Episode 622. The Culprit Was Lee Hoyeon.

A cafe near the Academy. Nakwol.

It was a cafe popular with women due to its cute and charming interior.

The center seat on the first floor of Nakwol.

The twins Lucy and Lumi were sitting there.

They sat with their shoulders pressed tightly together, chatting.

“Lumi. This is super delicious.”

“Yeah. Try a bite of mine too, Lucy.”

Sitting side-by-side in a corner of the cafe, the twins shared their drinks and giggled ‘hehe’.

Those actions alone filled the cafe with a warm atmosphere, but they didn’t pay attention to their surroundings.

“Ugh. This is too bitter, I can’t drink it.”

Lucy winced immediately after drinking the coffee.

The coffee was too bitter for her.

“That bitter?”

“Yeah. I really like this one-.”

Lucy quickly took a sip of her latte to wash away the bitter taste.

As the sweetness lingered in her mouth, she finally seemed relieved.

“Lumi. This job we’re doing will take a long time, right?”

“Hoyeon-ssi said if it takes long, it could even take a week. So… hmm….”

The reason Lucy and Lumi were sitting in the cafe.

It was the meeting place for the personnel who would break the black pillars.

“But can we really do it? I saw on the news that it’s something we shouldn’t do.”

“Hoyeon-ssi explained everything, but Lucy wasn’t listening. And he told us not to worry about the news.”

“Aha. I think I remember now.”

Lucy recalled her memory, said ‘Aha.’, and nodded.

Lee Hoyeon asked for help, so I said okay without even listening. But now that I think about it, I think I might have heard an explanation like that.

Ttiring-

Just then, a woman walked into the cafe.

Nam Daeun searched her surroundings for a familiar face, then found the twins and approached them.

“Hey guys. Hi.”

“Huh? Daeun-ah!”

“Daeun-ssi. Hello.”

Nam Daeun greeted Lucy and Lumi, then went to the counter and ordered a drink.

Her order was Peach Iced Tea.

Holding her drink, she returned to her seat, and Lucy and Lumi started talking to her.

“It’s iced tea? I like that too. It’s easy to drink down.”

“Daeun-ssi too, like Lucy, can’t drink bitter things well?”

“Nope. That’s right.”

Nam Daeun gave a small smile.

Actually, I don’t really know about the taste or texture.

I just chose the iced tea because it was cheap.

Lee Hoyeon always told her to spend money freely, but Nam Daeun was always like this.

The memory of drinking water instead of dinner in the dormitory still remained in her heart, and the habit of saving and being frugal couldn’t be changed even though she tried.

At least when she hung out with Dahee, she tended to spend money, but when she was alone, saving money made her feel comfortable.

“This cafe also sells that. Cler… what was it?”

“Lucy, are you talking about the Cler Rose Latte?”

“Ah, right. That one. It’s a drink nobody drinks because it’s incredibly bad, but strangely, it’s always on the menu.”

Nam Daeun watched the twins converse and leaned back in her chair.

Lucy and Lumi keep the conversation going even when I’m quiet, so I feel comfortable when I’m with them.

“Right. Daeun-ah. Soon the Academy will return to normal, they say. Let’s take the next class together.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Nam Daeun replied to Lucy and naturally continued the conversation.

After chatting a bit about each other, they felt footsteps approaching.

“Hey guys. It’s been a while. Professor Im Sol hasn’t arrived yet, I guess?”

“Ah! Student Council President!”

“Student Council President. Hello…!”

“Hello.”

Kuk-bok.

Seeing the three bowing their heads, Moon Surin waved her hand.

This awkward atmosphere is the kind she hates the most.

“It’s embarrassing, so don’t greet me like that. Oh, is it okay if I sit too?”

Moon Surin casually sat down and drank her beverage.

After a long time, taking a sip of the Cler Rose Latte sold at this cafe, my head felt refreshed.

Seeing the Cler Rose Latte, Lucy and Lumi whispered, but Moon Surin didn’t pay attention.

Recently, she had been feeling a sense of leisure.

Just as Lee Hoyeon had said, she hired a professional manager, and her father, whose health had improved, also returned to work.

Her father, nagging her grandfather who was bedridden, took on even the trivial tasks, so Moon Surin had almost nothing left to do.

She had the thought, ‘I should have done this sooner,’ but what worried her more was her father.

‘…He’s doing okay with work, isn’t he?’

Of course, just because she put him to work at the Academy, she had no intention of forgiving her father’s sins, who had become implicated. However, after having a proper conversation with her father, she could no longer think of him as a stranger. She would make him live the rest of his life repenting, and she intended to watch over him right beside him.

“Student Council President. But aren’t you doing student council work today?”

While Lumi and Nam Daeun were just watching cautiously, the one who spoke first was Lucy.

It seemed strange to Lucy that the Student Council President, who always seemed busy, would be breaking the black pillars.

“Yeah. Lately, my workload has become lighter. It won’t interfere with the plan, so don’t worry.”

Putting her father back to work was also to make time to break the black pillars. Even though there was a professional manager, if she were completely absent from the Academy, someone would be needed to fill that empty spot.

“Speaking of which, Lucy-ssi and Lumi-ssi, how well can you handle the magic of the Underworld?”

“We learned a little from Professor Im Sol.”

“That’s right… but we’re not good at it yet.”

“Hmm. I see. Still, you can carry out the plan, right? What about Daeun-ssi?”

