Chapter 113

Chapter 113

「Yesterday morning, a perilous incident during the student scholarship selection competition at the Ivory Tower occurred when the building’s mana supply system went out of control. The cause of the incident was traced back to the malfunction of several facilities’ equipment, and shockingly, it was discovered that the Demon Force was behind it all.」

「The executives and researchers of TL Technology were found to have colluded with the Demon Force and are currently all detained. Even the regular employees are undergoing intense investigations.」

「This is why corruption in the supply chain must be strongly punished. Who would have thought that there were employees of Babel and the Ivory Tower who were holding hands with the Demon Force? Such complacency...」

Passing by the hospital lobby, Se-Hoon heard the TV playing the news stirred by the incident from yesterday.

He turned his gaze to his phone.

So this guy ended up being detained...

Looking it up, he saw the picture of a man, restrained by bindings on his arms and legs, being transferred. The man, who was being arrested on charges of supply chain corruption and collusion with the Demon Force, was the Ivory Tower staff member who had rushed to Charles after the incident.

So Charles was isolated from this incident from the start... maybe he’s higher up than I thought.

He had thought Charles was just another member of Dawn since Charles had directly handed over the mana corrosion device to Luize, but it seemed he had underestimated Charles’s rank.

Maybe he’s one of the Regions... no, if I recall correctly, the Blast Dog said that anyone would be able to tell right away if one was a part of Regions.

Since that was the case, it seemed that Charles was just a high-ranking officer, one that was right below the Regions. However, if he was so high-ranking, then why had he personally handed the mana corrosion device to Luize?

Perhaps he was confident he wouldn’t be discovered, so he simply did it himself. It would have been easier for him to slip the device to her since he was her mentor after all. But could that really be all...?

Unsure, Se-Hoon mulled over several possibilities and then suddenly remembered something he had heard from the Blast Dog before the regression.

“I was only able to escape from Regions because they lost interest in me after claiming that I had failed; otherwise, I would have been exploited to death.”

Remembering the Blast Dog’s voice, which had been dripping with distaste, he could finally come up with one plausible reason.

Charles must have highly valued Luize at first, to the extent that he personally went to check on her.

As a fellow craftsman, Se-Hoon understood Charles’s actions, but it made him fall into deep thought.

Then he must be overly obsessed with her now that he’s seen her recent accomplishments.

And since Dawn had suffered great losses in the Ivory Tower, it was a likely possibility that Charles was currently getting ready to cut ties with Babel and aim for one last big score. It meant they were in a dangerous spot, but that spot could also open up the opportunity they had been seeking to strike a significant blow against Dawn.

With his thoughts reaching that point, Se-Hoon’s train of thought naturally went toward how to prepare for the impending clash with Charles. But it was derailed when he heard some familiar voices from a hospital room ahead.

“I’m telling you, I’m really okay now!”

“Didn’t you hear the doctor say that there’s something wrong with your body? How could you possibly be ‘really okay’? Stop talking and lie down already.”

“A person’s heart rate always increases when they’re excited. So what’s this about being hospitalized for three weeks?! There’s clearly something wrong here!”

“Your heart rate increased by 1.5 times overnight, yet you think that’s normal? Lea, just lie down quietly when I tell you to.”

“No! As if I don’t know Grandma’s intentions... mmph!”

Clatter!

Listening to the noisy sounds echoing through the crack of the slightly opened door, Se-Hoon approached.

Knock, knock.

“It’s Lee Se-Hoon. May I come in?”

The noisy room fell silent. A moment later, Rebecca opened the door.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

Following Rebecca, he entered deeper into the room and soon saw Lea lying on a large bed.

“Mmph!”

Her brown hair spread out in all directions, devoid of her usual hairpins and clasps, and she had been covered all the way up to just below her nose by a white quilt that was engraved with Rebecca’s enchantments. From a distance, her figure in the white quilt looked like a kimbap roll with some burdock sticking out; it unwittingly caused Se-Hoon to smirk.

“Um, why is she like this...”

“She kept causing a fuss about wanting to be discharged, so I’ve temporarily tied her down. Don’t worry about it.”

Rebecca shook her head, fed up with Lea. She then looked at Se-Hoon.

“Do you need something to drink?”

“I’d appreciate anything.”

“Then please sit somewhere comfortable and wait for a second,” Rebecca said, heading off to the kitchenette in the room.

Se-Hoon sat down on one of the chairs next to the bed.

“I thought you were fine, yet it seems you’re hurt pretty badly?”

“Mmph! Mmph!” Lea cried out, sounding like Se-Hoon’s question had wronged her.

Ignoring her, Se-Hoon examined the device next to the bed.

A heart rate of 120... it did increase quite a bit.

Normally, one’s heart rate would only increase when there was insufficient blood volume supply, but that wasn’t the case for Lea. In her case, both her heart rate and the volume of blood supplied by each heartbeat had increased.

In other words, her metabolism was working 1.5 times faster than usual.

