Elia blinked blankly.
She couldn’t quite understand the situation unfolding before her.
If they were in an open space rather than a private room in a cafe, all eyes would be on them.
Sitting across the table was Lee Ha-yul. Given the close distance, his face was quite clear.
Why did he look prettier than most girls?
His slender eyes were quivering with such intensity that it was almost distracting.
[What is this?]
[Are you hungry?]
[But I don’t want to eat.]
[That’s not it!]
It was then that a familiar voice seeped into her ears.
A voice that was so androgynous, it was hard to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman.
It was the voice coming from the necklace that Lee Ha-yul was wearing.
The Confession Necklace.
An artifact obtained by Elia’s grandfather during his prime as a hero.
In terms of the association’s grading, it was considered mid-low tier.
Due to its ability to express emotions, it rated surprisingly high.
However, it was practically useless in combat, and the engraving feature made it quite unworthy for a hero to use.
If it were a combat artifact, the engraving feature could be a bonus, but for a non-combat artifact like the Confession Necklace, it was more of a drawback.
Elia knew about its function and had heard from her grandfather how it manifested.
Expression of emotions.
Here, emotions meant not the deep layers of the psyche, but relatively surface-level consciousness.
Also, it expressed the closest emotions first, and the user could directly control the artifact’s on/off switch, meaning that unveiling one’s true feelings was practically impossible.
[Stop.]
[Halt.]
[Arm regeneration.]
[Prosthetic arm artifact.]
[Lake of Illusions.]
[Wait a sec.]
[Does it hurt?]
That’s what she understood.
The scene before her began to look slightly different.
Lee Ha-yul’s expression was clearly one of embarrassment, and he waved his right arm around helplessly.
The necklace in his hand rattled weakly in the air.
His movements resembled a chick flapping its wings, desperate to fly but unable to.
‘So cute.’
Elia couldn’t help but smile at that sight, but her smile quickly faded.
On the other side, only the empty fabric of his sleeve fluttered, evoking a pang of sorrow.
Elia’s eyes darkened with sadness.
Everyone knew about the incident at Shipnah.
She knew about the person who fought valiantly, even losing an arm to save others.
Among those he had rescued, she knew there were precious family members of hers.
It left a strange resonance in Elia’s heart.
As she suppressed her racing emotions and stepped into Shio-ram at the gate terminal, there was someone who stood out in the crowd.
A petite figure with a small face.
Even on that little face, exquisite features were present.
For some reason, shadows lingered under the closed eyes, giving him an overall gloomy impression.
She noticed Lee Ha-yul, who seemed stuck and anxious, staring around as if pleading for help.
Moreover, looking at his outfit, he was a fellow student from Shio-ram.
Elia decided to help him. She often performed such small acts of kindness.
But in comparison to her usual gestures, this felt like excessive help.
Why? She still didn’t know the exact reason.
She just felt an odd attraction. In that moment, Lee Ha-yul was all that she could see.
His presence stood out like an otherworldly being on the streets.
He felt like someone not quite human.
Thus, she noticed him distinctly and felt compelled to help.
That simple act of kindness seemed to result in saving Elia’s family.
Also, the benefactor lost an arm.
Elia knew with her healing abilities, regenerating a body part wasn’t entirely impossible.
Of course, this wasn’t about the usual cuts and gashes.
Injuries inflicted by the hostile mana of another entity made healing exponentially more difficult.
But thinking about those supporting Lee Ha-yul, she believed it would be possible. He could surely regenerate his arm.
However, that didn’t lessen the severity of the injury in any way.
Elia understood her human obligations. Her family was equally bound by those duties.
If she treated the benefactor, who had saved her family’s lives, with disrespect, her deceased grandfather would rise and smack her upside the head.
[I’m hungry.]
[I don’t want to eat.]
[No.]
[Silent—ebeebebe…]
She momentarily lost her thoughts.
Even amidst her musing, the grumpy voice that had been ringing in her ears didn’t stop. In the end, a comical tone echoed out.
It seemed like something was wrong with Lee Ha-yul. Elia sprang to her feet.
She reached out, gently wrapping her hands around Lee Ha-yul’s, who was struggling to find a place to go.
They shared warmth through their touch.
At the same time, Lee Ha-yul’s flailing stopped. The voice pouring from the necklace ceased as well.
[Good.]
[Warm.]
[Soft.]
…For now, at least, his inner thoughts didn’t spill out uncontrollably.
Some time had passed since Elia first met Lee Ha-yul. They had crossed paths in everyday life, but also during major events like dungeon practices and tower entrance schedules.
“Ha-yul? Are you okay?”
Speaking softly… in a gentle tone, Lee Ha-yul’s trembling eyelids slowly calmed down.
Her hands didn’t remain idle either. She carefully stroked the hands they held together, ensuring the sensation and warmth were conveyed.
Similarly, his previously jittery body slowly relaxed.
The time they had spent was enough for Elia to uncover some of his personality.
The Lee Ha-yul she had come to understand could be summarized in one phrase.
He was, in short, a child.
Not in a negative sense of childishness, but positively pure like a little kid.
He liked people. But at the same time, he was afraid of them; he would shrink back and brace himself when strangers approached.
However, once a little familiarity built trust, he displayed the traits of a child.
He loved gentle pats on his head and enjoyed having someone caress his cheeks. He adored being held and having his back patted.
Pretending not to care, he would often peek around, as if hoping to find something he could help with, yet when anyone did something nice for him, he’d be caught off-guard, but he would remember every act of kindness and reciprocate later.
This wasn’t exclusive to Elia; he simply loved receiving affection from those he admired.
Who wouldn’t want that? But with Lee Ha-yul, it felt almost blind.
He cherished the warmth and affection of others as if he had never experienced it before and was now intoxicated by it.
“Breathe in slowly, and let it out… Right, good boy…”
Thus, calming Lee Ha-yul was relatively simple.
Just holding hands to share warmth and speaking softly would do the trick.
In simpler terms, just like one would comfort a child, she embraced him gently and patted him down.
Elia drew from her experience caring for her younger siblings to soothe Lee Ha-yul effectively.
As a result, the necklace quieted as well.
She continued her explanation.
Right now, Lee Ha-yul was just too flustered to control himself. With just a moment of focus, he could manage to toggle the artifact on or off.
“Okay, Ha-yul? That necklace expresses everything when you think too much. Just focus on unimportant thoughts—inner thoughts will bubble up.”
[Thought.]
[Necklace.]
[Elia? Pretty.]
[Wait, what?]
[Wrong thought.]
[I didn’t mean I’m not pretty.]
[No!]
“Huh. Th-thank you. You said you could feel it all with your observation ability, right?”
While there were moments where his face flushed bright red, she managed to explain it all without too much difficulty.
Perhaps because they were holding hands, Lee Ha-yul remained calm throughout the explanation.
That adorable demeanor was so compelling that when Elia stroked his head, she caught a glimpse of the fabric behind him puffing up like a floating cape.
‘……’
As Elia continued to explain, she recalled the initial string of words that the necklace had spat out.
“Interesting, hungry, want milk, sleepy, dislike studying, uncomfortable necklace.”
There were cute words among them.
“Hurt, lifespan, arm hurt, cold, life.”
Even a glance revealed many words that didn’t signify positive feelings.
‘Strangulation.’
There were chilling words as well.
Strangulation.
To choke someone to death.
‘Why…’
Why would Ha-yul think of such a word precisely when wearing that necklace?
Elia couldn’t fathom it. Though she had grasped some of Ha-yul’s tendencies, she couldn’t ascertain the complete circumstances.
‘……’
One thing was clear.
After saving her precious family and making her feel strangely connected, she hoped Lee Ha-yul had not encountered such a haunting word in relation to her.
