Confidence (2)
There are countless information guilds across the world, but ask anyone which stands at the top and every last one of them will answer the same: France’s Iris Guild.
It makes no difference whether a guild is run by a private individual, a family, or even a government. The other information guilds have a name for Iris.
An unscalable wall.
There are many reasons Iris rose to the summit of its trade. The sheer depth and reliability of the intelligence it has amassed over decades of continuous operation. The unshakable solidity of an organization that has never once collapsed, despite wearing the target that comes with calling itself an information guild. The ability to resolve even the most impossible commissions, so long as the price is right.
But ask what single factor contributed most to making Iris the greatest of them all, and every mouth will form the same answer.
Because of the Guild Leader. Because of Isaac.
The man who earned the moniker Night Emperor with nothing but his own two hands, and who came to rule the world’s night. Night Emperor Isaac. Guild Leader of the Iris Guild—and Elise’s father.
In the hours when Elise lay collapsed after receiving her massage from Lee Hoyeon, a man strode into the Guild Leader’s office of the French Iris Guild, raking a hand back through his hair.
“Where the hell did that crazy horse bastard run off to.”
Tsk.
Isaac slipped a cigar between his lips as if it belonged there and exhaled a slow stream of smoke. He had been tracking the Centaur that had appeared in France without pause, and every time he closed in, the thing simply vanished.
He had staked the honor of the Iris Guild itself and personally assembled a pursuit team—and still the results were this pathetic. He could not let it stand.
Given his druthers he would have kept hunting for days more… but he could not leave the guild unattended forever. Messages had piled up.
Because of the nature of his power, which sharpened at night, Isaac slept through the day and worked through the dark. In the black of night, a single moment of carelessness could mean life or death. For that reason, he ignored every contact that came in during business hours. It was precisely that single-minded focus that kept him on the throne.
Of course, there were exceptions. If his daughters or his wife were in danger, he dropped everything and ran. That was how a man as incorrigible a flirt as Isaac still managed to keep a family.
Puff. Puff.
Isaac blew out another ribbon of smoke and eyed the documents heaped on his desk. Most of the work was handled below, but there were always matters that required his personal hand—which was why he had to stop by the guild every few days.
“Still in the black… tsk. Filthy how much it dropped, though.”
He leafed through the papers that had stacked up in only a few days’ absence and swallowed a low sound of irritation. The Centaur’s appearance in France had soured the mood of the entire guild.
“I thought luck was finally on our side this year… and then some goddamn monster like that shows up.”
Of all things, why did a boss monster with intelligence that high have to appear in France? Worse, the thing radiated a dark mana that was similar to a Fiend’s—and somehow even more sinister. The research teams claimed it was a type never before recorded, and they were chalking its absurd escapes up to that strange mana as well.
Isaac leaned back in his chair, flipping through documents one by one, and scrawled his signature in a rough hand. He was tired, and besides, the people under him had surely managed things well enough. The most important reason he kept living—his wife—was the Vice Guild Leader, and more than capable.
“Ah. Here it is.”
The second reason Isaac kept living.
His daughter, Elise.
The academies in France were not of a high enough caliber, so she had gone abroad to study at Victoria Academy—the most prestigious in the world. Even with her congenital mana disorder, she was already being called a rising star among her peers. Watching her give everything she had under those circumstances, love for his daughter simply welled up of its own accord.
Of course, she was in her rebellious phase lately, which made things a little rough… but she would grow out of it soon enough.
In any case, a father fretting over a daughter far from home received weekly reports on Elise.
Right before I left on the mission, the report said she was looking for a treatment method from the Saint, Baek Ayoung. And that she’d stopped the mana massage partway through.
Mana massage.
Isaac did not ordinarily put stock in such things—but if there was even the faintest hope of treating Elise, he would invest as much as it took.
Because she was his daughter. Elise.
“Cost of the masseuse… mm. Fair enough.”
The hiring fee itself had not been that high. What had eaten the real money was the condition of keeping Elise’s secret. They had spent a considerable sum and come away with nothing to show for it… but that was fine.
Because she was his daughter. Elise.
“Hmm. Second place on the exam… and hiring a new mana masseuse… name’s Lee Hoyeon?”
Lee Hoyeon.
He had heard that name somewhere before…
“This is the bastard who got the commission ticket.”
A commission ticket that let you place a request directly with the Guild Leader. Something money alone could not buy. The ticket he had handed over in a fit of indulgence after Elise’s long-overdue display of affection—and this was the one who had taken it.
Up to that point, fine. Because she was his daughter. Elise. If the boy was a truly good friend, that much was within reason. And fortunately, it had been resolved at the level of the Korean branch director without Isaac himself having to go.
The problem lay elsewhere.
“This one’s a man.”
Hiring a male masseuse…?
Sebas Chan had clearly said Elise only wanted a female masseuse. And yet the documents stated that Elise herself had felt the effects.
“…Not a scam, is it?”
Isaac searched Lee Hoyeon’s photograph on his smartwatch. Articles. Interviews. He played one of them, and his expression hardened by degrees.
From that young bastard… the scent of his own kind rolled off thick.
