Chapter 12: Lee Jihye

"Sit down, please."

"I, I'm…"

I could see her hesitant expression.

It was clear she hadn't calmed down yet. As she wiped her tears away, shoulders shaking, she looked a little like a young child.

In the first place, she was an ordinary 21-year-old girl.

She had never experienced such a situation before, so it was no wonder she was like that.

I couldn't fully comprehend exactly what it was that she was feeling, but it seemed like she hadn't really understood what had happened yet nor come to terms with the situation at hand.

"I'm, hic… I'm sorry."

"I'm not sure what you are apologising for."

"But I'm the one who, hic… who."

"Hayan-ssi didn't do anything wrong. Of course, I didn't see what happened, but… For now, could you go through what happened?"

"I, I didn't mean it that way. J-just…"

"I know. Please, just tell me what you can. Take your time."

As I smiled and spoke to her, she slowly began to speak.

In fact, I already had a rough idea of how the story went, and it was rather predictable.

The problem was that I couldn't understand her words at all.

It was hard for me to figure out what she was saying through all the sobbing and tears

Thanks to the system, I knew her level of intelligence wasn't low, but perhaps it wasn't based on simple thinking capability.

"S-so Seokwoo-ssi suddenly…"

"Yes… yes… I see."

"H-he grabbed my hand and I screamed."

"Ah…"

But it didn't matter whether I could understand her or not.

It was more important to empathise with her.

It was more important to listen to her reasons, why she was crying and why she was upset, than to judge who was at fault.

'I'm on your side.'

I didn't say it out loud, but she probably thought that way.

"Th-that's what happened… A-and all of a sudden, Deokgu-ssi came, and… he hit him, and then Jihye-ssi…"

"I see."

"A-and at that moment, Kiyoung-ssi came…"

"Yes."

The issue was that this lamentation of hers was taking quite a long time.

Finally, after a few more minutes, her tedious story came to an end.

"It must have been difficult."

"N-no. I-I'm a little better now."

It definitely seemed like she was a little calmer now.

Her shoulders which had trembled occasionally were set back in their original place, and her tearful expression was replaced with a slight smile.

She had regained some composure.

"Thank you, Kiyoung-ssi."

"You don't have to thank me. It's just the circumstances…"

"N-no. I mean, you said you believed in me before…"

"Ahh…"

"Y-you've been helping me ever since we first met… I-I don't think I've done anything for you…"

"Don't worry about it."

"M-may I ask why you're so nice to me?"

It was difficult to decipher the origin of this question.

I wasn't sure if she was simply interested in me or wary of me.

I thought it was probably the latter.

Most likely, Yoo Seokwoo approached her in a similar manner.

Let's give her a reasonable answer.

"I just did what I thought was right, but if I had to give a reason…"

"Yes?"

"I have a younger sister at home. Perhaps it's that Hayan-ssi reminds me of her."

Actually, I didn't really think this.

Yulha's personality was completely different from that of Jung Hayan before me, and it was hard to find any resemblance other than age.

But I thought that it would be the appropriate response.

"Ah…"

"She's probably around the same age as Hayan-ssi."

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"Hayan-ssi…"

"I-I have two older sisters, but… I lost contact with them a long time ago…"

A dark expression surfaced. I thought it wouldn't be a problem if I pried a little more.

"Your parents…"

"Th-they are not around."

"We have something in common."

"You too, Kiyoung-ssi?"

"Yes."

She looked oddly delighted.

"W-we are a little alike."

"Yes. It seems so."

It was good for us to have something in common.

The corners of my mouth went up when I saw her quietly clasping her hands.

I considered whether it would be better to be more active or step back from here, but unfortunately, I wasn't sure of the correct answer.

After thinking it over for a short while, I continued from my earlier train of thought.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble."

"Yes?"

"I'd like you to be a little more comfortable with me. It's purely my selfishness but…"

"Ah? Ah? Yes! H-ow?"

"We can start by speaking more informally."

"Yes? Alright… Th-then informally…"

"Just speak casually."

"Yes… I mean, umm. A-alright, O-O-Oppa."

She seemed to be shy.

I was able to confirm once more that Jung Hayan wasn't skilled in socialising with others.

As I quietly faced her and observed her with my Mind's Eye, her overall stats came into my view.

[Checking the status window and talent levels of the player Jung Hayan.]

[Name: Jung Hayan]

[Title: None. You should try a little harder.]

[Age: 21]

[Disposition: Pure Advocate]

[Class: None]

[Stats]

[Endurance: 11/Growth potential: rare or lower]

[Agility: 11/Growth potential: rare or lower]

[Vitality: 14/Growth potential: heroic or lower]

[Intelligence: 22/Growth potential: heroic or higher]

[Endurance: 14/Growth potential: rare or lower]

[Luck: 23/Growth potential: heroic or higher]

[Mana: 10/Growth potential: legendary or higher]

[Overview: This person has the potential to improve their magical abilities beyond legendary grade. While their overall physical ability is low, they can experience explosive growth as a [Wizard] or [Priest] in the future. They are currently unaware that they can sense mana. Even if the both of you become Wizards, it's inevitable for them to become a Wizard on a totally different scale from player Lee Kiyoung, so don't lose sleep over it.]

Her strength and vitality had increased by 1 and 2 compared to what I'd seen before. It seemed she'd been hard at work fortifying the walls.

It was also interesting that her mana value was at 10 points.

Unlike me, who only gained mana after becoming a Wizard, she had had it from the moment she was summoned here.

She couldn't feel it yet, but it was possible that I could do something to help with that.

It happened while I was thinking about discussing mana and magic.

"E-excuse me, Kiyoung oppa… C-could I speak with you for a minute?"

It wasn't Jung Hayan's voice.

The owner of this voice coming from behind me was Lee Jihye.

The expression on Jung Hayan's face shifted to anxiety.

In fact, I had predicted that Lee Jihye would approach me.

It was just a little faster than I anticipated.

'Certainly…'

This woman had a good head on her shoulders.

'Are you going to switch to my side?'

The side which was more advantageous had already been determined by the events which had taken place earlier.

On the surface, it may have appeared to simply be a case of judging who was wrong between Yoo Seokwoo and Jung Hayan. However, it had also been a power struggle between Lee Jihye and I.

It was likely that Lee Jihye knew that too.

No one had sorted us into a hierarchy, but she had realised nonetheless that I stood above her.

Disposition: 'Selfish Ambitionist'.

There were two patterns of behaviour that emerged when someone like this woman or like myself encountered a new power.

To reject it.

Or to join it.

She'd acted faster than I had expected.

She wasn't losing out by siding with us, but that shouldn't have been a decision made lightly.

I opened my mouth and spoke quietly, looking not to Lee Jihye but to Jung Hayan.

"Could you excuse me for a moment? I think Jihye-ssi and I need to talk."

"Ah. Okay. I understand. O-Oppa."

It seemed she was a bit nervous as she placed a small amount of emphasis on her last word.

Eventually, Jung Hayan stood up and Lee Jihye took her place. I caught her looking back at us again and again; apparently, she had enjoyed our conversation.

"How can I help you?"

"I… That's… I just wanted to apologise. That, I'm sorry for the commotion."

"It's fine. In reality, Jihye-ssi did nothing wrong."

"No, Kiyoung oppa. It was my first time dealing with a situation like that, so I was a bit too impulsive and didn't consider the situation outside. I didn't think about you and the others struggling beyond these walls. It would have been better to resolve this manner quietly."

"It's alright. I would also have been flustered if I were in Jihye-ssi's shoes. On the contrary, I think I should be the one apologising for being too sensitive."

"That's not it. Oppa just did what he had to do."

Although she was fairly young, I wasn't used to being called oppa by a woman older than me.

"That…"

"What is it?"

"Regarding Seokwoo-ssi."

"I don't have any plans for what to do about Seokwoo-ssi at the moment. Anyhow, his treatment comes first… There are other things that I need to get done in the meantime."

"Ah. Well, that's a relief. I'm sorry to have troubled you with this. I was so flustered earlier that I couldn't make a proper judgement. I'd like to be the one to resolve this, if you'd let me. Could you leave this to me?"

I couldn't help but worry.

I hadn't yet figured out how to deal with Yoo Seokwoo.

There were neither laws nor police here, so I wasn't sure whether to punish him, or even how.

"Hayan-ssi…"

"Now that I think back, I believe I was also overly critical of Hayan-ssi. If you let me handle this…"

"Please go ahead. It was my understanding that Jihye-ssi was the one managing this place to begin with… I apologise for stepping in presumptuously."

"Ah! No. That's not what I meant."

"It's okay. I know what you're trying to say. I hope you don't mind what happened earlier."

The point was that I also recognised some of her authority.

This woman must have understood the implications of my words.

'I have no intention of stopping you.'

So, don't do anything to get on my nerves.

Just lie low and stay out of my way.

When I had finished speaking, I could see that her hand was furtively reaching forward.

Objectively speaking, Lee Jihye was a beauty. I tried to keep my heartbeat steady, but it was difficult to keep still when someone was so close to my body.

Rather, I was more curious about why she had approached me in this manner.

"I'm sure that it's hard enough for you to leave the shelter… Thank you so much for taking care of us."

"It's not that bad."

"If there's anything I can do to help you, I'd like you to let me know please. Anything."

Saying that, she stroked my thigh.

At this point, of course, I could tell what this woman wanted.

"Anything?"

"Yes. Whatever that may be."

I couldn't help but be embarrassed seeing her coming on to me so much more aggressively than I had expected.

This woman might be foolish, but she wasn't stupid. I don't think that anyone could mistake her for a moron.

Her eyes showed a strange look of desire.

'A hunger for power? Ambition?'

It didn't matter either way.

"I like ambitious men."

To me, having power or ambition was a way of protecting myself. Of course, my motives didn't matter to Lee Jihye.

All she cared about was the result.

The question was, would getting closer to this woman benefit me?

The only thing she had going for her was that she could control the gaggle of idiots.

There may be other uses for her, but that was it for now.

She must have approached me because she was well aware of that fact.

The group may not be much use in the first place, but there was no harm in having it.

Actually, there might be something useful to gain from her side after all. Perhaps the connection with Jung Hayan…

'What should I do…'

I was pretty sure that she hadn't actually fallen for me.

If I couldn't realise that much, then I would still be thinking that she was just a thoughtless, dumb bitch.

'That's not it.'

Was she aiming for a contract? A simple relationship?

There was quite a lot that Lee Jihye stood to gain.

Reconsolidation of her power after it may have been shaken, as well as forming a bond with someone whose authority might be second only to the strongest within the group.

It could also be useful to make the public believe that we weren't on bad terms.

There was nothing wrong with getting closer to each other.

Breaking people down into enemies or allies was a stupid way of thinking.

"What do I get out of this?"

"Hmmm. How about Hayan-ssi?"

The corners of my mouth raised and I pressed close to her.

Only

I could see that Lee Jihye's face held a strange mixture of excitement and anticipation.

'Good.'

It was a sensation I hadn't felt in a while.

Our lips brushed against each other. It might have looked romantic at first glance.

But our thoughts were different.

'Let's use each other.'

I smiled slightly as I said, "We seem to be a little similar."

"Yes. I think so too."