Now that he has the cooperation of Mireu’s guildmaster, Kim Tae Yong, the investigation should go smoothly. Jiho asked with a much lighter heart.
“Have you heard of the actress Lee Ha Yeon?”
“I have.”
“You have?”
How? Kim Tae Yong looks like someone who doesn’t care about celebrities at all. Tae Yong nodded confidently, as though proud of the fact that he’s heard of her.
“I know of her because Park Hui Seung-nim sometimes talks of her.”
“Park Hui Seung?”
“He is also an actor, but… as he is an unofficial guildmember of Mireu, I occasionally hear stories from him.”
“…You have people planted everywhere, I see.”
They planted Yang Hojin in No Name Guild, and now they’ve even planted someone in the entertainment industry, which has no direct connection to awakened ones. Feeling a little guilty, Tae Yong awkwardly explained.
“He was already a celebrity before we established Mireu Guild. He didn’t join the guild, but in exchange, he provides a bit of assistance here-and-there.”
“Aha… I see.”
Instead of arguing that that means they did plant him, Jiho searched Park Hui Seung’s name. He looks familiar, even to Jiho who isn’t interested in celebrities. Jiho might’ve seen him in a couple of movies….
Since his debut work is from 20 years ago, it looks like he really was always a celebrity like Tae Yong said, and he just helps Mireu out sometimes. No wonder Mireu Guild is so strong.
“…But Jiho-nim, Park Hui Seung-nim has never told me that Lee Ha Yeon-nim is an awakened one.”
“She’s hiding it, so it is possible that he does not know.”
“However, Park Hui Seung-nim is sensitive to people’s qi… in other words, mana. He uses that ability to help us, however, despite meeting Lee Ha Yeon-ssi multiple times, he has never sensed anything from her.”
“That means….”
“Park Hui Seung-nim is around A-rank. If Lee Ha Yeon-nim is an awakened one, that means she must be at least an S-rank.”
Jiho gulped. Well, it makes sense the guildmaster of a hidden guild is at that level. A surge of certainty that something’s there as well as nervousness hit him.
“So that’s why you called me?”
Yang Hojin, who was dragged here out of the blue, frowned. Jiho laughed awkwardly. He was wearing the plainest clothes and covered his face with a mask and glasses as well as a cap pulled down low.
“Yes. To do some scouting.”
With Jiho’s [Understand] skill, he can obtain a vague idea of the secrets Lee Ha Yeon is hiding through her system window.
Up until now, Lee Ha Yeon has been avoiding Jiho by refusing to meet him, but today, the plan is to sneak into Lee Ha Yeon’s filming set using Park Hui Seung’s connections.
However, if Lee Ha Yeon is really an S-rank and hostile towards them.
Because Jiho and Park Hui Seung are both support hunters, it’s difficult to defend themselves. And so, they needed to recruit a suitable combatant. The easiest candidate was the one and only Hojin, whom both Hui Seung and Jiho know.
“I’ll help if that’s what you want but… what about our guildmaster?”
“He stands out too much.”
Seeing Kim Tae Yong, who’d stand out even 100 meters away with his jade-green dopo and long hair tied back in a ponytail, Yang Hojin sighed. Even if they were to change him out of those clothes, Tae Yong’s movements alone are eye-catching enough that he isn’t suitable for infiltration.
In the end, Jiho disguised himself as a staff member and Hojin as Park Hui Seung’s new manager, and they entered the set.
“Don’t be nervous. There’s too many staff members, so as long as you don’t show your face, you won’t get caught.”
Hui Seung comforted quite cheerfully. But Jiho still looked around nervously.
And right when there seemed to be some noise from the entrance….
“Ah, Lee Ha Yeon.”
Lee Ha Yeon appeared.
She has a unique vibe in real life compared to in photos. Despite her slow movements and slightly vacant gaze, strangely, she captivates people’s attention.
Park Hui Seung approached Lee Ha Yeon like they originally planned. He was to talk to her and buy Jiho some time to check her system.
Since system windows can’t be too long, all Jiho has to do is quickly scan through it and retreat. Done.
Jiho soon checked Lee Ha Yeon’s system window.
Status
| Name | Rue Oquilas |
| Occupation | Actress, Guildmaster of Ipeulis |
| Rank | S |
| Title | The King’s Imperial Guard The Final Judge Grim Reaper Naive Succubus |
| HP | 771 |
| MP | 1302 |
| STR | 1024 |
| AGI | 952 |
| Skill | Elite Martial Arts (SS) End of the Night (S) Absolute Submission (S) Pledge of Loyalty (S) Dream Hopping (A) Taming (A) Remarkable Clones (A) Garden of Pleasure (B) |
Jiho unconsciously sucked in a breath.
‘Odd.’
Something’s obviously odd. From her name to her skills. And that name “Rue Oquilas”… what country is that name from?
Plus, although her overall stats are lower than Yang Hojin’s, a lot of her skills, including [Elite Martial Arts], are combat-specific. Of course Jiho can use [Blessing of the Star] on Hojin, but she’s so strong that it’s difficult to predict who’d win if they went up against each other with just their stats.
Most importantly, all of the descriptions of her skills mention a “king.” It looks like there’s someone commanding Lee Ha Yeon from above….
Anyways, this is enough. Just as Jiho was about to retreat before he could get caught….
Lee Ha Yeon’s eyes met his.
“…”
Jiho subconsciously held his breath. When Jiho saw Lee Ha Yeon stare at him and tilt her head, his face heated up for some reason. He was about to walk up to her when.
“Shin Jiho.”
