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“Are we still far away?”
“Please wait a little longer.”
Upon Eun-ga-ye’s response, Eun-ga-ye’s face tensed as she looked at the door.
“Just what are you doing inside that you won’t open the door!”
The man shouting outside was Eun So-baek.
While others automatically stepped back at Eun-ga-ye’s words as the head physician, Eun So-baek stubbornly waited, insisting on entering even after 10 minutes had passed without the door being opened.
“Ahem! Please wait a moment.”
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“Three minutes. If you don’t open the door in three minutes, I’ll force it open and enter.”
Eun So-baek shouted firmly.
“Ugh, that darn bastard…”
Frowning, Eun-ga-ye glanced briefly at the bed where Eun Ho-sung lay.
Lee Hae-sol remained steadfastly seated, and Eun Ho-sung showed no signs of getting up.
“When will this end?”
“Just a little longer.”
“Ugh.”
Eun-ga-ye exhaled softly. Then, with a determined expression, she called out to the door.
“You may come in.”
Click.
Before the words finished, the door swung open, and the stern-faced Eun So-baek entered.
“Just what in the world…”
In an instant, Eun-ga-ye’s fist coolly struck Eun So-baek’s jaw.
Thud!
With a short grunt, Eun So-baek collapsed without any resistance.
Eun-ga-ye, tossing the fallen Eun So-baek next to the head physician, displayed a relieved expression.
“I should have done this earlier.”
It would have been easier to use her fist; she foolishly wasted 10 minutes hesitating.
Having found a way, Eun-ga-ye stood guard at the door with a certain composure.
Another 10 minutes passed. Fortunately, Eun-ga-ye did not have to resort to using her fist, but Eun Ho-sung still did not wake up. Then, an unexpected figure appeared outside.
“Doctor Ahn, I’m Kim Jung-hyuk. May I come in?”
“…”
Kim Jung-hyuk.
He was not only Eun Ho-sung’s bodyguard but also a skilled individual highly regarded even in Eun-ga. Eun-ga-ye had no grounds to prevent Kim Jung-hyuk from entering, nor did she have the confidence to knock him out in one go like Eun So-baek.
“Then I’ll go in.”
“Just a moment…”
Click.
Ignoring the response, Kim Jung-hyuk opened the door.
Upon inspecting the scene inside the room, Kim Jung-hyuk’s expression turned cold.
“…I’ll ask for details later.”
“Wait, he’s currently undergoing treatment.”
Eun-ga-ye blocked Kim Jung-hyuk from approaching Eun Ho-sung.
Kim Joong-hyuk’s eyebrows twitched.
“What are you doing right now?”
“I told you, I’m in the middle of treatment.”
“Are you speaking after knocking out the attending physician?”
“I had to knock him out because he was about to stop me.”
“If you don’t step back, I’ll have to attack.”
Kim Joong-hyuk reached for the black handle of the sword.
“Are you planning to fight here?”
Kim Joong-hyuk’s face stiffened.
The silver sword, pulled out, had a bluish aura of gravity’s magic.
“Are you going to defy the order?”
“You’re the one defying it.”
“······.”
As Kim Joong-hyuk fell silent, Eung-ye spoke beside the sickbed.
“Are we far from the goal?”
“······.”
There was no response coming from Yi Hae-sol.
“Argh.”
How long should this go on?
In frustration, Eung-ye furrowed her brow.
Though she appeared confident on the outside, inside, she was tense.
Kim Joong-hyuk was not an easy opponent. If this weren’t a sickroom, and there were no orders, he would have pushed her without hesitation.
The current situation was also a dead end.
If Kim Joong-hyuk didn’t trust Yi Hae-sol’s treatment, this confrontation was bound to break down eventually. And that moment was now.
Swish.
Kim Joong-hyuk’s sword, having made a decision, was drawn from its sheath.
The sharp aura emanating from the sword made Eung-ye’s skin prickle.
“I’ll ask you once more. Step back.”
“I refuse.”
With a taunting gesture, Kim Joong-hyuk’s sword swiftly rose.
Eung-ye, with a firm expression, lowered her stance.
