Late that evening.
Hong Yeon-hwa was lost in deep thought.
That thought being—
…Should I go hang out? In Kim Ho’s room?
After all, when a friend comes to visit, isn’t it only natural to stay up late together, chat, have a midnight snack, and keep hanging out?
And finally…
…Kim Ho pillow!
To get a good night’s sleep with a comfortable pillow and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning.
On the other hand, she was hesitating.
…Is it really okay to go?
Inside Hong Yeon-hwa’s head, a debate broke out between the extreme Hong Woof-Woofs and the moderate Hong Puppy-Puppys.
The extremes spoke up first.
– Number One and Number Two aren’t here right now.
– Which means this is a golden opportunity to have the Kim Ho pillow all to yourself!
– If you miss it, who knows when you’ll get another chance!
– That’s right, that’s right!
The moderates calmly countered.
– People should know how to be satisfied.
– Greed invites trouble.
– Wasn’t everything that happened today already enough?
She had met Kim Ho again after a long time, eaten a meal sitting right beside him, and had even experienced the lovers-only event of “Ahh~.”
“Hehehehehehe.”
With her face buried in her pillow, Hong Yeon-hwa rolled around across her bed.
But the extremes showed no sign of giving up.
– Such complacent thinking!
– Don’t you realize how far behind the frontrunners you already are?!
Come to think of it, they had a point.
Kim Ho would only be staying at the Ruby Magic Tower for about a week.
Meanwhile, he had spent several times longer at the Dang Clan.
The same went for the time he had spent with Seo Ye-in and Tang Gyu-young.
The extremes pressed their case even harder.
– And it’s not just the frontrunners you need to worry about!
– Before long, Number Four, Song Cheon-hye, might join as well!
– What if she ends up overtaking you?
“……!”
The smile instantly vanished from Hong Yeon-hwa’s face.
She could tolerate a lot of things, but not that.
Even the moderates seemed to agree, falling silent.
Seizing the opportunity, the extremes shouted,
– You need to close the gap with those ahead of you and widen the gap with those behind you!
– In other words, you need to make your move right now!
But the moderates were not so easily defeated and launched a decisive counterattack.
– Making a move is fine.
– But what exactly are you planning to do when you get there?
– Are you going to say, “Let’s sleep together”?
This time, the extremes fell silent.
So focused had they been on the goal of obtaining the Kim Ho pillow that they had neglected to think about the process.
The moderates continued.
– Being too aggressive can actually make you less attractive.
– Instead of closing the gap, you might end up widening it.
– Sometimes patience is a virtue.
Watching the debate come to an end, Hong Yeon-hwa slowly nodded.
…I’ll hold back today.
Kim Ho was staying for about a week anyway.
Which meant there would be plenty more opportunities for the Kim Ho pillow.
Missing one day out of that week wouldn’t be a problem.
…Or so she thought.
About five minutes later, Hong Yeon-hwa found herself turning a doorknob.
Maybe I’ll just go say hi…?
At least tell him good night? That should be okay, right?
After quickly rationalizing her decision, she stepped out of her room.
“…….”
Hong Yeon-hwa repeatedly glanced around.
The Ruby Magic Tower, where she normally walked around without a second thought, suddenly felt like someone else’s territory now that her mindset had changed.
Because of that, her movements became as cautious as a spy in an espionage movie.
As she crept along, a sudden sense of unease struck her, and she quickly hid behind a corner.
After peeking around to check her surroundings, she started moving again.
But the anxiety kept returning, and each time it did, Hong Yeon-hwa would hide for a while before inching forward once more.
At this rate, I’ll be out here all night.
What would be the point if she finally reached Kim Ho’s room only for it to be morning already?
Hong Yeon-hwa decided to be bolder.
It’s my Magic Tower in the first place. What’s wrong with walking around wherever I want?
Not long after she started striding forward with confidence—
“Hong Yeon-hwa!”
“Eek?!”
