Chapter 1244. Blue Guild’s Youth Center (13)

I could hear the sound of the nervous kids swallowing hard. If they were born on Earth, they would dismiss the so-called “cursed family” as nonsense. However, these kids were exposed to supernatural abilities as soon as they were born, so the idea of inheriting power from one's family wasn't really strange.

In fact, when summoned individuals from Earth married someone and had children with them, some of their personal abilities could actually be inherited by their children.

For example, if Ha-Yan were to give birth to a child, her child would be blessed by magic as well. If our little pig and Hwang Jung-Yeon got married and had a kid, there was a high chance that their child would inherit Hwang Jung-Yeon's super memory.

Of course, that kind of ability, which was usually developed later in life, had a low chance of being inherited by one's children. However, I figured that if Ji-Hye noona and I were to put our minds to it, perhaps we could adjust the probability of inheritance.

Still, it was a pretty sensitive topic.

‘And the budget will probably be enormous...’

For the sake of the continent's development, it was a highly promising project. The projected returns were exceedingly high as well. Of course, there was no way the kids could understand the complex situation behind it, but since the inheritance of supernatural abilities actually happened, albeit rarely, they actually believed Miss Kim Mi-Young’s story.

"Rina, what in the world is his... cursed power?"

"Didn’t you see it? I’m talking about the ominous and threatening mana. It may be a blessing to some, but to the young master, I’m sure it was more like a curse."

"What the hell is that power anyway..."

"I can’t tell you the details, but... the Jin family has inherited that cursed mana for generations. While the strength of that power varies among those who inherited it, as far as I know, all members of the Jin bloodline possessed it. The commander was no exception. Of course, the young master is no exception as well."

"..."

"As far as I know, the young master inherited a deep, powerful magic... one that could rival the commander’s."

"So... why..."

"He just couldn’t control it."

"..."

What happened afterward was pretty predictable. It was a story that strayed from cliches with a classic and structurally sound development.

It wasn't exactly original, but the selling points were all there.

Jin Young couldn't fully control his powers, and his father, Jin Cheong, disapproved of him. It was a familiar struggle of a son desperately trying to gain recognition. He had been pouring every ounce of effort into his training, but he would always be rewarded with nothing but rejection.

The frustration slowly led Jin Young to a dark path. It was undeniably a textbook example of traditional storytelling.

It was a simple story, but Miss Kim Mi-Young’s storytelling skills were far from ordinary, and it made me focus on it without realizing it.

Whether she was enjoying telling a story to her son, who was well past the age for fairy tales, or was simply caught up in the story herself, it was hard to say.

However, one thing was clear—Miss Kim Mi-Young herself was becoming more and more immersed in her role.

At the same time, the story was charging toward the climax.

"S-So what happened?"

"Jin Young..."

"What’s the issue?"

After sighing loudly, Miss Kim Mi-Young took a sip of water and said, "In the end, Young Master Jin Young reached into that which was forbidden."

"..."

"..."

"No... he didn’t..."

"..."

"..."

"At the time, the young master was very young and in a vulnerable state. It was no coincidence that the demon worshippers approached him. By the time he realized it had all been a trap, he had already walked too far down that path.

"They used him, twisted him for their own gain... and after that—almost as if they had been waiting for it—he lost control.

"That’s..."

"Their plan was to use the young master’s cursed mana as a bomb. If Master Jin Young’s body had exploded, unleashing that mana in all directions, it would have resulted in countless casualties. They intended to use those victims as sacrifices to summon a demon lord."

"N-No way! How could they!"

‘Their reactions are pretty good, at least. Reactions like that make it worth telling stories.’

"Young Master Jin Young’s mother stopped the summoning incident."

"Wh-What?"

"The lady of the house sacrificed herself to stop the young master."

"I-I can’t believe that happened..."

Thanks to Miss Kim Mi-Young’s vivid narration, the scenes gradually came alive in my mind. I remembered Lee Ki-Yeon shedding tears, even though she was shining brightly even in the depths of the abyss.

The sight of her grew clearer and clearer in my mind.

“Live boldly; live with confidence. I will always be by your side. I will always be watching over you, and I will always love you,” she said, her words echoing in my mind.

I could see Jin Cheong crying next to her. He looked really pitiful; it was an utterly disgraceful sight. He looked nothing like the man he was right now.

Honestly, it made no sense for Lee Ki-Yeon, who had already reached her ending in Laves and was nowhere near the right age, to somehow end up over there, but beautiful and heartwarming stories often required some degree of sacrifice.

The plot hole could be fixed by stating that they were sisters who looked too similar to each other, or it could also be said that there were multiple clones of Lee Ki-Yeon somewhere out there. Personally, that would be a refreshing twist.

The idea that countless versions of Lee Ki-Yeon existed across multiple timelines was a bit over the top, but...

‘This is... seriously awesome.’

The story made me want more of it.

Commander Jin hadn't been able to forget his wife, and his longing grew to the extent that he purchased a servant from the black market. This story was so well-crafted that it actually sent shivers down my spine.

‘It was a good story...’

After finishing her story, Miss Kim Mi-Young observed the children’s reactions, but she probably didn’t expect anything to go wrong. It was proven by how her face was already brimming with excitement.

"..."

"...

"That’s so harsh."

"..."

"Even if that were the case... how... could he..."

"..."

"How could he do that? This isn’t only Jin Young’s fault... I’m sure he’s suffering more than anyone... He never acknowledged him... and now he’s making Jin Young take responsibility for his wife’s death? This doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t!"

"Myung-Won..." Aryl muttered.

