Chapter 240: The Time for Nurturing Has Passed
Chapter 240: The Time for Nurturing Has Passed
The scent of a traitor. I could see Kim Hanbyul’s face turn deathly pale, as if Yoojung’s words had struck her like a dagger. She seemed to have steeled herself before coming here, but hearing such a direct blow in front of everyone was clearly too much to handle.
The air around the table grew chilly. The clan members who didn't know the situation stared with wide eyes, though some seemed to have caught on. A heavy silence descended once more, and I felt a sense of frustration building inside.
“Huu.”
Unable to bear the stuffiness any longer, I let out a long sigh, and I could feel the clan members’ eyes turn to me. To be honest, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. For a moment, I could even imagine how Park Hwanhee must have felt when the festive mood was ruined.
I looked away from Yoojung. As I’ve said before, this wasn’t a private meeting; everyone was gathered here. If I openly took one side, it would look terrible. I needed to be more indirect. And so, I turned to Ko Yeonju, who had been sitting in quiet silence.
“Ko Yeonju, it seems you won’t need to give a performance report.”
“Pardon?”
“Seeing how the others just acted and spoke, I think I understand the situation without needing to hear it.”
“…I apologize.”
I wasn’t scolding Yoojung directly, but my words were loaded with meaning. It was incredibly unfair to Ko Yeonju, but it was a necessary evil to effectively convey my intentions. The other clan members, seeming to understand, looked back and forth between me and Ko Yeonju with bewildered expressions.
As everyone was cautiously glancing at each other, Hanbyul’s dejected voice broke the silence.
“My name is Kim Hanbyul. I’m twenty-two years old. I have a Secret Class called Jewel Mage… and I was a former member of the Golden Lion Clan. I will do my best as a member of Mercenary from now on.”
“Thank you. You may sit down. Next… Hangyul?”
Hanbyul sat down listlessly. I clicked my tongue as I watched her, then immediately passed the baton to the next person. I wanted to get through the introductions as quickly as possible.
“Ah, hello. My name is Baek Hangyul.”
Baek Hangyul stood up cautiously, eyeing the room. The atmosphere was so awkward that he kept swallowing nervously.
“I’m eighteen years old… Um… and…”
“You’re a new User who just joined, correct?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Could you tell us what your class is?”
Jung Hayeon posed the question. Baek Hangyul hesitated for a moment, then glanced at me before speaking.
“Actually, Hyung… no, Clan Lord. There’s something I need to tell you. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. I had a rough idea already. I could tell when I saw you in the auditorium today.”
“What? Then why didn’t you say anything…?”
“I figured you had your reasons. I was waiting for you to tell me yourself.”
Though, I’ve actually known for much longer than that.
Baek Hangyul let out a breath, his face a picture of relief. It seemed he had been quite anxious about having deceived me (though, strictly speaking, he hadn’t).
I decided to set the stage for him with a faint smile.
“Still, I’d like to hear the details. Would you show everyone your power one more time, here in front of us all?”
“Yes. Just a moment.”
With everyone watching, Baek Hangyul immediately raised his right hand. There was no incantation, no preparation. But for a fleeting moment, I felt a faint flow of magic, and at the same time, a pure white light materialized from his raised hand. The light soon enveloped his hand, forming a small barrier.
“Um… if you look at my class, my Player Status says 〈Aegis〉”
“〈Aegis〉. That’s quite something. What word is written before the class name? Normal, Rare, or Secret?”
“Secret. But it doesn’t just say Secret, it says Awakened Secret.”
As soon as Baek Hangyul finished speaking, small gasps erupted from all around.
“〈Aegis〉? A Secret Class? Awakened? What are all these?”
“What does ‘awaken’ mean? To rouse, stimulate, spur on, or awaken.”
“Literally, it means an Awakened Secret Class… It feels strongly like a defensive class.”
“C-Could you tell us what kind of Authority it has?”
A barrage of questions was suddenly directed at Baek Hangyul. He looked lost, pleading for my help, and I obliged by raising my hand.
“Enough.”
