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As soon as the —.— emoticon appeared, our classroom turned quiet.
Kim Yuri glanced at me as if she thought it was an error.
There was no error, so I just nodded, conveying that that’s really what I inputted.
Hwang Jiho, who was watching the board intently, began to laugh out loud.
“Hahahahahaha!”
Hwang Jiho laughed so hard that our classmates all looked tired of him.
“You remember it, Jo Euishin! I didn’t expect that to make a lasting impression on you. Hahahaha!”
Hwang Jiho must remember using it back then too.
The old man seems to have a healthy memory.
By the time my ears were starting to sting because of his laughter, the somewhat genuine Hwang Jiho began to spit some nonsense.
“Hmm, do you not respond to my messages a lot because I don’t use emoticons? I should use them on important messages from now on.”
What kind of nonsense is that?
I wasn’t ignoring his messages because of the lack of emoticons.
Thankfully, my kind classmates said it for me.
“I don’t use emoticons but VP replies to me.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Me too!”
However, Hwang Jiho didn’t care much about the other kids’ rebuttal.
I felt like the conclusion is already cemented in his head.
“I’ll use emoticons sometimes from now on.”
Maybe he just wants to use them.
I should’ve just written “old” for this guy.
He often drops his high school student facade and talks like an old man, so everyone would’ve understood it right away.
“Oh, the professor will come soon.”
“Let’s eat the Charlotte cake with Professor Ham. I’ll get the bread knife.”
After Ham Geunhyung came for the attendance check, held the Autumn Picnic D-1 Tea Party.
We often share snacks on days with no occasion, but the name made me excited.
The menu for today is the MITRON Charlotte cake with plenty of apples.
The drink was a purple sweet potato latte topped with whipped cream.
We chose a menu that gave a warm feeling because the weather was quite cold.
The problem was that everything was sweet.
“…”
Hani, who was just attacked with the phrase Be Careful of Diabetes, held her fork in agony.
Sugar powder piled up like snow on top of the Charlotte cake, and whipped cream was on top of the latte.
Everything was full of sugar.
Hani ate several sweet desserts before getting to the cake, but I’m sure she’ll empty her plate as usual.
It was heartbreaking to see Hani staring at the dessert with a sad face.
Song Daesok tried to say something when he saw her, but a jab from Min Geurin stopped him.
Min Geurin seemed to judge that it would be difficult to recover from Song TB’s diabetes comment.
At that moment, another TB showed up.
This particular TB isn’t really tactless, but someone who acts like it purposefully.
“Don’t worry and eat up. Excessive sugar is harmful to the body, but stress also harms your health.”
“Hwang Jiho…”
I thought he’d make fun of her.
Hani grabbed her fork, looking slightly motivated.
When she was hesitating, reaching for the cake with her fork…
“If you get diabetes, I’ll refer you to an excellent doctor. So don’t worry and eat as much as you want.”
Hani’s hand stopped after reading Hwang Jiho’s lips.
She put down her fork with a painful look.
Hani tried to grab a glass of the purple sweet potato latte but went for the bottled water at the last second.
Hwang Jiho laughed while looking at her.
Our classmates saw the scene and talked to me.
“VP, why don’t you write Hwang TB for Jiho?”
“I like the emoticon too, so maybe Hwang TB —.— would be good.”
“Isn’t that guy doing it on purpose?”
I thought it suited the old man.
Hani actually changed a little ever since her battle with Dokgo Miro.
It wasn’t very noticeable, but the level of change was somewhat noticeable at a close look.
‘Hani usually eats sweet foods well, but her sugar intake has increased these days. I think she eats 1.5 more sweets…’
Hani has accepted the result of the battle and has managed to get along with Dokgo Miro.
However, that’s just the facade, and no one knows what Hani actually thinks.
It’s not obvious since she doesn’t show her emotions well, but maybe she’s releasing stress by eating sweets.
Excessive eating of sweet food can harm her health, so her self-proclaimed best friend Hwang Jiho must’ve been worried about her.
Players are stronger than regular people, but they can still get hurt and sick.
Excessive sugar intake is highly likely to lead to a decrease in the function of insulin that controls blood sugar.
‘Healing abilities could work, but curing a major disease with a healing skill could have huge side effects. It could cause a problem with energy waves.’
Hwang Jiho teased Hani with a half-worried and half-playful attitude.
I don’t think Hani would take it well if he spoke in a seriously worried tone.
Well, the old man would take care of it.
