Yoon Changdae replayed the events that had transpired that morning at the Jeonjeon Cafe.

…Something was off.

…No matter how he looked at it, something was off!

His instincts as an assassin were telling him.

That part-timer, Shin Jungho, was hiding something!

Setting aside the fact that even a single sip of his coffee sent one’s spirit packing before dragging it back home—

When he had first probed whether Jungho might be an Awakener, he had caught the telltale body language of someone who’d been caught off guard.

…Probably?

A top-tier assassin should never leave mysteries unresolved!

So it was perfectly natural to search Shin Jungho’s neighborhood first in northern Seoul.

Park Soyul, that meticulous woman, had probably already combed through everything thoroughly.

But there was always the element of “what if,” wasn’t there?

“Yep, exactly.”

If he searched and turned something up, it would prove his abilities surpassed the Electric Empress’s.

And if it came up clean, that wouldn’t be a problem either.

He could simply enjoy the man’s coffee in peace!

So this was—

In a way, nothing more than the natural behavior of a coffee enthusiast (as of today) who wanted to dispel any concerns so he could enjoy Shin Jungho’s coffee in pure peace.

So what was the problem?

Yoon Changdae concealed himself in the darkness and leisurely searched through the houses.

Truth be told, he never once suspected Shin Jungho of being Mirinae.

It was simply that the coffee had been astonishing.

And watching the Electric Empress hover around the man had piqued his interest, that was all.

Still, he had a mission to fulfill, so he moved as stealthily as possible—slowly, slowly.

Narrowing his search toward Shin Jungho’s residence.

Around 3 AM, when he assumed everyone would be fast asleep.

Just as he was about to make his way toward the villa where Shin Jungho lived—

Pajijik!

A bolt of lightning struck without warning from the clear sky, scoring a direct hit on Yoon Changdae atop the villa’s rooftop.

Peobeong!

However, a translucent barrier that had formed around Yoon Changdae deflected the bolt.

“My, rats these days have all sorts of peculiar tricks, don’t they?”

He turned to find Park Soyul touching down gracefully at the edge of the rooftop, fully armed with her staff in hand.

Yoon Changdae suppressed his fury as best he could and growled low.

“Without this ring, that would have been a fatal blow. Should I take this as a declaration of war?”

Ring of Protection.

A reward for clearing the 20th floor in the shortest time.

It automatically deployed a barrier when struck by attacks above a certain threshold, lasting for ten seconds.

However, it could also vanish instantly if hit by an impact exceeding its defensive capacity.

Pat!

Just like now.

Park Soyul answered with a chilling, witch-like smile.

“A declaration of war… wasn’t that what you were doing?”

They had agreed to investigate this neighborhood last.

And she had personally warned him not to touch Shin Jungho.

She had told him as clearly as could be, and he was playing dumb?

In that case, he’d have no one to blame if he ended up roasted alive.

“Hah… what’s so special about that part-timer that you keep hovering around him? Have you actually fallen for him?”

Park Soyul flicked her tongue and reveled in the moment.

“Yep, head over heels. Our Jungho is… quite sexy, wouldn’t you say?”

This was a severe case.

“Are you out of your mind?”

Park Soyul’s gaze lingered on a particular spot before traveling back up.

“If someone were secretly playing with your peanut, you’d just stand by and watch?”

…That was a bit—

Actually, more importantly, was that metaphor even accurate?

Regardless, it spoke to how fiercely Park Soyul cherished the man.

Yoon Changdae concluded that today was a bust.

But there was one thing he needed to set straight.

“It’s not a peanut. It’s a walnut.”

Park Soyul felt a moment of bewilderment.

Sure enough, she was the only sane one in the Triumvirate.

To avoid listening to this nonsense, she’d need to put both lunatics beneath her heel sooner or later!

“Why don’t you get lost now? Save your chickpea boasting for home.”

“Hmm, night blindness perhaps? This is a conclusion based on objective information.”

