Chapter 273: Episode 273

“Alright, time to get off now, Sol.”

I hugged Eunsol and, with a little grunt, sat her down in the seat next to me. I thought she might stay put for a moment, but she immediately leaned back against me.

’Her separation anxiety had gotten worse while I was away…’

“Hey, what are you staring at? Turn your head. Now!” Eunsol threatened, and Ha Yerin couldn’t even squeak as she turned away. The Eunsol of five years later had become a tyrant.

“By the way, Sol. How old are you now?”

Eunsol, nestled in my arms, answered with sparkling eyes. “Fifteen!”

“Then doesn’t that make Yerin your senior?”

“Oh, really?” Yerin’s face lit up. “What, I thought you were my age, but you’re just a middle schooler…”

“What?! You got a problem with that?” Eunsol growled, and Yerin immediately whimpered and bowed her head.

“Sol, that’s not nice. She’s your elder.” Since they might be spending a lot of time together, it seemed best for everyone if I established this clearly. “Come on, call her unni.”

“…Ugh.”

While Eunsol made a face of disgust, Ha Yerin had already crossed her arms, looking triumphant. Blushing, Eunsol mumbled in a barely audible voice, “U-unni…”

“Yep! Nice to meet you! Hehe.” Yerin laughed and patted Eunsol’s head. But the look on Eunsol’s face as she was being patted was anything but pleasant.

“Fuck, just because my Oppa told me to, you think you’re all that? Hey, get on the ground.”

“Huh? Y-you mean…?”

“You think someone with a measly provisional license gets to pat the head of a Certified Rank 2 hunter? Huh?”

Having lost the age battle, she was now crushing her with rank. Ha Yerin’s reign hadn’t even lasted three seconds.

“Y-you really want me to get on the ground… ma’am?”

“You think I’m joking? Do it!”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

Where did she learn these things? When I intervened, Eunsol came back to my side, smiling sweetly. The change in her demeanor was truly astonishing.

“Mister.” Ha Yerin turned her attention to me, the easier target. “Since you know both Jin Bora and Eunsol, did you by any chance work at the Magic Tower before?”

“…I did. Why do you ask?”

Ha Yerin’s eyes widened. “I knew it! You must be the person the Tower Master is looking for!”

“Na Daeyong? He’s looking for me?”

“Yes! He said there was someone who made a great contribution to the Magic Tower and retired, and he needs their help, so he’s searching for them now.”

Hmm, that sounded rather significant. Was he just making that up for Yerin’s benefit? Or could he possibly know I was back? No, that was strange too. Neither Jin Bora nor Jeong Seojin was the type to leak information.

“So this is where you all were.”

The thought had barely crossed my mind when Jeong Seojin walked into the park, waving. I had only asked him to handle the aftermath, but it seemed he had come himself.

“Seojin. Aren’t you busy?”

“No matter how busy I am, I have to do what needs to be done. I just sent a text to Ms. Bora, telling her to be careful.”

“Seojin?” Ha Yerin blinked. “Don’t tell me… he’s not the real chairman of Alchemia, is he?”

“That’s correct.” Seojin approached with a smile and extended his hand. “I’m Jeong Seojin. I’ve heard a lot about you, Yerin.”

“Ah! I-I’m Ha Yerin!” she stammered, bowing obsequiously as she shook his hand.

Eunsol pouted. “Showing up after everything’s over and acting all high and mighty. Go away!”

Seojin gave me a bitter smile. “I apologize. Sol is going through a rebellious phase these days…”

“Ugh, I hate that!” she shouted. “Adults always blame everything on puberty! It’s so annoying! Don’t you get that you’re the ones drawing the line, not us?”

“But you didn’t go to school yesterday either. Your teacher has requested a parent-teacher conference. We should go together.”

“Shut up! What am I supposed to learn from a teacher who has less skill and makes less money than me? I’m already a CEO, why should I waste my time in school?”

“Middle school is compulsory education.”

