[Yoo Jinwoong’s daughter, Yoo Yeonha, caught in a scandal… The guild leader’s daughter is running the guild?]

Yoo Yeonha bit her fingernails as she watched the news. She thought it would be buried under the monster outbreak that occurred in the middle of Seoul. However, more articles came out the next day and false rumors began to circulate on the third day. Her smartwatch kept buzzing from all the calls and messages. She also received threats and attacks on social media. They said all sorts of things like she didn’t deserve her place or that she used her appearance to coax people.

“Auu…”

Her head hurt from all the stress. Yoo Yeonha closed her eyes and massaged her forehead. She usually noticed such attacks before they happened, but this caught her completely off guard. It must’ve been meticulously organized.

“I’ve been too relaxed.”

Yoo Yeonha criticized herself. She had only used her information guild for outside threats and overlooked internal ones.

“It’s not looking good.”

Most of Yoo Yeonha’s money came from her mother and she used it to invest in various businesses. It wasn’t illegal, but she had used Essence of the Strait’s money. Falling Blossom also existed on Violet Banquet, so she could be expelled if the public found out. That would negatively impact the guild as a whole. However, her mother’s disappointment worried her the most.

“Who is it?”

Yoo Yeonha bit her lips. Too much of the guild’s internal data had leaked. The perpetrator was most likely a guild member from the vice leader's faction, but no one there should have so much information on her.

“Argh, my stomach.”

Her stomach churned from the stress. She buried her head on the desk and squeezed it. The timing wasn’t good. Kim Hajin’s past. Chae Jinyoon’s death. Creator’s Sacred Grace’s Tower of Miracle campaign…

“Argh, my stomach!”

Her stomach hurt for a different reason this time. Creator’s Sacred Grace was in the middle of conquering the Tower of Miracle. If they succeeded, Essence of the Strait would only be chasing their shadow. However, they could fall below rank 2 with this scandal.

“Argh, aaang…”

Yoo Yeonha stomped as she cried out. She had trouble sleeping and eating for the past 4 days. It wouldn’t be strange if she fainted.

— Excuse me, Young Lady.

Yoo Yeonha raised her head.

“What is it now?”

— You have a visitor.

Yoo Yeonha shot up and strode to the interphone.

“I told you to kick all the reporters out!”

— Ah, well… He’s not a reporter, but a cadet. He keeps saying that he’s the Young Lady’s ally.

“Ally?”

Yoo Yeonha furrowed her brows. Only one person would call himself that.

“Is it… Kim Hajin?”

— Yes, he says he has something to give you. Should I let him in?

“Ah… Tell him to wait. I’ll go out myself.”

Yoo Yeonha left her room and came out to the family mansion’s lobby. It took some time because of the mansion’s sheer size.

“Sigh.”

Yoo Yeonha opened the front door and breathed in fresh air for the first time in a while. She saw Kim Hajin waiting by the main gate beyond the garden. The guard opened it when Yoo Yeonha gave the signal. Kim Hajin walked towards her.

“What’s up?”

Yoo Yeonha asked as he arrived. Kim Hajin held up a plastic bag.

“You weren’t responding to my calls or messages, so I came myself.”

“Ah, well, you know things haven’t been going so well. Anyways, what’s that?”

Yoo Yeonha pointed to the plastic bag. Kim Hajin opened it and showed her the spicy rice cakes, sausage, fish cakes, hamburgers, fried chicken… It contained all the food she loved.

“I, I told you I don’t like these things.”

Yoo Yeonha almost fell for the temptation, but quickly snapped out of it. She reacted sharply to avoid showing any weakness.

“This is just a present.”

However, Kim Hajin forced the plastic bag into her hands.

“Auu, really.”

Yoo Yeonha wanted to refuse, but the smell prevented her from doing so.

“Huu, I’m going to throw them into the trash later. I can’t just have them lying out here.”

“Sure, do whatever. By the way, are your parents home?”

“They’re out dealing with what happened, but I don’t know if we can recover from this.”

