Chapter 948

The next morning.

I woke up well-rested, without any dreams, or rather, I couldn’t remember any dreams.

After blinking a few times, the drowsiness disappeared, and I felt refreshed.

Although I had been forced to sleep, it seemed I had slept soundly.

Indeed, the sleep incense burner used by the mythological clan’s tigers seems to be very effective.

‘You meddled with the window again.’

To be precise, it wasn’t the window but the blinds that had been tampered with.

The manipulation of the time had shifted, but I had woken up feeling pleasantly refreshed, thanks to Baekho-gun’s efforts.

I couldn’t get angry, even if I wanted to, because of how well I had slept, all thanks to his care.

‘While I was sleeping, someone must have stood guard. Stop laughing and just go to sleep.’

Though he wasn’t in the room now, I could almost see Baekho-gun, reading my thoughts and laughing.

I checked the message window, and it seemed the juniors had fallen asleep while waiting.

If they hadn’t unexpectedly fallen asleep, they would have sent their impressions right away. But this was all Baekho-gun’s fault.

‘I’ll send it now, though.’

I quickly typed a message, apologizing for falling asleep while watching and sending my thoughts on the video.

After sending my message, I replayed Gong Cheong-hwon’s beautiful performance and the grass flute ensemble while getting ready.

It seemed like I should tell the juniors I watched it and give some feedback. It would be nice to also tell Gong Cheong-hwon, who had sung.

Gong Cheong-hwon’s singing wasn’t something you could hear easily.

Someday, this live version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" might become as precious as the recitation of poetry by Je-gal Jae-geol.

I backed up the video to several storage devices and left my dorm.

The sky was still cloudy, but the weather was expected to improve before the typhoon hit.

"Yes, the weather will be fine until the typhoon arrives."

On my way to breakfast, I ran into Yeom Jun-yeol and Yong Je-geon.

Yeom Jun-yeol, as usual, was delivering the weather forecast, but today, it seemed like he had more to say.

"Like Teacher Yong Je-geon said, the typhoon will arrive soon. I have something I want to finish before it does."

Yeom Jun-yeol paused and quietly stared into my left eye.

At this time.

The change in weather.

My left eye.

Considering these things, I could guess what kind of proposal Yeom Jun-yeol had in mind.

"Once the typhoon passes, the exchange competition will begin. Don’t you think we should focus on preparations before then?"

Yeom Jun-yeol seemed to want to finish treating my left eye before the exchange competition began.

There were water-controlling dragons serving the Water King, so even if it rained, they wouldn't be completely powerless.

However, if the weather was cloudy, dragons like Yeom Jun-yeol wouldn’t be able to use their full strength, so it would be more efficient to finish the treatment on a clear day.

Even though we were in training, it would be better to take advantage of the good weather and finish it while we had the chance.

As I wavered, thinking about how my treatment could help other shamans, Yong Je-geon delivered the final blow.

"And soon, they’ll be selecting an interim Green Shaman, right? The weather is perfect for it, don’t you think?"

When I heard "interim Green Shaman," I could no longer object.

They were planning to choose Oh Hye-ji as the interim Green Shaman to resolve the misfortune of the Oh family.

They were planning to wrap up the task during the summer vacation, aligning it with the schedule of Oh Hye-ji, Ju Su-gyeom, the Dragon King, and the other shamans.

If they needed me for this, I couldn’t help but assist.

‘If Oh Hye-ji helps with my treatment, it will lessen the burden on the other shamans. And we’ll likely deepen our bond with the Water King as we use our powers together.’

I was convinced that I couldn’t refuse this task, as I smiled broadly.

If my playable character smiles in front of me, I should be happy, but recently, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

Yong Je-geon put the final nail in the coffin.

"Today is the day the first-year students are joining, right? The main focus will be on their adaptation training, so two or three people won’t be needed."

Yong Je-geon’s words were accurate.

Today, two first-year students who had been absent would finally be joining.

The main agenda for the day would be helping these two students integrate with the existing training group.

However, there was something odd about what Yong Je-geon said.

‘Two or three people? Not just me?’

One of the two or three would definitely include Yong Je-geon.

I had heard that Oh Hye-ji, who graduated from the school where Yong Je-geon taught, would become the interim shaman due to a contract with the Dragon King. The dragon tribe wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

But it was surprising that Yeom Jun-yeol, who was so passionate about preparing for the exchange competition, would also be absent.

"Being chosen as a high-ranking shaman is a significant event for the family. It’s understandable if he needs to step away."

After thinking it over, it made sense that Yeom Jun-yeol was involved in family matters, but I hadn’t fully considered it.

The problem was that I, too, was attending an important event for the dragon clan, which I hadn’t anticipated.

The dragons didn’t seem to care, though.

With Cheon Dong-ha approving my outing, I left the landscaping area, receiving sympathetic glances from those who didn’t know the full story.

