episode_0054

“Ack… it hurts… !”

Every time she tightens her grip, the girl’s struggles become more intense. Judging by the shape of the badge attached to the lapel of his jacket, he is a second-year senior.

I applied enough force to the point of crushing her, then put my weight on my arm and pushed her to the other side of the pit.

“Aaaah… !”

“Harin, are you okay?”

“You… !”

Her companions look over the girl who was thrown to the floor. Then, three pairs of eyes stare at me with a gaze full of hostility.

“Such arrogance… Someone said… How dare a freshman touch a senior’s body?”

A female student stands up after shaking off the dirt and glares at me, gritting her teeth. Her right wrist, which I had just held, was already dyed dark red.

“Aren’t you the one who tried to touch me first? Senior Yeon Myeong-ha has a mentoring group meeting scheduled in the future, so you should go. I would like you to leave your seat.”

“Ha, what is this… I pity you. I heard you are raising a dog these days. I guess this is true?”

The female student snorts without even listening to what I said. When I saw that, blood flow rushed to my head and I reflexively clenched and unclenched my fists. I tried my best to send him off in a good way, but he just wouldn’t listen.

I took a step forward and approached the girl. Maybe it’s because of the intimidation that comes from the height difference, but unlike just now, her expression looks like she’s embarrassed.

“Hi… What, what?”

“I would have asked you to get out of the way. Or at this point… ”

“Stop! Stop it!”

Suddenly, a loud voice comes from behind. Before I knew it, Yeon Myeong-ha, who was behind me, walked out next to me. His face is still full of polite arrogance.

“Hey, Cheon Harin. I’m busy so get out of the way now. What are you doing to lower your standards? The name of the Myeongwon Cheon family will cry.”

“This bitch is really… !”

“Can’t you hear me telling you to turn off? If you have any complaints, challenge them to a duel. Or should I really give it a try here? This time, do I have to burn my face to understand the topic?”

“ugh… ”

A female student reflexively places her hand on her cheek. There is a clear look of fear on his face. I guess I feel more fear from Yeon Myeong-ha, someone I once attacked, than from the arrogant new student.

“Harin, it would be better to go now… ”

“Ha, they said they were good together, but they are a really good pair. I pity you. Don’t think it’s the end.”

Perhaps because it was a 2:3 situation, the girls’ momentum had clearly died down compared to just before. In the end, she seemed unable to resist the repeated urging of her colleagues and left. It’s a bonus that he glared at Yeon Myeong-ha as if he were an enemy and gritted his teeth until the end.

Only then did I turn around and check on Yeon Myeong-ha.

The proud, undisturbed face crumbles helplessly with a flinch the moment our eyes meet.

“Well, why… ”

“… it’s nothing. But why did you intervene?”

“Woman, if you touch here, work will become a hassle… If you want to step on it, you have to step on it in a duel… Won, originally I was just going to scare you and chase you away… Or receiving a duel challenge… ”

Yeon Gyeon-ha’s words were exactly what I was thinking. It’s just that each side mistakenly thought the other was touching.

On the one hand, it is surprising that there are surprisingly clearly established standards. So, even though I horribly trampled my opponent throughout the duel, I think I somehow got away with it…

“By any chance, you’re not angry because I interrupted you… ? I didn’t do it on purpose… that… ”

“Who would be angry about something like that?”

“… ”

She was speechless. It’s like, no? He just gave me a questioning look.

There was a moment of silence, and we started walking in the same direction without saying who should go first. Anyway, the reason Yeon Yeon-ha was here was to attend the mentoring group meeting that she would host later.

“I, it’s not me… ”

“… ?”

As I was walking out of the back of the building and through the hallway of the annex, I heard a small voice from behind.

“What do you mean?”

“I went first… I didn’t… They started the fight first… ”

It was only then that I realized Companion’s concern.

Even after signing the contract, our daily lives did not change much. I now sleep in the room next to Myeong-ha and spread the blockade all night long, and wake up early in the morning and leave the grounds of the Beech Dormitory unnoticed.

I couldn’t think of the right expression, so I had to specify absolute obedience, but all I asked of her was small things like not starting an argument and not using derogatory comments that could provoke others.

“Who said what? You know that much when you see it. And I told you. It doesn’t matter if I respond to any disputes that come my way.”

“Uh, yes… ”

“But what are the fingers talking about?”

“Well, that’s… I got cut during a duel before… I didn’t put any conditions on it like I did with you… I couldn’t control my strength because I was angry… by mistake… ”

For some reason, my hand felt empty when I held it earlier. When I thought about it, the place where my little finger should be was empty.

“Are you mad?”

“Um, that bitch… No, he curses at my parents… so… artist… ”

“Is that so? Well done.”

