There were several powers that could be considered the strongest on the continent.
Elvenheim of the Elves.
Hellheim of the Underworld.
The Holy Central Empire of Humans.
As soon as the legions of the Holy Central Empire returned to the empire, they were completely tied up trying to stop the forces within the empire from obtaining high-value artifacts available underground, all to close the Hellgate that had opened from beneath.
Elvenheim lost its significance as its stronghold was consumed by the burning World Tree.
Now, one can assert that the powers discussing the world’s strongest have changed in just a year.
The Wahyhiemhai Foundation.
The largest human force on par with the Empire.
The assassin maids responsible for the foundation’s espionage glared intently at this side while double guarding the ins and outs of the transfer station with their stoic expressions.
Without the Director’s permission, no one could escape this place unharmed, as if they were affirming that claim.
“Bella. Could you please open the door?”
Titosso flinched at the voice of Papa coming from beyond the door.
Sniffle Can I cry right now? As if asking, the wall next to Titosso began to slide.
Hiss!
An assassin maid, unstealthing as she walked while rolling up her long black cloak, stepped out of the darkness to reveal herself, sending a familar chill down my spine.
Revolutionary of the Empire.
Man’s Representative.
Leader of the Organization.
The ultimate assassin of the ‘Secret Organization’ that had existed instead of the foundation during the three great evils that I had experienced so far: Unlucky.
Even among the veterans, if Unlucky showed up, it spread like a quip that they had been hit by a reincarnation truck—what a lethal powerhouse!
As I made a shield to resist against the chilling aura brushing my neck, Unlucky smiled coldly.
Click!
Scree—eeech!
With no slip, a precise hand gripped the doorknob.
I remembered the rounds where my neck got caught by that hand.
At the very least, it had been dozens.
A force-centric room character that was yet to complete its build could even kill marines.
Huh?
Titosso’s face, which was about to burst into tears at Unlucky’s sinister aura, turned pale.
Silence and darkness made her even more terrifying as an assassin, and Titosso’s whimpers ceased due to the cold aura targeting her neck.
“Your friendship with your friends has deepened, hasn’t it? Seeing you not neglecting your relationships comforts this Papa.”
“The maids are doing well too! I didn’t expect anyone to collapse after releasing a potent poison!”
“Ha ha. While Reap has knowledge of poison, there’s still much to learn. Truly precious poisons are valuable and hard to come by. Poisoning is the privilege of the rich.”
Indeed, it was right to grow the poison only under Reap’s guidance while lazing around.
Going up against wealthy malevolent NPCs with money was a guaranteed failure!
“It’s admirable that you’ve come to the Cheonryeong Mountain Range without being lost in revolutionary game-play. There are many who retire after achieving one feat and want to live carefreely, so I was quite worried.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry. My goals are much grander!”
“If there’s a burden to set aside to achieve that dream, would you be willing to toss it aside?”
“My friends are not burdens!”
“My. Were you conscious of the fact that Papa would call your friends burdens? Even if you feel a lack in your heart subconsciously, saying such things in front of your friends would hurt their feelings.”
At that, Titosso’s eyes were glistening.
“Is Nodie… our burden?”
“Not at all! Titosso is like an angel’s angel ring!”
“Gasp. Am I that cute like an angel?”
“An angel who loses its angel ring will die if they don’t find a new one within 49 days!”
“Wh-what does that mean…? What does it have to do with me??”
“Well, if you can create it again within 49 days, theoretically you can just keep taking and enhancing it every time you see it and get a high-tier angel ring, right?”
“What’s that? Return the angel ring to the angel!”
“Wearing an angel ring boosts your speed! If you roll the high-tier options well, you can wear it even if you’re not an angel. Isn’t that just like Titosso?”
“I don’t get it!”
Titosso can remain in the dark.
In fact, it was not something said for Titos, anyway.
“Oho. Could that angel ring be attached to Non-fair Flight?”
“We won’t know until we try!”
“A spirit of challenge arises! Quite a delectable bait. Indeed, our daughter is a clever child who knows how to negotiate with adults. Let’s praise her.”
Papa stuck a piece of paper to the wall and stamped it.
━━━
[Passed]
Titosso
━━━
[Under Review]
Oknodie
Jiang
Jezel
Isabel
Son Ohchun
Hiscliff
Bronze de Estrada
━━━
A list with very suspicious motives appeared.
“Rodent… Oknodie Father? Excuse me, but may I ask what this list is about?”
“Oh dear. It’s most enjoyable to receive presents without knowing. Do you really want to know?”
“…”
Son Ohchun shook his head with an extremely uneasy expression, wrapped up in ominous thoughts.
“It’s not a scholarship review from the foundation, and why give presents while sorting who gets passed or failed? Just be honest. You came to kill us, didn’t you?”
“I cannot understand. Why would I commit such a regrettable act?”
“Regrettable act…?”
Isabel, who had been putting up open hostility, was caught in confusion.
“Children are selfish above all else. They cannot disguise their disgust for ugliness and weakness, and they don’t fear laws and morals more than adults, openly expressing their emotions. Of course, I’m not saying my child is like that, but you were chosen by a pure child’s choice.”
“You mean you want to use us?”
“I am not so harsh a Papa as to take away my daughter’s toys. Even if a friend fades over time, they’ll cherish and hold dear their teddy bears during childhood. At least for a few years, how could I take you away from becoming my daughter’s toys?”
You all are to be discarded.
By my very hand.
With Papa’s assertion, an uncontrollable anxiety swirled in Isabel’s eyes.
Why are they all so fearful?
To reassure them, I encouraged everyone.
“There’s no method for friends with the same motives to weigh things out! Until graduation, we’re all friends!”
“Oknodie, the phrase until graduation implies it’s not afterward, right?”
“Jiang, don’t be too upset. It’s uncertain if everyone will graduate on the same day! On the contrary, feeling burdened by such matters may lead to disaster!”
A sense of betrayal appeared in Jiang’s eyes.
Sniffle.
I tried to alleviate worries, but why did it seem like everyone was getting more anxious?
Huh. Because of Papa, I’ve become distant from everyone. I hate Papa!
“Oh dear. Being hated causes distress. Especially if it’s from someone I care for. May I ask for your forgiveness?”
“No way!”
“As an apology, you shall receive a gift.”
“…I want to hear about the dust!”
Papa presented his kind smile as he passed the passed stamp.
“I’ll give you a chance to stamp a name.”
“Then I’ll stamp Isabel’s name!”
A deepening sense of disappointment appeared in Jiang’s eyes.
“Oknodie. Was what I said about being best friends a lie? We weren’t besties?”
“This isn’t a vote to pick a best friend!”
“Then tell me. At least you, Oknodie, must understand what this is and have chosen it.”
“Think of it as a list for choosing good kids!”
“Good kids…? Then does that mean I’m a worse kid than Isabel?”
“Being good isn’t always right! Adults often misuse the meaning of being good.”
The disappointment in Jiang’s eyes faded, replaced by curiosity.
“A child who doesn’t take much effort. A child who listens well to what they are told. A child who doesn’t fail at anything, commendable, a child that doesn’t need to be rushed or scolded—or adults often call such children ‘good kids’!”
“That’s a dirty wicked meaning, right?”
Son Ohchun blurted out a curse word.
Jezel nodded along.
“Hmm. In that sense, Titosso and Isabel do tend to be relatively obedient. In terms of being easy to use.”
But not everyone would follow such evaluations obediently.
“Son Ohchun. The support has come to an end.”
“Oh. Hey, Hiscliff. You’re already all better, huh?”
“The examination is a matter of the higher judging the lower’s grade and pass or fail status. The one who stands above the Eungchilgeom is only the Emperor of the Empire. How can I lower my head for evaluation from someone who is not the Empire’s Emperor?”
“If that’s the case, then you may go back as you like.”
“…What? Just let me go like this?”
“Did you think I was holding your lives hostage to blackmail you? Ha ha ha. How many times must I say it? I merely came to give a gift to my precious daughter.”
How could you suspect me? Papa feigned an injured expression.
His nonchalant attitude left Hiscliff bewildered.
“If I were to say I would take the kids with me just like this?”
“The children would be sad not receiving their gifts.”
Suddenly enveloped in a feeling of being a bad adult, Hiscliff didn’t know what to do.
Seeing Hiscliff in distress, the shadow abruptly stood up and tapped his shoulder.
“Enough. It seems your judgment is impaired because you have been harshly tormented by Rung Nosa.”
“Are you disregarding Eungchilgeom right now?!”
“Disregard… That’s one way to see it, I suppose. Eungchilgeom’s position differs from the Top Ten Rogues of the continent.”
“You claim you’re stronger than Eungchilgeom?!”
“Strong? That’s not a mere surface issue. The Top Ten Rogues have their names on the ranking board, you see. And those who protect their names are accompanied by good fortune. A kind of fortune everyone can envy.”
Did he finally understand the situation?
Hiscliff carefully voiced what Papa and the Professor had contemplated.
“Are you concerned about the power struggle for ranking?”
Those whose names are on the ranking board.
Those without power to protect their fortune.
No one knows when or where they might be attacked and killed by strong foes.
Such rapid growth comes with risks.
My comrades, at least in my eyes, I did not have the certainty that they would surely overcome such risks.
So this is an opportunity.
“Ooops, it seems the secret of the gift has been unveiled.”
Papa candidly acknowledged with a hint of disappointment.
“You do not need to prove usefulness to the foundation. Just prove yourself. A gift given to the weak who cannot do so. That is what ‘preemptive rank competition’ aims for in the retrieval of rankings.”
Those who cannot protect their ranks will gently have their rankings taken away before getting attacked.
Interpreted in the aspect of saving the lives of the weak, to receive a stamp from Papa’s list means receiving a gift of life.
