“Woo Hyo-Yeol, you idiot. You weren’t even that strong,” I said.

“...”

“Flower Ki-Young was really impactful. Don’t you agree, Miss Sora?” I asked.

“...”

“How are their reactions? Pretty good, right?” I asked.

“Of course. I never imagined you’d awakened at that moment. It’s like they’re certain you’re going to join the Family and Fertility Familia… and I heard that quite a few familias had contacted them,” Han Sora answered.

“I knew it, but that’s funny. I don’t remember saying that I was going to join them,” I said.

“You’re not going to join them?” Han Sora asked.

“...”

“...”

“We’ll see,” I answered.

Taking the easiest path was the most advantageous thing to do, as starting off from a stable place would offset the disadvantages.

However, the problem was that there was no need for me to join them.

‘You’re bound to get power naturally.’

My life at the academy would end soon.

Han Sora had decided to follow her own path instead of joining a familia, so I wasn’t worried about getting power anytime soon. It would take a few years, but I would create a familia that would make a name for itself on the continent.

Ha-Yan's presence would be enough for us to accumulate achievements, and with Han Sora’s political knowledge, we would have a place in the heart of the continent.

Even without the Flower and Fertility Familia, we wouldn't have any problems working as a main familia in the mainstream. It would be better for us to have more allied familias for the sake of the future, but…

‘It would be more advantageous.’

Serving the Goddess of Flower and Fertility as my GENIUS was a plus… and I could reach out to the other familias as well.

‘Actually… would it be better to join one for now?’

I couldn’t explain each and every advantage, but they were great. For now, I ought to—

“B-But sir,” Han Sora said, interrupting my train of thought.

“...”

“Sir,” Han Sora called out.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Did you ban the guild master?” Han Sora asked.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“The guild master… keeps asking me… for an unban,” Han Sora informed me.

“I was going to unban him anyway,” I told her.

“Please do it soon. The number of subscribed GENIUSES is decreasing because of him. I didn’t want to tell you this, but he keeps spamming… and he donates only a few hundred coins, so it’s kind of… a-annoying. He's in the way…” Han Sora complained.

‘This girl.’

“Why is he bothering you? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to warn him,” I reassured her.

“Just unban him, please,” Han Sora begged.

“...”

“...”

So he was still causing me trouble, and now, he was bothering Han Sora.

Han Sora's troubled look gave me an idea about what the God of Sunset was doing. If Han Sora’s subscribers had ended up leaving because of him, then I was sure he was causing a big commotion.

‘When is he going to grow up?’

“I’ll do that,” I told her.

“Please do it as fast as possible. It’s really urgent. We’re actually running out of coins because of the quest you gave… The guild master is driving me crazy. At this rate, our plan won’t work out,” Han Sora warned.

“I said I’ll take care of it as fast as possible,” I said.

“Don’t just say it. Do it right now. It’s all because of the God Sunset… We can’t keep him banned forever… Why is he bothering me?

Ugh

…” Han Sora complained.

‘She tends to get upset like this once in a while.’

“Anyway, you have to take care of this today,” she said.

“I said that I would,” I said.

“Th-Then I’ll head out now, sir,” Han Sora stuttered.

“Already?” I asked.

“Our academy is heading back. The mock battle is over, and there’s nothing else left to see… I’m only here because I managed to convince my instructor, but I should’ve joined the other members a long time ago,” Han Sora revealed.

“...”

“It’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. I’ll contact you often—”

“Have you decided on your starting point?” I interrupted her.

“I’m thinking about settling down in Arhendel for now,” Han Sora answered.

It was such a remote area.

“...”

Han Sora seemed to have deduced my thoughts because she hurriedly added, “It's far from the central region, but I don’t think it’s a bad place. That region hasn't been developed as well. There are hidden dungeons and undiscovered monsters.

"I think it has great potential… and it’s also good that it’s not

that

far from the central region. From what I heard, they’re planning on building a road to the Bloody Abyss Canyon. They’ve only had discussions about it, though…”

“Wait, has it been confirmed?” I asked.

“What?”

“Has it been confirmed that they’re going to build a road to the Bloody Abyss Canyon? I’m sure there’s a reason why it’s still underdeveloped. What are you going to do if they don’t build that road? They don’t even have a warp gate over there. Open up the map,” I instructed her.

“O-Okay…”

“What were you thinking when you decided to settle down in Arhendel? I mean… there are dozens of places that are better than that place, so why Arhen? The familias there are—Actually, just hear me out…” I said.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

‘...’

As soon as Han Sora opened her map, I saw her looking dismayed. Her eyes were shaking, and she seemed embarrassed because her face and neck had turned red.

Most importantly, she looked worried.

I was sure she thought hard and long about it, but I was already nagging at her before she could even execute her plan, so of course, she was feeling down.