She was so startled that she gasped and immediately hiccupped.
Slowly turning her head, she found her older sister standing there.
Of all people, she had run into the worst possible person.
Hong Ye-hwa looked at her suspiciously and asked,
“What are you doing wandering around here at this hour?”
“What about you?”
“I was taking a walk before going to bed.”
Now that she had become the next Ruby Magic Tower Master, she was apparently making casual inspections to see if anything was out of order around the tower.
Even if the role had been forced on her half against her will, she seemed to be taking it seriously enough.
Hong Yeon-hwa nodded and said,
“I’m just… taking a walk too…?”
“You? Since when do you do that?”
“It’s just… today… I can’t sleep…?”
Of course, Hong Ye-hwa wasn’t about to fall for such a flimsy excuse.
Just from her behavior alone, it was obvious she was lying through her teeth.
Based on the location of her sister’s room and where she was standing now, it wasn’t hard to predict her intended route.
And at the end of that route were the guest rooms.
The moment the realization hit, Hong Ye-hwa’s face twisted dramatically.
“You little—”
Molten lava began bubbling furiously in her palm.
Immediately taking a defensive stance and backing away, Hong Yeon-hwa protested,
“No, why?! No, why?! Why no?!”
“You. No. Absolutely not.”
“What?! What did I do?!”
“You’re trying to go to Kim Ho’s room, aren’t you?!”
Hong Yeon-hwa flinched and quickly looked away.
“I’m… not?”
“I already tolerated all the disgusting stuff I had to watch today, but this crosses the line.”
“I said that’s not what I’m… doing…?”
“You’re going to barge into a guy’s room in the middle of the night?!”
Booom!
Flames and lava collided and exploded.
Barely managing to defend herself, Hong Yeon-hwa waved her hands frantically.
“Don’t hit me! Don’t hit me!”
“You’d better go back while I’m still asking nicely.”
“You already hit me.”
“Go.”
“Fine…”
With a face full of dissatisfaction, Hong Yeon-hwa trudged away.
Then she glanced back toward her sister.
Even from a distance, Hong Ye-hwa was still glaring daggers at her.
The hand gestures and exaggerated lip movements were a bonus.
– I. Am. Watching. You.
“Ugh, seriously…”
As far as Hong Yeon-hwa was concerned, she had no choice.
All she could do was return quietly to her room.
That didn’t mean she intended to give up.
Wasn’t it human nature to want something even more when you were told not to do it?
What, is she going to stand guard all night?
Her sister needed to sleep too.
Sooner or later, she would have to leave.
So Hong Yeon-hwa patiently waited for her opportunity.
Then she cracked her door open just a little and peeked outside.
…She’s gone!
Just as expected, it seemed her sister had finally gone to bed.
However, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that her sister was hiding somewhere nearby.
Letting her guard down would be a mistake.
Hong Yeon-hwa moved faster than before, but still maintained a healthy degree of caution.
Whenever she came across an area with nowhere to hide or where she was too exposed, she even used [Blink] to skip past it.
Before she knew it, the goal was right in front of her.
After one final check to make sure her sister wasn’t lurking nearby, Hong Yeon-hwa hurried over to Kim Ho’s door.
Then she carefully raised her hand and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Um… are you… asleep…?”
Knock, knock, knock.
But no answer came.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression gradually drooped.
Did I come too late?
I guess I should just go back and sleep.
With that thought, she turned to leave.
At that exact moment—
The firmly shut guest-room door slowly opened.
…So he’s not asleep!
Hong Yeon-hwa cautiously stepped inside.
The next instant, all the color drained from her face.
Standing there were Kim Ho, wearing an awkward smile—
And her older sister.
With her face twisted like a wrathful demon and molten lava blazing from her entire body.
“You’re right, he’s not asleep, you little brat…!”
“Eek…!”
Booom! Boom! Boom!
The once-quiet Ruby Magic Tower echoed endlessly with explosions.
***
Leaving aside the minor incident from the previous night.
