Vivian was now a proper member of our party; at least, for now. The contract and her good behavior combined to make the kids relate a little better with her, but that was it. These kids had been with each other since the Rite of Pa.s.sage, so they felt completely at ease around themselves. The same couldn't be said for their interactions with Vivian.

Sometimes I wondered, Are the kids being hara.s.sed with all this training? Sometimes, when the kids start their early morning mana training routine, I'd see a female silhouette crouching in a corner, sobbing silently. Whenever I try to approach her, she would wipe her tears and retreat whilst s.h.i.+vering, and that made me feel really bad.

It was easy for me to guess why this happened often, but I thought it was best not to interfere. After all, in this world, some issues suffered by ladies could only be understood and dealt with by other ladies, so I didn't interfere; however, I knew it would be worse for the kids, seeing Vivian like that.

However, unbeknownst to Vivian, whenever she ran off, An Sol would gaze at her retreating figure with sympathy, while at the same time, Yoo-Jung would glance at her with a complex gaze. It was comforting to see that the kids weren't completely blind to her plight.

Sometimes, even An Hyun would express concern about the situation while I tutored him. Yoo-Jung was really smart, and not many things could elude her eyes. She was easy going and full of life, even when she was alone with An Sol and Vivian. Yoo-Jung played the role of an elder sister, especially towards Vivian. She was always easy prey for Yoo-Jung's scolding. This made me laugh because I knew that Vivian was only being subtle because of the contract.

However, I didn't forget to caution Yoo-Jung.

"You'd better be careful."

"Huh? About what, oppa?" Yoo-Jung denied.

"I didn't do it. I don't know anything" said Yoo-Jung with an innocent expression, upgrading her denial. I smirked and replied.

"Vivian is a very strong wizard. This can only happen now that she hasn't gathered her thoughts together. When that happens, what will you do?”

"We have a contract."

She spoke with uncertainty, closing her mouth right after. I laughed a little and gave her a piece of advice.

“The current Vivian is like an angel. It is possible for a new personality to form afterward, depending on the situations. Although she is under a contract, change is inevitable; after all, the content of the contract is a little vague, and don't forget that Vivian has her own free will. Therefore, later, when she recovers her self-esteem fully…”

"Ho ho. Oppa, enough. You make it sound like I'm a bad person. It is necessary for her to undergo this process.”

"Who said anything about you being bad? I'm just worried about what you say to her. Anyway, stay strong."

I patted Yoo-Jung's shoulder and walked away. She watched with go with bright eyes, but her heart had long since sunk and her mouth was shut tight. Perhaps, she had now grasped the profundity of my advice. I knew Yoo-Jung was a clever kid, she will definitely consider my warning carefully.

And, unfortunately, sometime later, when we finally went out to battle some monsters, Vivian proved my point. As soon as she entered the forest, she encountered goblins and had a hard time dealing with them, using her skills. Yoo-Jung, who was also present at the scene, had already activated her special ability and began to tease Vivian.

"Come on. I've killed around 32 spiders already!"

Although I had a.s.signed a role to Vivian, I was rather curious about the power of her 66 rulers of legion ability. I had hoped that she would perform it and she did.

Just like the secret cla.s.s summoner that I had seen back in the first round. Back then, in the war between Atlanta against the h.e.l.l, an entire army had been summoned. Although there was a clear disparity in power between rare cla.s.ses and secret cla.s.ses, the Chimera Alchemist was just as adept at summoning as it was at alchemy and could summon even summon chimeras and athletes from other worlds. The power of the Chimera Alchemist was definitely great.

Yoo-Jung teased Vivian so much that she began to feel stressed and irritated. However, Vivian's summoning instantly eradicated the monster, leaving Yoo-Jung stunned stiff. As soon as she was done, Vivian turned around and smiled at Yoo-Jung.

As I watched the magic circle created by Vivian, which was also a part of the magic she had invoked, I was impressed by her summoning prowess although I didn't understand how it worked.

