Episode 562. Iris Guild

Entering the room, Lee Hoyeon stretched and sat down at his desk.

Teasing Rebecca had revitalized him.

At this rate, his brain felt like it was running at full speed.

Tak-

Ttak. Ttak.

Sitting at his desk, he opened his notebook and clicked his pen.

When he didn’t know what to do first, sitting at his desk to organize important tasks was Lee Hoyeon’s only good habit.

“…But what should I do now?”

It wasn’t that he had nothing to do.

He had too many things to do, so he couldn’t get a grip on where to start.

Seogeokseogeok.

• Magic research. The stuff used during sparring with Im Sol??

Become stronger!

He wrote down whatever came to mind immediately in his notebook.

Lee Hoyeon had recently killed the Demon King Lucifer in the original work.

In the process, he had realized new magic, and Lee Hoyeon’s level had also risen several notches.

However, compared to the results exceeding expectations, the flow of the battle had been a complete mess.

‘I need to become even stronger.’

Seureureuk-

Above Lee Hoyeon’s hand, a magic circle appeared.

Before he knew it, his eyes were shining with a brilliant golden light.

‘Awakening, Heart (心).’

As soon as he activated the Awakening, the structure of the magic circle naturally flowed into Lee Hoyeon’s mind.

With a light wave of his hand, Lee Hoyeon erased the magic circle and, crossing his arms, pondered.

“When I look at it like this, it just seems similar to the regular Awakening.”

──『 Awakening 』──

▶ Unique Skill

▶ Concentrates mana into the eyes, maximizing ocular power.

The ability to perceive and distinguish beings or forms imbued with mana is maximized.

───────

──『 Awakening. Heart (心)』──

▶ Unique Skill

▶ Allows Lee Hoyeon to understand everything about mana at any moment he desires.

Realizes the principles of all creation and transcends the level of mana.

───────

“It’s written with a lot of fancy-sounding words, isn’t it.”

The awakening of ‘Awakening’ was a major turning point in the battle with Lucifer.

He managed to slip through the gaps of Lucifer, who used superior mana in abundance, and succeed in reclaiming the magic circle.

“Thinking back now… I won way too haphazardly.”

It was fortunate that things turned out well, but Lee Hoyeon could now objectively assess the situation.

Coincidence piled upon coincidence, Lucifer’s personality, the circumstances of the surrounding heroines, and Lee Hoyeon’s own awakening.

It was truly incredible luck.

If even one thing had gone wrong, Lee Hoyeon or the heroines might have died.

“There’s no guarantee I’ll be this lucky next time.”

Just because he had won like this several times before doesn’t mean it would happen again.

If he failed in the most crucial battle against the Demon King, everything he had done so far would become meaningless.

Seogeokseogeok.

• Need perfect preparation to kill the Demon King…. New magic?

The peculiar phenomenon during sparring with Im Sol. That was worth researching again.

Since Lee Hoyeon had the ability to supplement memories, he could replicate the sensations from that time perfectly.

Seogeokseogeok.

• The black pillars and the dungeon rampage phenomenon.

The next thing to consider was the abnormal phenomenon appearing in the world.

Because he was busy conquering the heroines and preparing fake dungeons, he hadn’t been able to pay attention to the truly important matters.

“It’s confirmed that the Pandemic and the abnormal phenomena are related.”

What processes were necessary for the Demon King to descend upon this world, Lee Hoyeon couldn’t know.

What was certain was that the black pillars didn’t exist in the original work. There was something similar to the dungeon rampage phenomenon, but this had happened much earlier.

In other words, it was a butterfly effect caused by Lee Hoyeon.

“The dungeons rampaged, creating an environment similar to the Underworld, and slowly assimilated with Earth…. So what was the role of the black pillars?”

Lee Hoyeon frowned and fidgeted with his pen. Even if he didn’t know their role, he knew why the butterfly effect had occurred.

It was probably because he had become much stronger and had stopped the Pandemic too effectively.

The assimilation process was much faster than in the original work.