The sly personality and the silver tongue. The corners of the mouth that lifted so naturally mid-conversation. That eye-smile unique to womanizers, the kind that reeled the opposite sex in. And last of all, a face that was disgustingly handsome. On top of which, the boy’s ability was absurdly outstanding. They were calling him the future of mages the world over.
It was like looking at his younger self.
Isaac’s instincts were speaking clearly. That one was no ordinary man. He was not a man who would make Isaac’s daughter happy.
“Maybe I’ll take a little leave.”
It was about time he gave the pursuit team that had been chasing the Centaur a rest anyway. A few days off would be fine.
Isaac set Elise’s documents down as they were and walked out of the Guild Leader’s office.
In a room near the office, a beautiful blonde woman was at work. Isaac approached her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Honey? I’ve got somewhere I need to step out to for a bit.”
“You’re not going to meet another woman again, are you?”
“As if. You’re the only one for me. I’m going to see Elise.”
“Hmm. You’re not the type to sell even Elise… fine. Mwah.”
Isaac began preparing at once to leave for Korea.
And thanks to that hasty decision, he never read the sentence written on the back of the page.
P.S. Should the Guild Leader happen to visit in person, I suspect Lady Elise would be most displeased. Kindly leave matters here in my hands and devote yourself to the guild’s affairs.
— Respectfully submitted, Sebas Chan
“Nnh….”
Sunlight prying at the insides of my eyelids dragged me out of sleep. When I opened my eyes, the blackout curtains I had installed to keep the morning light out were thrown wide open.
“…Guess someone left them open last night.”
It hadn’t been me… but there was a decent chance Liliana had opened them and gone to sleep that way.
It was the weekend, so I didn’t have to go to the Academy. That was nice. When I’d been stuck in the hospital there hadn’t been any distinction between weekdays and weekends, but after only a single day back at the Academy, the weekend already felt this good. People really were strange creatures.
“Mmnn….”
Liliana was still dead asleep, face buried in my chest to hide from the sunlight. She’d been so down yesterday, and here she was sleeping like a rock again. Of course, this was still better than watching her be depressed.
I gave the chest of the Liliana lying beside me a light pinch, pulled the blanket up over her, and got out of bed.
Six in the morning. At an hour this early, surely no one else was up…
Or not.
A soft clatter of dishes drifted from the kitchen. Of the people living in the dorm, only two ever went into the kitchen. And since Scarlet wasn’t here… that left one.
Still in my sleep clothes, I stepped into the kitchen and offered a greeting.
“Morning.”
“You’re up. You and Liliana looked like you were sleeping well.”
“…Ahem.”
I let out an awkward little laugh, suddenly self-conscious, but Nam Daeun didn’t seem to care in the slightest as her hands kept moving. When I stepped closer, I saw she was putting together simple dishes—kimbap, rolled omelet, that sort of thing. Cute octopus sausages and character fish cakes were a bonus.
“What are you making?”
“I’m taking Daehee out to play today.”
“Oh… I’m jealous. Take me too.”
I’d been wondering what to do with myself today since I had nothing planned. Perfect timing.
“No. Today is just for the two of us.”
Come on—these sisters spent time alone together every single day. How much more did they need? Still, watching Nam Daeun wrap kimbap with that contented little smile on her face put me in a good mood anyway.
Feeling mischievous, I set a hand on Nam Daeun’s chest and started fondling her.
“Feed me one of those sausages.”
“I bought the same amount for Daehee and for me… can’t you just eat the omelet?”
Nam Daeun looked up at me with a faintly troubled expression. Seeing a face like that only made me want to tease her more.
I worked the hand on her chest even more diligently as I went on.
“We’re dating, aren’t we? You’re the one who said it out loud.”
The day she’d finished taking her revenge on Park Min-gyu. What Nam Daeun had said over dinner with Daehee. The moment I brought it up, her face began to flush red exactly as I’d expected.
“…Eat all of mine, then.”
“I’m kidding. How could I steal yours?”
“You’re awful.”
“Heh. Come to think of it, where’s Daehee?”
“She’ll be up soon. I was going to wake her with me, but… you and Liliana were sleeping naked, so I couldn’t.”
“…Sorry.”
Throwing that at me out of nowhere left me with nowhere to go. Feeling guilty toward Nam Daeun, I eased the hand that had been groping her chest away.
“Were you the one who opened the blackout curtains?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t exactly shake you awake.”
“…Wow.”
Refusing to lay a hand on her sleeping boyfriend’s body—was there a more devoted wife in the world? I was so moved I started to pull Nam Daeun into a hug when a creak sounded and the door swung open.
I yanked my hands off her body at once.
“Unnie… why didn’t you wake me up.”
“Sorry, Daehee. You’re up?”
Nam Daeun gave me a light shove and hurried over to Nam Daehee.
Tch.
Somehow I was the only one left looking like trash.
I sank onto the living room sofa and checked my smartwatch.
“I should ask what Lucy and Rumi are up to. Ayoung’s probably busy. Ah—and I still need to grab a meal with Surin noona.”
I sent messages to Lucy and Rumi, then shot Surin noona a quick what-are-you-doing text as well.
Ding—
“Oh. Fast.”
The reply landed the instant I hit send.
The early bird catches the worm.
Today, I was going to see my Surin noona.