Chapter 124: A Minor Rebellion
Chapter 124: A Minor Rebellion
Ko Yeonju was smiling at me, but she seemed to already know that Hayeon was chanting a spell. The moment her shadow on the floor writhed, I swiftly drew the sword from my waist. With the clear ring of the blade being drawn, Ko Yeonju’s shadow spun around once and surged toward Hayeon.
Hayeon looked utterly shocked by the sudden attack. Yet, even in that moment, I could see the necklace around her neck emit a white light.
“───. Target Designation: Silhouette. Overlap.”
No matter the attack, she wouldn't give up; she would cast the appropriate spell. Even when surprised, she did what needed to be done. Mages are required to maintain a cool head in any and all situations. And Hayeon was showing the textbook example of a mage.
The magic released from her necklace was an Anti-Magic spell cast through Rapid Incantation. The white light shot into the air, turned fluid like water, and seeped into the shadow. Hayeon’s spell only made the shadow falter, but the two seconds she bought were more than enough for my blade to reach Ko Yeonju’s neck.
“...Hmph.”
A chilling silence fell. Ko Yeonju remained seated with her chin propped on one hand, but I did not miss the surprise entering her eyes. She had probably only been playing with us, yet a member of the Ten Strong had still been caught off guard by a Year 2 User. Hayeon’s decision to reveal the now-lost Memorize Magic had been that effective, even if the method would likely work only once.
“That's enough playing around.”
I pressed the sword harder against Ko Yeonju as her eyes darted about. The last time I had been in her arms, she had chosen to take a step back. It was the same this time. A 1-on-3 confrontation, a situation that had already turned against her, and a sword radiating killing intent right under her chin. There was no reason for Ko Yeonju to push her luck here.
As expected, she obediently withdrew her shadow and raised both arms. Seeing the shadow slither away, Hayeon let out a sigh of relief. I pulled the sword back slightly, once again impressed with Hayeon. At the same time, I could see Ko Yeonju swallow hard.
When I had fully withdrawn my sword, Ko Yeonju rubbed her neck.
“Whew. How cheap. A man interfering in a women's fight?”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“…I’m sorry. I guess my joke went a little too far.”
Ko Yeonju bowed her head. I knew she had just been playing around and hadn't expected an apology, so I decided to be satisfied with this. While it might have seemed quite insincere, the important thing was that a User from the Ten Strong had readily apologized. However, Hayeon stared at her with a look of disbelief, then frowned as if she sensed something was off.
“A shadow… Don’t tell me…”
As Hayeon muttered, Ko Yeonju’s eyes crinkled into a smile as she spoke.
“May I introduce myself?”
“Be my guest.”
With my permission, she straightened her posture and bowed politely toward Hayeon and Shin Sangyong. This time, however, it wasn't a gesture of apology; it was a display of sorts, one that amplified her presence and revealed her true stature.
“Hello. I am Ko Yeonju, a Year 5 User known as the Shadow Queen. Owing to certain circumstances, I currently operate an inn in Mule. I sincerely apologize for my earlier discourtesy.”
“Gasp!”
“……”
As expected, Shin Sangyong’s butt nearly jumped out of his seat in shock. Hayeon’s eyes widened as well, but she didn't show such an unsightly reaction. Hayeon and Ko Yeonju’s gazes clashed in mid-air, and I saw the corner of Ko Yeonju’s mouth lift slightly.
“I said I was sorry. It was my way of saying hello.”
“…I see. So Users from the Ten Strong attack people instead of greeting them.”
At Hayeon’s cold response, Ko Yeonju twisted her lips into a smirk and replied.
“Oh my. I had no intention of killing you. But who was it that started chanting a spell first?”
“Oh my. I don't believe I intended to chant a spell either.”
Seeing Hayeon retort word for word, Ko Yeonju gave her a ‘Look at this one’ sort of expression. Hayeon held her head high, while Ko Yeonju, who was still bowing slightly, just tilted her head up. They locked eyes in that position. Silence hung in the air for a while, but it was Ko Yeonju who broke it.
“Do I look like a pushover just because I apologized once? And would you stop looking at me with those damn eyes? It makes me actually want to kill you.”
“I don't know what you did right to be so confident. And I couldn't feel a shred of sincerity in your apology.”
