Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: It's Okay Because I'm a Genius Even with a Terminal Illness
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Republic of Korea, outskirts of Seoul, the countryside house where Joo Seol-hwa was staying.
Joo Ah-rin came looking for Joo Seol-hwa with three pieces of good news.
The first bit of welcome news was that the conquest of her direct team’s nest had wrapped up successfully.
“Wow, congrats, sis.”
Joo Seol-hwa beamed as if it were her own achievement.
Sure, it was just a C-rank nest, and they’d teamed up with another group to take it down, but it wasn’t meaningless.
One of the reasons the family had allowed the heir to form her own direct team was to test her organizational skills.
From that perspective, it was a pretty decent accomplishment.
It wasn’t easy for a brand-new team with no real track record to skip wandering from one hunting ground to another and straight-up bid on nest occupation rights to link up with others.
“What’s the second piece of news?”
Joo Seol-hwa asked, her cheeks faintly flushed with excitement.
“The second one is…”
Joo Ah-rin perched on the edge of Joo Seol-hwa’s bed and continued.
“I got first place on the midterms.”
“First place? No way.”
But Joo Seol-hwa’s reaction was nothing like what she’d expected.
She even started listing reasons why it couldn’t be true, her tone soft and skeptical.
“There’s Seo-yoon sis, and big bro who gets first like it’s nothing.”
“It’s real. Check it yourself.”
Joo Ah-rin shoved the midterm results text right under Joo Seol-hwa’s nose.
“Even if you show me… What?! It really is?”
“When have you ever seen me lie, sis?”
“Waaah. How’d you pull that off?”
As Joo Seol-hwa grabbed her hands and squealed, Joo Ah-rin continued in a calm voice.
“I didn’t do it alone. I got help from someone else.”
“Help? They must be a really good person. You should stay friends with them.”
Joo Seol-hwa whispered with half-lidded eyes, and Joo Ah-rin let out a small chuckle.
Not “stay friends”—“become friends” fit that person better.
“Wait a sec.”
Joo Ah-rin stood up, her heart fluttering with anticipation for the last piece of good news.
The gift Joo Seol-hwa had been waiting for.
She walked over to the desk, picked up the bag she’d left there, and said playfully.
“Close your eyes first.”
“What is this? I’m not a kid anymore. So childish.”
Joo Seol-hwa pouted like it was ridiculous.
“You are a kid. Come on, Seol-hwa.”
“There’s no one over ten who still acts like this.”
“Then I guess no Children’s Day gift for you?”
“…I’ll close my eyes. Like this? I really can’t see anything.”
In the end, Joo Seol-hwa squeezed her eyes shut tight and even covered them with her hands.
Good enough.
Joo Ah-rin pulled out the D.H. autograph, which she’d personally laminated to keep the edges crisp.
She crept up carefully and placed it right in front of Joo Seol-hwa’s eyes.
“Open them now.”
“Okay.”
Joo Seol-hwa opened her eyes with a flicker of expectation, only to show disappointment right away.
…What’s this?
Just a scrap of paper.
“…Huh?”
But it was only for a moment.
Then she spotted the signature and the artist’s name, and her eyes went wide.
D.H., author of Portrait of a Girl!
Next to her own name, written in elegant script: “Hoping we meet someday…”
“Wow…”
Joo Seol-hwa reached out slowly in awe, clutched the autograph gently, then jumped up and started bouncing around.
Sis I love you—I bet I’m the first one to get this—This thing’s super valuable—
She poured out words nonstop and threw herself into a hug, leaving Joo Ah-rin happy yet bittersweet.
It stung a little, losing out to some celebrity she’d never even seen.
“You like it that much?”
“This isn’t the time for that.”
Joo Seol-hwa hopped off the bed and pulled out an empty picture frame.
She carefully slid the autograph in, mindful not to crease it.
Then she placed it right next to her most treasured painting without a second thought.
Heh heh.
She kept giggling so much her head hurt.
Joo Seol-hwa stared at the autograph in silence for a while before asking Joo Ah-rin.
“Sis, do you think we’ll ever get to meet them someday?”
“Huh?”
“The author invited us, right? Said we should definitely meet.”
“Oh, that…”
She couldn’t bring herself to say it was probably just empty words to a kid.
She couldn’t ignore those expectant eyes in the name of reality.
In the end, she nodded and murmured softly.
“Yeah, let’s go find them. I’ll make sure you meet them, sis.”
And she made a vow.
At the family’s first-half general assembly in a few weeks, she’d bring up going out…
“Really?”
The two sisters hugged tight, sharing body heat for a good while.
….
And right on cue, the usual routine kicked in.
“You hungry? I’ll make some spaghetti.”
“…Huh? Oh, no. I ate a big breakfast. Not hungry.”
“That won’t do. You have to eat on schedule. Today I’ll try a new recipe—mixing store-bought sauce with some soup.”
“W-wait, sis.”
Joo Seol-hwa reached out hurriedly, but Joo Ah-rin had already turned away.
* * *
If life went exactly according to plan, would that even be life?
The salty tang of pizza still lingered in my mouth.
Somehow, here I was on the seaside cliffs of Nice, a southern French city.
Crashing waves battered the long stretch of coastal cliffs, and I ran with the spectacular spray as my companion.
Before long, I reached the cypress path where Han Su-hyuk had vanished.
The entrance to the Demonic Space was the last cypress on the right.
I hesitated, not reaching out right away.
I’d made it here, to the goal I might not have found without spotting Han Su-hyuk.
