Dreadflame Family (2)
Dreadflame Family (2)
The nations of this world were not democracies.
Those who reigned as the powerful were not elected officials chosen by vote, but superhumans wielding immense strength and the factions they led.
It was a world akin to the old class systems.
Governments had long since crumbled, their place taken by superhuman factions.
These factions settled in specific regions, claiming them as their own territory.
Superhumans lorded over the ruling class, protecting ordinary people from external threats like monsters, and for the sake of survival, the ordinary people accepted a world ruled by superhumans.
The common folk, the territory's residents, were the ordinary people of that region.
The kings and nobles were the superhumans of the corresponding faction.
The reality was that the superhumans who comprised a territory wielded a prestige practically identical to kings and nobles.
There were also numerous places where even the Association's influence couldn't reach, effectively forming lawless zones.
In some cases, these areas, lacking proper institutions, deteriorated into ruins, or factions that engaged in tyranny settled in, turning the region into a living hell.
The world was maintained because the Association appropriately mediated to keep such factions from crossing the line.
'The Calamity Flame's sphere of influence... felt rather developed, though.'
Among them, the Calamity Flame family was one of the most prominent major powers.
As if to prove their prestige, the surrounding city was also developed, and the scale of the Calamity Flame main estate was overwhelmingly grand.
Wide. Large. Immense.
Ever since entering the grounds of the Calamity Flame family, such thoughts kept crossing my mind.
Having visited the mansion, it was basic etiquette to meet its master first and pay respects.
After a somewhat awkward welcome, we entrusted our luggage to the servants and followed Hong Yeon-hwa into the mansion.
And we walked for quite a long time.
We walked a considerable distance along the red carpet that even lined the corridors, but we still hadn't reached our destination.
The mansion was that vast and immense. Just how many rooms were there? The doors we'd already passed seemed to easily exceed a hundred.
Calling it a mansion felt inadequate, honestly.
At this scale, calling it a castle was more accurate, and considering the built-in defensive systems, calling it a fortress was even more fitting.
'A fortress...'
To begin with, the materials used to construct the mansion were designed for defense, and all the spells woven into it were protection and defense enchantments.
And considering the personnel constantly patrolling the mansion's interior and exterior, and their level of skill... calling it a fortress was correct.
Even the 11th Iteration 'Diamond Warrior' had taken quite some time to break through here.
One had to account for the fact that he wasn't fully grown at the time, but these were still defensive systems that took even the Diamond Warrior time to breach.
As I am now, I doubt I could even dream of breaking through.
"""Greetings, young miss!"""
While I was having those thoughts.
Every servant we encountered in the corridor kept bowing deeply to Hong Yeon-hwa, a scene that played out repeatedly.
Hong Yeon-hwa accepted their greetings with a practiced air, continuing on her way.
I felt a very strange sensation at that. It was a renewed awareness of Hong Yeon-hwa's status.
Her usual easygoing nature made it easy to forget, but Hong Yeon-hwa was the heir of the Calamity Flame family, someone destined to be one of the most powerful figures in this world.
A single word from Hong Yeon-hwa could easily topple the heads of several people.
And here I was, walking along, hand in hand with such a person... I felt a sense of security.
In the past, I had acted with fear and tension because of Hong Yeon-hwa's status, but now, the warmth of her hand gave me a feeling of safety and comfort.
Perhaps it was because this was an unfamiliar space to me, but Hong Yeon-hwa's presence beside me felt even more dependable.
It was a truly strange feeling. Something I couldn't have imagined in the past.
And...
"""Greetings, young master."""
'.......'
At the same time, the sight of the servants bowing politely to me as well gave me a strange sensation.
It wasn't strange for household servants to be courteous to a guest, of course, but... the degree of that courtesy felt a bit much.
Maybe it was because I'd never received such treatment before. It was just incredibly awkward.
After all that walking, I finally ascended to the upper floor of the building and found myself facing a magnificent door.
Even without deliberately using Observation, I could clearly tell who was inside, thanks to the conversation Eriel and Hong Yeon-hwa had shared.
- Knock, knock
"Chief Administrator, the young miss and young master have arrived."
- Enter.