Kim Hajin suddenly grinned and pulled out a large envelope from his pocket. Yoo Yeonha tilted her head.

“What’s that?”

“Bullets.”

“Bullets?”

Kim Hajin handed her the envelope. Yoo Yeonha opened it.

[Truth Agency] Thank you for using Truth Agency, the center of trust and honesty. The information you wanted has been summarized below. The following is a list of the individuals involved in the Yoo Yeonha Scandal.

The first page displayed a logo of a half-bitten apple with the words, Truth Agency.

“What’s this?”

“Truth Agency. You haven’t heard of them? They’re the hottest information agency right now. I splurged quite a bit of money.”

Kim Hajin sounded like he was joking. She asked him again dumbfounded.

“What’s up with the half-bitten apple?”

“It’s their logo, I guess.”

“Why is something like this their logo?”

“I’m sure you’ll notice its charms once you stare at it long enough.”

“It looks bad though.”

Yoo Yeonha glanced over it again.

The following is a list of the individuals involved in the Yoo Yeonha Scandal.

The last line caught her attention.

“It’s fine. I can deal with it on my own. I’m not so shameless as to receive help for such a private matter.”

“Who said it was free?”

“Eh?”

Yoo Yeonha tried to return the envelope. Kim Hajin snatched it out of her hands.

“You make armors too, right?”

“Um, yes. Of course.”

“What about armors for beasts?”

“Why would we make that?”

“Try it.”

Then he gave the envelope back. Yoo Yeonha took it as though enchanted by a spell.

“And read that carefully.”

Kim Hajin turned around and left.

“What was that?”

Yoo Yeonha watched him leave with a blank face. Once he disappeared, she peeked inside the envelope.

[Perpetrators] [1. Park Sangho] Kept secret records of Yoo Jinwoong’s dealings in his personal database. Greedy for money. Has participated multiple times in the vice leader’s illegal dungeon campaigns.

Yoo Yeonha’s eyes widened. The list inside didn’t just contain the names of the perpetrators, but also definitive proof of their wrongdoings.

“W-What is this?”

Yoo Yeonha quickly raised her head. However, Kim Hajin already drove away on his bike. Her eyes chased after him in a daze.

***

The tide quickly reversed. Yoo Yeonha had been at the center, but that changed when the wrongdoings of the vice leader’s faction came to light. Smuggling, illegal hiring of mercenaries, unreported dungeon conquests, and tax evasion… Of course, the guild couldn’t avoid a temporary drop in rank and loss of public trust. However, only growth and prosperity awaited them after they pulled out all their rotten roots. Yoo Yeonha would undoubtedly lead Essence of the Strait to the world’s rank 1 position.

[Thank you so much. Please convey my gratitude to Truth Agency as well.] [Thanks to you, the vice leader's faction are groveling at my feet ^^] [Oh right, what did you mean by armors for beasts?] [We’ve never made them before, but we can make as many as you want of the highest quality. Just give us the details.] [(emoticon of a squirrel clasping its hands)]

I checked Cube’s announcement on February 13 after replying to Yoo Yeonha.

[Cadet Rankings] [Kim Hajin: rank 334 → rank 121 (213↑)]

Cadet rankings had been updated. I climbed 213 ranks and reached rank 121, the top 10% of my grade. It was quite drastic considering I ranked 934 a year ago. I grew curious about how others would react and logged in to Cube’s cadet community.

— Damn, Kim Hajin. He’s shooting through the ranks.

— I mean, he’s a god in theory. I heard he aced all the PRAII tests. I don’t think anyone can deny that he’s a genius. The professors said he could easily win a Nobel Prize if he focused on theory.

— Isn’t there a rumor that he wants to become a mercenary?

— Why would he do that? Even with his gun gift, many high-intermediate rank guilds are after him.

— Um, I heard he might enter the English Royal Court guild…

— English Royal Court guild? lol Wait, is this Rachel?

— No, I don’t know what you mean.

As expected, my name came up all around the community. For the record, PRAII stood for Phenomenon Realm Analysis II.

