The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

38 – Recruiting the Wanderer

“Your fiery temperament remains, I see.”

“I apologize. It seems I misunderstood.”

The Black Dragon, or rather Geomseong, bowed his head.

“Geomseong is bowing his head?”

Arua couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

It had been so long since she had seen him that she had mistaken him for the Black Dragon, but she had seen Geomseong a few times before. She had always thought he was cool and impressive, but fundamentally, he was a ruthless general. He didn’t listen to anyone, and he was quick to resort to force rather than words.

“By any chance, what’s the relationship between Logan-senior and Geomseong?”

“The one Logan calls ‘senior.'”

She felt oddly upset. A girl with a name strangely similar to her own calling her disciple familiarly stirred up an inexplicable emotion in her heart, so she just blurted out, “They have a very close relationship, in the past, present, and future.”

Arua’s eyes widened. “Th-that’s impossible!”

“Yes!”

“Are they… are they master and disciple?”

“Huh?”

Although it was meant to be a misunderstanding, Arna, who was getting closer to the truth at once, found herself flustered unknowingly. If she hadn’t been at a high enough level to be called Geomseong, she would have shown an embarrassing scene right away.

“Yes, master and disciple. He’s my only and one teacher who’s always been on my side since I was a child.”

Of course, the confusion quickly disappeared.

It was because Arna’s one and only disciple told an impressive story.

“Since my curse was lifted by my master.”

“Gumseong and Logan were fellow apprentices…”

Arna nodded, expressing her newfound understanding.

“For some reason, even though Logan is known for his hard work, he wields the sword too well compared to his talent.”

“Oh, right. I was referring to the story about a sword.”

Once again, a sinister energy began to circulate around Arna’s body.

The compressed energy alone could turn the surroundings into ashes by just leaving her side.

“Do you think I blamed Arna for giving up the sword?”

Arna almost lost control of her energy and was on the verge of exploding.

It was because a woman’s name similar to her own had unexpectedly come out of her beloved disciple’s mouth.

“Yes, I did.”

“It seems that my master doesn’t know me.”

Logan lowered his head in disappointment and feigned being hurt.

Though they hadn’t had a proper conversation in ten years, Logan’s DNA contained the knowledge of how to handle the swordsmanship.

“Did you really think I would give up the sword based on someone else’s words?”

Arna remained silent, as tears mixed with Logan’s words.

It wasn’t because guilt rose as Logan intended.

‘Why is he so adorable?’

Logan was just feeling the lingering and delicate vibes from Arnan, and nothing more.

“That’s not true.”

Arnan barely managed to speak after calming her heart.

Even this time, her heart was trying to run wild and destroy everything around, but she could control it with her exceptional mana control, preventing the ground from shattering.

“Then?”

“I might have been a little hasty. Ar Ar Shohel, was it? I apologize to you too. I misunderstood. When it comes to matters involving my disciples, I tend to act with my body rather than my head.”

“No, I understand perfectly well.”

A moment of silence enveloped them.

“But, are we… going to be late for the academy like this?”

“We might already be late, but we should go as quickly as possible. Master, I will take my leave here. If you ever want to see me, come find me in person or write a letter.”

‘I want to keep seeing you.’

Forcing it here would only make the insane master try to suppress the disciple with force.

“Alright, go back.”

It had been less than five hours since Geomseong was appointed as the swordsmanship professor at the Institute Academy.

******

“Nice to meet you, Ashit.”

Ashit lightly avoided the gaze of the man sitting in front of him and staring at him.

It wasn’t for any particular reason.

He just felt uncomfortable.

‘Logan Atherian, is it.’

He was an unusual human.

From the beginning, the curse that Logan was burdened with, of living without forming significant connections with others, was a story unrelated to him. However, considering that people who don’t listen to anything like a mechanical study that he does are peculiar, it seemed that he was indeed a peculiar human.

“Sorry, but I’m not as great a knight as our sister.”

Still, the reason for approaching Ahsheet was likely similar to that of others.

At a young age, as the vice-commander of the Imperial Knights, the younger brother of Selena Ahsheet, he proposed recruitment, thinking that he could be a useful knight if well-polished.

According to his information network, Logan confirmed that rumors were circulating that he had a connection with the Asrian Viscount. It seemed that he needed talents like himself to expand his influence.

From Noble mtl dot com

“I have one more thing to apologize for. I don’t intend to address you as a knight.”

Ahsheet’s thoughts were generally correct.

The reason Logan approached Ahsheet was to recruit him.

Not just as a knight but as an engineer.

“Oh really? Sorry, but I’m not that useful. The fact that I entered the academy is practically thanks to our sister. Why would you want to take me when I’m not that useful?”

“You’re good at mechanical studies. I really need that ability.”

If someone else had said such words, he would have easily ignored them.

Ahsheet enjoyed mechanical studies and had tremendous talent in it, but he had no intention of using it for success.

But Logan Asrian was different.

A person who achieved business success from nothing.

Of course, he could be a con artist trying to deceive him, but what could he gain from deceiving Ahsheet.

“How much can you offer?”

“Even if it’s the worst, 50 gold per month? Of course, I can’t give it right away, it will take some time, but I promise to pay that much compensation within a year at least.”

50 gold per month was definitely not a small amount.

His sister, Selena Ashheart, received an amount nearly identical to the basic wage, a sum so substantial for the still young Ashheart that it seemed unbelievable.

“Make sense. It’s not just about my worth, even you can’t earn that kind of money yourself.”

“I’ll show you my vision. Come here this afternoon.”

Logan handed over a map.

“The Redrika Forge, belonging to Lady Redrika.”

It was common knowledge among those aware that Redrika provided Logan with the machinery.

While some extremists claimed Logan made machines by selling himself, Ashheart’s perspective differed.

“Considering Lady Redrika’s nature, she’s likely enchanted by Logan’s vision.”

She was naturally drawn to intriguing matters.

With someone like Logan as an idea bank nearby, there was no reason not to support.

“Should I go and check it out?”

Surely, it wasn’t her own base, and threatening in someone else’s forge wasn’t an option.

“Well, you can’t leave now.”

*Click*

Ashheart resented the naive version of himself from the past.

“What are you trying to accomplish now?”

Ashheart didn’t lose her temper.

Beside her were Logan, Redrika, and even Anna, showing no prowess in combat, he knew breaking through these four was impossible. Hence, he chose to converse in a subdued tone.

“Nothing too impressive. It’s time for you to make a choice.”

“Whether to report to the Royal Knights or not? Is that the choice?”

“I won’t burden you with such a boring choice. It’s simply about whether you’ll come with me or not. If you’re not interested, you can just go back, but once you’ve seen my vision, there’s no turning back.”

Logan’s smile was self-assured.

It was a smile filled with the certainty that she had no choice but to accept his proposal.

“Why should I trust your vision? Weren’t we just classmates at the academy?”

“You don’t have to trust me, just trust in power. And also, you have a personal connection with your sister.”

Logan grinned slyly.

It was a chilling and secretive smile, as if he was hiding something behind it.

“Fine. Let’s make a deal, but you have to promise to deliver 50 gold within a year.”

“If you’ve already made your choice, we can draw up the contract right away.”

Logan immediately pulled out the contract.

The contract stated that if she faithfully provided labor for over 10 hours a day, she would receive 5 gold per month for a year, and then 50 gold thereafter.

Ashiht carefully examined the contract.

It also mentioned that proportional wages would be paid if she couldn’t provide labor for over 10 hours a day, and there were provisions for salary increases and additional rewards for extra labor.

There was no clause that could be detrimental to him in the clean document, even with his abilities.

“I’ll sign.”

He couldn’t have imagined that the twenty-year contract term would become a poisonous clause.