Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 150

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (150)

 

Please Prepare

 

Before departing from the Snow Flame Empress’s mansion.

 

After Lee Si-hyeok had delivered the news about the dimensional gate and Orbes to her, he received one more new request from Yoon Seo-jin.

 

“New semester special lecture.”

 

Yoon Seo-jin said. It was a considerably more serious tone than before.

 

“It’s an event that will be held at the entrance ceremony in a few weeks. Normally, we wouldn’t include complicated events at the entrance ceremony, but this time the circumstances are a bit special.”

 

It must be because of the previous incidents.

 

Given that the damage and image loss from Pyo Jae-hwan and the former dean’s insane terror show was considerable, they would want to make the entrance ceremony, which draws public attention, as spectacular an event as possible.

 

Lee Young-hoon, the chairman of Termion, the main sponsor, wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

 

“Of course, there are various events prepared besides the lecture, but Si-hyeok’s lecture will be the grand finale among them. If the other things are mostly for show for the reporters…”

 

Department Manager Yoon Seo-jin smiled broadly.

 

“Everyone will be genuinely curious about Si-hyeok’s lecture.”

 

“…That’s a bit burdensome.”

 

He couldn’t help but shudder. When he grimaced and spoke, Yoon Seo-jin chuckled. Mischief lingered in her raised corners of her mouth.

 

“But that’s the truth. Besides, you have sufficient justification, don’t you? You’re the one who saved Eterion last time, you received praise from people for it, and you’re even the world’s only EX-rank.”

 

She continued with a deliberately mischievous expression.

 

“If not Si-hyeok, who on earth would we recruit? It suits you so perfectly.”

 

“…”

 

Lee Si-hyeok was momentarily at a loss for words.

 

Setting aside the burden, he couldn’t think of any words to refute. Of course, even if he refused immediately, she wouldn’t be in a position to say anything, but it was also true that he found it somewhat appealing.

 

So instead of grimacing further, he asked about something he was curious about.

 

“Didn’t you ask me to prepare an artifact?”

 

“Yes. I did. You’ll need it for the lecture.”

 

She nodded and answered.

 

“Rather than a long explanation, wouldn’t it be much better to just show them an artifact? The audience would be more interested, and it would be easier for Si-hyeok too.”

 

“Hmm, that does seem to be the case.”

 

“I know Si-hyeok speaks very well. Just from listening to explanations, blueprints are drawn perfectly in people’s minds. But this time, most of the audience will be new students…”

 

“So they might not understand if I only explain with words.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

Lee Si-hyeok pondered for a moment. Should I do this? Or not? Actually, ever since he saw some report in Song Chae-ah’s teaching assistant office this morning, the answer had already been decided. Without any room for change of mind.

 

However, as he was continuing his thoughts to organize this a bit, Yoon Seo-jin called him first.

 

Her tone seemed a bit hesitant.

 

“Um, Si-hyeok.”

 

She continued hesitantly.

 

Lee Si-hyeok stared at her wondering why she was acting this way, but the words that flowed from her mouth were completely unexpected.

 

“I just wish you wouldn’t do the lecture.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Suddenly?

 

“I know, I do. That it’s ridiculous for me to say this after continuously asking until now. I wonder what the hell I’m doing too, but still…”

 

Yoon Seo-jin’s pupils trembled slightly.

 

“I just wish you would refuse.”

 

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes narrowed. As she said, what was this about after talking about it continuously until now? Hiding his bewilderment, he asked.

 

“What’s the reason for suddenly saying this? Out of the blue.”

 

“It’s because of the current situation.”

 

“Situation? What situation…”

 

At that moment, something flashed through his mind. Lee Si-hyeok stopped speaking and let out a sigh.

 

“Ah.”

 

Yoon Seo-jin continued her explanation with a somewhat more comfortable voice.

 

“The way things are going lately isn’t normal. As I mentioned earlier, Si-hyeok saw it too, right? People spouting nonsense as if it were the truth.”

 

“…”

 

“I find it truly absurd that the origin of this is Professor Bae Young-min… no, that bastard obsessed with success, but anyway. The conspiracy theories have already spread too widely. The news talks about it as if it’s the truth, and there are even people in the Association who agree.”