Pajijik!

Lightning erupted without warning.

Yoon Changdae vanished without a trace, concealing his trail.

“…Tch, first-rate at scurrying away like a rat.”

Something had felt off, so she had ordered Yoon Changdae to be tailed.

Sure enough.

Wasn’t he heading toward this neighborhood where the Jeonjeon Cafe was located, abandoning the northern end they had originally planned to search?

His ghostlike movements had caused her to lose sight of him here and there.

But if she knew his destination, setting a trap wasn’t difficult.

Though she did wonder if this was really worth losing sleep over.

Still, in a way, this was a matter of pride.

Whether it was the Swordmaster or Iron Heart—

They were all servants she would place beneath her feet.

So this was a good opportunity to make sure they understood who stood above whom.

Thinking thus, Park Soyul gazed at the villa roughly 100 meters away where Shin Jungho was presumed to be.

Shin Jungho was probably fast asleep by now, wasn’t he?

She had even used her skills as quietly as possible so as not to wake him!

Would it kill him to know there was a lovely woman burning the midnight oil on his behalf?

Hmm, it felt a bit unfair… should she go over and ring his doorbell right now?

She wanted nothing more than to pick the lock and march right in.

But given the warning she had received at the cafe the previous day, she needed to exercise restraint for the time being.

Ah, if it were one out instead of two, she would have stormed in!

Was there no way to shave off an out?

Park Soyul smiled to herself and turned away.

* * *

“Lord, an anomalous noise has been detected approximately 100 meters away.”

3 AM.

The hour he had woken to resummon Lea, and she had immediately reported as such.

“What kind of noise?”

“…It was difficult to be certain from the distance, but it appeared to be lightning magic.”

Shin Jungho immediately checked the weather forecast.

Cloudy.

There was cloud cover, but the chance of precipitation was only 20%.

The first person who came to mind was the Electric Empress.

But why would she use lightning magic in his neighborhood?

“Are there any individuals behaving suspiciously around the studio by any chance?”

“No. No unfamiliar presence has been detected aside from the residents.”

That meant they weren’t openly suspicious of him yet.

Deciding it wasn’t an urgent situation, he caught his breath and checked the direction Lea was indicating through the gap in the curtains.

Moments later, he caught sight of a bolt of lightning slicing through the air from a neighboring villa’s rooftop.

…It really was the Electric Empress.

He wondered if he needed to shift to a 24-hour vigilance protocol rather than just keeping watch at night.

“…Both individuals’ presences have vanished.”

He had only seen a flash of electricity from afar, but it seemed Lea’s eyes could even distinguish the number of people present.

“Given the large-framed man and the tall woman, it would appear to be Yoon Changdae and Park Soyul.”

…She had even made out their silhouettes.

A truly extraordinary talent.

Could it be that even the Swordmaster Kim Taemin wouldn’t stand a chance against Lea?

Of course, even so, he had no intention of treating Lea as a mere killing machine.

Without the three Rankers, conquering the top floor of Seoul Tower would become problematic as well.

In any case, he needed to understand why two Rankers had suddenly shown up in his neighborhood.

And why they had fought.

However, today wasn’t a day Park Soyul was scheduled to visit, so he figured it might take some time to resolve these questions…

“Jungho! Coffee for me! Hwaaah, I’m so sleepy!”

Just as he finished preparing the cafe for morning opening, Park Soyul dropped in unannounced.

Thinking the timing couldn’t be better, Jungho feigned composure and asked as casually as ever.

“Did you not sleep well last night?”

Park Soyul seized the opening and launched into her grievances.

“Yes! I mean, there was a rat scurrying around this neighborhood in the dead of night, you see? I tried to roast it good and proper, but it scurried away so fast! I have no idea why I even bothered going through all that trouble!”

She was confessing just like that…

Jungho deliberated on how to respond before deciding to play along.

“Iron Heart must have visited the neighborhood last night, then?”

