The system of order in this world was a unique thing.
According to mythology, an order is given or imprinted by a higher being of the royal lineage to a person, with mutual consent.
Originally, the higher beings who are not easily recognizable used it so their presence can be used as a stronger power.
Those who are granted an order generally have their own natural talents, but there were higher beings who granted it to some people so that they could be unilaterally protected.
Of course, there were certain risks.
It was possible that a person given an order would be greatly damaged if their mind and body weren’t fit enough.
Because of that possibility, it was required to have mutual consent first before the order could be given.
“I wanted to lend some help to Saeum before he went off to Eungwang High, so I introduced him to someone I know from the royal lineage and have him receive an order.”
Saeum didn’t have that inside the game.
So when we met on that April Fool’s day, Saeum already received order.
Hwang Jiho even alluded to it.
‘I should confirm it.’
Saeum bit his tongue as Semin was preaching about why he doesn’t want him to call Hyejung his ‘auntie.’
But Saeum’s eyes were not focused at all as he was listening half-heartedly.
<Showing information on ‘Saeum of April’>
[Name] Saeum of April
[Title] Successor of the last dynasty’s king, freshman at Eungwang High
[Order] Rooster Clan’s proposal, ‘Call me when you’re flying’
….
….
….
I don’t remember seeing this inside the game.
‘The rooster tribe has shown up a few times in some scenarios, but I don’t have a lot of information.’
I tried remembering the game scenario and searching through the status window, but I couldn’t come up with anything. I decided to ask Hyejung.
“Which royal lineage is it? Are they reliable?”
“The origin of the rooster clan was during the Gyerim’s dynasty. They informed King Talhae of the location of some gold mine. When the Kim Dynasty began, they became a royal linage and gained authority.”
Gyerim was another name for the Silla Dynasty.
Unlike the Tiger Clan, the RoosterClan weren’t that involved in the mythology of the founding process, but since they appeared in the mythology, they are still considered of royal lineage.
Considering that they were a pretty cowardly bunch, I became slightly at ease.
“If they’re a clan that dates back to that time, then I should trust them. I also trust that the April clan knows how to handle it.”
“Oh, your gaze shifted. Weren’t you suspicious just a few seconds ago?”
“They remained relevant even in the last dynasty. It’s a sacred animal that predicts the rise of the King.”
“You know it well.”
“At the Jongmyo ritual of the last dynasty, chicken patterns were engraved along the sides of the brass bowls as well.”
They’re not a clan that just popped out of nowhere. The RoosterClan had deep connections with the last dynasty.
At least that makes them acquainted with the April Clan.
“You’re right. Although they’re not as strong as the Dragon Clan, they protected the last dynasty so that makes them trustworthy at least. But since they’ve been around for a while now… I’m a reckless person, so I just rush into things whenever I’m angry. I’m worried about that.”
Kim Alji, the founder of the clan, was born about 2000 years ago in the first century, just during the Talhae dynasty.
Two thousand years is a lot.
I don’t know how Oh Hyejung would react if she knew the average age of freshmen students.
“Are you worried that they would intervene too much?”
“Yes. I know that the young master is very talented, but I’m worried that they gave him too much. And I’m worried that they might come to Eungwang High and cause some trouble.”
She’s describing them as if they’re more hot-headed than she was.
Now I’m starting to worry about Saeum.
“I’ll look after him.”
“Thank you. It’s not easy going out of here while I’m still not married to Semin. I don’t want to bother.”
She stared at Semin with a smile.
Semin felt her gaze and looked in our direction before blushing like a tomato.
It’s obvious that they both liked each other. I think my playable characters, Saeum and Oh Hyeji, also want Hyejung to be happy, so I decided to root for them.
We proceeded inside after a few minutes. Saeum of April started the conversation brightly.
“My room is over there. I’ll open the door for you!”
Saeum’s room had a lot of windows which made it look like it had less privacy. But after he opened the door, the situation was different.
“Fwaaa!”
