Around the time Grandfather finished asking everyone present how they had been.
The servants brought out a simple dessert to cleanse the palate.
It was ice sorbet.
“As you all know, Seungwoo has brought great disgrace upon the family’s honor this time. As if repeatedly engaging in dishonest acts were not enough, he even plotted murder in an attempt to kill his own blood kin. I have always emphasized competition, yes, but he went too far. Even if you compete, it should have been fair and well-intentioned competition.”
Scooping up a bite of ice sorbet with his dessert spoon,
Grandfather brought up the reason he had planned this evaluation match.
We savored the ice sorbet and listened attentively.
The story was no different from what Do Si-eun had told me before.
“…And so, Seungwoo’s incident made me think that we must not blindly place value on competition alone. Even so, should not blood relatives share affection and harmony with one another? Thus, I hope this evaluation will become an opportunity for you to develop solidarity and deepen your bonds. That is also why, unlike other times, I set the duration to one week. If you spend a week living together in a Gate, even solidarity and affection that were not there before will surely arise.”
“…”
In truth, while we were not especially close, we had been getting along well enough by maintaining a reasonable distance from one another.
Emotionally lashing out and fighting had been something we did as children; once our heads had hardened to some extent, we tried our best to avoid friction with each other.
On top of that, most conflicts that arose between us were mediated by Do Si-eun.
No one dared talk back in front of her, the one who stood out the most among our peers and enjoyed the family’s favor.
‘And from some point on, I started being treated the same way as Si-eun noona, too…’
Only Do Seungwoo had been particularly extreme.
And yet Grandfather had fallen into the error of hasty generalization and was trying to torment us.
For us, who now had to throw away a week of summer vacation, it was simply unfair.
If I followed my heart, I wanted nothing more than to slam the table, stand up, and strongly protest to Grandfather.
But as a member of the Divine Sword Do Family, I could not recklessly defy the family head.
Especially when we had not even become Hunters yet…
‘Sigh… I should just call Haneul.’
In the end, none of us could step forward, and we had to follow Grandfather’s intentions.
Fortunately, we were given a short break before the evaluation began.
After the luncheon ended and I returned to my room, I decided to catch my breath.
I called Yeon Haneul.
[Hello? Is the luncheon over?]
“Yeah, Haneul. I just finished lunch and came back to my room. Did you have lunch?”
[Yeah, I ate earlier too. I made jjolmyeon with the others and ate it. I sent you a picture on chat, but I guess you didn’t see it?]
“Ah… I must not have checked because I was in the luncheon. I’ll look at it later.”
[Okay, okay. But what happened with the evaluation? What did the family head say? Are you really staying inside the Gate for the whole week?]
“…That’s what happened.”
[Ah… But it’s vacation. What is this…]
“Tell me about it…”
When I told her about the evaluation, Yeon Haneul’s reaction was the same as mine.
Listening to the voice coming from the other side of the phone, I smiled bitterly.
“It can’t be helped. I’ll see you in a week.”
[Yeah… Hang in there. I’ll train hard in the meantime too.]
“You should look up where we can go have fun in a week, in my place.”
[I guess I should. I’ll find lots of fun places.]
“If I’m seeing you next week… I might not remember your face by then.”
[…Should I send you more pictures of me?]
“Yeah, a ton of them.”
Yeon Haneul was quick on the uptake.
Having gotten the answer I had been secretly hoping for, I lifted the corners of my mouth.
After that, we continued to chat about small, ordinary topics.
“Then I’ll hang up now. Take care.”
[Yeah, you too. I’ll send the pictures right away, so download them in advance. Communications won’t connect inside the Gate.]
But I could not devote the rest of my break entirely to Yeon Haneul.
With no other choice, I swallowed my regret, hung up, and searched my contacts for the next person to call.
It was Gang Hanbyeol.
‘I hope Hanbyeol picks up…’
According to the game’s progression,
Gang Hanbyeol, who had started summer vacation, would get caught up in the story while going out to meet his childhood friend noona, Shin Seora, who was coming to visit the Academy City.
That day was today.
‘From Hanbyeol’s perspective, it must feel like being struck by lightning.’
Among the students who had gathered in the Academy City to become Hunters, some were frustrated by various factors such as talent, effort, and background, and either settled for an unchangeable reality or gave up on themselves altogether.
Their dreams were broken.
Or they could not withstand the fierce competition and were pushed to the bottom.
Or they became intoxicated by the allure of meritocracy and tried to show off their strength.
In that way, for their own reasons, they failed to leave the Academy City, slipped into its shadows, and often fell into entertainment or crime that could grant them instant gratification.
They were the type known as the ruffians of the Academy City.
Among them was a group of ruffians who went by the name Bounty.
They were a group whose purpose was to place bounties on well-known students and hunt them down to earn those rewards.
