Of course, the person most surprised at Hailey’s words was Hugo. The second-most was his son, Chun Sungjae.

“Jiwoo?”

“Mom? What about Mom?”

Why would Hailey bring up her name now?

Hailey replied with furrowed brows, “Hugo, your wife will most likely be the one in the most danger.”

Hugo immediately glared at her. “Jiwoo? Why?”

He raised his guard. It was to be expected. Although Hailey was his benefactor and had feelings toward Lee Gun, there was no guarantee her Zodiac had goodwill toward them.

Even if they were all on the side of humanity, they were still enemies. The Zodiac Saints tried to steal from each other’s temples and grab each other’s disciples. They could become enemies whenever it was convenient for them.

Letting out a savage magical energy, the Archer Saint said, “If you don’t give me a proper answer, I’ll—”

Suddenly, Lee Gun grabbed Hugo, who was on edge.

Flash!

“!”

Accompanying a black light, the space they were standing in changed.

[The Scorpio Saint has released her holy ground.]

[You are trapped within the Scorpio Saint’s territory.]

[Feature of the Scorpio Saint Holy Ground: Abnormal Status (Darkness)]

The walls and the floor around them turned into black light. Faced with this power, Hugo and Kevin immediately pulled out their weapons. On their guards, the disciples also activated their skills.

“Hailey!”

However, Hailey had tossed her weapon away. It meant she had no plans to attack them. “I’m sorry if this is unpleasant! I was already using a barrier spell, but too many ears were listening in.”

“...!”

There was no downside to using another layer of protection. However, it was also the reason for their surprise.

There already was a barrier around them. What was she planning on talking about that required her to unleash her holy ground again?

Hailey continued, “Hugo, your wife is a Secretary.”

“...!?”

The words left everyone flabbergasted.

“What?”

“Madam?!”

Kevin also looked taken aback.

In the past, the Constructs of most temples had participated in the hunt for Secretaries. Of course, Kevin knew about their existence.

Therefore, Kevin couldn’t understand it. ‘Anyone with the talent of a Secretary was killed.’

At the time, only a hundred people had awakened as Secretaries. Moreover, the talent for becoming a Secretary was passed on through blood ties. Therefore, the Constructs had killed the children still in utero even if that was cruel. Afterward, there had been no stories of a Secretary appearing.

‘The only exception is the one Lee Gun claimed.’

Everyone now understood why Hailey was being so cautious.

‘She’ll become a target if this leaks out.’

The ability a Secretary possessed was considered a double-edged sword. Despite them being sprouts able to threaten the Zodiacs, they were sought if one wanted to boost one’s temple.

The Secretary Lee Gun had caught finally understood something. ‘That’s the reason my abilities didn’t work on her.’

He had tried to take Chun Jiwoo hostage, but his abilities hadn’t worked against her. Secretaries possessed tolerance toward each other’s abilities. That was why his manipulatory abilities hadn’t worked on her.

In contrast to the shock everyone felt, Lee Gun laughed. “The fact that you guys didn’t know is odd.”

His words surprised everyone.

Hailey jumped behind the wall due to the surprise. ‘I met eyes with Lee Gun!’

In fact, their eyes met for three seconds! Hailey took deep breaths. Her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like she was dying.

The surprised Hugo looked at Lee Gun. “You knew about it? How?”

Lee Gun laughed. Of course, he had fully realized Chun Jiwoo’s identity only after he had met the Secretary. “The auras of their powers are the same. Only idiots wouldn’t know about it.”

The Zodiac Saints were at a loss for words when this damn genius suddenly referred to them as idiots.

Lee Gun asked, “That doesn’t matter. Why didn’t you awaken her? If you had, she would’ve developed her skills. You would have known immediately.”

The question left Hugo speechless. “That is...”

“Did you not awaken her because you were too lazy?”

Dumbfounded, Hugo clicked his tongue. “It isn’t as if I did not try to awaken her. I just failed at it.”

Lee Gun patted Hugo’s back as if he realized something. “She’s my fan, so her faith in you must have bottomed out. I’m sorry for being tactless and asking that question!”

“That’s not it!!”

Lee Gun was half-right, but Hugo huffed in anger as he furrowed his brow.

Around twenty years ago, Hugo had tried to bring in his wife as a disciple of the Sagittarius temple. Unfortunately, she wasn’t compatible with the Sagittarius.

‘In the first place, her body couldn’t withstand the powerful energy of the twelve Zodiacs.’

This happened sometimes when the Zodiac’s divine power was too strong. Some odd people were incapable of withstanding a Zodiac’s holy power.

When the energy of a Zodiac had reached Chun Jiwoo, her body had turned feverish. Therefore, Hugo had done his best to minimize his power whenever he was with his wife.

At the end of the day, a disciple contract had to be written after one received magical energy from the Zodiac. This had ruled out the baptism and awakening for Chun Jiwoo.

Of course, all the problems could be overcome if her faith was high enough. However...

‘Jiwoo’s faith was very low.’

It was low, like their son. Anyway, that was how the matter was.

“I couldn’t make Jiwoo a disciple even if I wanted to!”

If she was a Secretary, her having such an adverse reaction to the Zodiacs’ powers made sense.

Since the Secretaries had suffered under the twelve Zodiacs, she might have reacted on instinct.

Hailey could barely calm her breathing. Trying her best not to look into Lee Gun’s eyes, she said, “Hugo, you know how weak an unawakened civilian is, right? The Libra Saint especially wants a Secretary badly. If you don’t quickly take measures to...”

Hugo smirked. “It’s fine. My disciples are protecting her—”

Suddenly...

Kwahng!!!

“?!”

The sound of an incredible explosion rang out. Everyone looked out the window in surprise.

Hugo’s face crumpled. The smoke was coming from a hospital room on the floor below them. That was the room occupied by his wife.

The explosion had happened due to a spell from a high-rank disciple. Therefore, the color drained away from Hugo’s face. Only Chun Jiwoo would have been in that room.

In a blast of that magnitude, not even the bones of a normal human would be left behind.

“Jiwoo!” Hugo’s heart sank. He tried to jump out the window. “Jiwoo!”

“Yes! Did you call for me?”

“?!”

Hugo almost tumbled out. A beautiful woman had stuck out her head through a window. She was in a room on the floor above them. This woman was Chun Jiwoo.

Chun Jiwoo looked at her husband as if to ask why he was calling for her. “Why are you so surprised?”

The dumbfounded Archer Saint asked, “Why are you there?”

“Ah! Lee Gun-nim called me here, saying he wanted to speak to me.”

Hugo looked at Lee Gun with a flabbergasted expression. “What about the person on the lower floor? My guys should have been on guard...”

“They are protecting a copy.” Lee Gun picked up the stretchy Slime. “I applied the Crab bastard’s Cloning skill.”

“...!”

It seemed Lee Gun had a feeling that Hugo’s wife would be targeted. Awakened beings had already converged toward the hospital thanks to Sungjae.

“We should start to move. She isn’t an awakened being, so she’ll be a good hostage.”

For some reason, Kevin agreed with Hugo. “Since she is your wife, I’ll let you borrow the Virgo Saint’s holy ground. Our Constructs are great at protecting people.”

Hugo raved with anger. “Constructs? Do you want her dead that badly? There’s no way the Constructs will stand back and do nothing when they see a Secretary!”

“Then what do you plan to do? You said you couldn’t awaken her!”

“We’ll just awaken her,” Lee Gun abruptly said.

Both Hugo and Kevin were surprised.

“Awaken her... Hey! No way!”

Lee Gun grinned. It seemed he had been aiming for this from the beginning. “Why? I got a lot of spots for disciples. I’m also not going to ignore someone who has a 100% faith. It’s rare... What I meant to say is that I’ll awaken her for you.”

“Have you lost your mind? Why would my Jiwoo become your disciple—”

“Oh my god! Lee Gun-nim’s disciple! Are you sure about it?”

“Daaaaaarling!!!!”

Hugo fumed when he saw Jiwoo act happy like a girl. He didn’t need Lee Gun’s help. “It’s fine! I’ll just protect Jiwoo in the Archer’s holy ground!!”

Lee Gun scoffed. “Huh! Archer’s holy ground? It’s the size of a living room.”

“What did you just say?”

“What? You said the Virgo Saint broke through it ten years ago. Your holy ground is basically public property at this point.”

“Hey!!”

“You should choose well. I’ll guarantee it. If your wife awakens, she would at least be a general rank!”

“Hey!”

“Of course, I can be bargained to make her a normal disciple.”

Hugo flinched. “What? Normal disciple?”

Lee Gun laughed as he cut to chase. “What? I heard disciples are divided into normal disciples and the clergy disciples.”

“!”

Yes, Normal disciples and clergy disciples! An easy comparison was the clerics and the normal disciples.

Clergy disciples were like Chun Sungjae, Chun Yooha, and Goat. They were like the awakened beings that he had seen until now, affiliated with temples as an occupation. They were physically bound to a Zodiac.

However, normal disciples were different. They were like the normal churchgoers who went to church every weekend.

Therefore, Hugo accepted the idea. The Sagittarius temple also had many normal disciples.

“I guess it’s fine if she becomes a normal disciple...”

For a normal disciple, switching temples was easy, and the Zodiacs didn’t directly meddle with them.

“A normal disciple... That means the possibility of her developing battle skills is almost nonexistent...”

This made Lee Gun grin. “It doesn’t matter. She can learn her abilities from my Secretary.”

“?!”

The one to be surprised this time was the Secretary, who had suddenly been put in the spotlight.

As if kidnapping him wasn’t enough, Lee Gun wanted him to train someone.

Anyway, Lee Gun’s eyes flashed. His true goal was coming out right now. “Miss Jiwoo will be part of the Serpent Bearer’s temple, but I’ll allow her to work as the Secretary of the Sagittarius temple. She’ll act as an envoy of some sort.”

“!”

This surprised both Hugo and Kevin. They had no idea why Lee Gun was suggesting this offer.

“Are you joking right now? What kind of Zodiac would agree to that?”

Zodiacs would never let a disciple affiliated with a different temple work for them.

“In fact, you will be helping grow a different temple.”

“It’s fine. I’ll allow it.”

“Your permission is useless!!”

Chun Sungjae clicked his tongue. “Ah! I said Uncle is a Zodiac. It’ll be fine. It’ll work.”

“Son! I want you to shut up!!”

“Oh my! Does that mean I can write stories about Lee Gun in the Saggitarius’s bible?”

“Darling!!!”

“I can write Hugo received help from Lee Gun-nim, and he was so happy that he wanted Lee Gun-nim to become his big brother...”

Hugo was shocked to hear the words coming from his smiling wife. “You cannot do that! If you do that, my temple will become subordinate to his temple!”

“Oh my! That doesn’t sound bad. Does that mean Lee Gun-nim will protect me?”

“Daaaaaarling!”

Well, it didn’t matter in the end. Hugo glared at his friend as if he would grab him by the neck. “Be honest with me. You planned on handing over Jiwoo as a Secretary with this in mind!”

Lee Gun let out a shrew laugh. ‘I’ll be able to overpower the Sagittarius by doing this.’

Not showing his thoughts, he laughed and replied, “It’s time for you to get out of being the last-place Saint. You need a buff in the form of a Secretary.”

This put Hugo in a tough spot. “That shouldn’t be too bad...”

He would rather put his wife under Lee Gun’s care than in a different temple.

