The training ground outside the house had just been cleaned by the servants, so it was ready to be used at any time.
Having heard that from Mother, I decided to head to the training ground.
It was then.
“I want to train together too!”
“You too, Yeeun?”
Doyeeun, who had been reading the room and keeping quietly to herself all this time.
That Yeeun shot her hand up.
Judging by her bouncing, excited energy, refusing rashly would likely turn the house into a sea of tears.
“Hmm….”
Mother seemed to be pondering, perhaps having similar thoughts.
Soon, she glanced at me, asking what I thought we should do.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Yeeun is whining like that, and if she turns into a sulking mess, it’ll be troublesome to deal with.
I decided to play with Yeeun and asked Yeonhaneul for her understanding.
“Haneul, is it okay if Yeeun joins us?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I want to play with Yeeun too, you know?”
“Well, that’s a relief…. Yeeun, but you mustn’t disturb Haneul’s training. You have to train quietly by her side, okay?”
“Yes! I can be quiet and do well!”
Thanks to Yeonhaneul readily accepting, Yeeun was able to join too.
So we decided to set out for the training ground as soon as we were ready.
“Let’s change clothes and meet outside. You know where the training ground is, right?”
“Yeah, I saw it on the way here. But where should I change?”
“Yeeun needs to change too, so change in Yeeun’s room.”
“Unni! Come here! Let’s go to my room! Mongsuni is there too!”
“Huh!? W-wait…!”
“That girl, really….”
With Yeeun tagging along, there was no time to think straight.
Without hesitation, Yeeun grabbed Yeonhaneul’s hand and shot upstairs.
Mother and I watched them disappear and shared a light laugh.
After that, I too went up to my room to change clothes.
“Unni! This is Mongsuni!”
“Wow, she’s really gentle.”
Yeeun’s room was right next door.
She was speaking so loudly that her voice carried all the way to my room.
Occasionally, I could hear Yeonhaneul’s voice too.
‘They seem to be getting along well.’
I didn’t know what they were doing in there.
While changing clothes, I could hear giggling from the next room.
“W-wait, where are you touching… Kyah!”
‘…What on earth are they doing?’
Yeonhaneul let out a shriek.
It seemed like they would keep at it for a while longer.
Having changed into my training gear, I decided to wait outside.
“Mongshil, hyung is going to train.”
Was it because he knew Yeonhaneul had come?
Or was he just happy to see me?
I spoke to Mongshil, who was jumping up excitedly trying to get out of his enclosure.
Unfortunately, the enclosure had been raised recently, so Mongshil couldn’t escape until I left the room.
‘What should I teach first? For now, it’s probably best to have her run laps around the training ground to warm up.’
Before long, I came out to the training ground.
While doing light warm-ups, I pondered what to teach Yeonhaneul first.
‘I’ll focus on building her basic fitness, and teach her swordsmanship in the remaining time.’
I briefly considered whether to teach her how to control mana as well.
But she might pick up bad habits from my teaching.
I decided to abandon that thought.
‘I can advise her on swordsmanship, but my expertise in mana is severely lacking. It’s better to leave teaching mana control techniques to a professional instructor.’
So, mana control techniques would be put on hold.
I made my plans and waited for the two to come out.
And before long….
“Sorry, are we late?”
“We’re here!”
Yeonhaneul and Yeeun appeared.
Yeonhaneul, wearing gym clothes, apologized the moment she arrived.
“What were you doing that you’re only here now?”
“Well, because of Yeeun….”
I felt like I knew the reason without asking.
She must have been swept up in Yeeun’s antics and ended up late.
So I simply nodded and decided to start training.
Then, Yeeun threw out a topic.
“Oppa! Did you know?”
“What?”
“You know, Haneul unni is really amazing! I saw her changing…!”
“Yeeun, you don’t need to say that.”
“….”
Yeonhaneul suddenly covered Yeeun’s mouth with her hand mid-sentence.
I was at a loss for words looking at her twitching lips.
Soon, my eyes met Yeonhaneul’s.
She was smiling.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t we going to train?”
“…Yeah, let’s just train.”
“Mmph mmph!”
A tone that suggested I should pretend I hadn’t heard.
Having received an implicit threat from Yeonhaneul, I decided to drop the subject.
And then we started training.
First, ten laps.
‘She runs better than I thought.’
Was it because she was an Ein?
Though she fell behind me, Yeonhaneul maintained her pace well.
She seemed to have quite decent athletic sense.
* * *
She had been fairly confident when it came to exercise, but she hadn’t known that using muscles she didn’t normally use would be this hard.
