"...That woman said she wants to put herself under my protection?"
Lee Ye-eun nodded at my question.
She then pulled out something resembling a cell phone, plastered with unusual devices, and handed it to me.
"Want to call her? Brought it just in case."
Lee Ye-eun smiled and handed it over along with a slip of paper.
"If you call from this, there's no record left anywhere. You don't have to worry about being traced either."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Lee Ye-eun's voice turned serious.
"...The situation seems to be moving pretty fast. If anything, I'm the one who should be asking favors of you."
When I reached for it, Minerva extended her tail and snatched it first.
Both of her hands still clung tight to my body, like a cicada clinging to an old tree.
"Here it is, then."
"Ah, thanks."
Minerva delivered it to me with practiced ease.
I punched in Yoon Seul-hye's number from the note and started to bring it to my ear, but once again she snatched the phone with her tail and held it up against my ear for me.
"How dare you try to lift this Minerva with one hand? Use both — and embrace me firmly, with feeling, you."
I nodded at her whispered demand and tightened my arms, and she let out a satisfied laugh.
Then a trembling voice came through from the other end.
— H-hello...?
"Yoon Seul-hye?"
— Wh-who is this? Who's calling...?
"This is Yu Ji-hyeok. I heard you tried to reach me."
The sound of a sharp intake of breath came through the phone.
Yoon Seul-hye hesitated, then asked in a shaky voice:
— Is this... really Yu Ji-hyeok? The one from the World Tree clan...?
"Yeah, I'm the Yu Ji-hyeok you grabbed by the hand and tried to push that weird mana into."
At that, Lee Ye-eun's eyes turned sharp.
Choi Hyun-woo seemed to figure it was a sensitive subject he shouldn't be overhearing — he quietly picked up his sword, stepped outside, and shut the door without a sound.
— That's...
"Let's skip the old history and get to the point."
The truth was, I had a rough idea why she was suddenly reaching out — why she was even saying she wanted to put herself under my protection.
She'd probably picked up on what was happening inside the Six Stars in her own way.
"You want to put yourself under my protection?"
— ...Yes.
"What exactly do you mean by that? What is it you want?"
— Protect me.
Yoon Seul-hye answered like she'd been waiting for the cue.
— Protect my life. If you'll do that, I'll do anything. I mean it.
"...Protect you from who?"
— That's...
I cleared my throat, deliberately cutting her off.
"If you're going to ask for a favor, shouldn't we at least open up to each other first? That's what I think, anyway."
She didn't react to the sudden shift in how I was speaking to her.
After hesitating for a moment, she seemed to make up her mind, and tossed it out:
— From the Association.
I laughed quietly at that.
"Be more specific. Shouldn't you be asking for protection from the Six Stars — or to be exact, from Choi Jun-hyeong and Landschi, who's working with him?"
— H-how did you...!?
Yoon Seul-hye trailed off, then said, frantic:
— Yes, that's right. Please, I'm begging you. Please protect me from them! I'll — I'll do whatever you say, I swear!
She added in a trembling voice:
— A-a little while ago I got a call from Xiao Jie. She told me to be careful, in case your side reached out and said anything strange.
This had Landschi's fingerprints all over it.
He was a dragon and a skilled alchemist — making a puppet out of a corpse would've been nothing for him.
— I-I heard her die. I heard the scream she let out as she died, with my own ears...! But the voice on the phone, calling me — that was definitely her voice...! S-soon I'll be like that too. Or maybe even worse, so please. Please protect me...!
"Why would I?"
— ...What?
"Why should I protect you?"
I said it as I lowered myself onto the sofa.
Minerva, still clinging to me through all of it, squirmed around and ended up draped from my neck with both arms.
I carefully tried to take the phone back from her, but she scrunched up her face right away, and I had no choice but to leave it as she wanted.
"Let's be blunt — I don't get why you're asking me, of all people. Were we ever that close?"
— That's, well...
"You're not about to tell me you don't remember what you tried to do to me, are you?"
Right then, Minerva wriggled closer to my ear and whispered:
"Once she even sent an assassin into your bedchamber. A woman by the name of Yoon Seul-hye was the one who arranged it."
