CH 337

A few days later, Chi-Woo was visibly stunned when Yunael confidently visited Seven Stars with a letter of introduction from Ho Lactea in one hand. In short, the letter said that Yunael didn’t fit with the organization and was dismissed, but since Yunael wanted to enter Seven Stars, Chi-Woo could accept them if he wanted.

Aida and Eval Sevaru were both flustered because they thought there was no way Alice would write that ‘they would raise no objections if Seven Stars recruit Yunael Tania’ unless she got shot with an arrow. However, this unbelievable situation came into reality.

“It’s fine, right? Since I solved everything, you have no complaints, right?”

Aida and Eval Sevaru fell silent seeing Yunael brandish the letter of introduction with their other arm akimbo. Their original plan had been to file a complaint to Ho Lactea about Yunael and completely eliminate any status or position that Yunael had inside the organization.

Then they planned to turn a blind eye when Yunael had a hard time and was eventually pushed out, and they hoped that for the time being, Yunael would live daily in despair like an outcast! Aida and Eval smacked their lips as they planned to reach out to Yunael only once they reached their limits. In a way, it was their mistake that they could not guess the relationship between Chi-Woo and Alice, but who could have known that the shining talent of the haughty and refined Ho Lacteas would have a brother complex? Since Chi-Woo, who was the person involved, had no idea either, there was no way these two could have known.

Yunael enjoyed seeing Eval Sevaru’s pathetic face to the fullest. “What’s up with you? Come on, don’t tell me that you can’t accept me now?”

Aida and Eval Sevaru, who were left speechless, eventually looked back at Chi-Woo. Chi-Woo laughed in shock and smiled brightly.

* * *

“I’ll set up a couple conditions,” Chi-Woo said after bringing Yunael to the office and sitting them down. “If you can meet those two conditions, I’ll approve of you joining.”

“…What is it?” Although Yunael’s expression seemed to be saying, ‘What the heck, why another condition’, they suppressed their impatience, albeit a little obvious with it. Even though they succeeded in defeating Eval Sevaru, they knew that the final decision was up to Chi-Woo.

Chi-Woo replied, “You’ve probably heard the name Byeok Ran-Eum.”

“Ah, Miss Byeok. She’s the Celestial Realm’s examiner, right? Of course I know. Are there any heroes who don’t know her?”

“The first condition is to be acknowledged by her, become her disciple, and receive her teaching.”

“Oh, sounds good.” Chi-Woo thought they would show reluctance, but Yunael looked rather happy; they seemed to welcome it instead. “I’ve wanted to receive her teaching for a long time since becoming her disciple alone earned you acknowledgment. If I get her approval, I can’t imagine the acclaim.” It was a reason befitting Yunael’s personality. “But my dad told me to stop thinking about useless things and just focus on doing my job well, so I’ve been only keeping that in the back of my mind.” Yunael shrugged.

Chi-Woo also shrugged and continued, “The second condition is to change the god that sponsors you.”

“What?” Yunael expressed their opposition right away, as they thought this condition was downright ridiculous. “I mean, why do I have to change the god… There’s not even a god that I like other than the White Horse General.”

“I think you would also like the god I serve.”

“Who is it?”

“Goddess La Bella.”

“La Bella…?” Yunael tilted their head. Since there wasn’t a temple dedicated to La Bella in Shalyh, it was understandable that they wouldn’t know who La Bella was.

“The Goddess Libra protecting balance…”

After hearing Chi-Woo’s explanation, Yunael clicked their tongue. “Does she not even need followers?”

“It doesn’t seem like she’s interested in gaining followers. She doesn’t usually make contracts either.”

“She’s an interesting god…” Yunael said with fascination and then frowned. “Anyway, do I really have to go that far? I like the White Horse General. He likes me too.”

“Well, if you don’t like it—”

“Nooo,” Yunael quickly said. “Since you’re also a hero, you must know how heavy a contract with a god is. Of course, I know you can change the god who’s sponsoring you, but you have to also consider the context.” It might have been different if they were only in the starting stage of their contract, but Yunael had already reached almost gold tier under the support of the White Horse General. If things went badly, they might have to donate all the merits they had made so far and reset to the first tier. It would be too disappointing to start from the beginning all over again.

“You don’t have to worry about that, since I’ll do the talking.”

“No…what…” Yunael stared at Chi-Woo with suspicion but couldn’t find a way to refuse. In the end, Chi-Woo and Yunael went to the White Horse General’s temple together. With blind faith, Yunael revealed the purpose of their visit and had to be subject to the White General’s menacing stare.

‘See. I knew this would happen.’ Yunael had to prepare themselves because they expected to be fiercely scolded at any moment. However, the scolding did not happen. The White Horse General just silently looked down at them. Yunael looked up at him and tilted their head.

—Sigh…

Then the White Horse General sighed.

