Rachel returned to the Royal Court under the protection of numerous heroes. Her parents, the Queen of England and her consort, had worried sick that Evil Society abducted her. Rachel clarified that she had left of her own accord. Naturally, she informed them of the giant who took the white crystal. Their worry turned to anger as they scolded her.

Their nagging continued for 30 minutes. They warned her not to do something so reckless ever again, and that she would be transferred to the England Academy if something similar occurred. She returned to her room after their lecture and felt like her ears were bleeding. She buried herself in bed from all the fatigue.

“Haa.”

Many things today caused her to sigh. Zelen had fainted and was taken to the hospital. Roton Corporation’s stocks would surely plummet once the market opened tomorrow.

What happened wouldn’t hurt England since Zelen had vowed under contract not to blame them if anything occurred. However, Roton Corporation served as the Royal Court guild’s biggest sponsor. The Royal Court guild would surely suffer if Roton retracted their support.

“…”

Rachel put aside such concerns and thought about what happened two hours ago. Kim Hajin had used some unknown method to find the djinn who fled with the crystal and then chased after him. He almost succeeded when a mysterious giant intervened. They lost the crystal in the end.

However, Kim Hajin bashfully confessing that he was her fan remained in her mind.

Then other thoughts emerged.

He had left many hints. The biggest was in theory class. Everyone knew Kim Hajin never shared his knowledge and she also heard slanderous rumors about him.

But… he always treated me differently. He answered all my questions and shared his location during the final exam. He expressed his desire to be with me, but I refused. Even then, he watched over me from a distance and helped me when I was in danger.

At first, I couldn’t understand, but now everything makes sense. If he didn’t act on reason, but feelings, then everything makes sense.

“…!”

A flash of insight struck Rachel. The Royal Court guild needed someone strong in both theory and combat like Kim Hajin. He could raise their prestige.

If I could lead his feelings towards me in that direction… No.

Rachel shook those horrible thoughts away. Manipulating someone’s feelings wasn’t right. Tak. She even smacked her own head.

***

I came to the first floor of the casino hotel at 10 P.M. I thought the traveling club members would be waiting, but Chae Nayun was the only one. She tapped on the ground with her feet as she waited.

“Yaawwn…”

Chae Nayun felt drowsy until she noticed me and grinned.

“Why are you staring?”

“…”

I shrugged without answering.

“Where are the others?”

“They went ahead. Why are you always late?”

I ended up late because of the video call with Evandel.

“Sorry, I had something to do.”

“Hmm.”

Chae Nayun took out the magic sword I gave her.

“Anyways, thanks for giving me this. It helped a lot.”

“No problem.”

I didn’t need it, but I took it anyway and put it in my pocket. Chae Nayun pointed to the front and exclaimed.

“Let’s go. I’ll pay for the food.”

She stomped away excitedly as I followed her outside. Beautiful lights lit up the night. Other places operated like usual because today’s trouble only occurred at Clancy Hall.

“Hey.”

Chae Nayun suddenly tapped my shoulder as we walked.

“What?”

“Isn’t that yours?”

“What… Huh?”

She pointed at the motorbike I drove earlier. I sneaked up to the bike. I wanted it, but it seemed the owner was a hotel guest. Chae Nayun smacked her lips and asked, “Can we ride it there?’

“It’s not mine. I borrowed it back then.”

“Really?”

We both walked away reluctantly. Tak, tak. I turned on the smartwatch GPS since I couldn’t trust Chae Nayun to guide me.

“Hey.”

Chae Nayun initiated a conversation as I turned towards her. She smiled coolly under the dim streetlight. Then she suddenly asked, “Don’t you think we can be friends?”

I came to a halt. Friends. It never crossed my mind as I blankly stared at her. She played with her hair and pretended to be indifferent. I didn’t know why she suggested that. However…

“No.”

I coldly cut her down.

“I don’t think so.”

We could never be friends. I would eventually leave this world, and I would also kill her most precious person. I couldn’t become her friend.

“…”

Chae Nayun stood still, seemingly taken off guard. Soon, she sighed with a stiff expression and forcefully smiled.

“S-Screw you. Fine, if you don’t wanna be friends, then screw off.”

She smacked my shoulder and ran off.

“…”

I rubbed my shoulder.

“That freaking hurt.”

It felt like a hammer struck me.

***

I went shopping the next day and picked out two more items at another antique shop.

[Horse Saddle] [Antique] A horse saddle used by a nameless cavalryman 500 years ago. You will ride better if you sit on this saddle.

[Horn Flute] [Antique] A flute used by a wandering minstrel of Joseon. Your voice will become clearer for three hours if you blow this horn.

