Mutual Aid
Raising the next generation was also a duty as the head of the family.
For that reason, Do Yeik, the head of the Divine Sword Do Family, had been paying attention to the growth of his grandchildren.
Among them, after Do Sieun became a Hunter and joined the Regulus Clan, the grandchild currently drawing the most attention was the Thunder Cat, Do Gyeonu.
Naturally, he spared no support for Do Gyeonu.
After Do Sieun’s graduation, he had even expanded that support considerably.
The amount of surveillance had increased just as much, but…
The regular report he received that day came as a shock to him.
“What did you say? Say that again. If you are not mocking me, you would do well not to tell me lies.”
“It does not seem to be incorrect information. We cross-verified it through students sponsored by the family. Furthermore, there are photographs taken from a distance…”
“Huh… That rascal Gyeonu…”
They said there was a high possibility that Do Gyeonu was dating Bunny Yeon Haneul, the disciple of the Seven-Colored Witch.
In fact, a scene of the two of them kissing had supposedly been captured…
Was that not irrefutable evidence?
Do Yeik had no choice but to sigh.
A sense of betrayal and anger toward Do Gyeonu seemed to surge up from within him.
However, he calmly suppressed his agitation so as not to lose his reason.
‘This is not something to get so angry over. They are merely dating, not trying to get married. As long as the other party is not truly lacking, anyone is fine for a romance. She is not even a demi-human.’
He was not so narrow-minded as to restrict someone’s dating life.
When it came to romance, he was easygoing.
Do Yeik, who firmly believed that of himself, had no intention of interfering between Do Gyeonu and Yeon Haneul.
Perhaps she, whom Gyeonu had known for over six years, might even be a good partner.
For him, who was clumsy when it came to dealing with women, she would serve as a suitable primer for learning about them.
The problem, however, was if he foolishly failed to be satisfied with merely dating her and began dreaming of marriage.
‘It is not as if I am opposed to Gyeonu marrying that child. If we were to take in the disciple of the Seven-Colored Witch, the Divine Sword Do Family could become even greater. It is simply that I cannot accept her as his first spouse.’
He hoped Do Gyeonu would not cross the line, but his intuition said otherwise.
On top of that, Do Gyeonu’s father—his own fourth son, Do Sangjun—kept bothering him.
Had he not also defied his opposition and abruptly married an ordinary person?
They said blood did not lie, so there was no reason Do Gyeonu would be any different.
Of course, thanks to that, he had gained an outstanding grandson named Do Gyeonu, but…
That was nothing more than hindsight.
Do Yeik, who had fallen into worry with a frown, clicked his tongue.
‘I had tried not to get involved if possible, but it seems I must take some sort of measure.’
Because Do Sangjun and Do Gyeonu had requested it, he had left Do Gyeonu’s relationships with women almost entirely alone until now.
But that would no longer do.
Having made his judgment, Do Yeik quietly sank into thought.
‘Is there no woman with a plausible background who might catch that rascal Gyeonu’s interest, and of a suitable age as well?’
He mobilized every connection in his head.
Before long, a certain memory brushed past him.
Do Yeik opened his eyes.
‘Come to think of it, I heard the Swift Sword Baek Family has a direct granddaughter the same age as Gyeonu, whose position is ambiguous because her line is scheduled to become a branch family in the next generation.’
The Swift Sword Baek Family, counted alongside the Divine Sword Do Family and the Crimson Ro Family as one of Korea’s three great swordsmanship families.
If she was a direct granddaughter of that family, she would be fitting as Do Gyeonu’s spouse.
As it happened, she was said to be attending Geumseong Academy, which was close to Geumgang Academy, and to have joined Shield.
That was enough to serve as a natural point of contact to tie the two together without them noticing.
The corners of his mouth rose.
He took out his smartphone and, without warning, called the head of the Swift Sword Baek Family.
“Ah, it’s me. Have you been well? Hearing your voice, it seems you are fortunately still quite hale. Hm? Why did I suddenly call? It’s nothing else. Didn’t you say recently that you have a granddaughter you dote on? If you are all right with it, that child and my grandson…”
And so.
Behind-the-scenes maneuvering took place without Do Gyeonu knowing.
* * *
Just as the game’s story unfolded…
―Hello! I’m Yu Gaeul, a first-year at Geumgang Academy in the intelligence track, and a new member of Shield! To think I’d be on the same team as Senior Gyeonu, Senior Hanbyeol, and Senior Haneul—I’m really lucky. How could there be such a coincidence? We must be connected by fate after all. Anyway, I look forward to working with you!
