Chapter 371.

Chae Nayun sat down, facing Chae Joochul . Chae Joochul smiled gently at his granddaughter .

Chae Nayun clenched the fists that were placed on her lap . Chae Joochul remained still, seemingly waiting for his granddaughter to speak . The atmosphere wasn’t heavy . In fact, it was warm and gentle . Even so, Chae Nayun was more nervous than ever before .

Eventually, Chae Nayun opened her mouth .

“Grandfather, there is something I want to ask . ”

Chae Joochul nodded his head without replying . Chae Nayun’s expression stiffened . Chae Joochul hid his expression too . Chae Nayun looked into Chae Joochul’s eyes, which were as deep and dark as the abyss .

“Do you remember… the Kwang-Oh Incident?”

Chae Joochul didn’t show even the slightest hint of emotions . Chae Nayun suddenly became afraid . However, she didn’t stop .

“Do you remember the countless people you’ve killed, Grandfather…?”

Chae Nayun mustered up her courage to speak . She said everything she knew – the relationship between the Association Chairman and Chae Joochul, the countless people they’ve killed, the colluding between Djinns and the Association, all the schemes used to maintain their authorities, etc… .

The thoughts that had been suppressed by her nervousness erupted one by one .

“Senior Jin Seyeon’s father, Jin Younghwan, must have known . That the Association was colluding with the Djinns . ”

As Chae Nayun continued, the light in Chae Joochul’s eyes became deeper .

However, Chae Nayun didn’t back down .

“Thinking about it, it really was weird . Cube had too many Djinns . Sven, Yoon Hyun… . I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before . Djinns shouldn’t be created so easily from a military academy with the purpose of raising Heroes . ”

Djinns appearing in Cube naturally aroused the interest of the public and reminded them of one thing – that Djinns’ terrorism could only be stopped by Heroes .

Since the Djinns had Pandemonium to base their activities around, the Heroes also had to assemble around a single entity, the ‘Association’… .

As more Djinns went wild, more people came to rely on Heroes . Naturally, the Hero Association came to hold authority greater than any other government body .

“…Answer me, Grandfather . ”

Chae Joochul didn’t say a word in response to Chae Nayun . Meanwhile, Chae Nayun continued to wait, hoping that he would return the reply she wanted .

A not-so-short silence flowed in the air until Chae Nayun’s grandfather finally spoke .

“I remember . I know about it . ”

His voice was still lacking in emotion .

However, Chae Nayun felt a small ray of hope within these words .

“The Association used Djinns to solidify their political power, and I lent them a hand . ”

“Why? Why did you—”

“Because that was the right choice at the time . ”

Chae Joochul’s voice carried a hint of warmth .

“…Right choice? You said it was the right choice?”

Chae Nayun clenched her teeth . She felt like she couldn’t continue this conversation as she felt her stomach becoming nauseous .

Tak—!

Chae Nayun put down all the evidence she brought .

“Here is a list of all the corrupt things the Association has done . It includes evidence of their wrongdoings, including the Kwang-Oh Incident . ”

“… . ”

“They made use of Djinns, deceived Heroes, and killed countless civilians . You’re saying that this is right?”

Chae Joochul stared at Chae Nayun intently before nodding his head .

Chae Nayun flinched .

“G… Grandfather, you… . ”

Chae Nayun pushed her hair back with her trembling hands . The words “You’re trash” came out of her mouth .

Still, Chae Joochu remained silent and only stared at the evidence Chae Nayun brought . He slowly reached forward and picked them up . Then, he murmured softly .

“That might not be the case now . ”

“…Wha?”

Chae Nayun got tongue-tied . She scowled and glared at her grandfather . Chae Joochul continued talking while facing her funny look .

“Nayun, what is right and wrong is determined by the ‘era’ . At the time, no one was trying to enforce righteousness . The Nine Stars, who had the power to keep the Association in check, were stuck in a rut . They were tired from their neverending fights against monsters and were afraid of their Gifts’ side-effects . Although a good balance was maintained when Shin Myungchul was alive, once he died, no one was there to go against the Association . ”

Being emotionless meant he was thoroughly calculating . The past Chae Joochul had based his decision on what was appropriate for the era .