‘Maybe I should have warned him in advance after all… No, even if I told him, there’d be no way to find them unless those guys approached first. And it might needlessly harm Shin Seora… Sorry, Hanbyeol. I had no choice.’
The gist of this story was as follows.
Gang Hanbyeol, who had unintentionally become Bounty’s target, would end up wiping them out in return.
‘As the disciple of the Fighting Demon, and after resolving several incidents during the first semester, he was bound to draw Bounty’s attention. Above all, O Junsu’s Demon King Descent incident must have played a part too… They even said one of the people who founded the organization had been quite close to O Junsu.’
The fact that my friends and I had gone back home, leaving Gang Hanbyeol alone in the Academy City, must also have been a factor.
There were more than enough reasons for him to become Bounty’s target.
In any case, after calling him, I quietly listened to the dial tone.
Soon, the call connected.
“Hello? Hanbyeol, are you meeting that noona today—”
[Hello!? Gyeonwoo!? Sorry! I don’t think I’m in a situation where I can take a call right now! Someone suddenly att—!]
“…”
An explosion sounded from the other side of the phone, and the call cut off.
With that alone, I could tell what situation Gang Hanbyeol was in.
‘Looks like he ran into Bounty.’
He was probably in the middle of fighting them.
Since I knew Gang Hanbyeol’s skills, I was not particularly worried.
Still, I could not just sit back and do nothing.
“Kwon Boram sunbae’s number is… Ah, here it is.”
In the game, Gang Hanbyeol, while fighting Bounty, happens to meet Kwon Boram, who had been investigating them.
The two then storm the enemy’s base and destroy the organization.
Deciding to move up that development, I called Kwon Boram.
[This is Kwon Boram. What is the matter?]
“Ah, Sheriff. It’s nothing else, but I think my friend was attacked by some ruffians… I’m not in the Academy City right now, so could you help him in my place?”
[Ruffians, you say? Do you happen to know exactly what kind of men they are…]
“I heard it over the phone, and they were saying something about a bounty being placed on Hanbyeol.”
[…Bounty, then. As it happens, I also had business with them. I would like to track that friend’s location. Could you give me his number?]
“If it’s his number, Sheriff, you probably know it too. It’s Hanbyeol.”
Now that I had contacted Kwon Boram like this,
Gang Hanbyeol would probably be able to meet her relatively early.
So, Hanbyeol…
‘I’ve done all I can.’
Have a good summer vacation!
* * *
It was time for the evaluation.
I had saved every picture Yeon Haneul had sent me.
I had also packed a portable battery.
Having made all possible preparations, I entered the artificial Gate.
[You have entered the Gate.]
[Yellow: Scrap Metal Coast I]
[This Gate has already been conquered.]
Brushing away the floating messages with my hand,
I looked around the world I had stepped into, just like everyone else.
‘The sea, huh… Nice view. I should take pictures later to show Haneul and the others. But those things are the flaw. If only they weren’t there, it would be much cleaner and prettier…’
Beyond the white sandy beach stretched the blue sea.
The sight of the water sparkling under the sunlight was extremely impressive.
The refreshing sound of waves and the sea breeze also made me feel invigorated.
The problem was, unlike the wide-open sea, the beach was littered with piles of junk stacked haphazardly all over.
Home appliances like TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines, along with all kinds of scrap metal, ruined the scenery.
I clicked my tongue in regret.
‘By the way, what are we supposed to do here…’
Since the Gate had already been conquered, I wondered if there would really be anything for us to do for a week.
From the looks of it, the others seemed to be thinking more or less the same thing as me.
It was then that Grandfather opened his mouth.
“What do you think? The scenery is wonderful, is it not? This is one of the Gates I occasionally visit to refresh my mood. I am glad I can see this view together with all of you.”
However.
Grandfather paused briefly, then drew an arc with his lips.
Watching him chuckle, I felt something ominous.
Somehow, it did not seem like what he would say next would be good.
Sure enough, my premonition was correct.
Grandfather continued speaking.
“Do you not think the scenery would become even more wonderful if the scrap metal here were cleaned up, and stone towers were built with the stones lying on the beach?”
“…”
“That is what you must do for one week.”
…What is that supposed to mean, Family Head?
Isn’t it already wonderful enough as it is?
I barely managed to hold back the words that had almost reflexively burst out.
My face twisted.
‘Has Grandfather gone insane…?’
He wanted us to clean up the junk on the beach.
And not stopping there, he wanted us to stack stones and make stone towers.
‘Then that means he’s telling us to deal with those Moai statues over there too.’
It was absolutely not a workload that could be completed in one week.
There was that much junk piled up on the beach.
It was practically a landfill for miscellaneous garbage.
Furthermore.
“It would not be interesting if you simply cleaned it up. Decorate the beach handsomely with things that seem to suit the scenery, like the Moai statues you see over there.”
