Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Saint's Inquiry
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“What’s this?”
“There’s more here?”
The security team members still at the raid site, cleaning up the area, tilted their heads in confusion.
Bulging pouches were discovered in various spots around the swamp, each one heavy.
A total of fourteen.
Combined, they’d weigh as much as an adult man.
“Those are mine.”
As the team members moved to open one, Jae-hyeok suddenly appeared.
“Thanks for finding them.”
The fourteen pouches vanished into his clothes one by one, like a magic trick.
“Huh...? Huh?”
“Good work.”
***
‘A world where we all help each other—nice.’
Retrieving each lead ingot submerged around the swamp had been a massive hassle.
The security team was doing their job anyway.
Thanks to them, he hadn’t had to lift a finger to collect them all.
‘Time to wash up and eat.’
While the security team toiled away.
Jae-hyeok swung his sword deep in the forest, gauging his stat gains.
Now it was time to refuel with proper nutrition and recover.
That way, he could train again tonight.
A short while later.
Rustle.
As Jae-hyeok entered the cafeteria, the air around him shifted.
Students eating their meals, students lined up for food.
They all stole glances at him and whispered among themselves.
Their common trait: all first-years.
The kids who’d heard about his exploits the fastest.
A B-Class student who’d outshone even the A-Class kids.
Rumors even said his contributions topped three teachers’.
Was it really true?
The students hesitated to fully believe it, but they shot Jae-hyeok heated gazes anyway.
The top-contributor rumor might be exaggerated, but it seemed true he’d thrown himself forward to save others.
‘Ribs, bulgogi, barbecue, beef Wellington, chicken, dongpo pork.’
Jae-hyeok, meanwhile, was laser-focused on piling as much meat as possible onto his two trays.
That’s when Do-jin approached him.
“Kang Jae-hyeok, looks like you’re finally one of the rejects.”
His face full of pity.
“Don’t worry too much. No matter how much they tease or glare, you get used to it. If you can’t take it, just beat them up once in a while. Keeps ‘em quiet for days. Sure, you’ll find thumbtacks on your chair or graffiti on your desk, but carry a cushion and some muscle rub, and it’s no big deal...”
“What’re you talking about.”
“Hey, let’s eat together! Meals taste better with two.”
The second-year mad dog.
Do-jin always ate alone. No one dared approach his table.
But now with Jae-hyeok, he couldn’t be happier.
“Huh?”
Chasing after Jae-hyeok in a hurry, Do-jin’s third-eye vision went haywire.
“Jae-hyeok! Come sit here.”
“Over here? We saved a spot just for you, Jae-hyeok.”
Boom!
Do-jin felt like a boulder had crashed onto his head.
Kang Jae-hyeok.
Dozens of students were inviting the lunatic he yielded to onto their tables.
Why...?
“Why...? They avoid me like the plague, so why you...?”
Weren’t people like us supposed to be shunned?
“What makes you so different! Your face? Height...? Damn it! The world! The world shouldn’t work like this! This is wrong!!”
Jae-hyeok hurried the baffled, then enraged Do-jin along.
“What’re you standing there for? The soup’s getting cold—hurry up.”
“Yeah, coming.”
Do-jin’s fury melted away like snow.
***
“So then Jae-hyeok...”
Right after arriving at the raid site, he’d pinpointed the boss’s weak spots and attacked in succession?
“And then Jae-hyeok...”
Rode the leech king like a horse?
“Like shwashwashwash!”
“And made five weak points!?”
Distracted by the absurd conversation, Do-jin shoveled food into his mouth without knowing if it went in his nose or not, then finally shot to his feet.
Yeah, he definitely stood up, but he was about the same height as the guy next to him...
“Kang Jae-hyeok! As expected of the man I acknowledged!”
Do-jin didn’t doubt Jae-hyeok’s feats for a second.
“The guy who knocked me out over ten times all weekend!!”
“...The one who borrowed potions? That’s him? Got beat up by Jae-hyeok?”
“Nah, not really...?”
“Anyway, make sure he pays them back.”
“Yeah, we’re on the same team from now on, so plenty of chances.”
Da-hee nodded, purple eyes igniting with fervor.
She was thrilled at the chance to train with the amazingly skilled Jae-hyeok.
She vowed not to waste this precious opportunity and work hard.
Eujin watched her clench her fist with concern.
‘I get they’re skilled, but their personalities...’
Kang Jae-hyeok and Baek Do-jin.
No one would call them normal.
She already worried if Da-hee could fit in with them.
‘As long as she doesn’t get shaken down for potions.’
Seeing the worry cloud Eujin’s face, Jae-hyeok made an offer.
“If you’re worried about your friend, why not join our team?”
“Huh...? Really?”
