Ethan Conrad (1)

“Your talent is indeed remarkable. But you know, don’t you? In this world, talent isn’t everything.”

When he was much younger and more hot-blooded. The person who formally brought him into the organization persuaded him by saying that talent alone wasn’t enough to get what you want in this world.

Having seen and experienced firsthand that those words weren’t wrong, Ethan couldn’t refuse the offer. In the end, ability and effort alone weren’t enough to overcome one’s innate status and social standing.

“If I join the organization, can I really be rewarded according to my efforts?”

“At least it’ll be different from the world full of hypocrites.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

At that time, all he wanted was to receive proper compensation from those who recognized his abilities.

And so, a boy who was just a mere errand runner in the back alley slums joined the organization and quickly rose to an executive position with his abilities.

For him, who was both intelligent and physically strong, it wasn’t a particularly difficult feat.

Although as he climbed higher and got older, seeing more of the world, he realized that his talent, which he thought was the best, was actually ordinary compared to real monsters, it was still okay.

He believed that if he could someday grasp the opportunities that some people held from birth, he could soar once again.

“Why are you so afraid?”

And it seemed that such an opportunity had recently come to him.

The silver-haired elven girl he had chanced upon by sheer coincidence. That girl, who seemed somewhat empty and detached, was precisely that opportunity.

‘If I can secure enough funds, I can gather the power to create a faction within the organization.’

Although he thought he was dealing with an extremely dangerous entity, Ethan believed the money she brought in was worth the risk.

He planned to attempt expanding his influence again, which had stagnated since becoming the head of a branch overseeing an entire city.

“Take this to the boss. Tell him it’s a hefty sum I’ve prepared after a long time, and ask him to accept it. If he asks about the source, just say I made some profit from business.”

“Understood.”

He handed a bag filled with money to his trusted subordinate and sent him off. The first step was, of course, to bribe his superiors to get on their good side. In their world, this was considered a skill.

“What do you become when you get promoted from branch leader?”

“…Are you curious about that?”

It was then that Isilia showed interest after hearing about his plans to sell artifacts and make money.

“Our organization’s headquarters is in the capital of the Narian Kingdom. Of course, we’re expanding our influence around there as well, establishing branches in each city and conducting business.”

Figuring there wasn’t much to do right now anyway, and it would be impossible to shake off Isilia who had shown interest, Ethan just decided to spread out a map and start explaining properly.

“It’s Seoul. How interesting. No matter how much time passes or how the environment changes, I guess the places with good locations for people to live don’t change.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Isilia laughed at the very familiar sight when she saw the place Ethan pointed to on the map.

Various forces situated within the slightly altered Korean peninsula, although she brushed it off as nothing special, she couldn’t help but chuckle every time she saw it, finding it fascinating.

“The branch leaders of each branch oversee the city and its surrounding villages, but in the context of the entire organization, they’re in the middle. Just as branch leaders have subordinates in charge of various districts and villages in the city, the commanders also have several branch leaders under them.”

“Is this commander person your superior?”

“And he’s also a sworn brother cherished by the overall commander at the top of the organization.”

Isilia showed interest in Ethan’s organizational chart, which was similar to the underworld organization she had imagined. From her perspective, it was a world that was and always had been distant from herself, so she couldn’t help but be intrigued.

“It’s a time when the organization’s expansion has slowed down a bit, so even though the number of branch leaders is increasing, commander-level positions rarely open up, making it difficult to climb higher. But according to the information I’ve gathered, a position might open up soon. That’s what I’m aiming for.”

“Well, if that’s what you want.”

Isilia nodded as she heard Ethan’s plans. She didn’t treat Ethan like a subordinate. There was no need to, and it would have been too bothersome.

Ethan, too, only used her to restore artifacts and make income from them, without expecting anything more from her.

It was an instinctive behavior, not only because of his confidence in his own abilities but also because he didn’t want to get any more entangled with her.

‘Excessive greed always brings trouble.’

The current Ethan, ambitious but also much more realistic, never made rash moves. Even if he was tempted by Isilia’s power, he already knew clearly that he couldn’t handle it himself.

“Is that training of yours going well?”

