Long Time No See, Sword (1)
I'd even sent a note welcoming him back.
...But things have been awfully quiet.
I stared at the words scrawled across the parchment.
'I even passed on the apology properly.'
Does he need time until the next proof?
Whatever. It didn't matter either way. I had more than enough to do regardless.
My schedule was packed tight.
I closed the magic tome I'd been reading.
'Time to go.'
To the Yusra Kingdom.
The media and the internet alike showed no signs of losing interest in the Yusra Kingdom.
Korea's mass media was probably the most excited of all.
The Yusra Kingdom reconstruction quest, now exclusive to just two guilds: Gaon and Berserker.
Seeing headlines like those, it really hit home that not just anyone can be a player.
Just imagine how exhausting it must be. Every single word dissected, endless speculation, interview requests pouring in.
'In that sense, I can only be grateful.'
For his prickly personality.
-Step aside. My patience has limits.
-No decorum whatsoever.
-Thus, I shall take no questions.
Those unfiltered lines spat straight at the cameras.
...Crushing to recall even now, lines that made me cringe to death.
But thanks to that? Reporters never dared approach me rashly.
No, it wasn't just reporters. Even other players kept their distance.
In the Mage Tower lobby. Around the portal, a crowd of players.
"Nah, let's just clear rifts at that time...?"
"Gasp. It's Lee Hoyeol. Lee Hoyeol!"
"Shh! Shut your mouths first."
A flowing silence—the noisy hub fell utterly quiet in an instant.
The old me would've fidgeted endlessly.
Are they shunning me? Making wild assumptions?
But humans are creatures of adaptation, after all.
I was getting used to reactions like this.
With my head and my heart both satisfied by the hush.
Then, a similar scene flashed in my mind.
'...Well, yeah.'
This prickly vibe held firm even before gatherings of top rankers.
Even in front of the Mage Tower's senior mages.
So this was just everyday routine now. No need for special commentary.
Clack—
Stepping into the portal, I thought:
How are you getting more shameless by the day, Hoyeol?
The reason for visiting the Yusra Kingdom was simple.
'I need to meet Harcon.'
Ask him about that "sword aura."
But first, confirm what needs confirming.
Not using gains from leaving Cheongryeom would be idiotic.
'Of course.'
Rewards from the successful quest. My affinity and influence with the Yusra Kingdom had maxed out.
As a result, the [Authority] function unlocked in the Yusra Kingdom.
'Let's get a proper grasp.'
I planned to understand that authority function exactly.
Truth be told, I had a rough idea already.
The internet was buzzing about it, after all.
Affinity and influence. And the potential for titles thereby.
Common knowledge since Arcana's game days.
That's why players obsessed over affinity and influence.
'Of course, scale matters for importance.'
Influence in a small village vs. a nation.
Impossible to equate the two.
'Village chief can't grant titles.'
In that light, the value of max affinity and influence in the Yusra Kingdom was indescribable.
Especially as the first Arcana nation to manifest in reality.
Most crucially, its growth potential!
The resource-rich Yusra Kingdom, now with a chance to fully exploit them as the first manifested nation.
Players' expectations soared accordingly.
So, humanly speaking, my expectations swelled too...!
'Maxed out, no less.'
...Maybe some decent scraps would fall my way?
But what moved me this time was the pride in my chest.
"We must judge wisely."
Vast influence. The responsibility it entailed. True noblesse oblige.
I sighed inwardly.
'...What do I even get out of this?!'
You've got to claim your own share. No one hands it out if you don't speak up.
A truth I'd learned rolling in the jungle of society as a salaryman.
'...Huh?'
But my lament didn't last long.
Max affinity and influence weren't ordinary rewards.
I realized it soon enough.
'...Maybe I don't even need to push for it?'
The Golden Palace loomed in the distance.
Against it, a man hurried toward me.
The man was none other than Yusra's king, Hakuna.
"You've arrived, my benefactor!"
Seeing Hakuna's beaming smile, I thought:
'A king greeting me barefoot feels normal now. Maybe I'm not getting more shameless...?'
My shamelessness already maxed out?
*
"One, two!"
A booming shout rang in his ears.
The Lion Heart Knights. Captain Harcon Kingsguard smiled faintly.
How long had it been since he'd felt such peace?
"Voice too soft. Again!"
For some reason, his mind was serene.
Since being summoned to the adventurers' world, not a single night of restful sleep.
Yet last night, he'd slept deeply without stirring once.
Harcon surveyed the surroundings.
No buildings the adventurers called "skyscrapers." No noisy iron carriages.
Was it the Yusra Kingdom's familiar, home-like environment?
'No.'
Harcon shook his head. He already knew it wasn't.