“Ah… um, you don’t have to worry about me.”

Moon Surin joined the conversation as if she had been there all along.

Although it was a conversation with first-years younger than herself, she had a lot of experience like this, so she could continue naturally.

After chatting for about ten minutes, something felt strange.

Moon Surin looked at her smartwatch and said.

“But when is Professor coming?”

“I don’t know. The appointment time has passed, but…”

“She even replied yesterday, so let’s wait a bit longer.”

Moon Surin looked around.

With Im Sol present, they could make plans and move, but the core of the plan, Professor Im Sol, was nowhere to be seen.

Just then.

Ttiring-

Opening the cafe door, Im Sol belatedly appeared.

Im Sol received everyone’s attention immediately upon entering the cafe. Confidently, Im Sol walked inside, looked at them, and greeted them.

“Sorry I’m late. My magic research was delayed a bit. Shall we head straight to the site?”

Even for Im Sol, she wasn’t without a sense of time. She had an important appointment in the afternoon, so she wouldn’t conduct research that couldn’t be stopped. The reason she was late for the appointment was to choose her outfit. Lee Hoyeon’s casual remark, ‘Don’t you always wear the same clothes?’ After he left, Im Sol thought deeply and realized. The women she was meeting today were all close to Lee Hoyeon. And for Im Sol, who was leading them, to wear the sweats she grabbed at home could easily lead to being looked down upon. Therefore, she agonized over what to wear today, and agonized again. In the end, Im Sol wore the suit she wore when going to the Wizard Association. It was an outfit Lee Hoyeon had praised as cool.

“Yes. Since we’re short on time, let’s go right away. Professor.”

“Professor. We’re ready too!”

However, none of them paid any attention to Im Sol’s outfit. Whether Im Sol wore a pink t-shirt or a suit, they weren’t the kind of people to point that out. The only one who cared about her outfit was Lee Hoyeon.

“…Yeah. Okay.”

Watching the women leave the cafe, Im Sol blinked.

It took so long to choose this outfit, and this is the reaction?

‘I thought they’d look at their teacher with a bit more respect….’

Im Sol listlessly followed behind Moon Surin.

*

An airport in the United States.

The noisy chatter of people and the mechanical sounds coming from everywhere. Hard-to-understand announcements could be heard, and the scent of perfume worn by people stung the nose.

Maintaining a Rune Barrier, I kept my distance from people and walked.

Passing through the bustling crowd, each person busy moving and looking for their destination, I went through the airport’s arrival gate after a long time.

‘Last time I came with Sol, there were so many people I couldn’t even move.’

Back then, because of the Wizard Association, there were many more people. Today, compared to that day, there were noticeably fewer people.

“‘A flight cancellation? What is this?'”

“‘An unidentified monster is flying around the air routes. For safety reasons…'”

“‘What is that supposed to mean?! Then what about my meeting? What am I supposed to do?!'”

I wondered why there were no people, and now I think I know. It’s not like I can say this, having just arrived by plane, but with the gates of the Underworld open, flying on a plane itself is absurd. Instead of the designated air routes, one must use a private jet to fly while avoiding the monsters.

‘Anyway… Where was the meeting place? Is it over there?’

To meet Arthur Kennedy, I was walking towards the location he had marked. Since it was my first time here, the geography was confusing, but following my smartwatch, it was manageable. Moreover, it was fun to look around.

Families with young children traveling.

A woman clutching her passport tightly, seemingly anxious about something.

A boy nervously checking his smartwatch and fidgeting.

Seeing new scenery in another country was quite fun, but people-watching was the most fun. Even ordinary daily life held value for me. It motivated me to work a little harder.

“‘Is this it?'”

A cafe attached to a hotel near the airport.

It was the place where I first met Arthur Kennedy.

I glanced inside through the large window from outside.

‘There he is.’

A tall and handsome middle-aged man was sitting in the corner of the cafe. Compared to when I saw him before, his expression looked good, so he must have eaten well. He noticed my gaze, recognized me, waved his hand, and grinned.

Keu-heum.

I secured my spatial pouch, put on an awkward smile, and went inside.

The aura of magic felt inside the cafe. Arthur Kennedy had already set up a barrier and was waiting.

“‘Lee Hoyeon student! No, I should call you Mage Lee Hoyeon. It hasn’t been that long, but compared to before, your magic has become stronger.'”

“When the Association Chairman says that, my face feels hot.”

I gave a slight bow, then sat opposite Arthur Kennedy. Seeing him alone instead of with Professor Im Sol felt a bit awkward.

“‘Lately, there have been many bad rumors, so I was worried, but as expected, you don’t seem to care at all.'”

“‘It’s natural that when you become famous, there are many bad rumors. Just like you, Association Chairman.'”

“‘Hahaha. As expected, we click. Like I said last time, you can think of me as your older brother and treat me comfortably.'”

“‘…Yes. Association Chairman.'”

That one sentence made the atmosphere damnably uncomfortable. Why don’t older men understand that?

“‘Ahem. Anyway, I came because there’s something I need help with.'”

“‘Yes. I heard roughly from Sol. It was about the magic of the Underworld, right?'”

“‘Yes. But before that, there’s one thing I need to do. Association Chairman.'”

“‘Huh? What do you mean, something you need to do?'”

“‘Please extend your hand for a moment.'”

Maestro’s brainwashing has spread to high-ranking officials. Although the possibility of the Association Chairman being brainwashed is low, I still need to check.