Chapter 131

After Ha Yu-ri submitted to me, I kept my promise to her.

Honestly, since the slave contract and slave magic were already completed, there was no real need to save the Mardan Clan. But I had made a deal with Ray Hakter, so I followed through.

‘Well, and if I didn’t keep my promise, my conscience would’ve bugged me.’

To put it bluntly, from Ha Yu-ri’s perspective, she had truly let go of all her pride.

Honestly, the sight of Ha Yu-ri calling me “Master” and acting like a dog is something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

Anyway, the people who were criticizing the Mardan Clan have now shifted their blame to the Black Char Clan of the Eastern Alliance.

And Park Chan-seok, who was Ha Yu-ri’s subordinate, has now been exposed as an industrial spy for the Black Char Clan.

In the end, the couple couldn’t continue their normal activities in Baronia, so I sent them to Ruska.

Along with the promised money, of course.

Also, I needed to talk to Riki. It was necessary to keep an eye on the Black Char Clan’s movements.

“Riki, how’s it going?”

– Obviously, they’re going crazy. From the Black Char Clan’s perspective, this is ridiculous.

“Yeah… So, what’s the Black Char Clan up to?”

– They’re looking for the man who was announced as the industrial spy. After all, they need to find a fake spy to prove their innocence.

As expected, the Black Char Clan is searching for Park Chan-seok.

The reason they’re looking for him is simple.

Among the three clans in the Eastern Alliance distributing drugs, except for the Kotozuke Clan, the other two clans have signed contracts.

The contracts include a clause prohibiting distribution outside their territory.

Meaning, the only one with external distribution rights is Yanagiya Riki.

From that standpoint, the current issue is that the Black Char Clan tried to frame the Mardan Clan by leaking drugs into Baronia.

Of course, they didn’t actually leak the drugs, but with the announcement out, the Kotozuke Clan now has a reason to purge the Black Char Clan.

‘In the end, by targeting the Mardan Clan, I got Ha Yu-ri, and Riki gets to purge the Black Char Clan for her own benefit.’

“So, the operation’s about to start soon?”

– Yeah, we’ll use the justification to purge them soon.

The Black Char Clan will soon disappear.

“… You’re ruthless with your subordinate clans.”

– Well, this time it’s a false accusation, but they’ve always been shady. They’ve been waiting for a chance to overthrow us, so we can’t just let them be.

Honestly… Even though Riki and I ended up helping each other this time, the Black Char Clan would’ve been purged by Riki eventually, even without me.

– I’m the type to reward clearly and punish clearly. I’m not generous enough to let traitors stick around.

“… Hmm, so am I on the receiving end of the rewards?”

In response to my words, I heard her muffled laugh through the crystal ball.

– Heh… Of course. Did you think it’d just be some ordinary reward? Like I said before, I can grant whatever you want. If you’re looking for something more primal and intense, that’s welcome too.

“……”

She seemed to like the brief silence, as I heard her laugh again through the crystal ball.

– Anyway, it’s all thanks to you, Yoon Seong. By the way, did you get what you wanted?

“… Of course.”

– That’s good to hear. Anyway, I have some things to take care of now, so I’ll end the call here. Make sure to contact me again, okay, Yoon Seong?

“… I’ll reach out from time to time.”

*Click.*

“Phew…”

At least the things I’ve been working on turned out well.

I picked up the newsletter in front of me.

The newsletter mentioned the Mardan Clan, but there was also another shocking piece of news for the people of Baronia.

‘… This time, not a single rider passed the tutorial.’

It’s about time for new players to arrive since I entered, but the problem is that no one passed the tutorial this time.

‘No wonder Seo Yoo-ju was so interested in the training facility… So this is why.’

It seems the training facility didn’t open during this period in the first round either.

It might just be my imagination, but Seo Yoo-ju seems more interested in other matters now.

******

While working in the office, Wi Ho-yeon approached me.

“… Lee Yoon-seong.”

“Ah, yes. Ho-yeon.”

“… There’s something I’ve been curious about. May I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Wi Ho-yeon spoke in a very cautious tone.

“… Did you have something to do with the Mardan Clan incident?”

I couldn’t help but pause at Wi Ho-yeon’s question.

‘Well, it’s only natural.’

Since Wi Ho-yeon had accompanied me to the royal palace to meet Ha Yu-ri, it made sense that she might suspect something.

“Yes, I did. Are you disappointed?”

I looked at Wi Ho-yeon with a firm gaze.

Back when Wi Ho-yeon and I went to the bar alone, I had clearly explained my values to her, and she had agreed.

From my perspective, it would be very inconvenient if Wi Ho-yeon started questioning me now. Especially since I’ve grown quite attached to her.

Wi Ho-yeon is now one of the people within my circle.

Removing her at this point is impossible for me.

“… Because of the drugs in the Mardan Clan’s medicine, many people were exposed to drugs against their will. Surely, a lot of people were harmed because of that.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

It’s something I had considered. I just excluded it since it didn’t involve people close to me.

When I received the drugs from Riki, I took the weakest ones from the Black Char Clan, but as Wi Ho-yeon said, there’s bound to be harm.

“… May I ask why you did such a thing?”

“Hmm… First, because Ha Yu-ri, the master of the Mardan Clan, and I were in a hostile relationship.”

“… But the Mardan Clan hasn’t done anything to you yet…”

I cut off Wi Ho-yeon and continued.

“Yes, they haven’t done anything yet. But, Ho-yeon, it’s foolish to wait for them to harm me before responding.”

“…..”

“Even if the probability is low, if there’s a chance the Mardan Clan could harm me, or rather, the Eternity Clan in the future, I thought it was right to strike first.”

