Wednesday, after classes. On the path leading to the dorms, two cadets were currently talking.

“Mm? Is that so?” Cristopher asked. 

“Yeah… She just looked for any way to separate Rachel from the rest of the group. It’s honestly kind of annoying.” Hajin said with a sigh.

“Mm...” Nodding, Cristopher stretched a bit. “Oh well, we did know something was strange here.”

“She probably wants her to be alone, but I don’t understand why. It’s not like she can blatantly attack her here, even with the support of Cube’s Djinns-” Hajin said before he stopped and facepalmed. “Of course, there must be more agents from Wicked that were dispatched to do the attacking.”

“Probably.” Cristopher just shrugged.

“Mm?” Hajin looked towards Cristopher and stared at him for a moment.

“What?” Noticing his stare, Cristopher turned to look at him.

“You’re surprisingly quiet about all of this...” Hajin said after a little bit of pondering.

“Mm… It’s just that everything’s okay, I guess.” He once again shrugged. “It’s not like she will succeed. Not with you there.”

“*Sigh...* That’s true, if it’s just separating us, it will be impossible for Tomer to do it.”

“Yeah.” Cristopher nodded.

“...” Looking up at him, Hajin thought that there was something else going on. “Is there a problem? It seems that you’re not quite yourself right now.”

“Nah, everything’s ok.” Cristopher said, but after a couple of seconds in silence, he sighed. “It’s just… Yoo Yeonha knows about Evandel.”

“What…?” Hajin stopped, and Cristopher stopped too as he turned to look at Hajin.

“Remember that time I went with Ev to Argentina?”

“That time when Hazuki and her friends saw you?”

“Yeah.” Cristopher nodded. “It seems that Yoo Yeonha, and probably others too, know about it.”

“...” Hajin frowned.

“Oh well, she said she stopped the rumors from spreading further, not that I’m honestly scared of it.”

“What if Cube learns of this? What if other unwanted attention is brought over to you? To her.”

“...” Cristopher looked at him for a moment. “I’ll take care of it if the moment ever comes. Worst case scenario, I’ll just leave Cube.”

“!” Hajin widened his eyes.

“It’s not like I planned to be here until graduation, right?” Cristopher smirked, before sighing. “Also… I've been thinking really hard, but...”

He stood there, not finishing what he was going to say.

“What?” Hajin finally asked.

“I thought that maybe we could take Evandel out of Cube...” Cristopher said.

“What...? Where!? Are you crazy?”

“Listen to me dude.” Cristopher said with a sigh. “It would be best if we could just let her grow normally, or at least… You know? Not keep her inside a room all the time. She barely goes out of either one of our rooms whenever I take her out, and that’s not always possible, is it?”

“But still! Where would we take her?” Hajin said with a frown.

“Locket of Hope.” Cristopher finally said. “I can trust Evandel with Fran. I know she will take care of her until our second year comes and I can finally start commuting to Cube.”

“...” Kim Hajin looked at him with his mouth wide open. “You just went insane huh?”

“Look, if she stays in Locket of Hope, she will be able to play with the other kids there...”

“She’s not just another kid, dude!” Kim Hajin said.

“Why not?” Cristopher frowned. “She looks like another kid to me.”

“...” Hajin stared at Cristopher’s eyes for a moment, before sighing. “Look, it’s not a good idea. It’s better to keep her close, look at what happened just because of you taking her out on a trip to Argentina, and now you want to leave her on Locket of Hope?”

“...”

“And that’s not taking into account one simple fact. What are you even going to tell Fran about her? That you just happened to find her under some rock?”

“I’ll tell her the truth.” Cristopher answered as he shrugged while crossing his arms. “That Evandel’s my daughter and that she has some difficult circumstances.”

“And that’s it? The more I hear, the more insane I think you’ve become.”

“Look...” Cristopher sighed. “I just think that she deserves better.”

“...” Hajin stood there without answering.

“We can’t let her grow up isolated. Even if we’re there for her, she needs to interact with others.”

“That’s… That could bring more trouble.”

“For fuck sake, I know that.” Cristopher sighed. “Do you really think I don’t know there are risks attached to it?”

“Then-”

“But even then. I think it’s the best we can do.”

“...”