“Ugh….”
Having finished the training that lasted several hours, Yeonhaneul groaned while massaging the back of her thighs.
From experience, she knew that when she woke up tomorrow morning, her hips and legs—used for squats—would be sore.
“You did well for your first time. Next time, let’s try increasing the weight to forty.”
“…Are you serious?”
“We can lower it if you can’t do it then. You need to do at least that much to become a Hunter.”
“….”
Squats at forty kilograms?
It was a weight not too different from her own body weight.
Yeonhaneul glared at Dogyeonu, who spoke as if joking.
She could only hope it was a joke.
Anyway, she decided to go wash off the sweat from training.
She had been planning to go home, but….
“I’ve prepared dinner, so wash up and eat before you go. You must be hungry after training, aren’t you?”
Dogyeonu’s mother had come out from the kitchen and invited her to stay for dinner.
Taken aback by the unexpected offer, Yeonhaneul waved her hands in surprise.
“No! I’m fine! I can eat at home.”
She couldn’t impose any further.
So she refused repeatedly, but she couldn’t overcome Dogyeonu’s mother.
“You don’t need to decline so much. If I send you home at this late hour without feeding you dinner, what would your family think of me? So do it for my sake and have dinner here.”
“…Thank you.”
“Yes! Unni! Let’s eat together!”
Dogyeonu’s mother was truly kind.
Yeonhaneul bowed her head deeply and soon followed Doyeeun to the bathroom.
‘It’s really a luxury house….’
The orphanage only had a shower room.
Dogyeonu’s house had a large bathtub like the ones seen in dramas.
Yeonhaneul immersed herself in the bathtub and felt as if she had stepped into the world of a drama.
In truth, it wasn’t that big, but for her, who rarely had the chance to soak in a tub, it was enough to think so.
“Ha! Ha!”
“Kyah! Yeeun, you….”
Then Doyeeun splashed water at her.
Yeonhaneul, who had been feeling comfortable in the warm water, quickly played along.
Perhaps because taking care of children her age at the orphanage was routine, it wasn’t hard to get close to her.
However, Doyeeun was more energetic than the children at the orphanage, so Yeonhaneul herself had to expend considerable energy to keep up.
And yet….
‘Even though she’s young, is it because she’s from a prestigious family that she could train like that?’
Doyeeun was not only energetic but also had excellent stamina.
At just seven years old, it was hard to believe, but she easily performed training at an intensity similar to Yeonhaneul’s.
Yet contrary to that, she splashed water and played pranks on her, showing herself to be exactly like any other child her age.
“Ha! Ha!”
“Ha! Ha!”
Splish-splash, splish-splash.
After playing with Doyeeun, who still had energy to spare even after training, Yeonhaneul washed her body.
By the time she came out of the bathroom, Dogyeonu had also finished bathing and was sitting at the dining table.
Yeonhaneul sat in the seat next to him.
“Mom, but what about Dad?”
“Dad said his work would run late, so he’d eat out.”
Listening to the conversation around the table, Yeonhaneul ate shabu-shabu.
She had only ever seen shabu-shabu in dramas; it was her first time eating it herself.
Really, no lie.
Because of the nature of shabu-shabu, which had to be cooked and eaten right at the table, it wasn’t something often served at the orphanage.
‘So this is how delicious it is when you cook meat and vegetables together.’
Thus, her first taste of shabu-shabu moved her deeply.
Perhaps unbeknownst to her, the people sitting at the table could see her rabbit ears twitching as she chewed her food.
“There’s plenty, so eat up. We’ll add kalguksu later and make fried rice too, so have some of that as well.”
“Wow, really?”
“Everyone in our house eats well.”
“Gyeonu, can you leave Mom out of that?”
“Mom! More meat, please!”
Goodness… Kalguksu and fried rice.
Shabu-shabu is the perfect food.
Yeonhaneul’s heart soared.
Then, at that moment.
“Here, unni!”
“Huh? Ah, thank you.”
The small plate in her hand was empty, and she had been about to get more food.
Doyeeun, who was picking up food with tongs, held it out toward her plate.
How kind.
Yeonhaneul received the food from her and expressed her thanks.
‘Delicious.’
Was it because someone else had served it instead of herself?
The food seemed to taste better.
She chewed on carrots, lettuce, mushrooms, and more carrots, savoring the taste.
“Yeeun, you only take meat for yourself, but you only give Haneul vegetables and carrots?”
“Huh? Did I?”
“This girl, really… That won’t do. From now on, eat what Mom gives you.”
