episode_0131

Hong Myeongseon was surrounded by his daughter and son-in-law, his arms held tight. He tried to break free, but it seemed he couldn’t bring himself to use force against his daughter.

“F-Father-in-law, please calm down…! You can’t do this! Do you intend to kill a mere student?! Please!”

“Father! We understand everything, so let’s just try to resolve this through conversation! Yeonhwa wouldn’t want this either…!”

Still, it seemed Hong Myeongseon was affected by the heat he couldn’t control, as both of them reacted as if they were burning hot all over. Yet, the way they absolutely refused to let go of Hong Myeongseon made them seem like martyrs to me…

‘I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.’

More than anything, my guilt was immense. In a way, it was as if I had laid hands on their daughter, so I was simply grateful they weren’t trying to kill me along with Hong Myeongseon.

I occasionally blocked the fireballs Hong Myeongseon shot out after breaking free from his daughter and son-in-law’s restraint, hiding behind a tree in the mansion garden.

It was true I had nothing to say even if I had ten mouths [a proverb meaning being utterly speechless or having no excuse], but even so, I didn’t want to be burned to death… And the cause of that death was because I had touched a woman who should not be touched.

[Genius Mage Lee Hyunjin Dies After Assaulting the Flame Emperor’s Granddaughter]

…If the newspaper reported it like that, my mother would definitely chase me even to the underworld and wring my neck again. I didn’t even want to imagine it.

With no other choice, I emerged from behind the tree and faced Hong Myeongseon.

“You scoundrel!!”

Hong Myeongseon’s eyes bulged as he tried even more violently to shake off his daughter and son-in-law.

Hong Yeonhwa’s mother made a tearful face and shouted at me.

“Kid, why are you coming out…! It’s better to just go home now, ah, Father! Wait, no, you can’t…!”

And just as Hong Myeongseon finally pushed the two of them away and started to stride towards me.

“Father-in-law!”

Hong Yeonhwa’s father, with a look of deep frustration, shouted as if there was no other choice.

“If you don’t want to see the Ice Empress lose her temper and turn the sea off Busan into a glacier, please calm down for just a moment!!”

“…”

And the one mentioned was none other than the Ice Empress. My master, Seol Hayeon.

For a moment, I couldn’t control my expression and showed my bewilderment. No, there’s no way such a far-fetched story would work…

‘…It worked?’

Startled, I looked at Hong Myeongseon, genuinely flustered. He stood stock-still, slowly calming the seething heat around him.

“Ahem…”

Hong Myeongseon, with a most awkward expression, cleared his throat and scuffed at the lawn with his foot. It was clear to anyone that he was trying to act nonchalant. I stared at him with bewildered eyes.

‘Just what on earth have you been doing in Busan, Master…’

Of course, the face that came to mind was even more so my Master’s face… In my mind, I could vividly picture Seol Hayeon tapping her head playfully.

It had been a while since I’d seen her, but hearing this kind of talk didn’t make me miss her all that much.

“Hoo, hoo.”

At that point, Hong Myeongseon seemed to have calmed down his anger just a little, just a little. His eyes still blazed, but… perhaps it was enough that he wouldn’t immediately grab me and burn me to a crisp.

“Elder.”

Now was the time. I opened my mouth in a very respectful tone.

“Why do you call me?! You damned rascal!”

Hong Myeongseon bellowed, and just that alone caused flames to swirl slightly. Hong Yeonhwa’s parents recoiled in alarm and scurried back.

It was truly heartbreaking treatment, but… since I was the sinner, I simply accepted it. Nevertheless, I couldn’t drag out this awkward situation for long.

I had one exceedingly brilliant idea.

The single path that could resolve this situation cleanly and elegantly…!

With a solemn and serious expression, I declared to Hong Myeongseon.

“Let’s have a match.”

“?”

“Like mages, with a fair and square one-on-one duel.”

Hong Myeongseon immediately looked blank, and Hong Yeonhwa’s parents screamed silently. With wide eyes and open mouths, their lack of voice was exactly like being muted.

But I was serious. To break through this situation, a drastic measure was needed. I could have run away if I wanted to, but I didn’t. Putting aside the guilt I felt for laying hands on his granddaughter, since things had come to this point… it wasn’t that I didn’t want to be officially recognized.