"...And you sent some creep into someone's bedroom while they were sleeping, too."
— S-so you really did get Manchas...! N-no, that's not — that's...!
Yoon Seul-hye, terrified that I might hang up, hurried to add:
— P-please! You said it yourself, didn't you? Put the past aside and get to the point! So please, please help me...! I really don't want to die, I really don't want to die like this...! I didn't claw my way through life this whole time just to die like that!
If I'd been in front of her, Yoon Seul-hye sounded ready to drop to her knees.
— Save me, please...! I-I told you I'd do anything! You know it too, don't you? I-I'm a big deal! I've got connections in entertainment and politics, one word from me and the public will move...! And, and I'm pretty too, right? Right? And... and...!
Rambling all over the place, she finally broke down sobbing.
— I d-don't want to die... please... please, please save me... Yu Ji-hyeok — sir, or what should I call you? Should I call you Master? Please, I'll really do anything. I really will. I'm not lying, so please, please save me. Please...
Listening to her cry, choking on her words, I glanced over at Lee Ye-eun.
She gave a small nod, and I quietly let out a sigh.
"...Anything, really?"
— Yes? Yes, yes! If you just save me, I'll really do anything! I — I can leave the Association and switch affiliations to your side right away. So please...!
"All right, I get it. Could you just keep quiet for a second? Let me think."
Yoon Seul-hye stopped at once.
The sound of her sniffling kept coming through, then at some point she must have clamped a hand over her mouth, because only low, hiccupping sounds were left.
'So what should I do...'
The truth was, I didn't care whether Yoon Seul-hye lived or died.
Like I said before, she was someone Choi Jun-hyeong had planted to target me, and she'd taken several actions against me herself.
Now that her own life was on the line, she was offering to betray that side first and switch over to mine — which meant, looking at it from the other angle, that depending on the situation she could just as easily betray me and switch back.
Then, as if sensing exactly where my thoughts had gone, Yoon Seul-hye spoke in a voice that crawled into nothing.
— I-I really don't have anywhere to go besides your side anymore... please... even if I sold you out and pulled off some huge feat, hngh...! They'd still kill me to keep my mouth shut, I'm sure of it...
Her words gave me more to think about.
Then a good idea came to me, and I nodded as I spoke to her.
"You'll really do anything?"
— Yes, yes...! I'll really do anything.
"Then let's meet again tomorrow and talk. We can go over the details and figure out together whether you can be saved or not. How about that?"
At that, Yoon Seul-hye burst into tears.
After sobbing for a long while, she answered in an even more deferential voice.
— Yes. I'll be waiting... please, just save me...
"I'll call again tomorrow."
— Yes, yes...
That ended the call, and Lee Ye-eun cocked her head and asked:
"So how are you going to handle it?"
"Hard to say. How should I?"
Lee Ye-eun sighed, pulled a chair over, and sat down in front of me.
"I told you before that I had someone planted, didn't I? I figure it's okay to tell you now... it was Xiao Jie. She was the spy I had on the inside of the Six Stars."
As Lee Ye-eun spoke, she moved her head this way and that, then poked Minerva's tail and said:
"Hey. I don't mind you sticking to 'my beloved younger brother,' but would you mind turning a little to the side? Because of you, I can't even meet Ji-hyeok's eyes while we talk."
I carefully patted Minerva's back.
She'd been completely ignoring Lee Ye-eun, but now she shifted her body grudgingly, like she really hated it.
When she finally managed to meet my eyes, Lee Ye-eun's expression made it clear she was not at all pleased.
"...Anyway, contact with her was cut a few hours ago. Based on what that Yoon Seul-hye girl just said, it looks like she was found out and killed."
"It wasn't just her. Every member of the Six Stars except Choi Jun-hyeong and Yoon Seul-hye is dead."
Lee Ye-eun nodded as if it were nothing.
"Faster than I expected. So that's why you said what you did earlier. Whether to count it as lucky or not — Seven Cala... ahem. The ones Minerva killed were all people no one would miss anyway. People like Na Il-seong or Lee Yun-seong — we could've kept them in check from our side anytime."
Lee Ye-eun named Na Il-jun's father and the man who had once led the World Tree's branch families, then nodded as if it were nothing.
