People Who Change, People Who Don’t (1)

Fabrice seemed to be moving somewhere under Talis’s lead.

I thought he’d refuse from the start, but perhaps he sensed Talis’s unusual momentum and tone. Fabrice simply walked where Talis led.

Fabrice’s shoulders sagged as he drifted farther away, and Talis’s face beside him was grim.

By the time Talis vanished from sight, a thought slipped into my head.

—Fabrice is not in his right mind. Something’s off. If it weren’t for the seer, I wouldn’t have known. Don’t be too upset. I’ll find a solution with the seer and return to the manor.

Talis’s telepathy reached me.

I guessed their direction: they seemed to be heading to Sio’s library.

More than that, the remark that Fabrice wasn’t in his right mind bothered me.

‘A being that can disturb a transcendent’s mind…’

Only after the two had fully disappeared did I order the members watching me to prepare to move to the manor.

In fact, preparations were already complete, so they rose from their places and stood behind me, ready.

At that moment, one of the representatives who had been with us for sixty days approached.

“Mr. Kim Han.”

“Huh? Ah, was your name Cecile?”

The representative who approached had an unusual appearance.

First, uncommon silver hair — not gray but shimmering as if dusted with silver powder, glossy and lustrous.

Add pointed ears, clear skin, and a steep bosom — the stereotypical appearance of a beautiful elf.

“Yes, thank you for remembering me.”

“Is that something to thank me for? Anyway, what’s the matter?”

“I’m curious about the conditions to become a member of Rebound Legion.”

Like Hazel, these elves didn’t show any bashfulness when demanding or asking something. They were confident, unapologetically so.

But if they felt they’d received a favor, they always tried to repay it. That might be why some called them infuriating.

“Conditions… conditions. What are our conditions again?”

I asked Lee Hyo-ju, who was watching from the side, and a strange smile appeared on her lips.

“First, you must be tested for skill, then have an interview and sign a covenant contract. And once you join, you cannot leave the legion until you die or surrender.”

Lee Hyo-ju’s explanation sounded like a proposal: accept these terms and join.

She wasn’t speaking only to Cecile the elf. Lee Hyo-ju imbued her voice with divine power so the representatives focusing on our conversation could all hear.

“I’ll invite those who want details after the results are announced in ten days, so coordinate your communication crystals distributed during the Monster Wave with Lee Hyo-ju to set the channel. On the day of the announcement, we’ll notify the exact time.”

After saying that, Lee Hyo-ju raised one finger — meaning channel one. In other words, they’ll keep the same channel used during the Monster Wave.

The representatives, understanding her gesture, all nodded — including Cecile.

“See you then. Good work.”

I patted Cecile on the shoulder as she bowed and headed to the manor.

We were going home now.

The members, feeling oddly different, made plans to resume the halted drinking party from the morning, request delicious food, or sleep to their heart’s content.

Only now did it truly sink in that the Monster Wave had ended.

We went home.

To get to the point, we couldn’t rest at home as planned. In fact, we still hadn’t been able to enter the house.

Fabrice kept spouting nonsense and I had forgotten, but citizens who had lost their homes and families were waiting for me in front of the manor.

“Kim Han…”

Lee Hyo-ju asked what to do. But I don’t always have all the answers.

“I-Ideal Warrior is here!”

“Huh? Wa, no— Ideal Warrior is here!!”

“Ideal Warrior!”

Murmur— murmur— noisy—

Though they couldn’t come all the way up to me, hundreds of them surrounded us.

In the blink of an eye, the citizens had encircled me and the legion members.

“Wait… what on earth has brought you all here like this?”

I already knew, but it was a question I had to ask for the legion members who still knew nothing.

Contrary to my expectation that they’d blurt out grievances, no one could speak.

Amid the forced silence, an old woman so aged her years were hard to guess slowly approached.

“Wa, no- Ideal Warrior.”

“Yes, speak.”

“Our food was taken. My house has vanished. My son and grandchildren were dragged away by the Messengers. We cannot find their bodies. They might as well have taken this old woman. I have nothing left, Ideal Warrior.”

“Yes.”

“…What should I do?”

The old woman’s voice was small and steady; she gasped as if speaking drained her. That made her words even sadder and more pathetic.

After her story, nobody spoke. Hundreds of citizens stood there stunned, weeping and sobbing.

After standing like that for a long while, they dispersed on their own before any words were spoken.

