With the intention of at least clearing away what was visible, Shin Jungho opened the Random Box.

[You have acquired 1 Free Summon Ticket.]

A Summoned Being Free Summon Ticket.

A quite excellent item had appeared.

With two Free Summon Tickets now, he could simultaneously summon both Lea and Maya from anywhere.

A considerable haul.

From the 26th floor onward — Return Tickets, Tower Entry Tickets, Source Stones, and now Free Summon Tickets.

…Why no duds?

The 30th floor was already a boss dungeon, so a Platinum was bound to drop.

But with such good rewards continuing to come, it only made him dread that a dud was waiting just around the corner!

Should he repeatedly clear lower floors just to build up his gacha luck?

About ten times or so?

Shin Jungho wasn’t unaware of it either.

That luck, in the end, was just luck.

Still, right when he was about to tackle the all-important boss floor…!

Why did it keep showering him with such excellent items…!

Truly, the human heart is a fickle thing.

When given generously, the generosity itself breeds anxiety.

And when given nothing, the absence breeds anxiety just the same.

Shin Jungho continued this fatalistic contemplation on gacha luck for a while.

Until finally, beyond the bathroom door.

He decided to unearth the matter of the intruder he had consciously buried in the back of his mind.

He didn’t know who the man was.

Nor could he fathom what purpose had driven him there.

But the reason someone would secretly set foot inside his home was by no means innocent.

Those cold eyes he had glimpsed briefly were chilling — the kind that belonged to a man who likely committed murder as casually as eating a meal.

Compared to their innocent Lea or Maya…….

….

So a terrifying man had broken into his home.

Checking the front door, there were no signs of forced entry.

He was probably a fairly high-level superhuman.

The skill… was it Blink?

Thinking about it calmly now, it was truly terrifying.

What would have happened if Lea hadn’t been there?

And what if he had encountered the man outside rather than inside?

The more he thought about it, the more outrageous it became.

Wasn’t there a saying?

If you aim for another’s life, you’d better stake your own first.

So if Lea and Maya had imprisoned the intruder in the Dimensional Room and were torturing — no, interrogating him, he wouldn’t particularly stop them.

This was, after all, reaping what one sows.

Who told him to trespass into his home?

In a way, it was a tremendous relief.

The Dimensional Room had appeared just in time, so whatever happened inside produced no noise whatsoever.

And since the Summoning Stone had been put away, even if the intruder had entered while he was absent, his identity wouldn’t have been exposed.

But what if the intruder had fled after merely seeing the Summoning Stone? How would things have unfolded then?

It would have been like eating steamed sweet potatoes every day without any cider^[1] — a suffocating frustration in his chest.

Therefore…….

Sympathy be damned.

If he’d done something worthy of death… then die he shall.

It didn’t take long for Lea and Maya to emerge again.

“My Lord, I have made him confess everything!”

“He claims to be an assassin hired by that bastard Kim Taemin, dispatched by Russia.”

The two were exceptional not only in combat ability but in interrogation as well.

Everything was fine.

If only they wouldn’t smile so brightly while covered head to toe in bright red blood.

Hearing the story, the situation was almost comical.

He had come to kill someone he assumed was an ordinary civilian, just to anger Park Soyul?

Kim Taemin.

What a truly despicable bastard.

It was fortunate that his identity as Mirinae hadn’t been discovered.

But he couldn’t simply bury this incident as it stood.

If a Russian secret agent and ranker vanished without a trace, there would surely be an investigation.

And the name Shin Jungho would inevitably resurface.

Fortunately, there was a solution.

“Lea, could you call Mr. Yoon Changdae?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Yoon Changdae arrived in less than thirty minutes after being contacted.

“You called for me, sir?”

Upon arriving at Shin Jungho’s home, Yoon Changdae immediately bowed in greeting.

It hadn’t even been a full week — what could he possibly be wanted for?

He guessed that since the tasks he’d carried out so far had been fairly effective, perhaps additional work was being assigned.

And a new command being issued.

Naturally meant an extension of his own life, so there was no reason to dislike it.

