EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 949: The Last School Refusal (7)

Oh Hye-ji awkwardly smiled and looked this way.

The green silk and jade shaman robe suited her very well, but it seemed she felt a bit embarrassed to be wearing such a unique outfit in front of familiar faces.

Yeom Jun-yeol approached her with a sincere expression and started the conversation.

"Hey Hye-ji, it’s been a while. Even though it's temporary, I’m really happy that you've become part of our dragon clan. It really suits you."

"Haha... Thanks for the compliment. I didn’t expect to be so involved with the dragon clan like this. Though, I guess our family has been connected with the dragons for a long time now."

"The Joo-O Group's baseball team uses a dragon as its mascot, right? There’s been a connection even before it became public knowledge."

As Yeom Jun-yeol continued talking, the tension in Oh Hye-ji’s face seemed to dissipate.

Had it just been Yong Je-geon or Ju Su-gyeom here, this kind of atmosphere would never have happened.

I was truly grateful that Yeom Jun-yeol had come along.

While the Cloud Dragons were offering drinks, moving between guests on their cloud, Yong Je-geon, who had been waiting for the right moment, suddenly spoke.

"Hye-ji, how have you been since graduation? Ah, and you know that it was our dragon clan’s benefactor, Joid-shin, who made all of this possible, right?"

"Always bringing up the benefactor of the clan."

Hwang Ji-ho spoke with a tired expression.

Both Yong Je-geon and Hwang Ji-ho had the same tendency to mention the benefactor every chance they got.

Oh Hye-ji, once the head of the student council at Eun-gwang High, wasn’t flustered at all and responded with a smile to Yong Je-geon’s comment.

"Yes, I heard from Su-gyeom oppa and the Yellow Dragon about Joid-shin. Without him, the Oh family wouldn’t have been able to keep our promise with the Sea King and would’ve met an early demise."

As she said that, Oh Hye-ji took a step closer to me.

Her green shaman robe made it look as though she were floating on a cloud, like the green winds and clouds surrounding her.

With a mature smile, she spoke to me.

"Joid-shin helped my older sister, Hye-jeong, right? And now with all of this... I’m really grateful, Joid-shin. You’re the benefactor of the Oh family."

The one who had endured the most in the agreement between the Oh family and the Sea King was the Yellow Dragon.

He had been managing the five Dragon Palaces and the Crystal Palace alone, preventing a greater tragedy.

Since it was the Yellow Dragon who had delivered the information to Oh Hye-ji, it seemed he downplayed his own role in the story.

I tried to explain this, but it didn’t quite reach Oh Hye-ji.

"Joid-shin is still the same. Jun-yeol, please take care of him."

"Of course, I will."

"Yes, Joid-shin is the benefactor of our clan, so we, the dragon clan, should take good care of him."

Oh Hye-ji didn’t directly speak to Yong Je-geon, but responded on her own.

I secretly hoped that the Cloud Dragon would throw a piece of cloud at Yong Je-geon, but instead, the Cloud Dragon shook a puffed-up cloud piece like a cheer.

Watching this, Hwang Ji-ho clicked his tongue and muttered.

"Another person praising the benefactor. Especially when we keep hearing this every time we go to the dragon’s domain. You’d better not think of going to the Dragon Palace alone."

"Ji-ho... hmm, can I still treat you like a junior?"

"Of course, I’m a second-year student at Eun-gwang High."

As usual, Hwang Ji-ho was as shameless as his age.

The sharp-witted Oh Hye-ji seemed to have figured out a lot from Hwang Ji-ho’s comment.

Though he told her to treat him like a junior, it was hard to understand why he answered in such a casual tone, but I decided to ignore it.

"We can’t keep the guests standing for too long. Let’s begin the succession ceremony and the treatment ritual."

The Yellow Dragon, along with Oh Hye-ji, who would become the new Green Shaman, took the lead.

With each step of the dragon and the shaman, the hallway leading to the succession ceremony brightened.

At the end of the hallway, the shamanesses who had been preparing for the ceremony were waiting.

The shamanesses, led by the Red Shaman, greeted the guests with respect.

"Joid-shin oppa! We’ve been waiting for you!"

As soon as they finished their greetings, Yun Yeo-rang, wearing a yellow shaman robe, ran toward me, her eyes filled with excitement.

I had already sent my impressions about the talent show video to Yun Yeo-rang through a device message, but I praised her again aloud.

After I shared my thoughts, Yun Yeo-rang smiled happily.

"You must be tired after just returning from the youth training camp yesterday."

"No, I had a great time! Did you see the video that Seo-ho and Yi-ho sent? There was also a part where Gong Cheong-hwon-sensei was singing, right? It was good in the video, but hearing it live was much better. Ah, and the new interim Green Shaman is a senior from Eun-gwang High, right? Please introduce her!"

Yun Yeo-rang chattered about Gong Cheong-hwon’s singing before turning to look at Oh Hye-ji.

It seemed the shamanesses hadn’t properly greeted each other due to the preparations for the ceremony.

Yun Yeo-rang, with her friendly nature, quickly bonded with Oh Hye-ji.

It was nice to see the two, who had never crossed paths before, now chatting casually while wearing shaman robes.

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The Yellow Dragon also seemed pleased with this sight and spoke in a kinder tone than usual.

"The preparations are complete."

On the massive circular magic circle, clouds of yellow, green, purple, and red floated.

Normally, the green cloud, which was usually controlled by the Green Shaman, was absent, replaced by Yun Yeo-rang’s yellow cloud.

