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The design of the team mark of the Oath of the Three Knights is of the symbols of the first team masters’ families.
Below the team mark, Mok Wooram’s name was clearly written.
Halfway through the envelope’s contents, I was stunned.
‘…They already tried to assassinate him!’
Included in what Seodol described as an ‘assassination plan’ is a report.
According to it, the failed assassination attempt was during the first practice of our class at the Olympic park.
Two elite members of the Oath of the Three Knights were personally there for the assassination.
One of the two planned to lure in Professor Ham Geunhyung with a tamed enemy while he entered the otherworld where Mok Wooram was in to kill him.
There was a backup plan in case Professor Ham Geunhyung wouldn’t be tricked, and the plan overall seemed thoroughly prepared.
‘But no one knew there was an assassination attempt that day… Is it because the Lake of Eternity Team was there?’
On that day, the Lake of Eternity team members appeared, adorned in their team capes, to cheer on Kwon Lena.
Kwon Jein’s silly actions get more frequent by the day, so it wouldn’t be strange if she appeared solely to cheer on Kwon Lena.
However, if she was actually there to protect Mok Wooram, it wouldn’t be strange too.
Jared Lee was previously a member of the Oath of the Three Knights, and Mok Wooram is a student of the master craftsman who made Kwon Jein’s violin.
The report also contained the reasons for why the assassination attempt failed, which, as expected, mentioned the Lake of Eternity team.
But that wasn’t the sole reason.
‘…Another variable aside from the Lake of Eternity?’
At that time, the assassins were said to have been watching the five otherworlds that spawned around the area.
They were to determine which side would the Year One Class Zero would attack, but what they saw was something unexpected.
Each of the five otherworlds contained strong energy waves, and those waves were said to have become a certain shape when viewed at a distance.
The figure that they saw was the seal of Sidelentium, the Crow Demon King.
‘The Crow Demon King was getting in contact with me…’
There’s no way to know if it’s a coincidence or not.
But one thing is for sure — even if the Lake of Eternity team hadn’t come that day, the assassination attempt would still fail.
The Crow Demon King was likely to sit on the sidelines and watch, but the assassins could never be sure.
It was wise to postpone the plan since there was an unignorable variable present.
‘What’s more important than this failed attempt is the future.’
These guys haven’t given up yet.
The first plan only ended in an attempt, but the assassins still seemed to be staying in Korea.
The report that should’ve gone back to the team’s base in England was now in my hands.
‘Mok Wooram doesn’t go out much, but he still does. It’s dangerous for him to go out alone.’
Mok Wooram has a lot of flaws, but the man is a good person.
Now that I know that someone’s trying to kill him, I can’t just stay put.
“I think you’ve read it all. How was it? You’re thankful for my present, right?”
This was the worst thing anyone could give as a present, but I was thankful for it.
My classmate is on the verge of getting assassinated, and it’s only natural for me, his class vice president, to be grateful to the person who provided me with the information.
I decided to thank him and dig up more info on the assassination plan.
“Yes, thank you. May I ask where you got this?”
“Some garbage back in China tried interrupting me, is it not? I looked for this the moment I stepped foot in England.”
Seodol, speaking in formal language, suddenly got serious.
His next words were informal, and anger and irritation were clear.
“Sigh, speaking of England reminds me of another bad memory. Why do I have to feel like trash?”
Come to think of it, Seodol and Heukma made a bet back in England.
I wasn’t curious about the result at all, but from the looks of it, it seems like Seodol was beaten by Heukma.
“Among the 12-point alliance, there’s a royal lineage called Heukma who’s ignorant and sensitive. You gotta be careful around her.”
Do I need to be careful?
I decided to nod since he actually gave me useful information in quite a while.
Seodol talked about Heukma’s background, making him sound like he’s resentful for losing to her.
As if he was satisfied that I was listening well, Seodol quickly looked relieved.
By the time his mood got better, I asked Seodol some more things.
“Do you happen to know why these people are coming after Mok Wooram?”
“I think it has something to do with Mok Wooram’s talent.”
It’s hard to tell because Mok Wooram is a big pushover, but his talent is excellent.
His talent as a player, and his skill as a violin craftsman.
He’s talented enough that even though he most likely botched the interview of Eungwang High’s admission process, he still passed.
He’s the only student of the world’s only energy violin craftsman too.
“I think the Oath of the Three Knights decided that if they can’t have Mok Wooram, it’s better to get rid of him. Hmmm… To be honest, I wasn’t very interested in Mok Wooram so I didn’t look into it properly.”
His remark was a great surprise.
Didn’t Hong Gyubin describe Seodol some way before?
— That Prankster goes crazy about the drama between humans. He has the most extreme human interest that I know. He says he loves that kind of stuff in the most unfriendly formal language and it gives me goosebumps. If he finds a human with a mere dramatic background, I bet he’ll go crazy.
Mok Wooram didn’t go through ordinary growth.
Since his childhood, he has traveled as a disciple of the violin craftsman, and after his teacher died, he wandered around the world looking for his muse.
Mok Wooram’s humble journey was quite miserable, and he was suffering from the threat of being assassinated.
Isn’t this the most dramatic setting one could find?
It’s strange that Seodol isn’t interested in Mok Wooram even though he had incredible talent and abilities.
