A Father's Stern Hand
"Ah, Dad? What are you doing here?"
"What the hell is this disgraceful behavior of yours!"
Na Eun-sol was nothing but flustered. The father who had never once raised his voice at her, who had never spoken a single harsh word, was now roaring as if he meant to devour her whole. She just blinked before the words tumbled out.
"No, Dad! Just listen to me for a second!"
"Enough!"
The snitching continued. Na Tae-san, who had no desire to hear any of it, bellowed the command, yet Na Eun-sol was not the sort to back down. She fixed him with her trademark cynical glare.
"Why are you yelling? Do you even know what just happened to me? I'm really upset right now!"
"......?"
What on earth was going on? Cheon Hae-beom could only find the entire scene absurd. How had a simple argument escalated until even this middle-aged man had been dragged into it?
Na Tae-san strode straight toward Na Eun-sol. Even then her words kept pouring out.
"Dad! Answer me! Can't you see the state I'm in right now?! Because of this crazy bastard, my clothes—"
Slap!
Her words cut off mid-sentence. The cause was Na Tae-san's raised hand. It happened in such a flash that Cheon Hae-beom had no chance to intervene.
".... Dad?"
Na Eun-sol's pupils dilated. She lifted a trembling hand and touched the place where she had been struck. Did I really just get hit? She still could not believe it; her mouth only opened and closed soundlessly.
"I told you to stop. Na Eun-sol."
Na Tae-san drove the point home, and at last she grasped the situation.
"......."
The first emotion that surfaced was rage. The fact that she had been struck filled her with raw injustice and fury. Yet the one who had done it was the father who had cared for her her entire life. The moment that thought settled, the anger drained away and sorrow took its place.
"Why...."
Na Eun-sol lifted her head and looked at him. The father who always met her with a warm smile today wore an expression like some kind of goblin.
"Whyeee...."
She finally could not hold the feelings back. Clear liquid streamed down her cheeks.
"Hic...... Dad! Why are you like this!"
"Apologize."
"Why are you doing this, Dad! Waaah!"
"Apologize right now!"
"Hic. I'm sorry, Dad. Don't be mad......."
Even his daughter's tears did not sway him. Na Tae-san maintained his cold, solemn demeanor without a crack.
"Not to me. Apologize to the gentleman standing in front of you. Na Eun-sol."
"Daaad......."
"Hurry!"
Na Eun-sol wanted to scream from pure injustice. Why do I have to apologize? Yet the unstoppable tears kept catching in her throat.
"Hic... hic..."
She finally spun around and bolted. It looked like her own brand of rebellion, yet—
"Ah, hic... Hello......."
She bobbed a quick bow as she passed Ma Seong-yong.
"Hiya..."
The sight of her greeting him while still sobbing was faintly comical.
In a single moment far too many situations and pieces of information had been dumped into my head.
So... that crazy bitch just now was Na Eun-sol?
Na Eun-sol, one of the main heroines of the original novel. I had thought her face looked somehow familiar; she was the spitting image of the illustration.
As expected... her personality is absolute trash.
Exactly as the novel described. A typical piece of garbage—completely drunk on her own self-importance and a master at looking down on others. A carbon copy of the original portrayal. A verbal brawl with a heroine on the very first day of possession. How spectacular.
"I'm terribly sorry, Elder. I've ended up causing nothing but trouble. How am I even supposed to apologize..."
If this man was Na Eun-sol's father, then he had to be Na Tae-san, chairman of the Haeseong Group. But why would a heavyweight like him be offering me an apology? I could not make sense of it at all.
"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Na Tae-san, chairman of the Haeseong Group—the one who had an appointment with you. And also the father of the young lady who just had that friction with you, Elder. This is truly embarrassing."
Since the other side was being so polite, I had no choice but to answer with equal courtesy.
"It's fine. I wasn't entirely blameless either."
"No. It is entirely due to my inadequate parenting. I hope you can understand with your broad magnanimity, Elder."
Was he doing this on purpose? The constant low posture and stream of apologies only made me more uncomfortable.
"It seems today is not the day. Your mood must not be at ease either, Elder. I will content myself with simply having seen your face."
Na Tae-san bowed his head once more.
"Please make some time for me whenever you are free, Elder. Then I will take my leave."
