Chapter 59

“Uwaaaaah! Finally back!”

Hyeon-jin couldn’t contain his excitement as he returned to the Clan House, letting out a loud shout.

“Wow… We must have been in that mansion for a really long time. Why does the Clan House feel so unfamiliar?”

“Right…”

I agreed with Kang I-seo’s words. Even I felt something strange seeing the Clan House after so long.

But the excitement was short-lived. As we stepped inside, the atmosphere felt off.

“…What’s going on?”

“…Nuna… Something feels weird…”

‘…Did the expedition fail after all?’

It seemed that even after a month, the members who went on the expedition hadn’t returned.

When we entered the Clan Master’s office, we were greeted by Lee Jae-hyo, who looked like a wreck.

His beard was unkempt, and he reeked of alcohol.

Yoo Ju cautiously spoke to him.

“…Lee Jae-hyo.”

“…You’re here.”

Yoo Ju asked him carefully.

“…What happened?”

“…….”

“…Lee Jae-hyo?”

“Our clan… I assume the expedition failed. No, it definitely failed. There’s still no news.”

‘As expected…’

One thing that puzzled me was how empty the clan was. The members of the 6th party should have been here, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“……”

“…Also, due to the expedition’s failure, all the combat members except me have left the clan.”

‘Wow…’

Except for me and Yoo Ju, the rest of the party members looked stunned by the sudden, shocking news.

‘Well… Who would have thought the three major clans would collapse like this in an instant?’

“…So, what happens to the clan now?”

Lee Jae-hyo answered in a hollow voice.

“Haha… I don’t know. I’m at a loss too. The only combat members left are me and you guys. There are a few administrative staff left, but… I guess our clan is effectively finished.”

‘…That’s sad.’

I felt a pang of sorrow seeing someone as decent and kind as Lee Jae-hyo broken like this.

Yoo Ju spoke to him.

“…Lee Jae-hyo, what do you plan to do now…?”

“…I don’t know. For now… I just don’t feel like thinking about anything. I’m still the Clan Master, but… I’ll temporarily hand over the position to you, Yoo Ju. I… honestly don’t have the will to do anything anymore.”

‘Has he given up completely?’

“If you want to transfer to another clan… you can. At this point, I can’t hold you back anyway.”

I could understand Lee Jae-hyo’s position. In an instant, he lost the place he belonged to, his family-like comrades, and the Clan Master he admired.

“The remaining clan resources… use them as you see fit. There probably isn’t much left anyway. The members who left took their share…”

“…..”

“…I’ll take my leave now. I’m sorry. As your senior, I know I should be leading you, but… I just hope you can understand me…”

“…I understand, Lee Jae-hyo. I’ll keep your position open, so come find me when you’re ready.”

“…Okay.”

With a look that suggested he didn’t think he’d ever return, Lee Jae-hyo left the office. He seemed to think we’d leave the clan soon too.

As soon as Lee Jae-hyo left, Yoo Rim started speaking.

“…Unnie… What do we do…? What about us…?”

“Yoo Ju nuna… Should we leave the clan too?”

‘…Everyone’s in a bad state.’

I wasn’t too shocked since I knew Yoo Ju was a Returner and had somewhat expected the clan’s downfall, but the other party members seemed seriously shaken.

While Yoo Ju calmed the others down, I picked up a newspaper on the desk and started reading.

『Shock. The three major clans collaborated on an expedition but ended in total failure… What will happen to the three major clans now?』

『Kang Seong-jun, Gu Yeon-jeong, Hwang Tae-hoon. Despite these three going on the expedition, the dungeon they failed in—what exactly is it? The dungeon where all three Clan Masters died—what is its true nature? The dungeon has been deemed unassailable…』

『Myth Clan, Veritas Clan, Mardan Clan are expected to rise as the new three major clans. Let’s explore the movements of these new major clans.』

『The new recruits left in Eternity Clan—which clan will snatch them up? Everyone is watching as the major clans wage war over talent…』

‘What a mess.’

The fall of the original three major clans and the rise of new ones was an event that would interest everyone in Baronia.

The royal palace in Baronia must be in chaos too. The major clans were likely closely tied to their respective nations.

‘Major clans are crucial to a nation’s strength.’

Baronia had essentially suffered a massive loss in power.

Curious about Yoo Ju’s thoughts, I asked her.

“Yoo Ju, what do you plan to do now?”

“…If you all are okay with it, I think I’ll stay in Eternity Clan.”

“Meaning…”

“I plan to revive the clan by succeeding in a few expeditions. Even if the clan’s resources are less than before, it’s still enough for newcomers like us.”

Yoo Ju, having temporarily taken the Clan Master position, seemed intent on leading the clan as a Returner.

“Nuna… So you’re staying in Eternity Clan…?”

Hyeon-jin seemed unable to understand Yoo Ju’s choice.

“Yeah, think of it as just being in a party. Actually, our situation is much better than other parties. We have way more resources.”