Reaching the top by becoming a part of the system, or resisting it to lead a revolution with a low chance of success .

The scale had obviously favored the former .

Chae Joochul spoke while staring at Chae Nayun .

“But it seems like the era is changing once again . ”

His voice didn’t have a high or low . With a monotonous, apathetic voice, Chae Joochul continued .

“But if the era changes, both you and your father will be badly affected . You might lose things you’ve always had until now . Is that okay?”

Gulp- Chae Nayun swallowed hard . She was expecting this question, but Chae Joochul was much calmer than she anticipated . He didn’t refute her accusations nor did he criticize her for it .

Chae Nayun asked calmly .

“…What about you, Grandfather? Are you okay with it?”

Chae Joochul didn’t smile and nodded his head . He was clearly giving permission .

“…Really?”

Why was convincing him so easy? While Chae Nayun sat in a daze, Chae Joochul took out a small notebook from his desk drawer .

“As you know, Nayun, your grandfather doesn’t have emotions . ”

Declaring calmly, Chae Joochul handed the notebook to his granddaughter .

“It is hard to notice that you are losing your emotions . You lose yourself before you realize what’s happening . ”

Chae Nayun took the notebook .

“So when I finally noticed the change within me, I set a standard so that I would never lose myself . ”

Chae Nayun opened the notebook . It only had one page with only one sentence written on it .

Chae Nayun stared at the sentence in a daze .

—The most important thing to me, Chae Joochul, is family .

Chae Nayun’s thoughts stopped . Her brain lagged, seemingly unable to take in the sentence in front of her .

Soon, her head creaked up and her gaze landed on Chae Joochul who looked just as emotionless as ever .

“This sentence is quite alien to me . I cannot even remember what thoughts I had when I wrote this sentence . ”

But why was it?

“But your grandfather isn’t someone who uses the word ‘family’ often . That, I remember . ”

Why was Chae Nayun feeling warmth from the aged wrinkles on her grandfather’s emotionless face?

**

[March 28th — Essence of the Strait, Chief Officer’s Office]

On the other hand, Yoo Yeonha was sitting at her desk, inspecting the plan once again . There were too many variables to consider . Although Kim Sukho didn’t seem to be suspecting anything according to Hassan-i Sabbah, she couldn’t relax .

From the moment she sent the invitation letters out, she was unable to sleep . She subsisted, using all sorts of fatigue recovering medicine and Tower of Wish Skills . She would rather ruin her body while she was alive than regret things in the grave .

—Chief Officer, there is a rumor that might catch your interest .

At that moment, Essential Pharmacy’s HR department called her . Her sharpened senses turned lax, and Yoo Yeonha picked up the call while feeling exhausted .

“Rumor?”

—Yes, take a look at this .

HR sent over a social media post .

Yoo Yeonha narrowed her eyes .

[crwekdl] [♥]

[There is a pharmacist living in a cabin deep in the Swiss Alps . His miraculous powers can cure any illness . He helped cure my daughter’s incurable disease… . ]

“There is a pharmacist living in a cabin deep in the Swiss Alps… . What is this? Some sort of an urban legend?”

—At first, that’s also what we thought . But there are too many people who claimed to have found this pharmacist . We plan to go there ourselves . This person might be the talent we’ve been searching for .

“Mm… well, I won’t stop you . Go ahead . ”

Yoo Yeonha hung up without thinking about the matter too much . Then, she looked at the calendar once again . The party would be held on April 15th . Since it was March 28th today, there were three weeks left .

What should she do until then?

Taking a deep breath, Yoo Yeonha turned on her smartwatch . Rachel had sent a few pictures of Evandel . For some reason, she was with an eagle .

—What’s with the eagle?

Yoo Yeonha asked, unable to hold back her curiosity .

Rachel replied immediately .

—Ah, this eagle came to see us . We were worried at first because of its size, but it was actually kind and gentle . Evandel tamed it easily . They’re practically best friends now .

—Interesting . What’s its name?

Yoo Yeonha yawned while chatting . Her body slumped over her desk . It seemed not sleeping for a week was too much .

—Evandel named him Spartan .

“…Spartan?”

