I noticed an unknown fear in Han Sora’s eyes, and if I were her, I would have shown the same reaction. If I were her, I would do my best not to get involved with the Blue Guild anymore. Not only would I stay away from the guild, but I might even move to a different city. If she were smart, she was probably having the same thoughts as me. That was how big of a trauma Jung Ha-Yan had left on this girl. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or bad thing that Jung Ha-Yan wasn’t here, but it was likely she didn’t want to get involved with me at all. However, her thoughts didn’t matter to me, as the fact that she chose Black Mage as her job was a bit more important to me.

‘Black Mage.’

I didn’t even need to ask her why.

[Black Mage - Rare Rank - A ranged job that allows the user to use black magic. Black magic is a new type of magic that completely overturns conventional magic knowledge. Even though some religious groups are against black magic because its concept involves borrowing powers from demons, its destructive powers are overwhelmingly high compared to other jobs. Acquired basic black magic knowledge. Magic has been increased by four points.]

‘Would you look at that...’

It was the only job she could choose since her mana circuits had been destroyed. Unlike mages who had to have an affinity with magic, Black Mage was one of the classes of which mana wasn’t that big of an influence.

I remember contemplating between Black Mage and Alchemist. At the time, Park Deok-Gu recommended Black Mage, and Kim Hyun-Sung recommended Alchemist. I did think that the former was better, but the epic-ranked item, Ramus Tucker's Introduction to Alchemy, was what made me choose to become an Alchemist. However, it was true that I would sometimes think.

‘What if I chose to be a Black Mage instead?’

My position right now wasn’t bad. I was receiving treatment that even I didn’t think I deserved, and personally, I had achieved great things. Not only did I obtain a unique legendary-ranked job, but I also managed to make up for what I was lacking. But…

‘Black Mage wouldn’t have been so bad either.’

If I had chosen Black Mage, I would have had a hard time moving within the Holy Empire, but that field was unknown to me, so of course, I was curious about it.

While I was having different thoughts, Han Sora spoke as she looked at me, and naturally, she looked surprised.

“Were you… calling… for m-me?”

“Please step out of the carriage, Miss Han Sora,” I told her.

“Ah…”

She seemed anxious, and when I saw that expression, I had a feeling she didn’t pick Black Mage because she wanted to get back at me.

‘I’m sure that’s not the case.’

No matter how powerful she was, I couldn’t imagine her hurting Jung Ha-Yan.

‘Maybe that’s a good thing.’

The two were on completely different levels, and Han Sora knew better than anyone that she wouldn’t be able to catch up to Jung-Ha Yan.

As I nodded, I spoke to the coachman waiting to leave.

Han Sora looked at me anxiously as she limped her way out of the carriage while still being wrapped in bandages.

“You can leave first. The Blue Guild will take her to Lindel.”

“Alright, Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” the coachman replied.

“I think it’ll be better if you ride our carriage, Miss Han Sora. Follow me,” I instructed her.

“...”

“We can discuss different things. Oh, I forgot that you have a difficult time walking. You can take your time,” I told her.

“...”

It was kind of awkward. After a moment of silence, Han Sora spoke cautiously when the carriage full of trainees left.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young…”

“Yes?” I asked.

“Did I do something wrong? If… I made a mistake, I-I’ll apologize for it. So please…” she said.

“Ahh… it’s nothing like that. To be honest, I’m already over that incident. Also, please call me Mr. Ki-Young,[1] or you can call me Sub Guild Master as well. Any one of them is fine,” I interrupted.

“What?” Han Sora asked.

“I’m not an instructor anymore,” I replied.

“No, that’s not…”

“Ah… you’re talking about that. It’s like I said. It might have been a big incident for you, but I don’t have any grudge against you or anything. You have already been punished for it, and you have apologized as well,” I explained.

“So why…”

“Who knows? Why did I call you, especially at the end of the ceremony?” I asked.

“...”

“You’ll be able to figure it out pretty easily,” I added.

“Are you going to… ki—”

“Join the Blue Guild,” I offered.

“What?”