Of course. When Lee Jae-hyo said the clan had fewer resources, he meant fewer compared to the three major clans, not that we were broke.

Looking at the party members’ faces, they all seemed unable to hide their gloom over the sudden turn of events.



It seemed like there was nothing.

“Well, even Gu Yeon-jeong died…”

Although we didn’t have much interaction with others, Gu Yeon-jeong had definitely been kind to us, so her death seemed to hit the party members hard.

*****

In the end, our party decided to stay with the Eternity Clan.

In reality, the Eternity Clan had shifted from being a large clan to a small one due to a significant lack of members.

For a while, we received numerous recruitment offers, but we turned them all down.

At first, some clans thought we were refusing to increase our value, but when they realized we were determined to stay with the Eternity Clan, they stopped making offers.

After Yoo Ju temporarily became the Clan Master, she and I were swamped with work, barely having time to breathe.

We had to handle the administrative tasks that had been neglected for a while.

“Damn it…”

“Yoon Seong, could you take care of this…? Sorry…”

“Haha… Oh, no problem. It’s too much for Yoo Ju to handle alone.”

“Damn it.”

The truth was, the other party members didn’t know how to handle administrative tasks. In fact, when we tried to assign them some work, it turned into a mess, so we gave up on that.

Still, Ho-won had some experience with administrative work, so Yoo Ju, Ho-won, and I, along with the remaining administrative staff, were handling the tasks.

“…I really need a break.”

*Thud.*

Kang I-seo opened the office door and started bringing in stacks of documents.

“…You’re kidding, right?”

She glanced at me, placed a disorganized pile of documents on my desk, and spoke.

“Um… this too…”

“…….”

“W-well, I’ll leave now…! Hang in there…!”

“Damn it…”

After Kang I-seo left the office, I quietly cursed. However, Yoo Ju, with her sharp senses, seemed to have heard me and flinched slightly.

“Sigh…”

The frustrating part was that even though Yoo Ju was a Returner, her administrative skills weren’t that great.

The amount of work Yoo Ju and Ho-won handled combined was about the same as what I handled alone. That says it all.

I was so busy that I couldn’t even find time to recreate the Chimera.

As I cursed under my breath and worked, Yoo Ju cautiously approached me and dropped a bombshell.

“Um… Yoon Seong… I need to be away for a while…”

“…Huh?”

‘What, what are you talking about? Yoo Ju, no way…’

“I-I’m really sorry, but could you handle my tasks for a bit? Just for about a week…”

‘Damn it, are you insane? That’s not happening!’

“I-I see. Must be something urgent. Haha…”

“Ah… yes… please…”

‘…You owe me big time.’

“…Alright. I’ll take care of it for a while. Go ahead.”

“Th-thank you, Yoon Seong! I’ll bring you something on my way back! Well, then…”

‘Damn it, I don’t need anything, just come back soon.’

The biggest problem with the clan now was the lack of manpower. The 6th party members had all left the clan except for Lee Jae-hyo, who spent all day holed up in his room drinking.

At least the administrative team hadn’t all quit, so that was a relief. They were working in a separate office.

‘We need more people.’

But we were still short on manpower. Too many people had left all at once.

We needed to recruit more people, but the problem was that the clan’s conditions were too poor to attract new members.

‘Who would join a failing clan… damn it…’

I wasn’t expecting someone who could handle both combat and administration, but I wanted to find someone who could at least handle administrative tasks. Otherwise, I was going to die from overwork.

“Damn it…”

After pulling all-nighters for several days, Yoo Rim came to see me.

“Oppa…”

“…….”

“Oppa.”

“Yoo Rim, I’m a bit busy right now. Is it urgent? If not…”

“…Do you need some help?”

I almost laughed out loud when Yoo Rim offered to help with my work. I managed to hold it in and spoke slowly so as not to hurt her feelings.

“Haha… Yoo Rim, I appreciate the thought, but this isn’t something you can…”

“Isn’t this just a matter of checking here?”

“…Huh?”

“Hold on, Oppa. Can I try for a bit?”

I stepped aside, half-expecting nothing, but Yoo Rim immediately started handling the tasks. And she was surprisingly fast and accurate for a beginner.

Even Ho-won was stunned by the situation, staring at Yoo Rim in disbelief.

“Wh-what? Yoo Rim, aren’t you a high school student?”

“…I am.”

“Then how…”

“…I was actually pretty well-known in my neighborhood for being good at studying.”

This wasn’t just about being good at studying. Even if a student is good at academics, they’d struggle with administrative tasks unless they’ve had experience.

“When I was on Earth… I did a lot of things. I studied and exercised while working part-time jobs, and my uncle was a lawyer, so I helped him with various tasks since I was young.”

“Wh-what?”

‘Wow…’

This was a really good outcome for me.

‘Yoo Rim, I’m sorry, but you’ve rolled into hell on your own. Don’t blame me.’

I had just gained a hardworking slave.