There were many ups and downs before departure, but the six of us somehow managed to arrive at the facility where Lee Yu-na had been taken care of as a child.
Although it was somewhat far from five streets, it was not in a very remote place, in other words, it was in a suitable location.
“It’s all here.”
Lee Yu-na was walking in the lead with a clearly brighter image than usual.
It was less because I knew it to a certain extent, but the other children seemed to be quite embarrassed by the appearance of the orphanage, which looked worse than expected.
“uh?”
In the meantime, Lee Yu-na started running quickly towards somewhere.
She squatted on the flower bed and flew into a woman who raised her body.
“Sister!”
“Ugh… .”
An old woman in a nun’s robe was holding a shovel in one hand.
She held her in her arms and gently tapped Yuna’s head, rubbing her head like a child.
“Sometimes you say you’re an adult, but what you do is still a child.”
At her words, Lee Yu-na mumbled as if she was sad.
“I haven’t seen you in a long time, are you just going to preach like that? I really wanted to see a lot of nuns… .”
“He… .”
She burst into laughter and looked at me with gentle eyes.
Then he tapped Lee Yu-na’s head once more and said,
“Are your friends waiting for you? Why don’t you introduce me first?”
“Oh, right. Uh, so… .”
“hello.”
I stepped forward first and bowed my head deeply.
“My name is Yoo Ji-hyuk. I came here haphazardly, but I’m worried that it might cause trouble. I wish you all the best in the future, Sister.”
“Oh, be reliable.”
Soon after, the other children also politely bowed.
She smiled happily and tapped Yuna’s back.
“Now, you must be tired, but first, put your luggage down and rest with your friends.”
“Is there anything I can help you with? More children?”
“Hey, are you saying that you run away every day because you don’t want to work, and then come forward and help out in front of your friends?”
“Hey, when did I do that? Sister… .”
She patted Yuna cutely and replied that her study time wasn’t over yet.
At that, Yuna nodded as if she remembered and said to us.
“Um, guys. Let’s go and put our luggage down.”
As I was walking after her, I felt something wriggling in my arms.
“sorry. Be patient.”
“… … .”
I whispered that to Laune who was hiding in my chest.
It seems he doesn’t like it in his bag, so I put it in his arms… .
After walking around for about 2 hours, I was quite tired.
“Come on, the boys over there in that room. Girls can use this place with me.”
Following Lee Yu-na’s guidance, I, Choi Hyun-woo, and Ivan put their luggage down in a corner of the small room.
In the meantime, he secretly dropped Raune down in the corner and didn’t forget to grab the spirit stone and water bottle he brought for him.
When I left the room, everyone was gathered except for Lee Yu-na and me.
Choi Hyun-woo looked around and spat out a word.
“It looked like it needed a lot of remuneration here and there… .”
Ivan nodded and muttered.
“I saw one that didn’t stick out of the fence.”
“They say that there are two more residents besides Sister Byon, and that all they do is occasionally volunteers. We have almost forty children to take care of.”
When Han Soo-young said that, Jin Ye-seul frowned slightly, as if trying to recall her old memories.
“Come to think of it, most of them are children, so he told me he was the eldest… .”
We took turns talking to each other.
“So what about Yuna?”
“I came to see you, Sister for a while. You said we were resting?”
At Han Soo-young’s words, Choi Hyun-woo shrugged his shoulders.
Then he rolled up his sleeves and murmured.
“I think the price of rice should make you feel better.”
Everyone nodded at his words.
Then I was thinking about whether it would be better to help prepare the meal first.
“for a moment.”
“what’s the matter?”
“It’s nice to help out, but there are things I need to do first.”
Ivan said so and glanced at me.
When Han Soo-young asked what it was, he simply said that he should be there for any reason.
“Kids, it takes at least two hours to cook. So even this first… yes?”
Lee Yu-na, who came with a basket of sweet potatoes and potatoes in her arms, tilted her head as she saw us gathered.
She carefully took off her slippers and asked us.
“What’s going on?”
“Yuna has just arrived.”
Ivan nodded and looked at me.
“Okay then, Jihyuk. … Did you say you have something you want to say to us?”
I think it would be better to do it now.
At his words, I nodded.
Because I had no intention of delaying it anyway.
“The story is going to be a bit long, so why don’t we all sit down?”
Saying so, he looked around.
Han Soo-young, Choi Hyun-woo, Jin Ye-seul, Ivan Hunt, and Lee Yu-na.
People who have trusted me in this world.
I didn’t want to hide it from them anymore or take it all on my own.
“As I said before, this is going to be a very long story. What is it… .”
* * *
I explained the current situation to them in detail.
Su-young Han, Hyun-woo Choi, and Ye-seul Jin, who had already understood the situation to some extent, quietly listened to me.
related to the Seven Devils.
The fact that the current situation is related to Minerva, one of the Seven Evil Species.
It is said that the raids that occurred in the territory of the World Tree in the past were also related to the Seven evils.
And now, all the forces, including the Ten Gang, are gathering.
The seven evil sects that are the target of the subjugation, information about Minerva, etc… .