From the nuance of his words it seemed an appointment had been arranged with me, yet it had been postponed. If anything, that was fortunate. Since I knew nothing of the prior arrangement, a meeting with Na Tae-san was not particularly welcome.
He said something to Ma Seong-yong as well, then disappeared.
"Master. Just what on earth happened?"
"......."
I wanted to ask the opposite. Just what had caused this whole mess?
First I need to clear the quest.
I had almost forgotten because of the sudden encounter with Na Eun-sol. The quest to take up the post of Academy instructor. To clear it I needed Ma Seong-yong's agreement.
"Seong-yong."
Speaking casually to a middle-aged man who looked as if he had lived several times longer than me still felt wrong to a citizen of the land of Eastern etiquette. But right now I was Cheon Hae-beom.
"I've changed my mind."
"Yes? What do you mean by that?"
"That teaching thing you mentioned? I'll give it a try."
At my bombshell statement Ma Seong-yong's shoulders flinched.
"What? R-really?"
"Yes."
When I spoke with even firmer conviction, Ma Seong-yong simply blinked his enlarged pupils as if overcome. After a few soft sounds of admiration he spoke in a voice mixed with concern.
"Haa... Well, of course I welcome it, but I hope I did not force this upon you, Master..."
"No. Let's just say a personal curiosity has arisen."
"Indeed.... Understood, Master! I will help you so that you never come to regret that choice!"
Fortunately he did not seem particularly suspicious. That must mean I was doing a decent job of acting as Cheon Hae-beom. Encouraged by his reaction, I filled my expression with as much dignity as I could muster and nodded solemnly.
"Someone like Master...? Hmm? Master?"
Something was off. Ma Seong-yong, who until a moment ago had been admiring me with open delight, suddenly stopped speaking and simply stared. Rising anxiety made me try to read his gaze. The meaning was only one: pure suspicion directed at me. Had he noticed something strange?
Gulp.
I unconsciously swallowed dry saliva and nearly choked, barely managing to hold it in. I steadied my spinning head and tried to predict the future that was about to unfold.
Am I... am I going to die?
Even if I said my limbs would be torn off it would not be a lie. If it was that man Ma Seong-yong, he really might do it. In my dizzy vision his lips parted.
"Master, your energy has somehow changed?"
Fuck. What the hell was he saying all of a sudden? It felt like he was deliberately testing me. I hid every emotion and kept a perfect poker face. Ma Seong-yong furrowed his brows and examined every inch of me.
"Hmm... the flow of mana...... Hah... M-Master!"
Right. He had said I was in a mana-disabled state, hadn't he? I was screwed.
Thud.
Suddenly Ma Seong-yong's legs gave out and he collapsed. It seemed the sense of loss at losing his master had robbed the strength from his legs. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to shut out reality. Yet no matter how much time passed, the pain that should have arrived never came, so I cracked my eyes open a fraction.
"......?"
Ma Seong-yong, still prostrate, was trembling all over. He spoke in a voice thick with emotion.
"At last. Have you finally achieved mastery!"
"What?"
"I believed in you! I never once doubted that Master would accomplish it for all to see!"
I could not understand a single word. What had I mastered, and what had he believed?
Phew... At least I saved my life.
With him so moved I could not simply stay silent.
"Yes. Quite a long time has passed, but I finally did it."
"Master!"
I needed to stop talking. If I simply stayed quiet, Ma Seong-yong would start explaining the phenomenon from his side anyway.
"For things to turn out like this."
Due to unexpected circumstances the appointment with Cheon Hae-beom had been canceled. Given who the other party was, it had been a precious meeting that might never come again, and Na Tae-san could not hide his regret. He clicked his tongue and opened the door.
.... One mountain after another.
Not far away he saw a woman's back. Na Eun-sol was squatting at the edge of the sidewalk. The attendants hovered around her, completely at a loss. Looking at the scene only made him sigh.
"Na Eun-sol."
No answer. Even though she had clearly heard, she refused to reply and instead radiated pure sulkiness. Na Tae-san had no choice but to approach and tap her shoulder.
Tap tap.
"Eun-sol."
"Forget it. I'm not talking to Dad anymore."
"...."
It felt as if the quiet wind that followed the storm might cut him. Even so he continued.
"Eun-sol. About just now, Dad is sorry too. But if you keep making people uncomfortable like that every time, you're smearing mud on Dad's face. Do you understand?"
