Episode 92: Counseling (1)
Time in the sanctum passed much faster than I expected.
It was supposed to be five hours.
But when I opened my eyes, it was already over.
“Ha…”
I slowly lifted myself up from where I sat.
My whole body was drenched in sweat.
Maybe because the divine power had seeped deep into my body, I used up far more stamina and mental energy than usual.
As I wiped the back of my neck with a towel, I felt a subtle gaze from behind.
‘…?’
When I turned my head, I saw Cheon Yeoul looking straight at me from a distance.
Not a drop of sweat, her expression still composed. Not even her breathing was disturbed.
‘What the heck.’
She was the complete opposite of me.
“Why are you so fresh and clean?”
“I’m always fresh.”
“…Wait, didn’t you train?”
“I did.”
With a calm face, she raised her hand.
On her thin, slender fingers, a small sacred formation appeared.
— Blink, blink.
Softly glowing divine power blinked above her fingers.
“…Well, not bad.”
I nodded and started putting my top back on.
At that moment, I heard the door of the Sanctum open from afar.
— Rumble…
“Brother Jung Haein, the Sanctum’s time has ended.”
A priest, neatly dressed in a robe, approached quietly and bowed politely.
Next to me, Cheon Yeoul had already changed her clothes and approached again.
“You’ve entered a total of three times. You will likely have two more chances to enter the Sanctum.”
I gave a short nod.
That’s more than enough. From the church’s perspective, even opening up the Sanctum is probably a huge burden.
I was feeling rather satisfied as I organized my water bottle, when Cheon Yeoul suddenly turned her head and casually remarked:
“That’s all you’re giving him?”
The priest flinched. Her voice wasn’t loud, but there was a strange pressure embedded in it.
At her sharp comment, I turned my head slightly to look at her.
She always just smiled around me, so I’d wondered if she was doing well in the church — turns out she was.
The priest, unable to hide his flustered expression, spoke up.
“…Yes. After internal coordination within the church, the total number was set to three…”
“Then.”
Cheon Yeoul smoothed out her robe sleeve with her fingers and slowly turned her head.
“Go coordinate again.”
“…But the Saintess also needs to use it…”
“Am I going to become a full-fledged Saintess just by using it a few more times?”
I didn’t show it, but I was quietly cheering her on inside.
She was essentially giving up her chance for me to grow — I appreciated that.
“…Yes… we’ll discuss it further.”
In the end, the priest gave in.
I quietly spoke up to thank her.
'Thanks.'
Cheon Yeoul’s eyes widened in surprise, and she couldn’t hide her flustered expression.
For a moment, she was at a loss for words, clutching my sleeve with flushed cheeks.
Then, the priest carefully spoke up from behind.
“This may be presumptuous of me, but… the two of you look quite good together.”
Hearing that, Cheon Yeoul’s eyes sparkled as she whipped her head around.
“Really? You mean it?”
The serious figure who had just been handling church negotiations was gone — replaced by someone full of energy.
“I mean, right? We do look good together, don’t we?”
She tilted her head and looked at the priest, then turned her gaze toward me.
“Looks like it~”
I slightly bowed my head.
I didn’t say anything, but she seemed to take that as a yes.
“Hehe.”
Her grip on my sleeve tightened.
***
Tok, tok, tok…
In a pitch-black office, a woman stared at her watch.
A pair of red eyes shimmered in the darkness of the unlit room.
[12:00 AM]
The hands of the watch pointed precisely to midnight.
Kang Arin quietly closed her eyes.
She turned off the watch and set it on the desk.
Then, she let out a short sigh.
“Phew…”
Jung Haein was a meticulous person.
He would never send a message past midnight.
To put it bluntly—
He didn’t show up today either.
“…What the heck?”
Kang Arin muttered softly.
Her heart gave a small thump.
Lately, she’d been feeling something was off.
Cheon Yeoul? Done. Yu Hana? Also done.
And with the recent friendly matches wrapped up, it should now be Yoon Chae-ha’s turn to be pushed aside.
In a desperate attempt, Cheon Yeoul had taken him to the Sanctum, but that was just a last-ditch effort—no more than flailing.
Now, it should be her turn.
Kang Arin believed her time was finally coming.
She had been preparing for it for a long time.
And yet—why?
“Why is he doing nothing?”
Kang Arin’s hand trembled.
She had prepared every plan in anticipation of him reaching out to her.
Whatever Jung Haein wanted.
Whatever he said.
Plan A: If he wanted to search for the Fragment to give to her?
She had already booked first-class seats to America for Pentagon access. Of course, two adjacent seats.
Sure, they could use a portal, but she wanted to enjoy a romantic, intimate conversation on the plane for once.
Plan B: If he wanted to go to the dungeon in Hallasan for a power gauntlet?
She had preemptively cleared the trees and planted flowers along the trail. Beautified and prepped the mountain path—
So it would be easy to climb, and picturesque too.
Plan C: If he just wanted to train and grow together?
She was going to open up the private training room reserved for the Guildmaster of Glory Guild.
Just the two of them, in a top-tier facility. Cozy and exclusive.
Plans A, B, and C.
Everything was ready, and all scenarios were mapped out.
Perfectly.
No matter what he chose, she could respond immediately.