‘A god of this world intervened.’

The God of Betting, possessing the Demon King’s body.

He was manipulating this situation.

Seeing how much he was intervening, it seemed he didn’t want to lose the bets he had always won.

“If that wasn’t the case, there were too many things that couldn’t be explained.”

Seogeokseogeok.

• People’s perceptions have been altered….

Lee Hoyeon continued to ponder the black pillars and the dungeon rampage phenomenon.

As Im Sol had said, it was indeed strange that people were ignorant of the Underworld’s mana.

It was something that could only happen through a massive manipulation capable of altering perceptions.

“No matter how I think about it, only a god could do something like that.”

But, how did they even do it? This isn’t a fair bet at all.

The words of the God of Betting still lingered in Lee Hoyeon’s memory. Were the words spoken then a lie?

‘… It’s ridiculous to appear before me just to lie.’

If people’s perceptions of the Underworld’s mana had been altered, there was something else related to that which bothered him.

The guys from the Underworld at the Iris Guild in France.

The centaur Chiron and the incubus Albedo were also a problem.

They might be behaving well now, but the mana they used was Underworld mana.

… So why hadn’t there been any investigations centered around the Iris Guild into the Underworld’s mana?

“Ah, shit. This is impossibly difficult.”

The complex, intertwined events filled Lee Hoyeon’s mind.

But pondering didn’t yield any clear answers.

Just then, the image of the red-haired beauty he had just finished teasing flashed through Lee Hoyeon’s mind.

“Wait a minute. Rebecca-ssi is here too.”

Like Im Sol, Rebecca had also experienced her own Underworld mana.

She had mentioned that she started researching Underworld mana after the sparring match.

Kwang-!

The moment the thought occurred, Lee Hoyeon burst out of his room and yelled at Rebecca, who was sitting at the table.

“Rebecca-ssi!”

“Ack! You startled me. What’s wrong? I spilled my coffee. Baby Daddy.”

Rebecca, holding her coffee cup, looked bewildered at Lee Hoyeon bursting out.

What could be so urgent?

“Remember last time, after you lost the sparring match to me, you said you were researching Underworld mana. Could you tell me more about that?”

Lee Hoyeon, who had come out of his room, immediately sat down opposite her and spoke.

“Why the sudden interest?”

“Can’t I ask?”

“It’s not that you can’t… Okay. I get it.”

“Okay.”

Rebecca was swept up by Lee Hoyeon’s momentum and nodded without realizing it.

Whatever the reason, he seemed urgent.

She paused for a moment to think before speaking.

“Hmm. Where should I even start? But even if you ask me to be detailed, there’s not much to tell. I just started training after losing to you, Baby Daddy. … Are you trying to make me admit defeat myself? I find it a bit curious that you, Baby Daddy, have such a preference.”

“No, no. What are you talking about? I just need it for magic research.”

Seeing Lee Hoyeon shake his head in embarrassment, Rebecca subtly smiled.

He had clearly been at rock bottom regarding his self-esteem just yesterday, so it was baffling why he had changed so much, but she couldn’t help but feel better herself.

“I don’t know about magic research, but since you seem happy, Baby Daddy, I feel happy too. I was sad that I couldn’t provide mental care for my husband as a wife. It’s a relief.”

Rebecca gently took Lee Hoyeon’s hand.

Hearing her say such embarrassing things while naturally holding his hand, Lee Hoyeon’s heart suddenly pounded.

Her smiling face was so lovely that he wanted to carry her straight to bed, but Lee Hoyeon exercised restraint and held Rebecca’s hand back.

“… Thank you, Rebecca-ssi. Weren’t there any specific concerns? Like, ‘Why didn’t I realize this kind of mana existed until now?'”

“Well… of course, there were. It was similar to the mana Liliana uses. But I thought it was your secret weapon, Baby Daddy.”

“Aha….”

Lee Hoyeon nodded.

It seemed to be the difference in how Im Sol and Rebecca approached magic.