Park Soyul asked back as if astonished.

“Huh? How did you know?”

Getting caught in this would be the end.

Jungho sharpened his focus and replied in his usual tone.

“Well, given what happened yesterday, it wasn’t hard to figure out.”

Park Soyul immediately broke into a wide grin, revealing it had all been an act.

“You’re so quick on the uptake! Then you understand why I went through all that trouble?”

“Because… you didn’t like it.”

“Didn’t like what?”

“Iron Heart snooping around this neighborhood.”

“Precisely.”

“…Keeping me under surveillance.”

“Bingo!”

Park Soyul formed a pistol with her fingers and fired with a playful “bang.”

“I worked so hard last night. Don’t I get a reward?”

“…Shouldn’t the boss be the one giving rewards to the part-timer?”

Park Soyul flashed a sly smile and slowly approached Shin Jungho.

“Boss, that’s two outs.”

Despite the warning, Park Soyul’s steps showed no sign of stopping.

“I was thinking… should I just go down on a strikeout?”

“Excuse me?”

“Three outs means… the sides switch, don’t they?”

Realizing what Park Soyul was implying, Jungho hastily added a condition.

“Bottom of the ninth, two outs.”

Park Soyul had closed to an ambiguous distance and leaned forward with only her face, looking bewitching.

“I’m… quite spectacular at offense… so how about you… try playing defense, Jungho?”

Why was someone who wanted to go on offense… licking her lips like that?

Jungho was still wrestling with how to handle the situation when—

Ttarang-

The cafe door opened, and Park Soyul’s secretary, Baek Jihoon, appeared.

“Ma’am. You need to depart shortly.”

As if everything before had been an act, Park Soyul immediately straightened her posture and fixed Baek Jihoon with a piercing glare.

“I believe I told you to wait.”

Her voice was as cold and sharp as if laced with icicles.

Baek Jihoon immediately bowed his head and pressed his case once more.

“You’re already ten minutes past the scheduled time.”

Park Soyul checked the time briefly and let out a soft sigh.

…Haa, the mood was just getting good!

Unfortunately, it was an appointment she couldn’t skip, so she had to end it here.

Park Soyul flashed another radiant smile at Shin Jungho.

“Don’t worry, Jungho. I’ll let you win for now. You’re the only person I’ve given my body and heart to, you know that?”

Shin Jungho gazed earnestly into Park Soyul’s playful eyes and replied in the most respectful voice he could muster.

“I’m sorry, Boss. I’m not currently interested in dating anyone, yourself included.”

“…Pfft!”

Park Soyul laughed uproariously as she always did.

“Wow! Is this what they call a 0-for-1 confession? I swear, thanks to you, Jungho, I’m having the most entertaining experiences!”

“Ah, if I said something wrong, then…”

“No, no! I’m just going to call it a 0-for-1 confession! Kukuku! Take good care of the shop, then!”

Park Soyul giggled her way out of the shop.

Baek Jihoon shot Jungho a look tinged with unmistakable hatred before immediately following after Park Soyul.

Shin Jungho could easily infer his feelings.

He had a general sense of what emotions Baek Jihoon harbored when serving Park Soyul.

Still, shouldn’t he be pleased that Jungho had clearly declared his refusal?

Though the odds of that creating an opportunity for him seemed slim.

Shin Jungho sat in contemplation inside the cafe, where the storm had just blown through.

Then he nodded and made his decision.

Yes, he would use the Skill Enhancement Ticket.

On the Meteor Summoning skill.

When he had woken that morning and deliberated, it had been a toss-up.

If he acquired another good skill, using it on that would have been one option.

Or he could have held onto the Skill Enhancement Ticket for some kind of trade.

But no matter how he looked at it.

There seemed to be no more certain solution to his current situation than becoming stronger himself.

So he decided to enhance the Meteor skill, whatever the outcome might be.

Of course.

After returning home, where there was no surveillance.