“Uh, uh… ?”

Yeon Gyeon-ha’s response doesn’t seem particularly excessive. I think it’s something that can be quite upsetting. Besides, it wasn’t intentional, it just happened during sparring. If I were to really ask the question, I think it’s a good thing to be self-employed…

“Who are they?”

“She was a bitch named Cheon Harin, no, she was… He is the heir of the Myeongwon Cheon family… Of the twenty-seven tribes of magic… My family and I have overlapping business areas, so we clash at every turn… Maybe it’s because I’m close to Baek Seo-yeon, but these days… ”

“… It looks like you two don’t get along very well.”

“How can you like a dirty pretentious bitch… and… ”

“More than that, how are your nightmares these days?”

“Uh, huh?”

Because I was somehow calmed down by the topic of gossip, I unconsciously changed the topic to something else.

“… I think it’s good. Not even dreaming… I can’t even see the shadow… I don’t even hear auditory hallucinations… ”

Fear is still fundamental to the compassionate attitude toward me. But on the other hand, I also feel a small sense of satisfaction.

Since he was walking ahead of me, I turned around for a moment to check on Yeon Myeong-ha.

The skin is soft and the hair is shiny. The tired look on her face disappeared without a trace, leaving only her natural beauty in its place.

After signing the contract, I was able to find out many more facts from Yeon-ha Yeon-ha, who seemed desperate.

It is said that the curse of spiritists, as it is called in the world, is called mental pollution.

And he was suffering from severe mental contamination proportional to his outstanding talent for compassion. Even though all the capabilities of the pharmaceutical company owned by her mother’s side of the family were mobilized, no improvement was seen.

But Yeon Yeon-ha’s mental strength was truly admirable. She has spent well over a decade straddling the border between reality and fantasy, or something that feels like fantasy.

They say I’ve recently reached my limit, but if I had been exposed to the same environment, would I have been able to maintain my sanity for that long? The answer does not come easily.

I am glad that there is room for recovery thanks to this, but on the other hand, I think it was a good idea to choose a hard-line method to approach her in the first place.

He is a person with such mental strength and high pride. It would not have been possible to hang a leash like now by any means.

“You said you see strange things even during the day. How about now?”

“It’s okay. I can’t see anything around me. And I can’t hear anything… ”

Right now, I don’t have to open the blockade, but just keep it closed around my heart, but the mental strength I recovered during the night seems to continue to have a positive effect during the day.

“Is that so? Fortunately, the. Well, I think it might be a good idea to try adjusting the time a bit. I don’t know the exact time right now, so I’ll try to shorten it little by little… ”

“… Sigh. Well, well… ?”

As soon as the words leave, fear creeps into Companion Ha’s eyes.

It’s as if he’s reluctant to even have the slightest possibility of witnessing his old fantasy again.

“… I made a mistake. For the time being, things will continue as usual, so just forget about it.”

“… Yes.”

Yeon Myeong-ha nods slightly, as if relieved.

And in an instant, he returns to his usual arrogant and confident expression.

We had already reached the door of the small conference room. He opens the door to the outside and lets her in first, and although he is startled, he naturally takes the lead.

I followed her into the small conference room. I can see about 20 students already arriving inside. About half of them are sophomores, and the rest are wearing freshman badges like me.

Although the number of people seems surprisingly large, it is quite shabby to think that the people here are all that the influence of the five families, the Yeon clan, can reach.

Also, I don’t feel any special human bond between them and Yeon-Sang. Half of the people seem to live with flattery and flattery, and there is a strong feeling that even those who appear to be fine have filled their positions due to intertwined circumstances.

Feeling pity, I naturally headed to the empty head table. Then, the meeting begins as is, without any typical greetings.

***

“So… What does it look like… ?”

“What do you mean?”

“This request… I mean.”

After the meeting, Yeon Myeong-ha asks as she leaves the annex.

“Does my opinion matter?”

“Well, if you say no, you can’t do it anyway… ”

Yeon Myeong-ha raises her gaze slightly and says.

The upcoming second request was the topic of today’s mentoring group meeting. The request that Yeon Myeong-ha brought was a B-class trade request, a transport escort mission for a grain company located in the south.

However, because the transport volume was so large, it was impossible for one mentoring group to carry out the project alone, so she gathered all those who still had a weak influence and jointly won the order.

“To be honest, I don’t really feel like it.”

But as far as I know, the South is not a very peaceful place.

Rumors of rebels in the south have been going on since I was still living in town. And if the name is heard even in our village in the north of the country, there is no need to mention its age.

People’s Liberation Front. Commonly known as PLF.