The words came from the heart. Simply because she was his flesh and blood he had coddled her far too much. Even when she did wrong he never scolded her harshly; he had only ever shown her good things and spoken kind words. That affection seemed to have spoiled her character, and his worries were no small matter. He had known all along yet turned a blind eye, and because of that today's misfortune had occurred. He could not keep going like this forever. Na Tae-san forced his mouth to move.
"I..."
"I said I'm not talking! Don't talk to me either, Dad!"
"Stop throwing tantrums and listen to me."
"Annoying... I'm leaving."
As was always the case with adolescents in their rebellious phase, a parent's words never even reached their ears. Na Eun-sol was an even more severe case by nature. She left without so much as pretending to listen.
".... She's thoroughly sulking."
He watched his daughter's back grow distant. He wanted to run after her and grab her right then, yet now was the time to steel his heart.
"Let's go."
Na Tae-san climbed into the black sedan. Settling into the comfortable seat, he recalled the earlier meeting with Cheon Hae-beom.
"Regrettable. So regrettable."
In truth there had been several reasons he had looked forward to the meeting. Simple admiration, and a selfish desire to work together as a business partner. What kind of era was this, after all? In a world where monsters ran rampant, superhumans thrived, and the world's spotlight inevitably fell upon them. As a result companies expanding into that field were thick as weeds, and the Haeseong Group was one of them.
If only I could pull that man Cheon Hae-beom into our guild.....
The anecdotes he had heard from Ma Seong-yong. He had assumed there would be some exaggeration, yet he had been proven spectacularly wrong. The man was far more incredible than anything he had been told.
So quiet that even the flow of mana could not be felt.
The greatest difference between an ordinary civilian and a superhuman was one thing: the presence or absence of mana. As a civilian Na Tae-san did not truly understand mana, yet he could vaguely sense it from the auras of the heroes around him. His own daughter Na Eun-sol and Ma Seong-yong were perfect examples. No matter how tightly they suppressed their power, a speck of mana always leaked out and exerted the slightest pressure on ordinary people. But what about Cheon Hae-beom?
It was as if...... mana did not even exist.
Cheon Hae-beom had perfectly concealed the mana within his body. It was a phenomenon that could only be explained by mana control having reached near-perfect mastery. Or rather, the assumption that he possessed no mana at all felt more realistic. The extraordinary feat he had just displayed transcended the category of ordinary humans.
"Amazing."
Because of his high position he had met countless superhumans—from worthless sidekicks to beings whose power could swallow an entire nation. Every one of them had radiated an irresistible sense of intimidation. Cheon Hae-beom, by contrast, had simply felt ordinary. Yet that very ordinariness drove Na Tae-san even more mad.
If he were to fully employ the mana within his body based on such control...... it is unfathomable.
The more he thought, the more admiration rose. What would happen if he recruited that man into the Haeseong Guild?
There is always the risk of getting burned from greed, of course. And Seong-yong hyung-nim would not look kindly on me either.
Even while knowing the danger, his heart kept drifting that way. The Haeseong Guild was growing stormily on the strength of its capital, yet it was still a newcomer. They were working themselves to the bone recruiting unaffiliated talent. In that situation, the existence of Cheon Hae-beom was either rain in a drought or a full-blown storm. He hesitated. An uncontrolled weapon might someday turn and pierce its owner's throat. That very problem had ruined more than one company that tried to maintain a guild. Of course Na Tae-san prided himself on never yielding to arrogant heroes. Yet the other party was none other than Cheon Hae-beom, master of the S-class hero Ma Seong-yong—a double-edged sword that could not be swung carelessly. If he took him in he might not be able to handle him; if he gave up, the regret would be unbearable.
Haa... What should I do.
Na Tae-san calmed his wavering heart and deliberated. First came the character of the man named Cheon Hae-beom. In most cases the downward spiral began when heroes with rotten personalities made unreasonable demands on a guild. And Cheon Hae-beom's disposition had been truly moving. Even faced with his daughter's rudeness he had said nothing special and had instead offered an apology. More surprising still was the consideration of restraining his own mana for Na Tae-san's sake. When the man faced him with an expression that never changed, as if such consideration were only natural, it inspired genuine reverence.
.......
The thoughts continued without end. How much time passed, he could not say. When the long contemplation finally ended, Na Tae-san reached his decision.
I should recruit him after all. Quickly—before some other bastard snatches him up.