Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

For a moment, Rachel made eye contact with Rodri, and her face twisted in disgust.

Ah, so he had feelings for her after all.

Before Justin could even respond, Derek swung his flail to the ground.

Thud!

"This bastard's been running his mouth since earlier. His attitude is weird too. Should I bash his head in once to make him behave?" Derek snarled.

Everyone flinched at the sound of the flail hitting the ground. Thanks to his increased strength from reaching level 19, the impact was enough to make the ground tremble.

"Derek, don't interrupt when your brother's talking," Justin said.

"But he keeps pissing me off. You saved his life, and he hasn't even thanked you."

"He just barely escaped death. People get disoriented sometimes."

Sure, in the chaos, it was possible to forget even the most basic gratitude.

Though Justin held Derek back, there was a subtle undertone to his words. Only then did Rodri, flustered, bow his head.

"S-Sorry. Now that I think about it, I haven't even thanked you. You saved us. Thank you very much."

Wow, look at that sudden change in attitude.

As soon as things got threatening, he bowed immediately. Earlier, he was acting arrogant despite seeing Justin's power because Justin treated him with courtesy.

They had only exchanged a few words, but Justin already had a sense of Rodri's character.

Still smiling, Justin nodded.

"It's fine. Like I said, it can happen when you're disoriented. At least you thanked us eventually."

"What? Oh, y-yes."

Rodri grew more submissive at Justin's blunt statement.

Clearly, he didn't just assess strength but also character. He seemed to be the type who would act up more if he thought someone was too kind to retaliate.

Justin wondered how someone as pathetic as Rodri had ended up leading the group in the first place.

"By the way, where did you all come from?" Justin asked. "I thought we were the only ones in this area."

"Well, that's... it's a bit hard to say..." Rodri stammered.

"We came from the forest path back there," Rachel interrupted. "Honestly, we were more surprised. We thought the next safe zone was much farther away."

"Rachel!" Rodri shouted angrily as she spoke up.

But instead of being intimidated, Rachel's face twisted in a glare.

"How many times have I told you not to call me by my name, Rodri? Did I tell you to speak informally? I said you should add 'Ms.' to my name, didn't I?"

"Hey, I'm older than you, so why should it matter?" Rodri snapped.

"I don't care if you're older or not—I don't like it! I didn't give you permission, so why are you talking to me informally!?"

Rodri flinched at her sharp retort. Rachel glared at him with contempt.

"And stop pretending you know how to negotiate when you clearly don't. It's pathetic to see you trying to protect your pride when you're not even capable of standing up confidently."

"...!"

"And above all," Rachel continued, pointing her chin toward her companions, "do you still think you're our leader? You nearly got everyone killed, and you still think you have a say?"

"What?" Rodri blinked in confusion.

"If you don't understand what I mean, take a look behind you," Rachel said.

Almost in a trance, Rodri turned around, and then he flinched at the cold stares directed at him from all sides.

His comrades' eyes were filled with an icy disdain.

"Do you understand now? You're no longer our leader," Rachel said.

"Rachel, you can't just decide that on your own..." Rodri began.

"Yes, I can. Everyone agreed, except for you," Rachel said coldly, pointing behind her.

"Get lost. I'll take care of the rest."

"You... you...!"

Rodri's face flushed red as if it was about to burst. It seemed he couldn't accept the reality, despite the situation being obvious.

Just as he was about to start yelling, Justin spoke.

"Rodri."

"We'll talk later, I'm busy now!"

"Go inside."

"What do you mean—huh?"

"I said go inside. It seems like Rachel is the one I should be talking to."

Rodri stared blankly at Justin, as if he hadn't expected Justin to step in. When Rodri didn't respond for a long time, Justin pointed at him, looking as if he might use magic at any moment.

Only then did Rodri pale in fright and hurriedly retreat inside.

Rachel watched him go with a look of disdain before turning to smile at Justin.

"It's been a while, Justin."

"Indeed. We met much sooner than I expected."

"We've run into each other twice in this kind of world, and you're still being formal? Just speak casually. I'll call you 'Senior Brother'* from now on."

Earlier, she told Rodri to speak formally, yet now...

"But we don't know each other's ages, and it's polite to be respectful," Justin replied.

"I'm twenty-six. I'm not older than you, right?"

She was exactly one year younger than Justin, so her suggestion wasn't incorrect.

Seeing no reason to refuse, Justin nodded.

"Alright, I'll speak casually from now on."

"Good. It was awkward before, but it sounds much better now."

Having settled the form of address, Rachel clapped her hands together and looked at Justin.

"As I said earlier, we came from over there. If you keep going that way, you'll find the safe zone we've been staying in," Rachel explained.

"And the monsters inhabiting the forest are hobgoblins?"

"Yes. What about where you came from, oppa?"

"I came from behind here. There's a forest there as well, and beyond that, our safe zone."

Rachel and Justin exchanged pure information with no ulterior motives. Unlike the clumsy attempts at negotiation earlier, this conversation flowed smoothly.

They discussed the quests they had both received—completely identical in content. There were those who had completed the quest and those who had not. Additionally, a new leader had been elected recently.

However, from here, the story began to diverge significantly.

"The new leader isn't you?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I ran as a candidate, but I lost. Nobody gave me their vote."

"You're saying the leader was chosen purely by voting? Oh my god."

Rachel looked as if she had experienced a cultural shock. Justin went on to explain how things were going.

Although Seo Chang-woo had been elected, nothing was functioning properly. No one among the able-minded was stepping up actively. Because of this, they were even being mocked by other factions.

After hearing everything, Rachel rubbed her face with her hands.

"I just can't believe it. Is it really that peaceful there?"

"There's some tension, but overall, yes."

"No way. It's unbelievable."

"How is it on your side? Judging by the attitude here, the atmosphere seems pretty hostile," Justin asked.

Rachel gave a bitter smile.

"It's hell here."