Walking across the space between the pavilions, the Clan Head Hall soon ca into view.
But several people—so middle-aged, so elderly—were standing in front of it.
As if they’d been waiting for us.
I’d seen each of them once at the first formal dinner, and among them, an old man with a calm, placid face felt especially familiar.
The Elder Council Head.
A beat later, he, too, fixed his gaze on .
Despite his outward appearance, a razor-sharp presence seeped out—like a viper—and even his voice carried a ringing, tallic edge.
“I’ve wanted to speak with you at least once.”
“So have I.”
“First, you have my respect. Skill like that at your age. And as for poison resistance—you’ve reached a level the warriors of the main family can only dream of.”
“You flatter .”
“As a guest, you would have been treated with utmost courtesy. If you hadn’t co with that child.”
“I don’t feel lacking in treatnt even now. And I think you’ve set your premise wrong.”
I smiled faintly and continued.
“I may be a guest, but I didn’t co with my lady. If anything, I ca because of my lady.”
My original plan for winter break had been to head back to Hyeseong Group’s new city again.
Or stop by the Ruby Magic Tower or the Topaz Magic Tower.
Dragons and Magic Tower Masters were handing out Hidden Pieces, for heaven’s sake.
Even so, the main reason I chose the Dang family was to improve Dang Gyu-young’s family situation, even if only a little.
Dang Munhyeong said it himself—they’d called them back for the first ti in a long while.
The elders didn’t know that, though. So to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} them, it likely sounded like I was looking down on them outright.
As the air turned grim, the Elder Council Head spoke again.
“Truly arrogant. But you have the qualifications to be.”
“Because I proved it.”
Not just against poison—against experts as well. I’d even taken down Dang Junyeop and Dang Huiyeon.
Now, if soone wanted to discipline an “arrogant bastard” like , the Dang family would need to pull out one of their most vicious poisons, or send soone on the level of the Twin Heroes of the Dang Family.
Fortunately, the Elder Council Head didn’t seem like the type to take it that far.
“With matters already in disarray, there’s no need to create more enemies within. We’ll pull back here.”
“Thank you.”
“However, if we stop being hostile, does that an goodwill suddenly appears where none existed? The main family’s stance will remain unchanged.”
aning: they weren’t going to stop seeing Dang Gyu-young as a thorn in their side.
I answered without much concern.
“That’s fine. I didn’t co here expecting that in the first place.”
“Then was there any reason to return to the main family at all?”
“I’d say there were plenty of reasons. Didn’t they et their uncle, et their father, and et their cousins?”
“.......”
The Elder Council Head frowned as he stared at , then spoke again.
“Family is trivial compared to a clan. For the sake of survival, there are tis you must endure and abandon things. But you... you don’t seem capable of understanding or accepting that.”
“Sorry, but I can’t. I think even the small things matter.”
“I won’t insist on persuading you. Stay comfortably, and go in peace.”
With that, the elders turned and left.
After watching them go, Dang Munhyeong sent a warm look and patted my shoulder.
“Let’s go in.”
We entered the Clan Head Hall, and just like the first day, Dang Munhyeong stopped at the office door and announced us.
“Brother. It’s . I’ve brought the guest.”
Let him in.
As if he’d been waiting, the answer ca imdiately.
Since this was ant to be a private eting, Dang Munhyeong only let inside, then closed the door again.
“Sit.”
Dang Gunak spoke bluntly. I sat across from him, and he personally brewed tea and poured it into my cup.
Silence held for a while. Then the Clan Head set down his teacup and began.
“I’ve received reports on everything that’s happened. I can only apologize that I couldn’t stop it.”
“I understand the bigger picture. You must have had your position as Clan Head.”
“Even so, what is it but an excuse? Worse—though you’re outsiders and guests, I ended up putting my daughter through hardship along with you.”
“Strictly speaking, we’re the ones who stepped in. It wasn’t soone else’s problem.”
At that, Dang Gunak’s eyes seed to shift slightly.
He studied for a mont, then spoke again.
“I felt it from the mont I heard news from my younger brother, but... it doesn’t seem like a simple senior–junior relationship. Ilbi and Hanbi said sothing similar.”
“.......”
“It’s true that it’s late for to suddenly try to act like a father. Still—can you tell ?”
After being half-estranged and only returning after a long ti, it made sense he’d feel he had little right to ask.
But I had no reason to hide it, either.
So I t his gaze and answered.
“It’s not hard to tell you. I just want you to keep it secret.”
“......Go on.”
“We ford a sovereign [Bond].”
“......!”
Ripples crossed Dang Gunak’s impassive face.
He stared at with eyes full of astonishnt.
“I thought you were extraordinary, but... a sovereign? And at your age, no less.”
“I don’t know if that answers you.”
“It does.”
A [Bond] was all but impossible to undo, so it was fair to treat it as sothing permanent.
That was why you didn’t establish one unless you shared intent—and unless you were close enough that it warranted it.
There’s nothing to gain from advertising it, but...
I’d already made it public to the Seo family and the Hong family, so it made sense to do the sa with the Dang family.
The difference was that this wasn’t asking permission—it was notifying them after the fact.
The next mont, Dang Gunak’s eyes flashed.
“......Then did you form a [Bond] as well? With the young lady of Hyeseong Group?”
“Yes.”
I answered as naturally and confidently as I could.
Given the flow of this conversation, there was a very real chance it would sound like I was two-timing their daughter and that family’s daughter.
In reality, it was more than that.
In monts like this, acting guilty only made things worse. Bold was better.
“.......”
As expected, an unpleasant look surfaced on Dang Gunak’s face—yet there was no unspilling spilled water.
He seed to decide to move past it and continued.
“Then I can understand why you involved yourself so actively in my daughter’s matter.”
“Because she’s mine.”
“I hope that feeling doesn’t change.”
“It won’t.”
After hearing my firm answer, the displeasure in his expression eased—if only slightly.
We’d nearly finished the tea, so Dang Gunak poured more.
And for a while longer, we simply drank in silence.
Then he opened his mouth again.
“You still haven’t said what you want.”
He’d told to think about what I wanted in return for helping Dang Gyu-young’s growth.
So I brought up sothing that might have sounded unrelated.
“I heard your conflict with the Blood Cult is escalating.”
“It’s true.”
At first, the businesses and sects that had been attacked had concealed the perpetrator in subtle ways. But now, there were many cases where they moved brazenly, without even trying to hide it.
Then, as if realizing sothing, a strange light rose in Dang Gunak’s eyes.
“Then the request you an is...”
“Just as you suspect. Please let help.”
“I can’t allow it.”
As expected, he shook his head imdiately.
And in a firm tone, he continued.
“It’s true the main family is in a situation where we could use every expert we can get, but it’s not to the point where we must endanger children—students.”
“I wasn’t saying I’d join an all-out war.”
“Anything else is dangerous all the sa.”
“I’ve already proven my ability, haven’t I?”
By taking down Dang Junyeop and Dang Huiyeon.
Part of the reason I’d accepted that spar—one I didn’t even need to—while pretending to fall for provocation, was precisely for this.
I kept pressing.
“Next year we’ll be second-years, and we’ll start receiving dispatch missions. Would it really be a problem to receive one a little early?”
“I’ll admit there’s so logic to that. But I don’t know whether there’s a task suitable to entrust to you.”
“I’ve thought about that, too.”
“.......”
Dang Gunak’s expression turned into the sa look Dang Gyu-young sotis wore—So you had a plan all along? So I walked right into it?
He gestured for to speak, and I explained.
“I want to check a few locations.”
Because of the EX-grade Reincarnation quest’s aftermath, both the cast of characters and the flow of events were tangled beyond recognition.
Still, there were a few places that made think, If it’s the Blood Cult, wouldn’t they be hiding here?
Even if I ca up empty, it would cost nothing to take a look.
Dang Gunak had no way of knowing my veteran “big data,” but he seed to grasp my intent.
Even so, he didn’t look pleased as he asked,
“If your guess is right and that place is a Blood Cult base, wouldn’t that create an even more dangerous situation than an all-out war?”
It would be like kicking a beehive without knowing the enemy’s strength.
For instance, what if three elder-class figures were gathered in one place?
Of course, in my experience, the odds of that were extrely low.
Until the decisive mont, they would need to maintain secrecy—aning they’d be split up in small groups.
Even if my prediction was wrong, withdrawing would still be more than possible.
And I had other reasons for confidence too, but they weren’t things I could reveal to Dang Gunak.
So I gave an answer he could reasonably accept.
“I plan to stop at confirming the location.”
“It looks like an operation where the losses outweigh the gains. The risk is too high.”
“That’s the part I want to ask you about.”
As if he could predict what was coming next, Dang Gunak frowned.
If the risk was too high, you lowered it—and to do that...
“You want to attach an expert?”
“If possible, an A-rank.”
“Among them, the only ones who are friendly toward you would be Ilbi and Hanbi.”
“That’s right.”
The Clan Head couldn’t move freely, and any experts connected to the Elder Council would reject it outright.
And it wasn’t like mobilizing the Twin Heroes of the Dang Family was easy, either.
His reaction being negative made that clearer still.
“To assign not only you, but even the main family’s core experts, to sothing this reckless? I trust you’ll understand even if I refuse.”
“But you haven’t refused yet.”
He hadn’t issued an order to expel .
It was less that he disliked my proposal, and more that he needed more certainty.
Sure enough, Dang Gunak stared into my eyes and said,
“......I’ve heard sothing about you.”
“I’m sure you have.”
He must’ve heard directly from Dang Munhyeong—and with the Dang family’s intelligence network, he would’ve investigated in the background too.
Publicly known facts were that I’d faced the Witch of Death—and Hallucination Demon, a Blood Cult elder—and still survived.
And that I’d played a decisive role in the Witch of Depletion suppression operation.
Naturally, there was far more that wasn’t known.
Dang Gunak seed to suspect that, too.
“If you lived through things like that, it’s hard to call it re luck.”
“It’s embarrassing to say it myself, but it’s skill. I’ll survive this ti, too.”
“Are you certain? How much?”
“One hundred percent. Full certainty. Trust and assign it.”
Dang Gunak seed to think a little longer, then nodded.
“......Fine. I’ll leave word with Ilbi and Hanbi.”
At the sa ti, a notification ssage appeared in the corner of my vision.
[Main Quest 4]
▷Objective: Dispel the dark clouds hanging over Sichuan
▷Reward: Granted on a sliding scale based on completion level
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