Episode 599. The Culprit Was Lee Hoyeon.

Scarlet was a genius.

No, she thought she was a genius.

Ever since she was taken in by the Guild Master at a young age and trained as an informant.

Scarlet had the talent to make her think so.

The talents needed for an informant were stealth and concealing magical energy.

Scarlet improved her skills much faster than others in those areas.

[What amazing talent you have, Scarlet.]

Scarlet’s skills were recognized, and she gained the Guild Master’s trust from a young age, participating in missions.

Since she achieved results, the Iris Guild respected her too.

[… You beat the team leader at just 20 years old?]

Scarlet became a key executive of the Iris Guild within just a few years of active duty.

She didn’t look down on others just because she had talent, but she didn’t deny the fact that she was a genius either.

Thinking back now, it might have been Isaac’s personal greed, but….

Scarlet didn’t even undergo the sexual favors training that female informants received.

They respected her choice.

She was such a skilled guild member that she was sent on a business trip all the way to Korea.

It’s a well-known fact among Iris Guild members that the Guild Master is a doting father.

The fact that Scarlet was dispatched for Alice alone meant her skills were guaranteed.

At first, she didn’t like the idea of coming all the way to Korea just to investigate one cadet, but since it was the Guild Master’s order, Scarlet headed to Korea.

And now… somehow, she’s ended up staying at that cadet’s house.

Taang-

Scarlet deflected the sword before her eyes, gathering her magical energy.

Facing her was the black-haired female cadet, Nam Daeun.

She’s a kind-hearted and cute girl Scarlet lives with.

But now that she held a sword, her gaze was completely different, 180 degrees from usual.

‘… My hands are starting to shake.’

Woong woong-

Just blocking Nam Daeun’s sword made her hands tremble uncontrollably.

When they first met, the difference wasn’t this significant.

But after her worries about Nam Dahee disappeared, Nam Daeun grew stronger every day to an unbelievable degree.

Tsk. Scarlet hid her trembling hands and took her stance.

“Let’s go again. Daeun-yang.”

“Yes.”

Seuuk-

Nam Daeun lowered her stance, tracking Scarlet with her eyes.

Scarlet’s strengths are stealth and speed.

The moment you lose sight of her, unable to predict when she’ll strike, it becomes difficult to react.

‘… Now.’

Kaang!

Nam Daeun shook off Scarlet’s charging momentum.

Her magic, which controlled space, was practically a perfect counter to Scarlet’s.

“Heut…!”

Scarlet, thrown back, bit her lip.

It was just a light sparring match, after all.

She wasn’t using her full power either, and for Scarlet, who specialized in stealth and surprise attacks, this kind of sparring was inherently disadvantageous.

‘How much longer can I keep sparring like this?’

The problem was that she could feel Daeun’s talent growing stronger with each passing day.

It was becoming difficult to even block Nam Daeun’s increasingly powerful attacks.

The trigger for realizing this was the battle against Lucifer.

Lucifer was a monster.

Scarlet had encountered strong enemies before, but Lucifer was beyond that.

It was a battle for survival where even allowing a single attack could risk her life, a fight where she couldn’t let her guard down for a moment.

A powerful monster that even the world’s strongest guild, the Iris Guild, seemed unable to defeat even with their full strength.

Yet, against such a monster, a group of about ten people held out for an hour.

That was when Scarlet saw true geniuses.

The Alice and Irene sisters, who fought alongside her at the forefront.

Scarlet knew they were the Guild Master’s daughters and had talent since childhood.

But fighting alongside them, she realized they were ‘true geniuses,’ different from herself.

Lucifer’s attacks carried immense force, even if they only grazed you.

From the beginning to the end of the battle, Scarlet was barely able to dodge the attacks.

Unlike her, the two sisters gradually adapted to the attacks, eventually reaching the point where they could even parry them.

They were growing stronger mid-battle, something straight out of a novel.

“Scarlet-ssi?”

The girl tilting her head as she looked at Scarlet, who had lowered her sword during sparring. Nam Daeun.

Her attacks, which sliced through space, dealt significant damage to Lucifer.

If Scarlet had been hit by that space slash during the recent sparring match, she would have been cut in half within a few moves.

That wasn’t all.

Rebecca and Moon Surin’s ability to command the battlefield saved her multiple times.

Im Sol’s and the twin sisters’ magic inflicted cumulative damage on Lucifer.

Scarlet was the weakest and least talented in that battle.

She wasn’t a genius.

“Let’s call it a day here. Daeun-yang.”

“You worked hard. Scarlet-ssi.”

“… Yes. Daeun-yang. Thank you again today.”

“Not at all. Call me anytime.”

Scarlet bowed her head to Nam Daeun and sheathed her sword.

Complicated emotions swirled in her mind.

‘I don’t know why I’m feeling this way over something like this.’

Scarlet knew it too.

She wasn’t lacking talent.

When she visited the Iris Guild this time, her own combat power was still outstanding compared to the other guild members.

It was just that the women she saw in that battle were abnormally strong.

Besides, not having talent didn’t pose any real hindrance to her life.

Scarlet wasn’t the type to crave power either.

She just felt inexplicably stifled.

“I’ll head up first. I should probably prepare a meal.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll be a little while longer then.”

Kuk-buck.

Scarlet, giving a slight bow, exited the training ground.

And then, she encountered a man and a succubus.

“Scarlet?”

Scarlet looked at the man before her.

A man who always said foolish things but occasionally showed a cool side.

Lee Hoyeon.