“There’s no sugar in this tea. You can drink it without worrying.”
Hwang Jiho gave Hani some unsweetened tea.
Hani hesitated, her face mixed with pain, sadness, and displeasure, but ended up accepting the teacup.
***
Seoul, Yangcheon.
The top floor of the Lake of Eternity Team Building.
Kwon Jein played the violin while looking down at the lake at night.
Her melody was warm and affectionate and it was hard to fathom that she was playing after sunset, even in the cold wave.
Those listening to her performance roughly guessed what happened.
Only her nephew, Kwon Lena, could elicit such a sound from Kwon Jein.
“I heard Lena’s class planned some class shirts for their picnic. They decided on what to put on their shirts today.”
Kwon Jein finished playing and said the answer to the expectant team members.
“Lena’s classmates nicknamed her Platinum Violinist. I’m happy we have similar aliases.”
Kwon Jein, the Blue Violinist.
The alias was taken from her blue energy waves and her blue-bodied violin.
Kwon Jein hasn’t really appreciated her alias, but she felt differently now that her niece has a similar one.
Just thinking about it made her violin sing freely.
When she was about to play again…
“Wait, Jein-ah. Let’s talk about tomorrow’s schedule first.”
Jared Lee, who has been listening to Kwon Jein’s live performance for more than two hours, came to his senses and raised his hand.
Dissatisfaction was evident in the bodies of the Lake of Eternity team members, but they managed to suppress it.
“I’ll just talk about two things briefly. I want to hear more of your playing too.”
“Speak fast. I want to hear the next one right away.”
“No need for unnecessary comments, go on!”
At the executives’ urging, Jared Lee hurriedly floated some holograms.
The first hologram showed a report from the Lake of Eternity team members dispatched to England.
Kwon Jein nodded as she looked at the hologram.
“The Player Association England requested dispatch. Did it work out?”
“They were hoping that either you or I would come so they said a lot of things but… Well, anyway, the work is done.”
A few days ago the Players’ Association England requested a dispatch of Lake of Eternity members.
Their request was to help trace the massive movement of the Demon Race within their territory.
Jared Lee said, summarizing what was written in the hologram.
“We conclude that the Fomorians have withdrawn from England. Their movement was also captured. They left traces as they moved their home base.”
“Fomorian demons… They were quiet except for the Halloween Party that they hosted.”
“There was a problem at the party right before the auction. Someone called Phantom Thief Neon was coming. Maybe that’s why they moved?”
The power struggle between Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorian demons was an open secret.
Since there’s no reason for the association to intervene in this, most humans remained neutral unless they had a relationship with a particular superior being or the Demon Race itself.
In the wake of the last Halloween Party, the Fomorians moved to another country.
“The Fomorian demons are well-known within Celtic Mythology. I think they’re still at odds with the Tuatha Dé Danann. If they leave England, maybe…”
“They’ll go somewhere with high intelligence.”
The voices of the executives darkened.
It was here, the Korean Peninsula, where people of royal lineage flocked after the occurrence of otherworlds.
“I’m sure the Fomorians moved, but I can’t figure out where and why. Oh, by the way, the British government said they’d no longer be involved if they left British soil.”
Kwon Jein, who listened quietly to Jared Lee and the others, finally spoke.
“Moving headquarters isn’t something that can happen in a day or two. It’ll be alright to keep an eye on them for a while.”
“I agree with Jein.”
“But there’s something that bothers me.”
Kwon Jein said, her blue eyes shining.
“Why did the government reach out to us? There’s the Oath of the Three Knights there.”
At her question, Jared Lee pulled up another hologram.
It showed a list of famous British professional player teams and their members.
“The dispatched team members confirmed that several other player teams participated too. But not the Oath of the Three Knights.”
The Lake of Eternity team members looked puzzled.
They’ve been wary of the team after they learned that they were targeting a classmate of Kwon Lena.
Kwon Jein took a moment of thought before speaking again.
“Then that explains the second agenda.”
“Ah, the second agenda is tomorrow’s picnic. They were going to the theme park, right?”
“Yes, because of the picnic, the Master Craftsman’s student will stay out for long.”
Kwon Jein’s face became clouded.
It happens that on that day, there is a scheduled meeting of the professional player teams in Korea.
It’s difficult for Team Master Kwon Jein to suddenly drop it since it was a long-standing schedule.
Jared Lee spoke as if to reassure the anxious Kwon Jein.
“I’ll go to the theme park.”
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