CH 304

Eval Sevaru looked as if his soul had left his body. His mind was watching his soul escape as it shouted, ‘Hah! Adios, my friend!’

Chi-Hyun stared at Eval Sevaru, whose mouth was wide open, and then glanced at Chi-Woo, asking who this person was.

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“Ah, he’s someone I’m trying to recruit as my comrade, and he told me that…he wanted to meet you, so…” Chi-Woo trailed off with a smile.

“?” A question mark appeared on top of Chi-Hyun’s head. Soon after, his face became terrifyingly stiff; judging by Chi-Woo’s grin, he could roughly guess the situation.

“You…” Chi-Hyun clenched his fists. He had received a message that Chi-Woo was going to make a special lunch box, so he should quickly come and eat it while it was still hot. But it was all a lie? How dare his brother call him for a mere recruitment meeting? Chi-Hyun felt used, and he wasn’t going to let it go easily even if it was his brother. “What do you—”

“This is Mr. Eval Sevaru.”

Chi-Hyun was about to give him a piece of his mind, but stopped after hearing Eval’s name. He recalled seeing it on the list that Noel handed him today. ‘This hero is…?’ Of course, he had only heard of Eval, and it was his first time seeing Eval in person.

Chi-Woo, who had been anxiously staring at Chi-Hyun, became curious due to his brother’s reaction. He had thought his brother would get angry, and in fact, he did look slightly angry a moment ago. Now, however, his gaze was shifting between Eval Saveru and Chi-Woo with a strange look in his eyes.

After a brief silence, Chi-Hyun suddenly smirked, “Nice to meet you. I’m Choi Chi-Hyun.”

Then Chi-Hyun reached out his hand towards Eval Sevaru with a suddenly calm expression. Chi-Woo’s eyes widened at Chi-Hyun’s surprisingly seamless change in attitude.

“…Ah, yes. Yes!” Barely managing to come to his senses, Eval Sevaru got up from his seat and held Chi-Hyun’s hand. He bowed with his back bent into a perfect right angle in a display of extreme politeness.

“It’s all right. You can sit down.”

“Ah…yes…thank you.” At Chi-Hyun’s gentle suggestion, Eval Sevaru awkwardly sat back down. Judging from his expression, he seemed to still be wondering if he was dreaming.

“So, you said you wanted to meet me,” Chi-Hyun clasped his hands and said with a smile.

“…I…” Eval Sevaru looked between Chi-Woo and Chi-Hyun and licked his lips. “May I ask…what’s the relationship between you two…?”

“This punk?” Although Eval asked with an extremely cautious tone, Chi-Hyun easily put his hand on Chi-Woo’s head and messed up his brother’s hair. “He’s my brother.”

Eval Sevaru looked at them with disbelief. “Sir, I’ve heard that you had a follower, but I’ve never heard about a sworn brother.”

“Ah, he’s not my sworn brother.”

Chi-Woo frowned because he could feel his brother’s anger from the hand grabbing his head. Chi-Hyun was grabbing and shaking it under the guise of ruffling his hair. But when he glanced sideways, Chi-Hyun was just smiling calmly.

His irritating brother continued, “But my blood-related brother.”

“What? You’re seriously expecting me to believe—what the fuck?!” Eval Sevaru stopped talking and jumped. Chi-Hyun and Chi-Woo had shared their user information’s names at the same time. Eval Sevaru thought, ‘What the heck is this now—’ and stared blankly at the messages in the air before quickly realizing his mistake. “I’m sorry! Please excuse my language just now!” He immediately slammed his head on the table several times.

“Haha, you were surprised, right?” Chi-Hyun waved his hand to indicate he didn’t mind, and for a moment, his smiling eyes let out a cold glint like usual. “I didn’t bother to disclose it…because of circumstances.”

Quietly lifting his head, Eval Sevaru became mortified. The thought that he was now fucked crossed his mind; he had heard information he shouldn’t have heard. “Ah, yes. Circumstances, I see. I completely understand what you’re talking about!”