The leadership is all powerful warlocks, and unlike ordinary warlocks who hide in the shadows and barely survive, they are a force that actively commits terrorism and fights. Traitors who even seek to overthrow the country by collaborating with demons.

By inciting and deceiving the poor people, their numbers are increasing day by day like cockroaches, and it was even heard that members of their organization were hiding in the capital and operating in secret.

After enlisting in the 66th Brigade, I was able to face the reality of the rumors. At that time, a branch of the PLF had already been established in the northeast, and they committed terrorism and assassinations day after day in an attempt to open a hole in the defense line in order to expand the connection with the demons beyond the wall.

We had to put a lot of effort into the so-called ‘Northeast Flattening Operation’ to punish them and the demon spies. In line with this, several subjugations continued in other provinces, and I understand that the current strong momentum has waned and is entering a lull.

But anyway, the South was once the headquarters of the rebels.

I don’t think there’s any need to set foot in such a place.

“Why, why… ? Now that I think about it, I see you were from the South. If you know anything… Breathe.”

Yeon Myeong-ha suddenly covers her mouth as if she had made a mistake. Then, his complexion turned pale and he continued to look at me.

Now that I think about it, I think the birthplace listed on my fake ID was in the South. It looks like they’ve been investigating my background, even if it’s belated.

“… ”

I don’t know how much they found out, but I don’t feel like there’s much to think about from that level of background research. It’s an act that has already become routine in the cradle, and what’s more, I’m the kind of person who has nothing to say about background checks…

“You know… ? This is… ”

Since he was stuttering and looking very frightened, I decided to just change the subject.

“It is done. Isn’t the south where the rebels were strongest? And Ungju Jinryeong is known to be the southernmost point among them. Hoseo Hannong? Why did that company establish itself there?”

“… The Masada metropolitan area is already saturated with population, and the climate is cool, making it impossible to produce large amounts of food. The eastern expansion plan was completely canceled due to the outbreak of the five plagues a few years ago. The Southern Agricultural District is a national project to overcome such a crisis.”

Even though Yeon Myeong-ha was watching carefully, she continued her explanation.

The chronic food shortage in the Republic was getting worse day by day, and to solve it, a project was planned to create a large-scale agricultural district in the southern part of the country, where the climate was warm and farmland was large.

Hoseo Hannong is the company that won the bid for the project, and at the same time, it is one of the few companies that still has a close relationship with Jeokhwa.

So, in fact, this is the same as her designated request, and her acceptance of the request, as Jeokhwa’s successor, is an act accompanied by a relationship that goes beyond what is visible.

Although this mission is a B-level request, transport escorts are always set at a higher level of difficulty than the actual level due to the possibility of an attack, so strictly speaking, it is a request with a difficulty level of C-level.

If you use the designated route according to the established procedures, there is virtually no possibility of an attack, and since the rebel forces were almost annihilated in a large-scale military operation a few years ago, even if you are attacked, at most it will be a low-level magical beast living in the south. .

“… And even if all the danger were real, the fact that the heirs of the five families were so afraid of him that they refused the request would be enough to be laughed at for a hundred years… ”

“… ”

There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with what she said. Rather, it seems like he has insight into major countries that I don’t have.

According to Yeon Myeong-ha’s explanation, this escort mission is a request whose importance cannot be considered low compared to its difficulty. If successful, it could be an opportunity to turn around her status to some extent.

Moreover, perhaps thanks to his recent recovery in health, he was showing his own motivation in various activities at the Cradle of Compassion.

Considering my purpose, I don’t think there’s any need to discourage that kind of motivation.

“Okay. Do as you wish.”

“… !”

Her eyes were filled with joy, but it disappeared in an instant as she tried to maintain a solemn expression.

“… Hmm.”

“I’ll just leave. I have some business to go out. then… ”

First of all, I attended the meeting, and there is someone I need to meet later.

So, she was about to leave to get permission to go out, but Yeon Sang-ha’s face instantly became filled with fear.

“Uh, where… ?”

“… Didn’t you say it’s okay during the day?”

“Yeah, that’s true, but… ”

“Didn’t I tell you that? I’m not using that ability during the day anyway. Nothing will happen, so don’t worry.”

“Who’s worried… !”

“I’m just going out for a moment. I’ll be back before it’s too late today.”

I felt sorry for him as he tried to argue with me, but he shook his head again at my continued words.

“… Yes.”

Yeon Myeong-ha’s body trembles. Seeing that, an uncomfortable feeling slowly wells up in a corner of my heart.

Every single act of her dependence is so thrilling. They drag me into a village that doesn’t exist anymore.

No matter how hard I try to shake it off, the vivid memories still hold on to me.

When I look at that figure with my head down, someone keeps coming into my mind.