 

Yoon Seo-jin, who had been continuing angrily even though it wasn’t her own matter, stopped speaking and glanced at Lee Si-hyeok. She seemed to be reading the room, unlike her usual self.

 

“…It might be dangerous. Of course, it wouldn’t be physical danger, but public opinion will worsen twice as much.”

 

“So you’re telling me to stay still?”

 

“No, it’s not necessarily that… but I think it would be better to wait until things calm down a bit. It’s embarrassing to say with my own mouth, but I was one of the 11 stars of the research world, wasn’t I?”

 

“I know.”

 

“Yes. So I often got entangled in various rumors. There were many times when I was frequently talked about by people. But what I learned then was that if you stay quiet like a dead mouse, it eventually dies down.”

 

“Like a dead mouse…”

 

“Sorry if the expression was a bit harsh. Anyway, I just wish we could wait until public opinion cools down.”

 

It wasn’t incomprehensible.

 

Currently, public opinion about Lee Si-hyeok is heading in an increasingly bad direction. Regardless of whether it’s true, people believe it to be so.

 

Conspiracy theories that spread unknowingly had swallowed everyone. When some truth was added to it, it gained even more power.

 

But if he showed himself in this situation, public opinion would reach its worst.

 

Of course, it would depend on what he said, but Yoon Seo-jin wanted to choose the safest option.

 

‘…That’s like the Department Manager I knew.’

 

Yoon Seo-jin had always been this style. Termion Corporation. Befitting her important position at a global conglomerate that stood tall not just in Korea but worldwide, she pursued maximum safety.

 

She pursued stability and avoided risks.

 

During his days working as a transport driver, the reason she personally came out to inspect goods despite being in the position of research department manager was all for such reasons.

 

In that sense, accepting Lee Si-hyeok’s opinions at the Expo and with Termion Hex-9 was actually a very special case. Normally, she would never have done such things.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

As he continued various thoughts, he felt Yoon Seo-jin pause for a moment.

 

When he glanced at her, wondering why she seemed to be pondering, she slightly winked her left eye and said.

 

“You know my heart, right?”

 

“…?”

 

Freshness that came out of nowhere.

 

No, wait. Is that really fresh? Freshness is something that suits some people and doesn’t suit others…

 

“…What are you doing?”

 

At the unexpected expression of affection, Lee Si-hyeok’s expression instantly turned cold. Why is she suddenly acting like this?

 

“…”

 

When he asked as if genuinely curious, her closed eye trembled. She swept her flushed face and swallowed her shame.

 

“Uh, um, um.”

 

Then she forcibly raised her tone and began to smooth over the situation.

 

“Ah, anyway! I understand Si-hyeok’s feelings too. That rift, that it’s not just a gate but a much greater artifact. And what was it, oh right. That it will soon reveal its true power!”

 

“…”

 

“So just wait a little, just a little bit. Even if you can’t do the lecture this time, I’ll arrange an opportunity next time, so then…”

 

This must have been what she originally wanted to say.

 

She had just tried to lighten the mood with actions she wouldn’t normally do, worried that Lee Si-hyeok might get hurt. When that feeling was conveyed, a faint smile also appeared on Lee Si-hyeok’s lips.

 

‘Was I too cold?’

 

Then, thinking he might have been too harsh, he smiled brightly and said.

 

“Department Manager.”

 

“Yes! Then I’ll speak well to the Chairman, so don’t worry about anything and until things calm down…”

 

He interrupted her words.

 

“I will do the lecture.”

 

“Wait until then and… yes, yes?”

 

Yoon Seo-jin’s eyes widened for a moment. Wondering if she heard wrong, she stopped speaking and stared blankly at Lee Si-hyeok.

 

“I said I’ll do it, the lecture.”

 

“No, no. Didn’t you hear what I just said? The situation will definitely get worse… doesn’t it still take some time for results to come from that rift?”

 

“Do you know that, Department Manager?”

 

“No. I don’t know… But I can tell by feeling, you know. Even if I can’t understand it, I can read mana levels. But it definitely won’t happen before the entrance ceremony event…?”

 

“It will work.”

 

Lee Si-hyeok spoke firmly and stood up. As he rose from the bench, the cold night air brushed against his body. Even the few people who had remained in the plaza were nowhere to be seen, having apparently returned to their lodgings.

 

With sunken eyes, he looked around, then breathed out into the cold air and checked his smart watch. 11:57 PM. Nearly midnight.

 

Then what about the date?

 

“It’s enough. More than enough.”

 

“…?”

 

Yoon Seo-jin tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

 

He explained in more detail to her.

 

“That rift will connect exactly during the lecture.”

 

“…?!”

 

“Probably near the end. Then all the unstable mana flowing out now will disappear completely. A completely different result will unfold.”

 

“Th, then.”

 

“Aren’t you curious?”

 

What exactly will emerge from that dimensional gate.

 

And what kind of path it will pioneer.

 

“I can show them directly. Directly to those who doubt. Of course, it won’t be simple. Even when I get up on the lecture stage, people will point fingers, and there will be quite a few who argue back.”

 

But….

 

“They can’t doubt after seeing it. Because they’ll have seen it clearly with their own two eyes. Then people will naturally believe, and those who still argue even then, well. Won’t other people take care of them?”

 

Lee Si-hyeok chuckled. As he turned around with a snicker, he could see the hunters waiting in front of the dimensional gate. Those standing there without even knowing what they were guarding.

 

Would there be anyone who knew? Most of them were probably trembling in fear without even knowing what they were being threatened by, or even whether it was a threat at all.

 

Whether that was fear, or just an expression of emotion.

 

No one would know that truth, but there was only one thing Lee Si-hyeok could know right now.

 

“Nothing will happen if we just stay still.”

 

“…!”

 

“Something has to be done for things to change.”

 

There was no need to step forward and make explanations.

 

Lee Si-hyeok just needed to show what he had accomplished.

 

Then all misunderstandings would be cleared and that criticism would return as compensation instead.

 

He spoke in a low voice.

 

“Please prepare the lecture. I’ll contact you soon.”

 

After saying that, Lee Si-hyeok left without looking back. He just left looking straight ahead with his hands shoved into his pockets.

 

“….”

 

Yoon Seo-jin stared at his retreating figure for a long time. She gazed at the empty street with a dazed expression for quite a while.

 

Unlike usual, he wore his cap pulled down low and a hooded zip-up instead of his research coat. It was a style that felt somewhat awkward, but why did his resolve remain so unchanged?

 

It wasn’t different. It was too consistent.

 

If a crisis approached, he would face it head-on, and if there was a new goal, he would run toward it without looking back. And when he reached the end, he would leap toward yet another objective.

 

That was the person named Lee Si-hyeok that she knew.

 

‘Why….’

 

Why does he keep running forward like this?

 

How can he remain so calm even amid others’ pointing fingers?

 

No, perhaps she had known all along.

 

That Lee Si-hyeok wouldn’t give up on the lecture, and that he would stubbornly stick to his path while presenting an unimaginable solution.

 

That he loved the dream called magical engineering more than anyone.

 

She might have known this very well.

 

Because she had experienced it many times. Because she knew he was someone who would never give up no matter how much he was broken and bent.

 

That’s why Yoon Seo-jin, while trying to dissuade Lee Si-hyeok, secretly hoped. Wouldn’t this person go against her expectations and show her a new choice?

 

And….

 

‘…As expected, Si-hyeok is.’

 

That expectation was exactly right.

 

A smile appeared on Yoon Seo-jin’s face as she sat there in a daze.

 

She didn’t know why.

 

For some reason, one side of her chest was pounding, and she was filled with excitement about what would happen next.

 

Perhaps it was because she could already picture in her mind the flustered expressions of those awful bastards who had been pointing fingers at Lee Si-hyeok, especially that damn Bae Young-min.

 

“I need to tell the Chairman right away.”

 

That Lee Si-hyeok hadn’t given up yet.

 

Midnight.

 

Yoon Seo-jin began moving busily to wake Chairman Lee Young-hoon from his deep sleep.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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