“Of course, even if we simply told you to introduce yourselves, many of you would be unsure how to talk about yourselves or what sort of conversations to have after meeting someone. That’s why we’ve prepared question cards so that things won’t feel awkward.”
We had come here to take an exam where we competed against one another to get into the Academy, and now, out of nowhere, they were telling us to build friendships with our rivals.
To me, it was nothing short of absurd.
The other examinees seemed to feel much the same, as murmurs were breaking out here and there.
‘And on top of that, they’re saying the fourth practical exam only exists so we can relieve fatigue in preparation for the fifth practical exam….’
There was no way I could believe that.
I had no idea what they were plotting.
Even so, the evaluator gave no answers to such doubts and continued the explanation.
“On the tables in the banquet hall, you’ll find the same cards I’m holding right now. These cards have questions written on them that can be used as conversation topics. Examinees, you simply need to use the questions on the cards to exchange conversation with your partner. Once you’ve gone through ten cards like that, you may have your partner sign the card you received upon entering.”
“…”
“And introductions must be conducted one-on-one, for at least five minutes. After all, we went to the trouble of preparing this so that you could get acquainted in advance with people who may become your classmates. Some people might ignore that sincerity and try to collect signatures only because they find it bothersome.”
No wonder the tables were small.
It seemed they were meant to prevent several people from introducing themselves all at once.
Meanwhile, on each table sat the card box the evaluator was holding.
“Then we will begin the introductions! During the banquet, mini-games will also be held, so we hope many examinees will participate. They will not be reflected in your exam scores, but Geumgang Coins will be awarded as prizes. Geumgang Coins should prove useful in many ways once you pass and begin living at the Academy.”
Literally, it really was a banquet.
One where you could comfortably eat and drink, laugh and chat, and enjoy making connections.
There was no sense of tension at all.
From the evaluators’ words, actions, and gazes, I couldn’t find any other intention.
‘Do they really have no ulterior motive?’
Even when I spread out my detection net, there was no reaction, and my avoidance instinct didn’t activate either.
That meant there was no danger nearby.
It didn’t seem as though they were waiting for us to let our guard down so they could launch a surprise attack.
‘Am I just too suspicious…?’
I sipped my drink.
The music filling the banquet hall was extremely lively and cheerful.
Eating delicious food and drinking good beverages naturally softened my mood.
My wariness grew dull.
In that situation, the examinees began to seek out partners one by one and head toward the tables in the banquet hall.
‘There’s nothing I’ll figure out just by thinking about it, so for now, I should focus on getting signatures.’
I decided it was about time to move as well.
Naturally, the first person I would get a signature from was Yeon Haneul.
Just then.
“Haneul, with me—”
“Do Gyeonu! Pair up with me!”
“Gyeonu!”
The moment I turned toward Yeon Haneul.
Yong Haerang grabbed my arm.
His grip was so strong that, having failed to anticipate the situation, I had no choice but to be dragged along by him.
‘…Haneul, I guess I’ll have to do it with someone else.’
When I looked back, I saw Yeon Haneul reaching out toward me.
She was staring at me with a devastated expression.
I had a feeling my face looked the same.
With a bitter smile, I waved at her.
“Hey, that hurts. I’ll walk on my own, so let go of my hand.”
“Did it? I’m not good at controlling my strength. Sorry.”
In any case, I needed to get ten signatures.
Though it wasn’t exactly my intention, I decided to get Yong Haerang’s signature first.
We found an empty seat and sat down.
Just then, an assistant proctor carrying a tray came by and replaced our glasses with fresh ones.
“I’ll bring you another drink.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Isn’t this good?”
“It is. Suits my taste.”
“Still, I can’t fill my stomach with this! For the sake of my muscles, I feel like I need to eat something. Is it fine if we do this while eating?”
“…Well, if it’s for your muscles, you have to eat. I was hungry too, so I should grab something.”
“Meat! Meat! A man is meat!”
“I agree.”
“You know what’s what. Do Gyeonu, as expected, you’re just right as my rival—”
“Yeah, no.”
