Chapter 285
Chapter 285
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 286
Chapter Title: Blood Oath Denial
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After about ten minutes of persuading Han Se-yeon that I hadn't made a blood oath, she finally shut her mouth.
The look in her eyes as she stared at me suggested she still couldn't quite believe it, but in the end, she nodded and took a step back.
"Come on, Se-yeon. Let's talk about something else instead of this."
"Something else?"
"You know, like how things have been lately."
"......Lately."
Han Se-yeon fell into thought for a moment. From her expression, it didn't seem like things had been pleasant.
It was only natural, given that this was the most critical time for her right now.
"I've been busy as always with my dad and company matters. Since everyone in the group knows his condition is worsening, there's a lot of maneuvering to prepare for what's coming."
"How about Vice Chairman Han Se-jin?"
After Han Dae-hyun's death, Han Se-jin takes control of the Hanseong Group and becomes a new villain linking Jaun and the demons.
He was one of the things that had been bothering me lately.
"My brother? Hmm. I don't really know. What he's thinking, I mean. He seems to be meeting people here and there, but... I don't know how to put it......"
Han Se-yeon trailed off suddenly.
"......Heh."
"He's been acting in ways I don't understand lately. I guess you could say he's been attending social events much more than before?"
Social events that Han Se-jin attends.
They were probably gatherings related to the 'demons.'
With Han Se-yeon rapidly expanding her support base within the Hanseong Group, he was likely borrowing the demons' power to counter her.
And considering the inherently cruel nature of demons, something dangerous could happen to Han Se-yeon at any moment......
She'd already been ambushed by demons twice in the past, so I needed to warn her.
"Se-yeon, listen to me carefully. From now on, you can't trust anyone."
"......Pardon?"
Was my statement a bit out of left field? Han Se-yeon looked at me with eyes full of doubt.
"I'm telling you to be wary of everyone who approaches you with sweet words."
As someone who carried the strong blood of the Hanseong family, Han Se-yeon undoubtedly had the ability to discern flatterers.
But demons weren't flatterers.
They were assassins wearing the guise of flatterers.
My words meant not just to spot flatterers, but to identify assassins.
Drawing from her past experiences, Han Se-yeon seemed to understand to some extent, nodding with a hardened expression.
"Got it. I'll be careful."
"......And this is just personal curiosity, but have you met with the PL Group chairman separately by any chance?"
Watching her expression, I saw Han Se-yeon's eyes widen in surprise as she looked at me.
"How did you know? We talked recently about some business matters. Some of their affiliates were there too."
"Affiliates like 'Taesang Finance' or 'AY Life Insurance'?"
"......Yeah, but how did you......?"
Just as I thought. My prediction was correct.
For reference, Taesang Finance and AY Life Insurance are companies run by demons.
In the original story, they profited greatly from the Hanseong family's succession struggle.
Especially Taesang Finance—though not widely known—it operated like the mafia, true to the nature of demon-run companies.
"You should be careful around those people too. Especially PL Group."
"But PL Group is......"
Han Se-yeon paused mid-sentence and clamped her mouth shut.
Then she stared straight at my face and nodded.
"Got it. I'll be careful, like you said, Jin-woo. You haven't been wrong about anything you've told me."
Muttering that, Han Se-yeon suddenly remembered something and spoke up again.
"By the way, Jin-woo, I talked with the PL Group chairman last time, and he seemed interested in you."
I felt a brief jolt of surprise that the demon king masquerading as the PL Group chairman had asked about me.
It seemed something from our encounter during Han Dae-hyun's bedside visit had aroused suspicion.
I'd been preparing for this to some extent, so I wasn't flustered, but the fact that he'd asked Han Se-yeon directly meant that meeting had left a stronger impression than I'd thought.
And then.
[A major change in the future has been detected.]
[The causality rises by 1.]
Causality had increased. It was a full 1 point, the kind you get from taking down a high-rank villain.
It seemed my conversation with Han Se-yeon today had greatly altered the future.
I'd have to watch and see which direction this future would take.
And that evening.
After parting with Han Se-yeon, I returned not to the dorm but to my apartment.
It was to inscribe the incantation from the 'Hanseong Family Mystery Rental Ticket' she'd given me.
"......Ugh. Dust."
The living room and bedroom of the apartment, which I'd visited after a long time, were covered in dust everywhere.
I'd left it empty for too long.
I should clean it up.
"Gretel."
Cleaning this big place alone would take forever, so I summoned Gretel.
Gretel made a surprised face at the familiar apartment view after so long, then smiled brightly.
"I'm going to clean now—can you help?"
I'd confirmed Gretel's housekeeping skills before.
She was surprisingly meticulous, and she cleaned exceptionally well. Honestly, I wondered what she couldn't do.
What was it she really couldn't do?
"Yeah!"
At my request, Gretel nodded and summoned multiple wooden tendrils to start cleaning.
One wet cloth per tendril.
She performed the miracle of wiping with seven cloths at once, scrubbing the floors clean.
I'd felt it in the magic stone mine too, but Gretel's workforce was nothing to scoff at compared to factory machines.
Considering her employment cost was just sausage money, she was premium labor with insane cost-performance.
......About 40 minutes passed like that.
"Phew! Finally done."
Thanks to Gretel's help, the cleaning was finished in a flash.
Looking around, every corner of the living room and rooms sparkled.
That was when it happened. A message appeared before my eyes.
[The bond with 'Immortal Hell Demonic Tree Gretel' increases by 6%.]
[The proficiency of 'Wood Summon (A)' rises slightly.]
['Summon Control (A)' proficiency rises slightly.]
[The magic power of 'Immortal Hell Demonic Tree Gretel' increases by 0.2.]
"Oh......"
Gretel's skill proficiencies, stats, and bond had all risen.
This morning, one serving of soybean paste stew granted abilities, and now cleaning boosted stats.
"......She gains a lot from daily life, huh?"
It felt like her growth was even higher from everyday activities than from combat or training.
Being trained alone definitely seemed less efficient than doing things together with me.
I'll have to keep that in mind going forward.
Smiling, I patted Gretel's back.
"Good job, Gretel. Take a break. I'll buy you something tasty later."
"Yeah."
I tossed Gretel a puzzle, then sat on the sofa.
From my pocket, I pulled out the paper containing the complex incantation: the 'Hanseong Family Mystery Rental Ticket.'
"Let's get started."
I immediately infused magic power into the incantation.
At once, it emitted light and floated into the air.
I carefully manipulated my magic power to transfer the incantation onto the back of my hand.
Woooong.
Flash!
"......Done."
A complex incantation etched onto the back of my hand like a tattoo.
When I cut off the magic power, the light faded, returning to its previous pristine state with nothing visible.
But if I infused magic power into the back of my hand......
Woooong!
The hidden incantation on the back of my hand glowed and activated.
"As expected from the Hanseong family—their system is cutting-edge."
With the Association's archive visit coming up soon, it wouldn't be long before I could rent a mystery.
Finally, I used the outsider benefit to access the internet.
I tapped the screen and logged into a black-background website.
［Jeokam］
Jeokam.
The largest information guild in the country—no, the world.
The fees were a bit steep, but their secrecy and intel were top-tier, on par with the Hanseong family.
I'd used it once for the Kim Chang-hyun investigation, so this was my second request.
I submitted an anonymous commission.
[I want the detailed schedule of Taesang Finance's chairman, 'Jeong Tae-hyuk.']
My next target was the assassination of 'S-Rank Demon Jeong Tae-hyuk,' known as the weakest of the Ten Demons Society.
"Senior, what are you doing holed up in your room?"
Magic Association 22nd floor, Special Task Force HQ team leader's office.
At Jeong Hyun-su's sudden entrance, Kim Deok-hyun hurriedly closed the hologram data he'd been reviewing.
It was an uncharacteristically unnatural move for Kim Deok-hyun, so Jeong Hyun-su immediately grew suspicious.
"Why hide it all of a sudden?"
"You don't need to know."
The data Kim Deok-hyun hid was a document on Kim Jin-cheol's family relations.
Specifically, whether Kim Jin-cheol's only daughter, who died of illness 18 years ago, had any hidden children.
In conclusion, the chairman's daughter had no hidden children.
Her health had been frail from birth, so she wasn't in any condition to bear children.
......But as always, document forgery was a possibility.
"Ah, come on. A〜 I get it. You were looking at something weird on the sly, huh, senior?"
"What weird stuff?"
"Come on〜 I saw you close the window the second I came in. Heh heh."
As Jeong Hyun-su grinned slyly, Kim Deok-hyun narrowed his eyes.
"Cut the bullshit and get out."
He shooed him away with a wave. Jeong Hyun-su grumbled "Tch" and left the room.
Alone now, Kim Deok-hyun glanced at the door Jeong Hyun-su had exited through, then turned the hologram back on.
A photo of a young woman floated up.
Kim Deok-hyun stared blankly at it, comparing it to the photo of 'Kim Sun-woo' in the documents.
To be honest, there wasn't the slightest resemblance between the two.
No, they were completely different faces.
"......But there are just too many suspicious points."
The talent for handling return strikes, for one.
......And being chosen by 'that person,' too.
The puzzle pieces fit too perfectly.
"Screw it, whatever."
He had no choice but to ask 'that person' directly.
An awkward person to meet, but surely they knew something?
They knew Kim Jin-cheol well, and Kim Sun-woo too.
Sinking into an endless swamp of delusions, Kim Deok-hyun pulled a slip of paper with a number from the bottom drawer.
It was an emergency contact given with instructions to call only in urgent situations.
Beep beep beep.
As he dialed, a connection tone sounded, followed by a man's shout.
—Argh! Kim Deok-hyun, you wanna die? I was one clear away, and you killed me! You buying my coins?!
Kim Deok-hyun was speechless from the start.
Whatever it was, he'd apparently died mid-game.
This was why contacting this guy was so awkward.
"......Sorry, whatever it was."
—Haa. Whatever, why'd you call?
"I have something urgent to ask, so I reached out. Mr. Choi Il-hyun."
Kim Deok-hyun's call partner was none other than Choi Il-hyun.
Choi Il-hyun knew both Kim Sun-woo and Kim Jin-cheol better than anyone.
And at Kim Deok-hyun's serious tone, Choi Il-hyun on the other end matched it.
—......What's up? Is it about Lee Seo-jun or something?
"It's about Kim Sun-woo."
—......Kim Sun-woo? What's he done now? Did he cause an accident during practical training?
Choi Il-hyun asked in a worried voice. It was the tone of someone who cared for his student, in his own way.
"No. I was wondering if maybe Kim Sun-woo is the chairman's hidden grandson......"
—What the hell is that nonsense?
Click.
The call ended.
Late night, 11 PM.
In a monster field on the outskirts of Chungcheong Province, I met Yoon Ha-young.
It was to further draw out the potential of her ［Power of Demon Destruction］ for assassinating an S-Rank demon.
First, before training, I explained my goal to Yoon Ha-young.
Assassinating the S-Rank demon hiding behind the identity of Taesang Finance's chairman.
After hearing my subsequent plan, Yoon Ha-young reacted with shock before even questioning how I knew the chairman was a demon.
"......Hold on, Sun-woo. Isn't this way too reckless?"
"What's there to worry about? How many demons have we taken down together?"
"That's true, but back then it was enclosed spaces. This time it's an open area, right?"
The places where we'd exterminated demons before were enclosed like dungeons or concert halls.
But this demon assassination plan, due to circumstances, was likely to happen in the middle of the city or on a roadway.
Having to take him down without being spotted by people raised the difficulty even higher.
"That's why we're here, isn't it?"
But her anxiety didn't fade easily.
It was natural. With her current magic power, S-Rank seemed impossibly distant.
"Just trust me. Have I ever been wrong?"
At my words, Yoon Ha-young nodded.
"......True enough. Okay. Let's do it together."
Yoon Ha-young nodded decisively. I smiled in satisfaction.
"Alright, then let's start training. See that target way over there?"
I pointed to the target I'd set up midway up the mountain.
It was over 300 meters away, and in the dark, you couldn't see it without looking closely.
Squinting at where I'd pointed, Yoon Ha-young spotted it and spoke.
"Yeah, found it. The white board, right?"
"Good eyes."
I immediately manifested a magic sphere above my hand. I compressed the magic deeply and extended my arm.
"......No way, you plan to hit that?"
Instead of answering, I released the spell.
Bang!
The sphere shot toward the target, leaving a white afterimage in the darkness.
A considerable distance. But since the target was stationary, there was no reason to miss.
KABOOM—!
A massive explosion erupted. The target was obliterated.
['Sniper' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 2,000 points acquired.]
[Maximum range record broken!]
['Magic Control (A)' proficiency rises by 3%!]
I'd only meant to demonstrate, but I unlocked an achievement and boosted my Magic Control proficiency.
Satisfied as I checked the screen, Yoon Ha-young's surprised voice came.
"Wow...... Your control is seriously the best."
Yoon Ha-young looked at me with shining eyes.
I gave her a small smile.
"You can do it too. From today, we're practicing with the Power of Demon Destruction until you can hit the target."