When Eriel knocked on the door, a reply came from inside. Eriel then opened the door and quietly stepped aside.
Hong Yeon-hwa strode in confidently through the open door. Following her unhesitating steps, I slipped inside as well.
And I was able to observe a woman buried beneath a mountain of documents.
Black hair that reached just past her shoulders. Choi Ji-yeon, who had been scanning the documents with a bored expression, lifted her head.
Her inorganic, reddish-brown eyes blinked once.
Chief Administrator Choi Ji-yeon.
The woman married to the head of the Calamity Flame family, and the mother of Hong Yeon-hwa.
'Ugh...'
Tension involuntarily rose within me.
Was it because she was the Chief Administrator? That was part of it.
The prestige of the Calamity Flame family needed no explanation, and within that family, Choi Ji-yeon held considerable power as Chief Administrator.
She was the type who could make a few heads roll without issue.
But that wasn't the only reason for my tension.
More than that, the fact that she was Hong Yeon-hwa's mother made me nervous.
I had never made a friend in my previous lives. Naturally, I had never met a friend's parent either.
Having no experience in that area, I couldn't help but feel tense in many ways.
"Welcome. You've come earlier than I thought? And..."
Choi Ji-yeon rose from her seat.
Her gaze, which had been on Hong Yeon-hwa, shifted to settle on me.
After staring at me for a moment, Choi Ji-yeon gave a slight bow of her head.
"Thank you for gracing us with your esteemed visit. I am Choi Ji-yeon, Chief Administrator of the Calamity Flame family. Lee Ha-yul."
A greeting that was more polite than I had expected.
I was the one who was flustered. I quickly waved my hands and returned the bow with a nod.
[No, I am the one who is grateful for the invitation.]
[I am Lee Ha-yul, a friend of Hong Yeon-hwa.]
"Indeed, a friend..."
Choi Ji-yeon briefly scanned Hong Yeon-hwa.
But her gaze was very peculiar. It was the kind of look one might give something pathetic.
Choi Ji-yeon seemed about to say something, but then shook her head.
"...Never mind."
"What, why. No, why are you looking at me like that and then stopping mid-sentence?"
After those various exchanges, we sat facing each other with a table between us.
Choi Ji-yeon sat across from us, and Hong Yeon-hwa patted the seat beside her.
As soon as I plopped myself down there, Choi Ji-yeon's previously sharp eyes softened a little.
"Do you happen to have a preferred tea?"
[No.]
[I'm a complete layman when it comes to tea.]
"In that case, I shall have the same tea as the young miss brought out."
Soon after, Eriel brought tea and refreshments.
Both Choi Ji-yeon and Hong Yeon-hwa took sips of their tea. Seeing that, I also lifted my cup and took a sip.
It was warm water.
"First, allow me to offer a word of explanation."
Choi Ji-yeon, who had been moistening her throat with the tea, continued.
"It would have been proper for the master of the mansion to receive such an honored guest... however, as the family head is currently absent, I, as Chief Administrator, am receiving you in his stead."
[I am merely grateful for such undeserved hospitality.]
"What? Is dad still in the African Demon Realm?"
At that, Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been listening beside me, tilted her head.
"He went in at the start of this year. It's been months, and he's still on a subjugation mission?"
"The subjugation itself ended some time ago; he's in the middle of clean-up. But a bit of a situation has come up, and he simply can't leave his post right now."
"Ah... then what about the banquet? Is it going to proceed like this, without the family head?"
"I imagine so."
'He's away, then.'
Listening to their exchange, I nodded inwardly.
Even now, I couldn't sense the family head's presence in the mansion or anywhere else on the grounds.
It was the same even when I expanded the range of Observation to scan the city outside the estate.
The current head of the Calamity Flame family was Hong Jin-seon, Hong Yeon-hwa's father. An active top-grade hero, and according to the established facts, a figure who stood at the very precipice of pioneering.
I had been wondering why I couldn't detect the presence of such a person; it seemed he was inside the African Demon Realm.
'A situation?'
If he had entered the demon realm around now and was unable to leave his post due to 'a situation'...
'Did they discover a Tower?'
There were two Towers within the African Demon Realm.
One was an Unconquered Tower unknown to the public.