Why did she flinch upon seeing him?

Ahem. Clearing her throat, Scarlet spoke to Lee Hoyeon.

“Hoyeon-nim. What brings you here?”

“Came to train. Wanted to check Liliana’s magic.”

“… I see.”

Scarlet didn’t know the specifics about Liliana’s magic, but she knew there was something sealed within her as a succubus.

Being near this man often led to events Scarlet never thought she’d experience in her life.

“Ah.”

“Ah?”

She finally realized.

The reason Scarlet’s heart felt so complicated.

The reason she felt stifled over mere talent.

It was all because of this man.

Strange things happened around Lee Hoyeon every single day.

Succubi.

Hidden Rune clans.

Pandemic terrorism.

Underworld magic.

Lucifer’s attacks.

Black pillars.

Lee Hoyeon solves these incidents with his own power, or by borrowing the strength of others.

He spent every day busy, without any days off.

To ride that wave, she couldn’t be a hindrance to Lee Hoyeon.

Therefore, ordinary talent wouldn’t be enough to stand beside Lee Hoyeon.

Scarlet was worried about that.

“Scarlet. What’s wrong? You look upset.”

“It’s nothing. My training is finished, so you can use the training ground.”

Scarlet bowed her head again.

She knew the cause of her stifled feelings, but knowing the cause only made it worse.

She headed downstairs, frowning.

*

After encountering Scarlet at the entrance of the training room.

Liliana, who had been held by Lee Hoyeon, opened her mouth as she watched Scarlet hurry upstairs.

“The scout looks hungry. She seems rushed.”

“… I don’t think so.”

Scarlet’s expression was strange.

She sometimes looked like that, but today it was worse.

“Then is it that time of the month?”

“Shut up. You crazy succubus.”

“Ah. Aaaack!”

Lee Hoyeon grabbed Liliana’s neck again as she spouted nonsense and looked towards the training room entrance.

Scarlet was already gone, but her subtle expression was etched into Lee Hoyeon’s memory.

“I should check on her later.”

“No way. The scout is a woman, you know. During that time….”

“Please be quiet.”

Lee Hoyeon dragged Liliana into the training room.

“Hnght!”

Kwaang-

And then, they faced the training room wall shattering with a loud roar.

Startled, Liliana shook off Lee Hoyeon’s hand and looked at the woman standing in the training ground.

“Huk. Daeun broke the wall!”

“Liliana-ssi? Ah, Hoyeon-ah!”

Nam Daeun, who had been testing the space slash she couldn’t use in her spar with Scarlet, immediately put down her sword with a bright smile upon seeing Lee Hoyeon.

Her body had just started to warm up, but Lee Hoyeon’s arrival was far more important.

Liliana stared wide-eyed and admonished Nam Daeun.

“Daeun-ah! Do you know how much the repair costs for this are?”

“Liliana. Any damage during training can be fully restored with magic circles. You really don’t come to the training room, do you?”

“Ah, really?”

Liliana, who had her hands on her hips, casually lowered them.

She probably intended to start trouble again, talking about ‘periods’ or something.

“Hoyeon-ah.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Lee Hoyeon gave the approaching Nam Daeun a light hug.

Her hair, damp with sweat from training, sticking to his cheek looked quite lovely.

“Were you training with Scarlet?”

“She asked for some light sparring, so I was helping her.”

“I see. Hmm. Scarlet….”

Scarlet’s expression kept bothering him. She seemed to have something on her mind.

Lee Hoyeon made a mental note about Scarlet.

He was here to check Liliana’s magic, so he intended to focus on that for now.

“Are you training too, Hoyeon? Want to spar for the first time in a while?”

“Let’s do it a bit later. I came because of Liliana right now.”

“Aha…. I thought Liliana-ssi just came to watch.”

Nam Daeun naturally ignored Liliana.

Except for the occasional visits when no one else was home, she probably never came at all.

“Liliana. Unleash your magic for a bit. Let’s run a test.”

There were two main things Lee Hoyeon needed to know about Liliana’s magic right away.

The first was the rumor Albedo had told him.

It was about whether Liliana’s magic truly possessed the power to oppose the Demon King.

However, since the Demon King wasn’t present, he couldn’t verify that fact right now.

So, the second thing.

Just how strong Liliana actually was.

That’s what he intended to test.

“This is bothersome….”

“I’ll buy you chicken tonight if you do.”

“Hwaaht!”

Liliana, who had been standing blankly, unleashed the Underworld magic within her the moment she heard Lee Hoyeon’s words.

Simply releasing her magic resulted in an aura so intense it sent chills down one’s spine.

Lee Hoyeon deployed a rune barrier to protect Nam Daeun and himself, letting out a wry laugh.

“… Hey, why are you so strong?”

“Succubi are the strongest!”

“No. You seem much stronger than before.”

She was stronger than the Liliana he saw during the battle with Lucifer.

If she had been this strong then, the battle would have been much easier.

“Actually, my power got stronger starting the day before yesterday.”

“The day before yesterday? Ah, it must be the Underworld Gate.”

When the Underworld Gate opened and Liliana went berserk.

Perhaps her magic was unlocked again then?

Or maybe Liliana’s power was released as Lee Hoyeon grew stronger.

“Okay. Let’s at least spar for now. Daeun-ah. Can you step aside for a moment?”

“Sure. Of course.”

“Sparring is really bothersome though….”

“If you win, I’ll eat only chicken for a week.”

“Haaht!”

Liliana’s magic overwhelmed the training ground.