“I’m asking you to join the Blue Guild. You’ll be treated pretty well. I’ll make sure your salary is decent and that you’re getting paid just as much as other people. Of course, it won’t be as much as Miss Yoo Ah-Young or Mr. Lee Chang-Ryeol, but it’ll be just as much as the other guilds,” I informed.

“Huh?”

“You can read the benefits and other features through the catalog, and as for the contract duration…” I paused.

“Ah…”

“The term will be for life. A contract like this is very rare, and it’s not allowed under imperial law, but as long as you keep quiet, no one will know,” I continued.

“Wait, I…”

“You have a lot of work to do. Since you have basic alchemy knowledge, I’ll make you the chief administrator of the alchemy lab and… Oh! You’ll be in charge of the rearguard of the Blue Guild’s second party, so please keep that in mind,” I informed her.

“My... mana… and my l-leg…” Han Sora stuttered.

“Your leg doesn't matter because what we ask from the rearguard isn’t agility. The problem is your mana… It may take some time with your broken mana circuits, but I’ll look into it and see if there’s a way to fix it. The side effects will still be there, but to you, it doesn’t really matter whether or not your mana circuits can still be used,” I answered.

“I don’t understand what… you’re…”

“Miss Han Sora, let’s not lie. Don’t worry about how I found out or what kind of method I used, and just nod. It’ll be a lot safer if you stay beside the Holy Empire’s Honorary Bishop than to wander around by yourself,” I explained.

“...”

“If you don’t want the empire’s proud Inquisitors to suddenly come to visit you, sign the contract. The Blue Guild isn’t picky about its members. Your secret and disability won’t be a problem,” I added.

Han Sora remained quiet, and obviously, her face had turned pale. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but she knew the situation had gotten messed up. She didn’t have the option to decline since I had basically half-threatened her to sign the contract.

‘She is pretty smart.’

“About Ha-Yan…”

“Gulp.”

As soon as I said Jung Ha-Yan’s name, she gulped because Jung Ha-Yan was probably the reason why she didn’t want to join the Blue Guild.

“You don’t have to worry. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, she won’t hurt you first. Oh! I had one left, so please sign first,” I instructed.

“I’m sorry. I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Hiccup. Please… please…” Han Sora begged.

“Geez… I’m not trying to kill you,” I assured.

“I’m begging you. I don’t want to join, please…” she begged again.

“I’ll increase your pay,” I offered.

“That’s not it. Please, sir, I was being stupid. So…”

“I’m really not trying to bully you, so please sign first,” I repeated.

It was ridiculous how she gripped her pants. I was offering her a large sum of money she wouldn’t be able to touch even if she worked all her life, and yet she was reacting this way. I knew why, but it was worse than I thought. However, I knew what kind of decision she was going to make. It would be like entering a tiger’s den, but she never really had a choice, to begin with.

‘She’ll be really useful…’

Hee-Ra noona was right. Han Sora wanted to live, and she was desperate as well, I had higher expectations for Han Sora than for Lee Chang-Ryeol and Yoo Ah-Young.

‘She’s a rearguard.’

Naturally, I felt proud as I saw Han Sora signing her name with her trembling hands.

Yoo Ah-Young and Lee Chang-Ryeol started approaching where the Blue Guild’s flag was at the right time. I thought Kim Hyun-Sung was going to guide them, but a guild staff was guiding them instead.

‘Team Leader Kim Mi-Young?’

It had been a while since I had seen her.

“Miss Kim Mi-Young, it’s been a while,” I greeted.

“It has been a while, Sub Guild Master. It really has been a while,” she greeted back.

“Where’s Mr. Hyun-Sung?” I asked.

“The Guild Master said he had some business to discuss with Miss Park Yeon-Joo of the Black Swan Guild. He apologized and asked me to guide them,” she replied.

“Hm…”

I guess Park Yeon-Joo had really fallen for him hard, and Kim Hyun-Sung was probably in an awkward situation.

‘She’s not someone you can ignore, after all.’

The strange part was that I couldn’t see Sun Hee-Young. Kim Mi-Young must have noticed me looking around because she started talking.

“Miss Hee-Young will also be riding in the Black Swan’s carriage.”

