Chapter 273
Chapter 273
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 273
Chapter Title: 89. Partner (1)
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A few days passed after that.
After Team White's ugly self-destruction.
True to their words thrown out during the live broadcast, they completely withdrew from personal communications.
Their SNS accounts were deleted, and all their external activities came to a halt.
Along with that, Team Coin's misdeeds surfaced, drawing public attention to the teams that had suffered from the slander of White and Coin.
Thanks to this, the teams that had been criticized by Team Coin began to receive reevaluation.
However, Team White didn't completely drop out of the divine superhuman competition under the pretext of turning themselves in, and White didn't collapse into debt either.
The @Search_me_Plzzz channel vanished quickly, so their fake攻略 didn't cause much of a stir. Tier Blanc interpreted this as the influence of high-ranking superhumans from the ranking oversight department who had profited from fake攻略 in the past.
"Thank you, sir!"
"Really, really thank you... I feel so relieved now..."
Anyway, it was around then that he parted ways with those guys.
From now on, the remaining period would be pure competition. It was their turn from here.
"I'll be off. Do your best."
"Yes! Take care!"
He gave a casual farewell and left the office.
Voices murmured from the office behind him.
— Ah, it feels so good to finally let it all out.
— Now we won't get bashed unfairly, right?
— Of course not.
— I feel at ease now. But doesn't Mr. Yoo Ji-tae seem like Superman?
— Exactly! He's like Mao Zedong!
— What?
— Why...?
— Oh right! Hey, hey. Autumn! Mr. Ji-tae. Do you need a pet by any chance?!
— Huh? W-what pet?!
— I potty train well!
— Ah! I-I can even wash the food bowls!
— No, no? Th-that won't do!
— Why!
— I can do it too...!
— Uh...?
He paused to eavesdrop on the absurd conversation, then turned to leave.
That's when Yoo Gaeul opened the office door and ran toward him down the hallway.
"Oh? Mister! You haven't left yet?"
"I'm leaving now. What's up."
"No way! How can you just dip without a proper goodbye...!"
"We talk on the phone all the time anyway."
"Still! That's too cold...!"
Was it?
He realized he was still lacking in these little things.
Yoo Gaeul pursed her lips and twirled a strand of her golden hair around her finger for a moment before speaking.
"No, it's not like I have some grand words... I just felt like I should say goodbye properly. And apologize a bit too..."
"Apologize for what? You did what needed doing."
"Just... I feel pathetic. I didn't want to rely on help this time..."
Yoo Gaeul looked a little bitter.
Seeing herself as pathetic meant she was embarrassed to accept help. And being embarrassed about help meant she believed she could do it on her own.
So Yoo Ji-tae felt this was another sign of her mental growth.
He approached her, bending down to meet her eye level.
"It's fine. You're doing great."
"Yeah..."
"If you need help in the future, just say so anytime. Two months left in the ranking competition. Take care of yourself until the end."
"Okay."
"And while you're here, make sure to find your dream."
Yoo Gaeul nodded.
As Yoo Ji-tae turned and walked down the hallway,
Yoo Gaeul called out to his back.
"Phone calls...!"
"Huh?"
"Can I call more often?"
Yoo Ji-tae nodded.
"Every day if you want."
Only then did Yoo Gaeul shake off her bitterness and smile.
The short fiasco of the past few days ended there.
A month passed.
November. The weather began to turn chilly.
Winter was approaching as it did every year.
With only one month left until the end of the ranking competition,
Yoo Ji-tae was personally scouting various locations on foot to find a new training ground for Yoo Yeoreum.
Teaching is about providing tools.
He had given her tools and taught her how to use them. That was all he could do.
He always gave only one tool at a time. He didn't hand out new ones haphazardly because if she couldn't master the ones she had, new ones would be meaningless.
But Yoo Yeoreum had spent the last three months as Team Mochi's leader, fighting non-stop. She had nearly perfected the use of her current tools.
Which meant it was time to give her a new one.
As Yoo Ji-tae sat on the living room sofa, messaging Yoo Yeoreum,
"Oh? Team Lair is number one in the media estimates?"
Bom muttered beside him.
She wasn't one to talk to herself.
So it was meant for him to hear.
Just as they competed outside, there was subtle rivalry in Room 301 too. Bom had been visiting Yoo Gaeul every weekend to teach her magic lately. Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-tae was Yoo Yeoreum's mentor. As the external competition heated up, internal mind games emerged.
"Yeah. I saw. Team White dropped to second."
"Yes. Our Gaeul is doing so well, right?"
"She's doing great."
Mischief played on Bom's face. She naturally sat next to him.
"If I'd known it'd be this favorable for me, I should've made a bet."
"I'd win anyway. Yeoreum's laughing."
"Why is she laughing?"
"The strong have leisure."
"Is that so? Gaeul's laughing too."
Bom held out page 2 of the newspaper with Yoo Gaeul's profile photo.
What era still prints paper newspapers? Still, Yoo Ji-tae decided to side with Yoo Yeoreum.
"Yeoreum's still holding back her power."
"Only a month left, and she's still holding back?"
"She's saving it to sprint when others tire."
"Doesn't seem like it... The paper says Team Mochi has been the most diligent in攻略 over the last three months."
Truth be told, Bom was right.
Despite her best efforts, Yoo Yeoreum was being outdone by Yoo Gaeul.
It was inevitable. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't overcome a vast gap in innate ability.
Just as a four-legged creature couldn't outrun a flying one no matter how desperately it ran, Team Yeoreum beating Team Gaeul was realistically impossible. Not yet.
Bom rustled the newspaper and continued.
"And they're saying the Mage's Tower is looking for who taught Gaeul her magic."