The only problem worth worrying about here was her magic. It had even less points than her strength.I was also worried because magic wasn't so useful for attacking during battles. Although Vivian was a made proficient at summoning—and each of the 66 rulers who she could summon, was as strong as a legion by itself—her skills were only centered around magic.

From that point onwards, Yoo-Jung's teasing decreased. The kid was much clever than she looked. She began to engage Vivian in conversations more often, and Vivian who didn't understand the reason behind the sudden change could only nod enthusiastically.

The kids were progressing every day, so I strove to improve as well. As far as I was concerned, the safety of everyone on the team was my responsibility. As the kids and Vivian followed me and believed in me, It was important for me to improve my strength and exceed my limits.

Early in the evening, after battling the monsters, the kids were exhausted and returned back to the inn. Once the spoils gained from the monsters were stored, everyone went to cleanse the blood from the bodies. When we came back down, the lobby on the first floor was packed with other players.

"Ah. Annoying."

Yoo-Jung pouted and put her head on the table as she waited for the food she ordered a long time ago

"What's so annoying?" An Hyun asked.

Yoo-Jung frowned and pointed at some tables around them.

“We aren't celebrity entertainers, yet they keep looking at us. It's annoying. If they have something to say, they should just come out and say it.”

An Hyun smiled and replied

"Hmm.. surely, they must have seen how pretty my An Sol is."

"I know. Oppa knows too, so don't say such things."

An Sol replied shyly, twiddling her thumbs. An Hyun smiled at her cute reaction, but Yoo-Jung sighed and closed her eyes. This kind of scenes wasn't new to her.

I looked away from the scene and noticed that our table really was getting a lot of attention, and I didn't consider it a good sign. Until a while ago, we would wear the academy uniforms, but In the past few days, we began to seem much better off than we once were. It was a lot of change for such a short period.

Some of these players may already suspect us of hitting a jackpot in one of our previous expeditions. 80% of the gazes directed at us brimmed with envy and greed, while the other 20% were just l.u.s.t filled gazes focused on Yoo-Jung, An Sol, and Vivian. After all, they were very beautiful ladies with their own unique charms.

“You've suffered. Here's the food you ordered.”

After we had waited for a fairly long time, Go Yeon-Ju walked over to serve our food. As Go Yeon-Ju approached us, An Hyun quickly straightened his posture on the chair, and Go Yeon-Ju chuckled when she noticed because she thought it was cute. Her current att.i.tude had changed from what it used to be in the past.

"It is hard today, too."

"Well, from the innkeeper's perspective, it's good for the business. However, the times of the day that these players choose to come here are a bit… huh?

She was startled. An Hyun, who had been listening in on our conversation, suddenly got up at this point and boldly said.

"I will help."

With a firm expression, Ah Hyun quickly rose from his seat and  gathered the plates, which were used to cover the served me to maintain their heat, and took them back to the kitchen. Go Yeon-Ju glanced at me, but I shrugged my soldiers. She sighed and turned back to An Hyun.

"You're really a gentleman. Thank you."

"Hm,hm. What? Someone helping is only natural."

"It would be nice if everyone learned to do this…"

But that was my idea in the least. I pretended not to hear her words — which I knew were directed at me — took out a cigar and lit it. Since the kids were with me, paying rapt attention to everything, I chose not to play with the innkeeper; there will enough time for that another day. And yet, she still chuckled at me with a mischievous look in her eye. That gesture reminded me that there were other things I didn't want to get caught up in.

As I shook my head and sighed at the thought, Go Yeon-Ju turned to face me with a grim smile. I frowned as she approached me until she was standing right in front of me. I couldn't pretend to look elsewhere.

Without minding that the kids were watching with full concentration, she leaned in until our faces were merely inches apart, gripped the sides of my chair and slowly sat on my thighs. If my pants were pulled down, everyone watching would think that we were getting it on right there, She leaned in even closer until our cheeks brushed, bringing her rosy lips to my ear before she whispered.

"Two people came in this afternoon." She didn't see to came that the kids were watching. Then she leaned

"… yeah?"