She was clearly feeling ashamed.

‘No, no. There’s no need to go this far.’

She could finally do whatever she wanted. She was promised full support, and the decision was up to her as well.

She was already upset because she had ended up losing to Woo Hyo-Yeol, so I was sure my advice didn’t sound like advice at all.

‘It’s better to stay quiet and just cheer her on.’

I was familiar with Han Sora’s abilities, so I was sure she wouldn't mess things up, at the very least. If I simply gave her enough support, Arhendel wouldn't be a bad place to start out. Of course, there were much better places, but Han Sora definitely had a plan.

‘No, I still don’t like it, damn it.’

I knew this was out of my hands, but I still felt regretful.

‘Just be a good boss, damn it.’

Since I had decided to leave it to Han Sora, I had no choice but to nod at her.

“Looking at the map…” I said.

“Yes?”

“It doesn’t seem all that bad,” I continued.

“What? R-Really?” Han Sora asked.

“It does have potential… Of course, the road to the Bloody Abyss Canyon is the top priority, but even if that never gets built, the region will still function as a bridge. When you consider the region's possible future advancements, this isn’t a bad choice at all.

"Not bad… Miss Sora,” I complimented her.

“

Ah…

th-thank you, sir. I’ll do my best. I’ll create the best result so that you won’t be disappointed,” Han Sora said.

“You don’t need to do that. You know that I trust you, right? Just act like you normally would. I know you're capable, Miss Sora. I know, and so does the Blue Guild. You won’t achieve good results if you feel too burdened, so just relax,” I told her.

“Okay! I’ll do that,” Han Sora said.

“So you’re leaving?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“See you later,” I said.

“You too. Take care of yourself. I’ll call you whenever something comes up. If you hear news about Miss Jung Ha-Yan—"

“Yeah, I’ll let you know,” I told her.

‘She hasn’t looked back at me once. That makes me sad.’

Left all alone, I sprawled out on my bed and closed my eyes.

Officially, I was still unconscious. As always, there was nothing wrong with my body, but the holy power was too much for my body to handle, leaving me utterly exhausted.

As expected, I heard voices as soon as Han Sora left me alone.

“He’ll be okay, right?”

“The Flower and Fertility Familia has already told us that he's going to be okay. They said it's something similar to exhaustion, so I’m sure he’ll recover soon.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Of course I am. I'm only acting like this because the Flower and Fertility Familia assured us that he's going to be okay.

"If Ki-Young himself told us that he was okay, I would never believe him. I'd think that he’s hiding his true feelings again because he doesn’t want to make us worry. His complexion looked pretty good, too…

“Anyway…"

“What?”

“Is Ki-Young going to join the Flower and Fertility Familia?”

“That’s up to him to decide, but he probably will join them…”

“I thought we could keep working together. I guess I was the only one who thought that way.”

“Why are you trying to get in his way when he has a bright future? It’s better if we end things here. Ki-Young is better suited for the bigger leagues. I don’t know about you, but if he continues to hang out with someone like me, I’m sure the incident that happened during the mock battle will happen again.

"He probably wouldn’t have seen this side of me if I had treated him a little better.”

They entered my room at some point and chatted with each other.

It seemed that he had yet to fix that bad habit because I felt

him

ruffling my hair.

“He’s so naive and kind-hearted. If I were to ask him to leave the academy with me… he’d definitely say yes. This guy is just…"

“...”

“No, he might even make that suggestion first. I’m sure some of our party members haven’t received any offers. He’ll probably want to take responsibility, even if no one is going to tell him to do something like that. He's going to do it out of pure kindness and a sense of responsibility, but we can’t let that happen.”

“You’re right. He really is naive and kind-hearted. I’m worried… that our Ki-Young will get used by someone, and he won’t even know it.”

“I agree… We have to work hard as well so that we can be helpful to him someday. Who was the one that said it?”

“Say what?”

“That this little genius was going to change the Rohen Continent, and he might become a key figure in Rohen. I don’t think it’s unrealistic. You know the current situation in Rohen, right?

"Everyone only cares about looking after themselves. Despite the fact that the demons are right in front of them and the nations are still at war… the players only care about themselves.”

“...”

“I’m not a genius or anything, but I was able to figure out one thing.”

“...”

“This guy will influence the continent in a positive way. He’ll be at the center of the Rohen Continent, and he will become our leader. He’ll become a shelter where we can live just a little more comfortably in this crazy world. I’m sure of it.”

“I want to say that you’re being too emotional… but I really believe that’s going to happen.”

I heard them chuckle and walk away.

“...”

“...”

“What the?”

“...”

“...”

“Why are you here, Woo Hyo-Yeol?”

There was an uninvited guest.