Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 38

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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 (38)

The Organization’s Atmosphere

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes widened as if they would tear. Why is she here?

‘…No.’

It was still too early to be certain.

He might have seen wrong. There was also the possibility that someone who looked exactly like the Snow Flame Empress existed here by sheer coincidence.

If so, it wouldn’t be common for the princess to reveal herself directly.

He had to confirm it properly with this opportunity.

Orbes Central Plaza. Bodies were being pushed around in the crowd that had flocked like a tide upon hearing news of the princess’s procession. Bumping, being pushed, being dragged. Just before being completely pushed out of the plaza with no room to even step.

Lee Si-hyeok widened his eyes and glared at the carriage once more.

“…!”

This time was different from before.

He had made eye contact with the girl inside the carriage.

Blue and red.

The moment he met those two differently colored eyes, he had the illusion that all movement around him had stopped.

In that momentary stillness, Lee Si-hyeok waited for the girl’s reaction.

However, contrary to his expectations, no reaction came back.

The girl just looked at Lee Si-hyeok quietly as if nothing was wrong.

‘…What?’

Did I mistake it? Just as Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes trembled narrowly with that thought.

The girl unconsciously lowered her gaze that had been staring at him.

An overbearing gaze. It was such a natural movement that he almost missed it. But precisely because of that, it was more certain evidence.

―Exactly like the Snow Flame Empress.

Countless questions surged up.

However, those questions couldn’t become words.

Though he tried to say something, the girl had already turned her head away.

Time that seemed to have stopped began to flow again. His body that had been pushed around was completely pushed out of the plaza.

Though he wasn’t particularly short so he could see the upper part of the carriage over people’s heads, it wasn’t particularly helpful.

Moreover, the carriage had also almost completely left the plaza.

Whew… Lee Si-hyeok sighed and casually leaned his back against a nearby bench.

As he repeatedly rubbed his face dry while organizing his complicated thoughts, Elec, who had approached at some point, broke his reverie.

“Are you alright?”

Elec, whom he looked up at after raising his head, had a worried expression.

“Your condition suddenly became strange. I called you several times but you didn’t answer, what on earth happened?”

The kingdom’s princess resembled someone he knew. He couldn’t say that fact as it was.

As he briefly chose his answer, Elec seemed to misunderstand something and laughed with a “hmm hmm.”

“Ah, I see.”

“…?”

“You fell for the princess at first sight.”

Lee Si-hyeok’s head tilted at the nonsensical words.

“I understand, me too. Whenever the princess is mentioned, stories about her outstanding beauty never fail to come up. How else would they say that throughout the entire history of the kingdom, there has never been anyone more beautiful than the current Serena del Lumiere?”

“….”

“So you don’t need to be embarrassed. Everyone has the same reaction as you when they first see the princess.”

What kind of bullshit is this…?

Lee Si-hyeok was momentarily speechless from absurdity.

He had been seriously worrying alone all this time, but suddenly hearing such nonsense made him feel dumbfounded.

“Hmm hmm! You had this side to you too.”

Elec seemed to gain even more conviction from that appearance.

While letting the trivial story go in one ear and out the other, Lee Si-hyeok rubbed his stiffly hardened cheek.

‘Still.’

Thanks to Elec, his complicated thoughts seemed to have cleared up considerably.

The princess and the Snow Flame Empress.

Serena del Lumiere and Cha Yu-rim.

Perhaps when Lee Si-hyeok crossed over to this place, the Snow Flame Empress who was by his side might have been caught up in it together.

However, this was also just speculation, so it wasn’t certain. If that were the case, the question of why the Snow Flame Empress became a ‘princess’ would still remain a mystery.

‘In the end, everything can only be known by checking directly.’

Then he just needed to meet the princess and ask her directly.

I was thinking too complicatedly for no reason. A faint smile spread across Lee Si-hyeok’s lips.

“Anyway, so Serena has been since before… hmm?”

Elec, who had been chattering to himself, tilted his head.

“Is there some good news?”

