The Support Ate it All

The Hyeseong Group delegation seemed to have headed to the Clan Head Hall first.

They’d been dispatched to escort and teach Seo Ye-in, sure—but once they were visiting the Dang family as guests, it was only proper to meet the хозя of the house first.

That was what we did, too.

After some time passed like that, Ahn Jeongmi’s group appeared at the training grounds, guided by Gyu’s uncle.

As always, they bowed politely at the waist.

“It’s been a while.”

“Butler.”

Seo Ye-in received the greeting with a tone that was indifferent but faintly pleased, and the twins—along with the others—started exchanging introductions.

The Hyeseong Group staff sent here numbered four total, including Ahn Jeongmi.

They all looked oddly familiar, so I rewound my memory a bit.

‘Did I see them during summer break?’

They were the “sacrifices” from when we went to the Hyeseong New City—when Seo Ye-in handed out “gifts” that were actually spicy cookies.

Whether she did it out of pure good intentions is… debatable. But at the very least, the fact she paid them any attention at all meant they were closer than the average staffer.

‘Combat power: one A-rank and three B-ranks.’

The A-rank was, of course, Ahn Jeongmi—someone who could probably fight one of the Twin Heroes of the Dang Family to a near standstill.

The other three were B-rank, but barely hanging on at the bottom end.

If they worked together, I figured they could somehow manage to face down one A-rank.

Excluding the dragons—who couldn’t move carelessly—and the chairman, they were a carefully selected elite.

Which meant Hyeseong Group was taking the current situation seriously.

Ahn Jeongmi also seemed to have something to say about that, because they led Seo Ye-in and me off to the side.

“I asked the Clan Head about the current state of Sichuan.”

Roughly how strong the Blood Cult was, where they were, when they seemed likely to move—things like that.

It was information we had every right to demand before cooperating.

And from the Dang family’s perspective, if they wanted to minimize damage to their people, having even one more capable fighter on hand was advantageous, so they readily answered.

“It’s such a grave matter that they’re keeping their senses sharp on multiple fronts, but they said there hasn’t been any major clash yet.”

A few business sites on the city outskirts had been attacked, and all they’d done was send experts to determine what happened.

It could be the Blood Cult—but it could just as easily be another hostile faction.

“However, since sightings have been continuing in various places, it seems certain they’ve infiltrated Sichuan.”

“Have you confirmed how many elder-level experts they have?”

“Not yet. Based on the circumstances, they said the maximum is three.”

“Not easy.”

Someone might think, Three A-ranks? That’s not even half the Dang family’s strength. After all, the Dang twins made it sound like there were five or six on their side.

They might even be deliberately understating their power to conceal it.

Even so, it wasn’t that simple a math problem.

I said it.

“The Dang family has a lot to protect—and a lot to lose.”

“I feel the same.”

Ahn Jeongmi nodded along.

The Dang family had no choice but to spread their forces out.

They had to protect business sites all over the city, and allied sects they were connected to.

Meanwhile, the Blood Cult could concentrate their strength wherever they wanted, and they could strike a weakly defended place with a surprise attack.

“And they’ll have prepared something, too.”

When you know the opponent uses poison and hidden weapons, who would charge in without a plan?

There was a high chance they were holding a strong trump card.

‘That’s why it’s not easy.’

Even with the Dang family’s depth, they couldn’t be confident of a 100% victory.

Maybe because of that, Ahn Jeongmi looked at Seo Ye-in with a grave expression.

“This is far too dangerous a place for you to remain, miss. Even now, wouldn’t it be better to return?”

“I’m not going.”

Seo Ye-in shook her head side to side.

Ahn Jeongmi seemed to # Nоvеlight # fall into thought for a moment, then spoke.

“Then I will deliver the chairman’s message.”

“…….”

“‘I expected you would stubbornly insist. But that stubbornness may put not only you, but also Hyeseong Group’s talents, in danger—so you must remember that the responsibility afterward also lies with you,’ he said.”

“Yeah……”

Seo Ye-in slowly nodded up and down.

Then Ahn Jeongmi held up three fingers.

“Additionally, you must accept three conditions. If you refuse, I was instructed to drag you back by force if necessary.”

“I’m not going.”

“You must accept them.”

It was the most resolute they’d been this entire time.

Depending on the answer, it really looked like they would forcibly haul her away.

So when Seo Ye-in jerked her chin in displeasure, Ahn Jeongmi pulled a bracelet from their Inventory.

A thin, golden band with a wing-shaped ornament—sleek on the outside, but it felt like it held an overwhelming power.

“The Sky-Healing Dragon made this for you, miss.”

“Godfather?”

Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter.

Like the Nether King Dragon, an S-rank dragon who served as a guardian of the Meteor Dragon.

From the sound of it, Seo Ye-in’s godfather, too.

Ahn Jeongmi nodded.

“Yes. The first condition is that you wear that bracelet and never remove it.”

If an S-rank dragon made it, it obviously wasn’t a normal item.

Even the Immortal Pot was a joint creation between the Nether King Dragon and Seo Ye-in’s father.

I felt my curiosity stir, so I checked the item description along with her—

[???(S)]

▷???

It looked like everything except the rank had been deliberately censored.

Seo Ye-in tilted her head a few times, then asked.

