“Auu, Chae Nayun, you crazy idiot…”

She scorned herself and smacked her head. Her drowsiness completely disappeared after what she said to Kim Hajin.

“Uuuu… ah, wait.”

She suddenly recalled something she had to do while circling the room in embarrassment and video called Yoo Yeonha. Tuuu— Tuuu—

— Yeah, Nayun.

As expected, Yoo Yeonha quickly picked up. She usually slept only 3 hours a day and it was still only 1 A.M.

“Hey, Yeonha.”

— Why did you call? Why is your face so red?

Yoo Yeonha tilted her head and asked. That was how red Chae Nayun’s face was.

“Ah, it’s, it’s nothing.”

Chae Nayun frantically fanned herself.

“Here, here.”

She nonchalantly pushed her hair back and sent a file to Yoo Yeonha. [Tattoo.jpg] It was a piece of critical evidence. Yoo Yeonha opened the file.

— Tattoo? What is this?

“Evidence.”

— … Evidence?

Chae Nayun’s voice turned serious.

“Yeah, this tattoo was on the murderer’s arm.”

Yoo Yeonha also turned serious.

— Hmm…

A cross with a crescent above it like an umbrella. Yoo Yeonha carefully scrutinized the tattoo.

“Is, is it not that useful?” Chae Nayun asked without confidence.

— It’s not a conclusive piece of evidence, but it’s still better than nothing. First…

Yoo Yeonha began to type on her keyboard like an IT expert. Chae Nayun stared at her in awe.

— I’ll look into arrested criminals or active villains and djinns.

“T-Thanks, Yeonha! … Yaawn.”

The tension left her body and drowsiness overcame her once again.

— Are you sleepy?

“Yeah, I’m going to collapse any moment now.”

— …

Yoo Yeonha grinned.

— Good, then sleep.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t overwork yourself either.”

Chae Nayun waved through the screen and promptly went to bed.

— Okay.

However, Yoo Yeonha remained busy with her pharmaceutical company, core technology development, information guild, dungeon research, resource distribution, and Essence of the Strait’s reformation. She still had to take care of many things.

— Hello? Ah, yes, Yi Jin-Ah.

She received a call from one of the former vice leader's subordinates. Although this person had a previous conflict with Kim Hajin, Yoo Yeonha judged that her talent was too important to waste.

— Ah, don’t worry about it. I don’t think you were involved in that incident. No, you don’t need to thank me. Oh, rather than that, I’m going to send you a special image of a tattoo. I want you to…

Yoo Yeonha paused in the middle of her sentence and looked to the side.

— Hold on, I forgot to hang up a video call.

She waved her hand. — Chweek. The floating hologram disappeared and Chae Nayun’s room became silent.

***

I worked hard to convince Boss as her killing intent filled the park.

“Calm down, Boss. That’s how stocks work.”

“Ha, that’s how they work?”

Boss mockingly laughed. She was seriously angry. I couldn’t blame her since she must’ve invested a huge sum. If she used leverage, even a mere 2% increase would’ve netted her hundreds of millions of won.

“It will drop soon. Trust me.”

“…”

Boss shut her mouth. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to appease her inner fury. Despite her cold personality, she greatly valued her comrades.

“From now on, I don’t think I can trust you too much anymore. No, I can’t trust you at all.”

I couldn’t prevent my loss of credibility. Her trust in me would probably drop from a C to an F if I left things the way they were. Puuu. Boss sighed like a kid and turned around.

“Ah, wait. I’ll make up for it since you suffered because of me.”

I stopped her from leaving.

“I’ll give you some solid information.”

“… Solid information?”

It seemed to pique her interest as her ears perked up.

“Yes.”

I nodded confidently. Of course, even I couldn’t predict the future economy with certainty, but I knew a few companies that would rise to the top.

“You’ll become a billionaire if you invest a million. And if you invest a billion, you’ll become the ruler of a country.”

“…”

Boss shook her head after a brief silence. Her ears drooped back and her interest disappeared.

“I’ve lived my entire life with skepticism at my core. I won’t believe someone who isn’t an expert twice.”

“Um, I’m the rank 1 cadet in theory.”

“…”

Rank 1 in theory. Such a position was impossible without extraordinary intelligence. However, Boss still seemed doubtful. Without a choice, I showed her my stock portfolio.

“Eh?”

Her mouth immediately opened in shock. The total value of my various stocks reached 2.5 billion. My profit rate was almost 500%. Not to mention, these stocks would all multiply by at least 10… no, 20 times in the next 5 years.

“You see? Now you believe me? Take a seat.”

I sat on a nearby bench and tapped the empty seat beside me.

“…”

Boss seemed to trust me again as she looked around the park and modestly sat next to me.

“Right, you have to show me proof to earn my trust.”

“Makes sense. So, I’ll recommend a few companies. One still hasn’t been publicly listed—”

“Wait.”

Boss cut me off to take out a pen and notebook from her pocket. Her eyes flashed as she prepared to take notes.

“Go on.”

“… Right.”

I cleared my throat and continued.

“The non-publicly listed company is called SH Agency. Essential Pharmacy will also go public soon. Essential Corporation is a well-known giant…”

Boss nodded passionately and frantically took notes.

***

My remaining days at Cube flew by. May, the month of cherry blossoms, arrived in a flash. During this time, I maintained an appropriate distance from Chae Nayun. I could tell she felt annoyed and confused, but I believed it was for the best. That was the only thing I could do. Her feelings for me were so clear I felt like I would give in otherwise. I knew it was just an excuse, but I didn’t have a choice. The final incident at Cube would soon occur.

“Today, we will sculpt with magic power.”

The class from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. was called [Advanced Magic Power Application]. It had 2 familiar faces in it — Shin Jonghak and Kim Suho.

