「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚.」

The joint training room of the 4th training ground, where I had stopped by to check on the situation.

I couldn’t help but be surprised as I watched the Azure Dragon and Cheong Juhwa, who had been growing closer lately.

「𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙯𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩.」

That was the setting, and Elder Cheong, whom I had met before, had also said the same thing.

Perhaps he had a better impression of her father, Cheong Sa-woon, than I thought, or maybe he simply got along well with Cheong Juhwa.

“. . .Why are you staring like that?”

“No, it’s just that it’s strange. You two were pretty stiff with each other last time I saw you.”

『You’re talking nonsense. It’s just that it was hard to find someone who was up to the task until now.』

Now, their banter even reminded me of a father and daughter.

「𝙄𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙤-𝙮𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙯𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙞𝙢.」

Cheong Do-yool needed the support of the Azure Dragon, the clan’s divine beast, in order to keep the Blue-White Sword-wielding Cheong So-ha in check.

However, now that the Azure Dragon had disappeared, Cheong Do-yool would be the one most affected by this incident.

After discreetly checking the atmosphere within the Cheong family, it seemed that an ominous mood had taken root, fueled by Cheong Do-yool’s qualities and the Azure Dragon’s absence.

「𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙤-𝙮𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」

He can either find the Azure Dragon and seek its cooperation again, or he can shift the blame onto someone else.

And I could predict that Cheong Do-yool would once again put Cheong Juhwa on trial before the family as the root of all evil.

「𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙯𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝙪𝙝𝙬𝙖 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝.」

Cheong Sa-woon, who had broken the clan’s taboo, and his daughter Cheong Juhwa, the only survivor after her parents were driven away.

There couldn’t be a better scapegoat to blame for the Azure Dragon’s disappearance.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙤, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙯𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙤-𝙮𝙤𝙤𝙡’𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢.」

But what would happen if, in the midst of putting Cheong Juhwa on trial, it was revealed that the Azure Dragon had chosen Cheong Juhwa?

Cheong Do-yool’s faction would lose their legitimacy in an instant, and they wouldn’t be able to touch Cheong Juhwa with any excuse.

For now, that was the turning point in the Cheong family’s impending division that I needed to protect Cheong Juhwa.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙞𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚.」

After all, the current Cheong Juhwa had taken a completely different path from the original story, so she couldn’t rely on the protagonist, Yoo Ha-on, to save her like in the original.

In that case, I figured I might as well take action in advance and nip this crisis in the bud.

「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙. . . . . .」

But this is the best I can come up with. I’ll have to deal with everything else as it comes.

Cheong Juhwa, who was standing next to me, muttered as she watched me lost in thought as usual.

“You’re doing it again. You seem to have a lot on your mind these days.”

“It’s just that there are a few things on my mind.”

“Take it easy. They say you’ll lose your hair if you think too much.”

Although she pretended not to, I could sense that she was worried about me, so I let out a chuckle.

『Don’t laugh and listen carefully. No matter how perfect a person is, they’re bound to make mistakes if they don’t have peace of mind.』

“. . .Yes. Thank you for your concern.”

I’ll say it again, these two had gotten unnecessarily close.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

̇ȧ̇𝘸𝙚𝔟𝐬𝘵𝙤𝙧𝚒𝐞𝚜.ċ̇𝙤ᴍ

Although I had been worried about various things, it would probably be a while before Cheong Do-yool actually made his move.

That’s why I returned to my daily routine and started to focus on my studies.

“Ugh. I still haven’t gotten used to it, being under Shin So-ra.”

During a brief break between classes, Jung Han-sol and I sat on a bench, each holding a drink in our hands, and started to chat idly.

“You’ll probably move up again next time.”

“Well, that’s true, but. . . . . . .”

Swish.

Thud.

Jung Han-sol lightly tossed his can into the trash and made a basket. As he stretched, he suddenly remembered something and said to me.

“Speaking of which, are you close with Seo Ji-an?”

“Seo Ji-an? We’re not distant, but why?”

“No, it’s just that you two seem to be together a lot.”

It was true that we saw each other more often after we both moved up to Class A.

There was also information that we needed to share, so it might have looked that way to others.

“Wow, now that I think about it, there’s no one you don’t know, even if you pretend not to. Seo Ji-an is such a high-class lady that it’s hard to even talk to her.”

“That’s just her appearance. She’s actually quite friendly when you talk to her.”

“. . .Is that so?”

As if on cue, Seo Ji-an happened to be nearby, so I gave her a small wave.

“. . .What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking a short break. I got what you sent me yesterday.”

“Let me know if you need anything else. Also, I’ve been visiting the underground facility a lot lately, so come by sometime when you have time.”

“Oh, right. I’ll visit you soon.”

As I saw Seo Ji-an off, I turned to Jung Han-sol and said,

“See.”

“No, but something’s weird. Is that really the Seo Ji-an I know?”

“. . . . . . .”

Could it be that Seo Ji-an was surprisingly cold to others? Jung Han-sol’s reaction was so intense that I briefly wondered if that was the case.

“. . .That’s strange. She’s not that kind of person.”

“That’s enough with the weird comments. Let’s get going.”

I got up from my seat first and headed to the classroom where my next class was.

As I was walking, someone who was rushing past me bumped into my arm and dropped something.

Clank!

“Oh.”

I picked up the item that had fAlan to the ground. It was a strangely shaped wristwatch.

I dusted it off and returned it to its owner.

“You dropped this.”

“Oh, thank you. By any chance. . . . . . aren’t you Senior Han Kang-yoon?”

Blonde curly hair and blue eyes.

He was undoubtedly Johan, the exchange student from Class 1-A who had come from overseas and was on the same team as me on Yeongwol Island.

“Long time no see.”

“I learned a lot from watching your battle back then. I’d like to spar with you sometime if I get the chance.”

“You want to spar? You can call me whenever you want if you need to.”

Johan was also a supporting character who often hung out with Yoo Ha-on’s group, so it wouldn’t hurt to give him some advice.

And to be honest, I was personally quite interested in him.

After that brief conversation, I followed Jung Han-sol, who was urging me to hurry up.

Because of that, I didn’t notice.

The look of bewilderment on Johan’s face as he received the item from me, as if he had seen something that shouldn’t be seen.