Chapter 35 (1/2)

When Seol opened his eyes in the wee hours of the morning, he fell into a state of panic.

He got to experience a thoroughly wonderful dream, yet ended up being roused from sleep by something slightly weighty pressing down on his chest. By the time he spotted Yun Seo-Rah sleeping soundly within his arms, a short cry of fright escaped from his mouth.

'How can a girl do this when we've done nothing but talk a few times?!' (Seol)

His thoughts bubbled up chaotically, but then, he realised that his own arms were hugging her tightly as well. For some reason… he thought her body felt rather comfortably warm.

”*SFX for Seol grunting as he tries to push Yun Seo-Rah off”

When he tried to forcibly pry her off of him, Yun Seo-Rah simply….

”Mm-hmm…..”

….Dug in even deeper into his arms and buried her head in his chest.

'There, there, little one. Daddy's here, so don't you worry about a thing…. Eh?' (Seol)

Seol belatedly realised that he'd been patting her back and hastily removed his hand.

What am I even doing?! Seol dazedly looked down at the smiling face of Yun Seo-Rah as she rubbed her cheeks against him.

'….Could this be because of her unruly sleeping habits?' (Seol)

Even though he was panicking inwardly, he still managed to lift her up ever so gently and carried her back to the bed. When he placed the duvet on her, he spotted Yi Surl-Ah lying alongside on the bed. The teen girl's limbs were spreadeagled as she enjoyed the sweetness of a deep, deep slumber. Only then did Seol figure out what happened here.

'Ah. So she was forced off the bed all thanks to Yi Surl-Ah's terrible sleeping habits, huh.' (Seol)

Yi Surl-Ah must've kicked around a lot, since her top was bunched up enough to expose most of her tummy. Seol chuckled softly, lowered her s.h.i.+rt, and covered her with the blanket as well. Seeing her giggle as she continued to slumber away, she must've been having a nice dream.

'I guess I should sleep a little further away from them tonight.' (Seol)

Although it was an unintentional mistake, he still did something he shouldn't have. If Yu Seon-Hwah found out what happened, just how saddened would she be?

”…Tsk.” (Seol)

Almost immediately, he realised how wrong he was regarding that matter. Their relations.h.i.+p was already over a long time ago. It was only Seol who couldn't let go and forget about her.

'Is Seon-Hwah doing well, I wonder?' (Seol)

As Seol headed to the adjoining bathroom, his shoulders began slumping forward, feeling slightly depressed.

On the following dawn….

Seol woke up, only to be utterly dismayed by his new discovery.

He thought his chest felt heavy and opened his eyes, and sure enough, he found Yun Seo-Rah hugging him from the top. He couldn't help but wonder how she could've gotten here, since he was sleeping a fair distance away from the bed.

More importantly, he was sleeping on a couch. So, if she was forced off the bed and rolled on the floor to arrive where he was, it was still impossible to climb up and settle down on top of him.

'….Is she sleepwalking?!' (Seol)

Suddenly growing fearful of Yun Seo-Rah, Seol slowly wiggled out from her embrace and got away from her.

'I have to find a safer place to sleep later on today….' (Seol)

And so, Seol made up his mind as such.

When bedtime came later that day, Seol headed off to the bathroom. Since his room was already an excellent place to begin with, even the bathroom was s.p.a.cious and more than comfortable enough to sleep in. Most importantly, there was a lock on the gla.s.s door, so as long as he locked it, no one could come in.

Next morning.

Seol was finally able to start the day as how it should be. Locking the door must've done the trick, since Yun Seo-Rah was not sleeping on top of him this time.

'I should start sleeping here from today onwards.' (Seol)

Well, it didn't really matter if he was in a bathroom. It was so big and clean, anyways. Also, as an added bonus, he could splash some water and wash his face as soon as waking up, too.

While grinning widely, Seol raised his body. He relaxedly stretched his limbs, and his gaze drifted towards the gla.s.s panel of the bathroom door.

