NOVPUBAfter finishing the study session, I headed to the Tiger Mansion.
I thought we were going to the modern annex that Eunho used, but Hwang Ji-ho led me to the main building.
"Let's first check on Eunho's descendants. It seems like preparing for the final exams has been quite tough for them. They’ll find some strength when they see you."
It was a bit abrupt to be pulled directly to the main building without any explanation, but since the kids were struggling, I couldn’t complain.
If I’d known this would happen, I would have brought some snacks that the kids like.
Next week, I’ll need to be more considerate and take care of the first-year students.
"And... I think they’ll listen to you more than to me, Jo Eui-shin," Hwang Ji-ho added.
What did he mean by that?
I soon found out the reason.
As we entered the main building, the chaos immediately caught my attention.
There were signs of things being smashed and burned in the living room, which looked like the aftermath of a strong explosion.
The reason the fire didn’t spread further was probably due to the mansion’s excellent fire prevention measures.
Grrrrr...
I turned toward the low growl that echoed.
The golden tiger drawn on the wall was slowly walking toward me.
It was one of Hwang Ji-ho's followers, the tiger that had been seen on the 5th floor of the Tiger Mansion.
‘That tiger is one of Hwang Ji-ho's followers, Huaho (畵虎).’
I’d never seen Huaho outside of the 5th floor of the Tiger Mansion, so seeing it here was a bit of a fresh experience.
It seemed that Huaho had moved in response to the explosion it detected.
As I speculated, Huaho stopped growling, settled into a spot, and stared at me intently.
Its gaze, shining with curiosity, was identical to Hwang Ji-ho's.
But for such a big explosion to have occurred, what in the world had happened?
"...So, you're telling me the explosion happened because of a talent show rehearsal?"
"Yes!"
As I looked toward the dining area, I saw the young Hwang Yuhyo, Eun Seoho, Eun Iho, and Eun Jaeho.
Relieved that none of the kids seemed hurt and that they weren’t too shocked, I realized they had probably been talking while cleaning up the mess in the living room.
I had thought the explosion might have been caused by cooking, but the kitchen and dining room were fine, and the mention of a talent show made me think otherwise.
"There’s a youth retreat during the summer vacation, right? I heard there’s going to be a talent show there!"
"That's right, each class is required to have one performance, I heard."
"Participation in the talent show is voluntary. The rules have changed for safety reasons, so you don’t have to participate. Even when I went to the youth retreat, we didn’t have a talent show."
"Huh? I heard the reason we didn’t have a talent show last year was because of an accident!"
"Yeah, I heard that the senior Kim Chanwang and Wangchan had to participate forcefully!"
Listening to Eun Seoho and Eun Iho speak with bright faces, I felt a headache coming on.
The stories didn’t quite match up, but Hwang Yuhyo, the kind, smart, and young one, was correct.
After the stage was broken by Ugiwan's strength show, and the forced garlic-eating performance dubbed "hypnosis show" by Kim Chanwang and Wangchan, the talent show became voluntary.
‘Technically, Eun Seoho and Eun Iho’s story isn’t wrong either. The talent show couldn’t be held because of the accident, and Kim Chanwang and Wangchan did perform.’
Anyway, the kids didn’t have to do the talent show, but it seemed like their impulsiveness had caused the explosion. It was probably because Kim Chanwang had unnecessarily stirred things up.
He must have made those first-years, who were always trying to rebel, settle down with some talk about the talent show.
Just as Hwang Yuhyo, who had been awkwardly trying to explain, was about to say more...
"Actually, my best skill is playing dead..."
"Right! If we do that, everyone will totally fall for it. We did the play-dead game in our Class 0 too!"
"Even our class wanted to try it!"
Were they thinking of doing that again... with the 0th grade juniors as well...?
Well, the children of the noble and peasant families, as well as the interviewers from Yeonggwang High, would probably all be fooled by Eunho’s descendants’ play-dead skills.
But listening to them speak, it didn’t seem like they had practiced play-dead this time.
"We wanted to do a group play-dead game, but Eunha opposed it, so we decided to do something else."
"For the talent show, one of them was even preparing realistic organ models, but it’s a shame that didn’t happen."
I really wasn’t suggesting a bloody talent show, though.
It seemed like Eunho had stopped them from turning it into a gruesome organ display.
The kind Hwang Yuhyo looked a bit relieved, probably feeling better now that such a terrifying event wouldn’t happen.
"Did your vice-class president oppose it? What did she say?"
"Eunha said something really nice! What did she say...?"
Eun Seoho began to talk about what had happened that day.
Just before the theme for the talent show was decided as play-dead, Eunho, disguised as Eunha, had opposed it.
---"The ability to fake death is very valuable. It will increase the survival rate of players moving between the front lines."
---"Then let’s do a play-dead game together!"
---"Why do you oppose it if you think it’s such a good idea?"
While the class protested, Eunho smiled and waited.
Some of them, who weren’t afraid to challenge even the legendary toughest 3rd-year Class 0 students, spoke roughly, but Eunho just smiled.
In the end, the students had to back down first.
After the protests died down, Eunho slowly replied.
---"Such a secret weapon should be kept hidden until the very end. If the opponent knows you’re skilled at faking death, they will surely check to finish you off."
---"...!"
---"So, you should refrain from using this weapon in public. Let’s think of another topic. Whatever we settle on, I’ll do my best to help."