The next morning, Hong Yeon-hwa and I had breakfast together with Mother Hong.
The topic of conversation was what had happened at the Dang Clan or more specifically, the clash with the Blood Cult.
After listening to the story, Mother Hong slowly nodded.
“So something like that happened. We’ve been dealing with something similar on our side. Not the Blood Cult, though. Dragons.”
Apparently, not long after the Fixed Zone Tournament ended, a dragon had suddenly flown in and launched a bombardment attack.
Then it happened again before winter break began.
Each time, the Hong couple and the Ruby Magic Tower had joined forces to drive it off.
However, Mother Hong did not look particularly optimistic.
“The problem is that it’s tied our hands. It’s difficult to predict their next move.”
Every dragon operated according to its own whims and logic.
Some harbored outright hostility toward humans, while countless others saw them as nothing more than part of their entertainment.
Either way, dropping a few large-scale spells was hardly any trouble for them.
For those on the receiving end, however, there was no way of knowing when the dragons might come flying in again.
If they let their guard down and left their posts for even a moment, the damage could be catastrophic, so they had no choice but to keep their strongest forces on constant standby.
Mother Hong continued.
“The other Magic Towers are in a similar situation. It’s even worse for those without an S-Rank.”
A situation where they could do nothing but remain on the defensive.
I asked,
“I assume you don’t intend to keep taking these attacks forever.”
“That’s why the Guild Alliance is already moving. They’re trying to locate the dragons’ base.”
Once that happened, they intended to shift from defense to offense and launch a campaign to subjugate the dragons.
Killing even a few of them would likely make the rest think twice.
Of course, there was no way the dragons had failed to anticipate that.
Mother Hong said,
“I think their goal is to buy time. While they prepare something else.”
“Something else…?”
Instead of answering, Mother Hong brought up a notification message.
[Higher Rank (EX) will be unlocked.]
“Because once it’s achieved, it can shatter the balance of power in an instant.”
She added that the scattered attacks taking place all over the place might themselves be part of that preparation.
It was a reasonable possibility, and I nodded.
“Do you have something in mind?”
“The conclusion is already clear. We need to start running too.”
If they could reach EX Rank before the dragons or catch up immediately afterward, they would be able to restore the balance.
Mother Hong then turned her gaze toward me.
“And we need insurance. In case we fail.”
“……..”
“I don’t think Yeon-hwa is the only reason you came to the Ruby Magic Tower.”
“She is the main reason.”
“And the other reason?”
“Just as you suspect.”
A smile curved across Mother Hong’s lips.
“You’re still young, but you possess tremendous potential. You’re more than worth investing in.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“And if I invest in you, it’ll help Yeon-hwa as well.”
“That’s true too.”
“Then tell me what you want.”
After a brief pause, I answered.
“I’d like to ask for a demonstration of your magic.”
As the former Master of the Magic Tower Association, she had likely mastered not only non-attribute magic but a wide variety of spells.
I expected there would be far more for me to copy from her than from the Ruby Magic Tower Master.
And there was a high probability that her rank was S as well.
A hint of interest appeared in Mother Hong’s eyes.
“You’re not asking me to teach you, but to give a demonstration?”
“In terms of the end result, it’ll be much the same.”
“What would you like to see?”
“By any chance, do you possess any Sapphire-type ice magic?”
Depending on the spell, it could prove even more useful than [Ice Wall].
It would also have excellent synergy with [Diamond Freeze], which I had learned recently.
But Mother Hong shook her head.
“Unfortunately, I’ve never had any connection to Sapphire.”
That was more or less what I had expected.
If she had possessed ice magic, there was no way Hong Yeon-hwa’s Aqua Flame would have remained stagnant for so long.
Then, however, the corner of Mother Hong’s lips curled upward.
“But I do have this.”
She rummaged through her inventory and pulled out a tightly rolled parchment.
[Magic Scroll – Summon Glacier (S)]
Leave a Reply