As the sunset stretched long across the sky, the first floor of the castle was unusually quiet in the late afternoon. Around noon, it had been bustling, but now, aside from the occasional passing maid, footsteps had all but ceased. Well, it made sense—this was the time to wrap up the day’s work, so unless there was an urgent matter, visitors were rare.
“Looks like it’s about time they show up…”
After scanning the central lounge, I turned my gaze to the right. The large, square crystal framing the garden was bathed in the deep red glow of dusk. As I quietly watched, a clink sounded—something had bumped against the table.
“What shall we do tonight? Who else will we try to lure in?”
A cheerful tune followed. When had she arrived? Goyeonju was humming as she tucked a small tray under her arm. On the table sat a steaming cup of tea. I smiled and reached out.
“Thank you. I was just feeling a bit peckish.”
“So, who’s the new one this time?”
“User Cha Hee-young. Slurp.”
“Hee-young? That one…”
Goyeonju suddenly clammed up, narrowing her eyes as if staring down a wild animal. I understood why and smiled softly before speaking.
“I know. She likes Ahn Hyun.”
“Is that so? You’re not thinking of stealing him away, are you?”
Instead of answering, I pulled out the item I’d tucked inside my coat and showed it to her. Goyeonju’s eyes flickered with surprise, and the playful glint vanished instantly. Though a hint of suspicion lingered, she seemed to grasp the purpose of today’s meeting.
“So, you’ve made your decision.”
“There’s no time to waste.”
“No time?”
“Ah, I don’t want to keep her like a spirit stone, hoarding her for ages. We have to consider her growth, too.”
Suddenly, I caught myself and changed my words. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.
The last batch of prospective users numbered sixteen. But to be honest, none of them had really caught my eye. More accurately, I saw them as shields or guardians of the home. We plan to advance to Terra by the fifth year at the latest, so raising them now would be pointless.
But Cha Hee-young was different. Though I sent her to the academy under the pretext of rebuilding her foundation, she was about to enter her second year. This was the perfect time for her, so I couldn’t lump her in with the other prospects.
…Well, if a user like Jegal Haesol appeared among the prospects, that would be a different story—but that seemed unlikely.
“Too bad. I was looking forward to giving you a hard time after so long.”
As I sorted through my thoughts, a grumble broke the silence. It was quiet, but clearly meant for me.
“Feel free to give me as much grief as you want. If it ends there, I’ll consider myself lucky.”
“Hmm. That tone sounds loaded.”
“Could you tone it down a bit? Every time I see you all whispering together, I get so anxious I can’t sleep.”
Pfft.
Goyeonju burst out laughing and shrugged.
“You’re just nervous because you’ve got a guilty conscience. Or are you worried we might hurt the kids?”
“…Both.”
“Well, at least the latter is unlikely. Honestly, I have nothing to say to Hanbyul or Yujeong either. From their perspective, we’re the ones who made the first move.”
“Ha, haha.”
“…Yeah, fair enough.”
“……”
I stopped sipping my tea and focused on Goyeonju’s words. The more she spoke, the more the laughter faded, replaced by a serious tone.
“But…”
Suddenly, she wasn’t looking at me anymore. Turning slightly, surrounded by the fiery glow of the evening sky, she continued.
“Just answer me honestly—if you can.”
“Of course.”
“Why… didn’t you answer when we tried to contact you back then?”
“That’s…”
“Don’t say you didn’t know. We confirmed you had the communication device, and Hayun tried contacting you over a hundred times.”
“……”
I fell silent. It wasn’t the right moment to explain. Honestly, I was a bit surprised she asked. The question itself was fair, but once ‘honestly’ was added, it changed everything.
“I thought it would make you more desperate.”
Many excuses flashed through my mind, but I stuck to my original answer. I didn’t know how she’d take it, but this was the honesty she wanted. Besides, the subtle tone I’d carried all the way here left no room for deception.
A quiet stillness settled between us. I had averted my gaze, so I couldn’t see her expression. I toyed with the now-cold teacup, pondering what to say next.
