“We will finish the summer season in the 2nd tier league in first place this year, and we will also win the promotion playoffs that will follow.”

If we do that, we'll secure the promotion to the 1st tier within this year, and we can finally play in the 1st tier league starting next year.

Even if it is physically impossible to go to the Red Cup this year, we can at least go to the Red Cup next year.

“Will we… be able to do it?”

Unlike his usual appearance on top, he seemed weak.

But I know.

“Yes. We can do it.”

I know we can do it.

“…I think so too.”

Seo Yeonwoo nodded and signed the contract without hesitation.