Left alone in his study, Chen Kai let out a long breath through his nose and leaned back against the chair.

His expression looked calm, almost indifferent. But had his subordinates seen his face just now, they would have noticed something unusual—his mood hadn’t been this good in a very long time.

“At last, I’ll be able to sleep peacefully.”

He muttered to himself.

The uncontrollable bomb had finally returned to his hands.

All the effort he had put into relentlessly digging into Nam Yein’s background had paid off.

That day—when Meiling declared she would sever ties with him and leave, and Yein humiliated him, saying he would let it go only this once—Chen Kai had burned with a vengeance so fierce it felt as if his whole body were aflame.

Everything had begun with Yein’s arrival.

Almost as though he had predicted Chen Kai’s every word, Yein had turned on the recorder before the meal even began. Then he laid down his condition: if Chen Kai didn’t want the recording to be spread around, he was to send Meiling back to the dormitory and stop interfering in her school life.

In return, Yein promised to make his daughter rank first in the grade.

Naturally, Chen Kai didn’t believe him. To him, that promise was nothing but a lie. He was certain Yein had simply taken Meiling hostage.

Sooner or later, Yein would blackmail him to get what he wanted. That was the only explanation he could think of for why Yein had taken Meiling.

But his prediction had missed the mark.

Meiling’s grades had skyrocketed in no time, reaching second place in the entire grade by a narrow margin.

What’s more, according to reports from teachers Chen Kai had planted inside Gwangcheon Academy, she was genuinely applying herself to her studies.

Even so, his suspicions never faded. Surely Yein had some other hidden agenda.

After Meiling’s first exam, Chen Kai gave her a direct order: She was to spy on her squadmates, Yein and Lumina, and report everything they did back to him.

He had never imagined that would light the fuse.

When Meiling later announced she was cutting ties with him, Chen Kai immediately concluded the reason.

Nam Yein. He had poisoned her mind.

It was the only explanation.

Even Miller, who had gone to fetch Meiling, testified that Yein had spouted nonsense about being chains and anchors, stirring her up.

If not for Yein, she never would have dared threaten him.

After all, Chen Kai had spent more than ten years raising his daughter to obey.

If news of their falling out spread, his reputation would be ruined.

No matter how well Meiling did at Gwangcheon, it would be meaningless.

Perhaps that was Yein’s plan from the very beginning.

Not to strike him directly, but to make him self-destruct, as though undone by his own mistakes.

The thought only deepened his thirst for revenge.

But it wasn’t time yet.

Weakness against weakness—at last, they were standing on equal footing.

‘I even know what you’re relying on. Crystal… So that’s it after all.’

His investigations had revealed that Nam Yein had ties with Eleanor Ann, the second daughter of Crystal’s president.

‘This is only the beginning. I’ll make you pay for humiliating me.’

Chen Kai’s vengeful thoughts burned once again when suddenly the desk phone rang.

[Boss. Emergency. Please check the gate camera immediately.]

It was Miller’s voice, hard and tense, like he’d just run into a murderer.

Frowning in confusion, Chen Kai pulled up the hologram feed.

“—!!”

The moment he saw it, he understood why Miller had called it urgent.

Standing outside the gate was Nam Yein.

Beside him was the girl from Valhall he’d read about in the report.

‘How the hell did he find this place?’

As Yein’s eyes locked straight onto the camera, Chen Kai’s facial muscles twitched.

‘Don’t tell me Meiling asked him for help? No… If that were the case, she never would’ve obeyed me in the first place.’

[What should we do?]

Miller’s voice came through.

“…Send Meiling out.”

[…Excuse me?]

“I said send Meiling out. Tell them both to leave.”

[…Understood.]

When the line cut, Chen Kai kept his eyes fixed on the hologram, his face tight with tension.

“They’re not answering.”

Seo Yui stared at the intercom.

“They will soon.”

“How do you know?”

I only answered with a faint smile.

Chen Kai couldn’t ignore me.

The very fact that I had come all the way to his front gate was already enough pressure.

