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Chapter 530

“Oh, I… didn’t realize someone was here.”

Fluent Korean that didn’t match her Western appearance.

Sophia blinked as she looked at Kim Jihun.

“That’s right. It’s been so long since I left Korea… I’m sorry. I mistakenly thought the house would still be empty.”

Seong Jihan watched Sophia bow her head deeply and thought.

Should he pretend to know her or not?

‘Hmm… Sophia is famous enough that even ordinary people would know her.’

Sophia was one of the outstanding supporters who had been selected for the human representative team before.

Plus, with her striking looks, she was one of the most popular women worldwide.

At this point, it might seem stranger to pretend not to know her.

With that in mind, Seong Jihan carefully asked.

“Are you perhaps Sophia from American First?”

“Yes. I used to live here briefly… I mistakenly thought the house was still empty.”

“Oh, is that so? I was wondering why there were some photos of you in the house.”

When Seong Jihan, wearing Kim Jihun’s shell, answered like that,

Sophia, who had been apologetic, brightened up.

“My photos… were still here?”

“Yes. Since I moved in recently, I’ve been keeping them in a drawer, but…”

“…Excuse me. I’m really sorry, but could I have those photos back?”

Photos of Sophia full of selfies with Seong Jihan.

But those would only show Sophia’s face now, since Seong Jihan had been erased from records.

Why would she want them?

Seong Jihan tilted his head but thought,

‘Well, they are her personal photos, so it’s understandable.’

He assumed she wanted to retrieve photos left behind by a celebrity.

“Certainly.”

Seong Jihan went back inside and brought a pile of photos from the drawer.

Photos containing the faces of Sophia and himself, from who knows when they took so many selfies.

As he handed them over,

“Ah… thank you…”

Sophia bowed her head in thanks.

Then she examined the photos closely.

But not the part with her face, rather the part with Seong Jihan’s face.

‘…What’s going on?’

At first, he thought it might be a coincidence, but,

Sophia’s gaze was too fixed on Seong Jihan’s face.

Rustle. Rustle.

Even as she flipped to the next photo, she kept staring intently at Seong Jihan’s face in it.

As she was looking at the photos,

Flash…!

A pure white light flickered slightly on Sophia’s forehead.

‘Is that… the Divine Eye?’

The Divine Eye that Pythia, Sophia’s constellation, had used.

Seong Jihan himself had received the Divine Eye from her as she was dying and put it to good use.

‘But Sophia is using it now?’

As Seong Jihan curiously looked at her forehead,

“Oh. I’m sorry. I meant to just take a quick look…”

Sophia finally noticed Kim Jihun’s gaze and hurriedly put the photos in her handbag.

Then, she turned her eyes towards him.

“Oh…”

Flash. Flash.

The Divine Eye flickered several times as she stared intently at Kim Jihun.

“You look… quite similar.”

Similar?

‘Does she really remember me?’

All male half-elves had faces that vaguely resembled Seong Jihan.

‘Kim Jihun’ was the one who looked most like Seong Jihan among the male half-elves.

When she said that, she must know the appearance that the half-elves were trying to imitate.

She must know ‘Seong Jihan’.

“Similar to whom? Half-elves all look alike, don’t they?”

He still pretended not to know and answered like that.

“…You’re right. I must have been mistaken. All half-elves do look alike.”

She seemed to accept that, and lowered her head.

“Thank you for returning the photos. I’m sorry for intruding so early in the morning.”

“It’s fine.”

“Um, to repay you for returning them…”

She was even trying to repay him?

Still, Sophia wasn’t the type to just take something and leave.

Seong Jihan decided to end this quickly rather than argue more at the doorway.

“Ah, then could I ask for an autograph?”

“Is just an autograph enough?”

“An autograph from you is plenty, Sophia.”

Saying that, Seong Jihan brought paper and a pen from inside.

Although she felt bad that just an autograph wasn’t enough repayment, Sophia signed the white paper.

After finishing her signature, she asked for Seong Jihan’s name.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Kim Jihun.”

“Kim Jihun… Oh! Could you be the one who recently scored over 20% compatibility?”

Sophia suddenly raised her head, stopping mid-signature.

Her eyes were sparkling brightly.

He had only asked for an autograph to send her away quickly, but,

This seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“What a coincidence…! When I came today, I was on the same flight as the American First negotiation team sent to recruit you, Kim Jihun. The team was looking for you because they didn’t know where you were, but this is great!”

Come to think of it, there was news this morning about the American First negotiation team arriving at Incheon Airport.

So she came with them.

“How about we contact the negotiation team now and set up an appointment to discuss the contract? Since you’ve become a ‘special management target’, they said they’ve prepared some amazing conditions…”

American First, the world’s top guild.

If they call the conditions “amazing”, the contract terms must be incredible.

Sophia expected Kim Jihun to react positively to this, but.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve already decided to join the Daegi Guild.”

“…The, the Daegi Guild?”

“Yes.”

An completely unexpected answer came from the other party.

* * *

“The Daegi Guild… I used to be there too. The people are all nice, and their growth rate buff is the best in the world.”

Sophia spoke about the advantages of the Daegi Guild, then got to the main point.

“But they probably don’t have the financial means to recruit someone like you, Kim Jihun.”

“Well, I agreed to join for a reasonable amount. I’m a long-time fan of that guild, you see.”

“A fan… you say?”