“Time’s ticking, Hajin.” Cristopher spoke after a little while. “Evandel’s growing, and I fear that what we’re doing might not be the best.”

“We’re protecting her.”

“Yes. We’re protecting her. But while doing so, she’s also growing lonelier.”

“...” Hajin frowned.

“She has us, yes. But honestly, weren’t you a kid too? She’s at an age where she needs to socialize with someone her age, or at least close to it.”

“And her ghosts? You know that she likes to play with her ability. What’s going to happen when others see her power. Those aren’t normal summonings. If someone learns about it, it would be dangerous for her.”

“...” Cristopher clenched his fists and clicked his tongue. “I know that.”

“I know it’s hard. But we have to keep her close. We can’t leave her in Locket of Hope.”

“...” Cristopher thought for a moment before he sighed and nodded. “Ok. I’ll agree with that.”

“It’s really for her own-”

“But.” Cristopher stared at him. “I will still take her with me there.”

“I thought you agreed with me!”

“Yeah, about not leaving her there. But I still think she needs to socialize with other kids.”

“...” Hajin just looked at Cristopher, dumbfounded. “You do know that Olivia goes there from time to time, right? How are you going to explain that to her?”

“It’s not like I owe her an explanation. In any case, I’ll just tell her whatever I tell Fran.” He shrugged.

Hajin facepalmed after he sighed.

“You’re crazy… Look. Just wait, don’t do anything rash. Think about it thoroughly.”

“You know who’s in my team?” Cristopher suddenly asked.

“No? Why does that even matter to what we’re talking about?” Kim Hajin frowned

“One of the girls that were with Hazuki that day.” Cristopher chuckled. “You should have seen her face every time she met my eyes.”

“...”

“She doesn’t only know, but she surely told someone else. I can see it as clear as the day.” Cristopher continued. “I’m not doubting what Yoo Yeonha said. But honestly. Do you really believe that they are going to keep quiet about it? I’ll give them about half a year at the bare minimum, for them to start gossiping about it.”

Cristopher turned around and started to walk again, Hajin following behind.

“Maybe I’m wrong.” Cristopher once again spoke. “Maybe they will keep quiet. Maybe I’m just being paranoid about it.”

“So...” Hajin finally spoke after a moment. “You’re saying that you prefer to disclose the truth before anyone else does?”

“No, not really. It’s not like I’m planning on telling the whole world.” Cristopher looked up at the sky. “It’s just that we’re trying our hardest not to let people discover Ev, at the cost of her own freedom and emotional wellbeing.”

“Let’s be honest here… You’re not trying your hardest...” Hajin said as he scratched the back of his head.

“Not my point, dude.” Cristopher sighed. “What I’m trying to say is, that people will find out about her at one point or another. Maybe we could just give her a slightly more normal life. I’m not saying we should go and scream at everyone. But just let her play with other kids.”

“...”

“Besides.” He shrugged as he continued. “It’s not like the kids at the orphanage will go around speaking about her, right?”

“That’s true...” Hajin nodded. “Still… I’m not sure about it, it could be dangerous. And why are you so worried about it so suddenly?”

“...” Cristopher looked down, thinking for a little while. “We don’t know how much time until she matures and awakens her blood.”

“Why are you so worried about it...?” Hajin frowned.

“Her awakening… It’s not something easy or a happy moment. She will most definitely suffer through it. And we don’t even know how she will react.”

“Is it that violent?”

“Yeah...” Cristopher chuckled. “I still remember my awakening… And you can be sure that it’s one of the worst sensations in the world.”

“...”

“I just want to alleviate that moment, even if it’s just a tiny bit of it. The more I can help her, the better.”

“There should be other ways to help her.”

“I told you before. My third condition when I gave you my blood was not to put her through a stressful situation. And she’s slowly getting stressed. It’s not at a dangerous point, but that feeling of loneliness is growing… I’m afraid of what could happen if it keeps getting worse.”

“What if… What if presenting them to the kids in Locket of Hope makes her go through some stressful situation?”

“Unless it’s something external, there’s no way for her to get hurt or stressed in there.” Cristopher sighed. “Okay, maybe leaving her to live there wasn’t a great idea, but taking her there for her to play shouldn’t be a bad thing. They’re just kids, good kids. And I trust Fran.”

