Chapter 91: Let’s All Watch Over Hansol Orphanage! (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: Let’s All Watch Over Hansol Orphanage! (2)
Kang Hyun-woo, the Chairman of Yuseong Group, was currently nursing a massive headache thanks to a request his son had made for the first time in a long while.
Actually, the request itself wasn’t that difficult.
It was simply to support and protect an orphanage.
Yuseong Group was one of the leading conglomerates in Korea. Naturally, they could afford to support a single orphanage. Frankly, if they were just looking to bolster their social image, they could have granted a request like this without a second thought.
In fact, looking at the request alone, the time his son asked him to hire a woman with a questionable background had been far more unsettling.
Rose.
The image of a stoic maid—exceedingly polite and efficient, yet maintaining a cold distance no matter how much the other household staff tried to approach her—flickered through his mind. However, that wasn’t a concern for today, so he pushed it to the back of his head.
Yes, the request his son brought this time was fine in itself.
The problem lay in the “merit” his son had proposed alongside the request.
“…An active Dragon Vein.”
Dragon Veins, Mana Spots—the names varied, but the essence was the same: a place where pure mana, harmless to the human body, gathered and flowed.
Usually, when mana gathered in such high concentrations, the area would begin to turn into a dungeon. However, on very rare occasions, pure mana with no specific elemental properties would slowly permeate the surroundings.
It was a rare phenomenon that required the perfect alignment of ley lines, climate, and sheer heavenly luck. To date, fewer than ten active Dragon Veins had been discovered in the entire world.
They weren’t just rare; the value of a Dragon Vein was beyond imagination.
At the simplest level, training in such a place increased the probability of a non-awakened person manifesting a talent. For those already awakened, the efficiency of their training would increase several times over.
Furthermore, what if one could draw upon the energy of the Dragon Vein itself and claim even a portion of it?
The answer was simple when one considered that one of the only three SS-rank Heroes in the world was an ordinary person who had been chosen by a Dragon Vein and swallowed its power whole.
“This is driving me crazy.”
No, it was good. It was great, actually.
If there really was a Dragon Vein there and no one else knew about it yet, he should be running there right now to bow in gratitude. The problem was how on earth his son knew about it, and the conditions his son had set.
Support the orphanage to the fullest, but do not interfere beyond remodeling. Dispatch guards.
Also, if the orphans awaken, offer them scouting proposals first.
He could understand if the boy had asked to buy the orphanage and redevelop the land, but what kind of bizarre request was this?
“…Is my boy just too kind?”
He couldn’t think of any other reason.
* * *
Well, whatever. Dragon Veins are precious now, but they’ll start appearing frequently soon enough.
They’re a rare phenomenon, so it’s not like they’ll be everywhere, but it’s not a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity either.
“Ah, that was fun. Volunteering is actually better than I thought. Is this why Lilac goes so often?”
On the way back from our volunteer work, Ha-ni seemed to be in a remarkably good mood.
“It’s not always like this. In reality, when life gets hard and barren, people tend to become quite aggressive.”
“Ah, yeah. Well, I guess I know that.”
“They say the weak aren’t always virtuous.”
“Aw, I finally did something good and I’m feeling great, so why do you have to say something like that?”
“Because if you start pestering me to go volunteering like that bastard Lilac, I think I’ll lose my mind.”
“Hey, I wouldn’t go that far, okay?”
Ha-ni walked in silence for a moment, then spun around to face me.
“Hey, next time, let’s come with everyone else.”
I couldn’t see Ha-ni’s expression clearly because she was backlit by the setting sun, but I could hear a faint hint of rejection in her voice.
She’d been hot and cold all day, but it seemed she really did have some feelings for me.
It wasn’t at the level of love yet; it was likely just a tiny seed that could be called “fondness.”
But even so, nurturing that emotion further probably didn’t sit well with her.
To a child, their parents are gods.
And her god had given her a sword first, and duty second.
To her, having just begun to know the world and form her own identity, those things were still absolute. I likely didn’t seem like a suitable person to share the burden of her duty.
“Sure. The kids would probably like Lilac, too.”
“Don’t you think Cheon Yu-hak or Yu-na would be surprisingly popular with the kids?”
“Oh, that would actually be hilarious.”
I intended to break the shackles that bound her eventually, but I suppose now wasn’t the time.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Are we friends?”
How would I have answered her question normally?
Would I have made a joke and told her to get lost and stop being creepy?
But today, I didn’t want to answer like that.
“…We’re friends.”
“…Right?”
So, until the day her shackles vanished, our relationship was perfect just like this.
For a moment, the noise in my head crackled, and the filth in my heart surged unpleasantly, but I ignored it.
What, you bastard? This is the right call for now.
So… just shut the hell up.
* * *
“…Huh?”
Park A-ram let out a confused sound as she arrived at the orphanage.
“Goodness, what is all this?”
“Ah, Ms. Park A-ram. We are guards from Yuseong Guard. This is part of the service Yuseong Group has decided to provide starting this week, so please don’t worry about it.”
“No, I’m usually the type not to worry about much, but why is Yuseong Group suddenly sponsoring this place?”
“Our Young Master visited recently.”
“Young Master?”
Yuseong Group didn’t have many heirs among the chaebol families; there was only one Young Master in the direct line.
The face of the cadet who teased her by calling himself a top student flashed through her mind.
“Kang So-hyun?”
“Yes. It seems he was troubled by what he saw after happening to come here for volunteer work.”
She knew he was more affectionate than he let on.
She also knew he had a mellow personality, having heard from Cathy for about seven hours over the phone about how he had forgiven her for putting a hole in his stomach.
However, the part where he “happened” to volunteer at the orphanage she cherished and “happened” to provide support didn’t quite sit right with her.