Hojin grabbed Jiho’s arm. Startled, Jiho snapped awake and took a few steps back in alarm. Seeing this, the corners of Lee Ha Yeon’s lips lifted.
Lee Ha Yeon ended her conversation with Hui Seung and gestured outside with her eyes. Then, she respectfully greeted everyone else and left through the side door.
Hojin sighed from the side.
“Did she seriously tempt you with one look?”
“No, that….”
“How easy to tempt. You weren’t charmed by me, is her skill that good?”
“…”
No, it’s just that Jiho felt Lee Ha Yeon had a strong resemblance to Joo Yiwon at that moment. Since she runs an information guild, she must’ve played this trick on purpose knowing that Jiho thinks of Yiwon as… family.
As this wasn’t something he could explain, Jiho walked to the door that Lee Ha Yeon left from. Hojin narrowed his eyes and looked at Jiho before taking the lead.
As soon as they stepped out of the door, they passed through a barrier made of unfamiliar mana. It looks like it’s meant to prevent sound from leaking outside.
Lee Ha Yeon was leaning crookedly in a stairway. She straightened up and bowed to Jiho.
“Hello, Shin Jiho-ssi. It is nice to meet you.”
“Yes, nice to….”
“I will say this upfront. I do not need a sponsor.”
“I, I do not have that intention either!”
“But you were so persistent in contacting me, saying that we should meet once. It is very difficult for me when you pressure me like that.”
“You did?”
“No…!”
Jiho was feeling truly wronged before he remembered that Lee Ha Yeon had set up a barrier and waited for them. It turns out he was triggered by her words and teased for no reason.
Seeing Jiho’s red cheeks, Lee Ha Yeon slowly approached him. She held onto the stair’s handrail and whispered secretively.
“Then, why did you come find me?”
“That….”
“Is it because of my relationship with Joo Yiwon-ssi?”
Jiho stiffened at this name he didn’t expect to hear. If he’s being honest… that is what he’s most curious about. He didn’t think Lee Ha Yeon would accurately grab that point like she knew everything.
“Do you like Joo Yiwon-ssi?”
“…”
“But there’s no relationship between us.”
Isn’t it strange enough that she’s using “us” to link the two? Jiho forgot what he wanted to say before that and stared at Lee Ha Yeon. Right when he was thinking that Lee Ha Yeon’s dark brown pupils looked strangely red….
“Stop bullying a naive child.”
Thanks to Hojin stepping in, Jiho came back to his senses. Hojin hid Jiho behind his back so he could take a breath. Displeased, Yang Hojin stretched his hand out to grab Lee Ha Yeon by the neck, but she was faster.
Hojin looked at his empty hand before chuckling.
“You, you’re not human, right?”
It was a statement, not a question. But Lee Ha Yeon tilted her head to the side as though confused.
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
“I don’t know where you’re from, but I’m warning you, don’t make too much noise in Korea.”
Hojin coldly warned before pulling Jiho out of the stairway. Until the door closed, Jiho never lost eye contact with Lee Ha Yeon, who stared at him with an unreadable smile.
“A succubus.”
Hojin concluded as soon as Jiho repeated the contents of her system window. Tae Yong nodded as well.
“However, she is a bit strange for a succubus.”
“Hm, that’s true.”
“…What is strange?”
“Succubi are typically not that strong. Plus, if it is as Shin Jiho-nim said, then she is indeed very strange.”
“Really?”
“Naturally. Martial arts is a physical skill. But since succubi invade dreams, they’re a lot more familiar with mind control. This is like if a bunny learned to hunt a bear. It’s an unusual circumstance.”
“That is correct.”
“And a king?”
Hojin scowled in disapproval.
“If she’s served a king, she must be centuries old. That so-called king is most likely dead. There’s still some hard-heads among those who’ve lived a while that insist on kings and subjects in this day and age.”
Hojin sneered. Tae Yong looked at Hojin and blinked innocently.
“Is Hojin-nim not older?”
“I’m not ol… der, I’ve just lived more years.”
“But maybe that person needs a king? In order to exercise her full potential.”
Of the skills Jiho saw, [Elite Martial Arts] might work alone, but….
Information
| Absolute Submission (Lv. 10) | |
| Rank | S |
| Description | Absolute submission to the king. All stats increase when you move for the king. |
Information
| Pledge of Loyalty (Lv. 7) | |
| Rank | S |
| Description | Absolute loyalty to the king. Those in the group you join are easily influenced by the king. |
Two of Lee Ha Yeon’s S-rank skills are only possible when there’s a “king.” While the king isn’t named, if the skills work as long as Lee Ha Yeon simply serves someone as a king, then she’ll probably willingly choose to pledge her loyalty to someone.
“Then we’ll look into this, you go and rest. You must be exhausted, and you just came out of a dungeon too.”
“Hm, alright.”
Jiho’s investigated all he can anyways. The rest can be done by Mireu, who has more connections spread out.
“Are you going home?”
“I am planning to go to my parents’ house. But why?”
Hearing Jiho’s voice on edge, Hojin sighed.
“You already know what I’m going to say so why bother asking? Don’t go home, be careful of Joo Yiwon.”
“You keep saying that with no evidence….”
“Shin Jiho-nim.”
The heaviness of Tae Yong’s voice when he called Jiho felt ominous. Jiho didn’t really want to hear his next words, but Tae Yong stared at Jiho as he continued.
“Although I suspected Delta and Heaven, my top suspect is someone else.”
“…”
“All of the missing guildmembers were investigating Joo Yiwon.”
LaZ Bird Corner
Yang Hojin is so funny to me. He’s like that unmarried uncle babysitting his two nephews.
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