”@%#$?!” (Seol)

….And he ended up grandly crying out in fright.

”Wha, what, what the, what the h.e.l.l?!” (Seol)

Because, Yun Seo-Rah was glaring at Seol while sticking to the gla.s.s like a piece of gum. With her eyes completely bloodshot, to boot.

Two weeks flew by as if it was nothing after the training commenced.

”We'll take a ten-minute break.” (Agnes)

As soon as Agnes gave out her permission, several noises of people falling on their b.u.t.ts resounded out within the third floor gym. While looking at Yi Surl-Ah ma.s.saging her aching thighs, the maid-c.u.m-instructor fell into a deep thought, stroking her chin in the process.

'She's better than I expected.' (Agnes)

At first, Agnes thought of this a.s.signment as a nice little diversion to while away some free time, but gradually, her opinion changed.

Yi Surl-Ah's nature suited the role of an Archer perfectly. Maybe because she used to compete in track & field events, she was fleet of foot and possessed a really high level of concentration.

More importantly, Yi Surl-Ah was quick-witted enough to pick up on things as soon as they were taught to her. The Archer cla.s.s required one to be proficient in many different skill sets; in that regard, the compatibility between her and this Job seemed to be near perfect.

'I do not know who invited her, but we definitely found a gem.' (Agnes)

If she was nurtured well, then she could potentially break past the upper levels in the future.

Ending her evaluation there, Agnes then s.h.i.+fted her gaze over to Yun Seo-Rah, currently bent over and panting out heavily to the side.

'As for her…. I can't be sure.' (Agnes)

Agnes was uncertain. Not in a bad way, but definitely in a very good way. She could figure out how Yi Surl-Ah might turn out in the future, but it was almost impossible to even imagine what Yun Seo-Rah might achieve.

In other words, the depth of Yun Seo-Rah's dormant potential was unfathomably deep. Agnes dared not to pa.s.s a haphazard evaluation.

'Her physical fitness level increased surprisingly quickly. But her talents are even better.' (Agnes)

Perhaps, she could even reach the highest level out there, Agnes's thoughts came to a halt there, and a wry smile formed on her lips. She was getting ahead of herself; it was already quite difficult to reach the so-called upper levels, so the highest levels were not something most people could reach.

”Instructor?” (Yi Sung-Jin)

The voice of a young boy pulled Agnes out from her thoughts. She s.h.i.+fted her gaze over to him. Yi Sung-Jin was looking up at her while his entire body was soaked in sweat.

”Yes? What is it?” (Agnes)

”Uhm…. Just what is 'Teddy Bear'?” (Yi Sung-Jin)

Agnes sucked in a deep breath, somehow calming herself down in the nick of time.

”I wonder. I'm not quite sure what you're talking about.” (Agnes)

”Really? But, that's so strange. Seol hyung definitely said….” (Yi Sung-Jin)

When Yi Sung-Jin muttered to himself, Agnes's eyes became super-sharp.

”What is strange?” (Agnes)

”Oh, that. Seol hyung told me that if I say 'Teddy Bear' to you, you'll find it really funny.” (Agnes)

Suddenly, the nearly inaudible sound of gnas.h.i.+ng teeth leaked out from Agnes's mouth. Even Yun Seo-Rah and Yi Surl-Ah were looking on at the maid with curious expressions etched on their faces. They too heard something similar from Seol before.

”Uh? But, I heard it's supposed to be 'lilac', instead?” (Yi Surl-Ah)

”I heard it was 'Little Bear'….?” (Yun Seo-Rah)

Even though the person in question was present, they nevertheless unwittingly went through with the public execution.

”….There is no need to waste your time on such nonsensical rubbish.” (Agnes)

Agnes replied without batting an eyelid because, in her mind, she had already murdered Seol several dozen times over.