Eunsol and Jeong Seojin arguing was a sight I’d never seen before.

“Still, Sol. You should at least graduate, right?”

“Okay, Oppa!” she replied in a honey-sweet voice, beaming.

Seeing her rebellious streak quelled in an instant, Seojin gave me a look of pure reverence.

“Ah, it’s getting quite late,” he said, checking his watch. “You’ll need to sleep early if you’re going to school tomorrow. We’ll take you home as well, Yerin.”

“What? Oh, you don’t have to do that…”

Seojin pointed behind him, where a luxury foreign car had just pulled up in front of the park. “One of our Alchemia drivers will take you.”

Ha Yerin’s eyes went wide at the sight of the gleaming executive car. “Can I really ride in that?” she asked, looking at me.

I smiled and nodded. “You can trust Seojin. I guarantee it.”

“What about you, mister?”

“I need to talk with these two for a bit. We need to come up with a plan for Na Daeyong.”

She nodded. “Thank you for saving me today, mister.”

“See you tomorrow.”

She ran to the car. To ensure her comfort, the driver was also a woman. The attention to detail was just like Seojin.

After she left, it was just the three of us. I told Eunsol what had happened to me, and I listened to Seojin’s account of today’s events. Well, I couldn’t be 100% certain that Eunsol wasn’t a demonkin… but she had saved Ha Yerin, knowing she was a Child of Mana. And a Child of Mana would naturally be a demonkin’s number one target for elimination.

“What! So you knew Oppa was back and you didn’t say a single word to me?” After hearing the full story, Eunsol glared at Seojin.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.”

“You saw how hard it was for me all this time…!”

“I asked him not to say anything. You can understand, right?”

At my words, she broke into a wide smile. “Of course! I’ll always understand you, Oppa!”

“…I’m suddenly feeling very left out,” Seojin said with a deflated expression. “Anyway, is it true that Mr. Na tried to kidnap the Child of Mana?”

“It is. Do you have any idea why?”

“Hmm, perhaps he intended to take the Child of Mana and make her the next successor. The Magic Tower is stagnant right now.”

Na Daeyong wasn’t a Child of Mana, so he hadn’t been chosen by the Tower. He couldn’t appoint or dismiss administrators, nor could he control the homunculus. He couldn’t even clear the next floor’s trial to open it. Publicly, Na Daeyong was the Tower Master, but in reality, he was nothing more than the 4th-floor administrator. He might have been planning to use a new Child of Mana to cover for his shortcomings.

“That’s ridiculous.” But Eunsol was skeptical. “You think a man like Na Daeyong would try to kidnap someone for a reason like that? If he wanted to install a new Tower Master, he would have stated his reasons and scouted her openly. Why would he resort to such extreme measures?”

“Then what’s your take on it, Sol?”

Eunsol thought for a moment before speaking. “Na Daeyong has a tendency to be obsessed with the position of Tower Master. Even that guy in the glasses would admit that, right?”

Seojin nodded. “To a serious degree.”

“Think about it. Do you really think he would meekly hand over everything he’s worked so hard to build to some kid who was just born with a special trait? He must have been plotting something sinister. For example, he might have been trying to steal the Child of Mana’s power, or…” Her voice turned icy. “He might have been planning to kill her. To maintain his own power.”

I was taken aback.

The idea that Na Daeyong would kill someone for his own greed was still hard for me to accept.

“Sol. Tell me everything you know about Na Daeyong.”

She had tried to protect Ha Yerin from him. It seemed likely she knew more than anyone else.

“What on earth happened to him in the last five years?”

* * *

“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”

In the golden lobby of the Magic Tower’s first floor, Jin Bora sat on a sofa, a laptop open in front of her as she clicked the mouse.

’What should I buy for him? He must feel so lost, coming back after five years…’

“Um, excuse me, Director.” A female mage approached her timidly.

“Ah, from the second floor… Ms. Yuri, right? What are you still doing here so late?”