“Mom is a devil….”
“Then are you the devil’s daughter?”
The two quarreled.
Yeonhaneul, the person actually involved, didn’t mind much.
‘Yeeun must not like vegetables. But vegetables are delicious too….’
She merely thought that.
Yeonhaneul finished all the food on her plate.
Then, Dogyeonu’s hand reached out.
“Here. Eat some meat too.”
“Huh? Ah… thanks.”
Dogyeonu picked up meat with tongs and gave it to her.
Yeonhaneul received the food from him and smiled without realizing it.
As expected, food served by others seemed more delicious.
That day, after finishing dinner like that, she returned to the orphanage in the car driven by Dogyeonu’s mother.
“Haneul, you’re back? Did you have fun?”
“Yes, I had a great time! And today I ate shabu-shabu at a friend’s house! It was so delicious!”
Shabu-shabu. I want to eat it again.
* * *
Even after that, Yeonhaneul’s training continued steadily.
After school, she would learn basic swordsmanship at the swordsmanship hall I attended, or devote herself to building her stamina.
On days I didn’t go to the swordsmanship hall, we would train together at home.
‘Somehow it feels like she comes to eat dinner rather than to train.’
It felt like the roles of host and guest were reversed, but it was good that she had motivation.
However, it wasn’t without problems.
‘I need to find that person quickly….’
I couldn’t just have her, who wasn’t even a Swordsman, continue building only her stamina like this.
I needed to recruit a teacher who could teach her magic.
‘Where on earth is she?’
In the game, she was an instructor who mainly taught elemental magic to Academy students.
The Witch of Seven Colors, Hong Yena.
At this point in time, before she became an Academy instructor, she should be wandering the country known as the Witch of Five Colors.
I was looking for her.
So I had asked Father, but I hadn’t heard any news yet.
‘I’ll just have to wait for this one.’
Still, I would meet her before long.
At this point in time, she wasn’t in a position of such high renown that she would refuse a request from a prestigious family.
If she received a request from Father, she would have no choice but to show her face at least once.
Whether she liked it or not.
So I decided to wait quietly for the time to come.
Soon, my thoughts turned elsewhere.
‘I wish I could learn it before going to the Academy City, if possible….’
Even though I had learned instinct control not long ago, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was still not enough.
When push came to shove, I wanted to learn one more skill that could assist Instinct Control and keep my Evasion Instinct in check.
It was a skill called Courage.
‘I absolutely have to learn that.’
A skill that resisted stat reduction from the pressure exuded by other beings.
Courage also had the effect of increasing focus and evasion rate the moment one sensed a life-threatening crisis.
For me, who fought by combining Evasion Instinct and Instinct Control, it could be said to be a highly compatible skill.
“What should I do.”
The problem was that obtaining the Courage skill was quite tricky.
On the training grounds after dinner.
Having spent the day taking classes at the swordsmanship hall, I hadn't filled my training quota, so I warmed up while lost in thought.
‘As expected, the conditions are the problem. The conditions.’
In the game, several conditions were required to acquire Courage.
First, besides the character trying to obtain Courage and Gang Hanbyeol—who unconditionally belonged in the party—no other characters could be placed in the party.
Under those conditions.
The character seeking Courage had to fight an opponent radiating pressure, alone.
Gang Hanbyeol was not allowed to intervene in battle until Courage was acquired.
‘In that sense, Gang Hanbyeol's presence probably isn't a necessary condition. In the game, you had no choice but to play as Gang Hanbyeol, so they just ended up in the party.’
A skill could be said to be the crystallization of effort that a character acquires by achieving certain conditions or experience in specific situations.
Therefore, unlike the game, in this world with much greater freedom, it should be possible to obtain Courage even without Gang Hanbyeol.
But the conditions for obtaining Courage didn't end there.
At that time, the character seeking Courage could only acquire it probabilistically by evading the opponent's attacks.
That probability rose proportionally to the opponent's rank.
‘What kind of ridiculous conditions are those?’
That was how incredibly difficult it was to obtain Courage in the game.
I supposed it should be said that Do Gyeonu, who had learned Instinct Control, had at least had an easier time.
So that was my dilemma.
‘It would be easier to acquire while I'm still weak...’
It was the same principle as Instinct Control.
It was better to learn Courage during this period while my threshold was still low.
The problem was that it wasn't easy to face an opponent who radiated pressure.
On top of that, I had to face them alone.
If I rushed in recklessly, I could very well end up dead.
‘Maybe I should just ask Dad.’
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
A master of Father's caliber might perhaps be able to radiate pressure.