Joining because he was a fan of the Daegi Guild.

This was like giving up the chance to join the top team in the first division to stay in the second division.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to at least hear American First’s offer? The negotiation team has prepared quite thoroughly… I’m sure you’d be satisfied if you heard what they have to say.”

Sophia tried to persuade Kim Jihun with a bewildered expression, but.

“It’s fine. I’ve already arranged to finalize the contract at 12 o’clock.”

“No, but… I can promise you this. We can start at 10 times the amount the Daegi Guild offered.”

“I’m the type who believes a moderate amount of GP is enough.”

“Even so, at least a conversation with the negotiation team…”

“It’s really fine. Truly.”

Faced with Kim Jihun’s firm attitude, Sophia just blinked in confusion.

American First was willing to start negotiations at a minimum of 10 times the offer, but he wouldn’t even listen.

Even if Kim Jihun was a fan of the Daegi Guild, this was beyond common sense.

‘This person, now that I look closely, he seems to find the negotiation itself bothersome…’

Becoming a male half-elf and determining the starting point for a big break.

How could he be so disinterested?

As Sophia was puzzling over how to persuade this person,

“I appreciate the autograph. Thank you, Sophia. Goodbye then. And please don’t tell the negotiation team my location.”

Kim Jihun waved at her and closed the door.

“Wow, this is really strange.”

It seemed Kim Jihun found not only the negotiation team bothersome, but Sophia as well.

She had never been treated like this in her life.

‘…No, was there a time in the past?’

Sophia tried to recall her past memories, but frowned.

The old memories came back clearly, but,

Only one person’s existence had disappeared from them.

‘Surely, this person and I… we knew each other.’

Swish.

Sophia took out the photos she had received from Kim Jihun from her bag.

A man clearly visible when she activated her Divine Eye.

Herself, smiling brightly, and,

A man with an indifferent or annoyed expression.

Just looking at their faces, it was obvious who was infatuated with whom.

‘Why did I like this person so much back then?’

Of course, this man was handsome, exactly her type, but,

Looking at the expressions in the photos, it seemed only she was too fond of him.

But.

‘Why can’t others see him? Even I could only see him after activating the Divine Eye…’

What kind of person was he, to have statues all over the world,

Yet people now treat those statues as mere stones?

Sophia kept looking at the photos, then suddenly remembered Kim Jihun from earlier when she saw Seong Jihan’s annoyed expression.

‘The half-elf from earlier had exactly this expression.’

Eyes narrowed, looking like he might sigh at any moment.

The expression in the photo and the one the half-elf had made were identical.

Not only did he look the most similar among male half-elves,

But even his expression was a carbon copy.

Sophia thought about the similarities between the two for a moment, then.

‘Nah. They just look similar, so they seem alike.’

She came to that conclusion for now.

Right.

All male half-elves look similar.

If she asked the people at American First to make that expression…

‘…Would it look this similar?’

As Sophia pondered this, holding the photos,

She entered the elevator.

At first, she pressed for the first floor, but then.

‘…He definitely said he had a contract at 12 o’clock, right?’

She canceled going to the first floor and pressed for the Daegi Guild’s floor, smiling.

“I should pay a visit to the Daegi Guild after so long.”

To greet her old guildmates, and,

To see once more if that ‘Kim Jihun’s’ expression resembled his.

Ding.

As the elevator doors opened,

“Oh…”

“S-Sophia?”

When the guild staff saw Sophia and looked surprised,

She waved lightly.

“Hello~ I just dropped by after a long time.”

And so, she arrived at the Daegi Guild before the contract party.

* * *

When Seong Jihan came down to the Daegi Guild at 12 o’clock,

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he blinked at the sight of people swarming everywhere.

Especially,

Click. Click.

“Mr. Kim Jihun!”

“Is it true that you’re announcing your contract with the Daegi Guild today?”

From the elevator, numerous reporters were holding cameras and throwing questions at him.

‘They’re completely blocking the way. I can’t just push them aside like in the old days.’

In Seong Jihan’s time, he could just push them away with the Martial Soul Domain.

Living as Kim Jihun, this was inconvenient.

“Yes, I’m contracting with the Daegi Guild. Now, could you please make a way?”

Seong Jihan answered and tried to push through the crowd, but,

The reporters, having received an answer, gathered even closer, thrusting their microphones at him.

“Why are you signing a contract right away, without even listening to offers from other guilds?”

“American First has officially stated they can pay at least 10 times more than the Daegi Guild’s offer!”

“The People’s Association has also made a similar official proposal. Don’t you think you need to respond to this…!”

American First, the People’s Association,

And the other guilds the reporters mentioned were all in the global Top 10.

All of them could easily crush the Daegi Guild financially.

The reporters were bombarding him with questions about why he chose this place without even listening to their proposals.

“I appreciate the offers, but I have my reasons for choosing the Daegi Guild.”

Seong Jihan tried to answer and push through the crowd, but,

The wall of reporters remained impenetrable.

‘I miss being Seong Jihan.’

If he could use the Blue domain’s control, he could have just neatly stacked these reporters in a corner.

As he was pondering how to deal with these people,

“That’s enough.”

Swoosh…

Two swords appeared in mid-air.

An intense aura spread, pushing people to both sides.

And in the cleared space,

“He’s our guild’s guest.”

The Sword King Yoon Sejin and,

Seong Jiah were standing behind him.