“What does it do?”

“I was told it activates when your life is in critical danger. Other than that, I wasn’t told.”

“…….”

“This is only my guess, but I believe it may be an escape-type effect.”

“……Only me?”

As the resident sloth interpreter, that meant: If I escape alone, what about everyone else?

Ahn Jeongmi was clearly a Level 1 Sloth Language expert as well, because they understood instantly.

They answered in a flat tone.

“If at least you can be safe, that is enough.”

“…….”

Seo Ye-in stared at the bracelet for a while.

Then she looked at Ahn Jeongmi, then at me, then toward the Dang twins and Dang Gyu-young.

She tried to hand the bracelet back with a look that said she didn’t like it, but I took it and fastened it onto her wrist.

“Wear it.”

“I can’t escape alone.”

“That’s the butler’s guess. It could be something else. Like an ultra-first kill move twice.”

“…….”

“The more insurance, the better. Even more so if it’s S-rank.”

“…….”

“It’ll be fine. Just keep it on.”

Seo Ye-in still looked unhappy, but she didn’t take the bracelet off.

Ahn Jeongmi watched the whole scene with eyes full of respect—like they were watching a demonstration by a skilled sloth trainer.

When they noticed our attention, they coughed once and continued.

“The second condition concerns going out. If you leave the Dang family grounds for any reason, we will accompany you at all times.”

By “we,” they meant the four Hyeseong Group staff.

With the Blood Cult potentially appearing anytime, anywhere, that kind of escort was the most basic condition imaginable.

And I wasn’t planning to go out much anyway.

So Seo Ye-in answered without long deliberation.

“Confirmed.”

“Then I will state the third and final condition.”

Ahn Jeongmi opened their Inventory again and rummaged around, pulling something out.

It was a rolled parchment scroll—an item I was used to seeing.

‘A trait scroll.’

Looks like they brought it to shore up Seo Ye-in’s movement skill/trait.

“You will train to the best of your ability. Since you’re insisting on staying despite all these conditions, I hope you won’t waste your time.”

“…….”

“Miss.”

“…….”

“Miss?”

“…….”

Seo Ye-in looked off to the side.

The word best must have snagged her.

I could practically feel her motivation gauge dropping—sssshhh—straight down.

Ahn Jeongmi shot me a look asking for help again, so I nodded, then spoke to Seo Ye-in.

“That’s the last condition. If you don’t do it, you have to go home.”

“I can’t……”

“And haven’t you been complaining for a while? About trudging around slowly.”

“……Blink.”

“Give that up, and at least you should be able to trudge quickly.”

“……Fair point.”

Her motivation gauge, which had bottomed out, started creeping back up.

I kept going.

“Isn’t it a better choice to knock it out fast and rest, instead of dragging it out?”

“……Knock it out.”

“So you have to do your best, right?”

“Yes.”

“Tell the butler, too.”

Seo Ye-in faced Ahn Jeongmi and declared it.

“I’ll do my best.”

“……Very well. I will consider that you have accepted all conditions.”

Ahn Jeongmi nodded with satisfaction.

Then they handed us the rolled parchment.

[Quest Scroll – Sailboat]

Sailboat.

A trait that uses airflow to move farther.

Since Featherstep creates turbulence just by activating, the synergy is especially good.

Meaning—even in an environment with no wind, Seo Ye-in could secure a sufficiently fast movement speed using it alone.

And if wind magic was added on top, the synergy would be even stronger.

“But I have to clear a quest.”

“Yeah.”

In my case, when I used the [Blank Trait Scroll] recently, I learned the trait immediately.

But things like the [Quest Scroll – Marksmanship] that Seo Ye-in used before required completing a quest before the trait was granted.

[Sailboat] was the latter.

So the moment Seo Ye-in was about to use the Quest Scroll, I pulled the “red book” from my Inventory.

The Challenge Book.

“When it’s a quest, you can’t leave this out.”

“…….”

Seo Ye-in looked away like she hadn’t seen it.

So I shoved the book right back in front of her.

“Didn’t you just promise? That you’d do your best?”

“……No.”

“Lying isn’t good. I remember everything.”

Seo Ye-in tried to back away, but I grabbed her shoulder and shut that down.

Then, smiling broadly, I asked again.

“You said you’d do your best, right?”

“……Already my best.”

“No. You can do even better, my strong and steadfast sloth.”

“…….”

Seo Ye-in seemed to realize there was no escape anymore.

With a tone of resignation, she said—

“……I want a massage too.”

“Of course I will.”

She was clearly trying to get at least that out of it, but who cared about a massage?

This was a Challenge.

So when I answered readily, Seo Ye-in used the Quest Scroll with a look of intense, severe, overwhelming reluctance.

FWAAASH!

Bright light scattered.

I smiled even brighter than the light and held out the Challenge Book.

“Should we use our red book too?”

“……I hate the red book.”

With an even more unwilling expression than before, Seo Ye-in used the red book.

Maybe she was regretting why she ever had me pick this thing for her.

[‘Challenge Book’ will be used.]

[Accept/Decline]

Obviously, after coming this far, there was only one choice: Accept.

The quest updated, and Seo Ye-in slowly read through the contents.

Then she sagged and said—

“……I want to go home.”