But pressure was a force that cowed the opponent through intimidation or killing intent.
“….”
Was it really possible for Father to harbor killing intent toward me and radiate pressure?
I was skeptical.
There was no way Father could do such a thing.
Even if I somehow managed to persuade him, he was sure to find it strange.
If it came to that, I would have to tell him the truth—that I had been reincarnated, and that this world was a reflection of the game I had played in my previous life.
I didn't know if Father would believe me, and I didn't want to do that in the first place.
“How... there has to be a way.”
So I had to find another method.
Worry weighing on me, I swung my sword.
It was then.
“You brat, you're thinking about something else right now. Your sword trajectories aren't consistent.”
“Dad?”
Speak of the devil.
Father, who had said he would be late today because of a lot of work, appeared at the training ground.
Judging by the clan uniform he was wearing, he seemed to have just gotten off work.
“Welcome back. Have you had dinner?”
“No, I skipped eating so I could have the dinner your mom prepares at home. Then on the way, I saw you, Gyeonu, and ended up stopping by.”
I could tell Father was very tired from his face and voice.
Even so, Father approached me, pretending to be cheerful.
“So what were you thinking about? It's not that someone is picking on you again, is it?”
“That doesn't happen anymore. Just... I was thinking about how to train.”
“Then that's a relief. If anyone picks on you or makes life hard, be sure to tell me. Don't suffer alone in silence.”
“Yes. If that happens, I'll raise hell.”
“Uh... Hmm... Can't you just tell me and solve it with authority?”
“As someone from a prestigious swordsmanship family, wouldn't it be better to resolve things with the sword?”
“…Go easy, go easy.”
“I'll decide based on the situation then.”
I deflected playfully.
At that, Father let out a hollow chuckle. Even so, his final words were laden with sincere feeling.
“Come to think of it... Gyeonu, I got in touch today with the person you asked me to find a while ago.”
“Ah, really?”
“Yeah. Apparently, they've been in a remote mountain village in Gangwon-do where communication was poor. When I revealed I was from the Singeom Do Clan, they said they'd come as soon as they finished what they were doing there.”
I had finally found Hong Yena.
According to Father, it seemed she would visit within a month at the latest.
“But she said if your skills don't meet her expectations after checking, she won't accept the proposal.”
“That's fine. If there's no talent, it can't be helped.”
Of course, that wouldn't happen.
I didn't know about myself, but I was certain Hong Yena would show interest in Yeon Haneul.
As someone who specialized in magic, she could never ignore Yeon Haneul's talent.
“Well, if you say so, I don't mind... You must have your reasons. And also.”
“Yes. What is it?”
Meanwhile, it seemed Father had one more piece of news to tell me.
Father's face darkened somewhat.
“We'll have to go to the main house next week for Parents' Day... Are you okay with that?”
“….”
“If you're uncomfortable, you don't have to go. I'll go and explain things well.”
Come to think of it, May was not far off.
It was nearly Parents' Day.
The people of the Singeom Do Clan would gather at the main house then to build camaraderie.
‘Camaraderie, my ass.’
Building camaraderie was nothing more than a superficial pretext.
In reality, it was nothing more than an occasion to boast and evaluate the grandchildren's abilities before Grandfather, the head of the family.
It was a talent show for Grandfather.
“You don't need to mind us for no reason.”
“….”
And as for me.
Every year at that talent show, I had only shown pitiful sights.
Each time, I had been met with the clan members' ridicule and scorn.
That was why Father had said that.
“Do whatever makes you comfortable.”
That I didn't have to go if I was uncomfortable.
Perhaps having realized something through the incident I had caused at the swordsmanship hall not long ago, Father hadn't hesitated to say that to me.
“…Dad.”
“Yeah.”
I was grateful for Father's consideration.
Had I not yet recalled my past life, I might have been swayed and followed Father's words.
But I, who had remembered my previous life—
‘Should I run away?’
Never. I had no such intention.
The moment I didn't attend the clan gathering, I would be ridiculed even more.
Furthermore, my influence within the Singeom Do Clan would obviously diminish.
‘That can't happen.’
Even knowing that, I couldn't afford to miss it.
Besides, this was also an opportunity.
‘Maybe I could create a situation to acquire Courage there?’
Above all, there was a most important reason I had to attend that gathering.
I asked Father.
“Will Do Seungu also be at that gathering?”
“I suppose so.”
“Is that so?”
“…What are you thinking?”
My cousin was attending.
That alone was reason enough.
The corners of my mouth curled up.
I had become the childhood friend of the mid-boss.