Episode 566. Iris Guild (5)

“…So you’re asking for cooperation in investigating the Black Pillars, right?”

“To put it simply, yes.”

Irene replayed Lee Hoyeon’s words in her mind, her hand gripping the handle of her coffee cup. But Lee Hoyeon’s request, sitting right before her, didn’t make much sense.

“I don’t quite understand. It’s nighttime in Korea right now, isn’t it? Did you really go through all that trouble just for something like that?”

I was worried about how important the request might be, but in Irene’s opinion, investigating the Black Pillars didn’t seem that crucial. It was, after all, an incident that had already concluded worldwide.

“It’s not ‘just something like that’. If the Black Pillars are linked to Pandemic, it could become a global catastrophe.”

“But the Iris Guild already finished investigating the Black Pillars, didn’t they?”

“Yes. Of course, the Iris Guild would have finished the investigation. But there are still some points that don’t sit right.”

“Those pillars are simple structures, as long as you don’t get close. And dungeon rampages are just newly appearing anomalies.”

“Black Pillars appearing simultaneously worldwide being simple structures… doesn’t that sound nonsensical?”

“But it was the same when magic was first used, and when dungeons first appeared. It’s normal now, isn’t it? Humans have a hard time accepting new things.”

Why is this person so good at talking?

Speechless for a moment, Lee Hoyeon immediately brought up the topic of mana.

“…That’s true, but Irene-ssi. You remember the mana Lucifer used, right? Isn’t it similar to that unpleasant aura coming from the Black Pillars?”

“That murky mana, you mean? Hmm, is that so? Now that I think about it, it does seem similar. I’m not sure.”

As expected, Irene hadn’t grasped it at all either. Even though she participated directly in the battle with Lucifer, she wasn’t thinking about the Underworld’s mana at all.

“Speaking of which, I have a lot to tell you while investigating. There are those who owe the Iris Guild a favor, right? I’m going to investigate their mana a bit too.”

“Chiron and Albedo, you mean? Hmm? Now that you mention it, their mana did have a black hue.”

“Yes. Because they’re from the same Underworld. And that Underworld mana is flowing out from the Black Pillars too.”

“Hearing you say that, I can’t deny there might be a connection. But how did you notice that strangeness? I was with you and didn’t notice a thing.”

‘Because I’m the protagonist.’ …I can’t just say that, can I? Fortunately, I had already thought of an excuse. Lee Hoyeon had an invincible excuse.

“I found out during my magic research.”

“Mages call everything ‘magic research’, so I can’t believe it. Especially you, you always pull that excuse.”

“…It’s true. You know my nickname, right? Genius Mage Lee Hoyeon.”

“I know. It’s just that you’re too famous, which is the problem.”

Lee Hoyeon was a genius mage recognized by the American Mage Association. His talent was evaluated as surpassing even Im Sol’s, said to be born once in a thousand years, so his skills were beyond doubt. The problem was that he used that excuse far too often.

Irene shook her head and asked Scarlet, who was sitting demurely beside her, sipping coffee.

“Scarlet, do you agree with Lee Hoyeon’s opinion too?”

“Well… I just follow Hoyeon-nim’s opinion.”

“That’s fitting for a woman driven mad by love who quit her guild. So devoted.”

“Kuhuk.”

Ttak-

Lee Hoyeon quickly snapped his fingers. At the same time, the black liquid scattered in the air vanished cleanly. I must protect Scarlet’s dignity, the woman who abandoned even her guild for love.

“Please don’t bring that up, Irene Agassi.”

“Why? I didn’t know well since I was in Korea, but it had already spread among the regular guild members?”

“…”

Scarlet squeezed her eyes shut. Guild Leader Isaac. It was definitely a good memory when we parted, but I’ll kill him when I see him again.

“Anyway… what you need is a reinvestigation of the Black Pillars, right? I’ll help with that much. But to get the cooperation of the entire Iris Guild, you’ll need the Guild Leader’s permission.”

“Yes. Naturally.”

“But the Guild Leader prioritizes the Iris Guild’s interests above all else, so I don’t know how it will turn out.”