In the 8th Iteration, an attempt to clear it had to be aborted when the main base was invaded, and after multiple attempts in later iterations, it was finally cleared in the 11th Iteration.
Clearing that Tower granted a Wish Ticket that could grant a wish, limited by the Tower's capacity.
The other one was... the Tower of the Dead, which hadn't yet initiated its invasion.
In the original story, the Tower of the Dead was discovered around this time.
Of course, since its true nature couldn't be identified yet, only its existence was confirmed before being classified.
'......'
The Tower of the Dead was the Tower that initiated the first invasion and was situated in an extremely troublesome location.
Of all places, it was inside a demon realm. Even approaching it from this side was burdensome.
When the invasion began, that too was a problem.
True to its name, the Tower Master of the Dead was a necromancer-type boss.
It was a creature that meticulously raised both the corpses and souls of dead entities to use as an army.
And of all things, it would start its invasion inside a demon realm, a place overflowing with monsters to use as its army.
Because of this, once the invasion began, the horrific result was that the African Demon Realm effectively became the domain of the Tower Master of the Dead.
"—Anyway, keep that in mind. And... Lee Ha-yul?"
[Yes.]
"There is much I would like to discuss... but it would be discourteous to keep a guest who has only just arrived. Eriel will guide you to your room. Eriel?"
"Yes, I have received my instructions."
"Please rest comfortably, and when you feel ready for the verification, just say the word. The preparations are complete, so you may begin at any time that is convenient for you."
[Thank you for your kindness.]
At that reply, Choi Ji-yeon stared at me intently for a moment, then let out a faint smile.
* * *
After Lee Ha-yul and Eriel left the room, only two people remained in the Chief Administrator's office.
"With that kind of upbringing, a person would have every right to become twisted, yet he's grown up so polite and gentle."
Choi Ji-yeon, the Chief Administrator, watched the door close softly and smoothly without a sound, then took a sip of her tea. The smile she'd shown earlier had already vanished.
Across from her, Hong Yeon-hwa also read the atmosphere and merely munched on a snack in silence, not opening her mouth.
"So? Did you bring it up?"
As she was emptying her teacup in silence, Choi Ji-yeon finally inquired. There was no subject or anything else, but Hong Yeon-hwa could understand the meaning.
It was about the engagement.
And so she had nothing to say. Avoiding the gaze shooting straight at her, Hong Yeon-hwa mumbled.
"...No."
"Good grief."
At the sigh that escaped almost before she'd finished answering, Hong Yeon-hwa flinched. But she couldn't protest against it.
"You didn't say a single word? Really? In all that time?"
"Yeah..."
"Oh dear..."
For goodness' sake.
Choi Ji-yeon downed the rest of her tea in one go, as if her insides were burning.
She wanted to cool her temper with it, but unfortunately, the tea was not cold.
When she glanced at the other side of the table, she could see Hong Yeon-hwa, who had shrunk down uncharacteristically, seemingly having nothing to say for herself either.
At that sight, Choi Ji-yeon pondered for a moment.
Usually such a boisterous tomboy, she was utterly useless when it came to this.
Well, she lacked experience, and her feelings were fresh and new in so many ways...
- ...I avoided him because I thought I might just... jump him, I said...
'Fresh and new... well, it is love, at least. Hmm...'
In any case.
She had expected her daughter would bring it up and handle things herself with all that time, but it turned out she hadn't said a word and simply scampered back.
Choi Ji-yeon realized that a certain kind of shock was necessary to spur Hong Yeon-hwa into action.
"Yeon-hwa."
"Yeah..."
"Are you going to just stand by while someone else takes him from you?"
As if asking whether she'd had dinner tonight, the matter-of-fact tone made Hong Yeon-hwa jolt up.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Hong Yeon-hwa
●●●●●●●●○○(85▷86/100)
｢?｣ ｢Guilt｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Warmth｣ ｢Stability｣
...
[｢Curse of Beauty's Misfortune｣ is consuming vitality... energy...]
- Crackle...
[The Tower Master of Harmonization suppresses the ｢Curse of Beauty's Misfortune｣]
[Using points]
...
[The Tower Master of Harmonization lets out a shriek]