Chapter 126
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Sound Beating (1)
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...I returned to the clan house.
"Huh, what? Didn't you say you had stuff to do? You came back already?"
"...Yeah."
Fortunately, the person I ran into wasn't Seo Yu-ju, but Kang I-seo.
At least I hadn't bumped into Seo Yu-ju the moment I got back.
'Meeting Seo Yu-ju in my current state would be dangerous.'
My emotions still hadn't settled down. And it had been that shocking, after all.
"...Hey, why's your face like that? Something happen?"
'Damn it...'
"...It's nothing."
"Hey, wait...!"
Suddenly, Kang I-seo grabbed my wrist as I tried to head up to the dorms.
"You... something's up, right? Your expression's weird right now."
At her words, I unconsciously touched my face. Seemed like I couldn't control my expression at the moment.
'Shit...'
"No, it's not. I'm just tired, so let me head up fi—"
"Ah, Yun-seong-ssi?"
"Ah..."
'Damn it.'
"I-seo-ssi is here too. Have you two had dinner yet? If not, want to eat tog—"
"Sorry, I'm heading up first."
I tried to go up without making eye contact, but Seo Yu-ju grabbed me.
"Uh... w-wait a sec. Yun-seong-ssi, are you okay?"
"......"
"Yun-seong-ssi, your complexion... why does it look so bad? Did something ha—"
Smack!
"Huh?"
"Ah... um..."
I'd unconsciously swatted her hand away.
Seo Yu-ju stared at me with wide, flustered eyes. My own expression probably wasn't much different.
"S-sorry. I'm not feeling well today... so, if you'll excuse me..."
"Ah..."
Seo Yu-ju reached out weakly toward me for a moment, but I just ignored it. Or rather, I didn't have the spare attention to notice.
Creeeak—Bang.
"God damn it..."
I entered my room, shoved the door shut with my body, and slid down to the floor.
...I can't even look Seo Yu-ju in the eye.
The question had been nagging at me nonstop.
Ever since the Tutorial, Seo Yu-ju had been openly expressing her feelings for me, which led me to suspect that she and I had some kind of relationship in the first round.
Her behavior made it seem like a given that we'd been lovers, but I still couldn't shake the doubts.
Because there was no way someone with my personality would've dated her.
"Ha... so the truth is that she has feelings for me?"
I sat there like that for a long while.
"Um... Lee Yun-seong-ssi."
"Ah, yes. Ho-yeon-ssi."
Wi Ho-yeon glanced at me cautiously before asking her question.
"Th-this might be rude, but... did something happen with the Master?"
Her question made me stop what I was doing with the documents.
"I-I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but lately, you've seemed kind of cold toward the Master..."
...This is driving me crazy.
Things had gotten awkward with Seo Yu-ju, so I'd been deliberately avoiding her for the past few days.
Even when we did cross paths, I'd kept conversations to a minimum, but it seemed that came off differently to her and those around us.
"...No. Nothing happened."
Wi Ho-yeon didn't look convinced.
...I wouldn't believe it either if I were her.
I knew better than anyone how off I was acting. From an outsider's perspective, it had to look strange.
Wi Ho-yeon hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
"Um... actually, the Master called for you, Lee Yun-seong-ssi."
'Sigh...'
Guess a few days of enduring this state was her limit.
"...Got it. I'll head over then."
I considered using the duplicate clay in front of Seo Yu-ju's office to slip away, but...
...No, that wouldn't work.
I decided to go in person. It was a problem I had to face anyway, and I could just act like normal.
"...Yu-ju-ssi, I heard you called for me."
"Ah, Yun-seong-ssi..."
Seo Yu-ju spoke to me with a careful expression.
"Um... did I... do something wrong to you?"
'No, you didn't do anything wrong...'
If anyone was at fault, it was me.
"You've been so cold to me lately... If I did something wrong..."
The roles were reversed. Normally, I'd be the one apologizing to her.
"No. S-sorry. I've just been under the weather lately... You haven't done anything wrong, Yu-ju-ssi. Not a single thing."
"But..."
"Really. So... don't say you did something wrong in front of me. You truly haven't. If anything..."
"...?"
I barely swallowed the words that I was the one at fault.
She wouldn't understand from her perspective.
"...Anyway, it's really nothing. See? We're talking normally right now."
"...Okay. That's a relief, then."
"I'll head out now, Yu-ju-ssi."
Even so, after treating Seo Yu-ju like normal for a few more days, her expression brightened up considerably.
She'd probably been pretty stressed out.
'I considered just coming clean to Seo Yu-ju, but...'
I still didn't have the courage. I couldn't even predict how she'd react to the truth.
'In the worst case... she might try to kill me.'
What I'd done was unforgivable, so expecting a positive outcome was nonsense on my part.
