The Foolish Girl's Actions

Yoo Heeyeon glared at Lee Hyunseung with venomous eyes.

"I have nothing to say to you."

But Lee Hyunseung didn't look surprised at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all. He had expected her to react exactly like this.

He thought to himself, If she had any intention of backing down from the start, she wouldn't have treated me that way based solely on the claim that a phone with alleged stalking evidence was found in my drawer—without any proper proof.

He looked at her and spoke calmly.

"That was your last chance."

Yoo Heeyeon stared at him in disbelief.

"I understand that no fingerprints or mana traces of yours were found on that phone. Since the Magic Tower's official appraiser guarantees it, there's no room for doubt. But does that prove you're not the culprit?"

She was rambling without even knowing what she was saying.

"You mentioned there were two more mana traces whose owners couldn't be identified, right? Couldn't those belong to someone connected to you, Lee Hyunseung?"

Mana Trace. In this world, anyone who touches an object leaves behind a residue of their mana energy—like a magical fingerprint. Just as with actual fingerprints, identifying a mana trace requires having the person who possesses that mana signature nearby for comparison. In other words, you need a reference sample.

There were four mana traces in total on the phone. Yoo Heeyeon and Seong Hyun-wook, who had fiddled with it in class, plus the two Hilleon grunts that Lee Hyunseung had killed in the Labyrinth. Since Yoo Heeyeon and Seong Hyun-wook were right there, their traces could be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠immediately verified. But the other two were dead, with no other information available.

That meant Lee Hyunseung knew perfectly well that the two unidentified mana traces belonged to the Hilleon underlings, while everyone else remained in the dark.

I can't bring up Hilleon here.

If he said something like, The remaining two traces belong to Hilleon grunts, and they were the ones stalking Yoo Heeyeon, there was no telling what would happen. Not only had he killed their subordinates, but if he exposed their crime as well, there was no way they would let him live. They would come for him before the day was out.

Jeong Eunseo is on my side, but she can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be glued to me all the time.

Lee Hyunseung knew exactly who those two remaining mana traces belonged to. That put him in the strongest possible position. And there was one card he could play in a situation like this.

"If you're that suspicious, why don't you request a precise mana trace analysis?"

Precise Mana Trace Analysis.

The nation Lee Hyunseung lived in was called Ledation. Ledation maintained a national database containing the mana signatures of all its citizens. This database could only be accessed in cases of serious felonies—national terrorism, serial murders, and the like. In other words, it could be used to identify the owners of unknown mana traces.

Of course, the mana database was protected by the highest level of security. Information about each person's unique mana was practically a state secret. Naturally, it was impossible to access for something as trivial as catching a stalker.

But if the one requesting access was the Artemis Guild, the story changed.

Lee Hyunseung continued, "Tell your parents. Say there's this guy named Lee Hyunseung who's suspicious, but he keeps denying it and you're upset. Tell them you want to use the mana database to identify the two unknown mana traces."

It wouldn't be easy, but if the Artemis Guild Master pushed hard enough, the state would likely grant permission to access the database. Not that it would ever actually be used, of course.

The reason Lee Hyunseung was saying all this was simple: innocence. He was declaring that the two unidentified mana traces had absolutely nothing to do with him. He was confident enough to invite them to investigate however they pleased.

And as a bonus, it would put pressure on Hilleon. If they somehow managed to use the mana database, the fact that the real stalker of Yoo Heeyeon was a Hilleon remnant would naturally come to light. Most importantly, the entire process would have begun at Yoo Heeyeon's own request. The burden would fall on her, and once the results came out, the blade could naturally be turned toward the true culprit—Hilleon.

If this works, it's a perfect two-for-one.

But, as expected, Yoo Heeyeon refused.

"W-why should I ask my parents for something like that? Ha. Do you think the Artemis Guild has that much free time? It's obvious you did it anyway. Stop talking nonsense."

Watching her, Lee Hyunseung sneered inwardly.

She's even stuttering. So even she doesn't really believe I'm the culprit. And yet she's still acting like this?

