Chapter 29: Another Choice, Another Path, and Another Name (4)

* * *Amidst the dizzying burst of blue mana powder, a red-haired girl revealed herself.

She was a handspan shorter than Seti and had yellow eyes that sparkled like amber.

Although she was also a captivating beauty like Seti, they weren’t really that similar. The aura she radiated was different.

It started with her outfit. She was wearing a red dress that reached down to her knees, a red leather jacket, and finished off with red enamel shoes.

Faced with such a bold and avant-garde fashion sense, Yeomyeong was left speechless.

To confirm his doubts, he enhanced his senses to inspect her. However, he didn’t sense any particular mana from her. In other words, the girl in front of him was definitely real.

“Why are you staring at me so intently? Is this your first time seeing a Mage?”

“...”

Yeomyeong frowned and turned his head. Seti avoided his gaze as she spoke.

“Uh, I told you about her last time, right? My younger sister who was cursed in place of me? This is her.”

Hearing that, Yeomyeong suddenly remembered the reason she had come to the Incheon black market in the first place.

Seti was looking for the unicorn's horn… the Handle of Uragan, to dispel the curse over her younger sister.

In the process, she met Yeomyeong, and the connection they forged had continued to this point—all a result of pure coincidence.

“...I’m glad that things were resolved smoothly. So, why is your sister here?”

The answer came from the red-haired girl.

“I wanted to test you personally, have a conversation, and, if possible, check if that so-called talent of yours is real.”

What gives you the right to test me?”

“Seeing that I’m betting my life on you, I should be able to confirm that much, shouldn’t I?”

Betting her life? Yeomyeong looked at Seti in confusion. Seti also looked surprised.

“Siri? What are you talking about?”

“What else would it be? It means that I came here after knowing all of your plans, Unnie. Did you still not realize that even after I asked you such dirty questions?”

The red-haired girl, Siri, smirked and bobbed her head. Seaʀᴄh the Novelƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“I also want to take revenge on this country. I want to burn all those fucking crazy bastards and live freely with my grandmother.”

“How could you…”

Before Seti could say anything, Siri drew something from her waist and threw it to Yeomyeong.

“Unnie, let me give you a piece of advice. You should never disclose secret information in a place where unicorns can hear. These horned horses will spill anything and everything if a maiden questions them.”

What Siri threw was the Handle of Uragan. As soon as Yeomyeong caught it, the unicorn poured out in his mind.

[O Virgin, please do not misunderstand! I only revealed that because the beautiful maiden swore not to harm you!]

“...”

[Also, considering the cause, isn’t it all Maiden Seti’s and your fault?! Do you even know how anxious I was? An innocent maiden and a virgin boy, not even married, alone in a motel room...!]

Yeomyeong shoved the stick into his back pocket before sighing.

“Seti, your sister is right. The unicorn spilled everything.”

“...Ah.”

Seti covered her face and bowed her head deeply. Regardless of her older sister’s reaction, Siri kept chatting away.

“Unicorns are like that by nature. Wasn’t that why President Clinton1 classified them as harmful demonic monsters? Let a single maiden reporter get their hands on it, and they’ll spill everything, be it a celebrity or a politician, it will spill all the details about their private affairs…”

“Stop.”

Interrupting Siri, Yeonmyeong got up from his seat. He then addressed Jang Man, who was sipping a drink at the back.

“Sir, we’ll be stepping out for a moment.”

“No, there’s no need for that. Why should three people leave instead of one? I’ll be out in front, so call me when it’s over.”

Jang Man waved it off and left through the back door without waiting for an answer. It was a typical survival skill of an elder. He quickly distanced himself before he could be considered an accomplice of the Seti and her sister.

Seti was the first to speak after the back door closed.

“Siri!”

Her face flushed red, as if it were about to burst.

“Why are you so angry?”

“Would you not be angry if you were in my position? You deceived both me and Yeomyeong-ssi!”

“Unnie, to be precise, you’re an accomplice as well. When I said that I wanted to test Mist—I mean Yeomyeong-oppa2, you agreed, didn’t you?”

“...I didn’t expect you to go this far!”

“Well, regardless, you cooperated quite well though.”

“That’s…”

Seti looked at Yeomyeong with anxious eyes, like a puppy observing its owner’s reaction.

“Yeomyeong-ssi, I really didn’t know that Siri would do it this way…”

But before she could make any more excuses, Yeomyeong raised his hand to stop her.

“There’s no need for an explanation. I don’t care about such things.”

Regardless of Seti’s thoughts, those were Yeomyeong’s honest feelings. Something that trivial didn’t warrant apologizing or forgiveness.

After all, trust worked like that, didn’t it? Just like a flower that would wilt if not watered, it must be constantly nurtured with certainty.

So the reason they tested him wasn’t what mattered, but…

“So, how did I do in your test? Did I pass?”

It was Siri who gave him the answer.

“You passed—on top of that, your results exceeded my expectations.”

“...What was the criteria for grading?”

“Trust.”

It was a surprisingly straightforward criterion, but Yeomyeong could only tilt his head in confusion.

