"Cough! Cough! Ah, cough... Unnieee. I'm sorryyy..."
"...."
The water Sol spat out splashed onto Yun-Jung's face. Yun-Jung remained still with her eyes closed for a moment before reaching out to feel around the table. Ha-Yeong rummaged through her pocket briefly and then discreetly handed over a clean piece of cloth. Yun-Jung squinted at the cloth for a moment before snatching it so forcefully that there was an audible smack sound.
As she meticulously wiped her face, Yun-Jung finally spoke.
"Sol, we need to have a little talk later."
"Hiiing... I didn't do it on purposeee..."
At Yun-Jung's chilling voice, Sol immediately lowered her head. But only for a moment. Before long, Sol began sneaking glances at Go Yeon-Joo again. Finding Sol's constant peeking adorable, a faint curve appeared at the corner of Go Yeon-Joo's lips. Sensing the shift in her expression, Sol flinched and quickly averted her gaze. Seeing this, Go Yeon-Joo's smile deepened, turning richer and more pronounced.
"Little one, do you know who I am?"
At Go Yeon-Joo's question, Sol simply gave a small nod instead of answering. It seemed like she found it difficult to speak freely. However, sitting beside her, Vivienne impatiently poked Sol's side with a sullen expression.
"Sol, what even is the Shadow Queen that you're making such a big deal about?"
"I-I'll tell youuu! Just stop poking meee…."
Vivienne's voice was curt, while Sol practically whined in distress. Vivienne's lower lip jutted out slightly—it seemed like she was still stewing over what I'd said earlier.
But I had no intention of ignoring Vivienne. The difference in power between her and Go Yeon-Joo was simply a fact. Vivienne was a Rare-Class with decent stats, but Go Yeon-Joo was a Secret-Class with far superior abilities. On top of that, their attributes put Go Yeon-Joo at an even greater advantage.
Based on my experience fighting Go Yeon-Joo in the first life, even if both sides were at their peak, the Shadow Queen had over a 70% chance of winning against the Chimera Alchemist. And if we factored in an unprepared battle scenario, Vivienne's chances would drop even further.
Sol, still rubbing her side where Vivienne had poked her, hesitated. But with Vivienne's repeated urging, she finally spoke—cautiously.
"So... back at the Player Academy..."
"Oh. They never taught me that kind of stuff."
Before Sol could finish, Yun-Jung swiftly cut in. Sol shook her head and continued.
"Mm-hmm. That makes sense. Since Priest players are usually more common among female players due to the nature of the class… During one of our theory lectures, the instructor unnie mentioned it briefly in passing. I just happened to remember it."
"Is that so? And what exactly did you hear? Tell us in more detail—I'm curious."
Go Yeon-Joo spoke with an intrigued expression, but her eyes gleamed like a hawk eyeing its prey. Poor Sol, who might just become that prey, hesitated nervously before answering.
"Um... Back then, they listed a few famous female players in Hall Plain. The Clan Lord of the Eastantel Law Clan, 〈Field Maestro〉, from the same clan, 〈Princess of Execution〉, and a mysterious, elusive free player known as 〈Shadow Queen〉… and so on…."
"Hoooh…."
Go Yeon-Joo's voice carried a note of amusement.
The moment the words 〈Princess of Execution〉 were spoken, a chilling killing intent flickered in Go Yeon-Joo's eyes. It lasted only for a split second, but I caught it. There was no doubt—her grudge against 〈Princess of Execution〉 had been festering for a long time. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened between them, but now wasn't the time to find out. I filed it away in the back of my mind for later.
Sensing my gaze, Go Yeon-Joo quickly smoothed out her expression and flashed a playful smile.
"That's right. I'm the infamous 〈Shadow Queen〉, a Secret-Class player. My name is Go Yeon-Joo. I'm twenty-six years old. No lover. Oh, and for the record, as long as he's a decent guy, I wouldn't mind dating a married man with a few kids trailing behind him."
She introduced herself with ease, then shot a quick side glance in my direction.
I had just taken a spoonful of stew when her words landed—an unexpected ambush. I never imagined she'd take her revenge this way. And worse, there was no escaping it. Several members of our group were quick-witted enough to catch the implications behind her statement.
Then—
Tak.
The sound of a cup being placed down firmly on the table echoed through the room.
Ha-Yeong, who had been silently listening all this time, took a sip of water before setting her cup down with just enough force for a few droplets to splash onto the table. It wasn't exactly slammed, but for someone as composed as her, it was an uncharacteristically strong action.
With a faint, knowing smile, Ha-Yeong finally spoke.
"I heard your introduction well. Now, shouldn't we introduce ourselves too?"
"That sounds good. We can't just sit here and do nothing."
Yun-Jung, wiping the corner of her mouth with the cloth, chimed in to support Ha-Yeong's suggestion. It had been a while since I last saw those two interact. Though it wasn't exactly a full conversation—Yun-Jung had merely picked up on Ha-Yeong's words—it was still a sign that their relationship might be improving. Might.
The real issue was… what exactly they meant by not just sitting still. I couldn't quite grasp their intentions.
Meanwhile, Go Yeon-Joo, completely unfazed, gave a relaxed smile and nodded as if to say, Go ahead, let's see what you've got. The fire in the eyes of the two female players seemed to flare up in response, or at least, that's what it felt like.
One by one, our party members began introducing themselves. With each introduction, Go Yeon-Joo's reactions varied significantly—specifically, the titles she assigned to each person were different.
She addressed An-Hyun as "Mr. Ahn", while she called An-Sol "Little One." Yun-Jung, to my surprise, was dubbed "Kiddo." What was even more surprising, however, was that Yun-Jung didn't protest. (Though, the moment she heard it, she did shoot a sharp glare at Go Yeon-Joo. That was probably the strongest form of rebellion she could muster at the moment.)
To some, Go Yeon-Joo's attitude might have seemed arrogant, but no one openly criticized her. The reputation of 〈Shadow Queen〉 was enough to justify such behavior.
After everyone had introduced themselves, it was finally Vivienne's turn. Unlike her usual demeanor, she spoke in a cold, detached tone.
"Vivienne La Clacidas. Mage-type, Rare-Class. Age twenty-four."
As soon as Vivienne finished her introduction, Go Yeon-Joo lingered on her with an appraising gaze. It seemed Vivienne's status as an Ancient Alchemist rather than a player had piqued her interest. For a brief moment, the two locked eyes—then, as if by silent agreement, they both looked away at the same time.
Finally, Go Yeon-Joo turned to me.
Unlike the others, she addressed me as you.
At that, the group's expressions subtly shifted.
"Kim Su-Hyeon, you… You're a Secret-Class player, right?"
"Kim Su-Hyeon. Sword-type, Secret-Class. Age twenty-four. But you already knew that."
"No, there's still one thing I don't know," She replied smoothly. "You said it's a Secret-Class, but... what's the name of your class?"
Go Yeon-Joo slipped the question casually, but I scoffed at her attempt.
Sure, once I founded a clan, my class name would inevitably become public knowledge. But there was no reason to hand that information over to her right now.
Especially because—however slim the chance—someone could potentially infer my class's Authority from its name. And in a world where power meant everything, that was a vulnerability I wasn't willing to expose.
Unless absolutely necessary, I intended to keep that secret for as long as possible.
When I kept my mouth shut, Go Yeon-Joo pressed me again.
"Aww, come on. Why not just spill it already? You know everything about me, don't you? Doesn't that feel a little unfair?"
"No, not really. 〈Shadow Queen〉 has been active for a long time, so of course, people would know about you. But we're different. Besides, you already have a rough guess, don't you?"
"I don't have a guess. That's why you should tell me."
"No."
At my firm refusal, Go Yeon-Joo pouted slightly before glancing over at the others.
The group, watching our casual exchange, looked downright miserable—like something precious had just been stolen from them. Honestly, I could ignore most of them, but Ha-Yeong's expression, like she'd just been slapped, was hard to bear.
I let out a sigh internally.
"Hmph. If you don't want to tell me, fine. We'll be sticking together for a while anyway, so I'll have plenty of chances."
The word sticking together made me pause for a moment, but I quickly responded.
"Go ahead. Try all you want."
"Hehe. Who says I need to hear it from you?"
Her sly smile sent a shiver down my spine.
The moment Go Yeon-Joo spoke in that subtle, suggestive tone, my expression hardened. I lifted my head and locked eyes with her.
Seeing my reaction, she stiffened for a moment—then casually whistled, as if trying to play it off.
I continued to stare at her in silence before finally speaking in an even, measured tone.
"Just so we're clear—if I find even the slightest trace of 〈Eyes Of Temptation〉 used on my people, things are going to get very unpleasant."
"Oh my, how sensitive. It's not even a particularly harmful ability—"
"〈Eyes Of Temptation〉 falls under the category of mental corruption magic. It's a type of Mystic Eye. Once it's used to infiltrate someone's mind, it can make them more vulnerable to other curses in the future. If you so much as touch a single strand of their hair with it, consider our agreement void—by your choice."
At my warning, the group's expressions shifted again.
Just moments ago, they had been fuming at Go Yeon-Joo for openly teasing me. But now, after hearing me firmly stand up for them, their postures straightened with a sense of pride.
Even in front of a Top 10 Ranked Player, their caravan leader wasn't backing down. It seemed to give them a sense of vicarious satisfaction.
Yun-Jung and Sol, who had been anxiously glancing between me and Go Yeon-Joo, visibly relaxed. They hummed softly in agreement, nodding their heads.
And then—
"Of course. That's our dad, after all."
I heard someone mutter it.
At the exact same moment, I also heard Go Yeon-Joo snort with laughter.
I clenched my jaw.
This time, no matter what—I was going to find out who started that and make them pay.
"Tch. How am I supposed to live with all this unfairness? Fine, fine. I'll stay put, but only because I choose to."
Go Yeon-Joo spoke with an exaggeratedly exasperated expression, but there was a faintly amused smile at the corners of her lips.
She didn't seem particularly disappointed.
For a moment, I wondered—had she orchestrated this whole situation on purpose?
In a way, she was an outsider joining our group. Yet, by using me as a means to stir things up, she was subtly putting the established members at ease.
If my guess was right, then Go Yeon-Joo was carefully laying the groundwork to integrate herself into our party.
That level of calculated maneuvering showed the kind of seasoned experience only a long-time player would have.
Of course, this was all just speculation—assuming my instincts were correct.
After that, Go Yeon-Joo and I worked out additional details.
When I mentioned that the minimum time needed for reorganization was two weeks and the maximum was four weeks, she let out an incredulous chuckle.
After all, that essentially meant she'd have to shut down her inn for up to a month and a half.
But honestly? It didn't seem like she cared much about running the place in the first place.
The moment I brought it up last night, she had immediately closed the inn without hesitation. That told me everything I needed to know.
As expected, she didn't object to my proposal at all.
And in return, I found myself on the receiving end of some unexpected generosity from her.
Of course, that generosity wasn't just for me—she seemed to have taken a liking to our entire group.
She even went as far as to offer us free, unlimited use of the inn—a truly extravagant deal.
The 〈Modest Lady Inn〉 was by no means small.
In fact, if we had access to the first, second, and third floors, it would finally solve our long-standing issue of finding a proper training space.
That alone made me welcome Go Yeon-Joo's proposal with open arms.
Even just clearing out the first-floor lobby would give us a fantastic training area.
With her overwhelming generosity, the group had no choice but to accept her presence.
Any lingering complaints that had been hovering in the air vanished completely.
Watching how precisely she played her cards, I couldn't help but be impressed.
And so, I decided to push my luck just a little further.
What I was about to ask might seem shameless.
But in the next two months, I might never see her again.
Sure, recruiting her in the future would be great, but if that wasn't an option—
She was one of the people I'd eventually have to kill.
So before that happened, why not squeeze as much value out of her as possible?
Of course, this wasn't a demand—just a simple request.
I leaned forward slightly and spoke.
"The reorganization period isn't exactly short. You might find yourself a little bored during that time."
"Hmmm?"
"To get straight to the point—how about teaching one of the kids? Just the basics of dagger combat. Nothing too advanced."
Go Yeon-Joo smirked.
"I'm expensive, you know. I am a Secret-Class player, after all. If you want my lessons, you'd better be ready to pay."
I met her gaze evenly.
"I'll pay based on the student's progress—after the training is complete."
Go Yeon-Joo burst into laughter at my words. Meanwhile, An-Hyun moved his body restlessly, his face showing clear frustration at what I had said. I had no intention of pairing them up—especially since An-Hyun seemed like the type to fall for Go Yeon-Joo's charms the easiest. So, I quickly continued speaking.
"Honestly, it's not every day you come across someone as skilled with daggers as you. But if you're not interested, you don't have to do it. It's just a request, after all."
At my gentle tone, Go Yeon-Joo instinctively glanced at Yun-Jung. After watching her for a moment, she casually muttered,
"Well, at least I won't be bored for a while."
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