Then why—
“Why hasn’t he contacted me…?”
Kang Arin’s hands trembled again.
She stared down at the watch on her desk.
Quite some time had passed since that last conversation with Cheon Yeoul.
By now, she should’ve heard from him.
Her beautiful face reflected dimly on the dark screen.
Wait a second—
No way.
A terrible possibility suddenly popped into her head.
“No way… am I…”
She whispered softly—
“…being left out?”
Her red eyes wavered faintly in the dark room.
She pressed her lips tightly together.
Then suddenly, her cheeks puffed out in frustration.
“No… why…”
Her face crumpled with a mix of injustice and teary irritation as she turned the watch back on.
She checked her message history again.
Just in case—on the off chance—that she had missed something.
But, of course—nothing.
“…Ah…”
Kang Arin…
Let her head fall forward with a soft thud.
***
The day after the long night at the Sanctum, in Gaon.
That morning’s lecture was self-study.
Final exams were approaching, and I did need some time to review.
Practical subjects stick with your body, but theory doesn’t.
This damn brain of mine forgets unless I constantly torment it.
I quietly opened my textbook.
Creak.
Just then, the front door of the lecture hall opened.
A student with a gloomy expression walked in quietly.
They trudged over to an empty seat and collapsed into it,
Then buried their head into the desk without a word.
‘Oh dear.’
I couldn’t tell if they were crying, But the slight trembling of their shoulders suggested they’d taken a pretty big hit.
The reason today’s lecture had been replaced with self-study—
It was the day for consultations with our advisor.
Based on our grades up to the midterms and our entrance rankings,
Each student had a one-on-one session with their professor to be evaluated on their future path and growth direction.
It was also the first day students got to see the status of guild offers.
Whether it was bids or official offers—everything.
How many tables their name had appeared on.
And then the professor would compare that student’s current standing to that of the top-ranking students—very bluntly.
Then came the professor’s evaluation.
Something like:
“You could probably get into ~~ guild.”
Or even:
“You won’t make it.”
They made sure students were fully aware of their current standing.
It varied by professor, but generally, the evaluations were brutally honest.
So many students ended up crying.
They emphasized what you lacked more than what you did well.
But there was a reason for this cold approach.
It was still only the first semester.
The evaluation wasn’t the end—it was a message:
“You still have time, so work hard.”
“Oh no… I guess it didn’t go well,”
Murmured Cheon Yeoul beside me, sighing.
I glanced at the spellbook she had open.
She was still on the same page she’d been reading 30 minutes ago.
‘You should focus first,’
I wanted to say.
But in truth, she was doing incredibly well as an official Saintess.
Too well, honestly, so it was hard to criticize.
Maybe she knew that, because she turned to me with a sweet smile.
That long, curved smile on her lips was oddly irritating.
I raised my hand slightly, thinking of flicking her forehead—
Sigh.
—but gave up in the end.
“… Huh?”
“What?”
“You’re not gonna flick me…?”
“You’re a Saintess. I can’t go around hitting Saintesses.”
“……”
I turned my head to look at Yoon Chae-ha, who was sitting to my right.
I expected her to be dozing off as usual, but surprisingly, she was seriously writing something in her notebook.
I leaned over slightly to peek.
But it wasn’t magic notes.
The notebook was filled with writing, but…
— What kind of relationship are they even—
Relationship?
“Wah!”
Just as I leaned a bit further, Yoon Chae-ha jumped in surprise, realizing I was looking.
I smiled and asked,
“What are you writing so much about?”
“Nothing. Just… studying.”
“Studying?”
Didn’t seem like it.
But since today was the day of career counseling, I got a little curious.
“So, where are you planning to go after graduation? Gonna graduate early?”
At Gaon, there’s an early graduation system that allows capable aspiring heroes to enter society quickly.
As long as you’ve got the skills, you can sign with a guild or get scouted by an agency regardless of grades.
You can graduate up to a year early.
Of course, while it’s said to be for the best of the best,
In reality, even students with decent grades often try to graduate early to get out quickly.
On the other hand, top students sometimes choose not to graduate early.
Either because they’re aiming for bigger opportunities, or they feel they’re not ready yet.
In Yoon Chae-ha’s case, she was probably headed toward the Mage Tower.
She had both the background and the skills.
They were likely already watching her closely.
So I was genuinely curious about her thoughts.
“Me…?”
She asked back quietly.
“Yeah.”
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then answered softly.
“… Vanquisher.”
“Van—what?”
I blinked in disbelief and asked again.
Yoon Chae-ha blinked and continued,
“Last time… talking with Yucal, you know? It was fun. They had lots of books too… and the atmosphere wasn’t bad…”
“Then what about the Mage Tower?”
At my question, she paused for a bit, scratched her cheek, and murmured,
“There’s… no you at the Mage Tower…
So it’s not fun…”
“…Hah.”
It was a ridiculous reason, but I had no complaints.
If it’s Yoon Chae-ha, getting into Vanquisher wasn’t a pipe dream.
And I could take better care of her there than if she went to the Mage Tower.
Sion will probably like this.
She’ll be happy to finally have a girl her age around.
Even if Yoon Chae-ha’s a little weird, Sion’s a kind kid.
They’d get along eventually.