“Ah! I guess they really do have a business to take care of,” I remarked.

“They do. They said they’ll return to Lindel by tonight. They asked me to notify you that we’re going to be holding a welcoming party and dinner,” she informed.

“I see…” I nodded.

“This is…”

“I recruited her at the last minute. I’m sorry for giving you more work, but I think she’ll be necessary for the second party,” I explained.

“Ah…”

When Kim Mi-Young looked at Han Sora, she looked at one of her eyes and legs, but she stared at her anxious face the longest. However, Kim Mi-Young didn’t seem to mind because she trusted and supported me.

“Okay. I’ll start the joining procedure as soon as we arrive and report it to the guild union. And the contract…”

“She has just signed her contract so please check the details and increase the salary written on here by ten percent. Now that I think about it, I don’t think that’s enough. You captured the tutorial dungeon together with Mr. Chang-Ryeol, right?” I asked her.

“Yes, Sub Guild Master, but…”

“I’ve thought a lot about this, so just trust me. Your body may not be in the best condition, but you’ll be able to fulfill your duty,” I reassured.

“Okay, Mr. Lee Ki-Young.”

I didn’t know what kind of expression Lee Chang-Ryeol had since he was wearing his red mask, but he didn’t seem disappointed. He seemed okay with it since he knew Han Sora, but Yoo Ah-Young seemed happier than him. I was worried they were going to be focused on her, but the situation turned out better than I had expected.

“By the way, Miss Ah-Young… have you taken care of Mr. Kim Ki-Chul? I should have helped… I’m sorry, something came up,” I apologized.

“It’s fine. You didn’t need to help,” Yoo Ah-Young said.

“That’s a relief…” I responded.

“It was very relieving. Miss Kim Mi-Young helped, and there’s still something else I want to do to him… Could I tell you later?” she asked.

“Of course…” I answered.

‘I think she’s too into it.’

I didn’t know how Kim Mi-Young had helped her and what her plans were, but it was kind of scary to think that her revenge wasn’t over just yet.

‘Still, it’s not bad.’

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with this year’s group of trainees, but I felt like I had created a decent party. Yoo Ah-Young, Lee Chang-Ryeol, and Han Sora. If the experienced Ahn Ki-Mo joined their party, they would become a balanced party. Now that I thought about it, each of them had one thing lacking…

I was worried about leaving them to Ahn Ki-Mo, but he was a priest who could either be a vanguard or rearguard. He could also use his skills to grow even more.

‘I should help him with that…’

However, there were still a lot of issues that had to be taken care of for them to adapt to the guild, and while I was thinking about the biggest problem, a carriage arrived. I was kind of surprised by the person sitting inside the carriage.

“Oppa!”

Jung Ha-Yan was waving with a bright smile. I was sure she had come out here to see me, but I wasn’t really happy to see her because sure enough, I started to hear a strange voice. It was Han Sora, and her body was shaking as she looked at Jung Ha-Yan.

“Ah… Ahhhhhh… Ahh!”

Han Sora was seizing, and she staggered as well. However, what bothered me the most was that the lower half of her body was getting wet. Yellow liquid dripped from the end of her pants, and my heart broke when I saw that.

‘She’s still like this?’

I assumed she had improved, as she hadn’t seen Jung Ha-Yan for a long time, but it seemed that I had misunderstood. I pitied her because Han Sora still hadn’t realized what was happening to her as she continued to scream. I had to acknowledge the fact that the situation had worsened, and seeing Jung Ha-Yan waving with a bright look gave me goosebumps.

‘What… what the hell did you do…’

“I-I’m sorry…”

‘Did you turn her into Pavlov’s dog or something?’

1. The difference here between Mr. Lee Ki-Young (이기영 교관님) and Mr. Ki-Young (기영 씨) is that there is a difference in formality that doesn’t quite translate well into English. Mr. Lee Ki-Young would be directly translated as Instructor/Teacher Lee Ki-Young, but in English, you address teachers as Mr. or Mrs/Ms. That is why it was decided to drop the surname “Lee” and go with Mr. Ki-Young since 기영 씨 implied a bit of closeness, but still retaining that formality. ☜