It seemed that the Hye-seong Group party headed to the main residence first.
Although they had been dispatched to guard and instruct Seo Ye-in, since they were visiting the Dang family as guests, it was only proper to meet the head of the household first.
We had done the same.
After some time passed, Ahn Jeong-mi’s group appeared at the training ground under Qyu-uncle’s guidance.
As always, they bowed politely.
“It’s been a while.”
“Butler.”
Seo Ye-in returned the greeting in her usual indifferent yet slightly pleased manner, and the others, including the twins, began introducing themselves as well.
There were four employees dispatched from Hye-seong Group, including Ahn Jeong-mi.
They all looked somewhat familiar, so when I thought back,
Did I see them during summer break?
They were the “victims” who received spicy cookies from Seo Ye-in as a so-called gift when we visited Hye-seong New City.
Whether it was purely out of good intentions is a bit questionable, but at least it shows some level of attention, so they’re probably closer to her than most employees.
Their overall strength is one A-rank and three B-ranks.
The A-rank is, of course, Ahn Jeong-mi, who seems capable of matching one of the twin heroes.
The other three are B-rank, but just barely at that level.
If they worked together, they could probably manage to handle a single A-rank somehow.
Excluding the dragons and the chairman, who cannot move freely, this was a carefully selected elite group.
That alone showed how seriously Hye-seong Group was taking the current situation.
Ahn Jeong-mi also seemed to have something to say about that, as she led Seo Ye-in and me off to one side.
“I asked the head of the family about the current situation in Sichuan.”
Questions like how strong the Blood Cult is, where they are located, and when they might make a move.
These were all reasonable pieces of information to request before cooperating.
From the Dang family’s perspective, having even one more skilled fighter would help reduce casualties among their members, so they willingly shared the information.
“Since it’s such a critical matter, they’re on high alert from multiple angles, but so far, there haven’t been any major clashes.”
A few business sites on the outskirts of the city were attacked, and they only sent experts to investigate the situation.
It could be the Blood Cult, but there was also a strong possibility that another hostile faction was responsible.
“However, based on the continued sightings reported in various places, it seems certain that they’ve infiltrated Sichuan.”
“Have you identified how many elder-level experts they have?”
“Not yet. From the circumstances, it seems there are at most three.”
“That won’t be easy.”
You might wonder if three A-ranks is less than half of the Dang family’s strength.
After all, from what I heard from the Dang twins, they seemed to have five or six.
It’s also possible they deliberately downplayed their numbers to hide their true strength.
Even so, it wasn’t something that could be judged so simply.
I spoke up.
“The Dang family has a lot to protect and a lot to lose.”
“I agree.”
Ahn Jeong-mi nodded.
The Dang family had no choice but to spread out their forces.
They needed to protect business sites across the city and allied sects.
On the other hand, the Blood Cult could concentrate their forces in one place and even launch surprise attacks on poorly defended areas.
“On top of that, they’ve probably made their own preparations.”
Knowing full well that their opponent uses poison and hidden weapons, there’s no way they would just charge in blindly.
There was a high chance they were holding a powerful trump card.
That’s why I said it wouldn’t be easy.
Even with the Dang family’s strength, they couldn’t be 100% confident of victory.
Perhaps because of that, Ahn Jeong-mi looked at Seo Ye-in with a serious expression.
“It’s too dangerous a place for you to stay, young miss. How about returning even now?”
“I don’t want to go.”
Seo Ye-in shook her head firmly.
Ahn Jeong-mi seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking again.
“Then I’ll relay the chairman’s message.”
“……”
“He said, ‘I expected you would be stubborn. However, that stubbornness could put not only yourself but also the talented members of Hye-seong Group in danger, so you must remember that you will bear responsibility for what follows’.”
“…Okay.”
Seo Ye-in slowly nodded.
Then Ahn Jeong-mi raised three fingers.
“You must also accept three conditions. If you refuse, I’ve been instructed to bring you back by force.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“You must accept them.”
It was the firmest she had sounded so far.
Depending on the answer, it seemed she was truly ready to drag her back by force.
At that, Seo Ye-in tilted her head with a displeased expression, and Ahn Jeong-mi took out a bracelet from her inventory.
It had a thin golden band with a wing-shaped ornament attached, and despite its sleek appearance, it seemed to contain immense power.
“They say it was crafted for you by the Heavenly Dragon.”
“Godfather?”
The Heavenly Dragon Jupiter.
Like the Underworld Dragon, he was a guardian of the Meteor Dragon and an S-rank dragon.
From the sound of it, he was also Seo Ye-in’s godfather.
Ahn Jeong-mi nodded.
“Yes. The first condition is that you must wear this bracelet and never take it off.”
If it was made by an S-rank dragon, it was obviously no ordinary item.
Even the Immortal Pot was a joint creation between the Underworld Dragon and Seo Ye-in’s father.
Curious, I checked the item description along with her, but—
[??? (S)]
▷ ???
Aside from the rank, everything else seemed to be deliberately hidden.
Seo Ye-in tilted her head a few times before asking,
“What does it do?”
“It activates when your life is in imminent danger. Other than that, I wasn’t told anything.”
