Chapter 65

Han Arin recalled the “heterogeneous mana structure of blue ice” and the “Kumiho race” she had seen earlier, her expression stiffening.

For several reasons…

The biggest factor was realizing these elements were artificially created.

“Perhaps Hae-un went through a similar experiment.”

Further investigation was necessary. Following Hae-un, who inherited the bloodline of ancient dragons unseen since the primal dragon Philips Leseia, even Perseus, who has lived for ages, had never encountered a Kumiho.

It wasn’t mere coincidence that two races whose stories were hard to hear about were discovered simultaneously.

“High probability this is the terrorists’ doing? Though it’s not like there’s anyone else.”

A woman with her chin resting on her hand chewed potato chips while making a fairly accurate deduction.

She appeared rather tomboyish but maintained composure as she continued speaking.

“So why are they synthesizing the bloodlines of ancient dragons and Kumiho? Are they collecting them like Pokémons?”

At this somewhat flippant remark, Perseus, (the number one fanclub president of Hae-un who faints at the sight of her), furrowed his brow deeply and criticized the tone.

“If you say something like that to Hae-un again, I’ll rip your mouth apart, so watch yourself.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I like Hae-un too.”

“Is that so?”

‘What does ‘is that so?’ even mean?’

Han Arin watched the two dimwits while pressing her throbbing head and sighed before continuing.

“Anyway, the important thing is why they’re doing this and what their ultimate goal is. Keep investigating.”

“Of course. That way Hae-un will be crowned later, right?”

“I’ve already experienced that.”

“Huh. Really envy that.”

“…”

Honestly, it was a little… no, quite envious, but it wasn’t suitable conversation for a meeting so she refrained from comment. As Perseus tapped his fingers on the desk, he brought up the topic.

“Back to the main point, what do everyone think about Yuna?”

The room fell silent. Likely due to many things being difficult to verbalize.

Still, it couldn’t go unaddressed, so Han Arin spoke first.

“It seems like a similar case to Hae-un. Kidnapped in a terrorist attack, experimented on, resulting in mixed bloodlines.”

Since this repeated what was already discussed, nobody reacted strongly.

She looked around and calmly mentioned what she’d been pondering since earlier.

“The only issue is that unlike with Hae-un, Yuna was kept in an area with high population density and, more importantly, guarded by very few people.”

As everyone silently exchanged glances,

Sung Na-yeon, who had a chip in her mouth, made a sharp guess.

“It’s obvious, right? Either a trap or curse, placed there intentionally.”

Upon hearing this, Perseus immediately stood up, likely intending to rush to Hae-un.

Though Han Arin wanted to go with him, continuing the meeting was more important at the moment, so she calmed him down.

“Calm down. I’ve already set up protective magic just in case.”

Even after hearing this, Perseus hesitated, still worried.

He eventually sat back down, frowned, and gestured for her to continue.

Watching this, Sung Na-yeon grinned while munching on snacks.

“But seriously, it doesn’t seem like they’d use something as rare as a Kumiho as a discard card. So I thought, maybe these guys placed Yuna in an amusement park to conduct some kind of experiment.”

“An experiment?”

“Don’t know yet. But amusement parks are generally joyful, happy places, right? Maybe they’re experimenting with gathering emotions like that?”

This reminded her of the sky-blue ice seen earlier.

Ice possessing a strange mana structure created artificially.

Perhaps it was related to this?

Deciding to investigate further, she concluded.

* * * * *

After finishing all investigations, she looked at Yuna clinging to her.

Just like when they first met and she said adults were scary,

Yuna seemed to not just fear but actively antagonize adults, likely having endured immense violence during experimentation.

“Guess even I… because of those incidents.”

Understanding somewhat how she felt, she patted Yuna, who was trembling, on the back.

Chae-a observed this quietly, then suddenly got an idea, grabbed both her and Yuna’s hands, and led them along while saying,

“Yuna’s here now, let’s go to the lair!”

At the word “lair,” Yuna’s ears perked up.

Apparently interested, she gently stroked Yuna’s head while continuing,

“Wanna check out the lair?”

At this, Yuna wagged her nine tails and quickly nodded while looking at her.

Despite the mismatch between her expression and actions, the intent to see was clear.

Deciding to show Yuna the lair, she took a step forward.

When they arrived at the lair,

Yuna’s nine tails wagged wildly, expressing “I’m so excited!”

Seeing this reaction, she giggled and began introducing the lair.

“This is Somtul’s house, this is where we farm… this is Seorini’s special chair!”

With each introduction, Yuna’s ears perked up faster and faster.

Feeling proud from this scene, she confidently introduced every small detail.

“?”

Her eyes met the Kamangis rolling around on the floor.

The Kamangis hesitated warily at the new friend Yuna, then upon seeing she was holding hands with her,

Smiled brightly and clung on immediately.

Apparently thinking “a friend’s friend is a friend,”

The Kamangis danced on Yuna’s head and shoulders, giving an enthusiastic welcome.

“Never seen the Kamangis this excited!”

Seeing this, Chae-a exclaimed in admiration, then started dancing along with the Kamangis to welcome Yuna.

Finding this cute, she smiled when her phone rang again. Checking it,

[Leseia Grandma – Almost there. Where are you?]

A message from Grandma Leseia.

She replied that they were at the lair.

[Me – ㄹ[[]]][ㅇ’ㅓㅇ[ 이

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