The selection process for the eighth recruitment came to an end. The atmosphere of the hall was better than ever before. For the first time since the second recruitment, the ever-dwindling pool of recruits finally saw an increase. There was no doubt that the situation at Liber had improved now, and compared to the time the sixth recruit team was sent, the planet had become a livable place.
Of course, this wasn’t the only reason for this change. In the eighth selection process, five special heroes, who differentiated themselves from the others, revealed their intention to participate. They were members belonging to the twelve families that lit up the Celestial Realm—those that battled for the top six spots among the twelve families on top of that. In reality, it was ridiculous that these families even divided themselves into ranks. But like it was in any world, famous people were always people’s favorite subjects for gossip. And the heroes obsessed over stories about these famous families and ranked each one according to their own standards.
Thus, if one was to divide the twelve families into the top half and the bottom half, the top half was as followed:
There was the ‘Choi’ family from planet Earth. The ‘Ho Lactea’ family from planets Aurelia and Blue Moon. The ‘Nahla’ family from planet Gliese 876 D. The ‘Afrilith’ family from planet Io. The ‘Mariaju’ family from planet Clair. Finally, the ‘Eustitia’ family from planet Banard.
Of course, a member of the Choi family who was considered the top in regard to history, tradition, and all other factors, was already on Liber. And members of all the five families who followed after the Choi family—although each considered themselves to be the top—had responded to the eighth selection process and were assessed to be suitable to enter Liber. At first, only three families announced their intention to enter the selection process, but somehow, two more families found out about it and also signed up for the recruitment.
Their goal seemed obvious just by the list of names who were participating. They were likely testing the water to see if there was really hope at Liber, and if the planet would really present them with an opportunity.
‘But will the prophecy really respond to how they wished?’ Laguel snorted and decided to focus on the task at hand. “…The seventh recruits had achieved their desired goal. It seemed they had joined the fifth and sixth recruits and succeeded in reaching this place as you all see.”
The heroes blinked hard at a point on the hologram.
Laguel continued, “Furthermore, it seems they had also succeeded in uniting with the previous recruits that had stationed themselves in the central region.”
Instead of going to the central region, the seventh recruits had called the previous recruits to their location. The fact that a larger group moved to join a small group could only mean one thing:
“It appears that the seventh recruit team had succeeded in securing at least one of Liber’s gods.”
“Wow, amazing.” A voice interrupted the peaceful silence of the hall. “How surprising. Who did it, Laguel? Is there anyone that comes to your mind?” The tone was polite, charming, and pretty youthful.
“Was there anyone among the seventh recruit team who could…? Ah, I think there’s a name I recognized from the group. Ru…what was it?”
The six people who sat apart from the other heroes talked among themselves.
“Anyways, it’s really impressive!” another person from the group said with a raised voice. “It’s something even the Choi family couldn’t do. I want to applaud them.” Clap, clap. The person clapped their hands hard enough for everyone to hear, and the noise rang across the quiet hall.
Laguel’s eyebrows twitched.
‘Afrilith…’ Laguel was displeased. ‘If it had been the Ho Lactea or Nahla family, it would be different, but how dare the fourth-ranking family that had only reached their rank by just only the consciousness of their people….’
None of the twelve families were mediocre, of course, but the Choi family was on a different level. The Ho Lacteas were members of a noble race in every way since their birth, and the Nahlas were reborn through eugenics. Unlike the other families, the fact that the Choi family was made up of ‘pure’ humans attracted the awe and admiration of many. Thus, there were others who also expressed their dissatisfaction like Laguel with the hero’s comment.
However, the Afrilith didn’t back down and instead smiled in satisfaction; the hero even had the audacity to look proud. It was as if the hero was telling others that she was allowed and in the position to talk about the legend this way, which made her special.
‘Yes, it wasn’t Sir Choi Chi-Hyun who did this. But the one who accomplished this amazing feat was also a member of the Choi family, you stupid wench.’ Laguel wanted to put the hero in her place but swallowed the words down in the end. In whatever field, the first place usually didn’t care about those below them, but it was the opposite for the second place and below. Laguel thought there was no need to reveal Chi-Woo’s identity to these people, who were eager to bring the Choi family to ruins.
“…Now I’ll go into the mission assigned to the eighth recruits by the prophet orb,” Laguel said. Although there was no telling what would happen until the situation arose, there was no denying that the eighth recruits consisted of more elites than the previous ones. And the prophet orb assigned a mission matching their prestige.
