CH 315

What was the most important thing to consider when trying to establish a relationship? It was simple. One needed to grant what the other party desired. They couldn’t just lay down their goods on a mat and ask the other party to pick out what they wanted like some garage sale. One needed to deduce the exact answer and respond accordingly. Of course, this was easier said than done.

Perhaps it would’ve been simpler if the other party wanted something material like money, yet every individual was different and likewise, wished for different things. Everyone had a secret they couldn’t reveal, and it was common for this secret to be tied to what they desired. With that in mind, Eval thought Yunael wasn’t an easy person to figure out. First of all, Yunael was intelligent. Yunael was well aware of the kind of hero they were and managed to grasp their worth on Liber in a very short frame of time.

Furthermore, Yunael was confident, as could be seen by the fact that they boldly made requests even in front of the greatly revered Celestial Lights. Yunael was different from those who often became speechless when facing members of the twelve most famous families in the Celestial Realm, and they had the backing to take on this sort of attitude. Lastly, if Eval had to add one more description, Yunael was…calculative.

Yunael personally directed the current situation in the name of being considerate of the heroes, which resulted in serving Yunael and increasing their worth. This was noticeably distinct from the way Afrilith commonly behaved, where she expected others to support and consider her highly without any effort.

‘Yunael desires others to respect them and knows how to make it so…’ Eval thought. This wasn’t good news for Eval since that meant Yunael was someone more fitting to lead rather than to serve. However, there couldn’t be multiple leaders in one organization. If Yunael’s character was what he thought it to be, there was a high possibility that an internal conflict would arise. At least this was how Eval Sevaru assessed Yunael.

Thus, Eval thought it would be difficult to recruit Yunael. Chi-Woo not only disregarded them, but it was a subordinate from Seven Stars who gave them a coin instead of the leader of the organization. Anyone would think their attitude was uncaring and indifferent. It seemed obvious how a prideful person like Yunael would take this situation. Once the negotiation started, though, the situation began to develop contrary to his expectations.

Yunael appeared slightly interested when hearing Ho Lactea’s and Afrilith’s lavish offers, but that was all. And even when offered a super generous promise that Yunael could, potentially later on, create their own unit and act independently from the rest of the adventure guild, Yunael’s response remained lukewarm. They didn’t show much of a response when Eval spoke either. He made ordinary offers that anyone in his position could make at first, and Yunael looked disinterested. Though Yunael seemed to be focusing on what the other party was saying, Eval could easily tell from the expression on their face that their mind was elsewhere.

From the responses that they gave from time to time, it seemed Yunael was still very concerned about what Aida and Chi-Woo were doing instead. Perhaps Yunael purely wished to work with Aida out of some sense of camaraderie as they came together to Liber. Or perhaps Yunael was burning with rage at Chi-Woo’s cold shoulder, having never been treated with such indifference and nonchalance. But there was really no way of knowing what was right.

The only thing Eval was sure of was that Yunael’s current behavior was somehow connected to the desire currently in their heart, yet Yunael didn’t reveal what was on their mind to the very end. Even when everyone except Alice and Eval looked worried sick by the response they gave, Yunael didn’t choose anyone. Finally, Noel came into the room saying that the meeting time was over. She gave them extra time since no one had gotten up, but there was still no progress.

“Why don’t you all return for now? I’m sure the hero needs time to think too,” Noel said.

But nothing changed even after she spoke to them multiple times, so in anger, Noel used her last resort. She immediately rushed off to bring someone that could immediately put an end to the current situation.

“What are you all doing?” The door opened, and a cold gust swept in. “The meeting time ended long ago.” A person that no one could ignore appeared. Even Yunael, whose mind had drifted elsewhere, was brought back to the present. It was the legend. Despite their great pride and a sense of worth, Yunael was also realistic. With their calculative mind, they knew how to read people and act accordingly. And Chi-Hyun was someone not even their ancestors would dream to rival, let alone Yunael. Furthermore, Chi-Hyun was a hero Yunael had admired since their youth.

“But—!”

“Whether the meeting properly concluded or not, wait for the results after returning,” Chi-Hyun cut Apoline off. Apoline looked discontented by this news, but when she saw Alice quietly getting up from her seat, she grunted helplessly. Yunael clicked their tongue. As expected of the legend, heroes from top families such as them couldn’t even say a word against Chi-Hyun. At that moment, Yunael thought it would be nice if they could join Chi-Hyun, and their face filled with awe. Eval didn’t miss this change of expression on Yunael’s face. Eventually, people began to leave one by one under Chi-Hyun’s command.