"No one is born wanting to inherit that cursed power. He was just struggling, that’s all. He was a kid who just wanted to be loved... he just wanted to survive... He's a child who needs his parents’ attention more than anyone else... and you know, that kid knows very well that no one can protect themselves alone!

"The truth is, it’s not Jin Young’s fault. Jin Cheong knows that better than anyone that Jin Young cannot be blamed here!" Kim Myung-Won exclaimed.

"The commander..." Aryl muttered.

"He doesn’t deserve to be a father. I don’t know how things are in the Republic... but he’s the worst as a parent," Kim Myung-Won continued Aryl's statement.

I felt like he was about to say something that would stir my heart, so I turned away from the screen. Of course, I was curious about his reaction. From Kim Myung-Won’s perspective, he had to be feeling

something.

I bet he was thinking about how the kid he thought was all spoiled actually had it way rougher than him. I wondered how he felt about that.

I looked at the screen again.

"I... want to be his friend."

“

Ack!!!

” I screamed and threw the Goddess’ Hand Mirror away.

‘Why is he so passionate?’

He was so passionate that I thought he was going to turn this entire youth center into a summer camp.

"It doesn’t matter what Jin Young says or what kind of person he is... I’m going to be his friend. Also, I’ll make him realize that he’s an amazing guy... and to forget about that father of his."

"..."

"What do you think, Aryl?" Kim Myung-Won asked.

"Honestly, I used to think... I was unhappy. I thought my mom and dad only wanted to control me. I wondered why they couldn’t understand me, and why I was born as the daughter of a noble family. I thought about those things hundreds of times every day... but it seems I’m not even worthy of feeling unhappy,

haha

."

‘She’s so sheltered that she has no idea how the real world works. Being born into a noble family is truly a blessing.’

"Aryl..."

"I-I agree with you. I don’t really like him, but... he’s a fellow classmate... No one deserves to be treated like that, so I’ll also be friends with that bratty young lord. But what’s the plan? How exactly are you going to be friends with him?" Aryl asked.

"Well, Rina can..."

"It won’t be easy. His heart's walls are too high..."

"Is there really no way?"

"I wish I had another idea... I think obtaining the young master's acknowledgement is the only way to gain the young master’s approval."

‘Looks like that’s where the story is headed.’

The direction had already been decided, and it appeared to be quite solid. It was a small relief that no one had come knocking on the door. They were probably too captivated by the story to notice the passage of time.

At the moment, they were probably already working on a plan.

Naturally, I had things to do as well.

I brushed off the fluttering in my chest brought on by shame and swiped on the hand mirror. Since Ha-Yan had already activated Anemone’s Eye throughout the entire facility, everything that had happened today had to have been recorded.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

‘Myung-Won’s story is a story about him becoming more mature, but...’

“I need to take care of the issues in the youth center,” I said.

Whether it was a problem with the inspection team or the educational facility, it had to be handled. After checking on Felis Hanest, I started thinking that the issues were mere background noises, something I could just ignore, but still, it felt necessary to take a proper look around at least once.

I turned on the hand mirror again and started with Felis Hanest.

"

Hyaaaaaaaah!

Griffon of Sunset!"

“...”

With that, a griffon appeared on my screen. It looked like he was doing magic training all by himself.

"Damn it... why isn’t it working? I can’t... I can’t beat him with this!"

I saw him slamming his fist on the ground, expressing his frustration.

"Get a hold of yourself, Hanest."

‘There’s nothing going on with him.’

Strictly speaking, he wasn’t exactly a good guy. His character was a bit rough around the edges, and he was extremely prideful as well. However, he wasn’t really a villain. Perhaps the rumors around him were exaggerated.

I spread my hands wide, and dozens of screens popped up in my view. Spreading my hands further, I saw hundreds of screens. They were replaying everything that happened today in different places. It was a ton of information all at once, but I could handle it.

I wondered if it was really necessary to take it all in, but I figured it was better to power through it once than drag it out.

"We need to protect Mr. Jin Young. I’m sure those Democratic bastards will be making their move."

"A suspension just for that... It just doesn’t make sense. It’s a conspiracy orchestrated by the Democratic Country!"

It was the trio...

"

Whoo...

I have no idea what’s going on... or why, but I want to make it clear that I’m not involved," Cheon Kwan-Wi mumbled while sighing deeply. He had to have realized Anemone’s Eye was floating around because he decided to hide in the mist.

‘He’s quick to catch on.’

The students were obviously not the problem, and the professors didn’t seem to have any major issues either. Some were diligently studying for their next classes, while others left the teaching to the assistants to focus on their own research.

Their actions weren't enough to label them as corrupt.

It was only three days’ worth of data as well.

‘Would it be strange if something

did

happen?’

This time, I shifted my attention to the outsiders visiting the educational facility. Anemone’s Eye was programmed to keep following anyone who had stepped inside the facility, but surprisingly, nothing really happened.

"Let’s have a drink today."

Most of it was just meaningless chatter.

Just then, something caught my attention.

“What... the hell is that?” I mumbled.

It wasn’t anything special, and I didn’t want to think of it as a big deal, but...

“A six-pointed star?” I said.

In one corner of a screen, a man walked past Anenone's Eye for barely a second, but I instantly noticed the six-pointed star hanging around his neck. He wasn’t a staff member of a student, yet he managed to slip past Anemone’s Eye tracking.

I was aware of many rare gifted individuals in the world, but I also knew that unless he was Cheon Kwan-Wi, it was nearly impossible to evade Anemone’s Eye.

Naturally, I became curious about him.

‘Who the hell is he?’

“What’s with this guy...” I mumbled.

He walked past in an instant, and there was something disturbing about it.