The doorknob shone in response to Saeum’s energy wave.
When the light died down, the room opened smoothly even though we hadn’t touched it.
The moment I saw the interior of the room, which looked to be depicting a scene from a historical drama, my body stiffened up and my throat felt dry.
‘That word’, was written everywhere in the room.
[The Red Wall Thief of the Hwanmong Auction returned cultural assets.]
[“We express our gratitude”, says the Cultural Heritage Administration to the good deeds of the righteous, mysterious Red Wall Thief of the Hwanmong Auction.]
[Who is the mysterious Red Wall Thief?]
Looking at the printed headlines of newspapers made me dizzy.
Without noticing how I felt, Saeum spoke innocently.
“It’s my first time having a friend over to my room! What should we do first?”
“Some tea and fruits would be nice.”
“Ah, of course!”
Saeum left the room to prepare some tea.
The tea he was preparing was Bokryoeng tea, brewed with the roots of pine trees and sweetened with fresh honey.
The choice of fruit was plum as it was in season. The plum had shining white sugar rising from its skin so it looked really sweet.
When the tea and fruit were served, we belatedly introduced each other.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is…”
He greeted me, in my appearance as Jo Euishin.
After the introductions, Hyejung told her story.
She briefly told the story from the engagement ceremony, describing the man as an ‘old guy’. When we had eye contact, she quickly changed the topic.
“Do you perhaps know my younger sister? She’s a third-year from Eungwang, Oh Hyeji.”
“We met at the chess tournament. I owe a night at the Kimopoleia.”
“Should I talk to Hyeji? Our young master has very little contact with her.”
This time, I said things that I know of.
When the ‘Kimopoloeia’ was mentioned, Hyejung stopped talking for a while.
“Did those conglomerates lose their minds and try setting up Hyeji with Joo Soohyuk? I sure hope they didn’t.”
I mentioned that we met Joo Soohyuk there.
Hyejung looked like a ghost when I mentioned it.
Even though I didn’t directly answer her question, Hyejung clicked her tongue as if she was sure of it.
“Sigh… I see those people completely lost their minds. Can you contact me right away if something happens?”
“Ah… please contact me as well.” s
Hyejung and Semin sent me their device codes.
Joo Soogyeom was once injured when protecting Oh Hyeji during a transition between the two worlds. It seems like Hyeji was trying to subtly ask about it.
“Did Joo Soogyeom really do that? Really? That guy?”
“Yes. I saw him being treated on deck. Oh Hyeji sunbaenim looked worried about him too.”
Oh Hyejung frowned deeply.
Ding!
A sound of a bell ringing was clearly heard.
As I turned my head to look at the source of the sound, I saw shadows of birds along the window.
“Ah, it looks like the meal is ready. Let’s go!”
As Saeum of April opened the door, energy wave in the form of a bird was seen flapping with bells in its beak.
The bird went around Saeum once before leading the way.
“It’s leading us to the deep pine forests, isn’t it? I haven’t been there yet!”
“It seems that the elders were considerate of Saeum’s precious savior.”
Feeling embarrassed by being called ‘precious savior’, I closed my mouth and looked at the pine forest.
At first glance, the pine forest seemed to be arranged randomly. Strangely enough, wherever the bird flew, a pleasant trail opened right below it.
As we walked through the pine forest for a while, we began to see a pavilion over the road.
Ding! Ding!
After guiding us towards the pavilion, the bird rang the bell twice as if greeting us and then disappeared to the side.
Four people dressed in hanboks were seen in the pavilion.
The faces of an innocent old couple and a middle-aged couple were waiting for us.
“They are my grandparents and parents.”
Shortly after Saeum whispered, the elders bowed and greeted me.
“Greetings to the savior who saved my precious family.”
I felt a bit embarrassed that these people way older than me treats me so politely, but I received their greetings with as much courtesy as possible.
“Thank you for being so polite. I just did what I had to do. Please, raise your heads.”