“I’m sorry. Somehow it ends up taking this long…” Allen Leonard apologized to Chi-Hyun on his way out. Chi-Hyun didn’t reply nor even looked back. Thus, Allen smiled awkwardly and continued walking. Chi-Hyun gave the same response to Apoline and Alice. He didn’t even glance at them but let out a cold air that seemed to tell them to hurry out of this room. Eval purposefully waited to leave at the same time as Yunael, and when he was about to pass Chi-Hyun, he stopped and turned around.

“Thank you, sir. By the way, I look forward to having a meal with you again. Please tell me when you are available….”

The look in Chi-Hyun’s eyes changed. This wasn’t the time to talk about such matters, and Eval’s words were unexpected. When he glanced at Yunael, who was standing behind Eval, he let out a humorless laugh.

‘Who’s he kidding?’ Of course, Chi-Hyun with all his quick wits caught onto what Eval was doing. He didn’t like the feeling of being used, but...since he was someone his brother had recruited, Chi-Hyun decided to play along.

“…Sure. Let’s make an arrangement soon,” Chi-Hyun said and tapped Eval on the shoulder a couple of times. Yunael clearly witnessed this scene from behind and saw how the cold, charismatic legend softened only when interacting with Eval.

“Yes, sir!” That was more than enough to show Yunael. Eval responded brightly to Chi-Hyun and stomped forward. He purposefully didn’t look back, but he felt a smile rise from his heart. He wanted to ask out loud, ‘Did you see that, Yunael? This is the relationship between me and the legend. You could have such a relationship if you join Seven Stars.’ Though it was an unexpected turn of events, it was the greatest perk they had shown so far.

‘Could you still resist joining us?’ Eval thought, and the corners of his mouth curled upwards. Then he heard Yunael’s voice from behind.

“Excuse me…!”

***

Just turning twenty this year, Yunael Tania was a hero with many dreams. Though they were from a remote area, Yunael was raised as a hero from a young age in the Tania family, which boasted a long history. Thus, Yunael couldn’t understand the difference between them and the Celestial Lights. Why was the Tania family not as well-praised and famous as them?

Yunael knew the reason was that the progenitor of the Tania family had been completely uninterested in fame. Though the Celestial Realm offered the position to them multiple times, they always refused. They preferred to focus on their own duty rather than being caught up in political battles. The progenitor could be considered the model of a hero. Though Yunael admired their progenitor in this aspect, they thought the times were different now. They weren’t satisfied that this tradition was being maintained even centuries later.

Thus, Yunael decided that they would change things once they began acting as a hero, and they would make it so that the Tania family would be acknowledged as equal to the Celestial Lights or even superior to them. With that goal alone, Yunael endured and completed many brutal training and was called forth by the Celestial Realm. Thus they officially began their activities, but things weren't as easy as they thought. There was the fact that the Celestial Lights had under their belt achievements and experiences comparable to those of the Tania family, but it was also hard for Yunael to free the image their family had built up until now.

Everyone took their achievements for granted and never placed them in positions of power or authority. No matter what Yunael did, all they seemed to hear was, ‘Oh, that family was always like that’, and not much more was offered beyond that. The Celestial Lights were always given priority, while Tania was pushed off to the backseat. They were the constant outsider. At this point, Yunael would need to be satisfied with simply getting good impressions, but no power or perks along with them.

Yet Yunael didn’t want that. They wanted fame and privileges befitting their achievements. Knowing that making mild achievements would only help maintain their current status, they decided to take special measures. If they needed to break the image their family had until now, they needed to do something big. Thus, after much thought, Yunael volunteered to join the tenth reinforcements. It was what they had been thinking about doing for some time now because it was an opportunity to stand on the same stage as the legend.

The legend was the only one among the Celestial Lights who Yunael acknowledged and admired. Furthermore, if they helped save Liber, they would gain much greater fame than before. There seemed to be no reason not to go. They had only been hesitating until now because the admittance rate was so low before, and they couldn’t risk failing the selection process after applying for it. If they failed, others would have made comments along the lines of:

‘What? Even a Tania failed?’

‘Well, they aren’t even a Celestial Light, so it’s understandable…’

Thus, Yunael had been careful. But after the seventh selection process, Yunael gained information that the admittance rate was rising bit by bit. So Yunael applied and was judged as a suitable recruit for Liber in the end. Though Yunael came to Liber with lofty dreams and goals, they were also able to exactly assess the reality of the situation. Liber was a place where the World had died. Heroes would only be able to progress with support in the beginning and go independent if and when they grew stronger.

Seven Stars was actually the one Yunael had set their eyes on from the very beginning. The organizations led by the Celestial Lights were good places for receiving support, but Yunael’s biggest purpose was to put Tania’s name on the map. If they joined Ho Lactea or Afrilith, they would only help boost the Celestial Lights’ fame rather than their own. There was no need to do something that only favored others. With these factors in mind, Seven Stars seemed to be the perfect fit for them. The fact that it wasn’t established by a Celestial Light qualified it as an option in their books, and from what they heard, it seemed this organization was more highly-regarded than other organizations too.

It seemed to be the perfect place for them. Yunael was sure that this organization was prepared for them by fate. Of course, Yunael thought things wouldn’t be as easy as they seemed. It was clear that there was something going on in Seven Stars if they had made more achievements than all the Celestial Lights combined. Still, Yunael was confident that they would achieve what they came here to do. They also had a plan. The first step was to enter Seven Stars with Aida, but they wouldn’t accept the offer so easily. They planned to make Seven Stars really yearn for them, and that was the reason why Yunael purposefully accepted only one coin from each of the organizations. After making the organizations compete with each other fiercely, they planned to choose Seven Stars in the end, after all their efforts were exhausted. It was to give the impression that Yunael was the one who chose Seven Stars and not the other way around. They would make it so that Seven Stars needed to serve them.

After receiving special treatment like that, Yunael planned to create their own faction within Seven Stars. Then they would rise to the top of Seven Stars after expanding their faction and establishing themselves properly. If the situation didn’t allow that, they could simply use Seven Stars as a stepping stool for progress. At least, that was what should’ve happened…but things took a strange turn from the beginning.

It started with the leader of Seven Stars only taking their friend, Aida, and not sparing a glance in their direction. Even at the negotiation table, Chi-Woo didn’t come in person and instead sent a subordinate. Yunael was shocked because they hadn’t imagined that they would receive such treatment, and no matter how much time they deliberately wasted, the leader of the organization didn’t show himself. Though Yunael had tried to prolong the meeting as much as possible, it simply ended with no conclusion. Was this really the end? But it couldn’t be.

[…Perhaps!]

Before the legend left, Yunael had asked.

[Are you not recruiting anyone, sir?]

In a way, it was Yunael’s last desperate attempt. The Choi family was different from other Celestial Lights, as was shown by the way Chi-Hyun blatantly put down the Ho Lactea and Afrilith representatives. Furthermore, Chi-Hyun was the legend, who was titled the greatest hero of all time. Becoming his subordinate alone would be meaningful. Thus, Yunael was attempting to overturn things, but Chi-Hyun responded frigidly.

[I’m not. I was wondering why you all were taking so long…but I know the reason now.]

Yunael was still flushed red from what had happened just before. The air around Chi-Hyun had been icy then. It was understandable that Chi-Hyun would give them such a cold shoulder. After spending so much time with the other organizations, Yunael turned out to be aiming for the legend in the end. Everything was a mess, and this wasn’t the scenario Yunael had pictured at all.

‘Aida…’ A part of Yunael felt a bit disgruntled by Aida. But Yunael knew that Aida did no wrong, and Yunael couldn’t really blame someone who had earnestly cared for them since their youth. Thus, all these emotions were soon redirected toward one person. The resentment they had always harbored multiplied and increased in size. It was still clear in Yunael’s mind—the shock they had felt when their big plans were thwarted, and Chi-Woo indifferently walking past them. Yunael clenched their fists.

‘Why must I be treated in this manner? How great is he that he didn’t even spare a glance in my direction and ignore me?’ It enraged Yunael the more they thought about it. There were even some parts of them that imagined Chi-Woo had perhaps purposefully pretended to be indifferent when he actually cared a lot. That would’ve been better.

Nevertheless, Yunael couldn’t just bide time like this. It seemed they had already started off on the wrong footing with the legend, and if things turned in the wrong direction, they could lose their chance to join any of the organizations. They needed to choose and pick one. With the goal they had, Yunael had no intention to play into other people’s intentions. If Seven Stars’ leader had really acted the way he did for some secret reason, Yunael needed to consider that.

‘They have chosen the wrong person to mess with.’

Yunael stopped walking.

“Excuse me.” Yunael heaved like an angry bull and said, “I’ve decided.”

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