‘What kind of a name is that?’ Yoo Yeonha smirked and slowly closed her eyes . Her chin was already touching the desk, and drowsiness flooded in like a tsunami .

“Spartan… pft . ”

Mumbling, she entered the world of dreams .

**

[April 2nd — Creator’s Sacred Grace, Vice-Leader’s Office]

“Hmm… . ”

Kim Suho was rubbing his chin while looking at the invitation letter Yoo Yeonha sent . This [VIP Invitation Letter] had been all the rage in the Hero community . There were rumors that those who participated would come to walk on the royal road .

But Kim Suho wasn’t too interested . There were other things to take care of, like civilians who were still suffering from the war . He strongly thought it was too early for them to be celebrating like this .

“I guess I should still go . ”

But both Yoo Yeonha and Yun Seung-Ah strongly advised him to go . Yoo Yeonha even said she would never talk to him again if he didn’t go .

“Ehew… . ” Kim Suho sighed and looked at his computer monitor . There was a long list of missions on his agenda .

[Demons appeared in Gangwon-do…]

[A Colosseum for demons has been built in Pandemonium… . ]

[The New Evils’ subordinate group, ‘Iron Armor Eccentrics,’ appears in Gaesung’s sky… . ]

Even with Baal’s annihilation, Heroes had many tasks to take care of .

However, the missions given to Kim Suho by the Association were too strange . They were important missions without a doubt, but they were also far from the core of the problem . It felt like they were telling him to ignore Pandemonium and the heart of the New Evils .

Kim Suho slicked his hair back and thought about the Association . The international organization that created the occupation known as Heroes and ranked them… what were they thinking about right now?

—Hey, Kim Suho!

At that moment, a loud voice rang out on the screen . Startled, Kim Suho sat up straight .

—Uhahaha, look at you, all surprised .

A big screen popped up from the monitor, uncomfortably close-up with a particular person’s face .

The white-haired, fairy-like shorty on the screen was none other than Aileen .

“…Aileen-ssi?”

—Yo, it’s been a while~

She was just as prim and young as always . Kim Suho said with a grin .

“I thought you were busy playing ‘Leraje’s Game’ . Is it fun?”

—What? Fun? I’m doing work . The Temple of Justice has to grow faster than Leraje’s guild and crush them .

‘Leraje’s Game’ was a virtual reality game that was taking the world by storm . It was so fun that there were people who had given up on real life to spend all their time in that world .

“Really? Well, why did you call me?”

—Ah, it’s nothing much . I was just wondering if you were participating in that party .

It seemed she was talking about Yoo Yeonha’s VIP party .

Kim Suho replied simply .

“Yes, I’m participating . ”

—Uun~ I see .

—Aigo~ Suho-ssi . It’s been a while~

Yi Yongha peeked his head in from the side . He wasn’t the only one . Kim Suho also caught a glimpse of Nicholas . It seemed the members of the Temple of Justice all logged out from Leraje’s Game .

“Are you all coming to the party?”

—Yes, of course .

“Then I’ll see you there . ”

—Yes . Also, you should try out this game too . It’s incredibly fun-

—Ah, move!

Aileen shoved Yi Yongha’s face out of frame .

—Anyways, we were planning on a reunion . Chae Nayun, Old Man Heynckes, Rachel, and everyone else who fought against Baal… . What?! An attack?! Those fuckers! Ah, we’re hanging up! Guys, we’re logging in!

Something must have happened in the game as Aileen hung up angrily .

“…They must be pretty busy, huh . ”

Kim Suho looked at the blackened screen and shrugged . Just as he was about to return to work…

Whish—

The wind blew from the back . A chilling air grazed his neck .

‘Didn’t I have the window closed?’ Kim Suho tilted his head and turned back .

“…What?”

Kim Suho’s eyes widened . An unexpected guest was standing there .

“Oi, Kim Suho . ”

Jin Sahyuk was staring at him, waggling her long, slender finger .

A strange smile emerged on her face, making Kim Suho listless . He hadn’t seen her for a while, so he had thought she went back to Akatrina .

Jin Sahyuk smirked .

“That party sounds pretty fun . Why don’t you bring me too?”

Before Kim Suho could say a word, Jin Sahyuk added .

“Of course, you can’t say no . ”

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