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In the modern annex.
Hwangho spoke Baekho, Jo Euishin and Shinsoo left.
“He looked tired, but I didn’t know it was that bad. I would’ve put him to sleep right away.”
“I guess Euishin hyung focused like he does when playing chess during the meeting. I didn’t notice it at all either.”
Hwangho clicked his tongue.
He noticed that Jo Euishin was sleep-deprived, but he didn’t imagine that he would collapse like that as soon as the meeting was over.
Jo Euishin expressed unexpected ideas and suggestions during the meeting, drawing admiration from everyone.
Most of the people there never would’ve imagined that Jo Euishin was on the point of exhaustion.
Except for Baekho.
“Baekho-ssi was the first one to notice.”
Yong Jegun spoke as if to tease the other tigers who noticed it late.
But Eunho wasn’t fazed, rather he was impressed that his older brother Baekho was so considerate of Jo Euishin.
“Euishin hyung always hides his expressions well during games. But it’s not usually at this level.”
“He was like that at the match at Stalemate too. Eunho-ssi seems to follow Euishin well, what a shame that you didn’t see him play.”
“It’s alright. I watched it since Dongha hyung has a record. I’m going to go see him play in person next time.”
Eunho stared at Hwangho after he answered Yong Jegun.
Hwangho had been pressing his temples since the meeting.
Seeing Jo Euishin disappear with sleepy eyes gave him a headache.
Eunho spoke softly as if to soothe him.
“I’m sure Euishin hyung wouldn’t yield until the meeting was over. Even if you forced him to sleep, he would’ve pretended not to hear it, Hwangho-nim.”
“…That’s true.”
It wasn’t comforting, but Eunho’s factual words seemed to relieve his headache.
There was little that Hwangho could do about the stubborn Jo Euishin.
He had a lot of benevolence, but he was ashamed because he overworked Jo Euishin every time.
At that moment, Yong Jegun said something.
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you.”
Kim Shinrok frowned at Yong Jegun’s words.
Yong Jegun rarely forgets something.
He must’ve kept it to find the right time to say it, but Kim Shinrok found it unpleasant that Yong Jegun spoke so brazenly like that.
“I’ll go to the Dragon Palace as soon as the entrance exam is over. Let me use my annual leave, Hwangho-ssi.”
“What?”
It seems like it was Kim Shinrok’s first time hearing of it too.
He knew he would go to the Dragon Palace next year for the selection ceremony of the Dragon King’s shaman, but he didn’t think he’d be away before Christmas.
While Kim Shinrok blinked slowly, Hwangho asked.
“It must be important. Are you going alone?”
Based on Yong Jegun’s replay, some of the shamans of the Dragon King are traitors.
The shamans will be staying in Korea until the first day of the first lunar month next year, so they weren’t an imminent threat yet.
But there was something that bothered him.
Eunho seemed to feel the same way.
“The people behind this, the Black Screen, is the one who joined hands with the Dragon King’s Shamans. We don’t know what kind of arrangement there is in the Dragon Palace.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You’re going to visit the Dragon Palace anyway? There’s nothing in the report that says you should go there now.”
Eunho has a small smile, and at first glance, he seemed to be worried about Yong Jegun.
But Yong Jegun was the most nervous today.
Actually, rather than nervousness, what he was feeling was closer to a thrill.
‘All the tigers except Shinrok will try to kill me if I mention Ungnyeo here. Though they wouldn’t kill me for real since I have some information.’
It was Ungnyeo who advised Yong Jegun to go to the Dragon Palace.
However, revealing that to the tigers would be a suicide plan.
They wouldn’t stay still if they find out that he’s been in contact with Ungnyeo.
How many times have the Tiger Clan confronted the Bear Clan just this year?
“It’s strange that you’ll be away at this point even after the replay.”
“Didn’t you personally get information related to the Dragon Palace? I think Yong Jegun has means other than the replay to get information.”
Jeokho tried to settle Eunho and Hwangho who expressed their doubts.
Out of all the tigers, he’s the one who has the most intense personal feelings for Ungnyeo.
Jeokho might be taking his side not for him but for the sake of Kim Shinrok who looked restless.
Though considering the change of attitude after Replay, the contrary might be possible.
‘I guess Jeokho-ssi is still sorry about that.’
Yong Jegun recalled Jeokho, clad in black clothes with a corpse-like face, in his nightmare.
Every time they ran into each other, Jeokho stared at the Cintamani’s fading color.
His eyes were full of sympathy for Yong Jegun who continued making wishes as his soul and body deteriorated.
Jeokho’s words continued.
“Perhaps it’s information that can’t be disclosed. Why don’t you ask Yong Jegun directly instead of being suspicious?”
“I’m not trying to investigate. I just don’t understand… but if we share information later, there’s no reason to stop Yong Jegun from going.”
Hwangho nodded at Jeokho’s words.
He seemed to be stepping back, but Eunho didn’t look like he gave up his doubts yet.
“I don’t know who you heard the information from, but I don’t think it’s from Euishin hyung. Euishin hyung wouldn’t let you go to a dangerous place alone.”
“You’re too mean, the Dragon Palace isn’t a dangerous place.”
“Euishin hyung was stabbed by a dragon fang recently. Anyone who cares about the Tiger Clan’s benefactor will be wary of the Dragon Palace, the home of the Dragon Clan.”