At Hayeon’s words, Ko Yeonju let out a short laugh and straightened up. She then drew the dagger from her waist and began to spin it around her fingers.
“Sincerity? I was a little curious since Soohyun-ssi was interested, but you're still just a kid. What are you trying to argue about in the Hall Plain?”
Hayeon seemed to have no response to that, merely scoffing. It was true that the Hall Plain was a world governed primarily by power and ability. In particular, Ko Yeonju, one of the Ten Strong, was a User in a position so high that ordinary Users couldn't even dream of looking up to her. Hayeon’s current attitude was clearly not normal, but there was one single reason that could justify it. And Ko Yeonju probably had a rough idea of what that was.
“The Shadow Queen has really fallen, hasn't she? Getting lip from a little greenhorn. You know why your head is still attached to your neck, right?”
“Of course. I'm acting this way because I have someone to rely on.”
“For someone borrowing a tiger's prestige, you sure have a sharp tongue! I'll let it slide this once for User Kim Soohyun's sake, but if you do this again, there won't be a next time. Hoho.”
“Are you denying the significance of caravans and clans? If you acknowledge the power of an individual, you must also acknowledge the power of connections. Well, I'm not sure we'll have a chance to meet again anyway. Huhu.”
“That’s enough, both of you.”
It looked like they were about to draw blades, so I drew a line. Both women turned to me with disappointed faces. I let out a loud sigh for them to hear.
Objectively, Ko Yeonju was the highest-ranking User present. From a modern perspective she bore more blame, but by Hall Plain standards the fault was split between them. Even so, considering that I was publicly a Year 0 User, Hayeon’s attitude had been objectively excessive.
Through my few encounters with Ko Yeonju, I had shown her that I held the upper hand, and she had shown signs of accepting it. In that case, Ko Yeonju’s fault was forcibly inserting herself into the situation despite my presence and playing a rather harsh prank—to the point that it would make an onlooker frown. Of course, Hayeon had started chanting first, but it was Ko Yeonju who had provoked us first by digging into our backgrounds.
Hayeon, for her part, showed a reaction unlike her usual self. She didn't back down despite being far weaker than Ko Yeonju… she had, so to speak, ‘talked back.’ Of course, she was free to express her will, but if Ko Yeonju hadn't known my true strength, or if I had been weaker than her, it was the perfect attitude to get herself killed.
She must have calculated that our teamwork had given us the upper hand in that brief two-second exchange and trusted in my abilities. But that alone couldn't explain all of Hayeon's behavior. I could only surmise that some emotion only women could feel had been stirred.
If I had to pick one thing, it seemed Ko Yeonju had touched upon her sore spot when she mentioned Hayeon's information. Because I saw Hayeon's eyes narrow the moment Ko Yeonju muttered, “An abandoned mage User.”
It was true that this was a far cry from her usual, rational self. But I decided to ask her about it later. I didn't think Hayeon would act like this for no reason.
After a moment of organizing my thoughts, I turned to Ko Yeonju and spoke.
“Ko Yeonju-ssi. User Jung Hayeon is currently a member of my caravan. The background investigation was unpleasant enough, but deliberately revealing that information is difficult to interpret as goodwill. I would appreciate it if you refrained from crossing the line again.”
At my words, Hayeon’s face brightened while Ko Yeonju’s darkened. However, I immediately continued.
“And… as for User Jung Hayeon, I will have a word with her later.”
This time, the roles reversed; Hayeon’s face fell, and I saw Ko Yeonju let out a smirk. I had looked out for Hayeon, saved Ko Yeonju's face, and properly established my own position as well. In other words, I was telling them to stop making trouble and compromise here. Both Hayeon and Ko Yeonju seemed to find their situations amusing, as they gave slight nods.
Shin Sangyong, who had been fidgeting nervously, finally seemed to relax now that the situation was resolved. He soon pushed up his glasses and began to observe Ko Yeonju in detail. It was a rare opportunity to be sitting at the same table as a User from the Ten Strong.
As if sensing his gaze, Ko Yeonju spoke in a sultry voice.
“Stop staring. When you look at me so intensely, it gets me excited.”