“They were searching for Player Kim Su Hyun, and when they discovered that you were out, they said they would return this evening. They were wizards. Does anyone come to mind?”

"Excuse me. What are you doing? Oppa, what is happening?"

When Yoo-Jung spoke up, I sighed and shook my head. Go Yeon-Ju smiled softly and with a sly expression in her eyes, she spread her legs even wider and my heart lurched, but in the next moment, she leaned back and got up from my thighs. An Hyun watched the development with a look of envy, and the girls were looking at me with dumbfounded expressions. I took a deep breath and spoke to Go Yeon-Ju with a casual tone.

“It would have been better if you informed me normally.”

“Oh, it has been so stressful that I had to sit down for a while. Were you imagining something strange?”

“You've said what you wanted to say, so I'll get back to my meal.”

Go Yeon-Ju smiled at my answer and returned to the kitchen. As she walked away, Yoo-Jung scoffed, “What is with that person? I can't handle it. Oppa! Are you like that? It's not alright!”. Vivian slowly nodded in agreement.

Soon, everyone's focus went back to the food. Since Go Yeon-Ju was a skilled cook and Vivian was hungry, she picked up her fork and dove her a meal, but the fork was swapped from her hand swiftly, followed by a scolding from Yoo-Jung.

“What did I tell you about meals?”

"Umm…"

“You shouldn't eat until Oppa takes his first bite.”

"I—I'm sorry. I was so hungry…"

"An excuse? Great… Were you wrong or not?"

"I was in the wrong. Huk, huk."

"Ugh. Crying again and again. Fine, I'll let it off this time, but don't do it again next time.”

Watching the scene unfolding — and realizing how hungry Vivian must be — I swiftly picked up and spoon and tasted the food. Yoo-Jung nodded; a gesture to Vivian indicating that she was now allowed to eat. Vivian carefully picked up her fork again. I sighed and scooped up a juicy piece of meat from my plate and placed it on Vivian's plate. She innocently raised her head to look at me.

"Vivian, you've worked hard today. Let's keep the good work up tomorrow, too, so eat a lot."

Upon hearing my warm compliment, Vivian's face brightened, and she nodded in elation.

"Yes!"

"Vivian?"

Yoo-Jung glanced at her with a brow raised.

"Oh. Thank You…"

Sol watched the scene enviously and An Hyun, who had been watching her, took some food from his plate and calmly put it in her's. That gestured brightened An Sol up immediately.

An Hyun turned to look at me, but I only shrugged my shoulders.

“There are just some things you should let go, especially during meals. Why is that so hard for you to understand?”

"Huh.. Oppa doesn't know anything. Sol is is pretty everyday~ pretty. This time it is Vivian who is good~good." “Hmm. Oppa doesn't know anything. Sol impresses everyday, but Vivian only impressed today."

I glanced at Yoo-Jung, who seemed mad at me for some reason, and at Vivian, who was happily eating the meat I gifted her, before sighing deeply.

When everyone started eating again, An Hyun raised his head from his food and shot at a gloomy glance at the kitchen, hoping to see Go Yeon-Ju. When he gave up, he turned to me and asked.

"Hyung. Hyung."

"What?"

"Earlier, you seemed a little friendly with the modest lady innkeeper. What were you talking about?"

The modest lady innkeeper… When An Hyun used that expression, which didn't exactly fit her, I laughed. I quietly told him that some players had come in searching for me and they seemed unfriendly. However, when I finished talking, I noticed that the table had long since gone quiet. Why are these people so curious? Don't they know that curiosity killed the cat?

These days, the kids were my highest priority. In the past, I hadn't tolerated any mistakes, but my att.i.tude changed when I came back to the city. So, whenever I left the city to practice, no one would question my decisions in my absence.

"I'll come back again like today. I like that Unnie that we saved from the dungeon, but I don't like that man; he seemed too innocent."

"You look like an Unnie."

"What?"

Yoo-Jung laughed as she made fun of An Hyun. An Sol laughed as well and Vivian unexpectedly smiled.

I was just about to continue my meal when An Hyun called out to me.