“Please look at the map,” Laguel said, and a part of the hologram flashed. It was a different place from the one they had just seen.
* * *
“You can eat your meal here.” After getting food from the square, Chi-Woo handed a plate to the girl.
“…” She didn’t take the plate. Only when Chi-Woo placed the plate on the ground and backed away did she cautiously pull the plate toward herself. But the girl didn’t touch it just yet. Chi-Woo sighed and started eating first. She finally took the plate and dug in after Chi-Woo had a couple of mouthfuls.
Munch, munch, munch. She ate eagerly by bringing the plate to her mouth.
‘Why does she eat like that?’ Chi-Woo wasn’t bothered by the fact that she was eating without utensils; that could be a matter of cultural differences. However, the girl kept glancing at Chi-Woo while she ate. In other words, she still had her guard up against him. It felt like he had brought an abused dog home, and he pitied her. After they finished their meal, she trailed behind him while maintaining a distance. While she didn’t hide as she had done before, she hadn’t gotten into the house properly until Chi-Woo left the door ajar and pretended to be asleep. Only then did she creep in and sat quietly in the corner.
“…”
And when Chi-Woo was training or meditating, he would catch her taking naps or praying with her necklace tightly clasped between her hands.
—She always prays in that direction.
Philip murmured quietly. Then he covered the sunlight with his hands and stuck his head outside.
—Will something appear if you keep going that way?
‘Mister Philip!’ Chi-Woo called out as he sweated like rain doing push-ups with one hand.
—I don’t really want to hear a guy moaning my name, but what is it?
‘Do you know Kabala? It seems to be a religion?’
—I don’t. It’s my first time hearing about it.
Philip crossed his arms.
—A religion. Since I don’t know about it, I suppose it’s not connected to demons. Then, it could be a secret society or esotericism not yet revealed to the world.
‘By esotericism, do you mean a cult?’
—Be careful. Don’t just label things a cult.
[Couldn’t it be a religion born after your death?]
—Ah, of course, mademoiselle. As expected, you are so smart!
The three exchanged opinions and carefully studied the girl.
—But it sure is suspicious… Hey, do you know?
While murmuring to himself, Philip suddenly turned to Chi-Woo.
—That girl kept walking in circles around you last night.
‘What?’ Walking around him while he was asleep? Like she was doing a ritual? The thought of it brought chills across his body.
—Yup. She looked at you for a while. Then she quietly approached you and tried touching your face or smelling you.
Philip glared at Chi-Woo in disgust and said.
—Perverted bastard.
‘?’
—Even I don’t touch kids.
‘What the hell are you talking about? And why didn’t you wake me up?’
—I thought it was weird too and tried to secretly wake you up, but…
Philip stole a glance at the girl who was praying.
—She saw me.
‘What?’
—She seemed extremely surprised and immediately ran away. Then she covered her eyes with both hands and shivered in a crouched position. It was pretty cute.
This meant the girl could see spirits.
‘Perhaps.’ Chi-Woo felt a strange sense of empathy. They were both people who could see spirits. Did she have to live a peculiar and tiring life like him? ‘…No, it’s too early to jump to conclusions.’ Chi-Woo shook his head. He had too little information to be certain, but one thing that was clear was that the girl no longer tried to run away but instead hovered around him. There was definitely a reason for her actions—a reason that the girl couldn’t say out loud.
Knock, knock. Chi-Woo heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. The girl flinched, and her eyes flashed open.
Chi-Woo shouted while doing push-ups, “Come in—!”
The door opened. “Please excuse me—?” A lady with ivory hair came in and flinched when she saw him. Her eyes and mouth slightly widened.
“…Ah.” Chi-Woo wiped the sweat off his body with a cloth and realized his mistake. Now that he thought about it, he had taken off his shirt to train.
* * *
Chi-Woo asked for Noel Freya’s understanding, and after excusing himself, he dressed himself properly and asked Noel Freya to come back inside. The girl hid herself, but he wasn’t worried about her; she would probably creep out again after Noel Freya left.
Meanwhile, Noel narrowed her eyes bemusedly. Even though she was famous for being a priest, a rare breed among heroes, she was even more famous as a devoted follower and an extreme fan of Choi Chi-Hyun. Normally, she wouldn’t even faze when she saw other men naked, but…
‘He really has a certain charm.’ Chi-Woo’s naked body was still vivid in her mind. Even though it was only for a brief moment, she had thought that he looked beautiful and wanted to see more. ‘That’s crazy! I’m going crazy!’ Noel beat herself up ruthlessly in her mind and felt a strong sense of guilt. She felt the urge to confess her sin and ask for forgiveness. Even though she didn’t show any reaction outside, she was screaming internally.