No matter my personal circumstances or the fact that Eras was doomed to fall, that didn't justify manipulating her life.
...For now, I'll just treat her right.
It was irresponsible, but I needed time to think.
'Next up is Ha Yu-ri.'
It wasn't something I should've put off this long, but various matters had delayed it.
I'd roughly planned how to deal with Ha Yu-ri.
I'd tasked Ruska with several investigations over the past few days, and I had info from the month or so I'd attached a chimera to her before.
The Madan Clan supplied goods to various clans.
As far as I knew, they even traded with major Japanese clans.
'Mainly artifacts and potions.'
Artifacts were a pass. What interested me were the potions.
'To frame her as a drug offender... drugs need to be detected in the Madan Clan's potions.'
There were two ways to do that.
First: Have Ruska infiltrate directly, despite the risks.
Second: Have a key figure in the Madan Clan's potion division spike the potions themselves.
'And just spiking them with drugs doesn't make them drug offenders. Obviously, I need to plant evidence and motives pointing to the Madan Clan.'
When this blows up at the palace and they analyze it, it has to scream that the Madan Clan was sourcing or receiving drugs.
Sure, even simple detection would stir up bad rumors, but that wasn't enough for me.
...Well, I've already handed chimera command authority to Ruska, so it should be progressing smoothly.
I wanted to go with the safer second option if possible.
And there was a way to leverage the fact that Ruska's clan—the Acacia Clan—had a branch in the Eastern Alliance.
'Of course there's a guard... annoying. Meeting in person would be more precise.'
With Wi Ho-yeon as my guard, opportunities to command or get reports from Ruska were limited to after-work rest time in my room.
I infused mana into the crystal orb.
Click.
—Ah, Master.
"Ruska, any progress? Did you check on the guy I mentioned?"
—...I did. The target is Ha Yu-ri's adjutant, right? That woman.
"Yeah. The guy's married, you know."
"Just like you said, Master, he has a wife. She seemed pretty good at alchemy too. Planning to use her?"
When I'd briefly attached a chimera to Ha Yu-ri before, I'd learned about her adjutant too.
Including the fact that he had a wife.
'Adjutant my ass—she just takes it out on him whenever she's pissed.'
As Ha Yu-ri's adjutant, he'd have direct access to Madan Clan operations, making him useful for targeting her in various ways.
'And above all, he has family.'
Something I'd realized back on Earth: People with families are easy to exploit.
Humans can become endlessly strong or heartbreakingly weak when their family is held hostage.
'Especially in a power-based society like this.'
Hell, even on Earth, human rights exist as a last resort.
But Eras was thin on such concepts.
"The guy's name—Ha Yu-ri's adjutant—what was it?"
—Park Chan-seok, Master.
"Right, Park Chan-seok. Anything shady in his past? Corruption, criminal record, that sort of thing?"
—...Surprisingly, he's clean. No corruption or criminal history to speak of.
"Huh... what about his wife? She got anything like that?"
—His wife was a player adventurer from another clan. Name's probably... Miura Kaoru. She's clean too. They even sponsor an orphanage and do regular volunteer work.
...This is kinda giving me a guilty conscience.
I didn't plan to harm Park Chan-seok or his wife directly, but dragging innocents into this felt wrong.
'Didn't expect someone in that position to be so squeaky clean.'
That part was unexpected for me.
I figured there'd be at least a skeleton or two.
'Or maybe we just couldn't find it.'
Still, with my chimeras lent out, if nothing turned up, it was safe to assume zilch.
—If you're thinking of targeting his wife... convenient timing, Master. They don't live in the Madan Clan house; they've got their own place outside, just the two of them.
"Feels like I'm messing with a promising young couple for no reason. Kinda guilty."
—...So you're backing off?
"Nah, can't do that. Unless there's a better way."
—Then I'll proceed.
"Go easy. Don't hurt the nice lady for nothing."
—Then don't touch her in the first place?
"...Anyway, don't let things blow up early. Be careful."
—Got it.
I ended the call with Ruska.
...Come to think of it, what about Seo Yu-ju's side?
Not about the recent days.
Ha Yu-ri probably hadn't touched drugs in the first round, so I worried Seo Yu-ju might get suspicious if Ha Yu-ri got framed as a drug offender.
'From what I saw, they didn't seem close anyway...'
Though that was probably because of me. Still, if they'd been friends in the first round, Seo Yu-ju's reaction to Ha Yu-ri being my enemy wouldn't have been so casual.
'I'll skip that for now. Best to wrap this up as fast as possible, right?'
With my side fully prepped, no need to give Ha Yu-ri time to prepare.
She might look like she'd been dropped on her head, but she was still a woman who'd climbed to lead one of the three great clans.
'No room for complacency. And even if not her, there could be capable people around her.'