Chapter 105

Yoo Ju and I were coming out of the royal palace’s treasure vault with some items.

Yoo Ju chose a spear, and I picked a bow.

[Lumen (Legend Grade) – A legendary spear said to summon light to its wielder. The power within the spear is said to vanquish evil and illuminate the world. When equipped, it increases the user’s strength and agility by 2, and magic power by 4. Additionally, depending on the user’s capability, it can draw out the weapon’s inherent power.]

‘…. Nice.’

At a glance, it was an incredibly powerful weapon.

As a Dark Sorcerer, the part about vanquishing evil made me a bit uneasy, but since Yoo Ju wouldn’t be stabbing me with this spear, it didn’t matter.

[Pioneer (Legend Grade) – The bow of a pioneer. It is said that the wielder of this bow will carve out their own destiny and open new frontiers. It adjusts arrow accuracy and imbues the arrowheads with its own unique magical power. When equipped, it increases agility and magic power by 4 each.]

This was the bow I chose. Originally, I thought about picking a shield for Uncle Ho-won, but I figured it was right to take care of a clan member who hadn’t received any rewards so far, so I ended up choosing this bow.

‘Besides, Kang I-seo has the trait of being a sharpshooter, so it’ll suit her well.’

When I returned to the room where the clan members were gathered and handed the weapon to Kang I-seo, she looked completely stunned, as if she hadn’t expected to receive anything.

“Huh? Wh-what’s this?”

“…Your weapon from now on.”

“Me? This is mine?”

“Yeah, dummy.”

She seemed so shocked that, under normal circumstances, she would’ve cursed and exploded at being called a dummy, but she just stared blankly at the weapon.

“Congratulations, unnie.”

“Congrats, I-seo unnie!”

“Huh? Why am I getting this? I didn’t even go on this mission…”

“Well… Jaehyo said from the start that he didn’t need any rewards, and the only ones who haven’t received any share of the spoils so far are you and Ha-eun.”

“Then someone else should…”

She seemed pretty burdened by the fact that she was the one receiving it.

I get it. Kang I-seo, despite her fiery appearance, is considerate and good at yielding in situations like this.

“I looked at the other items too, but in my opinion, this bow seemed the best.”

“…..”

“Just take it, man. It’s not like we can swap it for something else now that we’ve already brought it out.”

“…Alright. Thanks…”

Anyway, now that the reward distribution was done, there was no reason to stay in the royal palace any longer. The palace said they’d handle the subjugation operation themselves.

The palace didn’t seem too keen on reaching out to foreigners.

Probably because once they do, they’d have to provide rewards to the foreigners too.

After handing the bow to Kang I-seo, Yoo Ju addressed everyone.

“Alright, let’s head back. The palace has provided us with a carriage, so we can ride it back.”

It was time to go home.

—

The group, riding in the carriage, was utterly shocked when they saw Charis sitting inside.

Yoo Ju knew about her because I explained the situation, but the others had no idea, so their reaction was natural.

It’s not every day you see a stranger sitting in your carriage, after all.

Plus, while the group had seen Charis before, it was when she was disguised.

Now that she was in her true form, it was no surprise they didn’t recognize her.

“Uh… bro… there’s someone we don’t know in the carriage…”

“Wh-who are you? Yoon Seong oppa, is this the wrong carriage…?”

“No, this is our carriage. Let’s all get in first. I’ll explain on the way.”

Everyone, still confused, got into the carriage.

As the carriage started moving, everyone except me, Yoo Ju, and Charis was glancing at each other nervously.

“First of all… this is Charis. She’s indigenous, but she’ll be joining our clan from now on.”

“….Huh?”

Everyone looked at me like they had no idea what was going on.

Of course, introducing a new clan member out of the blue would be confusing. Especially since she’s indigenous and her name sounds familiar.

“Oppa… Charis? That’s the same name as the maid we saw at the mansion… Is she a different person?”

Yoo Rim’s question made me hesitate.

Well, it’s not a different person—it’s the same Charis from the mansion, but explaining this was giving me a headache.

“…Uh… no, it’s not a different person. It’s the same Charis from the mansion.”

“Huh?”

The group looked like they’d just short-circuited.

I took my time to slowly explain the situation.

Starting with Charis’s true identity and what had happened with the royal palace.

Of course, at first, the group had a hard time believing it, but once they realized who Charis really was, they kept sneaking glances at her.

Well, the Charis they saw at the mansion and the Charis now were quite different in appearance and demeanor, so it was understandable.

Charis, from the moment we got in, hadn’t even glanced at the group and was staring out the window with a displeased expression.

