10. First Experience
10. First Experience
Sihwan realizes too late after saying it.
This is the second time, following the last one.
"G-Girlfriend...? What the hell does that mean?"
The magic spell that awakens even the docile Soyoung, setting her eyes ablaze and making her charge forward.
Sihwan clearly knew he was married to the Yu Family's granddaughter, and now that married man is in a lover's relationship with her sister?
Did she hear that wrong?
She clung to hope.
Her admired sister wouldn't do something like that.
"No way that's true. He just spouted nonsense. That's just how he is, so don't pay it any mind."
Yeonseo denied it.
There was zero benefit to claiming she was dating Sihwan for no reason.
It would only make things awkward, what with face and all that....
"Y-Yeah, right? A Human, and a married one at that, as lovers? No way—"
"No, you can't lie like that."
"Why don't you shut the fuck up?"
"If I just sit here quietly, it'll look like I'm the one lying."
"Ha...."
"Uh...?"
A weird atmosphere.
And their gazes clashing.
No way?
"For real...?"
Yeonseo puffed out a cloud of cigarette smoke with a sullen look.
She wanted to deny it, but with that dumbass Human right in front of her, it wouldn't be easy.
If things were gonna turn out like this, it would've been better to just admit it from the start all around. She let out a sigh.
"Whew... Don't sweat it. I've got a mountain of shit to do already anyway?"
"But still...."
"You think being Chief Instructor leaves me with free time?"
"...."
In the end, she vaguely brushed it off and switched topics.
"Don't waste time on bullshit and just do your job right."
"Yeees...."
Soyoung, totally bummed out.
Head down, she fiddled with the papers on the table.
"Why'd you go and upset the kid for no reason."
"Whose fault is this again."
"You two should just get along."
"Ha...."
If only she could keep her damn mouth shut.
"But seriously, why'd you call me here? It can't be just to tell me not to blab."
"Sigh... I was gonna properly introduce this kid. She's the one who'll actually be handling the real work, after all."
"Oh. Right. You did mention something like that earlier."
"I'll be sticking around for a bit, but in about a month, I've gotta head back to the main house. Got some training I need to go through."
"Huh?"
"What's with the 'huh'?"
"I heard you'd be going with me for graduation exams too."
"I will that time. The training won't take that long anyway."
"Oh, gotcha. Thought we were splitting up."
"Ha. What the hell."
"But why go for training?"
"Chief Instructor kicked me out, so I need a new position, duh."
"We've got this city."
"This is just an asset thing."
"Gotcha."
Rich families really are on another level, huh.
Even booted from Chief Instructor, they've got endless new gigs lined up.
"But then you'd have to be away from me."
"Ultimately, yeah. Ah, somehow feels refreshing."
"Don't do that—join my Guild."
"...Your Guild?"
"Yeah. Been thinking, no need to run just a company. Merge the product dev and sales company with a Guild of warriors raiding Dungeons, make it a whole group."
"And you want me to join that?"
"Yep."
"Based on what?"
"Me."
"...."
Confidence not a bit less than when they first met.
No, if anything, even bolder now.
"Told you. I'm conquering The Tower."
"You were serious?"
"Obviously."
"How? You don't seem to get it yet, but even now, the front lines are a bloodbath on floors 27 and 28. Above that, it's crawling with divine races."
"I know."
"And you say that shit so casually."
"With Bari, climbing The Tower's a piece of cake. Worst case, if we can't, just bail outside and carpet-bomb everything from floor 30 up to oblivion."
"Ha."
What kind of bullshit is this.
Where the hell does this pie-in-the-sky imagination come from.
"Anyway, think about it. I'll pay top dollar."
"Ridiculous. You think salary means shit to me?"
Sihwan grinned mischievously.
"Could always pay in bodily fluids if you want."
"Bodily fluids?"
Tilting her head like "what the fuck," she soon got it and her face turned red.
"You crazy bastard."
Today too, a fluffy cushion came flying.
+++
"Wow, but just a lone Dormitory in the middle of a barren field feels kinda off."
"It'll have all sorts built soon enough."
"Yeah, true."
