ReLife Player

[Windless Day (21)]

Korean Mana Management Organization headquarters reception room.

Im Gaeul welcomed Shin Seo-yeong despite her busy schedule.

There were only two people in the reception room.

There were no bodyguards.

Because she had dismissed the bodyguards who insisted on her safety.

She was firm.

No matter how much the bodyguards pleaded, she did not step back.

In the end, Shin Seo-young even tried to talk her out of it.

«How is your life? Do you have any illnesses?»

«Yes, I’m fine, thanks to the Fairy.»

With a smile on her face, Im Gaeul drank the coffee from her mug.

It was already mid-November.

About two weeks had passed since the failed battle to reclaim Uijeongbu.

It had been a very difficult time for her.

If <Queen> Shin Seoyoung hadn’t exposed the corruption of the Changhae Clan, she would have been criticized by all walks of life.

Now, she had used the crisis as an opportunity.

She placed the blame for the failure to reclaim Uijeongbu on Changhae Clan Lord Gil Sung-jun, tarnishing his morals and turning him into a villain that everyone could point fingers at.

On the contrary, she emphasized <Quee> Seoyoung , who began to be called a hero, and swayed public opinion with a hero defeating a villain.

Not only that.

Gil Sung-jun was trying to form a force against the will of the fairy godmother.

She used this opportunity to identify the bureaucrats who were working against her will and diminish the power of the anti-government faction.

«It’s nice of you to say so, but I’ve gotten a lot better thanks to player Shin Seo-young.»

«…That’s true.»

Shin Seo-young didn’t touch her mug, merely answering Im Gaeul’s question.

She seemed uncomfortable in this position. She just sat there, as if waiting for a sentence to be handed down.

It was inevitable.

Gil Sung jun had been brought to a trial.

Soon, she, the Changhae Clan Sublord, would also be put on trial.

«─I hope that player Shin Seoyoung will stay in the Twelve as it is.»

Then.

Im Gaeul changed the subject.

Shin Seoyoung, who had half bowed her head, looked at her in surprise.

Then she smiled for the first time since entering the reception room.

«─I apologize. I’m stepping down from the Twelve Seats.»

«…May I ask why? I thought that Shin Seoyoung would be able to keep the position….»

Im Gaeul set her mug down so that it made a sound on the table.

There were currently five vacancies on the Twelve Seats, including Nam gung seong.

Public opinion was still unstable.

Even as the angry populace condemned Clan Changhae, there was still anxiety about the threat of monsters.

But if the heroine of the recapture of Uijeongbu could remain on the Twelve Seats, she would be able to calm their fears.

She also calculated that she could use the <Queen> as her own power.

The moment Shin Seoyoung revealed the corruption of the Changhae Clan, she had exposed her own weakness.

«…I’ve learned a lot from this, and from now on, I want to live my life for myself.»

«…….»

Im Gaeul stared at Shin Seoyoung for a long time as she expressed her determination.

She sighed as if she couldn’t help it.

«…I envy you.»

«…What?»

«I envy you. That’s good, a life for yourself.»

Im Gaeul flashed a bitter smile.

Tilting her mug, she half-covered her face with the act of drinking coffee.

When the mug was empty, there was the fairy that everyone knew.

«So, what are you going to do after you step down from the Twelve?»

«…I haven’t thought about it yet. I’ll think about it after the trial is over and I’ve paid my sins.»

«I see. You still have the trial to go, and you’ll spend at least ten years in prison, if not more, so you’ll have a lot of time to think about what to do.»

Shin Seo-young fell silent upon hearing those words. She tried to understand Im Gaeul’s intentions behind her words.

Im Gaeul, locking eyes with her, still did not wipe her smile away.

She was born an actress.

Once called a leading actress who led the new generation.

For her, hiding emotions and smiling was not a difficult task.

«Player Shin Seo-young─.»

With a resonant tone, Im Gaeul changed her posture, crossing her legs.

Then, as if she had just remembered something, she clapped her hands.

«By the way, I received a report recently that the academy is short of instructors.

How about Player Shin Seo-young applying? I think you’d be more than enough.»

«What? I don’t understand what you mean…»

«Many players have been sacrificed. I have to take responsibility for the future they sacrificed.»

«…»

«That’s why I need your strength, the time you’ll be wandering around not knowing what to do, won’t you leave that time to me?»

Shin Seoyoung doubted Im Gaeul’s words.

In other words─,

«─I need a hero to be in jail.»

She was saying that she should pay for her crimes as an instructor at the academy.

«As a fairy, I don’t think it’s a bad proposal for me, and I don’t think it’s a bad proposal for Shin Seoyoung.

Most of all, as a person who is not a fairy, I want to see what kind of life Shin Seo-young will make for herself. What do you think?»

Im Gaeul extends her hand.

Shin Seoyoung stared at her hand in disbelief.

Her eyes filled with water.

She wiped away the tears that threatened to fall and took her hand.

«…Please take care of me.»

«I will. You can cry comfortably. There’s no one else in this place but you and me.»

«…No.»

Shin Seoyoung shook her head.

She responded with a smile, wiping away her tears.

«Now─, I’ve decided not to cry.»

☆

«Eunha, it’s a gift.»

«Are you sure I can have it?»

«Hmm.»

Eunha found Bruno’s house.

Upon entering the house, Bruno handed him an Avernier’s Cloak.

Eunha’s eyes widened as he saw the large cloak dragging on the floor.

«The skillstone was yours anyway.»

«Then I’ll take it.»

Eunha didn’t mind taking it from Bruno.

He infused the cloak with mana, and it shrank to a reasonable length.

Apparently, the fabric was made with mana.

This is good.

I like the camouflage.

The cloak has disappeared.

It has assimilated into the colors of its surroundings.

Since the cloak was made from the skill stones left by the Lizard King, it boasted a camouflage ability that most people couldn’t detect.

Even so, it would be the end of him if he revealed his skin.

The key to stealth is to blend into the environment.

The same goes for the Avernier’s Cloak.

Even though the disguise magic was in effect, once he revealed his aura or mana, the disguise would falter.

Nevertheless, the magic left behind by the Lizard King could be recognized by only a handful of people without revealing their flesh.

It wouldn’t work on someone like Baek Seo-jin or Han Chang-jin.

Wait, could Hayang see through it?

Jung Hayang had an excellent sense of reading information in mana.

She might even be able to detect stealth.

Eunha decided to test her one day to see if she would notice his cloaked self.

«But this, the consumption is a bit…»

«Because it’s made by a blacksmith.»

«I guess there’s nothing to be done.»

It wasn’t efficient.

With mana in his body below the average player, Eunha sought efficiency to compensate for his lack of mana.

But Avernier’s Cloak had a fixed mana consumption for activating the magic.

The Blacksmith built his artifact on the premise of versatility.

Furthermore, he wasn’t even the owner of the skill stone forming the foundation of the cloak, causing both efficiency and effectiveness to plummet.

Cheap shit, I should have asked the Maestro if I’d known this would happen.

I have no choice.

I decided to make do it with what I had.

There was no way I’d ever need to use Avernier’s Cloak.

Just then.

«Owww! Aboo! Aboo kyaa!»

A crawling Avernier was trying to grab his cloak.

«My baby, that belongs to the Eunha Boss.»

«Obu! Obu!»

Julietta lifted Avernier, who tried to escape while crying.

Avernier, unable to get the cloak, cried and struggled in her arms.

It seemed he really liked the cloak.

«It seems to have a good affinity with it.»

Eunha muttered as he folded the cloak.

Skill stones conceal their owners.

To find out if you were the owner, you had to spill mana on the skillstone.

However, before you do so, you may feel strongly that you are the owner of a Skill Stone.

At that point, the skillstone is imprinted with magic that can be used in countless ways.

For Avernier, this was the case with the Skillstone that merged into his cloak.

But the thought that a child who might become <Diamond Fist> in the future possessed invisibility magic…

Eunha suddenly looked at Bruno with a troubled expression.

Thinking that Avernier might become a big bear like Bruno in the future made him feel shattered.

Especially considering that this bear might wear a cloak that could turn him invisible.

It was a shock and fear combined.

Thinking of someone whose head might shatter without even knowing what happened, Eunha shuddered involuntarily.

«Ow! Obu! Obu! Ow!»

«…I’ll just use it until you’re older. It’s an artifact that doesn’t suit me….»

«Obu.»

Eunha spoke while playfully messing around with the cloak on Avernier, who was throwing a tantrum.

Avenier just moved the cloak, which was shaking in front of his eyes, here and there, trying to grab it.

Now he was grabbing his knees and lifting his diapered butt to get up.

«Ow! Ow!»

«Such a child might become <Diamond Fist>…»

Eunha could only hope that Avernier wouldn’t become a fire bear like Bruno.

☆

«Come in.»

«……!»

Acceptance number 3162.

That was the new name given to the man who had once been the leader of the second most powerful clan in Korea.

Thrown into solitary confinement, Gil Sung-jun trembled, his body shaking uncontrollably.

His mana circuits were damaged and he was unable to generate mana.

Eventually, he couldn’t get up at all and collapsed with a heavy thud.

«…Shit.»

Thirty years.

That’s how long he was sentenced.

He was never given a chance to properly appeal.

People who were once close to him turned as if flipping their palms, reversing all the wrongs onto him.

He experienced the tail-cutting he used to do whenever someone made a mistake, now done to himself.

«…Haha, hahahahahahaha…!»

He crawled to the corner.

Leaning his back against the wall, he laughed maniacally.

Everything had fallen apart.

Clan Changhae had disintegrated. The clan could no longer function without the people who sustained it.

The remaining clan members were all absorbed into the Dangun Clan.

He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

This was in exchange for his promise not to reveal those involved in the corruption.

«…Am I going to just accept this fate?»

Gil Sung-jun, his eyes bloodshot, glared.

He shed tears continuously but didn’t lose his determination.

He had no intention of accepting it like this.

He would seek revenge.

He would show those who turned their backs on him, those who brought him down, what despair truly meant.

«Just wait, just you wait…!»

Gil Sung-jun screamed with malice.

He chuckled, his shoulders shaking.

«Don’t…, don’t ignore me.»

The mana circuit was as broken as it could be.

But even though the circuit was broken, the gift was not gone.

As long as there was even a small amount of mana left in his body, he could still activate the Gift.

«Shin Seoyoung, that bitch…!»

Until now, he had never revealed his Gift to anyone.

As a result, rumors abounded within the industry that he could read people’s minds.

That’s half right, half wrong.

He didn’t read people’s minds, he read people’s pasts.

<Past Vision>.

If <Starfall Witch> could read the future, he could read the past of the target through <Past Vision>.

And he could guide the emotions of the subject in the direction he desired.

It meant reading the past in that sense

«Yes, it was like that…!»

Lifting his burned face, he recalled the last time he had seen Shin Seo-young.

Along with the past of the man who was beside her then.

The child from both of their pasts.

That child was the cause of everything.

Gil Sung-jun laughed wickedly, blood spewing out.

With swollen lips, he muttered the child’s name that was present in the memories of the two people, syllable by syllable.

«No»

«Eun»

«Ha»