"I've put the word out, so before long every limb of theirs will be torn off. What can those people even do once they've lost their entire foundation? You don't need to worry about it."
She gave a small shrug.
"After that, we'll deal with them properly when the timing is right."
I nodded and told her the idea I'd just come up with.
"You know how Yoon Seul-hye said she's holding a concert at the Academy, right? The Association poured a ton of support into it, and with the Memorial Festival having fallen through, the Academy seems to be deliberately blowing up the scale of this concert to flaunt it to outsiders."
"Mm... yeah, you've pretty much got it right."
"She told me they're planning to target me during the concert."
Lee Ye-eun smiled.
"Ah — a 'jang gye chwi gye1'?"
"Sorry, a what?"
Lee Ye-eun waved her hand, a little flustered.
"Uh... never mind. It's just an old proverb. What you're saying, Ji-hyeok, is to turn their plan back on them, right?"
I nodded.
She had it exactly right.
If we knew where and when the enemy planned to attack, we could turn the tables and catch them deep in their own blind spot.
Done well, we might even be able to take down Landschi on the spot.
The problem was whether Yoon Seul-hye could really be trusted, and whether she'd be able to draw them in cleanly.
'Well... if it fails, it's only Yoon Seul-hye who'll be sad about it.'
"For now, I'll bring Ye-seul along and verify things with her. Ye-seul can tell whether the other person is lying or not... we can check the truth of it first and then think it over. It won't be too late."
"What, are you going to save her like she asked?"
I laughed at Lee Ye-eun's question.
"If she's lucky, she'll live. If the plan goes well, none of the people targeting her will make it past that day either."
That alone seemed answer enough — Lee Ye-eun nodded.
She rose from her chair and held out her hand to me.
"The kids will be waiting. Let's go eat first."
I took her hand and stood up.
...Minerva was still clinging to me.
"Oh."
When I checked my phone, there was a text from a number I didn't recognize.
Up to 100 million won!
No collateral! No fees! No guarantor!
Annual rates from as low as 3% (equal principal+interest / lump-sum maturity)
Open to individuals, businesses, any credit rating!
Existing debt? Convert to low interest!
Your trusted neighborhood lender!
EMD Finance!
Get in touch today!
◟( ˘ ³˘)◞ ♡
"..."
EMD.
Amelda.
Esmeralda Lisnerger.
I immediately sent a text asking when a consultation would be possible.
The reply came back that any time worked, and I texted back that I'd reach out again tomorrow.
Bzzz.
"Hm?"
The phone buzzed again.
Wondering if it was another text from Esmeralda, I checked — but this one wasn't from her.
It was Evangelline Loengreen's number.
And it was a number she'd had me save only recently, the one she said was for her private use.
Thinking something might have happened, I quickly opened the message.
Hello, dearest customer ♡
"...Hm?"
The content was a little off, so I double-checked the number.
It was definitely hers.
"What is this?"
I know you must be busy, but I'm dropping you a quick texty~ (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و ♡
Thank you so much for entrusting me with the item this time!
The moment you send me the plans, I'll review them and reach out about the piece!
I promise I'll pour my heart and soul into making it for you... honestly, my hands are itching to get started — I can barely hold back!
(´ ワ `)>" Hehe.
I'm already prepping the work and counting the days!
This got long!
Adieu~ ٩(๑• ₃ ―๑)۶♥
"..."
The thought of her — who normally played up the mysterious-witch image for the media — gripping her phone to send something like this somehow left me with nothing to say.
And on top of that, doing it while wearing a robe and that giant pointed hat.
All I could do was text back saying I'd send the plans as soon as I could.
"...Tomorrow's going to be busy."
I muttered to myself without thinking and shifted Minerva in my arms.
Just off the top of my head, there were the meetings with Yoon Seul-hye, Lydia, and Esmeralda.
The visit to Alice Blesbuck and Kath Ryle's research facility, and a pile of other things that needed urgent attention.
...And I had to send those plans over to Evangelline Loengreen.
'Well — when have things ever been relaxed?'
With that thought, I followed where Lee Ye-eun led.
1Chinese-derived idiom that literally means something like "take [their] plan and use [it as your own] plan."