Eunho seemed to be dissatisfied with the Dragon Clan because of Jo Euishin’s injury from the broadcasting station incident.
He doesn’t intend to show his thoughts easily, but now that he’s being questioned by Eunho, there’s a possibility that Yong Jegun would get caught.
This case alone will not reveal the extent of the transaction between Yong Jegun and Ungnyeo, but small clues might pile up and he’d get caught in an important moment.
To prevent that, Yong Jegun decided to change the topic.
“You’re worried about me? You don’t have to. Maybe the Dragon Palace is dangerous, but it’s worth it. Ah, then if you’re worried, does anyone want to go with me?”
The atmosphere successfully turned.
Yong Jegun spoke lightly, but everyone knew how difficult it was to go to the Dragon Palace.
“You won the prize during the picnic, right Hwangho-ssi?”
“What’s the connection between the Class Zero picnic and the Dragon Palace?”
Yong Jegun felt very good about his successful change of topic.
He felt ecstatic without realizing it.
Kim Shinrok looked tired of him.
Yong Jegun looked at Hwangho and said;
“The best prize during the picnic was permission to visit the Dragon Palace.”
***
The next day.
The sun was up when I woke up from a good night’s sleep.
I don’t remember falling asleep so I don’t know how many hours I slept, but I was almost sure that it was more than 12 hours.
Was it because there was an angel in my arms?
I think I sleep well every time I stay at the tiger’s mansion.
‘…I stayed without getting permission.’
I slept well so my body was in good condition, but my mind wasn’t settled.
What kind of manners was it to stay and sleep at someone’s house after being invited to a meeting?
I should apologize to Hwang Jiho, the owner of the mansion, and Eunho who stays at the annex.
Then, I heard the sound of a window opening outside.
Someone seemed to be walking in the hallways.
‘The stride and energy… is it Baekho-gun?’
My main playable character has been working diligently since the morning.
I felt sorry for sleeping comfortably while I was an uninvited guest.
I quickly raised myself, and the cotton ball in my arms wriggled.
His bright eyes were already opened, and he seems to be waiting for me to wake up.
Woof!
Olmu greeted me with a bright good morning.
Baekho-gun was already outside so he could’ve gone for a walk or breakfast, but he waited for me to wake up to say good morning.
I was overwhelmed by Olmu’s consideration.
I petted the kind Olmu and asked.
“Did you sleep well? Are you hungry?”
Woof!
“I’ll wash up and go out. Wanna go eat your breakfast first?”
Whimper…
Olmu grumbled and dug into my arms.
He doesn’t want to go eat breakfast first.
The angel wants to wait for me again!
I suppressed my emotions and spoke again.
“Alright, let’s eat together. Please wait for me.”
Woof!
Does Olmu understand everything I say?
Well, the good angel is a brilliant genius so it wouldn’t be strange.
When I finally came out to the living room, the tigers were gathered except for Jeokho and Kim Shinrok.
It was time for me to apologize.
“Good morning, EUishin hyung. You’re not going to apologize first thing in the morning, are you?”
…How did he know?
After hesitating for a while, I returned Eunho’s greeting.
In the end, I missed the time to apologize.
We had breakfast, and somehow I also ended up having lunch and dinner at the mansion.
I spent the whole day at the mansion without planning or discussing work.
Time went by quickly as I played with Olmu, ate food cooked by Hwang Jiho, and talked a little about the old days with Eunho.
I also looked at how he was studying.
‘…Seeing his study, I think Eunho will get a perfect score.’
Eunho asked me a few questions about some items that he was answering, but I didn’t have any good advice to give him because he already answered everything perfectly.
Various answers can come up since they were descriptive questions, so I just gave my personal opinion.
In the end, my Sunday was almost a whole day’s rest at the mansion.
Although it was chilly, a walk with Baekho-gun and Olmu on the way to my dormitory room was perfect.
Unlike Eunho and Hwang Jiho, Baekho-gun was quiet as usual.
It was nice walking quietly as the night breeze hit our skin.
After the weekend.
The Eungwang High entrance examination has begun.
It would be held on every afternoon for the rest of the week.
‘I won’t have afternoon classes and extracurriculars until the end of the entrance exam. I’ll be free.’
I will be serving as a guide and security for the test takers, but I was deployed to a rather quiet area, leaving me little to do.
Kim Yuri, the partner assigned to me, seemed motivated.
“We’ll be seniors soon. I’m a little nervous.”
Kim Yuri will be a good sunbae.
In middle school, Ahn Dain was the student president while Kim Yuri was the vice president.
Their student council that year had a good reputation.
Even when they became high school students, rumors were heard from time to time about how popular the two were.
Surprisingly, middle school students were so active even though they were more restricted than high school students.
I went on the patrol as I felt proud of my partner.
“She has a test-taker ID on her neck… Is she lost?”
At the end of Kim Yuri’s gaze was a student wearing another school’s uniform.
The somewhat young student had an examination card with the seal of Eungwang High.
The examinee looked around with an uneasy face.
I knew that student.
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize my playable character whose light skill I used a few times in this world.
‘The shaman candidate…!’
The main character in the scenario of the Dragon King’s Shaman — the young shaman candidate.
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