“It’s fine. If Irene-ssi helps, that’s enough.”

“…I’ll only act in a way that benefits the Iris Guild.”

Irene smacked her lips even as she said that. She intended to cooperate with Lee Hoyeon as much as possible. Alice would be the same, of course. Like Scarlet said, if it’s Lee Hoyeon, he could ‘sweet-talk’ Alice. Actually, if those two helped Lee Hoyeon, the game would be over right then and there. Considering her father’s doting nature, borrowing the guild’s power would be easy. If his two darling daughters asked, he would permit it immediately.

“It’s fine. I’ll really persuade him. Ah, I need to go to the training ground to do a test. Are those Underworld guys still in the training ground?”

“Chiron and Albedo should be in the training ground.”

“I need to meet them too, so let’s go together.”

“Okay. But before that, I need to calm the guild members down a bit. Strange rumors might spread about you guys for no reason, so I need to make sure they keep quiet.”

“I’ll handle that, so you two go ahead with your business. Besides, I need to quell some of the false rumors already spreading within the guild.”

Scarlet got up from her seat, bowed slightly, and slipped outside. I thought I faintly heard something like, ‘That son of a bitch.’

Lee Hoyeon gave a slight smile and gulped down the remaining coffee.

“Let’s go too, Irene-ssi.”

*

Thump. Thump.

Lee Hoyeon followed behind Irene towards the Iris Guild’s training ground. Nothing had changed since the last time I visited, but since I met the Iris Guild members often, following Irene was convenient in many ways.

“The fact that the Iris Guild finished the investigation means there are places that already bought the information. For a major incident like the Black Pillars, the Guild Leader must have investigated directly.”

“Information investigated directly by the Emperor of the Night is quite valuable.”

“It was that big of an incident. Quite a few places bought the information even after the official announcement declared it safe.”

“The Iris Guild sold incorrect information… Still, it should be fine for now. Since the incident hasn’t happened yet, we can just say the Iris Guild discovered new information. It could even be handled as something Irene-ssi did.”

Irene laughed incredulously, seeing Lee Hoyeon seriously contemplating the contingency plan. Seeing Lee Hoyeon, the so-called genius mage, so confident, it seemed he definitely had a place he was suspecting.

“You really seem confident? But don’t underestimate the Emperor of the Night just because you’re a genius mage.”

“You know that’s not what I meant, why are you acting like this? The Guild Leader, no, my father, doesn’t do magic better than me, right?”

No matter how strong Lee Hoyeon had become, he couldn’t guarantee an easy victory if he fought the Emperor of the Night. In the first place, this wasn’t a matter of information or strength. Unless their genes were fundamentally different like Im Sol’s, no one except Lee Hoyeon could notice the anomaly.

“…Father?”

Lee Hoyeon blinked, seeing Irene slightly frown. ‘Why Father?’

“Isn’t ‘Father’ friendlier than ‘father-in-law’?”

The chairman of Victoria Academy had the appearance worthy of being called ‘father-in-law’, but Iris Guild Leader Isaac seemed better suited to the title ‘Father’. He still looks young, after all.

“That’s not the problem… Hmm, right. That’s not what’s important now.”

It wasn’t the first time that guy had been so forward. Lee Hoyeon’s casual address inexplicably stirred strange feelings. This was probably because I hadn’t seen Alice.

Irene shook her head vigorously and changed the subject.

“Setting aside whether your opinion is right or not… why are you stepping up to lead in the face of such a global catastrophe? That’s something the Hunter Association should handle.”

“The world shouldn’t fall apart. Irene-ssi is here, and Alice is too.”

“Hmm… Is that really all? No other motives?”

Based on observing the person named Lee Hoyeon. He wasn’t that bad a guy (excluding his issues with women), but he wasn’t exactly a saint either. Why had a person who moderately acted for himself suddenly changed like this?

Lee Hoyeon smiled at Irene, who was sending him suspicious glances.

“Irene-ssi might not know, but I’ve always acted for world peace.”