“……”
“This is just my guess, but I believe it’s some kind of escape-type ability.”
“…Only me?”
She basically meant, “If only I escape, what about the rest of you?”
Ahn Jeong-mi, apparently fluent in that same unspoken language, immediately understood and answered calmly.
“If it ensures your safety, that is enough.”
“……”
Seo Ye-in stared at the bracelet for a while.
Then she looked at Ahn Jeong-mi, then at me, and then toward the Dang twins and Dang Gyu-young.
Soon, with a slightly dissatisfied expression, she tried to hand the bracelet back, but I took it and fastened it onto her wrist.
“Just wear it.”
“I won’t escape alone.”
“That’s just the butler’s assumption. It could have a different effect. Maybe it lets you use an ultimate move twice or something.”
“……”
“It’s better to have at least one more safety measure. Especially if it’s S-rank.”
“……”
“Everything will be fine, so just keep it on.”
Seo Ye-in still looked displeased, but she didn’t take off the bracelet.
Ahn Jeong-mi watched this exchange with eyes full of admiration, as if she were observing a demonstration by a seasoned sloth trainer.
When she noticed the attention on her, she cleared her throat and spoke.
“The second condition concerns going out. If you happen to leave the Dang family estate, we will always accompany you.”
“We” probably referred to the four members of Hye-seong Group.
Given that the Blood Cult could appear at any time, having an escort was a perfectly reasonable condition.
To begin with, there wasn’t much intention of going out anyway.
So Seo Ye-in answered without much hesitation.
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll explain the third and final condition.”
Ahn Jeong-mi opened her inventory again and began rummaging through it.
What she took out was a rolled parchment scroll, a familiar item I had seen often.
A trait scroll.
It seemed she had brought it to supplement Seo Ye-in’s movement skill or trait.
“You must commit yourself fully to training. Since you’re staying here even with several conditions attached, I hope you won’t waste your time.”
“……”
“Young miss.”
“……”
“Young miss?”
“……”
Seo Ye-in quietly averted her gaze.
It seemed the word “fully” was what bothered her.
I could practically feel her motivation gauge dropping all the way down.
At that, Ahn Jeong-mi once again asked for help with a glance, and I nodded in response before speaking to Seo Ye-in.
“That’s the last condition. If you don’t do it, you’ll have to go home.”
“No……”
“And haven’t you been dissatisfied with how slowly you walk?”
“……Blink.”
“You’ll have to give that up and at least walk quickly.”
“……That’s true.”
I could feel her motivation gauge, which had hit rock bottom, slowly starting to rise.
I continued.
“Isn’t it better to finish it quickly and rest, rather than dragging it out?”
“……Finish it.”
“You’ll have to give it your all, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s tell the butler as well.”
Seo Ye-in faced Ahn Jeong-mi and declared,
“I’ll do my best.”
“……Very well. I’ll take that as you accepting all the conditions.”
Ahn Jeong-mi nodded with satisfaction.
Soon after, she handed us a tightly rolled parchment.
[Quest Scroll – Sailboat]
Sailboat.
A trait that allows you to travel farther by using the flow of air currents.
Featherstep generates turbulence just by being activated, so the synergy is particularly strong.
That meant even in an environment without wind, Seo Ye-in could still secure sufficient movement speed on her own.
And if wind magic were added on top of that, an even greater synergy could be expected.
“But you have to clear a quest.”
“Mhmm.”
In the case of the [Blank Trait Scroll] I used recently, the trait could be learned immediately upon use.
On the other hand, things like the [Quest Scroll – Marksmanship] Seo Ye-in used before required completing a quest to obtain the trait.
[Sailboat] was the latter.
So just as Seo Ye-in was about to use the quest scroll, I took out the “red book” from my inventory.
The Challenge Book.
“When it comes to quests, you can’t leave this out.”
“……”
Seo Ye-in turned her gaze away, as if pretending not to see it.
I pushed the book toward her again.
“Didn’t you just promise? That you’d do your best?”
“……No.”
“Lying isn’t good. I remember everything.”
Seo Ye-in tried to quietly step back, but I blocked her by grabbing her shoulder.
Then, with a broad smile, I asked again.
“You said you’d do your best, right?”
“……Already doing my best.”
“No. You can do much better than that, you strong and steadfast sloth.”
“……”
It seemed Seo Ye-in realized there was no longer any way to escape.
She soon spoke in a resigned tone.
“……I’ll give you a massage too.”
“Of course you should.”
It looked like she was trying to salvage at least that much, but what was a massage worth?
We were talking about doing a challenge.
So when I answered briskly, Seo Ye-in used the quest scroll with a very, extremely, unmistakably reluctant expression.
Fwaaa!
A bright light scattered.
Smiling just as brightly, I held out the Challenge Book.
“Shall we use our red book too?”
“……I don’t like the red book.”
With even more reluctance than before, Seo Ye-in used the red book.
She might even be regretting why she ever drew this in the first place.
[Would you like to use the ‘Challenge Book’?]
[Accept / Decline]
Needless to say, now that we’d come this far, there was only one choice: “Accept”
Soon, the quest updated and Seo Ye-in slowly read through the contents.
Then she slumped and said,
“……I want to go home.”
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