“You will not be given any tools. You must sculpt the bronze with only your magic power.”

Each of the 50 cadets received a single lump of bronze to sculpt something.

“You’re free to make whatever you want, but don’t think of this as simply a dumb art class. Dexterity plays an important role in magic power application and harmonization, so do your best to create the most beautiful sculpture. You can take your results home.”

I quite enjoyed the female instructor’s relaxing voice. Then I cracked my fingers and began.

Stigma’s magic power formed a carving knife in my hand. Who should I use as a model?

“...”

Someone caught my eye as I looked around. Black hair in a 2 block pomade style that strangely resembled mine. A handsome popular boy who looked like the ideal model with his sharp jawline and facial features.

Alright, I choose you.

I began to sculpt while peeking at Shin Jonghak. My fingers moved mysteriously and transformed the bronze lump into a masterpiece. When I was halfway finished…

Ding—

The class took a break. I stealthily moved closer to Shin Jonghak, who was in the middle of carving something like a chimera.

“Wow, an abstract piece.”

I muttered subconsciously. Shin Jonghak immediately turned and glared at me.

“Kim Hajin?”

His eyes pierced at me probably because of the recent rumors about me and Chae Nayun.

“Oh, um, I was just curious. Who is this?”

“… Leave.”

Shin Jonghak waved without saying much.

“Is it Chae Nayun?”

He flinched and glared again with hawk-like eyes.

“Tsk.”

However, he only clicked his tongue and went back to sculpting.

“So it is Chae Nayun.”

“Shut the hell up.”

“Uwaa!”

Shin Jonghak changed his carving knife into an axe and I quickly ran back to my seat. Then I returned to staring at him.

“It must look like her.”

He murmured in satisfaction and focused on sculpting.

“He changed a lot.”

The current Shin Jonghak wasn’t as bad as the one I wrote. Many things had changed and more was bound to change. Did Chae Jinyoon’s death and Yoo Sihyuk’s hellish training affect him that much? He still acted haughty like a young master though.

“Well, whatever.”

Jin Sahyuk gained a mysterious supporter, so having Shin Jonghak as an ally would only balance things out.

I unleashed my magic power and went back to sculpting. Sssk, sssk. The bronze lump became nothing more than tofu in front of my knife. I snapped out of my daze after about 30 minutes. The sculpture had already finished.

“… Oh.”

It was unequivocally a masterpiece.

“Wow, amazing job. This gets a perfect score, Cadet Hajin.”

I took the sculpture and walked over to Shin Jonghak after receiving my grade (although the class wasn’t over yet).

“Hey.”

“…”

Shin Jonghak focused on his own sculpture. However, it had become barely recognizable. It certainly couldn’t be gifted. I tapped his arm.

“Hey.”

“Argh, what now, you bastard?”

Shin Jonghak spoke harshly and glared at me.

“Do you really wanna die…”

However, he froze when he saw the sculpture in my hand. I named this piece the Shin Jonghak Bronze Bust. The model was also handsome, but the sculpture was even more handsome. Just look at this jawline and these facial features!

Shin Jonghak loved things like this. I didn’t make any detailed settings about this, but I could guess from his personality. He blankly stared at my sculpture as I spoke.

“You want it?”

Bzzzz— A series of messages popped up on my smartwatch.

[Devilish Dexterity has been luckily activated.] [The Shin Jonghak Bronze Bust has been judged as a low-intermediate rank art. It will receive a fitting special effect.]

[Special Effect — why art is needed in life] — When a person is touched by the beauty of this sculpture, their perseverance will increase by 0.1 points for 24 hours. — This sculpture’s beauty will calm the heart.

[Aether has reacted to a beautiful object. The perseverance boost has been granted to aether (24 hours).]

“Oh right.”

My dexterity was at the level of a gift. It had the inherent power of creating such effects. Shin Jonghak looked back and forth between me and the sculpture. It seemed like he wanted it.

“You don’t want it?”

“Screw off.”

Shin Jonghak always acted differently than his inner feelings.

“Really? I guess I have no choice.”

I didn’t mind keeping it.

“Ehem.”

However, he grabbed my wrist as I was about to leave with the sculpture.

“You can’t do that. That’s facial rights abuse.”

“What?”

I laughed at his childish excuse.

“Why don’t you just say you want it?”

“…”

Shin Jonghak squeezed my wrist, but didn’t say anything.

“Fine, I’ll leave it here. Do what you want.”

Shin Jonghak would be a suitable owner since this sculpture could calm one’s heart and help him with his… anger issues.

Ding—

The bell signaled the end of class.

“Hey, Kim Suho. Let’s go eat.”

“Huh? Oh, wait a bit. Let me get mine graded.”

I left the classroom with Kim Suho. He carried a sculpture that perfectly resembled Yun Seung-Ah.

“You sculpted Yun Seung-Ah?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah. I guess it looks like her, but no, it isn’t.”

“Please, it’s practically a carbon copy.”

“No, no. It’s not.”

“Fine, it’s not.”

Kim Suho acted quite stubbornly in his own right. I turned back and looked through the walls. Everyone had left except Shin Jonghak. He loitered around while whistling to himself. Then he suddenly snatched my sculpture from the table and ran out the door.

— Uaak!

However, Kim Horak stood on the other side.

— Jonghak, why were you taking so long? What’s that?

— Ah? What do you mean?

— That. Oh, it looks like you! Someone made it for you?

— I, I guess? Ah! It, it must’ve been a fan of mine. Let’s go. I’m going to stop by my room first, but I’ll meet you at the training center.

Shin Jonghak gave a half-hearted excuse and ran away with the sculpture in his embrace. I snickered while looking at him.