That was why he had sprinted over the moment he received the call, and upon entering, bowed in greeting before even taking stock of his surroundings.

At a glance, it seemed as though the large Summoning Stone had vanished somewhere, and there might have been an unfamiliar figure briefly caught in his peripheral vision — but this was no time for curiosity.

“I have a favor to ask.”

At Shin Jungho’s words, Yoon Changdae lifted his deeply bowed head.

“Yes, please speak.”

Keeping his gaze fixed on Shin Jungho, he quickly scanned the surroundings.

Sure enough.

Not only had the large Summoning Stone disappeared.

But there was also a girl around the same age as the Death Knight Lea.

“Ah, let me introduce you first. This is Maya.”

Shin Jungho didn’t specifically reveal that they were summoned beings.

However, the perceptive Yoon Changdae cautiously surmised that Lea and Maya were summoned beings produced through the Summoning Stone.

Naturally, Shin Jungho also expected that someone like Yoon Changdae would know that much.

It was simply that nothing good would come from either of them stating it openly, so they each feigned ignorance and moved on.

Maya looked up at Yoon Changdae with an icy expression.

“So you are His Highness’s slave. I trust you will carry out his commands without the slightest flaw.”

His Highness…?

Which one held the higher station — Lea’s side or Maya’s side?

It was an unanswerable question, so Yoon Changdae offered a safe response.

“Understood, my Lady.”

Maya’s lips curved into an alluring smile.

“Good. Conduct yourself well, and good things will follow.”

From her reaction, it seemed he had fortunately chosen the correct answer.

“First, let me explain the situation.”

Shin Jungho briefly recounted the events thus far.

And upon hearing the full story, Yoon Changdae flew into a rage unlike anything before.

“Kim Taemin, that crazy son of a bitch actually went through with it! Show me that Russian assassin first! I need to beat him half to death!”

He had already boarded the colossal battleship that was Mirinae.

He was about to pierce through the galaxy and soar off to distant Andromeda — and someone had the audacity to try to blow up the engine before he’d even launched?

Shin Jungho silently walked to the bathroom door and revealed the Dimensional Room.

Upon seeing what lay inside — something resembling a bright red human figure, sprawled out like a corpse —

“…Urgh!”

He couldn’t suppress the rising urge to vomit.

Clack!

Shin Jungho immediately closed and reopened the bathroom door, restoring it to an ordinary bathroom.

“Bleeeegh!”

Listening to Yoon Changdae retching inside the bathroom, Shin Jungho made a mental note.

He would absolutely never look at the assassin’s appearance.

What in the world had Lea and Maya done to him in there?

Yoon Changdae emerged from the bathroom with a ghastly blue complexion.

“You’ve… seen more than enough of their handiwork, I take it.”

Lea fired back fiercely.

“Burn it into your memory. That could very well be your future.”

“I will engrave it upon my soul!”

Yoon Changdae transformed into a recruit who had been thoroughly disciplined.

The moment he recalled the assassin’s gruesome state, goosebumps rippled across his entire body.

If he were to experience such a thing firsthand, he felt certain that — just as she said — rather than begging for his life, he would beg for death.

Absolute loyalty!

He had realized there existed punishments far worse than death.

Yoon Changdae swore, and swore again, that he would never cross Shin Jungho or Lea.

“I was thinking of trying something like this — would you care to hear it?”

At Shin Jungho’s question, Yoon Changdae bowed his head deeply.

“Just give the word, sir!”

Hmm….

My Lord, Your Highness, sir….

What other titles might emerge going forward?

Shin Jungho shook his head and shared the plan he had been thinking over.

…

“What do you think?”

Having heard the full plan, Yoon Changdae answered without a second’s hesitation.

“That is nothing short of brilliant insight!”

“…Did you actually think before answering?”

“Of course!”

It was a response without a single second’s hesitation.

Yoon Changdae was a cerebral player who had deceived everyone into believing he was a Tanker.

As such, he was also quick to read a room.

And from his perspective, Shin Jungho’s plan struck him the moment he heard it as the most crystal-clear solution — one that could resolve the situation effortlessly.

Truly…!