I tried to mitigate it, but... these side effects are still unavoidable, huh?

While he was assessing Lea’s condition, Rebecca returned with some snacks and tea.

“Be careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you.”

Picking up the cup of tea, Se-Hoon carefully sipped it while Rebecca silently drank hers across from him.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Unlike the two calmly drinking tea, Lea continued to struggle. Eventually, Rebecca sighed and snapped her fingers.

Clink-

The enchantments drawn on the quilt dissipated into the air, and the tightly binding quilt instantly loosened.

Finally free from Rebecca’s restraints, Lea turned to Se-Hoon and cried out in a plaintive voice.

“Why didn’t you help me? I was giving you the eyes!”

“What can I do against a professor? I just stayed still.”

“...”

“There’s one thing that’s certain though: I was really angry, and it felt like I wanted to kill someone—just like how I feel in real life.”

Struggling to recall the blurry dream, Lea looked at Se-Hoon.

“Were that your feelings?”

Since the purpose of the Blood Essence, created using Soul Honing, was to pass on his own experiences to Lea, the emotions Lea felt in her dream were very likely to be his own emotions that were naturally embedded within those experiences.

“Yes.”

“...I see.”

Upon hearing his response, Lea seemed to make up her mind.

“Then, since it’s come to this, I’ll make an official request.”

“A request?”

“That monster... the one who killed my father. Help me kill Puppeteer myself,” she said with resolve, indicating that she no longer considered Puppeteer as her mother.

“Then I’ll also help you deal with whoever your unknown enemy is.”

Up until now, they had cooperated by lending each other their skills as a blacksmith and an enchanter. But now, they would combine their strengths to achieve their respective goals. And he had already reaffirmed her talents during the incident.

I lose nothing from this.

More importantly, though, Se-Hoon absolutely needed Lea’s help to have an easier time killing Puppeteer than before the regression.

Only she could activate the poison he had hidden in the Sphere.

“Okay. But there’s one condition.”

“...What is it?”

Noticing Lea looking at him tensely, Se-Hoon made a slight smile.

“Don’t whine about how it’s too tiring or hard.”

Lea’s eyes widened in surprise and then she chuckled.

“You should make sure you don’t freeze up when you meet Puppeteer yourself. The Ten Evils are on a higher level than you think.”

Though Se-Hoon had faced and fought even worse demons than the Ten Evils, he chose not to mention that. Boasting about such things seemed petty, especially to someone who had regressed in age.

It’s a pity, though. The overall mood seemed good. Despite the mood being so good, no Fatestone had been created.

At that moment, he noticed Lea glancing around cautiously.

“...I have something I want to ask. Can you use the Sphere too?” Lea finally asked.

“Huh? Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Well, I only managed to modify it after receiving your experiences, so... I was wondering if you could use it too.”

Though she had been the one to propose the request, Lea questioned if she really could be of help.

“Probably not?” Se-Hoon answered after a moment. He had easily seen through her cautious probing.

“...Really?”

“I’m not that good with calculations. I know how to solve them, but I’m not quick with mental math, at least not as fast as you.”

Though he could understand the overall structure and find patterns, handling complex calculations on the fly, which the Sphere required, was quite a hard task for him.

“Hmm. Uh...”

Lea’s mouth twitched a few times at his response before she muttered softly, “I guess I win.”

[Subject ‘Lea Claudel’ feels superior to you.]

[A Fatestone has been formed for the subject ‘Lea Claudel’.]

“...”

Slightly dazed by the notification messages before him, he turned his head toward Lea.

“Heh heh...”

And saw Lea grinning, seemingly pleased about something.

All he could think about as he watched though, was one simple thing.

“You’re remarkable indeed, sunbae.”

“Is-is that so? Hahaha!”

It wasn’t so bad that she was being playful despite her age.

***

Finished with his conversation with Lea, Se-Hoon was about to leave the room when he received a request from Rebecca.

“She must absolutely rest for three weeks, so don’t give her work during that time.”

“What? But I’m fine...” Lea protested.

“If you’d rather drop out than be discharged, go ahead and say more.”

“Don’t contact me during my vacation!”

Just like that, Lea agreed to stay in the hospital quietly for three weeks; it was partly as a trade-off for not being pushed to drop out, partly to avoid aggravating potential injuries, and partly to wait until the public’s attention diminished a bit.

Well. By that time, things should have settled down completely.

Plus, the increase in Lea’s heart rate was probably a reaction to his experiences embedded in the Blood Essence melting into her physical form, so it would return to normal after some time.

To Se-Hoon it was a relief that she had no serious issues. He was about to leave the hospital feeling utterly refreshed when he heard a loud sound.

Vroom-

And then a black limousine pulled up in front of him.

As he gazed at the familiar vehicle, the car window rolled down to reveal a young man with slick black hair and rimless glasses. He gave off an elite vibe.

“It’s been a while.”

It was Inoue Ren, Erika’s brother.