Chapter 104

“Ha ha ha… This is great, thanks to you, I’ve saved a lot of trouble. Thank you, Lee Yun-seong.”

“Not at all, Ray Hakter.”

“Well, thanks to you, Lee Yun-seong, we’ve skipped the annoying process. I’ve roughly summarized everything that woman confessed… and it seems the royal palace will soon launch a secret extermination operation.”

“…An extermination operation?”

“Yes. From the royal palace’s perspective, they can’t just leave those lunatics conducting human experiments alone… Even though they haven’t caused much trouble in the neutral country yet, we’ve confirmed that they’ve committed some significant crimes in the Eastern Alliance and Tayos.”

If you think about it, that guy Bahan bought slaves from the Eastern Alliance and conducted human experiments, so of course, they’ve caused trouble there.

But I didn’t expect they’d also caused trouble in Tayos.

‘It’s surprising they even caused trouble in Tayos.’

Seems like their scale is bigger than I thought.

“Understood. So, what happens to Charis? Um… my request is…”

“Ah… there were several discussions at the royal palace, but since most of the credit for this matter goes to you, Lee Yun-seong, they concluded that your request is reasonable.”

“So then…”

“Yes. As you requested, the woman named Charis now belongs to the Eternity Clan—no, to you, Lee Yun-seong. Of course, as per your request, we’ve placed magical restrictions on her, so she won’t be able to act recklessly.”

My request was simple. Since, as Ray Hakter said, I had a significant share in this matter, I simply asked for Charis to be mine.

Charis asked for her freedom, but I had no intention of giving it to her.

No, to be precise, since she’s one of the top-tier powerhouses, I planned to make her my subordinate.

‘She’s too valuable to just let go, and it’s a waste to hand her over to the royal palace.’

In the end, my rewards doubled in an instant. Suddenly, I’ve gained two Legend Grade items and Charis.

I couldn’t help but smile at the unexpected gain.

Well, who wouldn’t?

‘Being able to use a top-tier powerhouse like a tool is a huge achievement. Honestly, I’m more pleased with this than the Legend Grade items.’

I feel like bowing to Yoon Yeon. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have received such rewards.

I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly.

Judging by Ray Hakter’s recent words and actions, it seems he doesn’t intend to harm me—at least for now.

‘Well… for now… but still.’

Everything suddenly going so well makes me feel oddly uneasy.

Unexpected luck is always good, but it’s hard to just be happy about it.

‘Whenever luck comes, misfortune follows. Maybe it’s just my mood.’

Anyway, I had to go see Charis again. Her opinion isn’t that important, but it’s better to inform her.

Even though she’s now my subordinate and I can control her as I please, I don’t want to force or oppress her if I can help it.

‘It’s not about conscience—honestly, I’m not that righteous. If it benefits me, I’m ready to sell my conscience anytime.’

It’s just that the hassle of forcing her is annoying.

After parting with Ray Hakter, I arrived at the prison and saw Charis opening her mouth as soon as she noticed me.

“…What happened? I told you everything as you asked. The promise…”

“Of course, I kept the promise. Well… not entirely.”

“Not entirely… What do you mean?”

“Your life will be spared. However, I can’t give you complete freedom. The royal palace has decided they can’t just let a dangerous person like you go, and I agree.”

“What… Then how…”

“You’ve been assigned to the Eternity Clan—no, more accurately, to me. From now on, you’ll be working as my subordinate.”

“W-what? What’s that! I clearly asked for freedom! That’s…!”

‘As expected, her reaction is intense. Sigh… how do I handle this…’

I expected it, but her reaction is more intense than I thought.

I’m not sure why, but this woman, Charis, seems to have an obsessive fixation on the keywords “freedom” and “ordinary life.”

“Calm down first. Isn’t it obvious? Why would I or the neutral country trust you enough to give you freedom?”

“That’s…!”

“As my subordinate, I won’t ask you to do anything unreasonable or strange, so it’ll feel close to freedom. I don’t intend to oppress you much; just fulfill your role as a member of the Eternity Clan.”

“I’m… I’m an indigenous person. Why should I join your foreigner clan and do what you tell me?”

“Then would you rather do the dirty work the royal palace assigns? You’ll be under constant surveillance, dealing with all sorts of messes… Well, I’m not forcing you. The choice is yours, Charis.”

“……”

She has no choice. This is a story with a predetermined answer.

The best option she can choose is to accept my proposal.

“…This isn’t what you promised…!”

Now she’s practically on the verge of tears.

Maybe she’s imagining her future, realizing that there’s no definitive freedom in it.