Class over, Sihwan headed to the Slums with Rihana and Eleonore.
Should've been prime time to grind training with Yu Ina, but yesterday and today she was swamped again, so canceled.
"Lemme see... Center the Dormitory for residential zones, stick the Factory and high-end buildings on the opposite side. Maybe move the Control Center too?"
"Isn't that a core building? Better keep it hidden."
"Hmm, yeah. Anyway, I crash at Yuna's place, so no real need to move it."
He scoped out the Slums here and there, mapping plans in his head.
Long-term, this spot becomes the city's hub.
Factories, shops, homes all blended into the ultimate bustling district—gotta plan it right.
"Use buses too—"
Swak!
Right then.
A barrage flying straight at Sihwan.
Eun-hye, tailing him like sausages on a string, thrust her hand into the air.
And like magic, the projectiles hung frozen in the sky.
Wouldn't faze Advanced Races or top-tier Outer Races, but for a mere Human like Sihwan, those massive vicious arrows would've meant instant death on a direct hit.
Hundreds of 'em.
Blatantly meant to kill Sihwan.
"What?"
But he didn't freak or rage. Just bored as fuck.
Eun-hye blocked 'em preemptively, and with Bari's absolute Armor, such trash attacks wouldn't even scratch. Plus, Bari must've spotted it early but stayed mum—means it's a win for him.
"Human!!!"
Dormitory windows flung wide, Slum dwellers gripping bows and ranged weapons, out for blood.
Rihana's Ho-in Tribe right there too, naturally.
"We'll kill you and claim this turf!!!"
"What the fuck is this!!!"
Freaked-out Rihana jumped in front of Sihwan, yelling.
"You all wanna fucking die?!"
Sihwan or Bari aside, guy's got Noblesse bodyguard detail.
Kill him for his assets? Whose dumbass brain fart was this?
"Rihana! Have you forgotten the Ho-in Tribe's pride!!"
"Tribal Chief!"
"We might be scraping by humbly here now, but we ain't lost our warrior pride! And you want us under some puny Human? We ain't that desperate!"
"Outta nowhere like this...!"
Looks like the Ho-in Tribe's Tribal Chief rallied the rest of the Slum folk for this stunt.
Sihwan, ballparking the odds, shoved the rage-shaking Rihana back and stepped up.
"Sihwan-nim, it's dangerous."
"That's just lip service, right?"
Eun-hye clammed up politely(?).
Hundreds bows trained, sure, but this setup ain't dangerous even on paper.
"You squat in my building and yap about pride and not being hungry. Not embarrassing yourselves?"
"Shut your trap, Human! You wrecked our turf first!"
"Nah. What're you deluded about? Your turf got wrecked not by me, but your 'weakness.' If you weren't weak-ass, would ya lose it? Wouldn't even get pushed here."
"Toying with us using that bullshit logic!"
"Bullshit? Just facts. Why toy with you lot? Ego trip much? I don't give a shit about you. Quit self-inflating. And 'wrecked turf'? You really called that pile of crumbling boxes 'turf'? Squatting tax-free? That ain't turf. Nomad tent. So I built ya a Dormitory. Gave back what you lost 'cause you're weak. And you claim I wrecked it?"
"Uh... uh...?"
Some bow-aimers faltered.
Sounded kinda legit on second thought.
Honestly, those shitholes barely qualified as houses—nobody really saw 'em as real turf.
For legit 'turf,' it'd be the ancestral lands stolen by those damn Beastkin. This was just getting shoved around till you squat—ain't no grand 'turf.'
Sihwan actually hooked 'em up with proper Dormitory homes.
"Don't get suckered! Since old times, how many kin got duped by slick Human tongues! Ignore the Human!!"
"Lemme ask one thing. What balls makes you pull this? Zero upside."
"Human, just off you."
"Nah, how you gonna off me? No angle at all."
That part legit baffled him.
Where's this hope coming from? Zero logic.
Forget the rest—with Noblesse, a Yu Family woman like Eun-hye guarding, for weak Outer Races like them shoved to the Slums? Not even 0.0001% shot.
But why?
'Whatever, long as I get to Seoul. Rihana's mine then.'