What tormented him was impatience.
"Is His Imperial Majesty safe? What am I doing here? Can I really rest easy?"
But those hasty worries had vanished.
'All thanks to Sir Hoyeol.'
Yes, everything was thanks to Hoyeol.
Harcon had learned much alongside him.
'He must have been flustered too.'
Their homeland and the adventurers' world colliding in cataclysm.
The adventurers were confused too. Hoyeol surely as well.
Plus demons emerging.
Plenty of reason for despair like theirs.
Harcon swallowed admiration anew.
'How could he remain so composed?'
No hint of agitation from Hoyeol.
Even in battle against the Seven Deadly Sins' Greed incarnation, a terror that shook even him.
No lofty resolve or sacrifice in Hoyeol's actions.
Just calm advance, as if it were the obvious thing.
That composure had profoundly awakened Harcon's spirit.
'Even that resolve is natural to him.'
What a vast vessel of a man.
Harcon knew he must emulate such a figure.
'Though effort alone won't suffice.'
But one thing was clear.
"...I must do what I must."
Thump— That simple truth set the lion's stalled heart beating again.
Thus, the Lion Heart Knights resumed training.
Clang—!
Swords clashing.
Harcon passionately rallied them.
"Sharpen your blades! Steady your stance!"
This was what they could do now.
"If we can't fell this world's demons, how shall we fell our homeland's?!"
This was what they must do now.
Clang clang—!
Seeing the gritted knights, Harcon thought:
'No more regrets.'
Contact with the Mage Tower via Hoyeol? Harcon scrapped those plans.
It stemmed from the same haste to return home swiftly—a mistake.
No repeating errors after enlightenment.
'Another lesson from him.'
Joining Yusra reconstruction? Just an extension of training.
Knights handled threats to the kingdom.
Harcon closed his eyes gently.
Shouts in his ears. Serene mind.
No worries for a while, surely...
But Harcon's expectations missed the mark.
"Wh-what did you say? Sir Hoyeol?"
Again, because of Hoyeol.
Flustered, Harcon asked back.
"You wish to begin swordsmanship...?!"
"Hoo—"
With a sigh, Jessica removed her helmet.
Sweat-dampened black bob hair swayed.
Her narrowed eyes fixed on Harcon... no, precisely on the silver hair beside him.
Hoyeol.
'A mage.'
One tied to the Mage Tower, no less.
Jessica knew well what Mage Tower mages were like.
She'd witnessed them.
Their sole pursuit: truth.
Their path toward it.
'...Madmen.'
It was annihilation.
One obstacle, and an entire region vaporized in half a day.
Jessica had been dispatched for cleanup.
But nothing left to clean.
Not even confirming casualties possible.
Not a blade of grass remained.
Yet Hoyeol was different.
Really a Mage Tower mage?
His image cleaving the supporting stone stairs and lava was vivid.
But Jessica shook her head.
Side to side— As vivid as the memory was her prejudice.
'...Still don't know.'
Truly unlike other Mage Tower mages?
But the ensuing conversation widened even her skeptical gaze.
"Sir Harcon. Does sword aura truly exist?"
...Sword aura?
Wait, how does a mage know of sword aura!
Natural for the captain to be shocked too.
Sword aura was...
"Sir Hoyeol, what do you mean?"
"Sword aura. The light flickering on your blade."
"...Could it be, Sir Hoyeol. You saw that light?!"
Not just anyone could see it...!
Innate talent and relentless training—both required to barely glimpse it.
So shock was inevitable.
But the astonishment didn't end there.
"I see. Then I too can wield sword aura."
He declared he'd wield it.
Silent Enoch muttered:
"...What the hell's he on about? That mage dude."
Jessica felt the same, though unsaid.
'Spotting it is miracle enough. But?'
Wielding it was another matter!
Even in Lion Heart Knights, only the captain, her, and Enoch could.
And Hoyeol was a mage, no?
Jessica was frankly dumbfounded.
"Can you even hold a sword properly first?"
Harcon handed Hoyeol a sword.
'No idea what the captain's thinking, but...'
Jessica deemed it a waste of time.
Mages' bodies were frail.
Desk-bound with books all day.
How swing a sword with those slender arms...
"...?!"
But Jessica's prejudice.
Shff—
"...What the. That mage dude?"
Shattered the moment Hoyeol shrugged off his jacket.
Muscles revealed under the white shirt.
Impossible to believe a mage's body.
So solidly built.
'...Pale skin? No, wait, that's not—!'
Jessica swallowed dryly unwittingly, for a moment.
Hoyeol took the sword from Harcon.
And the instant he raised it.
"!!!"
All gasped—