TRPM 460

chapter 460

The closing ceremony was over.

In other words, spring break had begun.

Even though spring break only lasted about a week at most.

Perhaps that’s why Elena and Elliott said they wouldn’t be returning to England.

“If we go back to England, it’s obvious we’ll be bothered again.”
“Learning swordsmanship from Arthur is great, but I feel like sparring with you, Gunwoo, teaches me more! So spar with me!”
“No.”

We already did it last time; that should have been enough.

“At the very least, fix the weaknesses I pointed out back then.”
“Hmm…”

Elliott fell silent at my words.

I was worried he might have fixed his weaknesses in just two weeks, but apparently, he hadn’t.

If he had fixed them, I would have been forced to spar with him without any choice.

“Tch…”
“……”

It wasn’t just Elliott—Ido-min also clicked his tongue from behind.

It seemed he was also eyeing a chance to spar with me.

“Then at least watch Ido-min and me spar, and give some feedback.”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that today either.”

I shook my head at Elliott’s words.

I often gave feedback when watching other kids spar, but today wasn’t one of those days.

“I have prior engagements.”
“Prior engagements? When?”
“From now until school resumes in March.”

I said this while taking out my smartphone to check the time.

There was still time, but not enough to casually watch a sparring session.

“I wasn’t asking about the duration… but a whole week of prior engagements? What exactly is going on?”
“It’s not exactly confidential, but it’s also not something to discuss in such a crowded place.”
“Confidential, huh…”

Elena, hearing this, looked at me.

“Since you said ‘confidential’ and not ‘secret,’ it seems like it involves a fairly large organization. Is it the Ironblood Guild?”

Or maybe the Association?

“It’s the Association.”

More precisely, the World Awakener Association.

“So I need to take a plane to the U.S.”
“Whoa…”
“Not the Korean Awakener Association, but the World Awakener Association? Did they summon you?”
“They didn’t call only me. But they probably considered my spring break when asking me to come.”

Saying that, I got into the vehicle waiting at the school gate.

At the same time, Lee Ha-eun’s expression showed surprise when she saw the driver.

“Huh? Teacher Alex?”
“Hi, Ha-eun. You still call me ‘teacher,’ huh? Nice to see you, but I’m busy right now.”

The reason Alex was driving was simple: he belonged to the Ironblood Guild and would serve as my personal driver and attendant for the trip.

We had to go to the U.S., and conveniently, Alex was American.

‘Although the main reason is probably because Alex has a crush on Sophia.’

The president of the World Awakener Association, Richard, had carefully selected trusted Awakeners who had crossed the Wall to later deal with organizations on the Moon and Mars.

Today, he gathered those Awakeners to explain the mission plan and to allow participants to familiarize themselves with each other’s faces.

‘Among those present, including Yeon Mirae and me, there are six people participating in that meeting.’

I thought so as I looked at the faces on the chartered plane.

“There are fewer than I expected, right?”
“Can’t be helped. You can’t force someone who doesn’t want to come.”

Yeon Mirae answered in response to my thought.

There are more than six Awakeners who crossed the Wall in Korea, but most were either not invited or declined to attend.

So only six participants were on the chartered plane to the U.S.

“Familiar faces…”

Sophia, who was acting as Yeon Mirae’s assistant, murmured as she looked at the other four people excluding Yeon Mirae and me.

Right. Very familiar indeed.

“(Ivan, it seems you’ve been learning defensive techniques from the Artist lately. But don’t make the mistake of relying solely on that and letting your opponent attack.)”
“(Yes, I know, Grandfather.)”

There was also Sir Sergey, talking with his grandson.

“(… Why am I even included in this group…?)”
“(… Cheer up.)”

Chloe, who had brought her former bodyguard as her attendant, muttered to herself about why she was invited.

“By the way, Jimin, have you been to the U.S. before?”
“Yes, for competitions. Of course, that was 200 years ago.”

Chairman Shin Hanji had brought his friend Woo Jimin along.

“R-Really, can I come along?”
“One assistant. It’s all experience.”

The head of the Swordsmanship Department at Seoul Awakener Academy brought his own assistant as his attendant.

All familiar faces.

Even the swordsmanship department head, whom I had met the least, I had seen often when I went to the Academy for shooting training. So Sophia’s comment was not unreasonable.

‘… And aside from Yeon Mirae and me, everyone else is practically from Seoul Awakener Academy.’

No one from other guilds had come.

“They’re all busy, after all.”
“Of course.”

Winter and snow had made it difficult to find the gates, so guilds had reduced activity. But now the weather had warmed, the snow melted, and it was time to tackle dungeons.

Since income had been low during winter, they were probably working hard to make up for it.

“But Artist…”
“Hm?”
“Why is Chairman Richard holding a mission meeting already? Is it true the shuttle to the Moon and Mars is ready?”

Alex asked.

A reasonable question.

Richard had previously said the operation to eliminate the Moon and Mars organizations would take at least several years.

Yet less than a year later, he was already summoning Awakeners to participate? It would seem strange.

“Probably not. The World Awakener Association is trying hard, but it isn’t normally involved in space projects. I heard they’re getting NASA’s help, but building a shuttle that can safely transport that many Awakeners to the Moon and Mars and back would be difficult.”

And they’d also need to prepare defenses in case the shuttle is intercepted.

Considering that, the operation will likely be delayed rather than sped up.

“Then…”
“Since Richard is leading it, he must have another purpose in mind.”

Even if it’s another purpose, I don’t think it would be bad for us.

Surely Richard isn’t crazy enough to make every Wall-crossing Awakener his enemy.

“Hm. Then, Gunwoo, what do you think Richard’s purpose is?”

Director Shin Hanji approached me and asked.

Not just her—everyone on the plane was looking at me.

“… It’s hard to say for sure due to lack of information, but one obvious purpose seems to be letting everyone get acquainted.”
“I see. What’s the point of that? Can you explain concretely?”

Director Shin looked at me as if I were a remarkable student.

… I’m not very good at politics…

“Perhaps he’s gathering the Wall-crossing Awakeners to form factions.”

I know politics is less about individuals and more about factional conflicts.

Bringing all the Wall-crossing Awakeners together likely means Richard wants to form factions to achieve something.

“Hehe. 70 points.”
“Huh?”
“You got that Richard intends to do something by gathering Awakeners. Choosing the word ‘faction’ is also appropriate.”

… Shin Hanji is far better at politics than I am, so she’s probably right.

But what’s the issue?

“And for a faction to work well, it needs a leader.”
“… Are you saying Richard plans to become the leader of the Wall-crossing Awakeners?”

If that were the case, it would be fine.

Richard has long represented Awakeners worldwide through the World Awakener Association.

He’s done well and will continue to do so.

“I wish, but no.”

Shin Hanji shook her head.

Most people on the plane tilted their heads at her response.

The only one who didn’t doubt her was…

“Hm. If it’s Richard, he probably wouldn’t try to become the leader.”

Only Sir Sergey, who seemed to know Richard well, said this.

“Exactly. Richard would take the leader role if necessary, but if there’s another strong candidate, he won’t intervene.”

And right now, there’s one very strong candidate.

“… Me?”
“Yes. There’s been talk recently—who is the strongest in the world?”

Previously, there were multiple top candidates like Richard or Sir Sergey, so opinions differed.

But…

“Artist. Since Gunwoo’s strength has become well-known… you don’t even need to say it.”

The world’s strongest had been decided.

And with that title alone, he qualified to lead the Wall-crossing Awakeners.

“… I don’t want that.”

I didn’t want to be a leader.

Simple reason: I knew how much suffering guild leaders like Shin Chaegun of Night Eagle and Ji Hyungman of Ironblood endured.

Being a leader comes with responsibility.

I didn’t want that.

“Hehe… Gunwoo, you’re already a great leader, aren’t you?”

Guild system.

“… Ah.”
“Even if you haven’t said it, everyone using the guild system is effectively treated as under your command, right?”
“……”

The guild system treats me as the guild master, and everyone using it as a member.

So I couldn’t argue with Shin Hanji.

“Guild master? You’re already an excellent leader.”
“……”