I was now, by Yong Je-geon’s whim, being half-forced to attend a dragon family event.

I thought I was about to head to the Dragon Palace, but just as we were leaving the landscaping area, a limousine appeared.

"Ah, you’re early."

I had expected to meet them at the school gate, but they were already here.

Yong Je-geon didn’t get into the limousine; instead, he spoke.

"Yeom Bang-yeol is sending a car, right?"

"If we take that car, we won’t know when the benefactor will return. I’ll be accompanying you."

Yong Je-geon exaggeratedly spoke about going to the Dragon Palace.

Knowing that Cheon Dong-ha was aware of my outing, I figured the tigers would soon find out, but it still seemed a bit too soon.

I got into the car, and without a word, Yong Je-geon and Yeom Jun-yeol followed.

I spoke to Hwang Ji-ho, who seemed pleased.

"You came quickly."

"I’ve kept my avatar at Eun-gwang High, on standby 24/7. I’ll know immediately if something happens."

24/7 standby? With all the preparations for the exchange competition and the body issues with Cheong-ho, I wondered if it was too much.

Though, Hwang Ji-ho didn’t know about Baekho-gun’s divine protection being passed to me.

This wasn’t something that had happened at Eun-gwang High, but rather, something Baekho-gun had revealed after sharing his true name with me.

If Hwang Ji-ho found out, I couldn’t predict his reaction, though I imagined he’d be furious with Baekho-gun.

If he knew that Baekho-gun had passed his true name to a human, it would definitely make Hwang Ji-ho upset.

Watching Hwang Ji-ho happily chat about this, I couldn’t help but think that seeing Baekho-gun get scolded would be a bit satisfying.

"The dragon is making interesting thoughts, but he isn’t speaking."

I briefly imagined how Yong Je-geon would react if he found out about the true name, and his fascination was easy to picture.

He would surely use his unique style of persuasion to pry into my thoughts.

‘But if that happens, I’ll have to reveal everything about the nightmare too. I can’t just casually reveal my true name or divine protection.’

I decided to keep the truth about the divine protection under wraps for now.

If Baekho-gun was reading my thoughts right now, I’d probably be at ease, though I wasn’t sure if he was awake.

It was a bit of a regret that I didn’t get to see Baekho-gun being grilled by Hwang Ji-ho or Yong Je-geon.

I hid my thoughts and asked Yong Je-geon.

"Now that we’ve suddenly arranged the Green Shaman succession ceremony, do you think it will be alright?"

"Don't worry. We can handle it. Depending on the weather that day, it will be fine."

Considering Oh Hye-ji’s personality, I realized she had likely planned her summer vacation around other matters, so I felt bad that everything had been shifted to accommodate the succession ceremony.

I didn’t care about Ju Su-gyeom’s role in all this.

Logically speaking, he didn’t need to be at the ceremony.

But, this assumption didn’t hold true.

Suddenly, Ju Su-gyeom, who had been busy, was there.

Accompanied by no secretary, he looked as composed as ever.

Although I knew how difficult it was for Ju Su-gyeom to attend without the ability to send avatars like Hwang Ji-ho, I wasn’t too pleased about it.

"Hello, you’ve come despite being so busy."

"Someone should be here to take care of things. I couldn’t trust any other members of the Oh family."

The misfortune the Oh family had been carrying was handled in secrecy within the Ju-O group.

Very few people within the Oh family knew the true circumstances.

It contrasted with how much the dragon tribe knew about the situation, including Yeom Jun-yeol.

‘That said, I couldn’t have left the role of protector to Ju Su-gyeom. This is difficult.’

Though I understood it logically, I couldn’t feel at ease thinking about the complex situation Oh Hye-ji was in.

Then, Ju Su-gyeom’s gaze fell on Hwang Ji-ho.

It seemed he hadn’t expected anyone else to be here.

"Hwang Myung Group…?"

"I’m Joid-shin’s protector."

No one had asked for this protector role, but Hwang Ji-ho answered freely.

Hwang Ji-ho didn’t say much else, but Ju Su-gyeom glanced at him and seemed to understand everything.

I wondered how much he knew, but if he had the deduction skills and information of someone like Ju Su-gyeom, I was sure he had pieced everything together.

As a high-ranking official in the Ju-O group, Ju Su-gyeom would naturally know that the dragon tribe was at the heart of the Hwang Myung Group, but Hwang Ji-ho had carelessly dropped the clue.

No matter what, it was clear that Hwang Ji-ho had no intention of hiding the truth from Ju Su-gyeom.

"You’ve come. Everyone, come on in."

A soft voice came from the hallway as yellow clouds billowed out.

Through the clouds, the Yellow Dragon and the Cloud Dragons appeared.

And behind the Yellow Dragon stood Oh Hye-ji, dressed in green shaman attire.