“…I’ve done my best. There’s nothing more I can do for you. Let’s be honest, I’m not the king, am I?”

“……”

“What will you do?”

Even as I asked, I didn’t feel much emotion. After all, she’ll accept my proposal.

Quietly sniffling, she slowly nodded her head.

The sight just caught my eye.

******

Of course, there had been some discussions and events at the royal palace, and it was necessary to explain them to Yoo Ju.

Since Yoo Ju is also the Clan Master of our clan, and we had already received permission to share information with the royal palace, it wasn’t a problem.

When I explained the situation to Yoo Ju, she seemed flustered and couldn’t keep up.

A bewildered expression caught my eye.

“…So, Yoon Seong, are you saying that the maid at the border lord’s mansion was actually an indigenous person connected to demons… and that maid has now become part of our clan?”

“Hahaha… Well, that’s how it turned out.”

Yoo Ju wiped her face with her hand, looking tired, and spoke.

“Sigh… Yoon Seong, what on earth have you been up to?”

“Well… It just kind of happened… Anyway, because of that, the royal palace is launching an extermination operation.”

“…I get that. But more importantly, the maid, Charis, she…”

“She’s technically part of the Eternity Clan now… But Yoo Ju, if it’s okay with you, could I take responsibility for managing Charis?”

“…Go ahead. It’s your personal achievement, after all.”

“Thank you, Yoo Ju.”

I was worried she might refuse or react poorly, but thankfully, Yoo Ju gave her permission.

However, Yoo Ju’s expression wasn’t great, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit cautious.

‘…Is she upset?’

From Yoo Ju’s perspective, it was understandable that she might feel uncomfortable. Things were happening without her knowledge, and she was essentially just being informed after the fact.

“Yoon Seong… do you like the Clan Master of the Myth Clan?”

“…Huh?”

“Last time, this time, you’re always getting involved with the Myth Clan Master.”

“…No. I mean, we’re always involved professionally, but I don’t have any feelings for the Myth Clan Master.”

Judging by her expression, it didn’t seem like she believed me.

I’ve been misunderstood like this before, but since Yoon Yeon knows about my unique traits, it’s inevitable that I keep getting involved with her professionally, leading to these misunderstandings.

“Ah, by the way, isn’t today the day we receive our rewards? The guide should be coming soon…”

Knock knock.

“Yoo Ju, Yoon Seong. I’ll guide you to the treasure vault.”

I felt relieved at the perfectly timed knock. Being alone with Yoo Ju right now was a bit overwhelming.

Going to the treasure vault was something Yoo Ju and I had already discussed.

Of course, it’s not just the two of us receiving rewards, but since we can’t all go to the treasure vault at once, only two of us will go to pick the items.

The clan members didn’t have any complaints about this.

Yoo Ju is the Clan Master, so it’s natural, and in my case, I’m closely tied to this incident.

“Please wait a moment. I need to disable the security magic on the treasure vault, so please bear with me.”

I’m not a mage, so I don’t fully understand, but even to my untrained eye, the spellwork looked quite complex.

‘Well, it is the royal palace’s treasure vault. If someone tried to break in, they’d be turned to dust.’

Disabling the security magic seemed to be a complicated process, as it took some time before the guide spoke again.

“You may enter now. As mentioned, you can choose two items and then leave. Each item has a description, so you can read and decide, or there are one-time-use artifacts if you prefer.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Just a reminder, you cannot take more than two items. There’s a sensor magic at the entrance, so only two are allowed.”

I nodded at the guide’s words and entered the treasure vault, where a dazzling array of items greeted me.

The sheer variety of items made it hard to decide where to start.

“Since it’s not too cramped, I’ll look around this side. Yoon Seong, you…”

“Then I’ll check out this side. Let’s stick to what we discussed earlier.”

We had already decided who would receive one of the items. Yoo Ju had already settled on taking an item for herself.

‘The Clan Master should have a Legend Grade weapon to maintain her status.’

Yoo Ju is a spearman, so it’s natural for her to desire good equipment. She felt a bit guilty but accepted the clan members’ suggestion.

‘As for me… what should I pick?’

The other item was to be chosen by me, something useful for the remaining clan members.

Some suggested I pick something for myself, but I opposed that idea.

‘Getting Charis is already more than enough for me.’

Honestly, Charis is a greater achievement than any Legend Grade item.

From my perspective, since I’ve already gained Charis, it’s only right to find an item that can help the other clan members.

‘Even if I had a good weapon, it’d be like putting a pearl necklace on a pig. It wouldn’t be efficient.’

And… it’s probably hard to find an item related to Dark Sorcerers in a royal treasure vault like this.