The confrontation was on the verge of breaking at any moment. Kim Joong-hyuk’s sword rose upward.
And at that moment──.
Whoa!
“······!”
“······!”
Both of them turned their heads back to the sickbed.
Suddenly, a white light explosively burst from the bed.
***
The branches of the World Tree absorbed every bit of the magic of the Amaranth seed that had been nibbling on Eunho Castle’s magic.
When the branches were dyed dark, a divine light burst forth.
“Pa-ah!”
The white light filled the hospital room.
Crackle! The cracking branch could not withstand the split and eventually disappeared in light.
Soon after the light vanished, Eun Hoseong’s pale face was now flushed with color.
“Umm…”
Eun Hoseong opened his eyes.
“Father!”
“Dad!”
Kim Junghyuk and Eunga-ye rushed in.
“Are you okay, Dad?”
“Yeah. Seems like I’m all better. hahahaha.”
Eun Hoseong smiled as he affectionately embraced Eunga-ye, who had rushed to him.
Previously confined to only moving for ‘two hours’ a day due to an unknown venom that plagued his body, now it seemed as though that venom had vanished, as if washed away.
“It was you.”
Eun Hoseong’s gaze shifted to Yi Haesol sitting by the bedside.
Eun Hoseong had been observing the entire process of the World Tree’s branches absorbing the seed of Ama from start to finish.
It was because, from the moment the seed of Ama took over his body, he had never slept a single moment.
Merely dormant within to resist the seed attempting to steal his magic.
That was why he had witnessed the complete process of the Ama seed being sucked into the World Tree’s branches.
And he could also understand that it was Haesol who had done this.
“Dad, why are you still lying down? Why not get up?”
“Dear, you need to rest.”
“It’s okay.”
Brushing off the concerns of Eunga-ye and Kim Junghyuk, Eun Hoseong got up from his seat and touched the ground.
“Thank you.”
Then, he politely nodded his head towards Haesol.
Eunga-ye and Kim Junghyuk, belatedly realizing, expressed their gratitude as well.
“I’m glad to see you’ve regained your strength.”
I, who had been gazing at Eun Hoseong intently, smiled satisfactorily and nodded.
Although I had doubted if waking him would be of any help, seeing him now made me certain.
‘His energy core is nowhere to be seen.’
While the energy core of Eun Hoseong had been vividly visible when he was addicted to the Ama seed, now it seemed to have vanished as if washed away.
I couldn’t even see the shadow of this man, who seemed to struggle even to stand on his own, from the outside.
‘Whether smoke or a formidable person, it’s all the same.’
Either way, gaining formidable power was what mattered.
Eun Hoseong’s soul, looking at me, was filled with kindness.
“Uhh…”
At that moment, Eun Soback, who had been unconscious, stirred awake, rubbing his chin, and upon spotting Eunga-ye and Dear, he grumbled as if he had just realized something.
“Father! Eung-aye, that child attacked me!”
Eun So-baek, who was shouting while pointing at Eung-aye as if accusing her, suddenly felt something odd and quietly shut his mouth.
Everyone was silent, looking at him, and Eun Ho-sung was standing unharmed.
“Do you want to repeat that?”
“······.”
At Eung-aye’s words, Eun So-baek quietly closed his mouth.
***
After sending Eung-aye and Eun So-baek away, I talked to Kim Jung-hyuk and Eun Ho-sung about the upcoming events.
“So the mages are targeting the Pearl of the Sea God.”
Eun Ho-sung calmly accepted this, perhaps due to being affected by the curse of Amah, while Kim Jung-hyuk wore a skeptical expression at the idea of someone being able to corrupt the Bongmajin.
“Is it true that there’s someone who can corrupt the Bongmajin?”
“Where did you get advice about the Bongmajin?”
I answered a question with a question. Eun Ho-sung replied.
“The Maxwell family.”
The Maxwell family, a prestigious magical lineage in England that expelled the witch of the blade, Noah Maxwell.
They were the most authoritative family in the world when it came to the magic system.
Above all, they were considered to have laid the foundation for modern magic circles.