The Yellow Dragon led Oh Hye-ji to the vacant spot.

As Oh Hye-ji walked toward the empty seat, I saw her grip her robe tightly.

‘Meeting a higher being directly, and lifting the curse that has haunted her family for so long, she must be steeling herself for this moment.’

If Oh Hye-ji failed to withstand the power of the Sea King, this plan would fail.

If that happened, Oh Hye-jeong, who had been hiding in Sa-wol Ga, or even Ma Ye-gi, who was still in middle school, might have to take her place as the interim Green Shaman.

If they couldn’t handle it, more complicated measures would have to be taken.

But I trusted Oh Hye-ji.

Given her character, strength, and talent, she was more than capable of earning the Sea King's recognition.

‘Oh Hye-ji can handle this role as the Green Shaman.’

With the four shamanesses and the Yellow Dragon, the path was opened for the Sea King's voice to descend from the realm of the gods to the mortal world.

It was said that, just as it had been in the Dragon Palace, summoning the Sea King’s presence was difficult, but transmitting his voice wasn’t too burdensome for the shamanesses.

The five-colored clouds, excluding green, filled the magic circle and rose toward the ceiling of the Dragon Palace.

Even Ju Su-gyeom, who usually didn’t show much expression, watched with a long gaze, the light from the clouds glowing with a mysterious brilliance.

"Sea King, please speak to us!"

Yun Yeo-rang’s clear voice rang through the clouds, carrying a power that reached toward the Sea King.

It wasn’t a loud voice, but it had enough force to reach the Sea King.

In response, the five-colored clouds split in two and light poured down.

At that moment, a message appeared in front of me.

[Skill 'Destiny' has activated.]

Destiny often activated at unpredictable moments, but this time, I was prepared for it.

Having seen it activate a few times during my dealings with the dragons, I had gotten used to it.

As I blinked, the scenery in front of me changed.

The dark space was now filled with brilliant, five-colored light.

When I greeted the Sea King, a warm energy responded to me.

[You are still as bright in your greetings. You didn’t seem wary at all when I appeared. Were you expecting me?]

"Yes."

Through the colorful clouds, a massive dragon appeared, its enormous form blocking my vision.

The Sea King’s scales shimmered with a clear light, more vibrant than the last time I saw them.

Though the five shamanesses had not yet gathered, the Sea King seemed to have regained strength, especially with Yun Yeo-rang supporting him.

‘If his power has grown, he might know much more than before.’

If I ever had the chance to speak with the Sea King again, I had a few questions for him.

Before I could ask, the Sea King spoke first.

[If you have questions, ask them. I will answer the benefactor’s questions.]

"Do you know what it is that I carry?"

[Of course.]

As expected, the Sea King answered without hesitation.

Though I knew that not only Baekho-gun knew about the nightmare I carried, it didn’t make me feel any better.

However, the Sea King was not an easy being to converse with, so I wasn’t as angry as I had been with Baekho-gun.

If higher beings transmitted too much information to the mortal realm, both would be in danger.

If higher beings had no restrictions on intervening in the mortal realm, the TC Research Institute wouldn’t have spent resources and time on projects like the artificial manifestation of higher beings.

Still, considering the safety of the dragon clan, I couldn’t think of it too positively.

"Knowing all of this, did you let the Dragon Palace be handed over to me? Do higher beings know everything about what I carry?"

I asked, though it was more of an accusation, but the Sea King smiled kindly.

It was a smile that seemed to comfort a child throwing a tantrum.

Seeing that made my anger subside, but I didn’t retract my question.

[What you carry holds a terrible power, but it is also a secretive existence. Only beings like me, who understand death and dreams, could know about it. Those connected to your special eyes likely know as well.]

The Sea King answered my second question.

As he said, it meant that beings associated with death knew about what I carried.

The higher beings, who had drawn lines to prevent me from approaching them, were the ones who had passed such a dangerous power onto a human.

Giving such dangerous power to someone carrying a nightmare—what were they thinking?

‘And surely, Akea, who treated me, must know too.’

Akea, the goddess of healing, had witnessed countless beings between life and death during her healing processes.

She had communicated with me through Destiny, so I doubted she didn’t know about the nightmare.

Yet, she allowed Yusang-hee, her precious disciple, to stay near me. What were the higher beings thinking?

As if answering these thoughts, the Sea King spoke in response to my first question.

[Yes, I knew, but I gave it to my benefactor as a gift. My children are not weak, so rest assured and stay in the Dragon Palace. Just be careful about locking the doors.]

The Sea King said it calmly.

Looking back on everything that had happened, if the anti-sorcery measures were taken, as long as I locked the doors, I could stay safely inside.

However, because I became aware, the power of the nightmare had grown stronger.

I couldn’t guarantee that I would be able to keep the nightmare locked away in the future.

‘What if the nightmare gets stronger again? Is this really okay?’

The thought that I might end up calling someone’s nightmare or swallowing a true name kept me awake.

If Baekho-gun hadn’t used the sleep incense burner to forcibly put me to sleep, I would have certainly stayed up all night.

It made no sense to forcibly sleep someone who might call forth nightmares.

[Do not worry.]

The Sea King’s voice was warm as he tried to reassure me once again.

It seemed the Sea King had seen not only the nightmare but also something else within me.

[You carry a very rare divine protection, so there is no need to be afraid.]

The Sea King seemed to have recognized the divine protection granted to me by Baekho-gun’s true name.