"What for if they find them."
"Just curious, apparently. It's not easy to teach someone to handle such high-output magic."
"Who said that?"
"An op-ed in the paper."
He really didn't like this newspaper.
"And on another page, they're estimating Gaeul's rank around 400th."
"Yeoreum's."
"Yeoreum... Huh? Where is it?"
"Not there?"
"It's a chart up to 1000th. Why isn't it listed..."
"They slapped it together roughly."
"The paper seems well-made though..."
"Give it here. I'll look."
As Yoo Ji-tae reached out, Bom slyly pulled the newspaper away.
He thought for a moment before speaking.
"What're you doing. Hand it over."
Bom shook her head.
He reached again, and she reflexively twisted away. 'Give it.' 'No.' Bom seemed genuinely reluctant.
A brief silence fell between them,
tension subtly rising.
When Yoo Ji-tae stood, a startled Bom turned to flee. But Room 301 wasn't that big. Yoo Ji-tae had long legs. He closed in steadily, cornering her against the living room wall, blocking her with his body.
Dodge left? His left shoulder blocked.
Right? His arm.
"Ahh, why. Don't do this."
"Hand it over. That weird paper. Where'd you even get it."
"I subscribed. 19,900 won a month. 17,900 with carrier discount. 14,870 with Lair student discount."
"Pretty cheap."
"Hehe."
"But it's affiliated with the Mage's Tower press. That's why they're hyping Gaeul. Mages sticking together."
"Not really?"
"If not, give it here. I'll judge."
Bom shook her head again.
He pondered. How to snatch this annoying paper. Her hands were behind her back, so tickling came to mind. Bad idea. Bom seemed uncomfortable with their subtly intimate physical contact lately.
He didn't know why.
Maybe simple. Young, whether dragon or whatever, she might just dislike unfamiliar touch.
Romance or whatever was his business. He'd been avoiding excessive contact with Bom recently. Tickling was out.
Yoo Ji-tae pinched Bom's cheek.
It hurt; her eyes widened in surprise.
"Brroo..."
Bom scrunched her face. It wasn't playful.
"Not giving?"
"Ugh... hurts..."
She endured.
He pinched the other cheek.
"Uuu... Brrooong..."
She held out stubbornly. Why, he didn't know.
Meanwhile, Bom freed a hand and grabbed his nose. He hadn't had his nose grabbed in decades. He'd forgotten, but Yoo Ji-tae hated people touching his nose.
He pulled his head back slightly. Due to arm length difference, Bom's hand swiped air, then her fingers hooked into his shirt collar.
She started tugging at his shirt neck.
"Hey, hey."
"Brro..."
"Let go. You'll rip it."
"You let go first..."
What the hell was he doing with her right now?
As that thought crossed his mind,
small footsteps approached from the other side. Too close; Winter might misunderstand. Yoo Ji-tae and Bom separated slightly.
As Bom rubbed her reddened cheek and glared at him, Winter poked her head into the living room.
And waved some paper.
"What's that."
"...Look."
Yoo Ji-tae took the rift travel pamphlet Winter offered.
It was a travel guide booklet.
[Walk across transparent land in the sky! ★Sky Garden★]
[Gather under the rainbow skies unseen on Earth!]
[Enjoy the city where dwarven ☞underground fortress☜ magitech essence is concentrated from ancient times!]
After the New Genesis, tourism entered a new era.
Among stabilized, fully攻略 rifts, some preserved otherworldly natural wonders and environments. Places with spectacular sights and unique foods impossible on Earth.
Winter held out a pamphlet for such a 'rift travel spot'.
"...How about here?"
Winter, now sitting beside him on the sofa, pointed to a corner of the pamphlet. It seemed like an unpopular destination.
[Forget the world and meditate at the 『Silent Sea』.]
"Here?"
"...Yes."
What a coincidence.
This 'Silent Sea' was exactly the new training ground he planned to take Yoo Yeoreum to.
The Silent Sea was a special rift. Filled with water dense in attribute mana, narrow but impossibly deep.
The place where Yoo Yeoreum's attribute mana was most restricted. Perfect for grueling training. And Winter had pointed to it for a trip.
Pure coincidence.
"Sure. Let's go this weekend."
"......!"
"About a week. I'll tell the school."
...A whole week?
Winter beamed, nodded, then turned to Bom.
"...Together?"
Bom, still rubbing her cheek with a resentful look, widened her eyes at Winter's expression.
"Me?"
"...Yeah. From the weekend, got time?"
"Ah, this weekend's tough. Unni has to teach Gaeul magic."
I see. Winter nodded.
Winter was glad, even if she didn't show it outwardly now that she was more mature. Trips alone with Yoo Ji-tae were rare.
"...Too bad."
Bom smiled subtly, meeting Winter's eyes.
"Doesn't seem too bad?"
"...No."
"Then come along?"
"...Huh? Yeah."
Her hesitation caught. Bom stifled a chuckle.
"Kidding. Look at you jump."
Winter approached and hugged Bom tightly, burying her face in her stomach.
"...I really wanted to."
Bom stroked her blue hair.
Winter thought of the tank in her room. Some fish and seaweed, snails and shells, but the huge tank still felt empty. The Silent Sea had fish, so she'd go fishing with Yoo Ji-tae.
Yoo Ji-tae was great at fishing. Caught a lot last time. Chat while fishing, make spicy stew, splash in water. Pick up pretty coral or stones to sell at school? Might make good money...
But Yoo Ji-tae's words shattered Winter's swelling fantasy.
"Then let's go with Yeoreum. The three of us."
Thud.
The pamphlet slipped from Winter's hand.