TRPM 321

chapter 321

“(Heh heh… Seems like it was a good decision to follow.)”

In the hotel room where Cheonma, the Grand Sorcerer, and Oracle were gathered, the Grand Sorcerer smiled.

Cheonma and Oracle already knew why he was smiling.

“(I never even dreamed I’d manage to get Geomhwa’s hair.)”

Inside the small envelope the Grand Sorcerer was holding was a strand of Yeon Mirae’s hair, obtained by chance from the Cheolhyeol Guild.

The Grand Sorcerer was delightfully pondering what kind of spell to cast with that hair.

“(Planning to use it for a curse? Wouldn’t it be better to use it to strengthen a doppelgänger?)”

“(Heh heh… I’ll think about that later. Right now, I have too many ideas for spells to worry about just one.)”

Oracle sighed as she listened to the conversation between Cheonma and the Grand Sorcerer. At the same time, she felt that coming to Korea despite the risks had been worth it.

‘(Of course, this probably isn’t the end.)’

Obtaining the hair of the Artist, Han Gun-woo’s subordinate Yeon Mirae, was undoubtedly a great achievement. But by itself, it didn’t fully explain why Cheonma had brought both Oracle and the Grand Sorcerer to Korea.

If it was just about obtaining Mirae’s hair, the Grand Sorcerer alone would have been sufficient.

But bringing Oracle along too meant…

‘(There’s still something else.)’

… Of course, this assumes Cheonma’s intuition isn’t just a simple hunch, as the Grand Sorcerer suggested.

What could it be?

Why did Oracle have to come to Korea?

It was while Oracle was pondering this that there was a knock.

Knock knock.

“(I’ll come in.)”

The White Lotus Sect Leader (Baekryeon) knocked on the door and cautiously entered the room.

“(What is it?)”

“(We received a complaint from the Cheolhyeol Guild. They said not to take hair without permission…)”

Baekryeon said this with a puzzled expression as if he couldn’t understand the complaint from the guild. Then…

“(Tch….)”

“(So that’s the situation.)”

Seeing the Grand Sorcerer’s face contort in displeasure, Baekryeon seemed to understand the situation and continued the report.

“(To retrieve the hair, Geomhwa personally came to the hotel.)”

“(Geomhwa herself? Bold move.)”

Cheonma admired this. He knew well about Geomhwa and Yeon Mirae, having seen the Artist Han Gun-woo directly before, and he had accurately gauged Yeon Mirae’s strength from just a brief observation.

She was stronger than any member of the heretic sect, except Cheonma himself, but if attacked by multiple heretics at once, she could not win.

‘(Geomhwa probably knows that much too.)’

Yet she personally came to a place swarming with heretics?

“(She doesn’t seem arrogant… Does she have something she’s relying on?)”

Cheonma muttered with interest as he spoke to the Grand Sorcerer.

“(I suppose we’ll have to give up on the hair.)”

“(Huuu….)”

The Grand Sorcerer sighed deeply, genuinely disappointed, and handed the envelope containing Mirae’s hair to Cheonma. Cheonma, looking bewildered, said:

“(… You want to give that to me while I’m wearing this restraint suit?)”

The restraint suit Cheonma wore had his arms immobilized, so naturally, he couldn’t take the envelope.

“(Ugh….)”

Oracle, who took the envelope instead, muttered quietly as she looked at it.

“(… She must have noticed, right?)”

“(Probably. Not sure if there’s some special magic on the hair or if she’s just certain that old man took it.)”

Cheonma responded to Oracle’s question like that…

“(Ahem….)”

The Grand Sorcerer cleared his throat, looking embarrassed.

“(Sigh….)”

Oracle sighed, realizing that one of her worries had become reality.

“(Whether it was because she noticed we took the hair or if she already knew, it seems the Artist and her companions know we’re on the same side.)”

What to do… Oracle muttered, handing the envelope to Baekryeon, who had been waiting quietly.

“(Phew… Giving this to her should be enough.)”

Cheonma had already left all the trivial tasks to Baekryeon, so dealing with Yeon Mirae was essentially her responsibility. Oracle didn’t feel completely at ease leaving such a difficult task to her, but…

“(Understood.)”

Baekryeon quietly took the envelope and left the room.

“(……)”

Walking down the hotel corridor, Baekryeon paused for a moment before speaking to those who had been tailing her.

“(This task was entrusted to me directly by Cheonma. And you all know very well that Cheonma wouldn’t want us causing trouble here, right?)”

One of the followers trailing Baekryeon revealed himself. Of course, Baekryeon knew who he was.

“(Wasn’t he the former junior leader of the Cheonma Sect?)”

“(……)”

The junior leader did not respond. Baekryeon thought to herself:

‘(Such a child.)’

Considering he had been raised with privileges in the Cheonma Sect, it wasn’t surprising he had that kind of personality.

Of course, being called the junior leader didn’t mean he was actually young. He was the successor to the current elder of the Cheonma Sect, Hyeolma, and in terms of age, he was closer to middle age.

‘(What about the others… Are they just watching?)’

The junior leader wasn’t the only one trailing her, but he was the only one to reveal himself.

The warriors of the Myung Sect and the head of the Ilwol Shin Sect were probably displeased that Baekryeon was working on Cheonma’s orders, but they had no intention of showing it openly.

In contrast…

“(… Grrr….)”

The junior leader of the Cheonma Sect gritted his teeth as he stared at Baekryeon. He was openly radiating killing intent, ready to attack at the slightest opportunity.

‘(Hyeolma really messed up raising that one.)’

Ah, he wasn’t Hyeolma’s biological son? Baekryeon deliberately left an opening.

Whoosh…!

The junior leader charged at the opening.

‘(So simple-minded.)’

Baekryeon clicked her tongue, seeing how straightforward he was. A typical case of someone strengthened only through training and elixirs.

Of course, talent was needed to reach that level… Anyway, the junior leader seemed strong, but that was all. Charging straight at such an obvious gap.

‘(Since he’s at least an Aura Master, charging like this would be enough to deal with most opponents.)’

Baekryeon smoothly dodged his strike.

“(What…!)”

‘(Still, not enough to hit me.)’

To think someone like this was considered one of the strongest heretics alongside her… Baekryeon lamented internally and landed a palm strike on his jaw.

“(Ugh?!)”

“(Approaching a martial artist without a weapon… Do you even know the basics of fighting?)”

She said this while turning her body. The strike had sent his head violently shaking, and he couldn’t block Baekryeon.

“(… Looks like the Cheonma Sect will fall.)”

“(I wonder which organization will take their place….)”

The Myung Sect warriors quietly discussed the scene, while the head of the Ilwol Shin Sect clicked her tongue, relieved that her own successor wouldn’t behave that way.

“Here it is.”

“……”

In the hotel lobby, Baekryeon handed the envelope to Yeon Mirae, speaking in Korean. She checked the contents and, as expected, it contained her hair.

‘Annoying old man….’

Through Sofia, Mirae could identify the heretics who had come to Korea with Cheonma. Besides the five heretics whose faces were already known, she could also identify two others whose identities were clear but not publicly known.

‘They were just an old man and a woman.’

Of course, considering they came with Cheonma, they were not ordinary at all. Mirae could infer their identities: the old man was the Grand Sorcerer, and the woman was Oracle.

“Confirmed.”

After checking her hair, Mirae told Baekryeon. There was a possibility only part of the hair was returned, but…

‘My intuition says it was returned honestly.’

Although Mirae had many things she could say to the Grand Sorcerer, she decided to be satisfied for now. The Grand Sorcerer had a heroic image in public, and a conflict over this could be disadvantageous for her…

‘It would also be difficult to safely go in and out.’

With Baekryeon in front of her and Myung Sect warriors and the Ilwol Shin Sect leader watching from behind, it would be difficult to enter the room with Cheonma.

‘… But wasn’t the junior leader of the Cheonma Sect there too?’

She briefly thought about it but quickly dismissed the doubt. Mirae gave Baekryeon a light nod and left the hotel.

“… You said you went to collect the item? How did it go?”

Ahead of her was Shin Chae-geon, guild master of the Night Eagle Guild, overseeing Cheonma and the heretics. Mirae briefly explained what had happened.

“The item stolen from me was returned immediately. Apparently, the theft was a unilateral action by one of the heretics… and Cheonma seems to have no intention of breaking the conditions proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Shin Chae-geon felt some relief at Mirae’s words.

‘When that brat suddenly appeared at the hotel saying a heretic stole her item, I thought my heart would drop…’

He had assumed the heretics had some hidden agenda. He even imagined a future where heretics clashed with Mirae, or even Cheonma clashed with the Artist.

‘Still, Cheonma faithfully following the Ministry’s conditions…’

This also meant his burden was lessened—they had no intention of causing trouble.

“Phew… Thanks for letting me know.”

“Yes, take care.”

As Mirae was about to leave,

“?!”

“?!”

Both she and Shin Chae-geon felt someone’s gaze on them.

“What… what was that just now?!”

“What the hell….”

However, they weren’t the only ones who noticed the gaze. Many passersby around the hotel felt it as well.