They could serve practical purposes outside of combat. I liked the horse saddle. It would come in handy soon.

“Let’s go.”

We stood in front of Clancy Islet’s portal at noon. We didn’t need to undergo further investigation since they confirmed our statuses. A group of five waited for their turn behind us. I tried my best not to stare at them. Jain’s gift had disguised each Chameleon Troupe member.

We used two portals in total from Clancy Islet to England, then England to Seoul.

“We encountered unexpected trouble yesterday, but we should get used to it as aspiring heroes.”

Oh Hanhyun spoke after we arrived at the Seoul portal station. Everyone nodded with bitter smiles.

“Now, let’s all go home. Well done everybody, both yesterday and today!”

We left after Oh Hanhyun’s encouragement. Then everyone other than me froze at the reporters bustling outside.

— Ah, they’re here!

— They’re back!

Cameras flashed and blinded us.

— Is it true that Princess Rachel was abducted yesterday on Clancy Islet?

— Just what happened?

— There have been reports that cadet Kim Suho performed spectacularly during the incident.

The reporters bombarded us with questions. Videos must’ve already spread to Korea, and Kim Suho’s outstanding performance made headlines.

The other club members stood in a daze, but I knew they weren’t interested in me.

I sneaked away to a restaurant known for its fried chicken. I had to buy food for Evandel.

“Give me two… no, three.”

“Three, got it.”

I returned to the portal station after buying three fried chickens. The interview continued as Yoo Yeonha, who liked the attention, spoke to the reporters with her hair fluttering in the wind. I ignored them and headed towards the portal to Cube.

“Hua.”

Cube’s familiar scenery felt like home. I walked through the central park as I felt the East Sea’s cool air. Soon, Dorm 1 appeared and I reached my room conveniently located on the first floor. I placed my thumb on the fingerprint scanner. Tiririk— The door opened with a tone. I slammed it shut as soon as I entered. Evandel ran up to me with all the animals she created.

“Hajin!”

I hugged Evandel who ran into my embrace. She joyfully rubbed her face against my chest. My heart instantly calmed. I wondered if I would feel like this when I had kids in the future. Evandel looked at me with twinkling eyes and asked.

“Did you buy chicken?”

“Yeah, I bought a lot.”

I held up the plastic bag full of fried chicken.

***

I thought I had quite a fruitful break with three days left before the second semester. I hunted, trained hard, and added another function to my laptop called smartwatch link. It felt annoying having to open the laptop every time something happened. I only put it off because I didn’t want to spend the SP.

[An incredible luck has been applied. You have escaped from certain death!] [Narrow Escape from Death (3/9) – A special stat, accumulation of luck, has partly unlocked!] [You have obtained 193 SP!]

I made the change with the 193 SP I gained from Cheok Jungyeong. I wondered why I delayed such a convenient function until now.

— Oh, Hajin, what’s up?

I called Park Soohyuk with my upgraded smartwatch.

“Hyung, did you get what I wanted?”

Last week, I asked Park Soohyuk to buy me a motorcycle. I called him to check how it was going.

— Yeah, I looked up the motorcycle with the best specs like you wanted, but it costs 150 million won. I think it was called Agusta?

“Is that including all the additional functionalities you can put on it?”

— No, it gets even more expensive with things like mana coating and engine reinforcement. The final cost will be way more.

“Do it anyway. I won a lot at the casino.”

I won 2 billion won. Plus, it wouldn’t be long until Packhorse Master conquered the Suwon Devil’s Nest, and I would become rich.

— Okay, I’ll put in an order, but where are you going to ride it? Such a high spec motorcycle doesn’t suit Korea.

“It’s fine.”

I could improve my driving skills with aether and the horse saddle. I could also activate bullet time in an emergency.

— Okay, I’ll order it under our company, so come pick it up later.

“Thanks. Oh right, is the company doing well?”

— Haha.

Park Soohyuk replied with a laugh.

— We have 13 hunters with us now. You don’t have to worry.

“Ooh, what an improvement.”

— Haha, it’s all thanks to you. We’re preparing to expand and move to a better place soon.

“Then I’ll invest more. As I said, I won a lot at the casino.”

An alert popped up as I excitedly spoke with Park Soohyuk. My face stiffened as I hung up to confirm the content from Violet Banquet. Someone commissioned the Truth Agency for the first time in about a month.

[Please find this person.]

Although the sentence was short, it came with detailed information and a picture of the man. His name was Fernin Jesus.

“Eh?”

I knew this man. Fernin Jesus was Tomer’s father, the man she loved and hated more than anyone.