With a mournful expression, the mage held something out. It was a broken teacup. It wasn’t particularly expensive; you could find one just like it at any market. But it was a cup Jin Bora cherished, one that Yusin had once used frequently.

When it came to anything involving Kim Yusin, Jin Bora’s reactions were so sensitive they bordered on hysterical. One of her colleagues had seriously advised her to just run away from the Magic Tower. Everyone expected she wouldn’t be able to show her face at work tomorrow, but…

“Oh, it’s fine. It’s just a broken teacup,” Jin Bora said with a wave of her hand.

The mage, who had been cowering in anticipation of a scolding, blinked in surprise.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Just clean up the broken pieces and head home.”

“Ah, y-yes, ma’am! I’m so sorry for breaking something you treasured!”

“I said it’s fine. You can go.”

The mage bowed to Jin Bora several times before leaving. Now, she was alone in the first-floor lobby.

“Hmm, hmm, hmm. Ooh, this is pretty!”

She hummed a tune, her finger hovering over the purchase button. Just then…

“You seem to be in a good mood, senior.”

Jin Bora let out a short scream and spun around. Na Daeyong was standing there, shrouded in the shadows.

“Y-you scared me! When did you get here?”

“Just now.” Na Daeyong sat down on the golden sofa.

Jin Bora glanced at his attire and asked, “Your suit is all torn up. Did something happen?”

“Just the usual, cleaning up rift remnants. Nothing major.” He lit a cigarette with a weary expression.

Jin Bora tilted her head. “What kind of hunt leaves your suit in tatters? Did a rank-8 monster show up? I didn’t hear anything about that on the news.”

Na Daeyong didn’t answer.

“What’s wrong? Are you hiding something from me?”

Na Daeyong didn’t answer, simply exhaling a plume of smoke with an unreadable expression.

’…What’s with him?’

Just then, a message notification appeared on Jin Bora’s phone.

—Ms. Bora, where are you right now?

—Mr. Na has caused trouble. Just five minutes ago, he tried to kidnap the Child of Mana and attacked Eunsol and the Tower Master.

—I’m coming to get you. Where are you?

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. ’Does that mean he rushed all the way to Sanggyedong in just ten minutes? Why? For what reason?’

“I’d like to return your question to you.” Na Daeyong’s chilling voice came from behind her. “Are you hiding something from me?”

“…N-no, of course not.”

“I just can’t shake the feeling that something is strange.” Na Daeyong dropped his half-smoked cigarette and slowly rose to his feet. “The Master’s body disappeared, and Specter, which was stored in the museum, is also gone… yet you seem unusually calm. Humming, forgiving someone for breaking your things. Hmm, yes, this isn’t like you at all.”

“What? Is there a law that says I have to be gloomy all day?” Jin Bora said, casually hiding her phone in her palm. “I was just trying to lift my spirits. Everyone said I looked like death, so I was trying to manage my image. Why are you making me out to be strange over something so random?”

“We’ll see about that.” Na Daeyong swung his arm through the air.

Clank!

Metal chains shot up from the floor beneath Jin Bora, wrapping tightly around her body. They quickly enveloped her torso and bound her arms.

“Ugh!”

Her arms were forced above her head. As the chains tightened around her wrists, she cried out and dropped her phone. Na Daeyong bent down, picked it up, and used her fingerprint to unlock it.

“Hmm, a message from Jeong Seojin. He attacked Eunsol and the Tower Master… now this is strange.” A chilling curve formed on Na Daeyong’s lips. “…Because I’m the Tower Master.”

The metal binding her tightened its grip.

“Aaaaaargh!” Jin Bora let out a pained scream. “Wh-what is this?! And when did you learn metal magic…!”

“Don’t change the subject, senior. Just answer my questions.” Na Daeyong lifted her chin with his hand. Before Jin Bora’s terrified eyes, a pair of madness-filled eyes drew close.

“Has he… returned alive?”

* * *

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep