Graduation Ceremony (2)
It was obvious she was shaking with an unnamed fear.
And honestly, if I’d been in her shoes, I’d have probably looked the same.
If I were her, I might decide never to have anything to do with Blue from this moment on.
More than likely, she’d keep her distance, and not just avoid the guild but leave Lindel altogether for another city.
If she had any sense at all, it would be only natural for her to reach conclusions similar to mine.
Just that much of a trauma had Jung Hayan become for her.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Jung Hayan wasn’t here, but I suspected she still hated the very idea of being entangled with me.
Still, what she thought about me was none of my business.
What mattered more was the fact that she had chosen the black mage class.
Black mage.
I didn’t even need to ask why.
Black Mage - Rare grade - A ranged class that can use black magic. Black magic is a new dimension of sorcery that overturns all conventional magical theory. Some religious groups strongly oppose it because it borrows power from demons, but its destructive force is unquestionably overwhelming compared to other classes. Basic black magic knowledge has been acquired. Mana increases by 4.
Look at that...
For her, whose mana circuits had already been wrecked, it was probably the only class she could realistically choose.
Unlike a mage, which demanded an almost brutal affinity for mana, the black mage was one of the classes least dependent on it.
I still remembered agonizing over the same choice myself, between black mage and alchemist.
Back then, Park Deokgu had recommended black mage, while Kim Hyunsung had told me to become an alchemist.
I’d thought the former was probably better, but I’d been seduced by Ramus Tucker’s Introduction to Alchemy, a heroic-grade item, and chosen alchemy instead. That single choice had brought me all the way here.
Still, every now and then, one thought did come back to me.
What if I’d picked black mage instead of alchemist?
Of course, things weren’t bad now.
I was receiving treatment and recognition far beyond what I deserved, and my personal achievements were excellent by any measure.
Not only had I obtained a unique legendary-grade class, but the combat power I was sorely lacking had also been filled in, at least to some extent.
And yet...
Black mage wouldn’t have been a bad choice either.
Every so often, I did find myself thinking that.
If I had chosen black mage, life would have been awkward inside the Holy Empire, but that realm was an unknown territory to me.
It was natural that I’d be curious, naturally drawn to it.
While I was buried in all kinds of thoughts, Han Sora, who had been staring at me, finally opened her mouth.
As expected, she looked extremely flustered.
“Um... what you said... was, was that right?”
“Yes. Please get off the carriage for a moment, Miss Han Sora.”
“Ah...”
She really was uneasy.
Just from that expression on her face, I could tell she hadn’t chosen black mage to take revenge on this side.
Well, of course not.
No matter how far she might have come, the idea that she could somehow harm Jung Hayan was absurd.
That’s a relief, I guess.
The two of them were already separated by a vast level gap, and that gap wasn’t something that could be bridged.
She probably knew that better than anyone.
Nodding once, I also spoke to the coachman, who was waiting for departure.
The girl, still wrapped in bandages from head to toe, limped down from the carriage and looked at me anxiously, and I caught that in my peripheral vision.
“You may leave first. I’ll take this one back to Lindel from Blue.”
“Yes. Understood, Lee Kiyoung-nim.”
“I think it would be best for the trainee Han Sora to ride with our carriage. Please follow me.”
“……”
“We can talk while we go. Ah, I’d forgotten your leg was a little inconvenient. Take your time.”
“……”
The atmosphere was awkward, to say the least.
She’d kept silent the whole time, and only after the carriage carrying the other trainees disappeared from view did she carefully speak again.
“Instructor Lee Kiyoung...”
“Yes?”
“Did I perhaps do something wrong? I... if I made some kind of mistake, I-I’ll apologize. So, please...”
“Ah... no, it’s nothing like that, so don’t worry. To be honest, I’ve already forgotten about that matter. You don’t need to think about it. And you can call me Kiyoung if you’d like, rather than Instructor Lee Kiyoung... or Blue vice guild master works too. Either title is fine.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not your instructor anymore.”
“No, that’s not what I meant...”
“Ah... you mean that matter. That was, quite literally, just that. It may have been a huge incident for you, but I haven’t really taken it to heart. I think you’ve already been punished enough, and I’ve already received an apology once.”
“Then why...?”
“Well. Why do you think I called you over? Especially after the graduation ceremony was over.”
“……”
“You should be able to guess.”
“Could it be... to ki—”
“Come with me to Blue.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, come to Blue with me. The treatment won’t be bad. We’ll set your annual salary at a decent level, and your signing bonus will be on par with everyone else. Of course, it won’t be as much as Yoo Ahyoung or Lee Changryeol, but compared with other guilds, it won’t leave you disappointed.”
“Pardon?”
“You can check the details on welfare benefits and everything else by reading the catalog, and the contract term is...”
“Ah...”
“The contract term is for life. Normally, this kind of thing isn’t common, and by imperial law it’s supposed to be outside the permitted range, but if you keep your mouth shut, nobody will know.”
“No, I...”
“There will be quite a lot of work to do. For now, you already have the basics of alchemy, so I’ll place you in the alchemy lab as deputy director... Ah! You’ll also be taking the rear position in Blue’s newly established second party, so you’ll need to keep that in mind as well.”
“I... my mana... and my le-leg too...”
“Your leg doesn’t matter much. After all, what we need from the rear isn’t agility. The problem is mana... It’ll take a little time, but let’s see whether there’s a way to repair your broken mana circuit. Of course, you’ll still have some aftereffects, but in the end, whether your mana circuit is alive or not shouldn’t matter much to you, should it?”
“What are you talking about...? I... I...”
“Han Sora. Let’s be honest with each other. Don’t worry about how I know, or what method I used. Just nod. In any case, it’ll be safer for you to stay by my side, under the title of Honorary Bishop of the Holy Empire, than to wander around on your own...”
“……”
“Especially if you’d rather not receive a surprise visit from the imperial inquisitors the empire is so proud of. Just quietly sign the contract. Blue doesn’t reject talent. Your secrets, or your disability, aren’t much of a problem.”
Her face, carefully silent, came into view.
Of course, it was already as white as paper. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but she clearly understood that things had already gone wrong.
There was no option for refusal.
I’d said it with a half-threat layered underneath, so she’d probably grasped exactly what I meant.
She’s smart enough, at least.
“Hayan...-ssi...”
“Hic.”
The moment I said Jung Hayan’s name, she hiccuped. It was a sight to behold.
She probably didn’t want to come to Blue because of Jung Hayan more than because of me.
“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t try anything stupid first, she won’t lay a hand on you. Ah! I happen to have one right here. Sign this first.”
“I’m sorry. I, I was wrong. I’m sorry. Hic. Please don’t do th-this...”
“No, look, the salary and signing bonus are written right underneath. This is good news for you too.”
“Please save me. Please... everything else is fine. Everything, please... please...”
“Hey... I’m not saying I’ll kill you.”
“Please, I beg you. I don’t want to go. Please...”
“I’ll add a little more to the signing bonus.”
“That’s not it... please... Instructor, I was stupid. So...”
“I’m really not trying to torment you. Just sign first.”
The way she clutched at her trousers was something to behold.
She was being offered money she probably couldn’t earn in her entire life, and yet she was acting like this. I could roughly understand why, but the degree was worse than I’d expected.
Still, what choice she would make was obvious from the start.
She probably felt as if she were sticking her face straight into a tiger’s mouth, but in the end there wasn’t any real choice to make.
This girl is actually pretty usable...
Hira-noona had been right.
She had plenty of will to survive, and there was something desperate in her, too.
If I thought about it that way, she might even be a more promising talent than Lee Changryeol or Yoo Ahyoung.
Rear line.
Watching Han Sora sign her name on the contract with trembling hands, I couldn’t help feeling a strange sense of satisfaction.
Yoo Ahyoung and Lee Changryeol, who had joined at the right moment where Blue’s flag was, now began walking over here as well.
I’d expected Kim Hyunsung to bring them in, but surprisingly, it was a guild employee who had escorted them.
Team Leader Kim Miyoung?
It had been a while since I’d seen her.
“Team Leader Kim Miyoung, this is a pleasant surprise.”
“Yes. Vice guild master. It really does feel like it’s been a little while.”
“Where’s Hyunsung?”
“The guild master said he had business to discuss with Black Swan’s Park Yeonju. He apologized and asked us to handle the escort.”
“Hmm...”
It seemed he’d really been dragged under.
I figured Kim Hyunsung must be in a difficult position as well.
He’s not someone you can simply ignore.
What was a little strange was that Sun Heeyoung was nowhere to be seen either.
When she noticed me looking around, she opened her mouth with a surprising sharpness.
“Heeyoung-ssi also took Black Swan’s carriage and came with them.”
“Ah! So that really was official business.”
“Yes. Of course, she said she would arrive in Lindel by this evening at the latest. She asked us to tell you she’d like to have dinner together as part of a welcome gathering.”
“I see.”
“And this one is...”
“It’s a sudden addition, but I’ve brought her in. I’m sorry to trouble the administrative team, but I thought she was an indispensable talent for the second party.”
“Ah...”
Team Leader Kim Miyoung’s glance slid over Han Sora and settled on her injured eye and leg.
But what her gaze lingered on the longest was the face frozen in extreme anxiety.
Still, she didn’t seem especially bothered.
Just as much as she trusted me, she was offering her support without hesitation.
“Understood. Once we arrive, I’ll process her admission immediately and file the registration with the guild association. The contract...”
“We just signed it, so please check it over and add about 10 percent more on top of what’s written there. Thinking about it now, I may have brought her in a little too cheaply. Come to think of it, she’d gone through the tutorial with you, Lee Changryeol, hadn’t she?”
“Yes, vice guild master. But...”
“I’ve taken many things into account, so please feel free to trust and follow along. Her condition isn’t exactly great, but she’ll still be able to do her part.”
“Yes, Lee Kiyoung-nim.”
Because he was wearing a red mask, I couldn’t see Lee Changryeol’s expression, but he didn’t seem in a bad mood.
Having someone familiar join them probably wasn’t a bad thing.
Of course, the one who looked even happier than he did was Yoo Ahyoung.
I’d worried for a moment when my attention was drawn to Han Sora, but things seemed to be going better than I’d expected.
“Come to think of it, Ahyoung-ssi... did things with Lee Gicheol get resolved?”
“Ah, that reminds me, I should have helped you with that. I’m sorry. Something came up all of a sudden.”
“No. There was no need for you to help.”
“Then I’m glad, but...”
“I’d already gotten enough closure. Team Leader Kim Miyoung here also helped me... though there is still a little more I’d like to do... could I tell you about that separately later?”
“Of course.”
She’s gotten way too into it...
I had no idea exactly how Team Leader Kim Miyoung had helped her, or what she planned to do next, but the fact that she still had more revenge to carry out was a little unnerving.
Still, it’s not bad.
For a round that had left me fairly dissatisfied overall, it felt like I’d at least put together a decent party.
Yoo Ahyoung, Lee Changryeol, Han Sora.
If I added the experienced An Gimo to that mix, a balanced party would be complete before long.
When I thought of them all together, they each seemed a little screw-loose in their own way, and...
To be honest, I was worried about entrusting them to An Gimo, but the man was a priest who could operate in both the front and rear.
He had more than enough ability, and there was still room for him to grow.
I can probably raise him properly...
Of course, there were plenty of problems to solve before they could truly settle into the guild.
And while I was thinking about the biggest one of all, I caught sight of another carriage heading this way.
What surprised me a little was the person riding in it.
“Oppa!”
Jung Hayan was waving brightly at me from inside the carriage.
She’d probably come to greet us, but the timing was far from welcome.
Sure enough, an odd sound began coming from behind me.
When I turned, the person standing there was, of course, Han Sora.
She was staring at Jung Hayan, trembling all over.
“A-ah... aaaaaah... ah!”
It wasn’t enough that she was having a fit; she was also staggering now.
What bothered me even more was how thoroughly soaked her lower half was becoming.
The yellow stream caught at the hem of her pants dripped down in little drops, and for some reason the sight hurt to look at.
She’s still like this?
Because I hadn’t seen her in so long, I’d assumed she’d gotten a little better. That was nothing more than my own mistake.
She didn’t even seem to realize it herself, still making little “ah! ahh” sound effects while completely losing herself, which was almost pitiful.
I had no choice but to admit the situation was even worse than I’d thought.
Watching Jung Hayan wave at us with that bright smile, I felt chills run down my back for no reason at all.
You... what on earth did you do to her...
“I-I was wro...”
What did you do to this girl, turn her into Pavlov’s dog?