It was this keen discernment and sharp judgment that had carried Mirinae to victory after victory!

Anew, admiration and awe blossomed within him.

To think he served such a person!

Even if his life was currently held as collateral!

“What do you two think?”

Lea answered.

“I do not well understand such matters. Would not the simplest solution be to go to Kim Taemin this very moment and strike off his head?”

With Lea, Maya, and Yoon Changdae combined, killing the Swordmaster Kim Taemin would be trivial.

But his opponent sat upon the throne of Seoul Tower’s strongest.

He didn’t know precisely what skills the man possessed, and if the battle escalated, Lea and Maya could be exposed publicly.

And since he couldn’t predict the fallout that would follow, he wanted to minimize information exposure.

“In my view, Your Highness’s stratagem is truly exquisite. With such a clever plan, you could eliminate that wretch while concealing your identity, exactly as you desire. However….”

Maya had precisely grasped his true intent.

But what did she want to say that required such a pause?

“However what?”

Maya continued with a gentle smile.

“It simply pains me to gift that wretch such a comfortable death. At the very least, I should think he ought to experience what that assassin endured — roughly one hundred and eight times over.”

Yoon Changdae’s massive frame shuddered violently.

Seeing that reaction stirred a bit of curiosity.

And yet made him even less inclined to see it.

Hmm.

He understood that Kim Taemin was a villain.

But honestly, since he hadn’t suffered any tangible harm, it didn’t quite hit home.

He simply wished for the man to be permanently swept from his path — from Mirinae’s path.

Besides, Kim Taemin must have been rotting inside considerably by now.

How desperate must he have been to try killing the 2nd and 3rd ranked rankers he once associated with?

Above all.

If he handed Kim Taemin over to Park Soyul.

That… would be rather terrifying in its own right.

“Ms. Park Soyul will handle it. So shall we proceed with this plan?”

“I shall follow my Lord’s will!”

“I am deeply moved by Your Highness’s magnanimous judgment.”

“Just give the order, sir!”

My word.

They’d already reached a three-part chorus?

At this rate, a fourth would be coming soon?

“Mr. Yoon Changdae, that thing.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yoon Changdae spread out the large black bag he had brought wide open.

“Lea.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Lea opened the Dimensional Room.

With his back turned to the bathroom, Shin Jungho placed his hand on the black plastic bag.

Pat!

The black bag filled with something large.

Yoon Changdae immediately tied the opening shut to prevent the stench of blood from spreading.

Now all that remained was to take the body to the Superhuman Management Agency.

“Then I shall be off, sir.”

It was just as Yoon Changdae was about to depart after paying his respectful bow.

“Your Highness, there is something I wish to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Did Sir Lea intentionally leave the geas on that slave incomplete?”

“Huh? It’s incomplete?”

Shin Jungho was slightly startled.

And Yoon Changdae desperately suppressed the joy welling up inside him.

The geas wasn’t complete?

Did that mean he wouldn’t die in a week?

But the words that followed from Maya —

His heart, which had been cheerfully bounding up the stairway to heaven —

“Due to the incomplete geas, that slave will die in one month’s time.”

Leapt straight off the stairs and plummeted into that unfathomable abyss below.

He was….

A month left to live?

Shin Jungho turned to Lea.

“What happened?”

“I thought I had done it correctly, but it seems I made a mistake. Still, he was an assassin who targeted you, my Lord, so you need not worry in the slightest!”

I’m worrying quite a lot, actually.

“Maya, is there no solution?”

“If Sir Lea assists, I believe we can dispel the incomplete geas and cast a new subjugation.”

Hmm.

One way or another, there was no escaping their grasp.

Still, since he was the only person who knew Mirinae’s true identity, simply releasing him was out of the question.

“You agree, Mr. Yoon Changdae?”

“Of course, sir!”

Right.

Better to accept a new subjugation than die in a month.

“Lea, Maya. Please take care of it.”

The two girls knelt Yoon Changdae down and stood before and behind him.

After a brief procedure.

The unconscious Yoon Changdae opened his eyes and cried out.

“Th-this familiar ceiling!”

…Please let it be perfect this time.