I told them everything in as much detail and detail as possible.
“… If so, let’s clear up the situation.”
Ivan, who had been listening to my story with a serious expression, quietly opened his mouth.
“So, this situation is related to the distortion field… Anyway, it had nothing to do with the gate, was it a self-made play that was performed to evacuate people to intercept the Seven Evils?”
“right. And to be honest, it’s dangerous to the point that it’s incomparable to the gate.”
“It’s the seven evils… I don’t feel it at all. Rather, what are they going to do?”
“First of all, since you might get caught up in a battle, all civilians will be evacuated, and carefully selected personnel including Sibgang will participate in the subjugation. Judging from that, the entire Aegis system will be concentrated there.”
He folded his arms and closed his eyes as if contemplating for a moment.
“Now I see why you asked my mother like that… Is the name of the Seven Evils Minerva?”
I nodded.
Then, suddenly, I realized that I was putting my friend’s mother into danger.
Even the friend was now facing me in front of me.
It was the moment when I turned my gaze away from the moment of embarrassment.
“How much longer? When the academy announced it, they told us to be prepared for at least a fortnight, so is that roughly enough?”
“Maybe I know that. According to the original plan, the subjugation would have started about a week later… .”
“Aren’t the protests taking place on five streets very violently now?”
At Yuuna’s words, I nodded my head.
“right. So I think it will start later than expected. We have to make preparations only after all civilians have been evacuated. I’m thinking that maybe I should stay there for at least a full week or so.”
Even without asking Yeeun Lee or Myungjun Lee, I was able to get some information about the protests on Five Streets because they were important in the daily news.
Although he did not know the details of the story, at least on the surface, it seemed that he was still fiercely opposed to it.
In the past, there were cases in which the occurrence of gates were suppressed and their location was specified, and the fact that the association appeared in a passive attitude was highlighted, so it was not likely that the controversy would subside easily.
“therefore… There must be a reason you told us this.”
Ivan muttered so.
I nodded at his gaze as if asking for an answer.
“What you are thinking is right.”
“Are you mad because you want to die?”
Ivan said to me right away, like a spit.
He spoke to me in a calm tone.
“The Seven Devils are literally like beings in legends. No, not even a legend. It’s just a disaster. Looking at the historical records of the past, there have been more than a couple of times when mankind was almost wiped out by the Seven Evil Species. But what are you going to do when you go to a place where powerful people from all over the world gather to subdue such a guy?”
“I must kill you.”
At those words, Ivan looked lost in words.
I just looked at everyone, including him, without saying a word, and opened my mouth.
There were no more worries or tremors.
“No one else can. Only I can do it. I have to kill him.”
“Then why would you… .”
“The Seven Evil Bells cast a curse that they cannot do to the person who killed them.”
It wasn’t me who answered, but Han Soo-young.
“If you fall under the curse of the Seven Evil Species, you will unconditionally die, and even if that person dies, the Curse of the Seven Evil Species will spread throughout the world. Put simply, it’s like becoming a host for the plague.”
She continued to explain quietly and looked at me.
“But Jihyuk can void that curse. … Am I right?”
“right.”
I nodded at her words.
Ivan looked at Han Soo-young with a puzzled look and realized something.
“How do you… No, wait. no way… ?”
“… … .”
“Jihyuk, you, you have already killed the Seven Evils. right?”
This time I nodded my head.
As if Ivan couldn’t believe it, Lee Yu-na made a small noise as she covered her mouth with a serious expression.
“Is this what you said last time, last time in the waiting room? Are you saying you did it twice, not just once?”
“What?”
Ivan looked at Yuuna as if surprised, then looked at me again.
Then, startled and startled, he looked around.
Seeing Han Soo-young, Choi Hyeon-woo, and Jin Ye-seul with casual expressions, he smiled a little.
“What, now that I see the reaction… It seems that only me and Yuna didn’t know?”
Ivan shook his head slightly and looked at me.
I nodded my head slightly at his expression as if to explain.
“The people I know are Sooyoung, Hyeonu, and Yesul. And Yeeun senior. There are only four people like this. And now you both know. Originally, I was going to hide it from everyone, not just you. By the way… .”
After a moment’s silence, I looked at the two of them.
“I just realized I was wrong. It was only now that I realized that hiding from everyone in the first place was selfish and self-righteous. So I thought I had to say it to you two, at least to the two of you who believed in me.”
Ivan Hunt and Yoona kept their mouths shut.
In the meantime, Lee Yu-na licked her lips as if to say something, then closed it and looked at me.
“I feel bad. really.”
After a while, Ivan grinned and said to me.
“Why are you hugging me now? I’m sure Jihyuk wasn’t your captain? You can’t do it your way without the captain.”
With a playful smile, he looked at me and asked.
“Aren’t you trying to tell me to leave after explaining the situation and explaining the abilities of the Seven Evil Species Minerva?”
“Ivan.”
“But I don’t think I’ve heard the story I really need to hear yet.”
As he said that, he made eye contact with me with a serious expression.
At those words, I immediately bowed my head toward him and Yuuna.
“sorry. You’ve been keeping it a secret all this time.”