“Where on earth did you get a Secret Class…?”
“Ah, I’m curious about this too. Hangyul, how were you able to inherit a Secret Class?”
“Um…”
This part was extremely important, so I had to address it. Baek Hangyul tilted his head with an ambiguous expression.
I sincerely hoped that, aside from what I already knew, some other clue might emerge. But Baek Hangyul’s answer dashed my hopes.
“I’m sorry. I don’t remember it well. I just felt an unknown energy boiling up inside me, and then my vision went white. The situation was so urgent at the time that I can’t recall it clearly.”
“Ah… I see.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
I gave him a reassuring look and had the fidgeting Baek Hangyul sit down. Inwardly, however, I felt a strong sense of disappointment. I then glanced over at Ahn Sol, who was staring at Baek Hangyul with a shocked expression.
Ahn Sol had a similar experience during the Rite of Passage. While I was luring the Deadmen, she was the one who saved the others from the specters. The reason I considered this important was because I wondered if Ahn Sol’s experience back then might be connected to the Awakened Secret Class.
The clan members were all talking about Baek Hangyul with looks of surprise. I didn’t hear anything negative; the atmosphere was generally welcoming. Just as I was about to feel a bitter taste in my mouth at the starkly different reaction compared to Kim Hanbyul’s introduction, Shin Sangyong, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.
“S-So that means both people our Leader—ah, I keep misspeaking. Both people our Clan Lord brought this time have Secret Classes: Kim Hanbyul, the Jewel Mage, and Baek Hangyul of 〈Aegis〉.”
“That’s right, isn’t it? That means our clan has a total of four Secret Class users now.”
“Th-That’s truly amazing. Hahaha!”
“Hehe. I’ve personally been very interested in the Jewel Mage class. I hope we can get along well as fellow Mages.”
As the two spoke up, the other clan members joined in, laughing and agreeing. I suddenly thought how fortunate it was that I’d recruited Shin Sangyong and Jung Hayeon. I personally believe that a Clan Lord must always remain neutral in official settings. The moment you show bias toward one side, it can become a source of internal conflict. It was a great relief to see the two of them take the initiative to self-regulate the atmosphere without me having to step in.
“We’ll conclude the introductions here. I’m sure you all have many questions for our new members, but please be patient for a little while. I will arrange a separate occasion for that later. For now, let’s continue the meeting.”
“Yes. Understood.”
As Ko Yeonju replied in a low voice, the side chatter that had been going on until then completely died down. She had remained silent ever since I had reprimanded her. I glanced at her for a moment and gave a very slight smile.
‘I’ve already heard about the kids a few times whenever I came to the Academy anyway. You know what I mean, right? I’m sorry.’
Only after Ko Yeonju gave me a look that conveyed, “Yes, I understand. Don’t worry about me; carry on.” could I slowly begin to speak again. Besides, the matter I had secretly asked her to handle was not something that could be raised in such a public setting.
“I’ll make time to hear Ko Yeonju’s report later. Now, User Jung Hayeon?”
“Yes. I’m listening.”
“How is the Clan House matter progressing?”
“To put it briefly, we’ve selected two potential locations. However, we haven’t proceeded to final approval. There’s something I must report regarding that matter. But it’s a bit difficult to speak about it here…”
“I understand. We’ll go see both locations today, so I’ll hear the detailed report then.”
Jung Hayeon nodded once. Next, I turned my head toward Vivian and Shin Sangyong.
“Vivian la Classidus. What’s the progress on the elixir?”
“The formula is complete. I’ve also selected all the necessary equipment. But there are two problems.”
“Tell me.”
“The demon’s heart and Horrence’s magic stone have skewed the power too heavily to one side. Even with the Magic Square of Harmony, my purified spiritual core isn’t enough. That leaves us with two options, you see?”
“Either boost one side’s power, or weaken the other’s.”
Vivian nodded in agreement. I thought for a moment, but it seemed this also required a more detailed discussion.
“Alright. What’s the other problem?”
“This one is related to the Clan House. I’ll tag along when you go to see the locations today.”
“Do that.”