Yu Gaeul joined Shield.
Kang Hanbyeol, who received her as his junior at the time, seemed somewhat surprised, but he soon showed a welcoming attitude.
Yeon Haneul welcomed her too, but…
―Ugh… I’m a little uncomfortable with her.
Later, when Yeon Haneul and I were alone together, she revealed her honest feelings.
From my perspective, it could only be unexpected.
That was because Yu Gaeul, with her sociable personality, had instantly won the favor of all our friends.
As far as I remembered, unlike Ham Minju, she had not caused friction either.
Then Yeon Haneul said.
―Don’t you think it’s strange how we keep running into her by coincidence? Somehow, it feels intentional to me… And I don’t know what she’s thinking. She’s like Eunbi, but different from Eunbi. It feels like she’s hiding what’s really inside. Sometimes she’s mischievous toward me, too…
―…
―More than anything…
―More than anything?
―She does it to Hanbyeol too, but it feels like she especially keeps stopping by… no, approaching you. And looking at you a lot. I know this. Our eyes met pretty often.
―Ah… I see.
Because Yeon Haneul was extremely shy around strangers, she had quite a keen eye for reading people.
So it was not unreasonable that she noticed Yu Gaeul’s acting, which concealed her purpose.
At the time, I was inwardly impressed.
―She’s exactly like a fox… no, she’s Instructor Noeul’s type. Suspicious. Extremely.
―Maybe she resembles him because she’s Instructor Noeul’s cousin? Still, I want you to get along with her. Treat her well as her senior.
―I know. It’s because she’s someone you need, right? Minju too. If you hadn’t said that, I probably never would have gotten close to her… but I’ll try in my own way.
Even so, although Yeon Haneul was wary of her, she treated Yu Gaeul kindly as I had asked.
Fortunately, Yu Gaeul was sharp-witted and good at handling tasks.
Whether in her friendships with us or in club and Shield activities, she adapted quickly.
As a result, Yeon Haneul also seemed to acknowledge Yu Gaeul to some extent by now.
‘In any case, with Gaeul joining Shield, the workload has lightened.’
Meanwhile.
Kwon Boram of the Iron Fortress Kwon Family, known as the sheriff of Academy City, was still acting together with us.
After advancing to her third year, she had been assigned the role of Shield administrator, but she had refused.
Apparently, since she preferred field work, she insisted that if that was the case, she would rather continue teaming up with us.
‘As it happens, aside from regular activities, we don’t do many irregular activities, so there are gaps… From Senior Boram’s perspective, she probably judged that she could act alone during that time.’
This, too, was according to the game’s story.
As a result, with Kwon Boram at the front, we would patrol Academy City relatively freely and independently.
Sometimes resolving incidents and accidents, or clearing game events.
But today’s activity was different.
She had arrived at the meeting place first and was waiting for us when she opened her mouth.
“Today, we will cooperate with another patrol team and carry out activities while moving back and forth between each other’s patrol zones.”
“Another patrol team?”
“Yes.”
While we were bewildered, Kwon Boram nodded.
She continued explaining.
“It is apparently a policy decided from above. They say it is to cultivate cooperation so members who have only patrolled assigned areas until now can coordinate with members of other teams in case of emergencies, and to broaden our activity radius.”
“I don’t get it… Is that really necessary? We already cooperate on our own even now, so is there a need to go this far? What a hassle. If they want to cultivate cooperation between members, wouldn’t it be better to organize recreation instead?”
“That is exactly what I think. I am truly curious as well. Just why did they make a decision like this?”
“And so suddenly, too?”
“Indeed.”
Me, Kwon Boram, and everyone else as well.
For those of us who had been operating comfortably while matching one another perfectly, we could not help but grumble.
“But what can we do? If those above tell us to do it, we have to do it.”
“If I’d known this would happen, I should have sent you into administration, Senior. Then you could complain to the higher-ups.”
“I still refuse. To begin with, was Junior Do Gyeonu not the person who was most pleased when I said I would remain on this team? And now you say something else? I am a little disappointed.”
“I was joking, Senior. You’re not sulking, are you?”
“Yes, I am sulking.”
Kwon Boram and I, who had grown close through Shield activities, were now able to joke around quite a bit.
After lightly exchanging jokes, we sighed and had no choice but to accept today’s schedule.
“Let us go.”
Kwon Boram led the way.
Not long after, we were able to spot Shield members leaning against the wall of a café.
Five in total.
It seemed they were the people who would be patrolling with us.
Among them, one woman caught my eye.
‘…I meet her in a place like this. Huh? Wait, this isn’t where we first meet in the game… Did something I don’t know about change the story?’