The family involved in the creation of Eung’s Bongmajin was also the Maxwell family. And.
“The Harbinger of Tranquility, Norton, is from the Maxwell family.”
At my response, the two finally seemed to understand.
Somewhere in the Maxwell family, there must be records related to the Bongmajin. They didn’t know they were delving into the core of the truth.
“No one should know that the patriarch has recovered.”
“I have no intention of revealing it.”
Eun Ho-sung nodded. Then, he smiled subtly but menacingly.
“However, we cannot let it slide.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
I agreed with Eun Ho-sung’s words.
Before the Sea God Festival began, it was better to clean up the mess that could disrupt the stage.
***
8 PM. The late summer sunset painting the world red.
Even as the sun was setting, Eung’s people were bustling with preparations for the Sea God Festival the next day.
Among them, the busiest was the Head Steward, Eun Ju-min.
The patriarch’s right-hand man who oversaw all the festival’s affairs and gave overall directions.
However, in the midst of decorating the banquet hall, Eun Ju-min received a sudden summons from the patriarch.
“Why is he calling me?”
Not knowing the reason, Eun Ju-min tilted his head in confusion.
Two hours a day. That’s all the patriarch did—sitting rigidly in his throne, driving away the curse of Amah, then falling back asleep.
To be summoned by such a patriarch left Eun Ju-min bewildered.
Thus, without a clue, Eun Ju-min followed behind Kim Jung-hyuk to the patriarch’s residence.
“I have brought him.”
“Come in.”
“?”
When an unexpected, refined voice reached her ears, Eunjumin’s expression turned puzzled.
It was understandable since Gah Eunhoseong was currently lying down.
“It must be a mistake.”
The voice was something that could easily be polished.
Brushing off her momentary doubt, Eunjumin followed the open door into Gah’s quarters.
Thunk.
Kim Junghyuk, who followed her in, closed the door to the quarters and stood guard in front of it.
“You came.”
“······.”
Eunjumin remained silent.
At the center table of the quarters, Eun Seongho was setting down a glass of soju with a flushed face.
“I called you for a drink. Sit down instead of standing there.”
Eunhoseong kindly smiled and gestured for her to take a seat. However, Eunjumin couldn’t sit. His expression stiffened like a rock.
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“······Gah.”
“Hmm? What are you doing standing instead of sitting?”
“P-please spare me.”
His voice trembled as if he were insane.
Besides Eunjumin, three others with pale faces were seated at the table.
Head Chef Go Ha-yeon.
Chief Host Eun Jinhyeok.
Chief of Guards Eun Kangwoo.
And there was one more thing they all had in common. They had all consumed the seeds of the Amaranth given to them by Gah Eunhoseong.
The gathering of these three individuals was certainly not a coincidence.
“Sit.”
As Eunjumin sat down, Eunhoseong personally filled the glasses of the four with soju.
“Now, bottoms up.”
“Uh-uh······”
Chef Go Ha-yeon, whose hands were trembling, dropped the glass.
Clatter!
The spilled soju on the table dripped onto the floor.
“Oh, what a waste.”
Tsk tsk, Eunhoseong clicked his tongue.
And then, as if time rewound, the spilled soju returned to Ha-yeon’s glass, leaving the faces of the four in a stunned, earthy hue.
“With so much to learn, how will you converse if you’re this nervous?”
As a comforting hand patted their shoulders, a faint smell of bile rose in the quarters.
***
“To all the esteemed guests gathered here, on behalf of the Eun family, I express our gratitude.”
The Banquet Hall of Haeshin Yeon.
In the grand hall, various guests from all walks of life were seated to catch a glimpse of Haeshin’s pearls.
“I am Eunha’s Elder, Eunhaseok.”
Applause erupted at the greeting of the elderly Elder.
While some showed curiosity as to why an Elder instead of the head of the family appeared, it wasn’t a common sentiment.
Their sole interest lay in ‘Haeshin’s pearls’.
Scholars and supernaturals who came to investigate Yeongmaek and Haeshin’s pearls, as well as those who came to discuss business and interests related to Eunha, made up the majority of the attendees.
The Elder was well aware of this, so he continued his speech without mentioning the head of the family.