“Remember that they’re not the only ones there.”

“...”

“Look, just think about it. Don’t go doing anything stupid quickly. There’s not that much time until we can leave the dorms and start commuting to Cube.”

“*Sigh...* Fine. I’ll listen to you.”

“Thanks, man. Also… I thought you wanted to stay in the penthouse.”

“...” Cristopher stopped, before sighing. “You know… I feel stupid right now, if I remembered about the possibility to commute to Cube in our second year, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to get the penthouse for my second year...”

“Nothing you can do right now.” Hajin shrugged.

***

Back at the magicians’ dorms, Tomer was currently laying on her bed, thinking about her mission.

She had to separate Rachel from everyone else so other dispatched agents could take care of her.

But contrary to her desire to finish things fast and go back, Tomer found a problem that was stopping her from doing anything.

“Do I have to take care of him?” She muttered.

Kim Hajin, another cadet, was constantly on her side, protecting her from any harm. What’s worse, another one of her teammates supported him.

She clicked her tongue at the thought of Hajin stopping every plan of hers.

Just as she was thinking about it, she received a message.

[Truth Agency]

[We’ve accepted Jamie Jamer-ssi’s request.]

“Huh?” Tomer read the message with a surprised face. “They’re replying now?”

She lost all hope in this agency, as she didn’t receive any answer since the day she put in her request 2 or 3 weeks ago.

She smiled at the message. For her, any chance of her finding that bastard was a motive to be happy.

***

Time passed, and soon August 12th was already upon the occupied cadets.

In an empty park in Cube, the sound of a sword being swung around could be heard at dusk.

“Hey, didn’t I get better?” Chae Nayun asked after finishing a couple of swings.

“Yeah, you stopped closing your eyes.” Kim Suho, who was helping her, commented with a chuckle.

Seven days had passed since Kim Suho started teaching Chae Nayun swordsmanship.

“I think playing that game really helped me.” She commented.

“Game?” He tilted his head.

“Yeah, I met someone who’s even better than you. A super expert who only does close-ranged combat.”

“Ah~ Gladiator of the Century? But you don’t move your body on that game.”

As Kim Suho said, in that game, you only used your brainwaves and iris movement to play, not your body. Some people even chose to play with a keyboard and mouse, slowing down their reaction time.

“Yeah, but an ordinary person would never be able to do what he does. He’s my mentor!” Chae Nayun said with confidence.

“Oh, he must really be an expert then.” Kim Suho said with surprise.

It was rare for her to actually acknowledge someone as her mentor, as it would be admitting that the other person was superior to her.

“Yeah, and he has a great personality too. He apparently matches his win-loss ratio because he doesn’t want to be intensely attached to mere numbers. Isn’t that cool?”

Most players in the game played ranked matches to win, which resulted in a rather boring game, with both players testing the waters first before actually doing something. It became a technical match instead of a deathmatch.

But Extra7 was different. He charged directly at you from the start in an almost recklessly way, not even leaving time for you to measure him and with every movement from him being potentially lethal.

For Chae Nayun, this was perfect. Thanks to her playing against him, she slowly started to get over her fear of close-ranged combat.

“If he’s good, he must be an active Her, right?” Kim Suho asked, a little bit interested.

“No, I asked him, and he-” Chae Nayun stopped for a second, looking behind Kim Suho. “Eh?”

Following her gaze, Kim Suho found an approaching cadet, who stopped at the entrance of the park.

It was a guy wearing flip-flops.

“Oh, look. Kim Hajin’s here.”

“Hm? Oh, you’re right.” Chae Nayun nodded.

This didn’t surprise her, as Kim Suho already mentioned that he was going to meet with him to talk and that he could only teach her until Kim Hajin came.

“Then I’ll be going now.” Chae Nayun said as she picked her sword.

“Yeah, take care.” Kim Suho stood up and started walking towards Kim Hajin.

“Don’t overwork yourself either, okay?” She said as she watched him walk away.

She somehow felt weird, looking at them acting so close. They surely got closer since the start of the new semester.

{Now that I think about it, Kim Suho jokingly said they talked about me. Was it because of me…?}

She thought for a moment before she shook her head and strained her ears as they walked off.

“How’s your condition?” She heard Kim Hajin’s voice.