“… That’s strange. Wasn’t the Mardan Clan’s suspicion ultimately dismissed? Did the plan fail?”

It’s natural for Wi Ho-yeon to have this question since she doesn’t know about the slave contract I made with Ha Yu-ri.

“Haha, no. The plan succeeded. Ha Yu-ri, no, the Mardan Clan will now serve me and the Eternity Clan.”



“I can’t defy Eternity.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Well, think of it as signing some kind of unfair contract.”

“…..”

“And the second reason is that Ha Yu-ri’s personal power and the Mardan Clan’s power are necessary for me and Eternity.”

“….Huh?”

“I believe that someday, while we’re active in Eras, a threat will come to me, Ho-yeon, and everyone else. I’m just preparing for that time.”

“A threat…?”

For Wi Ho-yeon, who doesn’t know about the Devourer of Worlds, my words probably sound like I’m grasping at straws.

‘Or maybe she thinks I’m just making excuses to rationalize my actions.’

Honestly, I can’t say there’s no self-rationalization at all.

“Yes. Well, doesn’t everyone face a crisis at least once in their life? Anyway, that’s why I made a move on the Mardan Clan.”

“……”

“Are you disappointed in me?”

“….Not disappointed. No… I don’t think so.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

“…But I feel scared of Lee Yun-seong.”

“…Huh?”

“…I remember once daring to evaluate Lee Yun-seong as someone who can be cold to others, not to those close to him.”

“Ah, that’s true. But the word ‘daring’ is a bit… You have the right to evaluate me, don’t you?”

“…Since you’re the person I serve. Anyway, I think I’ve come to feel that statement firsthand this time. Lee Yun-seong feels a bit… scary.”

‘What is this… I’d rather she dislike me, but feeling scared? What’s that about?’

Among the reactions I expected from Wi Ho-yeon, her being scared of me wasn’t one of them.

“….Well, there’s no need to feel scared of me. Because my arrows will never be aimed at you, Ho-yeon. Aren’t we comrades?”

“…..”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this, but Ho-yeon, you’re now a precious person to me. Whenever I was in danger, you always protected me, didn’t you?”

“Ah… that, that’s…”

Suddenly, Wi Ho-yeon’s face turned red.

“So Ho-yeon, you’re a precious person to me. So please don’t be too scared of me.”

“Ah… precious… person… Yes, yes…”

‘Why is she like this?’

Her stuttering, as if she were buffering, was bewildering.

‘Is she doing this because she’s scared?’

Even if it’s because she’s scared of me, it still hurts a bit.

“Or am I just someone irrelevant to you, Ho-yeon?”

“Ah, no! To me, Lee Yun-seong is also a precious… person…”

“Yes. Then that’s settled.”

In the midst of that awkward atmosphere, someone knocked on the office door.

“Uh… Brother.”

“Ah, Hyeon-jin. What’s up?”

“It’s just that Yoo Ju noona called for you. Both of you need to come down to the first floor.”

“…Not Yoo Ju’s office, but the first floor?”

“Yes.”

“Is something going on? If she’s calling us to the first floor…”

“Well, besides you and Ho-yeon noona, all the other clan members have been summoned too. It seems Yoo Ju noona has something to say.”

“…Really?”

It seems Seo Yoo-ju has something to say.

When Wi Ho-yeon and I went down to the first floor, we could see the clan members already gathered.

‘Are we the last ones?’

After Wi Ho-yeon and I arrived, Seo Yoo-ju began to speak.

“…Since everyone is here, I’ll tell you why I called you all.”

‘What on earth is this about?’

“The reason I called you all is that a formal notice has been issued from the royal palace to all clans, including ours.”

“…A formal notice?”

“Yes. The content of the notice is that they plan to explore a large uncharted territory in Baronia this time, and they want clans who are interested to participate, preferably to join.”

‘…Is this similar to last time?’

From my perspective, I was worried first.

I wondered if it might be as dangerous as the time when the top three clans fell.

If this uncharted territory exploration is similar to the first attempt, which failed, then it would be better for our clan not to participate.

“Yoo Ju unnie, but if it’s a large-scale uncharted territory exploration, isn’t that a large-scale expedition? Can we, who are only in our first year, participate?”

“Participation isn’t mandatory. Especially since we’re in our first year, even more so. But voluntary participation is possible.”

“Ah…”

In other words, the royal palace can’t enforce participation on our clan, which is mostly in its first year, but we can participate voluntarily if we want to.

I was curious about Seo Yoo-ju’s opinion. After all, only she, as a Returner, would know whether this large-scale uncharted territory exploration would succeed or fail.

“…What do you think, Yoo Ju?”

“I… of course, I’ll decide after discussing with all of you, but I think it would be good to participate.”

‘…So it’s going to succeed.’

“There are several reasons, but usually, in cases like this large-scale exploration, participating clans can gain tremendous benefits.”

‘By tremendous benefits, she probably means things like first-mover advantage.’

When exploring uncharted territories, you can discover a lot of hidden items, hidden pieces, dungeons, etc., so there’s definitely an advantage in being the first to claim them.

On the other hand, there are also significant risks.

New monsters might appear, or new types of areas might be discovered.

“Of course, there are risks, but especially given our clan’s position, if we make a mark in this exploration, our clan’s standing will rise dramatically, and we can also gain fame for both the clan and individuals.”

Crisis is an opportunity.

As Seo Yoo-ju said, if our clan performs well in this event, our standing will improve significantly.

‘Especially since it’s Seo Yoo-ju, she must be confident.’

She must have experienced or at least heard about this uncharted territory exploration.