Even after hearing the conclusion I reached, Gye Myeong-rim’s expression did not waver at all.

There was no sign of surprise, joy, relief, or mockery—so much so that it was difficult to guess what she was thinking right now.

Yong Je-geon had once read fear from the attitude of the Gye tribe, but now there was no sign of it.

It was possible that my deduction was completely wrong, but I deliberately maintained a confident attitude.

“Your words have no material evidence whatsoever. You know that, right?”

“Not now. But there is a way to obtain evidence.”

There was a big difference between looking like just a high school student who had a confident hunch and boldly asserting that, backed by two mythological nobles behind me, I could get proof.

Only then did Gye Myeong-rim’s expression falter slightly.

At the same time, Hwang Ji-ho’s eyes turned golden, and the White Tiger suddenly appeared right in front of me.

Those sensitive nobles must have sensed something beyond just the change in expression.

Perhaps Gye Myeong-rim thought it would be better to eliminate me instantly and harbored hostility.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of breaking the non-aggression pact the Twelve Zodiac Alliance made in front of me?”

Hearing Hwang Ji-ho’s words, it seemed true.

Gye Myeong-rim had considered the option of eliminating me.

Since she trusted the tigers for combat and had no intention of showing hostility in front of the Gye tribe, I was unprepared and didn’t sense a thing.

Seeing the nobles, Gye Myeong-rim relaxed her gaze.

Whether she had completely given up on settling this matter here or not, she showed both palms and said:

“Does he even count as a noble? I know he’s human.”

“That’s no different. If you’re someone who sees fate, you’d know, wouldn’t you? The deep bond between Jo Yi-shin and our nobles.”

Hwang Ji-ho said confidently.

Since the nobles’ eyes did not have such an effect, seeing fate like Gye Myeong-rim was impossible.

Yet Hwang Ji-ho acted as if such a bond was obvious.

The White Tiger also nodded in agreement.

How could they be so certain without seeing anything?

Gye Myeong-rim glanced at me to confirm.

“I can’t see clearly.”

“What? No way. Are you lying that you see everything hidden in your fate network about Jo Yi-shin?”

Hwang Ji-ho protested.

No, wasn’t it strange to insist that such a thing existed in the first place?

And even if I didn’t know what was hidden in the fate network, Gye Myeong-rim had no reason to lie about whether there was a bond between me and the tiger.

Gye Myeong-rim raised the output of her Ability faction, Baekgwang, and the young eyes quietly stared at me before shaking her head.

“Still can’t see. At a glance, I thought he wasn’t connected to anyone, but something is just blocking it.”

“Does this happen often?”

“If the opponent has too many intertwined bonds, it happens sometimes. Usually, fate appears in the form of threads, but if there are too many, it can look like smoke.”

The metaphor was abstract, but I could roughly visualize it.

If countless threads of yarn were scattered simultaneously in the air, from a distance it might look like smoke rising.

So it seemed that Gye Myeong-rim’s eyes could not clearly see the bond connecting me to others.

“If you have difficulty seeing Jo Yi-shin, then check through me. So, how about it? Surely your bond with me is firmly connected?”

At Hwang Ji-ho’s words, the White Tiger openly chuckled.

Gye Myeong-rim also looked incredulous.

“Hwangho, you’ve lived more than twice as long as me! How many bonds do you think you’ve ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ accumulated in all that time? You and Baekho get dizzy just from looking and don’t even want to check.”

Ah, it seemed that the bond was difficult to verify if one had aged as much as a tiger.

If one lived a long time but remained isolated and maintained limited bonds, perhaps it would be a bit easier to see.

Gye Myeong-rim continued.

“Well, one thing’s certain: there’s no bad fate between him and you. When people with deep bad fates are together, it’s unpleasant regardless of whether you see it or not, but that’s not the case.”

“As expected. I thought so.”

If she already knew that, why did I even ask Gye Myeong-rim?

Though the conversation had gone off course, thanks to the tigers reading Gye Myeong-rim’s hostility, everything became clear.

Because everything I said was correct, instead of refuting or ignoring it, Gye Myeong-rim even considered attacking.

I had learned everything I could at this moment.

But I was not the only one to gain information from this meeting.

Gye Myeong-rim realized that I was not only connected with Sawol Seyum but also entangled with the nobles and investigating many things.

“Alright, anyway, I get that the nobles and Yi-shin are very close. Nobles and dragons have been very friendly lately, right? Was sending the dragon clan to our fate network all part of the plan?”

“We shook hands, but I’m not that close with the dragons.”

“Ah, whatever. Seriously.”

Gye Myeong-rim wiped the white light from her eyes and said:

“You guessed this far, connected with nobles and dragons... Moreover, when we saw the alliance talks, you were already shaking hands with other Jin clans, right? At the second meeting about the betrayer, it looked like cooperation was underway.”

At the 12 Zodiac Alliance meeting held after the Christmas Eve incident to deal with the betrayer, it was quite obvious which Jin clans cooperated centering on the nobles.

If one observed without intervening in the betrayer’s hunt, it would be clear who had changed their stance.

Even if the nobles and dragons shook hands, the Gye tribe would have a hard time handling it, and if other Jin clans joined in, it would feel overwhelming.

In such a situation, Gye Myeong-rim remained calm despite an important secret of the Gye tribe being revealed.

“Let me be straightforward. We have something we’re hiding, but we can’t say. Also, even if our secret is held hostage, we cannot cooperate in investigating the betrayer’s mastermind within the alliance. Just protecting that secret leaves us no capacity.”

“Hmm, even so, I can roughly guess the secret the chicken is hatching...”

“There’s a huge difference between your wild guesses and what I admit.”

Gye Myeong-rim, as leader, drew a firm line.

An overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation revealed an important secret, yet she was remarkably calm and sharp.

Though there had been several chances to prank Sawol Seyum using blessings, as Navi-ryeong had done to Kim Yuri, Gye Myeong-rim had never handed her over, so it was almost certain she was not involved with the mastermind.

Still, from this conversation, I could conclude it was very unlikely she was connected to the mastermind. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

So it was time to make the next move.

“Jo Yi-shin, say what you want.”

Reading my mind, the White Tiger unilaterally gave support fire.

I had something to say to Gye Myeong-rim for the last time, and now was the moment.

“Today, I wanted to greet you and ask a favor.”

“...A favor.”

The word “favor” echoed heavily.

Even if it was a very difficult and big favor, it would be extremely hard for Gye Myeong-rim to refuse.

Knowing that, I said:

“Sawol Seyum will soon have free time to act independently. Please accompany her to enjoy the festival then.”

“...What?”

Gye Myeong-rim frowned and uttered a dumbfounded sound.

She seemed to doubt whether she heard correctly.

I continued.

“If it weren’t for that blessing, Sawol Seyum would have had a hard time getting permission from her clan to attend Eun Gwang High. Please give me a chance to express gratitude. Also, Sawol Seyum is happier with more companions.”

Gye Myeong-rim looked incredulous, then nodded.

With that, I finished the matter I could handle with her today.

She seemed to accept my request and was likely to meet Sawol Seyum.

Originally, the plan was for her to briefly meet Sawol Seyum at the staff-only entrance and watch her use flying skills.

But the plan changed, and Gye Myeong-rim decided to let Sawol Seyum guide her around the Eun Gwang High festival today.

After Gye Myeong-rim left, Hwang Ji-ho entered the staff room again, changed into his school uniform, and said:

“Well, then, shall we go too?”

“Do you know where we’re going, and you’re following?”

“We’re going to see the descendants of the dragon clan, right? That place will surely be filled with dragon clan sycophants. I won’t stand to see you caught.”

As Hwang Ji-ho said, the dragons would line up to see the Hongryong Live, but they probably wouldn’t hold me back over Yeom Jun-yeol.

Still, after watching Hongryong Live, we planned to stop by the newspaper club. Since Hwang Ji-ho is in the same club, it seemed good for him to come along.

The problem was the White Tiger, who was unrelated.

“Baekho, even if you’re far away, you can see and feel everything through blessings, so why are you following?”

Hwang Ji-ho voiced what I wanted to say.

The White Tiger answered shamelessly to Hwang Ji-ho’s reluctant attitude.

“I want to see your and Jo Yi-shin’s reactions in person more...”

“Enough. Don’t say anymore.”

Hwang Ji-ho cut him off.

Though he silenced one tiger’s mouth, the surroundings were not exactly quiet.

I could still hear officials shouting, probably tracking visitors running near the school gate, and Eun Gwang High people calling out or guiding directions.

Also, Eun Gwang High’s campus was overflowing with festival promotional materials and unmanned exhibitions.

I had only seen some exhibits in progress or without power, but this was the first time I saw them actually operating on the festival day.

One exhibition that left an impression was a visual representation of the operating principle of the 1GG mobile network service using the Ability faction.

It didn’t get much attention but was interesting.

“Jo Yi-shin, leave all the luggage to Baekho.”

“Okay.”

Along the way, there were several street stalls selling decorations or snacks I had made myself, and I bought one each time I saw a junior, so the luggage quickly increased.

Fortunately, I had a porter to carry the load without guilt, so I greeted the juniors and had the leisure to buy various things.

“Some of these works are decent. They’d be good enough for actual commercialization.”

Hwang Ji-ho looked interested as he examined a miniature incense burner and compressed tea leaves.

Though his eyes were discerning, he praised without holding back, so the quality must have been excellent.

I decided to buy a few more of the items he recommended as gifts.

“Will you carry my luggage too?”

“No.”

The White Tiger flatly refused what Hwang Ji-ho offered him.

I took the luggage from Hwang Ji-ho and handed it to the White Tiger, who accepted it.

I didn’t understand what that tiger wanted.

Seeing this, Hwang Ji-ho got irritated, but I guessed he just wanted to see his close friend getting annoyed.

With that, Hwang Ji-ho, the porter, and I arrived at the Hongryong Live show venue.

There was a long line, but since I showed the ticket Yeom Jun-yeol personally gave me, I was guided through a special entrance and entered immediately.

‘But those tigers must have gotten tickets from the dragons too.’

No matter how much I complained about the dragons, those tigers seemed unwilling to miss the Hongryong Live.

“Jo Yi-shin, I can guess what you’re thinking. But it’s different from what you think.”

Hwang Ji-ho muttered something grumbling, but my mind was already fixed on the stage background projecting Yeom Jun-yeol’s silhouette.

I promised myself to record it after the show ended.

Then all the lights went out, and the signal announcing the start of the Hongryong Live sounded.

Flare!

From behind the stage, the Hongryong, which had grown much bigger than when it was first accepted as a disciple, flew blazing.

As the Hongryong flew over the crowd filling the seats, cheers erupted and the surroundings brightened.

Meanwhile, Yeom Jun-yeol appeared on stage.

Covered in flames by flame magic, Yeom Jun-yeol seemed to be waiting for the Hongryong to come toward him.

The moment the Hongryong came onto the stage, the two became one, and Yeom Jun-yeol transformed into the Hongryong and soared into the sky.

“The last Hongryong Live held at Eun Gwang High begins now!”

The Hongryong-formed Yeom Jun-yeol flew into the sky and greeted everyone.

I was so moved that I forgot to cheer and only looked up at Yeom Jun-yeol.