Chi-Hyun looked satisfied with Eval Sevaru’s attitude—he was basically swearing not to reveal this piece of information with his whole body. After that, they shared a normal conversation. It was mainly Chi-Hyun speaking while Eval Sevaru listened. To be frank, it didn’t really seem like Eval was listening either. He just said ‘yes, yes’ with a stunned face and had the expression of a man who lost his entire fortune from gambling.

“I wish to talk more, but unfortunately, I’m quite busy. I think it’s about time for me to leave.”

“Yes, yes. No, it’s no problem at all. It’s completely fine. Of course, you’re a very busy man.” When Chi-Hyun excused himself, Eval Sevaru nodded like mad.

“Then…” Before leaving, Chi-Hyun placed his hand on Chi-Woo’s shoulder. “Please take care of my brother.”

“Haha…” Eval’s eyes twitched even though he was smiling. It was obvious he wanted Chi-Hyun gone yesterday.

“Ah, by the way,” Chi-Hyun stopped after taking a few steps and said. “It’s a shame I have to end this prematurely.” He looked back at Eval Sevaru and continued, “Let’s have a meal together next time.”

“Sorry?” Eval Sevaru doubted his ears.

“Of course, it’ll be with my brother.” Chi-Hyun added one more sentence and left the room.

Tap. When he heard the door close, Eval Sevaru could finally breathe. He dropped his head in exhaustion and wiped his face, trying desperately to organize his thoughts. “Yeah…I thought it was a little ridiculous…” Drawing a timeline in his head about what the seventh recruits had gone through since they first entered Liber, Eval Sevaru had noticed one peculiar aspect. All the big and important incidents involved one young man. Thus, he had wondered why a hero of such caliber and ability was so unknown; there was no way Chi-Woo could remain so anonymous. However, the earlier revelation answered all his questions.

The Choi Family stood at the apex even among the Celestial Lights. Moreover, the youngest son of the Choi Family was even rumored to be the Choi’s secret weapon. It made complete sense that Chi-Woo would be able to accomplish all those feats and more. ‘I’ve been thinking wrong since the beginning.’

Although Chi-Hyun had left, Eval Sevaru did not relax. Chi-Woo was someone from the Choi Family of all families; the Choi even crushed the Ho Lactea, who were known as the descendants of gods. He had to take the utmost care when dealing with any members of the family.

‘But the problem is…’ The situation was already over, or to be more precise, it was over since he first heard Chi-Woo’s identity. Chi-Hyun clearly warned him that since he heard secret information, he should obediently comply with Chi-Woo’s request, or it would not fare well for him. If he didn’t follow Chi-Woo, he might really die. The legend was fully capable of such an act. Although he thought it was unfair the more he thought about it, he couldn’t blame anyone but himself. He was the one who had asked Chi-Woo to bring the legend over and asked what their relationship was. On second thought, he had fallen into Chi-Woo’s trap as soon as he stepped into this place.

Eval Sevaru smiled bitterly when he saw Chi-Woo smiling. He hadn’t expected Chi-Woo to hide such a terrifying scheme behind such a nice smile. Never in his wildest dream did he imagine that Chi-Woo would formulate such an elaborate plan. As expected of the Choi Family. At last, Eval Sevaru decided to surrender.

“…Boss.” However, even after knowing it was all over, there was one thing he was really curious about. “Let me ask you something. Why me?” He asked with a rather serious expression. “Although we know each other, we’re not that close. We’re merely acquaintances who might say hi and ask how the other is doing while walking down the street.” They had entered Liber as the same recruit team and helped each other a few times, but this was the extent of their relationship. “Why do you want me to join you so much?”

“Well…” Chi-Woo couldn’t immediately reply because Eval was technically not wrong. Then he tilted his head and said, “It’s my intuition.”

“What? Intuition?”

“Yes.” Chi-Woo pointed at himself. “I have a very good intuition.”

“What the…”

Chi-Woo smiled flatly as he saw Eval Sevaru become speechless. As Eval said, Chi-Woo hadn’t built a solid relationship with Eval from the start like he had with Ru Amuh, nor had he seen something special in him. Nevertheless, he felt a strong urge to work with Eval as soon as he ran into Eval after his conversation with his brother.

Moreover, Nangnang was a cat hero introduced to him by Eval Sevaru, and a hero Chi-Woo made a connection while investigating the Salem Academy. Nangnang’s abilities as a guide made a deep impression on Chi-Woo, and Chi-Woo had thought other guides would be like Nangnang. However, he realized that was far from the truth after gaining a bit more experience. Although Chi-Wo tried to immediately recruit Nangnang after moving to Shalyh, Nangnang had already accepted Ho Lactea’s offer. Chi-Woo had felt extremely disappointed then.

In Chi-Woo’s point of view, Eval Sevaru was the same as Nangnang. He didn’t know exactly why, but he strongly felt that he would regret it if he didn’t grab onto Eval Sevaru. Thus, he asked Eval Sevaru to join multiple times and used a critical move by asking his brother to come, despite knowing that Chi-Hyun would get angry at him. It was all because Chi-Woo didn’t want to end up feeling disappointed at losing a great catch again.

“Intuition…you said intuition…” Leaning so far into the chair that he was basically lying down, Eval laughed dryly and squeezed his eyes shut. He carefully recalled what Chi-Hyun had said to him: let’s have a meal together, with my brother. The weight of one’s word changed depending on one’s position. If a random nobody had said this to him, he would have snorted and let it pass from one ear to the other, but if a jewel that shone brighter than anyone said it, he couldn’t easily gloss over it.

‘He probably means that he’s willing to overlook small details and leave the matter up to Chi-Woo to some extent. I guess Chi-Woo is his brother after all…’ In all honesty, having the legend’s backing was a tremendous advantage. Moreover, this wasn’t the only thing Chi-Woo had among his cards.

“…” Eval Sevaru peeked open his eyes and stared at Chi-Woo. How much time had passed? Eval Sevaru suddenly fixed his posture and held out his hand. “Eval Sevaru.”

Chi-Woo was a little surprised, but he quickly smiled and reached out his hand. “Yes, I look forward to…?” He flinched as soon as he held Eval’s hand, taken aback by the strong grip. Eval Sevaru held onto his hand while staring intently at him.

Chi-Woo also fixed his posture and cleared his throat before saying, “Choi Chi-Woo.”

Only then did Eval Sevaru crack a smile. “I look forward to working with you, boss.”

“Me too. Then you’ll have to move in first, right?”

“There’s no need. All I have is this body.” Eval Sevaru withdrew his hand and got up. “It’s okay, so please just show me around since I need to stay here from now on. I also have some questions to ask you.”

“Of course. Let’s do that.” Chi-Woo also quickly stood up and guided Eval Sevaru outside. He didn’t forget to send a message to his brother before leaving the room, writing that he’d go visit soon, and if there was anything he wanted to eat, he should write it down and send it to him.

* * *

It didn’t take much time for Eval Sevaru to look around the place. After finishing the tour and listening to Chi-Woo’s answers to his questions, Eval Sevaru nodded and fell into thought.

“Then what should we do first?”

“It’s obvious,” Eval Sevaru replied without hesitation. “We have to establish a system, the system you were talking about.”

“How can we…”

“Boss, don’t worry and leave it up to me. I’ll be sure to set it right from the start.”

Chi-Woo tilted his head as he stared at Eval Sevaru, who was cracking his knuckles and bending his head from side to side like someone ready for a fight. However, since Eval Sevaru was stepping forward to help, Chi-Woo gathered everyone at Eval’s request that evening.

“Uh! You’re…?” Coming in while asking what was going on, Ru Hiana paused when she saw Eval Sevaru. “Why are you here?”

“We’re going to be comrades from now on,” Eval Sevaru said bluntly.

“What?” Ru Hiana looked back at Chi-Woo, surprised by the sudden turn of events. However, when Chi-Woo nodded, she decided to sit quietly for now.

When everyone had arrived, Eval Sevaru looked at the group and said, “Well, since I’m sure most people know who I am already, I’ll skip the introduction. I’m telling you this in advance: you must excuse my manners. After looking around, there’s more than one or two things we need to sort out, but we don’t have much time.” He spoke very quickly with his hands in his pocket. “Mr. Ru Amuh?” Then he pointed at Ru Amuh with his chin. “Am I right to say that this zone is under your name?”

“Yes…but…” When Ru Amuh affirmed hesitantly, Eval Sevaru cut him off and said bluntly, “Transfer it to boss right away. Within today. No—right now.”

“Sorry? What are you suddenly saying?” Ru Amuh exclaimed in astonishment. He was so surprised that he jumped up from his seat.

Eval Sevaru laughed at his reaction. Yes, he had expected this. “You don’t want to. Well, it can’t be helped—”

“Yes, I understand! I’ll immediately change it!”

“If you refuse, we’re planning to leave. Boss and I’ll leave so—wait, what?” Eval Sevaru stopped the spiel he had prepared beforehand. He couldn’t believe his ears. What did Ru Amuh just say? However, Ru Amuh was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared like the wind and came back like the wind, holding what looked like documents with both hands.

“Teacher, you’ve finally made up your mind!” Deeply moved, Ru Amuh reached out to Chi-Woo with trembling hands.

Eval Sevaru snatched the documents and checked them. “…” They were perfect, without mistakes. As a result, the ownership of this area has completely been transferred to Chi-Woo. Eval Sevaru had even prepared to leave and start over with a new zone if Ru Amuh was reluctant to give up his ownership, but everything happened all too easily. Eval Sevaru stared blankly at Ru Amuh.

“Truthfully, Teacher, I’ve been nervous inside because you haven’t said anything about it…but of course, I knew that you must have your reasons. I’ve been waiting for you to ask about it every day. And now, at last! I’m really moved, Teacher.”

Why on earth was Ru Amuh acting so ecstatic over giving up his zone? Rather, it seemed as if he had been waiting to pass over the ownership all along. Hadn’t Chi-Woo not been able to do anything because he was fighting for control with Ru Amuh? Or was it with another hero?

“Ruahu. It’s not Teacher anymore.”

“Ah, you’re right. Then what should I call him? Boss? Leader?”

“Geez! I know you’re happy, but calm down!”

Judging by how Ru Hiana was taking it one step further, it didn’t seem like it was her either. Eval Sevaru looked around with a stunned face. The saintess of the White Horse General was clapping and rejoicing, and Miss Byeok made a pleased smile. The silver-haired girl was tapping her yawning mouth with disinterest, and the crazy woman was laughing alone and talking to the air…

“…Boss.” Eval Sevaru whispered to Chi-Woo and asked because he was getting more and more confused. “Didn’t you say…there was a problem with establishing a system?” Internal political battles to gain control were extremely common everywhere, and even the Celestial Lights were no exception. When Chi-Woo said that he had problems, Eval Sevaru had thought along these lines since power struggle was the only thing that could’ve posed such a significant issue.

However, on second thought, this was also strange. If they knew about Chi-Woo’s identity, it was unlikely that any of them would go against someone of the Choi Family, a family that even the Celestial Lights were helpless against. No matter how famous Ru Amuh was, it was hard to imagine him going against a Choi.

‘Then?’ What was the problem? Eval Sevaru sent a questioning gaze toward Chi-Woo.

“Yes, I said that,” Chi-Woo replied without much thought. He hadn’t lied since he didn’t know exactly what to do as a leader of a large group in a world like this. On the other hand, Eval Sevaru, who had no way of knowing that Chi-Woo had grown up as an ordinary person, didn’t imagine in the slightest that a hero with the surname Choi would be clueless about something so basic. Thus, Eval Sevaru thought, ‘Was that also all part of his plan…!?’ Since Chi-Woo recognized his true worth, he might have bluffed to convince him to join.

By giving him the impression ‘I’m a hero who can compete with Ru Amuh’, what if Chi-Woo was preventing Eval from thinking that he was part of the Choi Family? Sometimes, a small detail like this could make all the difference. ‘Every single one of his words was a ploy to…!’ Eval Sevaru clicked his tongue at Chi-Woo’s speaking abilities, which naturally guided the listener to think in the direction he wanted with just one or two words. ‘As expected…he’s no ordinary hero. I need to stay focused at all times.’ Eval Sevaru took a deep breath and resolved to play hard, but also try his absolute hardest when working.