A silver bob that gave off a gleam, and violet eyes.
The woman with a rapier at her waist was the Snow Fairy of the Swift Sword Baek Family, Baek Jimin.
A sub-character who could be recruited into the party depending on the player’s efforts…
‘What is going on?’
Since I had not expected to meet Baek Jimin, I could not help being flustered.
* * *
In the game, if Kang Hanbyeol reached Double Number before the midterm exams of the first semester after advancing to his second year, the Battle Arena content, where he could fight students from other academies, and the Grand Ranking Tournament episode would open.
At that time, the person who appeared randomly in the Battle Arena and always appeared in the finals of the Grand Ranking Tournament was none other than the Snow Fairy of the Swift Sword Baek Family, Baek Jimin.
‘If you won in the Battle Arena, you could recruit her as a party member.’
If the sword of the Divine Sword Do Family brought forth blue lightning, and the sword of the Crimson Ro Family brought forth crimson flame, then the sword of the Swift Sword Baek Family brought forth ice and snow.
Therefore, Baek Jimin of the Swift Sword Baek Family was a swordswoman who handled ice and snow, fitting her alias of Snow Fairy perfectly.
In the game, because she could not be obtained early on and could only be recruited probabilistically through the Battle Arena content, she was also considered a highly rare character.
‘On top of that, her beautiful appearance played a part, so she was popular in the community.’
As someone who had been a veteran player of the game in my previous life, I could not help feeling favorable toward her.
Furthermore, because she was a sub-character, she had no influence on the game’s ending whatsoever.
To me, she was practically a harmless existence.
“Hello. I am Baek Jimin, a second-year at Geumseong Academy in the swordsmanship track. I look forward to working with you today.”
People who were meeting for the first time were exchanging names.
At that moment, Baek Jimin introduced herself in a clear voice.
I held out my hand to her.
“I’m Do Gyeonu from Geumgang Academy’s swordsmanship track. We’re the same age. I’ll speak casually too, so you can speak casually as well, Baek Jimin.”
“All right, I’ll do that. I’ve heard plenty of rumors about the Thunder Cat of the Divine Sword Do Family, so I wanted to meet you once. I’m glad we could meet like this. Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve heard your alias too. Let’s get along.”
We shook hands.
As I clasped hands with Baek Jimin, I had a feeling that we would be able to get along well.
Meanwhile, afterward, the other friends also exchanged greetings with her.
After that, we decided to pair up in teams of two with the other team and patrol District 23.
At this time, the assignments were made according to the opinion of the other team’s leader, who was apparently Kwon Boram’s classmate.
“Jimin will… pair up with Gyeonu, shall she? Hmm, as for the patrol area, let’s see… Romance Road would be good.”
“Yes. I’ll do that, Senior.”
“I don’t mind.”
To think I could not go around with Yeon Haneul—it was extremely regrettable.
There had been a certain enjoyment in secretly making physical contact without Kwon Boram and the others knowing…
It could not be helped.
Putting my disappointment behind me, I decided to obediently walk around the street with Baek Jimin.
I had no proper way of knowing why the game’s story had changed, but I might as well use this opportunity to build some friendship with her.
‘See you later.’
‘Yeah, good luck.’
After exchanging our intentions with Yeon Haneul by silently mouthing the words.
I turned around and set off with Baek Jimin to patrol the designated area.
“The Punishment Sword is an instructor at Geumgang Academy, isn’t he? Have you ever taken his class?”
“Punishment Sword? Ah, the Tardy Sword… no, Instructor Su Hoguk.”
“Tardy Sword? Do you call him that because he’s often late to class, by any chance?”
“No. It just slipped out. Instructor P… Punishment Sword is a very good person. His classes are useful, so there’s a lot to gain from them.”
“I’m jealous. To be honest, I once considered applying to Geumgang Academy because I wanted to learn the sword from him.”
“Really? Then why Geumseong… Ah, because of the Swift Sword Baek Family’s sponsorship.”
“That’s right. The academy sponsored by the Swift Sword Baek Family was Geumseong Academy. So I had to give up on it… but this place seems good too. There are many good instructors here.”
“I guess the classes there are substantial too.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps because we were both from the same swordsmanship track and people of renowned families.
Even though Baek Jimin and I were meeting for the first time, we did not feel particularly awkward.
Like that, we walked along the street while chatting quietly.
Then, suddenly, I realized.
‘…Huh? Now that I look at it, all the routes we’re in charge of are famous date spots, aren’t they?’
For a coincidence, something about it felt unsettling.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss