Episode 223: Ruby Tower
It was the last week of mentoring, the 8th week, that I was asked to come to Ruby Tower.
And now it’s week 12.
It’s already been a month since I said I was going.
The reason I’ve postponed my visit until now is because I wanted to take care of more important matters first.
Representative examples include resolving conflicts with the fencing club and completing Jangbodo.
Also, Ruby Tower decided that it would not be urgent to consult with me,
‘It’s about time to go now.’
Now that most of the important issues have been resolved and things have become relatively relaxed, it would be impolite to accept an invitation and then drag it out.
So when Hong Yeon-hwa brought up the subject, I readily followed suit.
As we arrived at the Ruby Tower, Manager Hong Ye-hwa greeted us.
It looks like he left a message along the way.
“Welcome. It’s been a while.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come see you right away.”
“No, I told you to stop by when you have time.”
Hong Ye-hwa smiles softly, saying she is grateful that she came even now.
Unlike Hong Ye-hwa, whose true feelings are clearly revealed on her face, she is much more adept at dealing with the world.
Having risen to the position of manager while being pushed around by all sorts of forces, he must have naturally acquired the art of dealing with the world.
“… … .”
On the other hand, Hong Yeon-hwa had been giving my older sister an intense gaze since the three-way meeting began, and it seemed like she was demanding something.
Even though Hong Ye-hwa returns her stern gaze as if telling her to restrain herself, she shows no sign of backing down.
From what I’ve seen so far, my sister is one of the very few people that Hong Yeon-hwa, with her fiery personality, can’t beat.
But in this snowball fight, surprisingly, Hong Ye-hwa raised the white flag first.
He takes a deep breath and then opens his mouth.
“I’m really sorry for coming here so soon, but can I ask you one favor?”
“Go ahead, senior.”
“We had a little argument… … .”
Hong Ye-hwa trailed off a little and made a agonizing expression as if she was wondering whether she should continue talking or stop.
But since Hong Yeon-hwa continued to put pressure on him without saying a word, he continued to speak as if he had no choice.
“That’s… … . They say that if you lean on them, you’ll be able to sleep well. To be honest, I don’t really believe it. So if you’re okay with it… … .”
“You mean you’re going to check it?”
“Yeah. If you don’t like it, you can refuse.”
It seemed like a rough picture was being drawn.
Hong Yeon-hwa had shown curiosity about Kim Ho’s pillow after seeing him and Seo Ye-in sleeping together during the midterm exam.
So he volunteered to be subject number 2 and leaned on my shoulder.
The experiment was halted due to the sudden appearance of Hong Ye-hwa.
It is presumed that during the sisters’ fight afterwards, something like ‘Sister, look forward to it too!’ came out.
So, I guess you’re trying to check it like this.
“… … .”
Hong Ye-hwa was waiting for my decision with a somewhat ambiguous attitude.
It seems like half of you want to reject it, and half of you want to go all the way.
I felt the same way too.
If you go to a friend’s house to play and your friend’s older sister asks you to lean on her for a moment, wouldn’t anyone feel nervous?
‘I guess I’ll have to do it anyway.’
Does the Kim Ho pillow really help you sleep better?
It’s an unsolved mystery.
Since Subject 3 came in on his own two feet, it would be a good idea to check it out.
So I nodded.
“I’m fine. Try it.”
“……okay.”
After approval was given, Hong Ye-hwa placed two chairs side by side.
He sits me down on one side, and tries to sit down in the remaining chair, but then stops and sighs deeply.
“Oh my… … .”
In one breath, all kinds of disturbing emotions come out mixed together.
Soon, Hong Ye-hwa turned her head, glared at Hong Yeon-hwa, and sat down next to me.
Then he slowly leaned in, rested his head on my shoulder, and closed his eyes.
“… … .”
Hong Yeon-hwa watched the scene with bated breath, and her expression showed strong conviction.
I think my sister probably expects me to fall asleep like this.
The time that Hong Ye-hwa leaned on my shoulder was at most about 10 seconds, but to everyone in the room, those 10 seconds must have felt like hours.
Hong Ye-hwa soon took her head off my shoulder and slowly straightened her leaning body.
There was a thick vein on her forehead.
He opens his mouth, emitting a terrifying murderous aura.
“There’s no effect.”
“uh……?”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s pupils shook violently.
His expression was filled with disbelief, like that of a child who has been told that there is no such thing as Santa Claus.
And I jumped up from my seat and tried to come over here,
“That can’t be… … ? I, I’ll try again—”
“Sit down.”
“yes…….”
At Hong Ye-hwa’s chilling expression, he quietly returned to his seat.
The confident attitude I had until now has disappeared and turned into a crouching posture.
“after…….”
Hong Ye-hwa lets out a long sigh again.
What had been a sigh of distress just a moment ago was now a sigh of suppressed anger.
‘It’s understandable to be angry.’
Hong Ye-hwa’s feelings were also fully understood.
From her perspective, it was like giving in to her younger brother’s pressure and leaning on a first-year boy’s shoulder for 10 seconds.
It would not be surprising if all that shame were to be replaced by anger.
‘Test subject number 3 is a failure.’
However, it is too early to say whether or not the Kim Ho pillow is effective.
The sample size is still too small, so we can think about it after doing some more experiments.
While I was thinking like that, Hong Ye-hwa seemed to have succeeded in putting aside her anger for a moment.
After briefly thanking them for their cooperation, move on to the next topic.
“I heard you had a match today too?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How was it, Yeonhwa?”
Perhaps what you’re most curious about is the performance of the defensive magic you’ve recently learned.
So I showed the replay of the second match I had with Hong Yeon-hwa, the match against the Go Hyun-woo-Seo Ye-in team.
– Doo doo doo!
The calligrapher in the crystal ball was firing an assault rifle repeatedly, and Hong Yeon-hwa was easily able to withstand the pouring magic bullets.
I said while showing the scene.
“It seems like our defenses have been significantly strengthened.”
“It looks like that. You did add another layer of barrier, though.”
“I heard you still have one more defensive spell to learn. If you learn that and do ranked work overall, wouldn’t it be similar or even stronger?”
“Yeah, this isn’t bad.”
Hong Ye-hwa nodded with satisfaction, saying that it was much better than before.
Hong Yeon-hwa also didn’t seem to know that she would hear praise from my mouth, so her expression brightened slightly even as she crouched in a corner, watching others.
Hong Ye-hwa moved on to the next topic.
“There’s something else I want to discuss. Actually, that’s why I called you.”
“Yes, senior.”
“I’m starting to want to invest in Aqua Flame.”
Hong Ye-hwa said, pointing to her younger brother.
Aqua Flame is a rare and powerful trait that only Hong Yeon-hwa possesses in the Ruby Tower, giving her an absolute advantage over the Ice attribute.
For example, there is a record of Bukgung Hanseol, who learned the Ice series of martial arts, being stripped of his soul.
However, because growth was extremely difficult, it stagnated at E-rank, but by melting the Eternal Iron Alloy, it rose to C-rank.
And now it’s at a standstill again.
To move forward from here,
“As I told you, you just need to enter the cold theme dungeon.”
You just have to burn the ice attribute monsters diligently.
And among the numerous dungeons in the basement, there are countless cold-themed dungeons.
The higher the rank, the better.
This information was passed on through Hong Yeon-hwa.
Hong Ye-hwa nodded.
“Yeah, so I wanted to ask… … . I heard you often go to the basement. Is that right?”
Since I went up and down the basement every week during the strategy battle as if I was eating, it was only natural that rumors would spread.
Since it wasn’t a big secret and I didn’t think Hong Ye-hwa would go around bragging about it, I decided to partially agree.
“I sneak down there once in a while.”
“What’s the rank?”
“Most of them are D-rank.”
Hong Ye-hwa’s eyes lit up when she heard the words D-rank.
And he suggests to me.
“Could you please come down with Yeonhwa?”
“Wouldn’t it be more certain if the members went together rather than me?”
There must be many second- and third-year seniors in the club, so what I mean is, is there really a need to ask me, a first-year student, to do it?
Hong Ye-hwa answered with a bitter smile.
“For the time being, I can’t move the 2nd and 3rd year members. It’s a bit complicated to explain.”
“I understand.”
“So, I have no choice but to bring in outside personnel, but since it’s a D-rank, I think it would be a good idea to leave it to you.”
I think it would be better to leave it to me, someone I am somewhat familiar with, rather than someone I don’t know.
Then, Hong Ye-hwa took out a jewelry box the size of a fist from her inventory.
A ruby of just the right size was glowing red.
“This is a gift. I appreciate your help with so many things.”
“I will gratefully accept it.”
“If it’s okay with you going down with Yeonhwa, I’ll prepare more as compensation.”
It wasn’t a bad suggestion.
It is a given that you will go down to the basement every week during the strategy battle.
Hong Ye-hwa’s request is to choose an ice-themed dungeon among the dungeons she will be going down to anyway, and to take Hong Yeon-hwa with her.
For me, it would be like getting some free manpower, and since Hong Yeon-hwa has Aqua Flame, clearing the Ice Dungeon would be quite easy.
In addition, they are adding rubies to the clear reward.
‘The more jewels, the better.’
– Caw! Young monarch! You brought something shiny!
Because it is the favorite trading material of the dimensional crows, including the crow tailor.
So I didn’t think about it for long.
“I’ll make time next week.”
“thank you.”
I decided to join Dang Gyu-young and his gang in [Gathering of Villains] during the next week of the strategy battle, and other than that, my schedule is empty.
So, it would be okay to try to conquer the rest with Hong Yeon-hwa.
“Are you okay too?”
Hong Ye-hwa asked a question that was almost like a notice.
Hong Yeon-hwa had been very intimidated until then, but when she was suddenly pointed out, she was startled and looked at us in turns.
And after seeming to think for a moment, he opened his mouth.
“It’ll be okay… I think.”
I guess they figured I would be okay since they had built up a lot of trust while working together as a team in this match.
Hong Ye-hwa smiled gently and spoke to me.
“Then, please contact me as soon as the details are decided.”
“All right.”
The Hong sisters came out to the front of the Ruby Tower to see me off.
At the end, there was definitely a smile on the faces of the two people I saw.
But shortly after I left the company,
– Puff puff!
“Ouch!!!”
Beyond the closed door, there is the sound of something burning, an explosion, a back smash,
And Hong Yeon-hwa’s sorrowful scream echoed.
