episode_0230

The Great Mage Allen Greyer had many mysterious relics.

Among them, the first item Haru retrieved was naturally the Staff of Void.

If there was one thing that the elder who could see the future and the reincarnator who had seen the future agreed upon, it was stopping the destruction.

“To prepare for that terrible future, that old man and I made this staff together.”

By imbuing a part of a magician’s soul into an object, it could achieve performance incomparable to most artifacts.

After rummaging through her subspace, Haru pulled out a short staff about the size of her forearm.

“Oh…”

A staff with a brilliant glow that seemed to pull one in just by looking at it. At that moment, even Lee Hyunjin, as a mage, couldn’t help but admire it.

If something like that were to appear at an auction, he would surely throw all his assets at it.

“Soul Weapon.”

Haru muttered briefly. Then, as she lightly swung the staff, holding it by its tip—

A brilliant flash erupted…!

A bright flash filled the underwater cave, and soon, a faint glow began to shimmer on the dark ceiling.

“…This is.”

Lee Hyunjin stared blankly at the sight, then belatedly flinched and looked down at his own body.

High-purity magic, which could not be accumulated without absorbing a considerable amount of pure energy, began to steadily fill his body without him doing anything.

The reason, of course, was the glow, and Lee Hyunjin was not the only one receiving its benefits.

“This is incredible.”

Violet was aware that this was not a place where she had much say, but even so, it was hard for her to keep her mouth shut.

That was how much vitality surged through her body. In this state, yes, she even wondered if she could release some of the hero’s restrictions binding her body—.

‘…If I did that, I’d probably be beaten to death, wouldn’t I?’

Violet thought to herself that such a foolish idea should remain just a thought.

If she were the only one receiving the power of this glow, it might be different.

But now, Lee Hyunjin was here, Seol Hayeon was here, and above all, the Moonlight Cult Leader whom she had once betrayed, and Eileen, were also present…

Just imagine if she did something foolish and these monsters attacked her all at once.

‘I don’t even want to imagine it, ugh.’

Violet shivered, hugging her arms, feeling an unnecessary chill.

At least Lee Hyunjin might go easy on her because of their accumulated affection.

But it was a rather meaningless assumption. She quietly gave up on the idea of escaping and resolved to cooperate with them until she received leniency.

Anyway, whether she thought about it or not, the conversation continued.

Seol Hayeon stepped forward and glared sharply at Haru.

“Hand it over. That’s not something someone like Senior Sister should handle as she pleases.”

“…Hmm…”

Haru let out a troubled hum, her expression showing difficulty. She then rolled her gaze to Lee Hyunjin, but—

“What. Why.”

“…”

Lee Hyunjin wasn’t in a situation to say anything either. In the first place, he didn’t even know for sure what kind of object the staff she held was.

How could he give her support? Moreover, if he had to pick a side, he was on Seol Hayeon’s.

In the end, Haru let out a deep sigh and slipped the staff behind her back.

“…Senior Sister.”

“Calm down, Junior Sister.”

Seol Hayeon’s expression turned sharply cold, but Haru held out her other palm.

As for her, well… she had no intention of fighting them now.

“I clearly said I’d cooperate. As for this staff, Junior Sister might not be happy with me holding it… But you know well that it’s more suited to me than anyone else, don’t you?”

“…”

This time, Seol Hayeon clamped her mouth shut.

She wanted to retort, but it was difficult.

As it was the relic of the Great Mage whom she had once served as her superior, she had a desire to keep it for herself in some way, but…

If Haru stubbornly refused to give it up, it would be difficult for her to force it.

“Huu.”

In the end, as if trying to control her emotions, Seol Hayeon blew air to push up her bangs, then, after a frown, she spoke to Haru.

“Then promise me one thing, Senior Sister. That you won’t… unnecessarily deplete the power contained within that staff.”

“…”

Haru didn’t answer immediately, glancing down at her staff.

Allen Greyer’s legacy. In other words, a relic of Seol Hayeon’s teacher.

Depleting the soul meant using up all of the staff’s power, and it also meant erasing all traces of Allen.

Haru sighed silently.

‘…You’re not the type to follow along like that, you old geezer.’

She swallowed words she wanted to blurt out but couldn’t.

The truth about what happened ten years ago. Was there any need to say it?

It would only complicate Seol Hayeon’s mind further. Haru didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble in this urgent situation.

