𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟏
“. . .A few days ago, there was a meeting at our family home. They said they would soon be appointing me as an elder.”
Hwang Ji-hak, who had been sitting on the bench and looking absent-minded, suddenly spoke to me in a low voice.
Hwang Ji-hak is currently in his early to mid-50s.
Although he is somewhat lacking, considering his future growth, he is at a level where he would not be out of place as an elder.
Perhaps there had been some drastic changes within the family due to the recent Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident.
When I nodded in slight surprise, Hwang Ji-hak calmly told me the following:
“We will soon be leaving the academy.”
“. . . . . .”
“At that time, I would like you to lend me your strength.”
“Me?”
That was an unexpected offer. As a rising star in the family, Hwang Ji-hak must have many talented people flocking to him.
It was hard to think of a reason why he would seek me out, passing over all of them.
“I had originally thought so, but this incident has convinced me. We must unite the family’s power without any more unnecessary conflict.”
He was certainly right. In order to face the upcoming crisis, the first thing we needed to do was to strengthen our internal unity.
Hwang Ji-hak seemed determined to do it with his own hands.
“It is possible if you are there. And then, someday after that happens. . . . . . .”
Hwang Ji-hak trailed off, giving me a meaningful look.
I could not fully grasp his intentions, but I could tell that there was at least some goodwill and trust toward me in them.
“That’s the gist of it. It can’t be bad for you either, right?”
That’s right.
My goal is to overcome all the events and variables of Hell difficulty and reach the ending.
In the process, the power of the Three Great Houses would be essential.
「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. . . . . . . . .」
It was a proposal that had not been in my plans from the beginning.
I opened my mouth to decline without even giving it much thought.
And then I hesitated for a moment, thinking of something that had just come to mind.
「. . . . . . . . . . . .」
Why am I not leaving the academy?
It was just because I felt like I had to.
Well, the protagonist Yoo Ha-on is here, and the academy is the setting for the whole story.
But is that really the case?
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been feeling down lately, but I have a slightly different thought now.
Maybe I’m not really needed here anymore.
Maybe it would be more beneficial to the world if I were to exercise my discretion elsewhere, rather than staying at the academy and hovering around Yoo Ha-on, getting involved in events.
I had been obsessed with the title of exorcist and all that it entailed, but there were no real restrictions on my actions here.
I could go wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted.
It was really a matter of course.
“I didn’t mean to burden you. You can decide whatever you want.”
As Hwang Ji-hak said that, I thought long and hard.
I considered all the possibilities, including the external ones I had not considered before, and calculated the pros and cons.
And then, I quietly came to a conclusion.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do that.”
I had many concerns, but there was no real reason.
I simply wanted to stay here for now, with Yoo Ha-on and her party.
“. . .I see. I understand.”
“But if there’s anything else I can help you with, I’ll cooperate anytime.”
“The same goes for me. I hope we can maintain a good relationship in the future.”
With that, Hwang Ji-hak left, and I sat on the bench for a little while longer, thinking about the decision I had just made.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙞𝙩.」
I was more drawn to that side. That was my honest answer right now.
And coincidentally, just as I was coming to that conclusion, I happened to run into one of the people involved. It was Yoo Ha-on.
“. . .You seem to like this place.”
“Not really, but it’s easy to organize my thoughts here.”
There are not many people around, and it’s relatively quiet. It was the perfect place to focus on something, if not for any other purpose.
Yoo Ha-on must have felt the same way, because she sat down on the seat next to me with a small sigh.
And then she started talking to me.
“I had a strange experience.”
“What happened?”
“When I was fighting a yokai called Horongkyo before going to the Cheong family. . . . . . . . . .”
Horongkyo is definitely the S-rank yokai that appeared on the other side when I subjugated Yusu-bi.
Yoo Ha-on’s party was also part of that subjugation force, so she must have been talking about that time.
“Horongkyo mentioned my parents.”
“. . . . . .”
That was certainly strange. It meant that a yokai, of all things, had mentioned her birth parents, whom even she did not know.
However, I soon realized the connection and understood the situation.
「𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚.」
How many people really know the true identity of Yoo Ha-on’s father, Yoo Baek?
I don’t know, but it’s probably very few. That’s how special he was.
「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」
With that thought in mind, I listened to Yoo Ha-on’s words.
“It said it recognized me at a glance and was going to avenge its grudge from that time, and that this was all it could do. . . . . . . . . . It was all gibberish.”
“. . . . . .”
