NOVEL WEB Chapter 75
“The fact that Invictus Office contacted us was enough to almost flip the whole place upside down!”
“Invictus Office?! They contacted Jinhyeon?!”
Ageha, who always tries to keep her composure, gasped in disbelief.
“Seriously? Did you misread that? Jinhyeon, you can be a bit clueless sometimes. Let me check… Wow, it’s real? Why is this even real?”
Seolhwa, who usually doesn’t say much, suddenly found her voice.
“…Show me the paper.”
Katyann, who had never spoken up in class, finally opened her mouth.
Lucia, not the type to socialize with the rest of the class, awkwardly hovered around Jinhyeon, trying to figure out if it was real.
“I’m jealous…! Visiting the Invictus Office was a dream of mine…! Wait… huh? Why does my paper also say Invictus Office…?”
Yeonhwa flashed a bright smile but also revealed a hint of disappointment.
However, despite her genuine concern for Jinhyeon, she seemed lost in thought about why her own paper listed Invictus Office.
And, well, now she was in the same boat as Jinhyeon.
Staring at her paper blankly, not even sure what was happening, while the others crowded around to check it out.
As a result, Im Changwon and Minho, who originally deserved the most attention, were left a bit in the shadows. No, Minho even went over to join the commotion.
It was surprising, considering it should have been Im Changwon getting picked by Invictus.
Two unexpected individuals got chosen simultaneously, which surely made it astonishing.
But Im Changwon, who could be said to have lost his spot, was just calmly taking it, thinking, “Is that how it is?”
Did he gain some kind of enlightenment upon awakening?
Since in the original story, his awakening was linked to gaining an unshakable heart; it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility if he had achieved that calmness now.
But honestly, seeing someone change so dramatically in such a short time is a bit scary. Guess this is how things go in stories.
At least from what I’ve seen, humans can hardly escape their inherent nature.
At most, they might wear a mask to hide their true selves. If that’s the case, then it seems Im Changwon was just as noble from the start.
I half-heartedly hoped to draw him into my circle, but it was a misguided expectation.
Why are these guys all so nice?
I gazed out the window, feeling a bit grumpy watching the kids celebrate and congratulate Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa.
“Blanca. You seem a bit off. Is something bothering you? Maybe you didn’t get a call from your preferred office?”
Trying to avoid eye contact with the others, Minho approached me, asking if everything was okay.
“What’s going on…?” Well, isn’t that too friendly after grilling me during the tournament?
“Not really. Just feels like it could get hot soon.”
“Yeah, it’s that time of year. The bugs are starting to wander around too. Oh, Blanca, you don’t need to buy any bug repellent, do you? Must be nice.”
Minho was acting all friendly, trying to make up for the harsh interrogation earlier. It wasn’t half bad.
Because either way, I’d end up getting mixed up with Minho. I wanted to keep things chill until betrayal lingers in the air.
“Not really about that. It’s just that the bugs are super annoying. But honestly, the heat itself is the real problem for me.”
“B…Blanca. Are you…weak to heat?”
“If you put it that way, I guess you could say I’m weak. More importantly, Lapiz. Aren’t you the one who should be worried? With that costume of yours, you’re gonna fry like a lizard this summer.”
“I-I’m not a lizard! I’m a dragon! Half-dragon, yeah…though I suppose it’s going to be boiling, just like you said…”
“If you have any discomfort, why not ask the teacher? They might help improve your costume.”
Even in this situation, it seemed Minho was trying to score brownie points with Lapiz.
“G-Good point. Honestly, I thought I was gonna melt right after the tournament…”
“Speaking of which, Lapiz. Have you decided which office you’re going to?”
“Not exactly an office, but…uhm…do I call it an office…? No actual office building, but…I’m planning to go to Altera’s office.”
“Altera? Isn’t that your grandmother’s name? Your grandmother was a hero too? This is news to me.”
This time I jumped in with a question before Minho could, curious if a walking earthquake could be a hero?
Then again, that would surely complicate things for the boss’s plans. I needed to remember that.
“N-no, not exactly…Well, my grandmother…Right after the tournament, she started a one-person office…and named it after herself…”
From what Lapiz explained, the backstory was even more complicated.