As Seol Hayeon was the closest mage to her, she was a key asset, and above all, wasn’t she her rather cute junior sister?

‘Although she was past the age to be easily hurt all over again.’

Still, there was no need to cause unnecessary confusion.

Having made her decision, Haru nodded her head.

“Alright.”

“…”

“As for me, I can’t hand it over because it has a use, but if everything ends and the world becomes peaceful…”

Letting the staff hang loosely downwards, Haru looked at Seol Hayeon with a clear gaze.

“I’ll return it to you, Junior Sister. I respect your feelings for our teacher.”

“…Ugh.”

At that momentary shift in tone and the warmer expression, Seol Hayeon recoiled significantly.

Because it was a rare sight. Haru’s… serious demeanor.

She wanted to add something threatening, but… with Haru acting like that, Seol Hayeon could only pout.

In the end, the two girls gazed at each other with conflicting emotions, each wearing their own expression—

Clap!

“Alright, then… are you two done with your talk? That’s right, isn’t it?”

Lee Hyunjin clapped once.

Both girls turned their heads.

“Anyway, haven’t we agreed to cooperate? As for that staff, I don’t know much about it, but it seems Haru has a use for it…”

“…Whose side are you taking now, Disciple-nim?”

“Don’t be jealous, Teacher-nim. Of course, you’re a more precious person to me.”

“…!”

At his skillful retort, Seol Hayeon’s face faintly flushed, and Haru, for her part, wore a sulky expression, as if displeased.

Lee Hyunjin tried to ignore their persistent gazes and continued speaking.

“In other words, everything’s settled now, right? There’s no need to fight any further right now, and we just need to gradually discuss how to stop the destruction.”

“…That’s right, I guess? So, what do you want to say, Lee Hyunjin?”

Haru retorted, and Lee Hyunjin fell silent for a moment. As if hesitating, he scanned the surroundings with a rather serious expression.

“Oh…”

Haru and Seol Hayeon blinked, looking bewildered, but in contrast, the other two women reacted differently.

Violet exclaimed in genuine admiration, and Eileen let out a small chuckle.

“Even at a time like this?”

“Ahem.”

“I truly respect you, Lee Hyunjin. You’re an amazing guy in so many ways.”

Violet gave a thumbs-up.

Lee Hyunjin coughed awkwardly.

“W-wait, honey? Why are you suddenly taking your clothes off again?!”

Eileen, with an expression that understood everything, casually stripped off her top once more.

Neatly tucking her black hair behind her ear, she quietly murmured.

“You still don’t understand, Cult Leader? What he’s trying to say?”

“Huh?”

“The talk is over, so he means we should go back to what we were doing before.”

“Huh??”

Haru’s mouth fell open, utterly dumbfounded, and Seol Hayeon immediately turned around.

Gasp!

And she immediately grabbed Lee Hyunjin by the collar and spat out.

“You damn Disciple-nim, are you seriously an animal?!”

“…Hayeon-nim, please calm down, calm down.”

Lee Hyunjin frantically tried his special tactic, but sadly, it didn’t work this time.

Despite the familiar address, Seol Hayeon paid no heed and let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.

“If calling me by name made every situation neatly resolve… No, wait.”

However, her words didn’t continue to the end. Seol Hayeon, belatedly looking around, gasped, her face pale.

“N-no, wait. Why are you all taking off your clothes without any resistance?!”

It was because the women around them had all started to reveal their bare skin.

Violet, with an excited expression, and Eileen, folding the clothes she had taken off as if she had been waiting.

Only one answered Seol Hayeon’s question.

Haru cocked her head.

“Well… it doesn’t seem bad…?”

“?!?”

Seol Hayeon had another fit of shock. She wore a disdainful expression, as if witnessing all the crazy women in the world, then fell silent for a moment.

“…”

“…”

Then, at her disciple’s timid gaze, subtly tugging at her clothes, she let out a groan of ‘Ugh’.

“Ah, fine. I’ll take them off too, alright? Don’t look at me like that, Hyunjin…”

As a bonus, she found herself unconsciously losing her usual tone. Seol Hayeon despaired for a moment but ultimately gave up and reached for the ribbon.

“Haa, seriously.”

After a brief hesitation, she decisively pulled down the ribbon, undoing her top.

Even as she wondered if this was really the right thing to do, she couldn’t help but feel her body warming up.

Birds of a feather flocked together.