“Charis. I get that you’re not in a good mood, but if you keep this up, the others will feel uncomfortable. Could you lighten up a bit?”

At my words, she snorted and let out a sigh before speaking in a cold voice.

“Ha… Would you be in a good mood? And why should I care if others feel uncomfortable?”

‘…This is going to be a problem.’

It’s fine if it’s just the two of us, but with the whole group here, this attitude was going to be troublesome.

I really didn’t want the group to keep watching me and Charis like this.



“Charis, the maid.”

“Don’t suddenly call me a maid…”

She stopped mid-sentence, made eye contact with me, and couldn’t continue speaking.

Soon, she slowly lowered her gaze.

‘Right, better behave, huh? Yeah?’

I clearly warned her before sending her off in the carriage. Don’t act all snarky.

She’s currently magically bound to me. Think of it as a kind of slave contract.

I have complete control over her life and death, and if I wanted, I could inflict all sorts of pain on her.

Even altering her senses.

‘Magic is really convenient, huh?’

Of course, I don’t plan on torturing or abusing her, but if she keeps acting up, I might not be able to control myself.

‘I’m not exactly known for my patience.’

She probably knows that, which is why she hurriedly lowered her gaze and stayed quiet.

Anyway, Charis kept her head down, and the group slowly started chatting as time passed.

******

A few days after we returned to the Clan House, the royal palace made a big announcement about the recent events.

The fact that our clan had caught a drug distributor spread, and naturally, the clan’s standing and reputation improved.

Of course, the truth about Charis was classified. Nothing about her was revealed.

What was unusual was that not just the players, but even the indigenous people’s opinion of our clan had really improved.

It seemed like it was because we actively resolved issues related to the neutral country.

We’ve successfully shed the image of a declining clan.

The success of the expedition, the resolution of the request, and even the truth about the outlaw spy incident announced by the Myth Clan.

It was only natural that my reputation rose, and now when people hear about Eternity Clan’s Yoo Ju and Lee Yun-seong, quite a few nod in recognition.

‘This is a success.’

It’s been quite a journey since the Library of Records.

It’s just the beginning, but the excitement of something new is inevitable.

Eternity Clan was the only clan that had grown so explosively in such a short time.

And then there’s the matter of Charis.

‘Where should I use her?’

She’s a combatant, but unless we’re going on an expedition, I’m not sure where to use her.

‘She doesn’t know how to handle office work, and all she can do is the chores she did as a maid. Hmm…’

I’ve been having her do chores, but it’s a waste to use such high-quality personnel just for menial tasks.

“…Do you really only know how to do chores?”

“Then what do you want from me? Should I use dark magic here and conduct experiments or something?”

‘Her attitude is just…’

“Your tone is really annoying.”

“…We’re alone. You said to only act like this when others are around.”

“Sigh… Fine. But… do you have no feelings for your former comrades?”

The reason I asked this was simple. The royal palace was about to launch a subjugation operation.

“Comrades? Don’t lump me in with those lunatics. Neither I nor they consider each other comrades.”

“But still… there might be cases where you serve the same demon.”

“That’s irrelevant. There’s a misconception that outsiders like you have—that demons are evil and angels are good. You should drop that prejudice. It’s a useless thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sigh… Demons and angels are just different in appearance and name. The only difference is that they’re higher beings. Very few demons interfere with the middle world, and even among them, the lunatics are a tiny minority.”

What she’s saying is that demons and angels are essentially the same.

‘This is something I need to pay attention to.’

“Then why does the Holy Kingdom reject dark magic and demons? Isn’t that strange according to you?”

“…That’s because the Holy Kingdom is controlled by angels. They reject dark magic and demons, but they only eliminate demons that harm the middle world.”

“They don’t kill all dark sorcerers?”

“Demons and dark sorcerers are different. Dark sorcerers can only be those whose personal karma leans towards evil. Demons aren’t necessarily evil, but dark sorcerers are closer to evil beings because of that reason.”

‘Damn… No wonder there was no mage option in the job selection. Was Ha Yu-ri telling the truth back at the training facility?’

I thought Ha Yu-ri’s words back then were just her hating dark sorcerers, but it seems like what she said was true.

“…So, are you saying you and I are evil?”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lump me in with you. I can handle dark magic, but technically, I’m not a dark sorcerer. As for you… you’re not exactly evil, but you have the potential to become one.”

Looks like I’ve really made a bad impression on her.

The way she talks, it’s almost like she’s disgusted, so it’s hard not to feel hurt.

“…Well, I get it now.”

I’ve accidentally learned something I didn’t know before.