Seol Jihu was running with frayed logs tied to his waist today as well when he suddenly stopped while climbing the peak.

"?"

Perking his ears, he carefully scanned the area.

He had heard a strange noise. It sounded like someone quietly crying.

And following the sound to its source, his suspicion was proven right.

He could see a small girl crouching behind a large rock.

Yi Seol-Ah was quietly sobbing with her hands clasped against her mouth.

She looked like she was desperately holding back her tears, but big drops fell from her deer-like eyes whenever she hiccupped.

Seol Jihu put his hands in his pockets and quietly watched.

He could guess why she was crying without even asking her. Jang Maldong’s training method was to push a person to his or her limits before making them overcome it, so it could only be hard and painful.

There was nothing anyone could do but curse Jang Maldong for being evil during his training sessions. It explained why Chohong and Hugo so desperately prayed for his afterlife.

Seol Jihu himself had experienced it, so he could sympathize with what she was going through.

But as much as he expressed his sincere thanks to Jang Maldong the moment he came back from the Banquet, he knew how significant the process was.

'Hmm.'

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t been able to pay her much attention after going through the trouble of recruiting her because of his own training.

While enduring the training was entirely up to the siblings, he could have at least talked with them for a minute or two…

Becoming apologetic after realizing that, Seol Jihu pulled his hands out of his pockets and walked towards her.

He had intended to quietly...