“Pretty good.” Answered Kim Suho.

“Don’t overwork yourself. Friday’s night is right around the corner.” She heard Hajin said and frowned.

“Of course.”

“Oh, and how’s Chae Nayun?”

Her heart dropped when she heard him, and just as she tried to listen, they were far away.

“...” She stood there, watching their disappearing figures with mixed emotions in her eyes. “The heck…?”

***

Moments later, in Grandma’s Home Flavor, the only rice soup restaurant in Cube that ran 24/7, Kim Hajin and Kim Suho sat there eating a bowl of soup.

Kim Hajin was currently looking at Kim Suho eating from his bowl of soup, lost in thought.

The dungeon that they were going to try was also found in the original novel by Kim Suho.

But there were also a lot of hidden pieces left. And some of them would end up in the antagonists’ hands.

‘Lucifer’s Feather’ and ‘Snaketooth of the Beginning’ were some of these things that would fall on the hands of the antagonists.

{I wouldn’t even dare try to obtain them… But it may not be impossible for Cristopher to do it. Maybe I should tell him to go fetch those things up.}

He finally broke off from his thoughts and looked at Kim Suho.

“You have a grain of rice stuck there.” He said as he took some napkins and took off a grain of rice that was stuck next to Suho’s mouth.

“Ah, thanks.” Kim Suho nodded. “By the way, are you going to do the PowerPoint presentation for your class?”

“Yep.”

“Aren’t you nervous? I would be.” Suho smiled awkwardly.

“I’ll eat a serenity pill before it, don’t worry.” Hajin just shrugged it off.

He was pretty confident in his presentation, not only will he eat a serenity pill modified with SP, but he’ll also use the horn flute he found on Clancy Islet, increasing his eloquence and persuasiveness.

“Anyways.” He changed the topic. “The Dungeon is near Suwon, right?”

“Yeah, we should be careful.” Suho nodded with a serious face.

Suwon was the most dangerous area between the three capital areas: Seoul, Suwon, and Incheon.

Mostly because Suwon became a horrifying mountain zone during the outcall, and Kawak Mountain, which was where the Dungeon was located, was at the border of this danger zone.

Just as Kim Hajin and Kim Suho were currently thinking about the Dungeon they were planning to conquer, the door to the restaurant opened up.

Someone dressed in fishy clothes came in. The person was completely dressed in black, with a hat, a long full-body coat, and even a black mask.

The woman walked towards the counter.

“Um, I just called...” She started to talk to the staff in a low voice before she turned to look at the rest of the place.

“...” Kim Hajin looked at her with a smirk.

Her shoulders trembled violently once her eyes landed on the two patrons sitting there. The only ones inside the entire store. She quickly turned to the staff and stood there frozen.

“Ah yes, wait one moment.” The staff said as she went into the kitchen.

“Oh, who is this?” Kim Suho asked as Kim Hajin looked at Yoo Yeonha.

Along with hamburgers, rice soup was one of her favorite dishes.

“Yo, Yoo Yeonha.”

At Hajin’s call, Yoo Yeonha pretended not to hear him, but instead of running away, she just stood there, ignoring them.

Kim Hajin finally stood up and walked towards her.

“Since you’re here, why don’t you join us?” He asked.

“Y-Yes? Who, who might you be? I don’t know anyone like you...” She said, feigning ignorance.

“Eh? Yoo Yeonha?” Kim Suho asked in surprise. “You’re Yoo Yeonha?”

Her eyes started to tear up under her hat, something only Hajin could see.

“N-No, no. I’m not. I don’t know anyone by that name...” She said as she tried to change her voice’s tone.

“Here you go.”

Just as she tried her hardest, the staff came back with her order. But just as she tried to hand the package to her, Yoo Yeonha quickly snatched it from the staff’s hands and ran off the place.

“A-Ah! Wait! You need to pay for that!” The staff shouted at Yeonha, but it was too late. “...”

Looking as Yeonha was already out and far from the place, the staff slowly turned to look at Kim Hajin.

“I’ll pay for it...” Kim Hajin said as he smiled awkwardly, taking out his card.

“Yes~ Thank you~” The staff smiled at him.

After that moment, Yoo Yeonha couldn’t look straight at Hajin’s eyes for three whole days.