But plunging in blindly suddenly filled me with worry.
The moment I stepped inside, everyone would be an enemy.
I had no idea what his connection was to the mysterious group, but I couldn’t expect to come out unscathed.
….
Still, backing off now was out of the question.
I’d come this far.
Come back later?
What if I missed the window?
The one piece of evidence—the hope of moving to the next stage—would fly away.
The thread of pursuit I’d finally unraveled would snap.
Even calling Reina would be too late now.
So…
“I’m going in.”
But not like this—I’d set up at least minimal precautions.
I dug into my pocket and pulled out two spare strands of Thousand Silent Thread.
Then I twisted them together.
Wrapping one around the other like a braid to make it even sturdier.
Still uneasy, I even tried reinforcing it.
[Reinforce the Thousand Silent Thread's strength by 2x for 10 minutes.]
[Required SP: 15]
It felt pricey, but thinking of it as a lifeline chased those thoughts away.
If I framed it as handing back points earned from a few words yesterday, it sat better.
[Reinforce.]
I wrapped the reinforced Thousand Silent Thread around two cypresses.
It only had to hold my weight, so this support was plenty. The other end went around my waist.
It felt like bungee jumping without a cord before, but now with a real line, I relaxed a bit.
If danger hit, I could retract the thread in a flash.
I’d escape at ridiculous speed.
Of course, I hadn’t accounted for variables from the Demonic Space differing from reality itself.
No way to know. No time.
With the reinforcement, I just had to hope it held.
[‘Greed’ warns that it’s a dangerous place.]
[Asks if you really have to go.]
At least having Greed around was some comfort.
I copy-pasted the line I’d used yesterday.
“People always have times when they have to go even if they don’t want to. This is that time for me.”
The response was different this time.
[‘Greed’ snorts.]
[Says the wise choice is not going if you don’t want to.]
Fair point.
But I’d always been reckless.
When I see a goal, I charge like a wild boar with its tail on fire. Ram first, think later—that’s how I stay sane.
“Got it?”
I tossed a word at Greed and stared at the cypress.
To sum up, the goal was to get info on the ‘Booster’ without getting caught.
If I got spotted?
Then I’d just ask. What exactly the Booster was.
What they were scheming with it.
Whether the target was Han Su-hyuk or one of the Fons.
Neither seemed the type to answer willingly, but that was a problem for later.
Worst case, if it looked like I’d die, I’d ditch the boar act and run.
* * *
I’d passed through Demonic Spaces plenty of times, but the feeling was always the same: disgustingly sticky.
Moving between spaces felt like squeezing through tight, slimy walls.
But once you adapted, the indescribable otherworldliness left you dazed for a moment.
Same this time.
As the colder air seeped into my lungs, I breathed shallow and slow, scanning ahead.
There was the two-story mansion I’d been searching for.
But the low sky and gloomy weather made it different from what I’d pictured.
No trace of luxury—just eerie and sinister.
Well, that didn’t mean I was turning back, so I tried linking eyes with Fly B first.
Static—
No response.
I sent Fly A as a test, but it just circled nearby. Something cloaked the mansion—past a certain distance, it plummeted powerlessly.
“Damn.”
No luck to hope for. Had to go in myself.
One-stroke 1-star Wind Control Technique: Concealment.
I erased my mana presence with the spell, checked the thread at my waist.
This should do. I crept toward the mansion.
Was it always this big?
Up close, it was palace-sized. The door was massive.
I opened it as quietly as possible, but it still creaked.
“…”
I heightened my senses to the max and scanned for presences.
Seemed empty. I slipped inside fast.
Crouched low like a frog, I checked the interior.
Much darker than outside—like night. Otherwise, as expected.
Old wooden furniture showed signs of age, dust thick from neglect.
And dead silent. Like no one was home.
Step step.
But after venturing deeper inside, a few steps and breaths later.
The moment I caught the faint metallic blood scent lingering in the air…
“Gasp.”
I knew something had gone down between Han Su-hyuk, the Fons, and the mystery group.
“…They fought?”
I’d thought they were allies or in business.
Debating whether to go further or stop here, I realized halting now meant nothing—and pressed on.
Pinching my nose half-covered with my sleeve, I followed the blood scent.
Past the entry space, into a hallway at the back.
Five minutes later, another door.
I figured the blood’s source was beyond it and stared hard, trying to pierce it.
But I couldn’t see much.
Some bulging shapes, but not enough to guess the situation.
Either no light, thick outer walls, or both.
No choice. Approached.
Please work.
I sat by the door and pulled out Fly A again.
Bzzz—
Luckily, inside the building, the interference was weaker. It flew fine, transmission smooth.
Cracked the door slightly and sent Fly A in.
It switched to night mode and charged into the dark.
Another pair of eyes scanning the interior.
Transmitting everything it saw to my watch.
.
.
I barely swallowed a groan that almost burst out.
“Hup.”
Nothing but corpses.
Black-masked figures matching the sword-wielder’s memories.
The ones called Fons—their bodies piled up like a tower.
I stared at the gore-soaked hall, speechless.
…?
Then I realized one was missing.
“…Han Su-hyuk.”
That instant.
“One left alive.”
A rough voice echoed chillingly from the forward darkness.
Gleaming eyes piercing the gloom toward me.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
[‘Greed’ warns—]
Kwarung!
Sudden crimson-black demonic energy shot forth.
The moment I registered it, a tyrannical crescent blade closed in.
“Crazy…”
The instinctive urge to dodge triggered the Thousand Silent Thread.
Space warped briefly.