With that mindset, she helped Lee Ha-yul gain control over the Confession Necklace from the sidelines.
Before long, he learned how to toggle the necklace on and off.
[Thank you.]
[I like you.]
[You’re pretty.]
“Hmm…”
Elia felt a twinge of disappointment.
*
– Crunch!
“Grr… Gah, Kurrahh….!”
A terrifying sound echoed in the gray-walled chamber.
The distinctive sound of flesh bursting and bones being shattered, followed by the gurgling of a man struggling to breathe.
“Ugh, Aaaah…”
His throat was so hoarse it felt like it would split. Even as he screamed, the only sounds escaping his throat were bloody foam and escaping air.
A man writhing on the floor emitted the sounds that filled the enclosed space. He pressed himself against the blood-soaked ground.
– Crunch!
“Ghhrrr…!”
Another cracking sound rang out. The terrible pain in his leg sent his vision spiraling.
His consciousness began to wane. Pain consumed him, and he could almost see death on the horizon.
In his fading sight, a leg came swinging at him, alongside a pair of golden eyes filled with hatred and malice.
Thud! His head snapped back as if about to break. His upper body was thrown backward, crashing into the ground.
– BOOM!
A resounding crash accompanied the impact, yet neither the man’s body nor the ground completely shattered.
This chamber was crafted from special materials.
And the man sprawled on the ground was a high-ranking superhuman.
“Is this the end?”
“No, there are three more to go.”
“…There are far too many bugs. Isn’t nobody keeping them in check?”
“Even if you say that, it’s realistically impossible to manage them all…”
Atla kicked the man on the ground a few more times before turning away, her expression grim.
She deliberately rubbed the soles of her feet against the ground.
Yet, not a single drop of blood stained her pants. It was all due to her intentionally released aura keeping the dirty blood at bay.
Atla had her work cut out for the weekend.
It involved her student… Lee Ha-yul.
While the rampage in the dungeon was, for the most part, an unavoidable natural disaster.
The dungeon incident in Shipnah could have been prevented beforehand.
No, if it hadn’t been for the despicable greed, it wouldn’t have happened at all.
Lee Ha-yul got caught up in that, almost losing his life.
Thus, over the weekend, Atla had to deal with the pigs who dared to indulge their petty greed without being able to take responsibility for it.
She could have just handed it over to the association.
Those responsible for running illegal dungeons while triggering a chain of dungeon rampages were all unsavory folks who deserved to die.
But Atla took matters into her own hands. To ensure they wouldn’t slip through her fingers and to release the boiling anger inside her.
Moreover, there were those who had fled. They knew that capture meant no chance of survival.
Today alone, she had apprehended dozens of them.
Among them were those she was personally roughing up.
Maxwell, who had confirmed that her rampage was at an end, waved his hand.
The personnel on standby around them retrieved the man sprawled out.
They hadn’t killed him yet. In fact, it wouldn’t be much of an issue if they did, but they planned to interrogate him just in case.
Atla glanced at the personnel dragging the man away.
“Is the number not increasing instead of decreasing?”
“There are plenty of other reasons.”
Maxwell shook his head as if exasperated.
“No matter how much peace and harmony we talk about, villains are everywhere. Plus, lately the situation in the magic world has deteriorated, leading to a growing number of focused surveillance efforts in that direction. We have to catch the rogues ourselves.”
With the current state of affairs, there wasn’t enough manpower…
Maxwell’s exhausted demeanor bore the weight of his complaints.
Atla turned away with a hint of disdain. While it was indeed a dire situation, she didn’t particularly feel inclined to offer help.
Moreover, this matter was one where her assistance was not something to be requested.
“Let’s move on. We need to wrap this up and get back within the weekend.”
“Honestly…what can I say, you’re quite the relentless one.”
“Shut it and let’s go.”
‘Since I promised to return within the weekend, I have to hurry.’
She had delayed a little while to relieve some stress.
After giving Maxwell a warning look with her fist, Atla hurried through the chamber.
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