[Congratulations! ★ Rank 100 ★ (๑□◡□)!]

Rachel’s suddenly sent me a message.

[Thank you.]

I checked Rachel’s rank as well.

[Rachel: rank 3 → rank 3 (—)]

She remained at rank 3 since Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak occupied the top 2 spots. Chae Nayun also remained at rank 4 while Yoo Yeonha fell to rank 9. That didn’t surprise me since she only cared about staying in the top 10.

[Oh right, when will you be coming to England? Winter break is ending soon.]

Rachel must’ve sent it without much thought, but it made me ponder. The new school year began a bit late for second year cadets. Classes would be reassigned and cadets could decide their own schedules like in college. I thought about dropping out.

[I don’t think I’ll be able to visit. I just don’t have time.]

[Ah… really? That’s a shame ㅜ.ㅜ]

Peebeebeep—

“I’m home~”

“Meow.”

The door suddenly opened and Evandel and Hayang returned.

“Oh, welcome back.”

I greeted the two kids. Evandel went out more frequently these days. However, I didn’t worry since we lived in a rich neighborhood with plenty of safe playgrounds and cafes.

“Hajin, I went on a slide today!”

“Oh yeah? How was it?”

“It was like a cave! I went down like shooooong!”

“I’m happy you had fun. It’s time to study now.”

“…”

Evandel’s expression became sour. It was great that she had fun and made friends outside, but increasing her intelligence would further her potential as a witch. After all, Evandel would become a great boon for humanity in the future.

“I’ll do it after I eat.”

“Really?”

“Un.”

Evandel jumped out of my embrace and began to text someone on her smartwatch, probably her new friend.

“Evandel.”

“Un?”

I wanted to ask.

“Do you want to keep staying here?”

Even if I didn’t drop out, I could commute starting from the second year. It would be a bit tiresome to take the Seoul portal every morning, but that wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Uun, no.”

To my surprise, Evandel shook her head.

“Eh? Why?”

“Hajin, are you leaving?”

Evandel replied with another question. She sounded afraid and worried. I smiled brightly.

“No, both of us… all three of us will always stay together as long as you want.”

“With Hajin?”

“Yep.”

“Then yes!”

Evandel happily nodded.

***

Baekdu Mountain’s [Yoo Sihyuk Martial Arts School]. Chae Nayun ran to the mailroom as soon as her hellish 12 hour training ended.

“Mister, is it here today?”

The man at the counter grinned and took out a letter.

“Here ya go, kid.”

“Ah! Thank you!”

Chae Nayun took the letter. Today was February 13. Almost 2 weeks had passed since she last received a letter.

“What is he even busy with?”

Kim Hajin hardly replied after the first letter. His replies went from 4 days to a week, then 2 weeks. However, she felt a surge of joy now that she received one and left with a big grin.

“Hm? What are you two doing?”

Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak waited outside. Chae Nayun had told them what happened, that her older brother passed away.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Yeah, it’s nothing.”

They glanced at each other and scratched their cheeks.

Sigh.

“Just treat me like usual if you want to help. Got it?”

Chae Nayun acted the same on the outside, but she couldn’t hide her sorrow and practically cried herself to sleep every night. She only put on a strong front since her oppa would’ve wanted the same.

“Still…”

Kim Suho sighed with an uncomfortable face. Shin Jonghak suddenly stepped up.

“Chae Nayun, you can lean on me whenever you want.”

“Are you crazy? I’m leaving. Also, don’t follow me around. It’s gross.”

Chae Nayun pushed them away and ran to her room. She slammed the door shut and opened the letter.

[I’m glad you’re doing well. It’s almost time to come back, so make the best out of it. Don’t get hurt. I’ve been busy lately, so I won’t be able to write often. Sorry.]

“That’s it?”

Chae Nayun murmured in a daze. Was she being pranked by her masters? She checked the back, but it was blank. The letter only contained a few sentences. Chae Nayun was confused. She didn’t want to believe that this was it.

“Did I do something wrong?”

She felt a strong urge to leave the mountain.