But Goyeonju spoke first.
“So you deliberately ignored us to make us desperate. Is that it?”
“If you take it at face value, yes.”
“And if something had happened to us because of that?”
“Then…”
I took a light breath and said again, sincerely,
“I think I would have been crushed.”
At last, I felt her eyes on me.
I took a sip of the lukewarm tea, then set it down and continued. Normally, my heart would be pounding, but strangely, I felt calm. Was it the tea? The peaceful feeling made words flow easily. I’d have to be careful.
“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t anxious, but in the end, I trusted you… no, I had hope. And as a result, I don’t regret it.”
“…Tell me more.”
“That I wasn’t wrong to form the Mercenary Clan. That I didn’t lead us astray. That there’s still potential. …Something like that.”
“……”
Regardless, the founding of the Mercenary Clan was a turning point. Whether I was doomed to live through a chaotic era because of what I knew, or if changing the future was the right choice—I’d agonized over this for a long time.
This time, Goyeonju was silent. Slowly turning, I caught her deep, steady gaze.
“This is my honest answer.”
When I asked how she felt about it, she tilted her head slightly.
“Well…”
After a moment, she spoke softly.
“To be honest, I still don’t really know what Suhyun is thinking inside. But…”
Her voice trailed off, then she surprised me with a twist.
“Whether you truly didn’t know, or you trusted us, or you were deeply saddened… any of those would have been easier to accept than this. At least I felt your honesty.”
She smiled gently.
At that moment, we both turned our heads toward the same direction.
Tap tap, tap tap…! The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the hall. Goyeonju sighed softly, picked up her empty teacup, and turned toward the noise.
“Please take good care of the two of them for now. They may seem fine on the outside, but inside, they’re still struggling a lot. The mind doesn’t heal as easily as the body.”
Huh? Did she already know? Or had the kids told her?
“Go…”
I stood up reflexively, but Goyeonju strode off briskly. Waving one hand as if to say ‘don’t worry,’ she quickly disappeared into the distance. I watched her shrinking figure in silence, then, without realizing it, I spoke.
That was when—
Don’t call me.
Hwa-jeong’s voice stopped me.
What good would it do to call? To say sorry?
‘It’s not that…’
Even if you smile on the outside, you’re probably gritting your teeth inside. The more clumsy you act, the more it hurts their pride.
‘…….’
Her voice was quiet but sharp, like a dagger piercing my heart.
Tap tap tap tap!
“Sorry I’m late!”
The pounding footsteps stopped, replaced by heavy breaths.
Swallowing the words caught in my throat, I finally sank into my chair.
For some reason, a bitter taste lingered in my mouth like a stubborn aftertaste.
Cha Hee-young arrived, apologizing for being late because her training had run long. Well, it wasn’t really an excuse—I’d told the academy instructors to push her as hard as possible.
After calming her down from her excessive apologies, we finally got down to business.
“Before we start… didn’t Instructor Park Hyun-woo tell you to give me something?”
I held out my hand, and hesitantly, Cha Hee-young produced a neat stack of papers from her bag. It was nothing more than her academy report card. I smiled at her nervous glance and began reading slowly.
“Hm.”
After a careful look, I let out a small breath of surprise. When Cha Hee-young was a prospective user, her academy grades had been poor. She’d wandered for a while after a terrible incident, and it showed in her scores.
But now, two years later, her results were completely different. Especially striking were the perfect scores in all magic-related subjects.
Of course, this wasn’t exactly shocking. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t a prospective user anymore, so she had to perform well. Still, it was good to see she’d worked hard to meet the conditions I’d set.
“Your grades are pretty good.”
Praising her, Cha Hee-young’s expression noticeably brightened. Her eyes sparkled and fluttered like a puppy begging for a treat. Meeting that expectation, I reached into my pocket and pulled out an object—a fan that shimmered with a subtle blue glow. It was finally time to pass on the last Awakening Secret Class: the “Dancer of the White Night.”