“and?”
“Help me.”
Not only that, I spoke eye-to-eye with everyone else.
“I know how selfish and cowardly this is. But now I can’t be alone. I need your strength. So… .”
“Eight.”
With a popping sound, Han Soo-young suddenly hit my head with his hand.
As I looked at him in a moment of bewilderment, she continued to tap my head without saying a word and began to slap me with the blade of her hand.
I was looking at her wondering what she was doing, but it was Choi Hyun-woo who answered instead.
“The hawk is medicine to a fool.”
So you’re right
Rather, he even encouraged him to continue watching Han Soo-young.
Han Soo-young continued to tap my head like that without saying a word.
It seemed that the feeling was relieved a little after hitting it like that for a while.
She looked at me and muttered in a muffled voice.
“Why aren’t we the first?”
“What?”
“That’s right, isn’t it the first thing you say to me and Hyeonu in order?”
Han Soo-young looked like she didn’t really like her.
“That’s right.”
Hyunwoo Choi shook his head with a smirk.
“I was waiting so long. If you really look at it, Jihyuk doesn’t have much of an eye for him in this way.”
The two, the two who became friends for the first time, looked at me and said:
I kept waiting.
I was just waiting for the very moment when I asked for help.
Jin Ye-seul immediately opened her mouth.
“I remember I already answered that time.”
She was looking at me with a meaningful smile.
“Wherever I go, as long as Jihyuk is by your side, I will follow you unconditionally.”
Even if it is my death that awaits at the end… .
She whispered quietly.
“I am ready to greet you with open arms at any time with a happy heart. As long as I’m by your side.”
“I, me too!”
Lee Yu-na flashed and raised her hand.
“I’ll help too, I didn’t make this decision because I was swept away by the atmosphere here. I also have you… .”
“no.”
Meanwhile, Jin Ye-seul, who was sitting next to Lee Yu-na, grabbed Lee Yu-na’s hand and gently pulled her under.
“Yuna, you can’t.”
“What?”
“You are not well yet.”
Jin Ye-seul looked at Lee Yu-na with an expression that she would not tolerate any objections.
“At least this time, keep quiet. Don’t tell the obvious lie that it’s okay for nothing.”
“Hey, where is that law!”
Lee Yu-na jumped up from her seat in anger and yelling.
Jin Ye-seul frowned slightly and looked at her and said.
“What are you going to do now?”
“That’s the way it is! Hearing all these stories, now, come and look at me and be still? Yes, Ye-seul, do you think I will be alone if you say that!?”
“Then what shall we do?”
Jin Ye-seul turned towards her and shook her head.
“You don’t know better. How is your body now? Didn’t you hear Jihyuk? It is a place where even the strongest of the ten or so-doing heroes are willing to fight for their lives. Of course, we risk our lives. What is a child who is not in normal physical condition in a dangerous place even if he is fine, what is he going to do?”
“That, that… .”
Yuuna was tight and her lips were closed.
Not because there was nothing wrong with what Jin Ye-seul said.
In fact, with Lee Yu-na’s current body condition, she wouldn’t be able to deliver even half of her usual strength.
“Ji, Jihyuk, tell me what you say!”
“… What?”
Suddenly, Yuuna looked at me as if frustrated.
She had a really sad expression on her face.
“Even if the other kids say no, Jihyuk shouldn’t do that to you! Because I’m your… !”
Lee Yu-na spoke up to that point, then shut her mouth.
It seemed that he had barely remembered what had happened between me and her that it was a secret between the two of us.
“I, I… .”
Her hands, clenched in fists, trembled and trembled.
Eventually, she clenched her teeth and sat down helplessly on the road seat.
“… If I had known it would be like this, I would not have sold the elixir I had been digging for a long time and saved it.”
With a sigh, Lee Yuna muttered like a complaint.
Then, when I saw something trudging from behind her, I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide in surprise.
It was Laune.
The guy was walking out with a grim expression as if he had made a big decision.
tuk tuk.
And before I could do anything, he patted Yuna on the back like a knock.
“yes… ? Oh, Mom!”
Lee Yu-na turned her head back for something, and as soon as she saw Laune, she was terrified and hugged Jin Ye-seul.
It seemed that she wasn’t the only one surprised.
While Han Su-young, Choi Hyun-woo, and Jin Ye-seul were each looking surprised, only Ivan was looking at Laune with a serious expression.
“That smell… ?”
He murmured, and looked at me with a hopeful expression.
“… ! … … !!!”
Laune, the culprit of the chaos, looked at us with legs spread and arms crossed.
Then, looking at Lee Yu-na, she nodded her head, as if saying, ‘I heard your story well!’
He looked at her and shook his roots as if to come closer.
“air? Go, come closer… ?”
“… … !!!”
Without hesitation, he ripped off one of his roots and held it forward as if handing it to Yuuna.
“… Are you giving me this?”
At Lee Yu-na’s words, Laune nodded her head with a solemn expression once more.
Mandragora root.
A legendary herb that is said to bring the dead back to life.
I bet there was no other elixir that was as excellent in recovery as that.