Seodol sighed deeply as if to express his dissatisfaction.
“I like people who go through adversity and trials but are moving forward. However, Mok Wooram’s head is a bit like a flower field.”
…He’s not wrong.
I don’t know what he was like before, but Mok Wooram’s head after meeting his muse really became like a field of flowers.
I don’t think he’ll care much about anything that’s not related to Kwon Lena.
Seodol switched to informal language to criticize him.
“That guy dunno what a gutter is even if he’s stuck in one. No fun observing him. Oh, I don’t like how he’s dressed too. If he was less like a flower field I’d at least want to style him though.”
It’s fortunate that Mok Wooram isn’t subjected to Seodol’s interest, but hearing the reasons wasn’t pleasant.
The reason why everyone who knows Seodol avoids him, including Hwang Jiho, became more obvious.
This rat is dangerous.
While I was thinking of him, Seodol suddenly stopped talking.
He was staring at me, and I felt very uncomfortable.
“I like people like Kwon Jein, Hong Gyubin, and Jo Euishin very much. I love the Tiger Clan too! So, you know, if you receive an order from me…”
“Enough.”
A broad back appeared in front of me, taking away the unpleasant gaze.
Baekho-gun cut off our conversation as soon as Seodol began to bring up unrelated things.
As expected, my main playable character’s consideration and observation skills are unmatched.
Seodol whined, twisting his body to see me over Baekho-gun’s body.
“Baekho, I know we haven’t met in a long time but you’re speaking too much. I want to talk to Jo Euishin some more. I still have one more gift left!”
You mean the gift that I won’t like?
I just don’t want to receive it.
However, if it contains important information, I can’t miss it.
Baekho-gun turned his head to look at me as if asking if I still wanted our conversation to continue.
“…”
As soon as I nodded, Baekho-gun took a half step away.
Because of that, I could only see half of Seodol’s face.
“What gift is it?”
“Oh, would you like to be an ambassador for Neuru next season?”
What is he talking about…
Neuru, one of the world’s top five luxury brands under Wang Chansol’s family’s company?
Players have become ambassadors for luxury brands, but those are for players in the same league as Kwon Jein.
What kind of a luxury brand has a freshman high school student as an ambassador.
I don’t want to sell my face unless it’s necessary.
“Or maybe this season’s model! Ah, I thought about it myself, but our design drafts came out, do you know that? It will be less burdensome because the main thing is an accessory that can be worn with Eungwang High uniforms. What do you think about naming it the Unnamed Supernova Edition?”
Seodol made passionate noises, but my answer was fixed.
I answered without much consideration.
“I don’t want to.”
Seodol’s second gift wasn’t as pleasant as I thought it would be.
The moment I said my decision, Baekho-gun no longer went easy on Seodol.
“Jo Euishin expressed his disapproval.”
“Of course, I knew he wouldn’t like it. That’s why I’m here to persuade him! I’m hooked on the color black this time, but there aren’t many players who have black energy waves and…”
Fwaa….
A pure white energy wave rose around Baekho-gun.
Seeing that Baekho-gun’s hair was turning white, Seodol immediately shut his mouth.
I guess he wasn’t stupid enough to challenge Baekho-gun.
“Thank you for the first present. I’ll see you next time.”
“…I haven’t given up yet! I’ll call you again, and I’ll give you another gift!”
Grrr…!
After Seodol’s words, I heard a beastlike growl again.
The timing was odd, but it could be some excited noises from Seodol too.
Seodol eventually backed down as the density of Baekho-gun’s energy waves increased.
On the trail that became peaceful again, I thanked Baekho-gun for warding away Seodol, and Olmu who waited patiently.
In addition to that, I gave a suggestion.
“Let’s walk a little longer before going back.”
“Okay.”
Woof woof!
Today’s road home was eventful, but the end of my day was perfect.
That’s how I returned to my dormitory room.
It felt a little dark and cold, perhaps because I’ve been spending less time in it these days.
If I knew this would happen, I should’ve left the lights and heater of my room on before I left for the mansion.
I decided to quickly turn them on and use my device to check messages.
‘Ah, this…’
A message from an unfamiliar sender caught my eye.
It was from the Crow Demon King’s agent, the patissier from MITRON.
***
Hwangmyeong mansion, in the annex where Eunho stays.
Eunho was sitting in the living room with all the windows closed.
It was only after dark that someone arrived at the porch.
“Come in, you’re a little late. I guess your walk got a little longer.”
Baekho entered the annex and nodded silently, walking to sit across Eunho.
Eunho began to prepare some tea for him.
“You were originally a quiet person before, but it’s more intense now, Baekho hyungnim.”
Baekho didn’t respond, only tilting the teacup to his lips.
Eunho continued talking.
“A lot has happened since I fell asleep, but I think the Tiger Clan hasn’t changed that much. Even though Cheongho became human, she still has her old personality. But…”
Eunho cut off his words.
It was rare for Eunho, an eloquent speaker, to hesitate like this.
“…”
“…”
The two were silent as they drank their tea.
Instead of preparing another helping of tea, Eunho took out what he had prepared.
Baekho watched the objects unfolding on the table.
It was a case containing a chessboard and chess pieces.
Finishing setting up the board, Eunho spoke.
“Baekho hyungnim, please play chess with me.”
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