“User Cha Hee-young?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Do you remember what I told you last time?”
“…I remember.”
The moment she spoke, her voice suddenly dropped.
No, it wasn’t just her voice that changed.
“Are you confident?”
At that moment, her gaze slowly lifted from the table. Though it seemed vacant at first, her eyes held a sly, almost unsettling gleam that sent a chill down my spine. I gripped the fan tightly, as if it might crumble in my hands.
“It’s going to be incredibly difficult from here on out.”
“I know.”
“Knowing isn’t enough.”
“I’m prepared. No, I’ve already made up my mind.”
“Really?”
“……”
“The Awakening Secret Class isn’t a light title. With such a heavy name comes the expectation of equally heavy responsibility. I’m not trying to scare you by saying the training will be tough. You’re about to walk a path full of thorns, more than you can imagine. You might even face death itself. And that’s not all. I guarantee there will be whispers within the clan—questions about whether such a precious gift should be given to ‘someone like you.’ They might say, ‘Why not just give it to Jegal Haesol instead?’”
“……”
She said nothing. Even when I prodded gently, she just stared back without any reaction. From the moment I pulled out the fan, she’d been staring blindly. It seemed pointless to drag the conversation any further.
“If you have the confidence to overcome all that… then it’s yours.”
With those words, I slid the fan to the center of the table. Without a hint of hesitation, Cha Hee-young snatched it up. Only then did she open her eyes wide and let out a soft sigh.
“Ah, ah…?”
It was a bit unexpected. But good. If she had shown even a flicker of doubt, I might have been disappointed. Because I was counting on that very ‘blindness’ to be the key to her rapid growth.
In the past, ‘the Witch’ Cha Hee-young was undeniably formidable. After all, Ansoll himself admitted he couldn’t succeed twice in summoning Gehenna, yet she managed it once. Thinking it over, the driving force behind that must have been her blind rage.
So the answer is simple: replace the first round’s ‘rage’ with ‘Anhyun’ in the second. I do feel a bit sorry for Anhyun, which is why I subtly brought up my relationship with him earlier.
Even if Cha Hee-young awakens as a witch, it’s a risk worth taking. High risk, high reward. If we can redirect the witch’s blade that once targeted us toward the current demon, we’ll gain a powerful weapon.
Finishing my thoughts, I stood up abruptly.
“Well then, I’ll be going first.”
“Eh, yes?”
Without looking back, I turned away, leaving Cha Hee-young flustered and stumbling like a fool.
“Why? That fan is now your property.”
“B-but…”
“You took it confidently, didn’t you?”
“W-well! Ah, sorry, I just… I was momentarily—”
“I personally like this better. Confidence suits you far more than hesitation.”
“…Hic!”
Her hiccup was adorably cute.
“Try to be a little more confident. I may have been a bit harsh earlier, but honestly, I have high hopes for you. I mean it.”
I seemed to be saying “I mean it” a lot today. But this was something I’d been curious about since the first round: between the ‘genius’ and the ‘witch,’ who would truly be superior?
Cha Hee-young bowed her head deeply, blushing and fumbling. Deciding I’d teased her enough, I turned my gaze to the garden and spoke slyly.
“Anhyun’s training should be almost finished by now…”
This time, she seemed to understand. She snapped her head up and immediately stood.
I was half right—she probably wanted to be the first to inherit the class in front of Anhyun. Giving them some private time together was no trouble. I could always check user info whenever I wanted, and it would help strengthen that ‘blindness’ even more.
Cha Hee-young bowed precisely eight times, then dashed out into the garden.
One thing puzzled me: as she left, she shook her head wildly, muttering things I couldn’t quite make out—something like “No! Don’t cross over!” or “Hyun oppa! Sorry for shaking!” Strange words, but I just smiled to myself and began climbing the stairs slowly. I’d probably be wandering the streets all night, so it was best to rest a little while I could.
“…Phew.”