At that moment...

“You agreed to it.”

“What!”

Lee Gun immediately activated his skill.

[Chun Jiwoo: A+]

[The current subject’s faith is 300%]

[Condition satisfied. It is possible to convert her.]

An incredible light poured out.

* * *

At that moment in time...

‘What? She’s a Secretary?’

A person listening to their conversation reared back in shock. This person was the Libra Saint’s son. He was also the one who had summoned the toad that had eaten Chun Jiwoo and Lee Jaewon ten years ago—Yoon Siwoo!

Yoon Siwoo had followed his older brother’s order to track down Lee Gun. He had come here with the plan of recovering the toad monster’s corpse that Lee Gun had taken away.

‘Shit! Why is Big Bro not here? Why is Chun Sungjae alive and unharmed?’ Did something happen?

Since there was the risk of being tracked, Yoon Siwoo had left behind his phone.

His thoughts reeled. The more bewildering part was the existence of the Secretaries.

‘I knew something was off since the Scorpio Saint is here.’

When the Scorpio Saint had put up a barrier, Yoon Siwoo had sacrificed his subordinate’s life to enter the barrier. It had been a near thing.

As expected of the power of a Zodiac Saint, attempting this had given him a significant amount of internal injuries despite him receiving protection from his mother. However, that wasn’t important right now.

‘The Archer Saint’s wife is a Secretary.’

Yoon Siwoo was the one who had caused the explosion within Chun Jiwoo’s hospital room. He had done it to get rid of the witness of the incident from ten years ago. Since their actions were intertwined with the Libra Saint, the magnitude of this situation has ballooned. However...

‘I have to notify Mother right now.’ His mother, the Libra Saint, badly wanted a Secretary.

Yoon Siwoo soon realized something. ‘No! This is a good opportunity to gain some points with Mother.’

The Secretary stuck to Lee Gun was at least S-rank. Kidnapping him would be hard for Yoon Siwoo. In fact, there was a good chance he would die in the process. However, Hugo’s wife was a fledgling who had yet to awaken. Even a child would know which one would be easier to kidnap.

‘I have to kidnap her before she awakens.’

The corners of Yoon Siwoo’s mouth rose. Four Zodiac Saints were present at the scene. Yoon Siwoo wasn’t dumb enough to stage a hostage situation.

‘I just need to summon someone that can kidnap Chun Jiwoo.’

With the correct weight, the Libra could make anything possible.

Yoon Siwoo planned to summon a monster capable of kidnapping Chun Jiwoo and throw the Zodiac Saints off the scent.

‘It cannot be a human. Humans can’t win against Zodiac Saints.’

At the very least, it had to be a Red zone rank monster! No, he needed a monster better than a Black zone rank monster! ‘It doesn’t matter in the end since this place isn’t mother’s holy ground.’

After thinking it over, Yoon Siwoo took out an item and activated his skill.

[Equivalent Exchange]

A voice rang in his badge.

[You have paid the cost.]

[Condition Satisfied. The Equivalent Exchange skill has been activated.]

[Term: Disaster rank monster]

Kwahng!

At that moment, accompanied by a blinding yellow light, the magic circle of the Libra appeared in front of Yoon Siwoo. This was a summoning circle!

Koo-goo-goo-goohng!

Yoon Siwoo smirked when he felt an incredible magical energy from the summoning circle. ‘It’s here. It’s an outrageous one!’

Suddenly, light exploded forth, and someone appeared out of the summoning circle.

[What the hell? Summon?]

Hearing the penetrative voice coming from the light, Yoon Siwoo shouted, “Yes! I’m the summoner who called you. I want you to go catch the Archer Saint’s wife—”

“What the hell did you say, bastard?”

“Gun? Where did Gun go? Why did he suddenly disappear?”

Yoon Siwoo’s face was a sight to behold when the monster was revealed.

Fuck! This wasn’t supposed to happen.