Anyway, I was the madman who had done crazy things with a dozen or so women. I had expected something like this to happen someday, and in fact, I had almost suffered a similar fate at the hands of Jinseong and Gwon Hwang. Judging from such experiences, pressing the accelerator in situations like this was usually the correct answer.

I looked Hong Myeongseon straight in the eye and said.

“If I lose, I will take responsibility and die by fire. Please make me pay for the sin of shaming your granddaughter.”

“…”

“But if, by any chance… I do not lose against you, Elder.”

Gulp!

When I paused my words for a moment, someone swallowed hard. It was none other than Hong Yeonhwa, who was squeezed between her siblings and watching the current situation.

I deliberately glanced at her once before delivering my finishing line.

“Give me your granddaughter’s hand in marriag—”

And then a fireball charged at my face. CRASH!

It was a spell Hong Myeongseon threw without warning.

“…You could at least let me finish my sentence.”

I lowered the ice shield I had quickly conjured and let out a deep sigh. Towards me, Hong Myeongseon spread both his hands wide and burst into chilling laughter.

“Hahaha! Good, good! For the first time, you’ve said something I like, you rascal! To say you’ll take responsibility and die, I shall respect that courage!!”

‘No, wait, I didn’t say I’d die.’

I felt a little wronged, but it seemed from Hong Myeongseon’s perspective, my challenging him was understood as a roundabout way of saying I’d commit suicide (?). It was certainly plausible. The Flame Emperor Hong Myeongseon was a master strong enough to think that way.

However.

CRACKLE!

“…!”

I wasn’t a mage to be outdone anywhere. Especially now, having mastered various unique abilities.

After turning the entire garden into an ice rink with a single stomp on the grass, I extended my hand.

“Then…”

“…You scoundrel.”

“You’ve given your permission, ‘Grandfather’.”

After deliberately changing the honorific to provoke him, I erected Ice Trees in the garden.

RUMBLE! As the frozen trees soared high, clumps of ice and flame that I had fused together began to rain down from the sky.

*****

“I knew that rascal would cause trouble.”

Cheon Soyul clicked her tongue and took several large steps back. If she stayed too close to the garden, she’d get caught up in the magic battle.

It was a very sudden duel, but Cheon Soyul was surprisingly not flustered. In fact, she had gotten used to it to some extent. How many times had Lee Hyunjin clashed with adults from the older generation over such matters?

Honestly, it was a miracle that he hadn’t clashed with her own mother, Manroe Cheon Sehee. It was just a madman committing mad acts. It was a slightly selfish thought, but Cheon Soyul was primarily relieved that she, too, hadn’t incurred Hong Myeongseon’s wrath…

Before it was an act of drawing a line between herself and Lee Hyunjin, it was a mindset born from her firm belief and trust in Lee Hyunjin.

Whether it was sudden or not, hadn’t the duel at least been established? If so, she was confident that nothing worse would happen.

‘He won’t win easily, but…’

He probably won’t lose either. Should I call it a hunch? It wasn’t that she didn’t have a hunch, but more so a trust born from precedent.

Lee Hyunjin is strong. The days when he was on par with her were long gone. Wasn’t he the guy who fought well even against an S-class villain? Even though she hadn’t seen the scene herself at the time, she had heard words passed down through Cheon Woohyuk.

“-I might be a little stronger now. But… -That won’t last very long, I suspect.”

None other than ‘that’ Cheon Woohyuk had evaluated Lee Hyunjin that way. If so, wouldn’t he have a chance against Hong Myeongseon?

Fundamentally, in terms of elemental compatibility between ice mages and fire mages, fire mages held the advantage, but… Doesn’t Lee Hyunjin have that special characteristic? Was it called ‘Frozen Core’? If the Ice Empress was able to achieve an overwhelming win rate against Hong Myeongseon thanks to that, then Lee Hyunjin might also…

“…Still, well. I hope he doesn’t get hurt.”

Cheon Soyul muttered that, as if in passing. She then tore her gaze away from Lee Hyunjin and subtly turned her head sideways.

“So, what about you?”

“…”

The one she addressed was Hong Yeonhwa. Red hair, red eyes. This time, her face and ear tips were as red as her physical features.

“He says if he wins, he’ll take you…”

Cheon Soyul looked down at her as if she found her cute and whispered in a low voice.

“Yeonhwa, do you have any thoughts on it?”

“…I don’t knowww…”

Hong Yeonhwa, who had squatted down in place, whined with her head bowed low.