“No. By the way, how about we go back to the workshop and have some tea?”

“That’s not bad either. We can’t keep talking here forever. But didn’t you say you had business to take care of outside? Suddenly tea?”

“There’s Kyllis tea, isn’t there?”

“Gasp.”

Elec’s eyes widened. Kyllis tea. It was the name of tea leaves that he hadn’t even touched despite being diligently brewed and served for several days.

Elec knew the reason well too. Honestly, it would be a very unfamiliar taste for a foreigner like that young man. It was bitter and astringent, and difficult to adapt to unless one’s tongue was quite sturdy. It was tea he had served half as a joke.

But after rejecting it so much, why was he suddenly suggesting they drink it now?

Elec found himself stuttering without realizing it.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“I have a story I want to share.”

“What story…?”

“About the Alchemy Society.”

“…?!”

The kingdom’s direct research organization where only super geniuses gathered.

Lee Si-hyeok was thinking of entering that place.

* * *

The reason for choosing the Alchemy Society was simple.

There was no suitable way to approach the Snow Flame Empress, that is, the princess.

Of course, there was the special benefit of the 『Foreigner Adaptation Contract』 that earned others’ favor, but it wasn’t certain to what extent this applied.

So he thought taking the exam for the Alchemy Society, which was currently recruiting new alchemists, would be the fastest way.

“The exam will start right away tomorrow.”

The location was Orbes Central Plaza, where the princess’s carriage had passed.

They said only one person who passed as the top student could enter the Alchemy Society.

When the recruitment was for one person, he wondered if being top or whatever mattered, but still.

“And it consists of three stages in total.”

For some reason, Elec was quite knowledgeable about the Alchemy Society. What process the exam was conducted in, what points to be careful of… and so on.

As he listened attentively while forcing down the tasteless Kyllis tea, Elec was delighted and imparted his knowledge.

A person who was quite mysterious yet not unpleasant.

That was Lee Si-hyeok’s assessment of Elec.

Anyway, abandoning his original plan, he spent the whole day preparing for the exam with Elec.

And the next day.

“I will announce the successful candidate.”

“….”

“Pale Artist. You have passed as the top student.”

He overwhelmingly took first place.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult at all, because all the techniques he had learned at Elec’s workshop were what appeared on the exam. Added to that, when Lee Si-hyeok’s unique know-how was mixed in, there were no obstacles.

Thus, Lee Si-hyeok would be staying at the Alchemy Society Hall, the headquarters of the Alchemy Society, for the time being.

Originally, he had planned to at least express his gratitude to Elec, but since he had suddenly disappeared, Lee Si-hyeok had no choice but to follow the guide sent by the Alchemy Society.

‘Well, I can give my thanks later.’

Lee Si-hyeok shook off his thoughts and looked at the guide walking ahead of him.

He was an Apprentice Alchemist from the Alchemy Society, a senior who had passed the exam several years before Lee Si-hyeok. Being the youngest in the organization, he was also handling errands like this.

The word “youngest” suited him well, as his youthful appearance made him seem around the same age as Song Hyeon-gyu, whom he had seen at the Expo recently.

“How much do you know about the Alchemy Society?”

However, it would be rude to voice such thoughts.

At the question, Lee Si-hyeok composed his expression and answered.

“I don’t know much in detail. Just bits and pieces I’ve picked up here and there.”

“What kind of bits and pieces?”

“A small elite research group that operates purely for the Kingdom’s development with support from the Royal Family. Despite its small numbers, it has tremendous influence and is called a pillar of the Kingdom?”

“Hmm, you know quite a bit!”

The Alchemy Society Headquarters was beginning to come into view.

Three towering spires and a Gothic-style building.

The Apprentice walking ahead turned around and continued speaking while walking backwards, looking at Lee Si-hyeok.

“Then is there anything else you’re curious about? Like the Alchemy Society’s current research topics… and, well, things like that!”

Lee Si-hyeok thought for a moment before answering.

“What’s the atmosphere of the organization like?”

“The atmosphere?”

“Yes. If I know about things like the hierarchy between seniors and juniors, I’ll be able to adapt more quickly.”

“Wow.”

But the Apprentice who heard this opened his mouth slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re the first person I’ve seen ask such a question!”

“…Isn’t that a natural question?”

“No. Even in my case, I never thought about things like the organization’s atmosphere. Most people are probably the same? Usually, rather than being curious about the organization, they only think about ‘what they’ll research.’ That’s what most researchers are like.”

The Apprentice turned around again, slowed his pace, and walked alongside him.

“To put it simply, they only see the trees. They should be looking at the forest. They get completely absorbed in research and miss everything about the organization itself. Actually, that’s not how it should be.”

“…”

“If the entire organization is one complete product, then the organization’s atmosphere is like the Mana Circuit that makes up that product. Even the slightest noise can break it. No matter how well-made a circuit is, if even one part goes wrong, the whole thing gets ruined.”

“You’re saying the Alchemy Society is the same?”

“That’s right. People describe the Alchemy Society as a group of only geniuses, but it’s obvious what happens when those geniuses gather together. Their opinions clash and collide. And then harsh words being exchanged becomes a daily occurrence, right?”

The Apprentice smiled contentedly.

“In that regard, Pale Artist, you’re already fully adapted. That’s the first thing you learn when you join the Alchemy Society, but you’ve already figured it out on your own. Congratulations!”

Watching the chattering Apprentice, Lee Si-hyeok swallowed a groan.

There was nothing wrong with what the Apprentice said, but that wasn’t really the intention behind his question.

‘It was just to meet the Princess even a little sooner…’

After all, the Alchemists of the Alchemy Society often had direct audiences with the Royal Family.

Still, he didn’t voice this out loud. Lee Si-hyeok watched the pleased Apprentice and brought up his earlier question again.

He hadn’t actually received an answer about what the atmosphere was like.

“Ah, that!”

The Apprentice scratched his head as if he had forgotten too.

Then he pointed to the door of the Alchemy Society Headquarters they had reached.

“You’ll know when you see for yourself. Just to give you a little heads up, everyone is kind?”

That seemed likely. Since the first thing you learn when joining the Alchemy Society is how to naturally blend into the organization, there probably wouldn’t be anyone giving him a hard time.

During the test at the Plaza, the Alchemists hadn’t come directly, so he felt a bit nervous.

“Let’s go in!”

The Apprentice opened the door with an energetic voice, and Lee Si-hyeok slowly followed behind him.

The atmosphere inside was quite dark.

A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling, but it wasn’t lit, and the only light came through the windows. Even that was mostly blocked by curtains, so there was almost none.

This was the complete opposite of the atmosphere he had expected.

Lee Si-hyeok narrowed his eyes and went a little deeper inside.

The first floor felt like a building lobby in Earth terms.

“How is it?”

Perhaps he was excited about bringing in a new member.

The Apprentice broke the silence and asked in an excited tone, but Lee Si-hyeok looked around more without answering.

All the members of the Alchemy Society were gathered on the first floor.

Excluding the Apprentice and himself, there were a total of 19 people.

With each step he took, he could feel gazes following him. They were sticky and unpleasant gazes.

“…”

Lee Si-hyeok stopped in place when he reached the center of the lobby.

He took his hands out of his pockets and touched his face. His cheeks were rigidly stiff. They were chillingly cold.

Ever since entering this place, anxiety had been rising within him.

He forced his stiff lips apart with difficulty and spoke.

“…What is this?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Under the unlit chandelier.

The Apprentice looked at him with a bright smile.

Lee Si-hyeok put strength into his trembling fingers and pointed around.

“Just a moment ago. Didn’t you clearly say they were all kind people?”

“I did.”

“But what is this supposed to be?”

The nineteen Alchemists gathered on the first floor.

They were all lined up in a row as if they had made some promise.

They all showed no movement whatsoever as if they had made some promise.

They all, as if they had made some promise…

“…This is no different from corpses.”

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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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