It would have been a shame to keep drinking only beverages, and it was also about time for dinner.
We got up, put some simple food on our plates, and returned.
After putting a piece of meat I had cut with a knife into my mouth, I took a card from the card box.
“I’ll shuffle.”
“I can draw first, right?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
I set the shuffled cards down in the center of the table.
Yong Haerang, who had been tearing into a chicken leg, drew the card at the very top.
“What do you think are the three essential qualities of an outstanding Hunter?”
“What do you think?”
“No need to think about it. Obviously, grit! Passion! Spirit! Aren’t those what an outstanding Hunter needs!?”
“That’s a very you answer.”
“What about you?”
“For me… talent, background, effort?”
“Hm, what a typical answer. Still, I thought you’d think differently.”
“What’s there to think differently about? In the end, both you and I are here because we have talent, background, and effort supporting us. Though if I had to add one more element…”
“Grit?”
“Wouldn’t it be luck?”
“Tch, I can’t deny that. Luck is an important factor too.”
“That’s it for the first question, so I’m drawing the second one, okay? I’ll draw this time.”
“Fine, come at me! I’ll take it!”
Take what, exactly?
Yong Haerang proudly threw out his chest.
His martial arts uniform was open down to his chest, so I could see his pectoral muscles twitching.
Since his skin was tanned, his muscles seemed even more clearly defined.
‘…I’m jealous.’
I pulled my gaze away and placed my hand on a card.
“The place you most want to visit in Academy City? Hmm…”
“This one’s easy to answer right away too. If you can’t think of anything, should I go first?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“I want to go to the Battle Arena!”
“…That’s very you.”
The Battle Arena was a stadium where the Academy students of Academy City mainly competed against one another.
It made sense that Yong Haerang would want to go there.
Meanwhile, now it was my turn to answer.
‘The place I most want to visit is…’
There were quite a few places that came to mind.
But when asked to choose the place I wanted to go most among them, an answer didn’t come easily.
‘Haneul is over there.’
At that moment, Yeon Haneul came into view.
She was standing and talking with one of the triplets.
As I looked at her…
“Heart Land.”
The answer slipped out.
“Heart Land? You mean the theme park?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“It is a tourist spot you absolutely have to visit if you come to Academy City, but… that’s unexpected. I thought you’d want to go to the Battle Arena too. Heart Land, Heart Land…”
Because…
Yeon Haneul had wanted to go there.
She had said she wanted to ride the merry-go-round.
“Good! If we pass, let’s go together! And afterward, we’ll go to the Battle Arena too!”
“Sorry, I already have someone I promised to go with. Find someone else.”
“Tch, then that person can come too—”
“You’re out.”
* * *
My conversation with Yong Haerang came to an end.
I signed Yong Haerang’s card, and Yong Haerang signed mine in return.
“Here! I signed it.”
“Take yours too.”
I took my card back.
At the very top of the signature section, Yong Haerang’s name was written in large, rough handwriting.
It had even crossed over the border.
It seemed whoever signed below it would have a hard time.
“I’m going to go find someone else! See you next time!”
“Yeah, take care.”
Yong Haerang turned his back to me and strode away with a vigorous gait.
Then, just as he had done to me a moment ago, he grabbed an examinee he happened to run into on the way and dragged them off somewhere.
I offered my condolences to that examinee.
‘More importantly, this isn’t the time for me to sit around. I need to look for my next partner too…’
I looked for Yeon Haneul.
Yeon Haneul seemed to be taking turns talking with the triplets.
‘Looks like I’ll have to wait quite a while for her to finish.’
It couldn’t be helped.
I decided to get Yeon Haneul’s signature later and look for someone else first.
I glanced around, searching for someone who had just finished a conversation or happened to have no conversation partner.
“Are you looking for someone to talk to?”
Just then, someone spoke to me.
It seemed she, too, had no conversation partner and was looking for one.
At the sound from behind me, I turned my head.
The other person was short, so I had to lower my gaze a little.
When I saw her…
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m looking right now…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Because the person who had spoken to me was, of all people, someone I had been trying to avoid getting involved with as much as possible.
“Really? I was looking too.”
“…”
“Perfect. You can do it with me.”
Gray hair and violet eyes that seemed to have been caused by genes altered by mana.
Her hair fell almost down to her hips, and with her loose, easy smile, she unconsciously brought to mind a fluffy, gentle-natured sheep.
However, she, Nam Yuri of the Yeonseong Nam family, was far from that image.
‘She was in this exam hall too? But this doesn’t feel like we met by coincidence. It feels like she approached me intentionally…’
As someone who knew Nam Yuri’s true nature, I couldn’t feel happy about this unexpected meeting. I could only be flustered.
Unlike my feelings, for some reason, she seemed to be interested in me.
Otherwise, the corners of her mouth wouldn’t have been raised like that.
In the game, it was a habitual gesture she made whenever something piqued her interest.
“I’m Nam Yuri of the Yeonseong Nam family! You’re from the Divine Sword Do family, right? I saw you in the forest hunting rabbits and unleashing Azure Thunder.”
“…”
“I’d heard that once the Divine Sword Do family’s swordsmanship reaches a certain level, mana creates friction and sublimates into electric current, but seeing it in person was fascinating and cool. Enough to make me want to know the exact principle behind it.”
Nam Yuri released the hands she had been holding behind her back and held out her card.
“You’ll do it with me, right? Here, my card. Will you give me yours too? Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t ask your name.”
“…It’s Do Gyeonu.”
“Mm! So you’re called Do Gyeonu!”
I hadn’t expected her to approach me first, but now that things had turned out this way, there was nothing I could do.
Since I had no intention of making her my enemy, I would have had to befriend her eventually.
The plan had moved ahead of schedule, but getting to know her early wasn’t bad.
If anything, the situation was favorable.
‘She seems friendly toward me.’
Of course, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Nam Yuri was a fickle person.
There was no guarantee her goodwill would continue.
I also had to keep in mind that her attitude might change overnight.
She was dangerous and fussy.
‘And she’s just as skilled.’
Soon, having finished thinking, I exchanged cards with Nam Yuri.
“Sure, let’s do it together.”
* * *
“Where is Gyeonu…”
She had ended up wasting time getting the triplets’ signatures.
Yeon Haneul set out to find Do Gyeonu, who was somewhere in the banquet hall.
Finding him wasn’t difficult.
‘Ah, there he is.’
He simply caught her eye.
She could tell by feeling where he was.
Was it childhood-friend intuition?
Or was it because, whenever Do Gyeonu wasn’t by her side, she unconsciously wandered in search of him?
She didn’t know.
‘It really is Gyeonu. Mm.’
Still, she felt proud for no reason.
She was happy that she could find him in the crowded banquet hall without getting confused.
That familiar back of his head over there looked terribly cute to her.
‘But… he’s in the middle of talking to someone else.’
Meanwhile, as Yeon Haneul began walking, she noticed the person sitting across from Do Gyeonu.
It was a girl with long, wavy gray hair and striking violet eyes.
‘…She’s pretty.’
She couldn’t tell just from the girl’s seated height, but she seemed shorter than herself.
She was petite and cute.
As she looked at that girl…
‘Who spoke to whom first?’
Yeon Haneul suddenly grew curious.
Had Do Gyeonu spoken to her first, or had that girl spoken to him first?
What sort of expression was he making right now, what sort of person was that girl, and so on.
Even though she knew it wasn’t anything important, she couldn’t help but wonder.
‘I’ll go closer and watch.’
Of course, she didn't show it outwardly.
There was nothing to be gained by showing it.
She would only look like she was meddling or come off as clingy.
She would tire out the people around her, too.
She didn't want to appear that way.
So Yeon Haneul decided to quietly approach and assess the situation.
"Oh! Yeon Haneul!"
"...!"
It was then that Yong Haerang called out to her.
Startled by the loud voice, Yeon Haneul's rabbit ears shot straight up.
She slowly turned her head to look at Yong Haerang.
"You were looking for a partner too? Perfect, I was just looking for one."
"Ah...."
Yong Haerang was approaching.
Judging by the card in his hand, it seemed he was trying to pick her as his conversation partner.
‘Ugh... We don't mesh well....’
This was bad.
Yeon Haneul had a hard time dealing with people who seemed assertive.
He was a much more difficult opponent than Go Eunbi, who seemed to have many friends.
"Want to do it with me?"
Yeon Haneul fretted inwardly.
At this rate, she felt like he would grab her and make her suffer in various ways.
She had to avoid him somehow.
‘What should I say....’
Watching him approach, Yeon Haneul racked her brains desperately.
Then, she spotted an examinee standing to one side eating food.
‘Ah.’
It was a girl with a calm impression.
Yeon Haneul intuitively realized.
‘This is someone who would match well with me.’
The moment she made that judgment, her body moved on its own.
"Hm?"
"S-sorry! There's someone I'm supposed to do this with.... Right?"
"Ah, is that so? That's too bad...."
Yeon Haneul quickly ran over to her and abruptly linked arms with her.
Then she apologized to Yong Haerang.
Sending the girl a pleading look, begging her to play along.
"Mmh?"
Unable to understand the situation, she merely blinked her green eyes.
With a fork still in her mouth.
I Became the Mid-Boss's Childhood Friend
(60) [Illustration]
Nam Yuri, who possessed numerous branching points, was a character who could become the protagonist Gang Hanbyeol's enemy or ally depending on the player's choices.
As such, Nam Yuri had not one but two exclusive endings.
One as an enemy, one as an ally.
‘The problem is that no matter which ending you choose, it's a bad ending.’
Moreover, it was a destruction ending.
In the story where Nam Yuri falls for the Mine's temptation, drops out of the Academy, and becomes a villain.
「Nam Yuri」
—What. You've been using me all this time when you're only capable of this much? Lord Patriarch, this isn't fun at all?
Nam Yuri annihilates the Yeonseong Nam Clan and turns everyone in the clan and all those hostile to her into chimeras.
Having created a chimera legion, she invades the world together with the Mine.
The world fails to stop the chimera legion and meets its destruction.
‘And then Nam Yuri suddenly dies of natural causes, and the words Bad Ending appear.’
On the other hand, in the story where she becomes an ally.
「Nam Yuri」
—Gang... Han... byeol...?
Nam Yuri transforms into a terrible chimera due to the Yeonseong Nam Clan's experiments.
As a result, while gradually losing her ego, she bites Gang Hanbyeol to death, and by eating his corpse as a catalyst, she completely loses her ego and destroys the world.
Namely, the Gang Hanbyeol Predation Ending.
‘At least, the Predation Ending isn't triggered unconditionally. It's an ending that only triggers when she becomes a party member and you choose the wrong branch.’
That's why I planned to recruit Nam Yuri as an ally rather than an enemy.
Unlike the moment she turns into an enemy where the destruction ending is confirmed, when she's an ally, it isn't a confirmed outcome.
Since I have a grasp on all the branching points, I planned to lead the story so that the Gang Hanbyeol Predation Ending wouldn't occur.
With that resolve, I faced the question game.
"Then I'll draw this time."
Nam Yuri hummed a tune.
Swaying her body lightly to the rhythm, she reached for the cards.
"Drawing from the top every time is boring, so I'll draw from the middle this time. That's okay, right?"
"Do as you like."
"You're flexible. Thanks."
Nam Yuri was mood-driven.
Therefore, she was unpredictable and someone who shouldn't be controlled.
If you tried to interfere or control her even slightly before she had opened up to you, you were bound to incur her backlash.
She might judge that she was under attack and reveal hostility.
Even if you had accepted her as an ally, you must never forget this and keep it in mind.
‘Reality is different from a game.’
Unlike a game where once you welcomed someone as a party member they stayed a party member forever, reality wasn't like that.
They could turn away if their heart changed.
So you had to manage them steadily.
In that sense, Nam Yuri was difficult, yet paradoxically simple.
"It seems like only boring questions are coming out, so I'll shuffle the cards."
"I was thinking the same thing! Seems like you and I are on the same wavelength."
Nam Yuri acted impulsively to find fun and stimulation.
She didn't like routine, repetitive things and liked new, fresh things that seemed to break the mold.
If you knew the underlying psychology behind her, obtaining her favor was simpler than with anyone else.
Shffft.
"Oh, you shuffle well?"
"I used to duel a bit."
"Duel? What's that? Is it fun?"
"I'll tell you next time if I get the chance."
"Really!? Then I'll look forward to it!"
Even a very small interest was fine.
You just needed to provide something interesting enough to catch Nam Yuri's attention.
You could earn her favor by adding a little variation to the routine.
If you stacked up her favor like that and made her an ally, she would follow even the most reckless orders.
So I shuffled the cards flamboyantly on purpose to draw her interest.
Her purple eyes sparkled excitedly at just that.
"Then I'll draw."
"What came out?"
"If you were to play rock-paper-scissors, what would you throw first?"
"What do you think I'd throw?"
"You?"
"Hmm... scissors, right now?"
"Then I'm rock."
"What! How can you be so sneaky! You asked because you wanted to beat me, didn't you!?"
"Well, who told you to answer? I don't fight battles I'm going to lose."
"I take it back! I'm throwing paper!"
"Then I'm scissors."
"I take it back again! I'm throwing rock!"
"If we keep this up it'll never end. Want to just do it for real?"
"Oh, great! It's been a while. I'm definitely going to win."
"Just one round. No objections even if you lose. Rock, paper, scissors!"
"...I won!"
"What are you talking about? It's not over yet?"
"Huh? I threw paper so I won."
"You have to win the muk-jji-ppa too."
"Huh? Is that how it works?"
"That's how it's done these days. Come on."
"Eit! Ppa ppa jji! Ah!"
"I won. It's my turn now."
"Bring it on. I'll dodge...!"
"Muk, ppa."
"How can you be so cowardly!"
"The world of competition is cold-hearted, you know? Are you going to tell a monster it's cowardly when it ambushes you?"
"Ugh... Fine, I admit it. But let's do it one more time!"
"We need to get other people's signatures too, so let's move on to the next question. I'll play rock-paper-scissors with you again when we meet at the Academy."
"Just one more time... Fine, but you promise?"
"Shall we bet lunch money then?"
"Lunch money? Wow, that sounds fun!"
"Now it's your turn. Draw."
"If you could make one wish come true, what wish would you want to make?"
"What do I want to make come true?"
"Nothing really comes to mind right now... Ah! I want to play rock-paper-scissors with you!"
"That's a humble wish."
"What about Gyeonu Gyeonu?"
"...Do you really have to call me that?"
"You can call me Yuri Yuri!"
"A wish I want to make come true..."
"Ah, are you ignoring my question now?"
"I want to graduate from the Academy."
"You haven't even enrolled yet? Do you want to become a Hunter that badly?"
"If I do... I think I'll be able to live comfortably without any worries. You probably wouldn't understand even if I told you. I'll draw this time."
"No, I think I get what you mean. You mean once you get your Hunter license, you can live however you want at the Shingeom Dogga, right? Not me though.... What did you draw?"
"If you could become someone else for just one day, who would you want to become?"
"Who do I want to become?"
"...A man with bulging muscles, dyed blonde hair. Skin tanned to accentuate the muscles."
"That's really specific. Why do you want to become a man like that?"
"Because that's manly."
"Hmm... Is it?"
"You're still young and don't know anything. You've never had feelings for someone of the opposite sex, have you?"
"Gyeonu Gyeonu is the same age as me."
"But my mental age is higher."
"What? I thought you seemed younger than me...."
"No, that's not it. Anyway, once you start feeling men as the opposite sex, you'll understand muscles and blonde hair."
"I don't know... I don't think so...."
"It's because you're young."
"Then what makes Gyeonu Gyeonu feel attraction to the opposite sex?"
"I..."
"Yeah."
"Let's just finish the question game."
"Ah! You can't do that!"
"I'll tell you when you find someone you like romantically."
"Promise, okay? Promise!"
"So, who do you want to become?"
"Hmm... Gyeonu Gyeonu?"
"You sound like you're just saying that randomly...."
"No! I'm curious about what Gyeonu Gyeonu is thinking inside his head, so I want to become Gyeonu Gyeonu!"
"Let's go with that then. It's your turn."
"I'll draw!"
"What came out?"
"What do you do when you're feeling depressed or annoyed?"
"What do I do?"
"I can't just kill random people, so I go into an artificial gate and kill monsters until my anger subsides."
"...You say some chilling things so easily."
"But this is the only way I know how to relieve it? What about Gyeonu Gyeonu?"
"I... I just swing my sword or meditate."
"Oh, so typical of someone from the Shingeom Dogga."
"Because I'm from the Shingeom Dogga. And..."
"There's more?"
"I take walks. When I go outside and walk, the fresh air clears my head. Or I look for delicious food to eat."
"I see."
"You should try that later too."
"I'll give it a try. Now, next!"
"It's my turn."
"What came out this time?"
"Sweet-and-sour pork—pour or dip?"
"Which side is Gyeonu Gyeonu on?"
"I... You first."
"I...!"
Like that, we exchanged conversation.
* * *
"The conversation was fun! Here!"
"Your card is here too."
Thanks to Nam Yuri being favorable toward me, the conversation took place in a harmonious atmosphere.
After finishing all ten questions, she had a happy expression.
She held out her card with her signature written on it.
Her name was written below Yong Haerang's.
"It was hard writing my name because of the person in the first slot, but that was fun in its own way too!"
"You could have put it in the third slot instead of the second.... Well, if it was fun, that's what matters. I'll be going then."
"Yeah! See you! And don't forget your promise to me?"
"Got it. Let's see each other after we pass."
"You too, Gyeonu Gyeonu!"
Now I only needed eight more signatures.
I waved to Nam Yuri and set out to find others.
"Ah, right. Gyeonu Gyeonu."
"What?"
Then, as if she had just remembered something, Nam Yuri called out to me.
I stopped and looked back.
She was holding a glass she had received from a passing attendant.
"I'll let you know something special since I'm hoping Gyeonu Gyeonu passes."
"..."
Nam Yuri gently swirled the glass.
Accordingly, the drink inside sloshed and swirled.
Soon, she took a sip.
"This drink contains a substance that acts on the central nervous system. It's such a trace amount that no one seems to have noticed."
"...Are you saying there's poison in it?"
"Hmm... It depends on how you look at it, but it's not the kind of poison Gyeonu Gyeonu is thinking of. If it were that kind of poison, wouldn't Gyeonu Gyeonu have noticed? The same goes for me and for you—people from prestigious families try to build resistance to poison by consuming trace amounts from a young age, right?"
Nam Yuri said in an innocent tone.
She wasn't exactly wrong.
Not every prestigious family did it, but many did.
The Shingeom Dogga was one of them.
Even though Mother hadn't wished for it, the food served at clan gatherings contained poison.
Though it was only an extremely small amount, not enough to endanger one’s life, it was still a poison whose effects could not be predicted depending on the circumstances.
Since Ye-eun and I had to attend the gatherings regularly, we had to ingest poison every single time.
Because of that, Mother had been adding minute amounts of poison to our meals so that, in the unlikely event, Ye-eun and I would not fall victim to it.
‘Though Mother eats with us now, too.’
Whenever Mother attended the family gatherings and had no choice but to eat, she would first take the antidote provided by the family before touching the food.
But was it after she cut her hair?
From that point on, Mother suddenly learned how to circulate the mana within her body to expel poison, and she no longer took the antidote.
At any rate.
“If it isn’t poison, then what is it?”
I decided to hear Nam Yuri’s answer.
She opened her mouth.
“For the most part, it seems to contain benzodiazepine-type drugs, like diazepam, triazolam, and Rohypnol.”
“…”
“You don’t understand when I put it like that, do you?”
“Explain it so I can understand.”
“They’re drugs that induce sleep. Just think of them as sleeping pills.”
“You should’ve said that from the start… But if they’re sleeping pill-type drugs, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.”
“They’re probably drugs the examiners developed independently for this test. Though if I analyze the formula, it seems like our family gave them advice.”
“…If the Yeonseong Nam Family advised them, then I can see why I wouldn’t have noticed.”
“We’re rather famous in this field.”
“Do they have any effects besides simply inducing sleep?”
“No, according to my analysis. But the effect is pretty strong. Absorption into the body is slow, and the amount is minuscule, so you won’t really feel it now, but once that amount keeps accumulating, the effects will slowly start appearing around the time the banquet ends.”
“…”
“And it isn’t only in the drinks.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“It was in all the food served in this banquet hall.”
“…”
“It was in the temporary food storage as well. I don’t know what the examiners are plotting, but aren’t you looking forward to it?”
No, not at all.
My face turned sour.
I hadn’t expected that the food and drinks we consumed at the hotel would contain drugs.
‘I should remove the drug first.’
I tried to manifest the mana within my body.
At that moment, Nam Yuri declared firmly,
“It’s no use.”
“…”
“This isn’t an ordinary formula, so you won’t be able to remove it using the methods Gyeonu-Gyeonu knows. Among the examinees, I’m probably the only one who knows how.”
“Then since you’ve gone and told me about the drug, why don’t you tell me the formula too?”
“No. That wouldn’t be fun.”
“…”
“Even if I don’t like my family, I can’t just carelessly reveal knowledge that’s practically family property, can I? It’s also hard to put into words. It doesn’t endanger your life, so just accept it.”
“You’re not going to detoxify yourself?”
“No, I’m not. Because that’s more fun. I’m looking forward to seeing what the examiners are scheming.”
Nam Yuri was that kind of character.
A character who, in pursuit of the pleasure called “stimulation,” would sometimes throw even herself into dangerous situations.
That was why she was unpredictable.
She was different from the Do Gyeonu in the game, who tried to avoid danger whenever possible.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Knowing Nam Yuri’s personality, trying to persuade her would be meaningless.
I decided to be satisfied with the information I had obtained from her.
“Fine, thanks.”
“Then good luck on the exam!”
Nam Yuri waved her hand.
Turning my back on her and leaving, I fell into thought.
‘What on earth are they plotting?’
Without saying a single word to the examinees.
What reason could the examiners have for feeding the examinees sleeping pills and trying to put them to sleep?
‘If their goal is to make us sleep, they could simply recommend that we take sleeping pills. Why didn’t they tell us?’
Only one answer came to mind.
To catch us off guard.
‘Then why?’
What reason would they have to catch us off guard?
Were they planning to suddenly release monsters into the hotel and ambush the examinees?
‘If that were the case, they could just attack while we’re asleep.’
There would be no need to go out of their way to feed us sleeping pills.
Rather, feeding us sleeping pills would be dangerous.
Examinees who had fallen into a very deep sleep would be unable to respond to external situations.
If they were attacked by monsters in that state, they would die.
Naturally, there was no way the examiners would have such a situation in mind.
‘Then it isn’t an ambush from an external situation, but an ambush from an internal one…’
What on earth would an ambush from an internal situation be?
One thought led to another.
‘The fourth practical exam, rooms of different grades, sleeping pills in the food, portraits that don’t match the atmosphere of the rooms at all…’
And this place—the Hotel of Dreams.
The puzzle slowly came together.
“…”
I arrived at one conclusion.
The fourth practical exam was…
‘It takes place inside a dream.’
I was half certain of it.
There was a high possibility that was the case.
I needed to tell Yeon Haneul quickly as well.
I looked around, searching for her somewhere in the banquet hall.
“Where is Haneul?”
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss