Chapter 219

Gong Cheonghwon has been under close watch by the Hwangmyeong Foundation lately.

Although he doesn’t show it, he actually has a much higher level of “mark detection” skill than Hani.

With a poker face, Gong Cheonghwon walked around hiding his emotions.

‘I’m sure it’s inevitable given that it’s my first accident after I became a full-time teacher.’

There have been particularly many accidents in Eungwang High this year.

While numerous teachers have been unable to discharge their duties, the remaining teachers were greatly valued.

In the meantime, Gong Cheonghwon was able to resolve the conflict with the service provider men through “a conversation”.

The said incident was unfortunately discovered by the Hwangmyeong Foundation.

For a few days now, he has been bombarded by so many questions about the incident.

Right now, he feels more like a criminal being investigated by the police rather than a teacher at the school.

Gong Cheonghwon once took an opportunity to ask Hwangmyeong Foundation’s secretary why he was being treated so intensely.

In response, the secretary gave a fake smile along with some words.

— Is that so? Chairman Lee actually asked us to treat the teacher politely.

Then why is the Chairman making his life so hard right now?

The secretary belatedly bowed to Gong Cheonghwon.

— I apologize if my answer was vague. I was ordered to answer any questions that you might have, sir. However, I do not know the reason either. I’m sorry I can’t answer you.

The secretary gave a somewhat odd apology.

Chairman Lee was such a mysterious character.

Seeing the Chairman in real life, Gong Cheonghwon realized that the rumors about the chairman were quite true.

It’s hard to guess why the Chairman of Hwangmyeong Foundation would assign his direct secretary to a mere teacher of the school who was actually being investigated at the same time.

But actually, thanks to the secretary, Gong Cheonghwon found a little bit of relief.

‘I wonder why they’re treating me like a VIP.’

There were so many odd things happening lately.

That includes the fact that Hwang Jiho, a high school student known to be a close relative of the Chairman, is actually of royal lineage.

Another odd thing was this; the Chairman’s secretary left him business cards and instructed him to call the number if anything happens.

The secretary handed not only his personal business card but also the Chairman’s.

On the back of the Chairman’s business card was the name ‘Hwang Jiho’, along with a device code.

‘This is Hwang Jiho’s device code? What the heck?’

Hwang Jiho’s persistent question about his order came to mind again.

Hwangmyeong Foundation’s physical examination actually includes tests on whether a person has an upper being’s order or even traces of an upper being’s energy wave.

‘So the one who gave me my order seems to be related to the Hwangmyeong Foundation. Who could it be…’

As he was thinking about the recent series of events, he arrived at his destination.

‘The atmosphere is different from usual.’

Gong Cheonghwon’s destination was Eungwang Light Nursery.

He had been living around the area for a long time now, and he has been doing volunteer work for the nursery since his childhood.

Not having visited the nursery in a while, Gong Cheonghwon looked surprised.

‘What the heck happened?’

The nursery had been recently embroiled in some disputes which resulted in fewer volunteers coming.

Gong Cheonghwon failed to give solutions even though he knew well about the issue.

Although he himself is a strong player, this case was actually involving competing interests among non-players.

He can’t exert his power as a player, nor can he ask the association for help.

Gong Cheonghwon, who recently became a full-time teacher at Eungwang High, has no choice but to come to volunteer more often.

When he found out that Hani was involved in an incident, he recklessly took action.

“Aigoo, who’s this! The teacher from Eungwang High again! Why do you keep coming here when you’re so busy already?”

“It’s Cheonghwon hyung!”

“Cheonghwon oppa!”

The family-like people from the nursery welcomed him warmly.

The nursery was unusually lively.

Children were running around with new toys, and the latest automated cleaning devices were all around the nursery.

Near the outer wall that needed repairs, workers with Hwangmyeong Foundation logos in their clothes were seen proceeding with the construction.

Not just that, a security service company was installing additional security facilities.

“Aigoo, you kids should call him Teacher Gong Cheonghwon!”

“I-it’s alright. Please call me the way you usually do. What’s happening here?”

“Hwangmyeong Foundation said they heard about our situation and are going to help us. I was going to reject it since they already gave so much donations last time… But I couldn’t refuse since it’s for the safety of the children too.”

The director of the nursery looked ashamed as the children were playing joyfully.

Looking at the director’s face, Gong Cheonghwon could guess that Hani’s story was already known.

“So you’ve heard about what happened to Hani.”

“…Yes. I don’t know how I can apologize to Hani and the other children.”

Hani and her classmates who came to do volunteer work together that day were all from Eungwang High.

The favor that Hwangmyeong Foundation is giving right now seemed a bit too much, but Gong Cheonghwon could somewhat understand it.

To change the subject, Gong Cheonghwon asked what he was curious about.

“Who are those people?”

He could see four people playing with the children.

They seemed to be practicing Taehokwon.

Gong Cheonghwon approached them to correct their postures and give some advice.

“They’re sent by the foundation too. They said they were indebted to a child who came from our nursery. Just how many gifts did they bring?”

The director of the nursery added that he did not ask who it was because it seemed like a difficult question to ask who they were indebted to.

Due to the nature of the nursery, where many of the children are from complicated circumstances, they often receive donations from anonymous people.

It’s understandable why the director opts to not ask specifics.

Even so, Gong Cheonghwon was strangely concerned about those four people.

That suspicion grew more when he saw the list of gifts they had brought.

‘Could the person they’re indebted to… Is it Hani? No, seeing their age, it doesn’t seem like it.’

All the gifts they brought were sweets and drinks.

* * *

My head hurts.

That was my first thought when my vision brightened.

After blinking my eyes a few times, I remembered the last thing that happened.

I collapsed after using my skill in front of the Cheondansu.

‘…Where am I?”

I somewhat remember the place, but my head is still not working well.

I don’t know if it’s because I was in bed for a long time, or I was just tired.

….Bark! Bark bark!

Ah, this must be heaven.

An angel was jumping in front of me in a warm greeting.

“Seeing your stupid face tells me you’re conscious already.”

Hearing Hwang Jiho’s words brought me back to reality.

Looking around once more, I realize that I was in Hwangmyeong Mansion’s guest room.

I vaguely remember the interior of the room but it took me a long time to realize where I was because the wallpaper, curtains, and ornaments were different from before.

Does each room change interior decorations regularly?

I wanted to ask, but there’s something more important than that.

“How many days has it been?”

“Three days.”

It was the White Tiger who answered.

What the.

How long has he been in here?

I guess my considerate playable character stayed with me and waited for me to wake up.

‘The first time also took me three days to wake up.’

When I used the destiny skill with it, it only took one day though.

It’s not possible to confirm exactly how much stamina is to be consumed before I’d faint, but I guess it’s similar to before.

Still, unlike then, I don’t feel dehydrated right now.

It seemed to be thanks to the vein catheter connected to my arm.

“I told you that you could leave me in my dorm room though.”

Now that the identity of Blue Tiger and Son of God were revealed, the Tiger Clan must’ve had lots of work to do.

Those who were there with me at the Cheondansu heard what I asked, along with the answers.

They must’ve wanted to meet Hani and Gong Cheonghwon right away, but it’s also possible they’ve conducted lots of investigation on them first.

Nevertheless, seeing that this little angel along with the tigers are in my room as soon as I woke up means that I’ve spent quite the time unconscious.

Although a player’s body is much stronger than most people’s, and even though my overall ability has increased compared to when I previously used this skill, the toll remains the same.

Even if I were left alone, I wouldn’t have died anyway.

I’m starting to regret having asked the questions in front of the other tigers.

“…”

No one talked further.

Olmu’s wagging tail also halted after a while.

It occurred to me that I had made a mistake.

I corrected it right away.

“Sorry. I should have thanked you all for your kind treatment first.”

The atmosphere was chilly.

Seems like that wasn’t what they wanted to hear.

When I was about to apologize again, Hwang Jiho spoke.

“You’re saying we should’ve left you alone in your dorm? You were vomiting blood even as you collapsed.”

After Jiho spoke, Olmu made a whimpering sound.

“…Jo Euishin, I wanted to fulfill your request as you were the one who did us a favor in the first place. However, we couldn’t have just blindly left you alone in your dorm.”

Jiho sighed as he pressed his temple.

“An apology nor an expression of gratitude is not needed. Instead, if something similar in the future happens, know that I will ignore your request again.”

I don’t know what to say.

Nevertheless, Jiho continued speaking.

“Considering that you requested it right before you used that unidentified power, I think you already knew the consequences of using such skill.”

I nodded.

I knew the effects that the skill would have on me, but I had no choice.

“Thanks to you, we have found our kin and even the Son of God. Ha… I can’t even get mad at you now.”

He says that but he had quite the angry face.

Aside from Hwang Jiho’s angry face, there was a catch in what he said.

“Do you believe that Blue Tiger is Hani and the Son of God is Gong Cheonghwon?”

From the perspective of the Tiger Clan, the only evidence that they’d have is my word.

There must be plenty of room for doubt.

“That day, in front of the Cheondansu, a huge force came down. It was something that wasn’t the power of man nor of anyone of royal lineage. I think we can rely on that kind of power. Above all, it’s what Euishin said. I believe it.”

The power of the Transcendent Universe is very different from the power of the upper beings.

I guessed that to be true, but hearing it from the Tiger Clan confirms it.

“I don’t want Euishin to use that power as much as possible. It’s not something that a human can handle. Wait… You’ve been found near the Cheondansu before. Euishin, were you using it that time too?”

Woof! Woof woof!

After Hwang Jiho spoke, Olmu’s tail wagged like crazy again.

Olmu seemed to be angry.

This little angel seemed to be telling me not to lie.

“Yeah. I figured the Cheondansu has some kind of connection to my skill.”

“…And you fainted on the spot. If White Tiger and I didn’t see you, what would’ve happened to you then?”

“There were the Third Year Class Zero seniors near there. The mountain spirit was there too.”

Bark! Bark!

Hearing those words made Olmu even more agitated.

Still, I can’t change what happened that day.

That was the only excuse that I had, so I just shut my mouth and closed my eyes.

Seeing that I didn’t intend on speaking, Jiho changed the subject.

“You asked three questions that day. The first and second were about Blue Tiger and the Son of God…”

I knew exactly what Hwang Jiho would say next.

I wondered if I should pull out the catheter and run away, but I wasn’t confident in escaping through the siege of Hwang Jiho, White Tiger, and Olmu.