As I climbed, a lightness filled me, and my heart began to race. Maybe it was because the end was drawing near.
With that, the “Dancer of the White Night” I’d held onto so tightly was finally passed on. Once word spread that she had inherited the class, the mid-level mercenary upgrades would be complete.
“…Ah.”
No, not yet. There was still one thing left to do. Only after tonight’s mission was safely over could I say the second phase of the return plan was finished.
Yes, tonight would be the last night on the streets…
When I opened my eyes, the room was cloaked in complete darkness. Beyond the terrace, the city’s skyline twinkled faintly with scattered lights. It was still early for the night’s activities to begin, but just the right time to wake up. If I prepared leisurely, the timing would be perfect.
The first thing I checked after leaving the bed was my funds. On the desk sat two Chaos Mimics and a small pouch—someone had already placed them there. As I opened each one, my breath caught.
The “father” Chaos Mimic held platinum coins glowing with a reddish hue; the “mother” Chaos Mimic was filled with sparkling, multicolored gems. In between, a small pouch contained gold coins for entrance fees. It was a thoughtful touch—Jo Seung-woo’s style.
But I didn’t understand. I knew the city’s income and recent expedition had boosted our finances. Still, knowing Jo Seung-woo’s frugal nature, there was no way he’d stash this much.
“Hm?”
Puzzled, I gathered the mimics and noticed a small note tucked beneath them.
『By the time the Clan Lord reads this…
I’ll probably be deep in dreamland.』
…What an unnecessarily grand opening.
『Haha.
Just kidding.
Anyway, I have some information I got late this afternoon.
I wanted to tell you right away, but since you seemed to be sleeping soundly after a long time, I held back.
Actually, I asked the Shadow Queen for this favor secretly.
If I’d gone in myself, she’d have noticed immediately.』
Another unnecessary courtesy, I thought, but I calmly read on.
『Anyway, the New Koran Alliance contacted me.
To get straight to the point, today’s auction might get pretty heated.
Word has leaked through some channels that the Mercenary Clan will be participating.
It’s not the New Koran Alliance’s doing; I think the potion seller is stirring the pot.
Probably trying to spark competition to drive up the price.』
Heh, a clever move. They must have caught on to our intentions and are trying to exploit it to their advantage.
Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do. Technically, both the New Koran Alliance and we crossed the line first. They probably knew that and acted accordingly.
『Honestly, I want to catch and punish them immediately…
Ah, sorry.
Anyway, the urgent matter is us, and the auction is right around the corner.
Also, if you need help, the Merchant Guild Lord Seo Ji-hwan said he’d cooperate as much as possible.』
Cooperate, huh? If it’s Seo Ji-hwan, then probably…
『Though he said that, he seems eager to use this opportunity to expand the market significantly.』
Of course he would.
『I heard they recently updated the auction item list.
With big players likely to join, some of the reserved items might come out.
Just in case, I’ve prepared ample funds.
The choice is yours, Clan Lord.
I believe this will be enough to outbid anyone, but thinking about that guy still makes me furious.
Anyway, I trust your wise decision.』
Given the situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if some troublesome items appeared in the blind auction. Heh, that actually works in my favor.
『P.S. The baby Chaos Mimic is acting strange. It was calm at first, but the closer it got to your room, the more it convulsed and wailed. I replaced it with the parent mimics, but do you know why?』
I chuckled softly and slipped the note into my pocket.
It was just a little amusing. The night streets are a prime example of the underworld, so I could see right through how things worked. I understood their desire to get the highest price, but honestly, it just made me all the more annoyed.
After gathering the small pouch piece by piece, I finished getting ready by pulling the ash-gray robe over my head.
Humming softly, I descended the stairs and was just about to step past the entrance and out the main gate.
“……”
Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.
“Wait a moment…”
An unexpected emptiness washed over me, as if I’d forgotten something important.
After a brief pause, I pulled the note from my pocket and unfolded it once more.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Today was a day full of realizations.
To all the readers who waited patiently and cheered me on,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. (__)