I nodded readily. It seemed everyone had made some progress, but they had all stopped just short of the finish line. That meant each issue had a problem they couldn’t decide on their own.
I’ll have to hear the details, but this isn’t bad.
At this rate, we should be able to hold the line. With that thought, I slowly began to scan my surroundings. Every clan member my gaze fell upon invariably showed a mix of nervousness and excitement. I could see their desire to show off how much they had grown. I knew they each had a lot to say, but if I listened to them one by one, it would never end. So, I decided to ask only about what I personally wanted to hear.
“User Ahn Hyun.”
“Yes? Yes!”
Ahn Hyun answered in a startled voice. His eyes were wide, as if the term ‘User’ was still quite unfamiliar to him.
“What happened with the Legend of Hoplon?”
“Ah… I failed.”
“Why?”
“I’m still not proficient with a spear, so trying to use a shield as well was just greedy. I wanted to somehow utilize the reflection effect, but in the end, it became a mess. I got an earful when I went out hunting… I’m sorry.”
“I see. Then I’ll assume the Legend of Hoplon has been returned.”
I had anticipated a high probability of failure. He must have seen it somewhere and tried to imitate a phalanx, but that was a tactic specialized for group combat, not individual fighting. In any case, the original goal was for Ahn Hyun to gain various experiences. He seemed quite disappointed, but it didn’t matter much whether it turned out this way or that.
I decided to end the discussion there. If I had my way, I would have liked to talk to each clan member in detail, but that was something I could do while handling future tasks. Averting the gazes of the kids who were begging for my attention, I continued speaking.
“There are a few more things left, but it seems the important matters are just waiting for my approval. Though I’ll need to hear the details, of course. In any case, I understand. Now, the problem is our future course of action…”
I paused for a moment and slowly raised my right hand. At first, all my fingers were extended, but then I folded my thumb and pinky, raising my voice slightly higher than before.
“Three days. We will resolve all current, piled-up issues within three days. After that, I will announce a new plan, so if any clan member is working on personal matters, please finish them within these three days.”
“What? Three days?”
“Of course, the exact timeline will be set after I hear from Ko Yeonju. But if my thoughts are correct, there likely won’t be any changes. We’ll have a detailed briefing in three days.”
At my declaration, I could see the faces of Ko Yeonju and Jung Hayeon stiffen slightly. They must have gotten a rough idea from the word ‘briefing.’ They looked like they were dying to say something, but because of what I had said earlier, they kept their mouths tightly shut.
“This concludes the meeting. Shin Sangyong-ssi, could you assign lodgings to the new members and perhaps have a meal with them while telling them about the clan?”
“I will do so. But wouldn’t it be better for the Clan Lord to eat as well?”
“I’m fine. I have things to do right now.”
“Orabeoni. Let’s at least eat together. There’s so much I want to tell you…”
“Let’s eat together in the evening. I’ll listen to you then.”
I could see Ahn Sol’s disappointed face, but I couldn’t allow the atmosphere to relax just because I was back. Mercenary was now a clan that had fully stepped into the light. And as I’d said before, now that we had left Mule, I had no intention of being lax anymore. My plan was to create a tense atmosphere as quickly as possible and prepare for the things to come.
“You are all dismissed. Hayeon-ssi, could you wait outside the inn for a moment? I’ll follow shortly.”
“What about me?”
“Ah, you said you were coming too. You wait with her. Everyone else, you may go and attend to your duties. I expect to be back around the afternoon.”
At my order of dismissal, the clan members began to stir and get up. I was a little worried if they could adapt to me pushing them so hard as soon as I returned, but strangely, a few of the Users had faint smiles on their faces. Was it a look of reassurance?
I tilted my head for a moment but dismissed the thought as I watched Shin Sangyong approach Kim Hanbyul and Baek Hangyul. Then, I spoke to Yoojung, who was just pushing in her chair.
“User Lee Yoojung.”
“Huh? Y-Yes!”
“Stay behind for a moment. We need to talk.”
At my words, Yoojung’s shoulders slumped in an instant as she lowered her head.