He shook his head and provoked her further.

"Your daughter is being stalked by someone who might be dangerous, and you think the Artemis Guild Master wouldn't do even that? If you just ask, I'm sure the state would comply immediately."

"S-stop spouting whatever you want!"

Then, as if he had been waiting for the moment, Lee Hyunseung leaned in and whispered to her.

"You're the one who should stop talking nonsense. I'm completely clean. No matter how you investigate, I won't be found guilty. Why? Because I really didn't do it. You know that too, don't you?"

Yoo Heeyeon shoved Lee Hyunseung's chest hard as he drew near. Breathing raggedly, she screamed.

"Everyone knows you're the culprit! Why should I go through all that annoying hassle? Should I ask the people here?"

She turned to the crowd of onlookers and shouted.

"If any of you think the Lee Hyunseung standing in front of you right now is innocent, step forward and say so!"

"......"

Naturally, no one stepped forward. Getting on Yoo Heeyeon's bad side could mean getting blacklisted by the Artemis Guild as well.

But the silence was broken as one person stepped forward. It was Jeong Eunseo.

She walked out and said, "In my opinion, Lee Hyunseung doesn't seem to have done anything wrong at all."

Yoo Heeyeon glared at her.

"Who... are you? You don't seem to be from our academy."

"I am a student at Broad Academy. If you don't believe me, look up Jeong Eunseo. I stopped attending so I'm in F-class now, but I entered as A-class."

"Jeong Eunseo...? Isn't your father the leader of the Teore Guild?"

"Oh, you know that much?"

"As far as I know, the Teore Guild has no grudge against the Artemis Guild. Are you sure your current actions represent your guild?"

Jeong Eunseo met Yoo Heeyeon's veiled threat—trying to drag the guilds into it—head-on.

"Why is this suddenly turning into a fight between guilds? Yes, my father is the Teore Guild leader. But I'm not even a guild member yet. I'm speaking to you as Jeong Eunseo the individual to Yoo Heeyeon the individual. Are you really that clueless? Or are you trying to threaten me by bringing up the guilds?"

Perhaps growing excited as she spoke, Jeong Eunseo began pressing Yoo Heeyeon more aggressively.

Watching the scene, Lee Hyunseung thought, Damn... I'm grateful, but what the hell is she doing? How is she going to handle the aftermath...?

It was true that the Teore Guild was a high-ranking guild as well. But in a one-on-one confrontation, they weren't strong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough to defeat the Artemis Guild. There was nothing to gain from making an enemy of Yoo Heeyeon.

Yet Jeong Eunseo's attitude was unmistakably hostile.

Yoo Heeyeon glared at her furiously.

"Are you actually insane?!"

The moment Yoo Heeyeon shouted, Nam Jin-seok, who had been standing beside her, stepped in with a troubled expression.

"Please calm down. I ask that you restrain yourself as well, Miss Jeong Eunseo. We did not come here to fight."

He mediated the situation like a gentleman and continued.

"I will suggest to the Magic Tower Master that we look into whether we can utilize the mana database."

Yoo Heeyeon's body stiffened instantly. Jeong Eunseo looked at her with a triumphant expression.

"Oh my, so everything's settled now? We just have to wait for the results. It might take a month for permission to use the mana database? Or maybe longer. But as long as we have time, Lee Hyunseung's innocence will be proven, right? We just need to find out who those two unknown mana traces belong to."

Yoo Heeyeon clenched her fists tightly, her body trembling. She couldn't say a word. The Magic Tower was offering to help identify the real culprit—stopping that would be ridiculous. But she couldn't possibly admit now that she had misunderstood, hounded Lee Hyunseung, treated him like a criminal, and even used the guild's authority to get him suspended. Her father would never let it slide once he learned the full details of the incident.

While Yoo Heeyeon stood there speechless, Nam Jin-seok turned to the Dean who had been standing in the back.

"Dean, there are some things I'd like to discuss regarding the storage and use of evidence. Could we speak for a moment?"

Yoo Heeyeon stared at Nam Jin-seok with trembling eyes.