Professor Im Sol had staked her life on magic with her exceptional talent.

Therefore, she could immediately grasp any slight discrepancy.

Rebecca worked hard too, but not with the same passion of dedicating a whole week without eating or sleeping to magic.

‘So, are other people in the same state? How twisted is this situation?’

If a mage of Rebecca’s caliber didn’t notice anything strange, it was safe to assume everyone else was completely oblivious.

He’d find out more once he visited the Iris Guild, but even this information was valuable.

“Thank you, Rebecca-ssi. You’ve been a great help.”

“Really? This was nothing. I’m glad.”

Even though he hadn’t said much, seeing him so pleased made Rebecca feel content.

She hadn’t had much success lately, but today, she felt like she had successfully supported her husband.

“Well then, I’ll be going back.”

“Already? Did you just come here to get what you needed and leave?”

“Sorry. I have quite a lot to do.”

“Don’t do it alone. Tell me too. I’ll help if I can.”

“… Right. Why was I trying to do this alone.”

He always hid things from the heroines and handled them alone, so handling things like this had become a habit.

He could probably get help from Rebecca.

“Actually, I’m researching the Underworld’s mana. You know the mana coming from the black pillars? It’s similar to the Underworld mana I wield, yet no one seems suspicious.”

“Mana from the black pillars…. Right. Scarlet-ssi seemed to mention something like that too.”

“Scarlet-ssi noticed too, huh. Anyway, it’s certain that the black pillars are part of Lucifer’s or the Pandemic’s plan, but nobody is reacting. I’m planning to take the lead.”

“Baby Daddy. You seem like a righteous crusader for world peace today.”

“You might not know, but I’ve always been working for the world.”

“Sure, sure. You’re amazing, my Baby Daddy.”

Seeing her smile kindly and pat my head, it doesn’t seem like she believes me.

What a shame.

“First, I plan to contact the Iris Guild. After that, I’ll contact the American Wizard Association.”

“… What? Why is the scale so huge? Are you really becoming a guardian of the world? Why are you, Baby Daddy, doing such things?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? Someone has to do it if they can. So, do you want to come with me to the Iris Guild, Rebecca-ssi?”

“I’d like to help, but… I don’t really like the guild leader there.”

“… Right. That old guy was hitting on you, wasn’t he?”

“Baby Daddy. You’re scary. Don’t get angry.”

Hmph. Lee Hoyeon relaxed his expression and controlled his emotions.

If it weren’t for Alice’s parents, he would have caused a scene.

‘Or maybe not? Since they know about Alice and my relationship, there’s no need to stir up trouble.’

For now, let’s just let it slide.

He just needed to avoid meeting Rebecca in the future.

“Anyway, why don’t you help Professor Im Sol instead, Rebecca-ssi? She’s the one contacting the Wizard Association.”

“Yeah. That makes sense. I’ll contact her.”

“Great. Just great.”

With a smirk, he playfully squeezed Rebecca’s shoulder, and Lee Hoyeon headed back to his room.

Talking with Rebecca had cleared his head.

Lee Hoyeon picked up his pen again and stared intently at his notebook, pondering.

“When should I go to the Iris Guild? I want to go as soon as possible.”

Seogeokseogeok.

• Chiron, Albedo…

“I’m sure, I’m sure Alice mentioned those guys were using strange mana.”

It was something Alice had said in passing.

Perhaps, like Rebecca, she hadn’t noticed anything strange either.

“Tsk. Let’s figure this out when I get there. I have to stop by the Iris Guild anyway, so…”

Speaking of which, why haven’t Alice and Irene contacted me yet?

Just in case, he checked his smartwatch again, but only his messages appeared periodically, with no replies from either of them.

“… What am I supposed to do if the sisters are both ghosting me.”

They lived right next door, so he could just barge in, but not knowing their condition made him hesitant to reach out first.

“I should at least send another message.”

After sending messages to Alice and Irene, Lee Hoyeon pouted and tapped his unresponsive smartwatch.