Afterwards, he changed the subject, worried that Isilia might probe for more detailed information. About what she had been doing lately, going out to the backyard under the pretext of training.

* * *

“The weather is nice. Very nice.”

Regardless of the city’s atmosphere, the sun that doesn’t care about such things shines brightly today, and the wind is cool like the clear, open sky.

The day after arriving at Ethan’s house, I immediately went out to the backyard.

“What are you going to do here?”

“Nothing.”

Lina asked me what I was going to do, seeming tense at the mention of training, but I just smiled and shook my head.

Although it’s an incomprehensible statement, as evident from her bewildered expression, I wasn’t lying.

The wind is always beside us. Meeting the wind, which is freer than the earth, is that easy.

‘If I keep calling, they’ll come eventually.’

The affinity I’ve built up so far is not insignificant. Intuitively certain that my voice would now reach them, I just stood still in place, feeling the wind.

“It’s amazing… To think that spirits really exist in this nature.”

“Spirit magic was a specialty of the elves I knew. I don’t understand why it’s completely lost now.”

Lina muttered, looking at me standing like a scarecrow in the middle of the backyard. As her reaction showed, spirits were very unfamiliar beings to the people of this era. Even the elves were the same.

That’s why the spirits flocked to me, who could communicate and empathize with them.

‘Something must have happened here too.’

The elves I knew in the Tower were mostly proficient in spirit magic. While other races mostly inherited the abilities of their ancestors, only the elves lost this ability, which was evidence that something had happened after the collapse of the Tower.

“—!”

“Right. That’s not what’s important right now.”

Of course, it’s not in the right order for me, still a novice spirit mage who hasn’t met all the spirits yet, to worry about the future of spirit magic.

Seeing the earth spirit that suddenly popped out of the ground and seemed to chatter excitedly, I smiled faintly and looked up at the blue sky.

In the clear blue sky without a single cloud, while others might be admiring its clarity, I could see a faintly wavering form.

“Wind brother, who came first. Finally reached you.”

I reached out towards them. Along with the gentle breeze blowing in, they were the wind spirits that finally met me, wrapping around my body through my hand.

Just like when I met the earth spirits, if I frequently mingle with them and build up proficiency and affinity, I’ll soon be able to skillfully handle the wind as I wish.

“The wind direction has changed. Did you succeed?”

“Yes. Now the wind is with me too.”

Even Lina could notice that the air around me had changed. Wind is that important and sensitive to everyone.

“Like the earth, you’ll probably grow faster the more I use you. But right now, the Adventurer’s Guild is in a gloomy mood, so it’s not easy to start activities right away.”

I pondered, looking at the wind spirits showing an active nature.

Growing the spirits can be done just by sitting still and empathizing, but of course, it becomes much faster with experience and effort added.

I, who had already grown earth spirits in this way, wanted to do the same with wind spirits, but it was a bit ambiguous right now. It will take time for the aftermath of the first discovered erosion incident to be fully resolved.

I could go out and hunt magical beasts recklessly, but I didn’t want to draw attention unnecessarily when everyone is on edge.

There’s no point in hiding my identity and operating if I’m going to attract attention like that. I disliked the idea of sneaking around to avoid the guards who had strengthened patrols due to the emergency situation.

‘There’s no rule that says I have to only hunt magical beasts.’

Of course, utilizing wind spirits wasn’t just focused on battling magical beasts. Wind is the most important element in transmitting sound.

Standing still, closing my eyes and concentrating, I spread the wind spirits widely around me as if dispatching them.

“We’re out of ingredients, tell Jack to go buy some…”

“Branch leader, here’s today’s performance report.”

Many things started to reach my ears. Even sounds much farther and smaller than what I could hear with my already sensitive ears.

Right now it’s only about a 30-meter radius, but as the wind spirits grow, that range will increase significantly.

‘I’ll be able to hear everything while sitting in one place.’

I summoned a stone chair and plopped down, quietly enjoying this. Since all the people in the mansion were familiar, I could tell who was who just by their voices.

“No unusual occurrences today either. It seems it’ll be difficult to find out the source of the slush fund with just simple surveillance.”

“…?”

It was then that I heard an unfamiliar voice. The sound came not from inside the mansion, but from beyond the walls.