“It’s only natural for us to give gratitude as we are the heads of the April Clan.”
They haven’t said ‘that word’ yet, but being treated like this by Saeum’s parents and grandparents really made me feel awkward.
“I’m a same-aged friend of Saeum, and we’re classmates too. Please treat me the same way you would treat him”
“Euishin…”
Saeum of April looked at me with an expression that tells me he was deeply touched.
Seeing that, the elders looked very pleased as well.
“Our savior… Ah no, a classmate of Saeum. I see that you’re a very kind kid.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Saeum, but you really are a good person now that we’ve seen you in person.”
It was time to take a seat and listen to words of blessing.
The elders said something while looking at Oh Hyejung and Semin, who were sitting very close to each other.
“I see you’re here.”
“I see sister-in-law is here too.”
Drop!
Semin of April dropped his knee at the person he was sitting next to.
“Semin, are you okay?”
“…I’m fine. Father, hyung, why do you refer to Hyejung as such?”
The elders feigned ignorance when they heard what Semin said.
“Should we just call her ‘lady’?”
“If you don’t like ‘sister-in-law’, then maybe sis?”
No one seemed to be on Semin’s side in here.
* * *
At Hwanmong Eungwang Players’ Hospital.
All Eungwang students were discharged from the hospital, except for Kim Yuri.
“How was today?”
“Just the same. Hey, I’m always sorry about everyday…
“I don’t come here just because I need to. I think I need to be away for a while, so I’m just making sure everything’s okay.”
Isn’t that what that means?
Kim Yuri thought so and looked at the Yellow Tiger with a sorry face.
‘I can’t stay like this. If I endure it, I’d be able to reduce damage.’
Kim Yuri decided to accept the existence of her light skill.
But that in itself wasn’t enough.
‘I need to control this power.’
Yuri recalled the order, which was the reason why she’s hospitalized right now.
They approached and used Kim Yuri for some purpose.
Although it’s impossible to know exactly what purpose, she felt scared when she recalled what happened on Seokmo Island.
She wants to get stronger instead of being weighed down by the irrational fear of hurting the people around her.
‘I want to learn more about the higher beings, and about light skill in my classes.’
She thought of asking Ham Geunhyung and Yoo Sanghee.
However, both of them were busy with facilitating and preparing for graduation.
In the case of Ham Geunhyung, his workload had increased considerably since he also had to take care of Kim Yuri and deal with the aftermaths of Seokmo Island.
There’s only one person other than those two.
A being who recognized her light skill, and the one using his boundary skill to contain its power.
The Yellow Tiger.
“Jiho… About that thing… I want to do something about this light skill.”
The Yellow tiger replied as he continued performing his boundary skill.
“You’re not thinking of getting another order, are you? No matter how sweet the words that those beings use, the effect of it on your body is not something that we should ignore.”
If she were to receive an order, she should be protected.
“Well, I also don’t want to receive one.”
It was because she knew how well the Butterfly acted. The same one who she trusted.
“I don’t want to suppress this power. I want to handle it well.”
“It’s not going to be easy.”
“Even so, If there’s a way, then I want to make it my own.”
The Yellow Tiger didn’t respond right away.
Inside the dark hospital room, the Yellow Tiger’s eyes turned golden due to the magic engraved on the boundary.
“Okay. Let me introduce you to our chief sorcerer.”
“Thank you!”
“The chief sorcerer will come here next time instead of me.”
“Alright!”
Yuri thanked him several times before asking something.
“But hey, can I ask you one more thing?”
“What is it?”
The Yellow Tiger nodded once.
It was a gesture for Yuri to ask away.
“Are Jiho and Euishin…. humans?”
The Yellow Tiger’s friendly expression briefly faltered.
The face of her classmate that she saw often suddenly looked different, so Yuri swallowed her saliva in nervousness. He suddenly didn’t look his age.
“Jo Euishin is human.”
The Yellow Tiger muttered those words and then disappeared from the hospital room.