Eunho spoke as gently and kindly as usual, but the pressure in his words made it hard to argue back.
Even Eun Seoho and Eun Iho, who had been eager to push for the play-dead game, fell silent.
The chaotic atmosphere of excitement mixed with the pressure of Eunho's presence quieted the room.
---"Then we can’t do the play-dead game in the talent show, but can we practice it? I want to. The more secret weapons, the better!"
Fortunately, when my playable character, Yoon Yeorang, smiled brightly without any ulterior motive, the mood shifted again.
And so, despite it being exam season, the first-year Class 0 students were juggling both the practice for the play-dead game and talent show preparation.
Right now, Eun Seoho and Eun Iho were preparing for the talent show, learning from the Mountain Spirit.
"I can’t tell you what we’re preparing for the talent show yet, but Mountain Spirit taught us something really good!"
"Yes, you can look forward to it!"
"...I’ll look forward to it. But if it’s not urgent, it’s better to focus on studying for the exams. Didn’t you say you’re aiming for the top spot?"
"Ugh... that’s true, but..."
As kind as Hwang Yuhyo was, he tried to calm the kids down. Meanwhile, Hwang Ji-ho and Huaho had gone to deal with the Mountain Spirit.
The Mountain Spirit was wiping soot from a block toy in a corner of the living room, looking a bit guilty.
"Mountain Spirit, you’re not trying to teach our descendants anything dangerous again, are you?"
"I-I taught them something else, but they caused an explosion!"
Mountain Spirit waved his hands frantically.
With his true form now revealed, the Mountain Spirit looked more like a child buried in shadows.
Watching him desperately make excuses made me feel a little sorry for him.
I wondered how he had managed to teach them something that led to an explosion, but the descendants had caused accidents even when using regular kitchen tools, so it wasn’t entirely Mountain Spirit’s fault.
"...If anything happens, I’ll have Baekho and the Divine Beasts handle your special training. Be careful."
"Okay, understood!"
I thought Hwang Ji-ho would scold him more, but surprisingly, he backed off easily.
Watching Mountain Spirit play with the block toy, Hwang Ji-ho turned his head sharply.
Hwang Ji-ho muttered as if making an excuse.
"Recently, even when Mountain Spirit plays pranks, I don’t feel like scolding him. Maybe your gentle nature has rubbed off on me."
I didn’t understand why he was using me as an excuse.
But the more Mountain Spirit’s true form became clear, the harder it was to treat him harshly.
After all, how could I scold a little child like that?
Although a bit mischievous, Mountain Spirit had quietly helped me in this world without me even realizing it.
Also, recently, the descendants of Eunho were busy attending school, so he must have spent a lot of time playing alone, which made me feel a bit sorry for him.
"Hyung, Eui-shin!"
"Eui-shin oppa, we’re studying for our exams and preparing for the talent show all on our own!"
After finishing talking with Hwang Yuhyo, Eun Seoho and Eun Iho came over to me.
Although I see them often at school, it had been a while since I saw them at the mansion, and they seemed very happy to see me.
After listening to their words, I told them that while preparing for the talent show was fine, they should be careful not to get hurt.
‘They must have acted out like this because the stress of exam preparation is getting to them. I should help them study when I get the chance.’
Although they might have disliked my nagging, they listened and smiled as always because they were such good kids.
Moreover, they gave me a big present.
"Shinsu told us to give this to you when you come."
Although I had only watched the talent show preparations, the youngest, Eun Jaeho, who had been receiving the same scolding as the others, showed me a hologram.
The hologram showed an angel.
But it wasn’t just any angel – it was a genius angel winking!
It was a shame that the angel’s left eye was missing, but it exuded a sense of genius.
However, I was left in despair after hearing the following words.
"Baekho said you’ll be able to meet them when you don’t have to close your left eye anymore."
I could tell from the angel’s kind words that they were probably referring to my injured left eye.
It seemed I wouldn’t be able to meet the angel until my left eye was fully healed...
Modern-style annex.
While I blankly stared at the angel’s photo, I heard Hwang Ji-ho’s voice.
"Jo Eui-shin, stop reversing your intelligence."
It hadn’t been long since I received the photo, but when I looked up, the tigers were gathered together.
Everyone was drinking tea that Eunho had given them, but Jeokho wasn’t touching his cup. Instead, he grumbled at Eunho.
"I heard your conversation with the descendants. I expected you to say something about them playing dead, but instead, you complimented them."
"It’s true that their ability to fake death is outstanding."
"Wouldn’t it be better to stop them? If you just speak well, those kids will never play dead again."
Jeokho had once been severely tricked by Eunho’s descendants with their play-dead game.
Having experienced it firsthand, he didn’t seem to think much of it.
However, Eunho shook his head and spoke firmly.
"If a child knows how to handle a dangerous weapon, shouldn’t we teach them to use it better instead of avoiding it?"
Jeokho fell silent at Eunho’s words.
It seemed Eunho intended to use their play-dead ability for something beneficial.
In fact, I also thought that ability could be useful.
Before Jeokho could say anything more, Eunho got to the point.
"I apologize for calling you in such a busy time. Although it’s still unfinished, after hearing that you might have done this, I thought I should show it to you soon."
Eunho pulled out a hologram and several printed documents.
There were dozens of them.
Eunho explained what the materials were.
"What’s in here is the mythology of Gaegyeon that I remember."