“…”
“And since you are building stone towers anyway, would it not be better to build them with a certain elegance? Of course, I know very well that none of you are specialists in landscape sculpture. That is why… I have specially asked the caretakers who tend the main family’s garden to supervise. Chief Hwang has served me for a long time and knows my tastes well, so I can entrust it to him with confidence.”
Grandfather was telling us not to just clean things up blindly, but to have the caretakers inspect our work.
Thinking of being nitpicked by them made my head hurt even more.
Do Si-eun, who was beside me, seemed to feel the same, as her brow furrowed slightly.
Even so, Grandfather paid no mind and laughed heartily as he said,
“If you search the forest behind the junk, you should be able to solve your meals. The caretakers can distinguish what is edible in this Gate, so ask them for advice. Therefore, anyone who has brought food should hand it all over. Unless you want to be caught by the caretakers later. Ah, and be careful of the monsters. Monsters come out of the sea as well, and they hide among the junk too.”
“…”
“Lastly, if you fail to achieve the goal within one week…”
Grandfather’s shoulders shook.
I had been staring at him in dissatisfaction, but at the words that followed, I had no choice but to move at once.
“You will have to stay at the main estate for a month and undergo camp training.”
Seriously, this was too much to do during summer vacation.
Most of all, if it was a month, I would forget Haneul’s face completely.
We threw ourselves into the piles of junk.
* * *
All of his grandchildren had begun the work of moving the junk.
Watching them grunt and strain as they joined forces, Do Yeik let out a refreshing laugh and turned around.
“Then, everyone, do your best. If you cooperate, you will surely make some progress. And do not even think about antagonizing one another, even by chance. The caretakers will be watching your every move. I shall be going back now. Let us meet in a week.”
They all seemed absorbed in their work, but there was no way they had not heard his voice.
Do Yeik left the Gate without bothering to look back to check the children’s reactions.
He decided to leave the remaining role to the caretakers and receive reports only on special circumstances.
Therefore, all he had to do was wait and hear the results.
Of course, he could already guess the outcome.
‘They won’t be able to pull it off in a week.’
He felt sorry for his grandchildren, but realistically speaking, it was impossible to sort out such an enormous amount in that time.
For one thing, they had to fend for themselves for the week, and they also had to brave the threat of monsters.
On top of that, the fastidious caretakers with exacting aesthetic standards had been attached as supervisors.
Naturally, the outlook for them completing the evaluation within the allotted period could only be bleak.
In effect, it was the same as saying he intended to keep them at the main house and train them for a month.
‘I’m not unaware that you want to enjoy your vacation, but this is all for your sake.’
Do Yeik had two intentions.
The first, of course, was to use the Do Seung-u incident as an opportunity to provide his grandchildren with mental discipline, while also having them strengthen their bonds as blood relatives.
After all, solidarity was something that naturally formed the more people suffered together, came to understand one another closely, and spent a long time knowing each other.
Moreover, there was no method quite like endurance training for raising solidarity in a short period of time.
And the other was…
‘Fallen Heaven, the Demon Society, has begun to move. From now on, those bastards will take even more aggressive steps.’
It was because of the resurgence of demons and villains brought about by the revival of Fallen Heaven Seong Ubin.
Do Yeik intended to keep in mind the possibility that his grandchildren might one day come face-to-face with them, and take measures so they could resist them.
In particular, he had to pay attention to those currently enrolled in Geumgang Academy, such as Do Gyeonu and Do Sieun.
‘Fallen Heaven is showing interest in Geumgang Academy, where the spiritual veins of Academy City converge. Just as he did in the past, he will undoubtedly attack the academy before long.’
In the process, the children backed by the Ten Families would inevitably be placed in danger.
Fallen Heaven… no, the enemies including Fallen Heaven would surely harbor fierce hostility toward the Ten Families, who all but ruled the world as it was now.
The incident he had recently caused by brainwashing O Junsu of the Black Horse O Family was proof of that.
He might not deliberately target children who had yet to become Hunters, but if they caught his eye, he would not leave them alone.
‘While I can train the children, I must train them as much as possible.’
As the head of the Divine Sword Do Family, he could not ignore a visible danger.
Do Yeik decided to use this evaluation match as an opportunity to prepare thoroughly.
He had decided to prepare, and yet…
“What did you just say? Say it again.”
“Well… they say they have cleaned the white sand beach spotless, so they require the family head’s confirmation.”
“…”
“They say they have already passed the caretakers’ inspection. So Young Master Do Gyeonu wishes to see you as soon as possible…”
“Hah…”
One week after the evaluation began.
Do Yeik, who had intended to enter the Gate as soon as he finished breakfast, as casually as if he were stepping out for a stroll, could hardly believe his ears.
At the wholly unexpected news, he could only click his tongue in astonishment.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss