She had. Zellen had personally written a pledge stating that Britain would not be held responsible no matter what occurred there.
But it was clear that the 'Royal Guild,' of which Roton was the largest sponsor, would suffer a heavy blow. If Roton withdrew its sponsorship, the Royal Guild's finances would stagger greatly.
"······."
However, setting aside such great worries for now, Rachel was wholly absorbed in the incident that had occurred just two hours ago.
First, Gim Hajin.
Somehow, he had found out which Mine had stolen the White Crystal, and he had pursued that Mine. He had nearly recovered the Crystal, but an unidentified giant had intervened and stolen the Crystal away again.
In other words, the Crystal had ultimately been plundered.
But in Rachel's mind, not the Crystal, but that man who had embarrassedly claimed to be her fan, Gim Hajin, remained vivid.
······Suddenly, past events began to surface in her mind with a different meaning.
The 'hints' he had left all this time were surprisingly numerous. Most of all, this was true regarding theory classes.
Gim Hajin was known for being studious, but had a reputation for not sharing his knowledge with others. Rumors bordering on slander had spread throughout Cube.
"But······."
That wasn't the case with me. He had always kindly answered whatever I asked.
Also, during the final exams, Gim Hajin had been the first to share his location with me, strongly expressing his desire to work together. However, when I refused, he had volunteered to watch over me from afar. And when a dangerous situation occurred, he provided support.
At first, she couldn't understand it at all. Why had he helped her? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find his motive.
But now, she finally understood.
If that had been something driven by emotion rather than reason,
all the pieces fit perfectly.
"······!"
In that instant, a crackling current swept through Rachel's mind.
Perhaps this could become a huge variable. The Royal Guild currently needed someone strong in both theory and practice. If it was Gim Hajin, he would be able to raise the very standing of the Royal Guild.
If so. If she could just redirect the good feelings he harbored for her in that direction······
"······No."
Rachel shook her head.
Even so, they were human emotions. Deliberately using and manipulating human emotions was something a human being should not do. Rachel threw off the wicked thought she had briefly harbored.
Thud.
She even rapped her own head in punishment.
* * *
10 PM.
I came out to the first floor of the hotel casino. I had expected the travel club cadets to be waiting. But in front of the door, there was only Chae Nayun. Chae Nayun was tapping the floor with the balls of her feet, passing the time.
"Haaahm······"
Chae Nayun, who had been yawning widely as if sleepy, spotted me.
She looked at me and smirked.
"What're you just standing there looking at?"
"······"
Without answering, I shrugged and approached her.
"Where are the others?"
"They already went to the restaurant. So why do you always come out late?"
I'd ended up a bit late because I was on a video call with Evangeline.
"Sorry. Something came up."
"..Hm."
Chae Nayun pulled a magic sword from her pocket.
"Anyway, here. Thanks for letting me use it."
"Sure."
It wasn't something I absolutely needed back, but I took it and put it in my pocket.
Chae Nayun pointed ahead and shouted refreshingly.
"Let's hurry. It's my treat today."
Thump, thump. She walked ahead with vigorous strides. I followed her out of the hotel.
The exterior of Clancy Islet was dark but sparkled with sirens. However, today's commotion had been confined to 'Clancy Hall,' so the other places were operating as usual.
"Hey."
As we walked slowly, Chae Nayun suddenly tapped my shoulder.
"What."
"Isn't that yours?"
"What······ huh?"
In the direction Chae Nayun was pointing, the bike I had just ridden was parked. I stealthily approached it. It was something I really wanted. It seemed the owner was likely a guest of this hotel.
Chae Nayun smacked her lips and asked.
"Hey. Can't we ride this to get there?"
"It's not mine. I borrowed it back then too."
"······Is that so?"
The two of us passed the bike with deep regret.
Trudge, trudge.
Walking on our own two legs toward the restaurant. I turned on my smartwatch GPS. I couldn't trust Chae Nayun when it came to directions.
"Hey."
To me, who had been walking in silence, Chae Nayun suddenly spoke. I turned to look at her.
Under the faint glow of the streetlight.
She smiled refreshingly. And she asked lightly, as if in passing.
"Don't you think we could be, like, 'friends'?"
My legs stopped in that instant.
Friends. It was a word I hadn't dared to think of.
I stared blankly at Chae Nayun. Chae Nayun was twisting her hair around her finger, pretending not to care. I didn't know what she was thinking, or why she would suddenly bring up something so out of the blue.
But.
"No."
I looked straight at her and cut her off in a cold tone.
"I don't think so."
I couldn't possibly become something like a friend. I was someone who would leave anyway, someone who would someday have to kill the most precious person to her.
There was no way I could become a friend.
"······."
Chae Nayun stood still as if struck in a vital spot. She looked at me without even breathing. Soon, with a slightly stiff face, she let out a long sigh, then forced a smile by lifting the corners of her mouth.
"Y-you bastard. Embarrassing me like that. Then get lost, jerk."
She smacked my shoulder hard and darted ahead.
"······."
I quietly watched her back and gingerly touched my shoulder.
"······It hurts like hell."
Honestly, it felt like I'd been beaten with a hammer.
* * *
The next day.
I think I spent the vacation quite productively. I hunted hard, trained hard, and added one more function to my laptop with the SP I'd gathered.
Namely, 'Smartwatch Synchronization.'
It had been bothersome having to open my laptop every time something happened, but I had put off this function, stingy about using SP.
[Tremendous luck activates, evading the approaching death!]
[Narrow Escape from Death (3/9)—The special ability stat 'Accumulation of Luck' partially activates!]
[SP increases by 193!]
I blew the 193 SP obtained thanks to Cheok Jun-gyeong on it. Then life itself became so comfortable that I wondered why I hadn't done this sooner.
—Uh. Hajin, what is it.
I called Bak Suhyeok with my upgraded smartwatch.
"Hyung, did you get it?"
I was asking about the status of the motorcycle I'd requested from Bak Suhyeok last week.
—Yeah. I looked for one with the best performance like you said, but it's super expensive. 150 million. What was it called... Agusta?
"With full options?"
—No. If I do that, it's even more expensive. Mana coating, engine reinforcement, and so on—the extras will cost more than the bike itself.
"Do full options. I made a ton of money at the casino."
2 billion won won at the casino. Besides, that day was approaching now.
The day the Demon Conqueror storms the Suwon Demon Lair. And the day I become filthy rich.
—······Alright. I'll place the order for now. But where are you going to ride it? There's nowhere to ride something like that in Korea, is there?
"It's fine."
I have Ether, and I have the horse saddle that will make my driving skills more proficient. If any unexpected emergency happens, I can just use 'Bullet Time,' so whatever.
—Got it. I'll put the order through our company, so come by and pick it up later.
"Thanks. Oh, right. Is the company growing well?"
—······Haha.
Bak Suhyeok answered with a smile.
—We have thirteen affiliated hunters now. Don't worry.
"Oh. You've made progress~"
—Hehe. It's all thanks to you. We're preparing to expand the business now. We'll probably move offices too.
"Then I'll invest. Like I said, I made a ton of money at the casino."
As I was chatting excitedly with Bak Suhyeok like that, suddenly an alarm went off on my laptop.
My face hardened in an instant.
It was a notification from the Purple Banquet.
I quickly hung up and checked the contents.
Someone had sent a request to the 'Office of Truth.' It was the first request in almost a month and a half.
[Please find this person.]
The message was short, but a photo was dutifully enclosed, showing personal details, face, and physique.
The name was Pereunin Jesuseu······
"Huh?"
I know who this man is.
Pernin Jesus.
This man is the person Tomer resents more than anyone, and loves more than anyone—in other words, Tomer’s father.
* * * * * * *
tzoa
End
The Hero Association gave the title of Nine Evils (Old Evils: Nine Evils) to the nine Djinn who had risen to the pinnacle of Djinn society. It was a derogatory name meaning “mankind’s ancient evil” or “the nine origins of evil,” but the Djinn of the Nine Evils instead took the title as praise and accepted it gladly.
“This feels like it’s going to be another waste of time…”
This was the lair of one of those Nine Evils, the one who held the third seat among them: “Perverse Evil.” It was a top-secret sanctuary built by remodeling a cave deep in the mountains of South Hamgyeong Province.
[Truth Office]
—We answer anything.
Inside that sanctuary, Tomer, a low-ranking member under Perverse Evil, was staring into a computer. Her coppery skin and healthy figure, characteristic of Latinas, stood out even in the stuffy cave, but no one cast flirtatious glances her way.
Even among the low-ranking members of Perverse Evil, Tomer was quite the oddity. A freak who cared nothing for missions and pursued only her own strength. Some Djinn even doubted whether she was truly a Djinn at all.
“…What’s gotten into that bitch, for her to still be stuck in the office?”
A Djinn of the same rank glanced at Tomer and muttered under his breath. The sight of her practically glued to her desk was by no means common.
“Apparently someone in the Purple Banquet told her about some information site.”
“Who?”
“Who else? Must’ve been Set. That woman-crazy bastard.”
Just then, an operations agent entered the office. The two Djinn who had been gossiping quickly buried their faces in their desks. He swept his gaze around the room, then called out someone’s name.
“Tomer.”
…Oh, seriously.
Tomer muttered softly and slowly stood up. The operations agent heard her complaint clearly. However, he merely frowned and offered no particular reprimand. Tomer was a young underling of only twenty, but though her position was low-ranking in name, her abilities were more than enough to be classified as elite.
“It’s an assignment.”
“…An assignment?”
“Yes. A surveillance mission.”
The agent handed Tomer a thick stack of documents. Wearing an extremely displeased expression, Tomer accepted it for the time being.
* * *
“Hmm…”
I stared quietly at the laptop and thought.
Tomer is quite an unusual Djinn. She became a Djinn for one reason and one reason only.
To kill her father with her own hands.
In order to commit that grievous act of patricide, Tomer sold a part of her soul.
Tomer’s fate is that tragic.
When Tomer turned seven, her father killed his wife and abandoned Tomer.
At a glance, it simply seems like her father was the lowest kind of human trash, but in truth, there is another reason behind it.
This setting was a device prepared to draw Tomer over to Kim Suho’s side later on. Though I put the series on hiatus before I ever got to write that scene.
In any case, even if I don’t help her, she will eventually find her father with the help of Perverse Evil, kill him with her own hands, and swear loyalty to Perverse Evil. Then, by the time the series reaches the point just before its hiatus, she will even rise to become one of Perverse Evil’s executives, so it could be called quite the self-made success story.
For reference, one should think of an executive here as a position far higher than an ordinary executive. An executive of Perverse Evil is a rank directly beneath the Nine Evils. In other words, the next pinnacle of Djinn society.
“Hmm.”
If I find Tomer’s father for her here, would I be able to bring her to my side?
Probably not. However, this is a device I had arranged for Kim Suho. If I make use of it myself…
First, I opened the Book of Truth.
I don’t know for certain where Tomer’s father is either. I placed the photograph and personal information Tomer had sent me into my mind, then infused my intent, desiring to know his current situation.
In that instant, all two strokes’ worth of magic power were sucked away.
My left arm went numb as though it were about to fall off. A headache violently shook my skull. Before my eyes