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4. Become a saintess of ‘Asha Dubulola’ (Incomplete)

Asha Dubulola was mentioned in Steam Bun’s fourth condition to evolve. Considering the way the condition was written, Chi-Woo had thought Asha Dubulola was likely to be a god, but didn’t know any other information besides that.

Chi-Woo read the documents Noel handed him carefully again. It said that Cassiubia League didn’t want to cower in fear any longer and aimed to stretch out their wings; and to do this, they wished for Seven Stars’ support.

“The Cassiubia League had only been on the defensive, but they finally want to be on the offensive. It’s probably their first time attacking beyond the Demon Empire’s territory. It appears that they are intent on seizing this opportunity to establish their superiority.”

“I see.”

“Yes. It seems they think highly of the Seven Stars that had brought about the current situation. Thus, they had specifically named you in their request.”

Demon Empire was still suffering from their catastrophic attempt to invade Shalyh—at least, that was how it appeared on the surface. Furthermore, with Chi-Woo’s successful expedition at the Hala Forest last time, Seven Stars’ reputation in the Cassiubia League had risen even higher than before.

This wasn’t bad news, but Chi-Woo couldn’t simply be happy about it either. At this rate, he would need to complete several different missions at once. Chi-Woo wanted to focus on the one his brother gave him; if he also accepted the Cassiubia League’s request on top of that, it would have an effect on the expedition.

“Hm…do I have to accept their request?” Chi-Woo asked. Seeing how conflicted Chi-Woo looked, Noel realized that there were underlying circumstances that he couldn’t tell her about. She carefully chose her words.

“No, you don’t have to…but if you can, I think it will be better to accept it. There’s humanity’s position to consider, and in the future, humanity would probably need the League’s collaboration.”

“I don’t think humanity’s position is that low right now.”

“That’s the case right now. But the Cassiubia League is an alliance made up of very diverse species and tribes. Not all have a positive view of humans.” Noel smacked her lips and continued, “Because Young Master has solved several serious problems, the side that supports coexistence between humanity and the League strengthened…but since before, there are many who are against collaborating with humanity. Those in that group are probably waiting for the smallest excuse to break that union.”

Chi-Woo had a hard time accepting this fact. He thought it was baffling for the opposition to exist after all the things humanity had done for the Cassiubia League.

“But…we all need to unite under the same goal at a time like this…”

“There’s a saying that an incompetent ally is scarier than a competent enemy.” Noel made a bitter smile. “Not everything goes according to how we wish it to be.” If it did, the world would already be a perfect utopia.

After a moment of contemplation, Chi-Woo picked up the documents.

***

In the end, Chi-Woo decided to accept the Cassiubia League’s request. There was no other choice. Originally, he planned to refuse even if it hurt Seven Stars’ standing with the League. He thought about suggesting other organizations to take on the task, but Noel soon told him Afrilith and Eustitia had both accepted some other requests and were busy making preparations. Even Ho Lactea, the members of which came back from an all-out war only several days ago, had to take care of three to four tasks as soon as they returned.

In comparison, Seven Stars didn’t have much going on. This was probably because of his brother’s command. Noel had also tried to not give Seven Stars dangerous missions if she could help it, but after exhausting all other options, she had no choice but to bring this up to Seven Stars. There was the fact that the Cassiubia League specifically named Seven Stars, too.

Shalyh City looked much busier to Chi-Woo after Noel left. Many groups seemed preoccupied with their own matters, and it appeared what Noel told him about the other groups was true. Just to experiment, Chi-Woo called Emmanuel’s name out loud, but he didn’t come. Usually, he would’ve popped out in three seconds and asked, “Did you call for me, sir?” But he was nowhere to be found now. Chi-Woo thought about calling him with his device, but decided against it; if it was Emmanuel, he would abandon his own tasks to answer Chi-Woo’s call.

In the end, this meant that Seven Stars needed to solve this issue on their own. And given their existing members, Chi-Woo had to think for a long time.

‘Why of all time…?’ As events overlapped, the problem with Seven Stars came to light. Chi-Woo thought his group had been doing well, but he realized that they were not as competent as he wished them to be. This was the first time he was feeling this way. They were always able to pour all their effort and mind into whatever problem came by, but Chi-Woo realized that they had been able to do that thanks to his brother helping each of the groups manage their workload and dealing with the most difficult problems. And without Chi-Hyun, each group was burdened with significantly more work than before. It wasn’t until he was gone that Chi-Woo realized the weight of his brother’s absence, and Chi-Woo felt a bit sorry for always insulting his brother for carefreely working inside his office all day.

Finally, after much contemplation, Chi-Woo decided to only call forth Ru Amuh and Yunael instead of the whole team. After explaining the situation to them, he shared his opinion.

“The first team’s leader would have to go meet the Cassiubia League. I would’ve gone with you if possible, but the situation doesn’t allow me to do that.”

Ru Amuh was one of the top and most well-known humans in the Cassiubia League. If Ru Amuh explained to them that Chi-Woo couldn’t come because he was dealing with a task that the legend left him, the Cassiubia League would think that Seven Stars had tried their best in their current circumstances. Ru Amuh looked a bit awkward to be called the first team’s leader, but he soon accepted the order. Chi-Woo felt relieved that he had at least one person he could trust in a situation like this. Then he turned to Yunael.

“And Ms. Yunael…I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come with me.”

“Well…that’s fine,” Yunael said, sounding a bit sour. “I’m not pleased that I have to go looking through some thief’s property while someone else is coolly going to war, but it can’t be helped. I have to do what my superior says.” Then she asked just to make sure, “But we aren’t the only two going, right?”

“Of course not.” Chi-Woo turned his attention back to Ru Amuh and said, “I apologize to you because we will have to change up the team members a bit for this event.”

“No, there’s no need to apologize, sir. It’s fine,” Ru Amuh easily accepted this fact too. But seeing him respond like that, Chi-Woo came to a realization. Ru Amuh tilted his head in confusion, but Chi-Woo didn’t say anything as his face hardened.

***

After Chi-Woo relayed to the two about the current situation, Seven Stars became busy.

“After this event is over, are you going to consider my position in the group more seriously?” Yunael asked. She looked more enthusiastic than Chi-Woo expected her to be. It seemed she wanted to ensure personal rewards since she was taking risks for something that didn’t seem that worthwhile. Chi-Woo sighed thinking that Yunael was more concerned about menial details than the main point.

“I will think about it after we succeed in this mission,” Chi-Woo replied.

“Don’t you know that a leader should motivate his subordinates?” Yunael asked.

“I know, but I also like the idea of giving rewards and punishments only when they are due.”

Yunael didn’t push further after Chi-Woo’s firm response. She understood that she would only be rewarded once she did something worthy of it, and after realizing this, she focused on contemplating the current issues with Chi-Woo.

“I’m sure you know this as well, but we can’t divide into two teams with our current members at all,” Yunael said.

“Yes. That’s why I want to hear about the temporary team members you talked about before.” Seven Stars currently had ten members, including the fenrir cub and Steam Bun. They could divide into two teams of five if the number of members was their only concern, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Since they were going on an expedition—not an adventure—they needed to think about the right balance of classes. This meant that they needed to get help from outside of the organization.

“I thought that’s how you would respond. Wait a bit, and I will call them here immediately,” Yunael said.

“Who are they?”

“You’ll see. Why don’t you give me your opinions after having a look at them? I’m sure you’ll be pretty satisfied.” Yunael appeared confident like she had already thought well of the matter. Then, not long afterward, three people appeared. Chi-Woo’s eyes widened upon seeing them.

“Mr. Jin-Cheon?”

“Oh teacher, we see each other again. This must be destiny,” Jin-Cheon smiled awkwardly and collapsed on a nearby seat. He looked quite dispirited if the deep sigh he let out was anything to go by. Chi-Woo turned to Yunael for an explanation, and she smirked. Then she explained that on their way back after the recent rescue mission, she and Jin-Cheon got each other’s contact information and saved each other as friends. Yunael wanted a trustworthy companion when making her own team, and Jin-Cheon thought it wasn’t a bad idea to know another promising hero, so the two kept in touch.

Chi-Woo had tried to recruit Jin-Cheon’s team before, but they wanted to establish their own team and acted independently unless a special occasion came up.

“Mr. Jin-Cheon, you are going to join Seven Stars at this rate,” Chi-Woo said.

“I am seriously thinking about that now. Of course, that is if you would accept us.”

Chi-Woo had been joking, but surprisingly, Jin-Cheon looked serious in his response.

“Wait, do you mean it? But why all of a sudden?” Chi-Woo blinked hard, and Jin-Cheon smacked his lips and answered.

“We went broke.”

“?”

“Look at us.” Jin-Cheon spread his arms apart. Chi-Woo looked at Abis and then Aric, and he understood the situation. They didn’t have any proper equipment, much less a weapon. And they were still wearing the clothes that Eval got them when they returned.

“You must know…the reason we look like this,” Jin-Cheon said, and simultaneously, Aric flicked his head around and looked piercingly at Abis. Abis’ face reddened as she fake-coughed.

“You might not know this, but most of the heroes in Shalyh live day by day. Paying our monthly rent is a huge deal for us, and we have to really give up all we have to get any pieces of equipment,” Jin-Cheon continued. “That’s not all. We have to think about getting food and other necessities. In the end, we have to save every cent to buy a piece of equipment unless we suddenly strike gold. We can’t dream of buying a complete armor set at once and have to buy each part one by one, but…”

They had recently thrown into Kobalos’ magic fire pit all the equipment they had saved up to buy with their blood, sweat, and tears; and all they got in return was one pair of magic leather shoes.

“You might think we can just start earning money again, but that isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s hard to start over from nothing, and we can only gain a little bit by doing menial tasks here and there,” Jin-Cheon complained mournfully. “Who would entrust anything to us when we look like this? There are many other teams competing for the same tasks, and I can’t really blame people for not choosing us. Were I in their shoes, I would choose the team that looks best as well.”

“Couldn’t you have sold the magic equipment?”

“Wow, thank you for bringing that up! Of course, I tried to do that, but the person who put our team in this current situation won’t give it up at any cost, saying that there might not be another chance to get our hands on an artifact again. It’s unbelievable!”

Abis wasn’t wrong, but it seemed she was being too stubborn considering the situation. Chi-Woo stared at Abis, and she averted her gaze. At the least, it seemed she had enough self-awareness to be embarrassed. Meanwhile, Aric was still staring at her intently.

“Anyways, now that the situation has come to this, it made me think that I might want to join an organization after all. Then I won’t have to worry about where my next meal would come from and so on and only have to focus on doing the tasks given to me.” Jin-Cheon smiled awkwardly while scratching his head.

“So…I was wondering if we could get a bit of your help. The only thing we can offer you is our bodies though,” Jin-Cheon said.

“No, that’s perfect. I will accept that gladly.”

“Huh?”

Chi-Woo explained the situation then, and the three were shocked.

“B-But the Sernitas are too dangerous—” Abis was saying, but when Jin-Cheon turned to her and Aric continued to stare intently at her, she lowered her head again and said, “…Nevermind. Just ignore me. I will be quiet.”

“The three of you might not be able to move together. Some may have to go meet the Cassiubia League with Mr. Ru Amuh,” Chi-Woo said.

“The Cassiubia League’s issue is fine, but trespassing into Sernitas’ territory is something I wouldn’t have ever considered doing…” Jin-Cheon said while stroking his chin. “But it will be different if I’m going with you, Teacher. And I’m in no position to be picky. Okay. Everything is fine. Just tell us what to do.” In the end, Jin-Cheon raised both hands and easily accepted the offer. With this, they gained an archer and two warriors in their team.

“Is there even a reason for us to fight? Can’t we just sneak into the area and quickly find the stolen goods? I think we should prioritize swiftness and speed.”

“Look at the location. It’s sort of on the outskirts of Sernitas’ territory, but not completely. We don’t know what situation would arise. How can we leave out a magician with their diverse skill sets and a priest that could save our lives? Are we just going to rely on potions that will only heal surface-level injuries?”

The five of them discussed and reached a conclusion in the end. The teams were decided: Chi-Woo would lead Yunael, Evelyn, Hawa, Jin-Cheon, Eshnunna, and Steam Bun to the Sernitas. Ru Amuh would lead Ru Hiana, Aida, Abis, Aric, and the fenrir cub to the Cassiubia League.