”By an chance, do you know where he is right now?” (Agnes)

”You mean, hyung? He should be in the middle of clearing missions with his team.” (Yi Sung-Jin)

”I see. Well, I'll have a little talk with him later on. In the meantime, let us continue with your training.” (Agnes)

Agnes spoke while cracking her knuckles. Yi Sung-Jin tilted his head in confusion while getting back up.

And, in the evening.

Three of them….

”I!!” (Agnes)

POW!!

”Told you to!!” (Agnes)

”Ouch?! M, Miss Agnes?! W, wait a minute!” (Seol)

”Do it!! In moderation!! (Agnes)

”Euhurk?! M, Miss Agnes!!” (Seol)

”Because of you!! The Alias!! In my Status Window!!” (Agnes)

”Ouch!! Help!!” (Seol)

”Have you!! Any idea!! How it's!! Changed?!” (Agnes)

”S, stop!! I'm sorry!!” (Seol)

….Got to spectate Seol getting grandly beaten up by Agnes after she came to visit them late that night.

Around the time when the trio almost finished with the fitness training as well as familiarising themselves to their individual Job-related abilities and Magical Power applications….

Agnes suggested that they should train in the mornings and perform missions in the afternoons from here onwards. From her perspective, they weren't fully ready, although she did her best to train them as much as possible during the shortest time she was given.

However, Seol diligently supported them with things like Competence and other supplements, so they were ready in that regard. Just as important, they also had to clear missions and get used to how they operated quickly as well. Overall, Agnes wasn't completely happy about a couple of things, but then again, she knew very well that experiencing actual combat formed an important part of training.

Seol bought the trio proper equipment on that day. He was planning to not spend more than 10,000 points on each of them, but unfortunately, he ended up running into Aragaki Yuzuha again at the store. And like a scary vampire, she sucked away the upper limit of 30,000 points in the blink of an eye. If he thought about the 30% discount, then he just ended up buying 43,000 points worth of stuff from her.

Yi Surl-Ah was rejoicing like a little kid that just got her first proper party dress. Yun Seo-Rah found the armours worn in the world of Paradise somewhat strange and unfamiliar, so she kept looking at herself. She even lightly swung her longsword around, and Seol couldn't help but praise how proficient she looked doing that.

Even though the amount of points that could have bought him an Elixir disappeared just like that, Seol didn't regret it. No, he was feeling rather liberated, instead.

'I guess this is enough of me supporting them.' (Seol)

Agnes made sure the trio received enough training, so now, all he had to do was to be there when they were attempting to clear the missions.

However, since his aim wasn't to earn points for clearing the missions but to simply help them, he was planning to do 'Normal' difficulty missions maybe three, four times together with them. He believed that should be plenty enough for the trio to get used to the combat situations. He was also pretty sure of the talent scout Kim Hahn-Nah mentioned before not being too happy about Seol following around his find and spoon-feeding Yun Seo-Rah and Co.

'Yeah, it's about time they start learning how to take care of business by themselves…. Mm?' (Seol)

Seol was about to suggest to the trio that they should go check out some missions, but then, felt that something was off.

When he took a look around, he found a certain Oriental woman staring at the trio from a fair distance away. However, her gaze was not friendly at all.

'Who is she? And why is she….?' (Seol)

Although Seol couldn't remember her face, she also seemed kind of familiar. No, he thought he could just about barely recall who she could be.

Seol stared at her for a long, long time, before inexplicably remembering what Han the Guide said many moons ago.

”….It was easy to calculate Miss Oh Min-Young's points….”

'Ah.'

Seol finally remembered who she was. That woman pa.s.sed the Tutorial after procuring enough coins right at the end of the treasure hunt.

Not only was she still alive, it seemed that she had successfully cleared quite a few missions as well, judging from all that gear on her.

But, Seol couldn't really understand why she was glaring at the blameless trio like that.

Not too long after, the woman turned around to leave. Seol activated Nine Eyes and couldn't help but frown slightly. Oh Min-Young was glowing in the yellow hue.