The Chairperson had said it.
He was a good kid, but at the same time, he rarely did anything without a reason.
“Haha, our top student did something cute, but it actually makes me more scared.”
First the man in the ghost mask, and now Kang So-hyun. It felt like a precursor symptom that this place was about to fall into danger, and it didn’t feel good.
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
With that, she began to check the safety measures she had prepared one by one.
* * *
“You guys are such traitors. Seriously, I’m so sulky right now. Can you handle it? My sulkiness?”
Monday morning.
My pathetic friend’s son approached me, talking nonsense.
Hearing a hulking male say “I’m sulky” made a surge of murderous intent rise within me.
“What is it now, Lilac? Also, can you give me some space? I have an allergy to seeing guys sulk.”
“Wow, look at that personality. Hey. Honestly, if someone is this upset, shouldn’t you try to cheer them up?”
“Really? People who are actually upset don’t say things like that.”
“Oh, based on your attitude, you think I’m the only one who’s upset? Well, I’m not!”
“…Then who else is?”
Ga-eul, sitting at my desk in her usual manner, glared at me with wide eyes in protest.
She hadn’t done it in a while, but here she was, back to her usual “Butt” antics.
“Hey, Loser.”
“What?”
“Why did you only go volunteering with Han-hee!”
Ah, so that’s why they’re upset…? Because I didn’t take them?
“Ga-eul and I are seriously pissed. To make up for this, you have to hang out with us all week, except for study and training time. Seriously.”
“I’m being very generous here. Seriously.”
Wow, the two of them are coming up with some pretty creative bullshit together, aren’t they?
“I was actually planning on taking you guys next time I went volunteering, but seeing your attitude now, I might be changing my mind.”
“Loser! Not me! Lilac made me do it! I was just momentarily tempted…!”
“Ga-eul!?”
“Pfft.”
Ah, crap.
I should have held it in, but it was too funny, and I ended up laughing.
Their expressions soured as they realized I was teasing them.
Well, honestly, what are they going to do even if they are mad?
“Ah, fine. I get it. Let’s definitely go volunteering together next time.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, I promise.”
“…Huh?”
Ah, out of habit, I stuck out my pinky, and Ga-eul’s face turned a bit red.
Maybe it was because I’d just been to the orphanage, but I kept treating them like kids.
“Is a pinky swear a bit much?”
Just as I tried to pull my hand back in a hurry, Ga-eul hooked her pinky with mine at an unbelievable speed.
“Hey, it’s a promise.”
Uh, um. Hey, Ga-eul. You’re admitting that your “crush” on Cheon Yu-hak is just a concept, right?
Afterward, Lilac stuck out his pinky asking, “Wanna do it with me too?” and I almost cut it off, but he ran away laughing.
Yeah, anyway, we can all go volunteering together.
I’ll stop the incident that’s supposed to happen before then with Ha-ni anyway.
So it won’t be a lie. Right?
* * *
A dark, secret room where they couldn’t see each other’s faces.
They were wary of one another, full of suspicion, but at least for today, they hadn’t gathered to be enemies.
“…Why is Yuseong Group suddenly getting involved?”
“It seems they caught the scent.”
Until just yesterday, they had been rivals fighting to claim Hansol Orphanage—specifically, the land around it. But due to the sudden appearance of another power yesterday, they were forced into a semi-mandatory alliance.
Yuseong.
One of the five major groups in Korea, its influence was something that could never be ignored, at least domestically.
“Fuck, how the hell are you managing your information! You morons!”
“You sound awfully certain that your side didn’t leak anything.”
“Of course. There are no morons among my people. I buried all the incompetent ones with my own hands.”
“Vulgar bastard. If you ask me, you’re the most suspicious. You rule your kids with fear, so isn’t it likely one of them ran off to sell info?”
“Oh, you’ve got quite the mouth on you. You’d better watch it if you don’t want your jaw spun around.”
The atmosphere was violent, as if a fight might break out at any second, but they eventually swallowed their anger and sat back down.
No matter how much they hated each other, they had to join forces until they dealt with Yuseong Group and leveled the orphanage.
No matter how skilled their individual forces were, they weren’t enough to take on Yuseong.
But if the three of them combined their strength, the story changed.
Of course, if Yuseong Group decided to go into an all-out war, their alliance would be meaningless, but the chances of Yuseong doing that for a mere orphanage were infinitesimally small.
Even if they had information that an unregistered dungeon might exist there, they would try to avoid an all-out war with villains considering the potential loss of human resources.
So, they had to refrain from stabbing each other in the back until they drove Yuseong out, no matter how much they despised one another.
The three villains were all thinking the exact same thing as they looked at each other.
In fact, their assumptions weren’t entirely wrong.
Kang Hyun-woo was a man capable of making cold, rational judgments. No matter how much his son asked, he didn’t like high-stakes gambling enough to antagonize three prominent villain organizations over a single unregistered dungeon.
That is, if what lay dormant beneath the orphanage was truly just a simple unregistered dungeon.
* * *
“…It seems to be true?”
“Yes. After dispatching investigators, we found that the mana concentration in the air is unnaturally high, yet no symptoms of mana poisoning are occurring.”
“What is the estimated total mana capacity of the Dragon Vein?”
“This is only the second time a Dragon Vein has appeared in Korea, so it’s not exact, but in terms of sheer capacity, they say it doesn’t fall behind the first one.”
“I see.”
Kang Hyun-woo’s hope that his son had simply been mistaken was utterly crushed.
Now that he knew a Dragon Vein was there, he couldn’t let any other power take it.
“It’s total war.”
“Pardon?”
“It means that if any hostile forces target the Dragon Vein, use every means at our disposal to crush them.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”