“I didn’t know your personality was like that. Is that also perhaps because of the curse?”

“…Well…”

I didn’t know how to answer if you suddenly came at me like that, so I trailed off. Irene also seemed to lose interest when Lee Hoyeon didn’t answer and quietly quickened her pace.

‘What a shame.’

The interesting conversation had suddenly stopped. Someone like Irene, who had good reactions, was fun. I was thinking I needed to tell Irene and Alice about the fake dungeons too, but catching the right timing wasn’t easy.

“Speaking of which, what’s the reason Alice and Irene-ssi couldn’t be contacted?”

I almost forgot because we were talking about the Black Pillars. This is a very important matter too.

“Alice is currently undergoing successor training. She’s gathering information about Lucifer’s recent academy attack. She’s probably learning know-how by accompanying the Guild Leader?”

“Is it okay to just tell me things like that?”

“If it’s you, wouldn’t it be okay?”

I’m already calling the Guild Leader ‘Father’, and he wasn’t denied by his two daughters, so… It’s a fact they’ll all know someday.

“Wow. This is a bit touching. Is that why you weren’t receiving contact either, Irene-ssi?”

“…You could say that? All guild members are investigating Lucifer’s attack incident.”

Irene was on vacation, but she glossed over it since she didn’t want to bother explaining. It wasn’t something to brag about that she agonized over whether to reply to Lee Hoyeon or not.

“But is there information to find about Lucifer? The most important Lucifer is already dead, isn’t he?”

“There are various things. There are no signs of the academy’s security being breached. To install a magic circle of that scale, someone’s help would have been necessary. That’s the most important information… Information about that immense power. And the connection with Pandemic…”

Irene rambled on, but it didn’t register in my ears. Somehow, it felt like the most important investigation was mine.

“Right. You have Lucifer’s corpse, don’t you? Can you give me the right to investigate it?”

“Ah, yes. Well, that much…”

Lee Hoyeon thought, looking at Irene’s back as she walked ahead. ‘After my business is done, I should tell Irene right away.’ I need to make time immediately after meeting Chiron and Albedo in the training room. Especially Alice, who must be suffering greatly trying to find information even now.

“Thanks. Let’s go. We’re here at the training room.”

Boom-

Ttaang-!

Faint mana echoing around could be felt. Through it, familiar Underworld mana could be felt. It was Chiron’s.

“I can see inside. Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

Jjiiing-

The inside of the training room, following Irene in, was noisy.

“Predictable attack! Do you think you can be an opponent to me, Wild Gladiator, like this! Human!”

“Ugh, Uwaaak!”

As soon as we entered the training room, Chiron was visible, swinging a giant spear around while fighting a guild member. It’s been a while since I saw him too. At first, he had a really scary image, but he became stranger and stranger, and finally, he completely lost it. Seeing his state, it seemed his ‘lost it’ brain hadn’t returned yet.

“Team Leader 1! What brings you here during your vacation?”

“I came because I had some business, so don’t mind me.”

“Huh? Ohh. Isn’t that Lee Hoyeon! It’s been a while! I am Wild Gladiator, Chiron. Is my friend Irene here too!”

“Yes. Wild Gladiator.”

He starts acting crazy the moment we meet. That way of speaking was clearly crafted to infuriate humans.

“If you’ve come, Lee Hoyeon, surely Killer Queen is with you?”

“H-Huh?!”

Albedo, who was in the corner leading guild members and manipulating mana, looked startled. He seemed to be playing it safe.

“Liliana isn’t here, so don’t worry. I came to meet the two of you today.”

“This isn’t urgent training for everyone, right? I’ll take these guys with me.”

“Yes! It’s fine!”

“What is it, Human?”

“Me, not content with being Wild Gladiator, but also Strange Nightmare…”

“Yes, yes. This way.”

Irene naturally led the Centaur and the Incubus further into the training room. She seems to know exactly how to manage those strange guys. I need to go quickly too.

“Thank you. I’ll just pass through.”

Lee Hoyeon bowed his head to the Iris Guild members and quickly followed behind.