“W-wha…! S-s-s-sorry! I-it's just…”
Startled by her words, Shin Sangyong flinched and ducked his head. Even so, he kept sneaking glances at her; it was painfully obvious what he was thinking. The mere fact that a member of the Ten Strong had spoken to him directly had his mouth hanging open. A little of her good mood restored by his reaction, Ko Yeonju’s eyes crinkled into a smile as she continued.
“It’s just?”
“I-it’s… just that…”
“Just that?”
As Ko Yeonju kept prodding him, Shin Sangyong’s face turned beet red, and he didn't know what to do. Finally, he spoke in a voice as small as a mosquito's.
“It's just… you're so different from the image I had of the Shadow Queen…”
“Oh? And what kind of image would that be?”
“Ahem…”
Shin Sangyong cleared his throat and changed the subject. Ko Yeonju, finding the situation incredibly amusing, burst out into peals of laughter. Then, she smoothly undid the tie holding up her stylishly arranged hair.
“Ko Yeonju-ssi?”
Sensing she was about to do something strange again, I spoke up first, but she just gave me a wink and gripped the top of her clothes.
“For example… a feeling like this?”
Riiip!
“Hah.”
“Kyaa.”
As she finished speaking, she yanked hard on her clothes. The force was so strong that her demure outfit was torn away, top and bottom, all at once. The clothes became rags in an instant and fell to the floor. Not expecting such a bold move, both Hayeon and Shin Sangyong let out quiet screams.
Ko Yeonju, now nearly naked, casually crossed her legs.
No, to be precise, she wasn't completely naked. The contrast between what she had been wearing and what she was wearing now was so stark it was disorienting, but she was still technically clothed. The problem was how dangerously revealing it was. A perilously short tank top that exposed her shoulders and revealed more than half of her breasts. In fact, it was so tight that it looked like it would burst with the slightest touch, exposing her voluptuous figure. As for her lower half, it unabashedly revealed her thighs, which weren't thin, but had a slight, pleasing plumpness to them. Any man who saw them would feel a natural urge to grab hold of them at least once.
With her long, light-gray hair now flowing down, she exuded an unmistakably decadent aura. She held the dagger she'd been spinning upright and placed it right in the center of her cleavage. Then, with one finger resting lightly on it, she began to press down slowly. The dagger, radiating a sharp edge that seemed like it would cut with the slightest misstep, slid down between her tightly pressed breasts. At the sight, which was both incredibly lewd and dangerous, Shin Sangyong swallowed hard.
Ko Yeonju calmly observed his reaction and spoke in a low voice.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Her fatal voice sent a languid tremor through the room. The gentle, formal speech was gone. This meant that from now on, she would be treating us not as an innkeeper, but as the Shadow Queen. Shin Sangyong and Hayeon held their breath, caught in the lethally seductive atmosphere pouring from her entire body. I was worried Hayeon might step in again, but thankfully, she knew when to engage and when to back off. Now was the time for Hayeon to back off.
The Unique Ability ⟨Eyes of Temptation⟩. I had assumed it was simply a power she had acquired upon becoming the Shadow Queen, because acquired Unique Abilities were extraordinarily rare. After hearing her speak, however, I began to suspect otherwise.
“Let me pour you a drink.”
“First…”
“Oh, come now. The night is long. Just take a glass for now.”
Ko Yeonju breathed hotly into my ear. The atmosphere she exuded was far too volatile to be seen as a simple reward for saving her face earlier.
In any case, the important thing was that her attitude toward the other two was different from her attitude toward me. I could interpret it as her own way of signaling me to step forward. Without waiting for my answer, she flashed a seductive smile, picked up a bottle, and forcibly placed a cup in my hand before beginning to pour respectfully with both hands.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Ko Yeonju had subtly pressed herself against my side. A sweet fragrance wafted from her lips, along with the fragrant scent unique to a woman's skin. All the while, she was making her breasts brush lightly against my arm. With every slight movement she made, the sensation of her soft skin and the chilling edge of the dagger traveled up my arm at the same time.
I reflexively glanced at Hayeon's face. And there she was, sending me a signal to be careful, her face full of worry. Seeing her genuinely worried about me, not out of some petty jealousy, I felt a little relieved. Buoyed by her support, I steeled myself.
The initial phase had been a battle of wills between Hayeon and Ko Yeonju, but with Ko Yeonju revealing her true self, Hayeon had taken a step back. That meant it was now my turn to step up.