“But thanks to that, I learned one thing. Yoo Baek. That’s my father’s name.”
By that point, it was clear that the yokai Horongkyo had definitely encountered Yoo Baek before.
After hesitating for a moment, Yoo Ha-on turned her gaze to me and cautiously brought up the main topic.
“You know about my parents, don’t you?”
“. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”
Well, yes.
I had heard most of it through the original work, and Han Kang-yoon’s father, Ju-un, was also closely related to Yoo Baek.
“I think I’m ready to accept the past now. So I’m planning to follow in my parents’ footsteps soon.”
“. . .I see.”
“Can you come with me then?”
Yoo Ha-on didn’t ask me anything more than that.
Maybe she wanted to find out for herself, or maybe she was just putting me off for later.
But whatever it was, my answer was already decided.
“. . .I don’t know all the details either. But if you don’t mind.”
“Thank you.”
Since Yoo Ha-on is the protagonist of this world, she will find out eventually.
The only difference is that it’s happening right now.
I made an appointment to meet Yoo Ha-on soon, and then I got up from the bench.
Feeling the relentless passage of time.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Time passed quickly.
As the new semester began, life at the academy became very busy, but nothing really caught my eye.
In some ways, that was only natural.
I am now just one of the graduating students who may leave at any time, and there is nothing more for me to do at Cheonghwa Academy.
In the meantime, people began to leave our side one by one.
“Thank you for everything. Next time, let’s meet in a higher position.”
“You’re being weird. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again anyway.”
Hwang Ji-hak, who had graduated early from the academy and returned to his family, as he had said he would.
And Guilford, who had also chosen to graduate in order to pursue his own path.
Their two empty seats, to be honest, felt closer than I had expected.
“Doesn’t it feel really empty? I didn’t feel this way when I was in middle school.”
I nodded slightly at Jung Han-sol’s sigh.
Unlike middle school, where our next path was set, we now had to choose where we would go by ourselves.
That difference in feeling must be the cause.
“Well, those two had already made up their minds. It’s not strange to feel a bit distant.”
“I guess so when you put it that way. . . . . . . . . .”
Jung Han-sol frowned and kept rubbing his chin as if he had a lot on his mind.
With his friends leaving one by one, he must have a lot to think about.
And I had to think about it too.
About how I was going to move forward from now on.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩. . . . . . . . . .」
The time when everything will be revealed is fast approaching.
I exchanged some more small talk with Jung Han-sol for a while, and then I went to meet Seo Ji-an, who had contacted me.
She seemed to have been busy for a while, but she must have had something important to tell me.
As I expected, Seo Ji-an had some very big news for me when I visited her.
“I talked to my brother. I’m going to kill him soon.”
“. . .Is it definite?”
“Yes. There’s no turning back now. It will all be over with this one blow.”
Seo Ji-an’s declaration of war against Seo Tae-hu, the owner of Dae-jin Industries.
The moment that I had thought was still far in the future was suddenly approaching.
“When?”
“I can’t give you a definite answer because I have to see how things go. At least two weeks from now. I’ll let you know when the day is set.”
That gives me some time to spare. At the same time, calculations began to race through my head.
「. . . . . .𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩.」
The outline of my future actions was gradually taking shape.
First, I will find out the truth about Yoo Baek with Yoo Ha-on, and then I will intervene in the succession battle of Dae-jin Industries as I see fit.
And then, after making all possible preparations, I will wait for the final Night Parade of a Hundred Demons to come.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Not really for now. It’s something I have to decide for myself anyway.”
However, after hesitating for a moment, Seo Ji-an added one last thing.
“. . .But if you’re by my side, I might feel a little more at ease. It’s a big fight after all.”
“Of course I’ll do that.”
Since I had put everything I had worked for on the line, even the cool-headed Seo Ji-an seemed to be quite nervous.
She had previously promised to take over Dae-jin Industries and cooperate fully with the upcoming crisis.
Of course, I couldn’t just stand by and watch from afar.
「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.」
It’s not just about beating up yokai.
In order to deal with them effectively and protect the country and its citizens, the power of money like that was essential.
At my words, Seo Ji-an nodded slightly, looking subtly pleased.
“I may not be able to contact you for a while.”
“I understand. I’ll prepare on my own in the meantime.”
The things I had only imagined were approaching one by one.
That much time had passed, and that much had changed.
However, despite all that, my goal remained the same as it had been from the beginning.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚.」
To successfully complete the ending in this Hell difficulty world.
At least for now, I didn’t need to think about anything else.
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