‘The path Eunha has taken to grow’, ‘The direction Eunha will take in the future’, and so on.
“Ah, how boring.”
“Yeah, when will Haeshin’s pearls be revealed?”
As Eunhae let out a yawn, Deorik discreetly picked up the meat from the table. Amidst this, the Elder’s speech continued, and an interlude event took place. Among five rising magical stones, participants had to discern the real one and if successful, take it home. Each person had only one chance, and the participation fee alone was a whopping 1 million won.
“Hey, I can’t figure this out. Let it be.”
As I was about to step in, Eunhae smiled innocently and stopped me.
“I’ve stored magic in the stones I’ve already used, so it’s hard to discern which one is pre-used. It’s purely luck.”
[Clack! Clack!]
Ignoring Eunhae’s words, I raised my hand as per Parangi’s suggestion.
“The fourth magical stone.”
“You said you couldn’t figure it out.”
Eunhae smirked as if caught red-handed. And then…
“Correct!”
“What?”
Eunhae blinked in surprise at the event host’s words. I turned to Eunhae and said,
“Who said they couldn’t figure it out?”
“Uh, it must be luck.”
“Is that so?”
I chuckled. The magical stone event continued, and beside me, almost ten magical stones had piled up.
“What, what’s this? You?”
“How do you figure it out?”
Eunhae and the others widened their eyes. Amidst this, various ‘magic’-related events took place, and Parangi’s keen nose never failed to distinguish the real from the fake.
“This, this time, the 428th guest got it right again. Hmm, it seems this year’s event is being aced by a particular individual.”
The host ended his words with a flustered expression, seemingly perplexed.
As murmurs spread around, Eunhae subtly distanced herself, but I diligently collected the prizes.
Accumulating magical tools, magical stones, potions… A progress officer even brought a large box next to me.
After the rather long and trivial money-making(?) event segment ended, the Elder took the stage once more.
Gradually, the progress officers started bustling around.
Stepping forward, the Elder started stalling with various stories, until finally, a story worth hearing emerged.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there are various magical stones in the world.”
Looking around the audience with a pause, the Elder spoke.
“However, among them, there exists a special stone that harnesses the power to attract the world’s magic.”
As everyone shouted, “The Pearl of the Sea God!” the elder nodded.
“Yes. It is indeed the Pearl of the Sea God. A treasure that turns our silver family into the land of prosperity.”
In an instant, the lights went out, plunging the banquet hall into darkness. Then, slowly from the floor behind the elder, an aurora rose.
Crackle!
In that moment, the aurora illuminated the air, drawing the shape of runes in flames.
「ψ」
The hall buzzed.
Amelia, seeing the shape of the flames, whispered in awe, “That must be the Rune of Protection.”
“Seems like it.”
It was when I, too, gazed at the Rune of Protection in wonder.
“Allow me to introduce. The treasure of the sea, [Pearl of the Sea God].”
Along with the aurora, a translucent stone appeared beneath the Rune of Protection in flames.
“Wow!”
“That’s it!”
Clap! A loud applause erupted in the banquet hall. Flashes went off consecutively, and guests gasped in amazement.
Then, the lights came back on.
“The Pearl of the Sea God not only creates artificial prosperity but also purifies the impurities accumulated in one’s magical power.”
The method of removing impurities from magical power is exceedingly rare.
While the Pearl of the Sea God purifies impurities, the amount is not significant.
Nevertheless, there were quite a few who came to the banquet hall to receive it.
“Now, it’s time for purification. Everyone, please come forward…”
As the elder with a smile began to speak slowly,
Zap! Boom! Boom!
The sound of electricity rang out, and the banquet hall was plunged into darkness in an instant.
Guests began to wonder at the different turn of events.
“What, what’s happening!”
“Ahh!”
Breaking through the shattered window curtains, mages poured in from all directions.
In an instant, the banquet hall turned chaotic. A calm melody, unfitting for the situation, spread throughout the hall.
─♬♪♩
With it, guests covered their ears and fell to the ground.
“It has begun.”
The harpist of tranquility. Norton’s performance.