Her grandmother couldn’t believe her granddaughter got robbed by some loser and decided to personally train her by starting a one-person office.
Of course, the guild and Heros Company said that wouldn’t work.
But it turned out her grandmother wasn’t new to saving folks and threatened to cut contracts if she was pushed too far, so they reluctantly let her set up the office.
“A-after teaching me, do you think she might close the place…?”
That was just a little too tough. But it doesn’t sound terrible either. I guess it doesn’t hurt for her to want to teach her granddaughter.
“So, Minho, where do you think you’ll go?”
“I’m not sure at all, there are just too many options. I think I’ll spend today pondering it. How about you, Blanca?”
It was bittersweet when he asked casually, pretending not to know when I already had a destination set in mind.
There was nothing to hide, so I just said it. My alibi was solid.
“Justitia’s office. The reason…well, do I really need to say? You know why.”
Even without saying exactly why I wanted to be with Justitia, when I said it like that, both Lapiz and Minho looked at me like they thought I was quite something.
What emotions crossed their minds, I couldn’t quite decipher.
So I threw out a vague excuse while giving a gentle tap on Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa, who had just been freed from the clutches of their teacher.
“So you two are indeed trying to go to Invictus?”
“That seems to be the case, Blanca. Ugh, I’m so excited…! Visiting Invictus’s office has been a childhood dream of mine!”
“I know you’re excited, but Yeonhwa, it’s a bit loud considering the teacher just walked in.”
“Boo. Where’s the fun in that? Heroes should have a sense of humor, you know, Jinhyeon. You’re just not funny enough.”
“Even so…”
“The teacher’s here, so shh.”
Yeonhwa shot back at Jinhyeon with the same antics he used on her, giving him a taste of his own medicine. Looking at it this way, Yeonhwa was quite a gem.
Hmm. If I had even a smidge of doubt in my heart, I would’ve tried to sway them to our side.
Seeing her with no hint of darkness inside her, it seemed obvious she would drift toward the Liberators.
What a shame. Seriously. If I could just pull even one of these main players who had no ties to Minho over to our side…that would be wonderful.
—–
Well, despite a few gigantic variables thrown into the mix, overall the kids were heading in paths a bit similar to the original story.
This means Katyann would also be heading to Justitia’s office.
Looks like Blanca is also going to Justitia… This complicated headache could actually be turned into an opportunity.
During the internship, we’ll probably end up getting pretty close. That means my chances of getting closer to Blanca could ramp up.
At the same time, I might stumble upon where Blanca belongs. More than anything, my reason for going to Justitia’s office is precisely because of Justitia.
Somehow, I must prevent her from attacking the Academy, showing her that not everything in this society is rotten and that there is still hope.
Though I don’t have a concrete plan locked in yet. But I have to make it happen. If not, it could lead to the Academy’s ambush.
While gazing at Blanca chatting with the kids during Lunchtime, I pondered where she stands.
Guess I’ll find out soon enough.
For now, I need to wrap things up with Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa, who seem more urgent.
“By the way, why did Invictus choose you over Im Changwon and the other kids?”
Since we were all equally clueless, first I asked what they thought before sharing my opinion.
“I can’t say for sure, but…I think Jinhyeon and I have similar abilities to Invictus. Elemental release and manipulation…maybe?”
“But Seolhwa has that ability too. Or Ageha.”
“Hmm…Maybe they had us marked since those Executor guys attacked us? Invictus watched us intently back then.”
Oh right, that did happen. Maybe that’s possible. They might have been keeping an eye on us, then picked us during the Sports Festival.
“Isn’t it a good thing? For both Yeonhwa and Jinhyeon. This will be a rare experience. If you say you aren’t jealous, that would be a lie.”
“Yeah. Jinhyeon, that’s surprising. Even after losing early, Invictus showed interest.”
Jinhyeon laughed awkwardly, not sure if he should be happy or sad not fully understanding why this had even happened.
…Unlike Blanca, Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa, those two also present a significant variable.
And chaotic ones at that. I could only keep thinking about how unpredictable they could be, and it would be nice to have a handling command over them.
While I continued to gaze, mulling things over with Blanca.