Yet their expressions had brightened. Was it because they’d cried enough, or a bitter, resigned smile at life?

I didn’t know.

None of the members who entered the manor suggested drinking or partying as planned.

As if by agreement, they gathered on the terrace, staring blankly at the sky, sighing, or gazing silently at the garden to pass the time.

I, too, watched the garden from the terrace, and as always, four women occupied my table.

Just as silence settled heavily on our shoulders, I felt a tug at my clothes and turned to see Naruan looking up at me with a listless face.

“Why?”

“Captain, it’s stifling here.”

Naruan pointed with her right hand to her chest.

Seeing her press at her chest and look uncomfortable, Hazel quietly approached and hugged her tightly.

Of course, the others didn’t look comfortable either. I felt heaviness in my chest too; members not fully accustomed to being representatives must feel even worse.

Those who had blocked us looked unwashed and undernourished; some even shed tearful blood as if consumed by a burning resentment.

“Album.”

“Yes!”

“First, urgently vacate the houses where the magic tower families live, and have those families move into the magic tower or the manor. Then commission the builders’ guild to construct houses. Tell them to register those houses under my name. Tell the original owners that they’re selling the land to me. That way those representative bastards won’t pull more nonsense.”

“Ah!! Understood.”

Album’s reply carried strength.

After Album took the magic tower elders away, the legion members slowly returned to their usual noisy selves.

Arun went back to being dazed, and Naruan ran around here and there as usual.

They tried to create a cheerful atmosphere while eating in their own ways, but their reactions were slightly off, and it soon became awkward.

Thus, everyone spent the first day back in their own rooms.

After everyone left the dining hall, while I brooded alone, I suddenly realized people had started calling me by a different title.

“Wait, what? Chuk (Korean name) as in Blessed? Or Chuk to Expel?”

I didn’t know the meaning, but anyway, on the day the Monster Wave ended, with just about twenty days before the fourth year, I had finally become Ideal Warrior.

Fine by me. There won’t be anything more to tease me about now.

Ten days passed quickly. In that time I heard nothing of Fabrice, who had angered me — whether he’d disappeared or been buried I didn’t know.

In other words, I still hadn’t met Talis or Bioss even once.

Just as I began to worry if something had happened, Sio’s comms reported it would take a few more days.

Battlefield of the Gods Year 4, December 13 — the day seventy days after October 5, and the day the Monster Wave was originally supposed to end.

From dawn, many people turned their gaze to the sky.

As the sun rose, messages streamed across the heavens as if for a day of remembrance.

If it differed from a day of mourning, it was that the mood felt bright — beyond brightness, an atmosphere of expectancy and encouragement.

And unlike a memorial, the presiding god’s name didn’t appear anywhere. Only rankings and the names of representatives or groups were shown.

Group contribution ranking

1. Rebound Legion

2. The Five magic tower Alliance

3. Northern Wall representative Alliance

4. Cheon Garam Mercenary Corps

5. If the Sea Were Land Mercenary Corps

6. Sasal Mercenary Corps

7. Philender Mercenary Corps

8. Mercenary Corps in Front of the Restroom

9. Is Retreat Something You Eat Mercenary Corps

10. Violentia’s Guard

“Huh? Was it always like this?”

In my previous life, I was training frantically around Monster Waves, so I couldn’t remember.

I called Album and he said that’s exactly why the continentals fought so hard to protect the Monster Belt. While not as much as representatives receive, continentals also get rewards.

Individual contribution ranking

1. Kim Han

2. Hazel

3. Naruan

4. Arun

5. Riru

6. Jules

7. Lee Hyo-ju

8. Violentia

9. Soria

10. Kitas

…

14. Inex

15. Stephan

…

19. Simon

…

21. Alain

…

23. Ostum

…

27. Hippoly

…

The group ranking listed up to tenth place, but the individual rankings displayed up to thirtieth.

For some deity’s idea, the names shrank as the rankings went down — a layout that left a bad taste.

Legion members might not care, but Violentia, at eighth place, would certainly find it displeasing to her pride.

‘She must be… huh, what’s with this woman?’

Violentia, who seemed to be spying, looked utterly calm. She even wore a peculiar smile while soothing those around her who were raging — she herself was unhurried.

At first I thought she was feigning it, but watching longer she truly seemed relaxed.

Moreover, when left alone, Violentia kept muttering incomprehensible things like “I knew it!” again and again.

After mulling alone for a while, she took a carriage with two female representatives I’d seen before and went somewhere.

The sight was so odd that I focused my spying and found their direction strange.

“Are they coming to me?”

“Yes?”

“No. More like, Lee Hyo-ju is amazing. Seventh place with only three battle participations.”

“Ah, no. It’s more Mr. Kim Han than me…”

Half in jest, but Lee Hyo-ju really was incredible.

Though she usually only commanded the battlefield, the reason she could surpass Violentia with just three participations was likely because in two Black Oak exterminations she literally wiped out enormous numbers of Black Oak.

She may be shy before me now, but the moment she wields the Blue Dragon Spear, the atmosphere shifts instantly. Her combat power is truly formidable.

“They call her the Blue Moon Empress, right? Cool. Unlike me, her epithet sounds fitting.”

“Yes? Ahahaha… no, really.”

Her title came from people who couldn’t imagine blue dragon scales — they began calling her that after seeing a blue moon-shaped sigil kill at least three each time it appeared.

“Imagine if it were the Empress of Ice-Fire or Fire-Ice. You’d die of frustration.”

Lee Hyo-ju nodded, clearly unable to accept the Fire-Ice title.

So, after a long time we were enjoying relaxed moments, laughing boisterously.

Suddenly Arun’s shout of “Captain!” and his panting as he ran captured everyone’s attention.

“Why?”

“Let’s have a party! Party!”

“What party… fine, let’s do it. Party.”

“…Yes? Yes?! We will? Really?”

“Yes, if we’re doing it, let’s make it big. Open the garden, focus on the continentals. Only accept representatives who fought with us at the north gate, and rather than warn about precious flowers in the garden, only caution about dangerous ones nearby.”

“Ah! Yes!!”

My permission must have surprised him. Arun ran around shouting “Party! Party!” and the wizards who ran the manor busied themselves for the sudden event.

‘Can a large-scale party really be prepared in such a short time?’

I had that doubt, but then the wizards demonstrated why they’re called “those who prepare.”

First, large banquet tables that would take many strong men to move appeared from the wizards’ magic pouches and neatly took their places.

Then food was pulled from the magic pouches — enough for thousands, in a wide variety.

It took only thirty minutes to prepare an elegant garden party and fully open the main gate.

“Album, do you usually cook and store food in the pocket dimension?”

Watching the almost magical process, I casually asked the White Tower’s Album, and he laughed heartily as he explained.

“Ha ha ha, no. It’s just that Hazel and Lee Hyo-ju told me that cooking on the expedition was cumbersome and that the master cooked himself. They asked if there was any way around it, so I prepared all the expedition meals in advance and placed them in the pocket dimension.”

He spoke casually, but the visible food looked high-class.

“Just asking in case — before the legion’s numbers increased? Or after?”

“I made them before the increase, and when the numbers grew I scaled up accordingly.”

“How many days’ worth?”

“An expedition takes about three months, so I prepared roughly a year’s worth to be safe.”

“…Alright, you did well.”

I had no words when told they’d prepared gourmet food for a year, not just half a year.

Since they laid it all out today, kitchen wizards would be busy again for a while. I suggested to Album to arrange a separate gathering tomorrow for those kitchen workers; he answered but showed obvious nervousness.

“Yes… understood.”

“I’m not trying to reprimand you — you did well, and since you’ll work hard, I wanted to give a small gift. Don’t be nervous.”

“Ah! Yes! Understood.”

Album, now answering energetically, adeptly mimicked a steward as he tidied and headed toward the dining hall.

It was no coincidence that cheers rang out not long after Album entered the dining hall.

Looking around, it was quite impressive. Using the beautiful garden as the venue blended an aristocratic and free-spirited vibe.

‘Okay, I’ve set the stage, now let the players enter.’

Violentia, who appeared to be spying, was coming here by carriage, and Benialis was flipping out upon hearing a report revealed while drinking.

The representative who reported to Benialis subtly proposed an alliance with our guild, and it seemed they’d decided not to send the burnt-once Benialis but a man who looked like his secretary instead.

And there were others who hadn’t appeared yet.

‘It’s surprising their names aren’t listed.’

Watching continentals enter through the wide-open gate, I waited for the actors who would enliven the hastily arranged party like a buyer waiting for a delivery.