Sure enough, moments later the iron gate opened with a buzz.

Seo Yui’s eyes widened.

“Meiling…!”

At the front entrance stood Meiling with Miller at her side. Behind him loomed several men in suits.

‘Six of them… All Hunters hired by Chen Kai, no doubt.’

I clicked my tongue as I looked at Meiling’s face.

Compared to just hours earlier in Gwangcheon, it was now dark and clouded with gloom.

‘He didn’t even come himself, just shoved Meiling forward… Did Chen Kai even look his own daughter in the eye? Pathetic bastard.’

I already knew what kind of man Chen Kai was, but seeing this made me curse under my breath.

“Why are you here!”

Meiling shouted, her face twisted in anger.

“You told me to stay out of it! You even said you understood, so why are you…!”

“If it were you in my place, would you have stayed out of it?”

I looked straight at her.

“T-that’s…”

She faltered, unable to answer, and I almost laughed.

“Whatever he said to threaten you, I’m disappointed you didn’t come to us first. If you’d talked to me and Yui, maybe you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much alone.”

“I—I wasn’t suffering!”

Even in a moment like this, Meiling still had the nerve to bluff.

“I once told you, no matter what choice you make, Lumina and I will hold on to you anyway.”

Her eyes widened.

I reached my hand forward.

“I’m here to hold on to you, Meiling.”

“….”

Her lips trembled. But she didn’t move from the doorway.

“…Go back.” She turned her head away.

“Like I said, I’m leaving Gwangcheon. I won’t get involved with you anymore. So just leave. If your squad lacks strength, find a new member. That’ll be much faster.”

“Without you, it’s meaningless.”

“!!”

Her eyes widened at my words.

I tore my gaze away from her and shouted toward the mansion.

“Chen Kai! I know you’re listening!”

Miller and the other men flinched, their faces stiffening.

“Consideration for your reputation ends today!”

I raised my smartwatch, opening the holographic mail interface.

“One flick of my finger, and this recording goes straight to PBC! If you don’t want that, come down here yourself! Stop hiding behind Meiling like a coward!”

One minute later.

Chen Kai finally appeared at the front entrance.

“What’s all this noise in front of someone else’s house?” His voice was low, brows furrowed.

“You’re the one who created this mess.”

I kept the hologram open as I spoke.

“Didn’t you hear Meiling? She decided to return here. She decided to leave our squad and quit Gwangcheon. It was her decision.”

“Ridiculous.”

I sneered, and Chen Kai’s face twisted.

“No wonder your daughter cut ties with you.”

“Watch your mouth.”

His glare was murderous, but I only sneered again.

“Am I wrong? You threatened her, didn’t you? Told her if she didn’t obey, you’d send her friends to prison.”

“—!!”

Chen Kai’s eyes went wide.

So did Meiling’s. She turned to me in shock.

“What’s wrong? Disappointed I already know your trump card?”

“…..”

His face grew darker and darker.

“…How…”

Meiling whispered, dazed.

“Isn’t it obvious? A man who’s been hiding in the shadows, digging into my past without daring to act, suddenly makes a move. That can only mean one thing—he finally found something he thinks is a weakness. And the only thing that could qualify is that incident.”

“So you admit it yourself. Fool.”

“The fool here is you.”

I jabbed my finger at Kai.

“Going all-in with a card that weak? You really are terrible at this game.”

“…What did you just say?”

“The best you could aim for was mutual destruction. Since you didn’t have a guaranteed winning hand, you tried to bully Meiling into doing the dirty work for you. That way, I’d have no reason to step in.”

“……”

Kai pressed his lips tightly shut, while Meiling gaped at me with wide eyes.

“And the most ridiculous part? You don’t even understand your own daughter. She couldn’t lie to save her life. Every thought she has shows on her face and in her voice.”

“W-what…!”

Meiling’s face flushed scarlet.

“See? Told you.”

“Y-you idiot! Is this really the time to be saying things like that!?”

She shouted, angrier than before, but I only smirked. Then, wiping the smile from my face, I turned my glare back on Kai.

“And more importantly—Meiling would never leave on her own. She’s one of us now. She moves for her comrades’ sake. Since when did comrades need an excuse?”

“Comrades? Don’t make me laugh.”

Kai bared his teeth.

“A murderer who slays people and burns their corpses dares to speak of comrades?”

“Do you have proof?”

“…What?”

“I asked if you have any evidence I did that.”

“……”

Kai stared at me, lips parted, but no words came out.

Of course he doesn’t.

That day, we took a taxi to the ruins near old Bucheon Station.

Once you reached the outskirts, the traffic all but disappeared. In that kind of environment, tailing us without being seen was impossible.

And there hadn’t been a single car following ours.

The only possibility would be someone lying in wait beforehand. But that was impossible too.

Because the one waiting for us there had been none other than Persilla.

Unless you had concealment on Lumina’s level, you couldn’t hide from Persilla.

On top of that, she had been itching to meet the Craftsman I’d created, desperate with anticipation.

If anyone else had been lurking around, Persilla would have found them instantly.

And the ruins of Bucheon Station were a dead zone—no electricity, no cameras, nothing. Unlike Valhall, who maintained their own generators, every surveillance system there was long dead.

That was exactly why I had chosen the place.

At most, the investigators who came later could sense leftover mana. They could conclude there had been a battle, that fire magic had lingered heavily in one spot. Enough to raise suspicion—but never enough to prove anything.

And by now, even those mana traces would have dissipated.

This wasn’t just conjecture. In the game Latessae, there had been a nearly identical event about clearing the false charges of a companion NPC. That’s how I knew.

The fact that Kai dared to play this “murder card” only proved how sloppy his investigation really was.

If he’d realized I had fought Persilla that day, he wouldn’t have even considered making me an enemy.

“Meiling, listen closely.”

I fixed my gaze on Kai.

“If your father had truly wanted to bring you back out of concern, he wouldn’t have needed to make you lie about leaving the squad. Like I said, he just used you as a shield, so I wouldn’t be able to accuse him.”

Kai’s teeth ground audibly.

“And he can’t even go to the police or the city. Obviously. Because you’re tangled up in it too.”

“Ah… you’re right.”

Seo Yui muttered under her breath.

“If it came out that the daughter of Forward Magic Engineer president committed murder, the company’s reputation would crumble.”

I nodded.

“Though I still don’t understand how you didn’t figure that out yourself.”

“Sh-shut up!”

Meiling shouted, her face red as an apple.

“Now then.”

I extended my hand once more.

“Come back with us. If Lumina returns to the Academy and finds you missing, she’ll probably collapse on the spot.”

“……”

Meiling looked at me, then turned her eyes toward Kai.

Kai, jaw clenched, was glaring only at me.

After a long moment, Meiling stepped down from the entrance and walked toward us.

“Meiling! Stop right there!”

At last, Kai turned to her, shouting.

“Shut up.”

Meiling muttered the words and came to stand beside me and Yui.

“Welcome back.”

“…Hmph.”

She snorted at me, then turned her head to glare at Kai.

“For a moment, I actually thought you might have changed. I was pathetic to expect that much of you.”

Kai’s face twisted at her words, and he let out a short, harsh sigh.

“Miller.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Seize all three of them.”

Meiling’s eyes widened.

“They’ve only just broken past Level 30. That should be more than enough.”

So he must have heard from a teacher at Gwangcheon that we’d cleared the Headmaster’s special assignment.

Miller and the suited Hunters drew their weapons.

“Senior.”

“Yeah. I brought them just in case.”

Yui summoned her spear, shield, and skill slot from her inventory.

“Meiling.”

“Don’t worry. Any Hunter worth the name carries their inventory everywhere.”

She drew her staff and skill slot, then draped herself in a robe and hat.

I held back the words You’re still only a Hunter trainee…

“Good.”

I unhooked my item sling.

“Let’s show these fools our real level.”

(End of Chapter)

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