Chapter 563

On August 30, it was exactly two weeks since the National Exchange Competition ended.

“You graduated from the high school you attended.”

“Eeeeeek?”

“I couldn’t say it properly back then because I was flustered, but the more I think about it, it seems right for you to graduate.”

After looking it up, I found out that the minimum attendance requirement for high school is 120 days.

If you attend three times a semester for 60 days each time, even Saetbyeol would be able to get a high school diploma.

“Isn’t it difficult? You just need to attend for about 12 weeks, which is roughly two months and three weeks—”

With a thud—

Saetbyeol dropped the hard cardboard she was holding in her arms.

Just as I bent down to pick up the colorful papers and hand them to her, I tightened my eyes.

“Rolling paper?”

“Ahh!”

Saetbyeol blushed and dove onto her bed.

“Why are you telling me this now…?!”

“Then why did you already receive the rolling paper?”

She flailed her legs, thumping the blankets, and firmly locked her door.

It was a late summer afternoon, with the heat subsiding after a heavy rain.

I wanted to have a one-on-one match against Saetbyeol to 100 wins in Moonwaz, but I had an unavoidable appointment.

A global connect sponsorship event hosted by the Samyeon Group.

Moreover, it was awkward to withdraw with a penalty fee since it was solely held by me.

As I made my way to the parking lot, Eborum, my manager, was waiting in the back seat of the car.

“Hi, Nameya! It’s been such a long time since we saw each other!”

“You’re not driving today, older sister?”

“It’s a corporate event, so they should take care of it. What should I do? Our leader has become so pretty while I wasn’t looking.”

“No, I’m not pretty.”

Even though it had been a while, I had met her occasionally when I delivered things needed for France.

“But you seem to have lost a lot of weight.”

“Don’t even mention it. This month has been the hardest for me ever. I prayed so many times, ‘Please let Name and Adella return safely to Korea.'”

“Your role has indeed been significant. You’ve worked hard.”

“Wow, it was hard, but I feel healed just by talking about it…”

Among the emails she received were frequent threats of terrorism and kidnapping.

Every time, she contacted various law enforcement agencies, claiming to have arrested the email senders.

Most of these were emails sent by children and teenagers joking around, but no one could say for certain if any of them were real.

The recent mock terrorist incident related to Walpurgis in France also involved 16-year-olds as the ringleaders.

That was the bad news, but there was plenty of good news too.

“I think we’ve sent messages to every organization with a real phone number. These days, there’s no place not looking for you, Name. News, entertainment, government, corporations, clans… ugh, my head hurts.”

Eborum popped a headache pill.

She had four managers assisting her below, but it seemed quite overwhelming.

“Boreum unnie, why not set up a one-person agency? It would be great to work with the current editors. I’ve been thinking that since the income from the V-tube is not insignificant, I should establish a corporation.”

“That sounds great! Wow, our Name is going to be a celebrity! These days, even star mages all seem to have an agency.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But Name isn’t at a level to fit under someone else’s agency.”

“I don’t care about levels; I just don’t want others interfering.”

Now was not the time to postpone setting up a corporation any longer.

Aside from taxes, I had an endless amount of work to do even without appearing on any broadcasts in Korea.

Furthermore, I couldn’t count the income from V-tube and broadcasts as part of the Jansol clan’s revenue.

“What about the company name?”

“Just use my name. It’s not like the company is going to be that important.”

“Okay! I’ll whip something up by next week.”

“Sorry, somehow we ended up talking about work again. I didn’t bring a present today…”

“No, no, no! You really don’t need to, Nameya! If I need anything, I’ll just buy it myself, so don’t give me things like that!”

“Can I see your hand for a second? Palm, not the back.”

I pulled Eborum’s arm, which she was definitely rejecting, and placed it on my thigh.

Then I took out my wand from my pocket and pressed it onto the back of her hand.

[IWC Schaffhausen – Reminiscence]

[Engraving: Coordinate Synchronization]

The car entered the tunnel.

Bright mana particles began to gather in the darkened interior of the vehicle.

Eborum looked at my face with a puzzled expression, then shifted her gaze back to her hand.

“Wow!”

A white unicorn was engraved on her hand.

It was identical to the drawing I made on the wall of Gu Ryong High School two days ago.

As we exited the tunnel, Eborum curiously held her hand to the sunlight.

“Nameya, did you just draw this? Or…”

“Um, I don’t know?”

As I shrugged, Eborum flashed a bright smile.

“Of course, you saved it. No wonder, you little liar!”

“If I put the aura like this, I might be able to move it to another place.”

“Ooh. Wow, how did you do that? The unicorn is climbing up your arm! This is amazing!”

Eborum moved the drawing to her other hand as if she were fascinated.

It went to her knee, to her collarbone, and then settled back on her forearm.

“I thought it might cause issues to leave such drawings behind, so I wanted to show them only to people I know occasionally.”

“Hehe, thank you! I’m going to brag about this to Iharu right away.”

“I’m sure she’ll whine to have one too.”

“Yeah, I’m definitely not giving it to her.”

“Hey, that’s mean.”

Lost in conversation, we suddenly arrived at the Samyeon Convention Center plaza.