—I feel displeased. Even if it’s your request…this is a problem related to my dignity.

“Yes, I understand. Nevertheless, even at the risk of sounding shameless, I implore you to please accept my request. It’s a necessary process.

—Hmm. I can roughly guess why you’re asking this. But even then, I can’t just—

A quiet and tranquil voice suddenly interjected.

—Why don’t you just quickly accept his request instead of taking your time?

The White Horse General took a sharp breath in.

—Princess Sahee…!

—Why are you trying to impose another condition? You can just do as he wants.

—…I can do that, but I also have to save my face.

—I guess you’re a man after all who can’t live without saving face. Aren’t you benefitting a lot from the stage this child prepared for you?

—I won’t deny that, but I think I paid sufficiently for that.

The White Horse General grumbled softly.

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

—If it were any other hero, I wouldn’t be like this, but it’s different this time. I like this kid.

Two giants looked down at Yunael. Although Yunael couldn’t see Princess Sahee, they felt an indescribable pressure and slightly flinched.

—Hmm…

Princess Sahee scanned Yunael and let out a slight nasal sound.

—Narrow-sighted, so narrow-sighted.

—What do you mean?

—Your child and my child’s request. You really don’t know which one is more valuable?

—…

The White Horse General became silent again at her words. Then he sighed deeply.

Soon after, Yunael walked out of the temple in a dream-like daze. Although the White General Horse looked reluctant, he still terminated the contract. Moreover, he returned all the merits he had received so far; the White Horse General made a big concession.

“What just happened…?” Yunael stared at Chi-Woo, who was walking next to them. They clearly couldn’t believe what had happened. A powerful god who protected Shalyh listened to a mere mortal and quietly withdrew; this was something that usually never happened.

“The White Horse General is not a god originally from Liber. He came from a different world.” Chi-Woo continued, “And I’m the one who established him here.”

“Wait a minute. That means he’s a foreign god. How could you do that?”

Chi-Woo briefly organized his thoughts. If he began talking about the talisman, he thought their conversation would get too long. On second thought, it was about time to reveal his identity, and judging by their personality, it seemed that Yunael would be good at keeping secrets. Thus, Chi-Woo said, “My last name is actually Choi.”

“So?”

“The Choi family. Choi. Do you not know about them?”

“Choi? That Choi?” Yunael immediately frowned. “Ah, stop joking with me. Just quickly tell me the truth.”

“No, it’s for real.”

“Stop playing! If you don’t want to tell me, don’t bother. Don’t think you can keep toying with me.”

Yunael didn’t believe him.

* * *

When Yunael returned to Seven Stars, they met La Bella through Chi-Woo’s introduction and was able to form a contract. Only their god and ability changed, and everything else remained the same. There was now only one condition left to fulfill for them to join—to be acknowledged by the Celestial Realm’s examiner, Byeok, and become her disciple. Surprisingly, Byeok easily accepted the request.

“Tania…if it’s Tania…” Byeok, who had been lost in thought, raised her head. “Show me your spear stances.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Yunael shouted with a hint of nervousness in their expression and lifted their spear. They showed chalchang, nachang, and lanchang in order. Chi-Woo had felt this before, but Yunael seemed to be attacking and defending at the same time when they performed the movements consecutively. After seeing Yunael fiercely move their spear, Byeok nodded and said, “Good, you passed.”

“Thank you!” Yunael raised both arms and cheered.

Chi-Woo shot a slightly bitter glance at Byeok, and Byeok asked, “What’s up with you?”

“I mean…it seems like you’re a bit—no, very different with me or Mr. Emmanuel.” In Chi-Woo’s case, he had to swing his club day and night to pass her test, and in Emmanuel’s case, Byeok adamantly refused to teach him.

“You were a beginner at that time, so I wasn’t sure about your talent. As for Emmanuel, he had a problem that couldn’t be fixed with my power.” However, this wasn’t the case for Yunael. There was no need to even mention their talent, and they didn’t have a problem that Byeok couldn’t do anything about. There was no reason not to accept Yunael as a disciple.

“Well…it’s not like there’s no problem at all.”

“What is it?”

“They’ve only trained in the basics,” Byeok said flatly while putting the pipe in her mouth. “They’ve probably only been swinging their spear since they were very young. I don’t know who their teacher was, but that child’s childhood must have been quite harsh.”

Chi-Woo stared at Yunael, who was still jumping in joy, with a new gaze. Since his master was saying this, he understood a bit why Yunael immediately passed. And like this, Yunael satisfied the two conditions. He now had to steadily increase their trust level. Chi-Woo wasn’t in a hurry because he wanted to wait and see if Yunael was really suitable to be one of his seven stars. Anyway, given Yunael had gone this far, there was no way Chi-Woo could go back on his words now. He finally decided to let them join after they showed their strong will.

Yunael said they wanted a huge welcoming party considering how hard they worked to join, and Chi-Woo understood that as them asking him to make food because they were hungry. Coincidentally, the first team had just returned from fulfilling a commission. Although it hadn’t been an easy mission, and everyone else had collapsed without washing up, Ru Amuh, the epitome of a model student, went to greet his teacher he dearly respected.

“Teacher, it’s been a while…” Ru Amuh went to the dining room after hearing that Chi-Woo was in the kitchen and paused when he saw a hero sitting at the table with a feast in front of them.

“Oh, Mr. Ru Amuh. It’s been a while.” Just coming out of the kitchen, Chi-Woo smiled and greeted him. Then he looked between Ru Amuh and Yunael and said, “Ah, this is Yunael Tania, a new member joining today. They’re also very close with Ms. Aida.”

Then Yunael and Ru Amuh’s gazes clashed for a moment, and recognition crept into his eyes. “Yunael Tania…I see.” A faint smile soon appeared on his face. “Nice to meet you, I’m Ru Amuh.”

“…I’m Yunael Tania.” At his polite greeting, Yunael responded in a slightly coy tone.

Chi-Woo said, “If you haven’t eaten yet, would you like to have the meal with us? Since we’ll all be working together, we can get to know each other.”

“Yes, I won’t turn your offer down.” When Chi-Woo grabbed his arm and pulled him to the table, Ru Amuh sat down while smiling.

“I’m sure you must be tired. You should eat first and take a rest. I’ll do a proper introduction at dinnertime.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I’ll tell the other teammates in advance.”

Then they began eating.

Ru Amuh ate moderately from various food groups like always, but Yunael was picking at their food for some reason. Rather than happily stuffing their face like usual, they were eating like they were at a funeral. They ate only three pieces with an elegant movement before putting down their chopsticks.

“Do you not have an appetite?” While an awkward silence passed between them, Ru Amuh, who had already emptied a bowl, asked curiously.

“This is enough for me.” Yunael softly smiled and said, “I don’t usually eat a lot.” They spoke in a clear voice, maintaining a straight posture and looking at him with half-closed coquettish eyes.

‘Aha.’ Ru Amuh nodded. Then he stood up while saying, “I’ll have a proper meeting with you in the evening.”

As soon as the sound of his footsteps went far away, Yunael exhaled the breath they had been holding. “Pweh! I can finally eat now.” Then they picked up their chopsticks and started digging in and stuffing their mouth. In an instant, the food on the table was cleared up. “Yum! Yeah, this is it! Yummm!”

Chi-Woo stared at Yunael as they stuffed their mouth full of food and cheered in joy.

“…What? Have you never seen a person eat?” Yunael felt his gaze and asked with their cheeks bulging. However, Chi-Woo continued to stare at them in silence, so Yunael gulped and said irritably, “He’s my rival. My rival.”

“Rival?”

“You really don’t know? The rising supernovas in recent years.” Yunael pointed at themselves with their chopsticks and pointed at the door Ru Amuh left through. “That hero must have heard my name a few times. Of course, I also heard his name a bit, and judging by his attitude just now, it seems like he has been conscious of me.” They continued while scooping up rice with a spoon.

“What does that have to do with your behavior just now?”

“Geez, seriously. Can’t you think for a bit?”

Chi-Woo was shocked. He couldn’t believe that Yunael of all people was telling him to think.

“Although we never met each other, he and I are both talked about frequently by other heroes. Then even if we don’t like it, we have no choice but to feel a sense of competition towards the other.” Yunael continued while chewing, “I’m sure he must hold some kind of image of me as his rival, but if he sees me eat like my usual self, he’ll make fun of me inside, thinking, ‘They always talk about this and that about Yunael, but the hero in question sure is good at stuffing themselves like a pig.’”

In short, Yunael was conscious of Ru Amuh and ate little. Chi-Woo smiled dryly and said, “Well, it’s no wonder. Mr. Ru Amuh is very handsome.”

“What the heck? What are you talking about?” Yunael looked at him with displeasure. “I’m sorry, but he’s not really my type.”

Chi-Woo snorted at Yunael’s confident words. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’re not Mr. Ru Amuh’s type either.”

“When did I say I was?” Yunael hmphed and snorted. “Also, I’m a Tania. You might think I sound arrogant, but even most Celestial Lights can’t treat us however they want.” Yunael proudly talked about their family and went back to eating. “Seriously, talking about me being conscious of him. It needs to at least be a Choi for me to suck up to them. Only someone at that level would be worth acting shy or coy for. I’m not interested in anyone besides that.”

“Hmm, is that so? They need to at least be a Choi.”

“Yeah. By the way, what is Seven Stars’ relationship with the legend? It seems like there’s some kind of connection from what I saw at the drafting event.”

Chi-Woo decided to save his words for now while seeing Yunael fervently concentrate on eating—in case they got an upset stomach.