“...It didn’t really feel like I was being tested on trust?”

Siri pointed at Yeomyeong’s face.

“What are you talking about? I tempted you with the idea of attending the Academy or joining the Special Administration, but you didn’t even flinch, did you?”

“...”

Was that even tempting? Well, after a moment’s contemplation, it might have been. After all, who wouldn’t want wealth and honor?

But Cheon Yeomyeong was not one of those people. What really mattered to him was revenge. Avenging his wrongfully killed colleagues was a hundred times more important than all those things.

That was why he was able to casually refuse the bright path Siri brought up earlier or the recommendation letter offered by Freya Cahn…

Yeomyeong chose not to voice that fact, and Siri continued explaining.

“But the fact that you didn’t say anything when I spoke about Unnie’s body was another plus point. If you had done so, I would have either been angry or disappointed, especially when someone called us 'meat puppets’.”

“Siri!”

Seti yelled in a high tone again, but Siri paid no attention to her.

“Lastly, my trust in your talent. I wondered how a Superhuman was able to see through magic, but once I grabbed your wrist, it all made sense.”

“What did you understand?”

“Your mana sensitivity, Oppa. It is not normal.”

“...”

“When you focus on your senses, you are able to perceive the mana inside our bodies, just like when I’m holding your hand, right? Since Unnie doesn’t delve into magic, she might not realize how extraordinary this is, but any Mage would be shocked.”

Was the ability to sense mana really that impressive? It seemed like Seti and Freya Cahn had displayed something similar.

...

Yeomyeong lacked the knowledge to make a simple judgment. It was inevitable. However, how much would a mere janitor know about Superhumans? At best, it would be limited to snippets from documentaries or the internet.

Yeomyeong acutely felt his lack of information. And that was why he needed Seti’s help even more.

“Seti.”

“...Yes.”

“I passed the test your sister gave. So, what about your test?”

“My test… you’ve already passed it. From the moment we shook hands that night, I never doubted you.”

Seti said this and bowed her head deeply. The promise they made while holding hands… Yeomyeong also recalled that moment and remained silent.

A brief silence filled the bar. After a moment, Siri spoke with a slightly bewildered expression.

“...Unnie, did you lose your virginity?”

“...”

“...”

“What, why? Do you feel guilty or something? Hey, Oppa. Give my sister the Handle of Uragan. Let’s confirm it…”

Unable to hold back any longer, Seti smacked Siri on the head. It was a stinging slap filled with emotion.

* * *

As the students' voices echoed in the training hall, the students who had been training diligently just moments ago stopped their training.

Whether they were practicing their punches or their sword skills, everyone perked their ears and looked outside the training hall to see what was happening.

“What’s going on?”

And among the students were the half-dead ‘Author’ and Jeon Yunseong.

Regardless of what was being said outside, the Author, drenched in sweat, was gasping for breath. After training with Jeon Yunseong for about an hour, he had no stamina left.

Only when he managed to catch his breath did he finally hear the voices of the students coming out of the training hall.

“Should we head out too?”

Without waiting for another word, the Author nodded. Anything would be better than training with Jeon Yunseong.

As soon as they stepped outside the training hall, the Author couldn’t believe his eyes.

Sparkling feathers were fluttering in the sky above the academy dormitory.

“Wow… What’s that? Feathers? Is that Magic?”

While Jeon Yunseong and the other students simply admired the sight without realizing the identity of the unknown flying objects, the Author was different.

“The Holy Sword's Divine Sky Steps…?”

“The Holy Sword?”

Jeon Yunseong tilted his head upon hearing the Author’s murmur.

“Are you talking about Lady Freya Cahn?”

However, the Author couldn’t answer Jeon Yunseong’s question. His mind was racing as if it would explode at any moment.

The Holy Sword was not supposed to appear at this moment. At least the event that brought the Holy Sword to the academy was something that was supposed to happen only after the third year…

-

While he was deep in thought, three figures appeared amidst the fluttering feathers in the sky.

Soon after, they began to descend from the sky, as if an invisible staircase was beneath their feet.

The person leading the descent was a woman with an eyepatch covering one of her eyes and her hair tied up.

-

-

While everyone’s attention was fixed on the figure in the lead, the Author focused on the two individuals descending behind her.

Both were captivating beauties, but the Author first observed their ears rather than their appearance.

Although their ears were not in the typical long shape of elves' ears, the Author was certain. Those two were elves.

Two contrasting beauties, a golden-haired and silver-haired, suddenly appearing at this moment?

As far as the Author knew, there was only one such pair =in this universe.

The Author started biting his thumbnail out of habit.

How the hell did things go so awry that this happened? He had planned to lay low until the prologue event, worried that he would cause a butterfly effect!

As he pondered over this worst-case scenario, a brief exclamation escaped Jeon Yunseong’s lips.

“Wow, she’s incredible… a beauty."

“…”

“Is she a new applicant to our academy? No, she must be an applicant, right?”

Jeon Yunseong’s gaze was fixed on the blonde beauty who had just touched the ground.

The Author’s eyes grew colder as he saw that.

***

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