“Nameya, enjoy the event! I’ll come pick you up later!”

This was the first official event since the National Exchange Competition ended.

Perhaps because of this, as soon as I got out of the car, a red carpet unfolded that reminded me of an international film festival.

Journalists were everywhere; I would feel bad if I missed any, and corporate executives in suits braved the hot weather as they came one after another.

And then there were the crowds who had shown up for news they heard about.

A security guard in dark sunglasses offered me an umbrella, but I politely declined.

“I think it’ll be hard to take good photos in the shade. Thank you so much, though.”

Waving my hand, I walked down the red carpet.

There was quite a distance to the photo wall, where the reporters had gathered in a circle.

In the center of the red carpet was a uniquely shaped coffin.

I tilted my head as it seemed too small for a person to enter.

As I approached, the coffin creaked open.

[斥和劍]

The Cheonghwa sword I used during the National Exchange Competition.

Seeing it again brought back fond memories.

I cautiously pulled the Cheonghwa sword from its plush cushion, glancing around to ensure no one was watching.

[Engraving: Skiabona]

Woom—

The wand still hadn’t reset.

I usually didn’t care much for weapons, but seeing the Cheonghwa sword moved my heart.

The red carpet was laid out perfectly.

As the climax of the National Exchange Competition approached, I slowly unfolded the initial stance of the 496-style ‘Gyeolgeom.’

A golden trajectory flowed like silk.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—

A man who had already been on stage started clapping.

He looked familiar, and I realized I had seen him during an academy public class.

Lee Hyun-do, the current CEO of Samyeon Link, greeted me warmly.

* * *

As with most corporate-hosted events, there was nothing particularly memorable about it.

It was essentially an event to bolster prestige, and in less flattering terms, it was a bit stale.

I received a certificate from CEO Lee Hyun-do and took a photo with him, both of us smiling.

Everyone was grateful for the support, I also thanked the Samyeon Group for lending me the Cheonghwa sword, and they particularly enjoyed that.

To be honest, I just wanted to ask if I could keep it…

I was holding back, fearing they might add conditions.

The event ended in 20 minutes.

But I stayed in the plaza for another 40 minutes, giving signatures to fans who had traveled a long way.

These days, I had learned to pre-draw magic circles and stamp them with my palm to save time.

Squeeze—

“You can’t sell this; I’d be very sad if you did.”

“I’ll treasure it for life…!”

“Alright. Next. Where would you like me to sign?”

“Can you sign it here on my chest?”

“…”

“Ah, just kidding, please sign on this photo card!”

The photo card featuring me and Giselle Fisher.

The anti-counterfeit sticker sparkled.

“Is this the real deal? Did you come all the way to France for the match?”

“Yes! I’m a live-witness of the semi-finals! Name, the Imperial Palace Sword Method is awesome!”

Even after spending 40 minutes, I couldn’t give everyone a happy memory.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go now. We’ll meet again later.”

“Aaaahhhh…!”

I gulped down cold ice water and entered the convention center.

I passed through the spacious hall where the shareholders’ meeting was being held and was guided to a room in the corner.

Beep—

An antique door opened on its own.

Inside, Chairman Lee Hyun-do was watching my National Exchange Competition video via hologram on the sofa.

“Aren’t you taking this concept a bit too seriously?”

When I bluntly said so, he could only smile wryly.

I sat across from him and took a bite of a cookie placed on the table.

“I didn’t expect you to be out there for so long. I should have held a fan signing for you.”

“No, that would have put more pressure on me. I just slipped out in the middle.”

“Haha, it doesn’t seem like anyone loves fans more than you do, Chairman. Oh, by the way, how do you know my eldest daughter?”

“What, just… on the broadcast.”

“I’ve really wanted to say thank you for a long time. It’s reassuring to see a kid who never left the room finally living like a person.”

“You should go home more often, Chairman.”

“Right, it does seem like I’m not caring much about my family even to a Mage like you. Ha… It’s quite the dilemma. Family is important, but work always takes precedence.”

I kept silent.

There was no need to affirm or deny his words.

I sensed that the introduction had passed.

“*Cough!*”

CEO Lee Hyun-do cleared his throat and began to share the thoughts he had been holding back.

I poured myself some water and sipped slowly while listening attentively.

“Ms. Noname Mage, while you’re incredibly knowledgeable, you must already know that though South Korea seems peaceful on the surface, it is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. The global supply chain has become unstable, and various economic indicators are reflecting significant issues, such as inflation and rising unemployment.”

“There are indeed signs of instability, and the solution to overcome this crisis lies in increasing the nation’s productivity.”

As expected, it was an obvious story.

There was nothing more to hear.

“So you mean South Korea needs mega corporations like Apple or Microsoft, right?”

“Exactly… That’s exactly what I wanted to say. Plus, you have experience in corporate management.”

“Well, I’ve thought about establishing a company using human-body adaptation magic.”

I paused slightly, then smiled with one corner of my mouth raised.

“Even so, I think it would remain a non-listed company forever. I’d want to retain 100% ownership.”

They seem to regard me as a walking golden goblin, but I could confidently call myself a golden dragon.