“Of course. Why would I say it if it wasn’t?”
Jae-hyeok liked Eujin.
He’d glimpsed her fierce fight at the raid site, rivaling Da-hee’s.
Sticking around till the end while others fled made her trustworthy.
“Great, Eujin!”
Da-hee beamed like it was her own good news.
But Eujin shook her head.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass. I don’t want to hold Da-hee back.”
Kang Jae-hyeok, Chae Da-hee, Baek Do-jin.
Jae-hyeok’s team was already three swordsmen.
Adding warrior Eujin would just ruin the balance.
“With you and Da-hee’s skills, you don’t need a tank, but a healer or supporter is essential. A supporter over a healer, ideally. They’ll maximize your physical potential.”
“My name is Baek Do-jin.”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
“My name is Baek Do-jin.”
“...?”
“Y-yeah. With me, Kang Jae-hyeok, and senior Do-jin’s skills, we don’t need a tank.”
*Ahem.*
“...”
Da-hee had already figured out Do-jin’s unpredictable personality and was soothing him.
Eujin’s worry deepened as she watched Da-hee sweat bullets.
‘The last spot needs a normal person.’
In Eujin’s eyes, Jae-hyeok’s team had top-tier potential.
Not quite on par with all-second-year A-Class teams or National Treasure Candidate squads, but destined for the top ranks someday.
They just needed someone to keep internal conflicts in check until then.
Anyone suitable around?
Lost in thought, Eujin snapped to.
The surroundings had gone eerily quiet.
“Ah...”
Eujin quickly realized why.
A boy with silver hair and pale blue eyes, beautiful bordering on holy.
Flawless white skin, delicate features.
He approached their table.
The impact dwarfed Jae-hyeok’s entrance.
Interest in the silver-haired boy crossed year lines.
House Silla’s successor, National Treasure Candidate, and stunning looks to boot.
Countless students showed silent reverence to Korea’s ‘future’.
“Silla Kyung...”
But the first-year A-Class students reacted poorly.
How many had suffered when he vanished as the leech king raid began?
Some teetered on death’s door; others would carry the guilt of abandoning comrades forever.
“Wow... they’re all crazy. Trying to fight that monster?”
As the mood turned hostile, Do-jin marveled. Something about kids eating with Jae-hyeok, incomprehensible mutterings.
“Wh-why...”
Maybe Do-jin’s nonsense snapped her out of it.
Da-hee spoke up.
“What was the reason you left during the raid?”
Not an accusation—a genuine question.
The justice-driven girl couldn’t casually doubt Silla Kyung, who should lead by example more than anyone.
She gave him a chance to explain publicly.
But Silla Kyung didn’t spare her a glance.
From his first appearance to now, his blue eyes held only Jae-hyeok.
“Why go out of your way to help these fools?”
The already tense air froze solid.
Silla Kyung’s tone was odd.
Quick-witted Eujin pulled Da-hee up.
“Let’s go.”
Many admired nobles.
But Da-hee’s feelings for them were special.
They were the constellation lighting her dream, the signpost for her path.
Yet the world wasn’t as beautiful as the girl imagined.
Even among nobles, Duke Kang Dae-guk stood apart from the rest.
Eujin hoped Da-hee wouldn’t face that truth yet.
Her pure, clumsy dream—precisely because it shone so brightly—could be tainted.
“Fools. They poked a monster they could’ve ignored, fought a battle they could’ve dodged. Pure arrogance in their own power.”
Fortunately.
Silla Kyung, leaning close to Jae-hyeok, kept his voice from leaking via a mana barrier—what they called a soundproof ward—straight to Jae-hyeok’s ear.
“They should’ve paid the price. The deaths of a foolish few would’ve awakened the rest, changing dozens of lives. But because you intervened, they survived easily and will repeat their mistakes.”
His blue eyes gleamed.
As if vowing to illuminate the world’s darkness.
“...[Saint], what’s with the foul mouth? First impression’s trash. My ears are rotting—tone it down. Yeah?”
“You think it nonsense? Recall Duke Kang Dae-guk’s failure then. He devoted his life to the ignorant masses—didn’t you witness the treatment he got these past eight years, right by his side?”
“You...”
“Your way is wrong. Your father proved it himself. Sacrificing for the weak, guiding the foolish—what did it leave him? Failure and the stigma of incompetence. Unless you want to follow his path...”
Silla Kyung’s words cut off.
Jae-hyeok’s pitch-black eyes—not a hint of brown—captivated him.
His will to forge a new world seemed sucked into those black depths.
Slash-!
A jet-black blade tip rushed toward his nose.
Quick Draw from a seated position.
Yet faster than when he’d sliced the leech king—Silla Kyung was genuinely startled.