𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟗
𝙖𝙬ᴇ𝔟𝐬𝘵𝙤𝙧𝚒𝐞𝚜.ċ̇𝙤ᴍ
After the presentation was over, a lot of people came to me as I expected.
To be honest, there were so many people that it was quite burdensome.
“Do you want our support? We’ll back you up so you don’t suffer.”
“Why don’t you join our team after graduation? We have a project in mind. . . . . . .”
“We’ve been highly impressed with Mr. Kang-yoon’s potential. Please take a look at these prepared materials. . . . . . .”
There were many offers, but since I only had Myung-yul and Hwang Jin-chul in mind, I politely declined them.
In the midst of all this, there was a group of people who approached me, weaving through the people.
The insignia of the Three Great Houses, the Cheong family.
Their identity was all too clear.
Out of the four people, the middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader approached me and opened his mouth.
“Nice to meet you. You probably know, but let me introduce myself. I’m Cheong Do-wook of the Cheong family.”
“. . . It’s an honor to meet you.”
I greeted him, but to be honest, I was quite taken aback. No matter how much I thought about it, Cheong Do-wook of the Cheong family was a name I was hearing for the first time.
Cheong Do-wook, perhaps sensing my feelings, conveyed his business in a rather assertive manner.
“I’ll be blunt. We want to take the ritual technique you showed us at the presentation.”
“By ‘we,’ do you mean the Cheong family?”
“Yes. I judged that the barrier technique is valuable enough. Of course, we have prepared appropriate compensation.”
It was an offer from the Three Great Houses. Other students would have accepted it without hesitation, but not me.
“It’s an honorable offer, but I’m sorry. I don’t think that’s possible.”
“. . . Why not?”
“Simply because it’s not a ritual technique I created to hand over to someone else.”
In the not-so-distant future, I would be in a position to confront the Cheong family. I had no reason to do them any favors now.
“That’s a foolish choice. You’d better reconsider.”
“. . . . . . .”
Even though I had politely declined, Cheong Do-wook showed no signs of backing down.
I could tell from our brief conversation. This was the kind of person who would act as they pleased, backed by the prestige of a great family.
Moreover, this was Cheonghwa Academy, which was practically a symbol of the Cheong family, so Cheong Do-wook spoke even more arrogantly.
“I’ll give you one more chance. It seems like you’re not affiliated with any other family, so I hope you don’t come to regret this.”
Just as I was about to borrow Cheong So-ha’s name because I was getting annoyed, the sound of footsteps came from behind him.
Thud.
Thud.
“Quite a commotion.”
It was Myung-yul, the hero of the first Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident, who was my first target.
“You are. . . . . . .”
“Hmph. I understand you’re curious, but do you think it’s right to just hit on a young man like that?”
“. . . I didn’t particularly intend to.”
Although he was not from the Three Great Houses and was a retired veteran, his reputation as a former special-grade exorcist was not something they could take lightly.
In the end, Cheong Do-wook clicked his tongue and left with his subordinates.
“Thank you, sir.”
“What? I was just watching and it got on my nerves. Aren’t you surprised?”
“Yes. It was just a bit awkward.”
Myung-yul, who had been stroking his beard for a while, approached me.
“Your barrier technique. It was very impressive.”
“You flatter me. If Myung-yul-nim had been serious, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to hold on for even a moment.”
“That’s flattery. I don’t have that kind of power anymore. It was a fairly well-developed ritual technique to begin with, so even in my prime, I wouldn’t have been able to break out of it right away.”
Myung-yul, who had given me almost rave reviews, then asked me a question.
“So, did you really create that ritual technique?”
The question was directed at me, but Myung-yul’s gaze was on Arietta, who was snacking on the side. Arietta answered with her usual expressionless face.
“Yes. I learned it from my junior. It’s too early for my junior to be teaching it to someone else since he couldn’t even use the ritual technique himself.”
“. . . If you say so, then it must be true. I apologize for my suspicious behavior.”
I paused for a moment at their friendly conversation and asked a question.
“Excuse me, but have you two known each other before?”
“Of course we do. She’s my disciple.”
For a brief moment, my head couldn’t keep up. So, to clarify, Myung-yul, who I knew, was Arietta’s teacher.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠?」
I really just found out. And maybe this has something to do with Arietta’s change of heart in the original work.
Leave a Reply