I became a childhood friend of the middle boss. - chapter 18

Episode 18

The time for the banquet was approaching.

The people of the Shin-Geom family were entering the banquet hall on schedule.

‘So many people are coming.’

I quietly observed the scene from the private room where I had just gotten ready and was seated.

As a direct descendant of my grandfather, I had to attend, and there were seven of us.

Additionally, five from the branch families were attending.

With a total of twelve families gathering, the number was quite significant.

As a result, people kept flowing into the banquet hall.

‘If we calculate four people per family, that means at least 48 people are attending.’

The actual number would be much higher than that.

Even though I had attended the family’s annual event more than once or twice, I was always struck by the sheer scale of the family.

Indeed, it was the Shin-Geom family, with a history spanning nearly 200 years.

‘That’s why they belong to the ten great families.’

As the line of people dwindled and there were only a few empty seats left, I noticed something.

“Ah.”

I could finally see the people entering the banquet hall just as it was about to begin.

It was the Do Seung-woo family.

In the past, they would have strutted in, engaging in conversations with others before heading to their seats.

‘They must be feeling embarrassed.’

Ignoring the gazes around them, they quickly followed the attendants to their designated seats.

They couldn’t hold their heads high after the disgraceful scene from earlier in the training ground.

Coincidentally…

“Hello.”

“Do Gyeon-woo…”

Their assigned seats happened to be directly across from where my family was sitting.

The faces of the Do Seung-woo family were crumpled.

Especially Do Seung-woo’s expression was quite a sight.

He glared at me.

Meanwhile, I kindly expressed my concern for him.

“Are you hurt badly? Do you know how shocked I was earlier? I never expected you to faint from just one hit from behind.”

“This is…”

“You really need to build up your stamina.”

I could see him gritting his teeth.

In contrast, I wore a broad smile.

“By the way, did you change your underwear?”

“…!”

Do Seung-woo’s face turned bright red, and his eyes widened as if he were about to kill me.

But I had no reason to be scared, and it seemed the people eavesdropping on our conversation felt the same way.

“Is there really a need to change underwear? You can just use cleaning magic to get rid of it.”

“Come on, that’s still unsettling. Are you going to wear the same underwear all the time?”

“By the way, your outfit looks like the one from earlier.”

Laughter erupted from various corners of the hall.

The ridicule that started among the direct descendants spread all the way to where the branch families were seated.

Those who had a poor relationship with the Do Seung-woo family or could rival their influence burst into laughter.

“Ugh…”

The Do Seung-woo family all turned red and clenched their teeth at the sound.

Even if they tried to respond to the ridicule, they knew it would only add to their disgrace.

‘If I had lost, my family would have faced such humiliation.’

Do Seung-woo looked pitiful.

But that was all.

If I hadn’t realized my past life, I wouldn’t have wanted to empathize with how Do Seung-woo was feeling now.

I was simply relieved that my family wasn’t the one being embarrassed.

Just then.

Thud.

“…”

A loud sound echoed as if a sword sheath had struck the floor.

The noise that had been circulating in the banquet hall suddenly came to a halt.

Everyone turned their heads toward the direction of the door.

“Is everyone here? Quite a crowd.”

“…”

The head of the Shin-Geom family, Do Ye-ik.

My grandfather stood there.

“But why are you all standing? Are you planning to stay there?”

“Ah, no, we’re not, Head!”

Even though he must have understood the situation from outside, my grandfather feigned ignorance and spoke to the Do Seung-woo family.

At that, they hurriedly sat down in their seats.

My grandfather passed by them and took his place at the head table, addressing everyone.

“You must be hungry, so let’s eat.”

The banquet had begun.

The reason the noble families flourished in the game was that the game’s world was set in an era nearly 200 years after a great cataclysm, and also because a certain ideology provided the foundation for their existence.

That ideology was “to create better hunters.”

That was it.

During the time when the world had faced destruction due to the cataclysm.

The survivors intensely longed for beings that could protect them from monsters.

Those beings were hunters.

Hunters who could conquer gates and had the power to fight monsters were revered as heroes.

It was due to their existence that the world could be rebuilt.

Still, people remained fearful.

Having already faced destruction once, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again.

To create better hunters.

As long as monsters existed in this world.

As long as gates existed.

True peace would never come.

Humanity had to continue fighting to avoid extinction.

To create better hunters.

Thus, they were never satisfied.

Not feeling safe even in the new world, they sought to strengthen the hunters’ power against the threats to humanity.

To create better hunters.

It was a pandemic that spread globally—a madness.

People would stop at nothing to create more and better hunters.

Noble families could be seen as fragments of that madness born from such a process.

Fragments of madness aimed at ensuring the bloodline of hunters continued, strengthening existing lineages while increasing their numbers.

A crystallization of the interests of ordinary people who wanted to live in a safe world and hunters who wanted to enjoy power forever.

That was how noble families prospered.

As a result

‘It’s not just one grandmother.’

Though she didn’t attend the banquet.

In my past life, I would have found it absurd to have five grandmothers.

Such family ties existed.

Thus, there were seven direct descendants.

‘And my father is the fifth among the seven siblings, the son of the now-deceased fourth grandmother.’

The family tree was incredibly complicated.

As I reflected on the family tree in my mind, I brought the food that the attendants were serving to my mouth.

There were many interesting and delicious dishes, but I quietly savored them, not wanting to become a laughingstock by commenting out loud.

In contrast, Ye-eun was different.

“Brother, this is delicious.”

“Do you want to eat mine too?”

“Really? Can I?”

Having tasted lamb for the first time and expressing her delight, Do Ye-eun whispered to me.

Her eyes were sparkling.

Finding her adorable, I placed the leftover meat on her plate.

“Gyeon-woo, Ye-eun.”

My mother moved her lips as if to give a hint, but we pretended not to hear.

‘What does it matter what others say? Ye-eun wants to eat.’

There was no need to be cautious about such things.

Soon, it seemed my mother thought the same way and stopped scolding us.

‘By the way, who is grandfather talking to right now?’

I glanced over at the head table where my grandfather was seated.

The branch families were assigned to separate tables, while the direct descendants were seated in order of birth, closer to my grandfather.

Since my father was the fifth, we were seated somewhere in the middle.

However, due to the large number of people from other families, the distance between us and my grandfather was considerable.

Thus, the time for conversation was extended.

“…Yes, continue to work hard in the future.”

“Yes, Head.”

My grandfather had just finished conversing with my first uncle’s family.

Even a light exchange of updates took time since there were six members in that family.

‘At least this is ending quickly.’

If we included those who were in the academy city or had special reasons for not attending…

Just imagining it was terrifying.

By that time, my grandfather was exchanging words with my second uncle’s family.

After that, the next person to converse with my grandfather was my second uncle’s second child, the eldest daughter, Do Si-eun.

“Next is… our Si-eun.”

“Yes, Head.”

With striking blue eyes, she was the girl my grandfather cherished most among his grandchildren.

“…”

The moment it was her turn, the family members stopped moving their utensils as if on cue.

They were wary and envious; she was evaluated as the most promising member of the third generation of the current Shin-Geom family.

And Do Si-eun was also a character that appeared in the game.

‘Knowing that makes me really happy.’

The lightning flower of the Shin-Geom family.

At the academy where Kang Hanuel would attend, she was the strongest and the student council president during her first year.

She was the mediator between me and Do Seung-woo.

After graduating from the academy, she became a supporter for Kang Hanuel, joining the Legulus Clan in the academy city.

Having never been involved in anything bad with her, I recalled information about her and felt a sense of familiarity.

Just then.

“I heard news that you caused a sign of the wall thunder.”

“…!”

The moment my grandfather spoke to Do Si-eun, the room buzzed with excitement.

“Wall thunder?”

“Si-eun caused wall thunder?”

“No way…”

“What could a middle schooler possibly…”

People forgot to lower their voices.

Those eavesdropping perked up, unable to hide their astonishment.

And rightly so.

Wall thunder was not something that could be caused just because one was a member of the Shin-Geom family.

It was an area that could only be reached if one showed a certain level of achievement in the Beast King style.

‘Well, if it’s that sister, it makes sense.’

That she could cause it at the age of 14 was enough to leave people astonished.

Of course, knowing Do Si-eun’s abilities, I wasn’t particularly surprised.

All I felt was that it was great that she was on my side.

Meanwhile, the conversation between my grandfather and Do Si-eun continued calmly amidst the murmurs of the crowd.

“It’s truly amazing that you’ve achieved such a feat at such a young age.”

“…Thank you. I will do my best to report good results to you soon, Head.”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it. If you can make wall thunder your own, you will become the youngest person to cause it after the second head.”

“…It’s too much for me.”

“No, you can do it. I hope you grow into a lion who can surpass that person.”

“I will do my best.”

Even receiving compliments from my grandfather, Do Si-eun maintained a calm demeanor without showing any emotional fluctuations.

My grandfather laughed heartily, clearly pleased.

Soon, their conversation came to an end.

My grandfather then turned his attention to Do Si-eun’s younger sibling, and she…

‘Huh?’

Do Si-eun suddenly turned her head.

She was quietly looking in my direction.

‘What’s going on?’

I thought to myself as I scanned the surroundings.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy.

“…”

‘What is it?’

Yet she continued to gaze this way.

Somehow, it felt like her gaze was directed right at me.

‘Is she looking at me?’

It might just be my imagination, but I couldn’t shake off that feeling.

‘Hello, sister?’

Did she catch me staring?

I lightly nodded at her.

“…”

Do Si-eun nodded back.

Afterward, she withdrew her gaze and began eating quietly.

‘I should finish my meal too.’

I had hardly spoken to her before, but if I get the chance next time, I should try to initiate a conversation.

With that thought, I decided to wait for our family’s turn.

Before long, when my grandfather asked about the recent news from the Do Seung-woo family.

“By the way…”

My grandfather suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke to everyone present.

“I heard some news from Tu-Gwi recently.”

Tu-Gwi.

The only person my grandfather casually referred to as Tu-Gwi was one individual.

‘Is it that person?’

A hunter regarded as an outsider, living in the same generation as my grandfather.

Tu-Gwi, Seo Jeong-jin.

He was also a character that appeared in the game.

“That guy said something interesting. I never expected him to say that.”

He was often mentioned in the game.

“Well…”

“I don’t know what prompted it, but he said he took on a disciple.”

He was the master of Kang Hanuel.