In reality, she was merely having an aesthetic appreciation for Chi-Woo’s ability, Golden Ratio. With no knowledge of the ability he possessed, however, Noel Freya continued to feel a strange sense of nervousness around him.
Clearing her throat with a couple of fake coughs, Noel Freya said, “I’m here because there is something I need to tell you.” She spoke in a very businesslike tone. “Most people are away, but I thought it would be better to first inform those who should be in the loop before others.”
Chi-Woo felt burdened by her words. Noel Freya was a hero who led and commanded heroes from the central base; thus, she wielded considerable influence in this place. He wasn’t sure how he should react or feel that Noel Freya considered him as one of ‘those who should be in the loop before others’. However, Chi-Woo’s worries disappeared as soon as he heard her next words.
“Sir Chi-Hyun came a while ago.”
Chi-Woo’s eyes widened. “Hyung came?”
“He left immediately after delivering a message, but… What did you say?” Noel Freya stopped talking and narrowed one eye. “Hyung?”
“Ah, no.” He made a mistake. Chi-Woo licked his lip and quickly said, “Truthfully, I respect him so much that he feels like an older brother to look up to. I’m sorry for the slip up…” He scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.
Noel Freya looked at him with a sour expression and snorted like she was thinking, ‘As expected, no wonder.’ Then she said, “I fully understand your admiration, but don’t you think you went too far by calling him older brother? That crossed a line.” She slammed her hand on the desk and rebuked him. “Even I, as a loyal follower, make sure to always call him Sir Chi-Hyun. He isn’t someone who keeps people close.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yes. He’s not the type of person who enjoys people praising him for being famous, either. If you think he’s like heroes from the Ho Lactea, Afrilith, or Mariaju family, you can’t be more wrong.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
“What did you say? Who?” Chi-Woo vaguely remembered hearing about Ho Lactea a couple of times, but what were the other ones?
Noel Freya stared at him. “You’re asking me as if you don’t know those families.”
“Ah, yes. I don’t really know any except for the Choi family… It’s my first time hearing about them.”
“…Pfff!” Noel Freya burst out laughing. She covered her mouth and snickered like she thought Chi-Woo was being cute. “If you were making a joke to show your sincere respect towards Sir Chi-Hyun—that was great. It was a pretty good joke.”
Chi-Woo blinked; Noel Freya’s mood seemed to have brightened.
Noel continued, “But your words have merit. Whether it’s the awfully noble Ho Lactea, the arrogant Afriliths, or the Eustitias who live for the sake of showing off—”
As she continued, though, Chi-Woo came to think that he might have misread her mood.
“Well, I heard that the Nahlas and Mariajus are better, but anyway, no matter how great and famous they are, they’re merely small fries compared to the Choi family. They’re not even competition. Hmph.”
Chi-Woo smiled thinly as Noel Freya chatted away. It seemed that Chi-Hyun’s name was her trigger. Every time he saw her, he couldn’t help but wonder how she would react if he revealed that Chi-Hyun was his brother, that they were closely related by blood. Nevertheless, she hadn’t said anything wrong despite her being a stalker fan of Chi-Hyun.
The Choi family from Earth had always been veiled in mystery. However, Chi-Hyun was slightly different. He was not a person who tolerated injustice and did not hesitate to take on a challenge that other people might have ignored. In fact, all of the aforementioned families have been destroyed or humiliated in one way or another by Chi-Hyun. In particular, it still made Noel Freya laugh to think about how Chi-Hyun had immediately rejected a thinly veiled proposal for a political marriage from the Ho Lactea family, which had nothing to boast about but its noble pedigree. After excitedly criticizing the other families for a while, Noel Freya finally regained her senses.
“Ah, I’ve talked too much. I’m not normally like this. Oh, dear.” Then, she finally got to the point, “He left because there was something suspicious about the Demon Empire’s movements… He said there was something he needed to do when he came back here, though.”
Something he needed to do when he returned to the capital? Chi-Woo tilted his head.
“The eight recruits.”
Chi-Woo narrowed his eyes immediately. It made sense that there would be another wave of recruits since he himself had been part of the seventh recruits. In fact, it was about time for new recruits to come. The important part was that all the recruits so far had been selected by the prophecy. Some of the recruits had also been selected for a specific purpose.
After a short pause, Noel Freya continued, “But—”