To summarize, both the kid Kim Ye-ri and the priest Sun Hee-young ended up joining our party.
In all honesty, only the authorization of Kim Hyunsung was needed for the two people to join our team. However, the guild's higher-ups seemed to want to dispute this because we did not consult with the administrative team beforehand.
For other parties, this would have posed little problem. However, our party was new, and Kim Hyunsung had been a member for less than a year.
However, apart from this negative outlook, the fact that we had gotten someone like Sun Hee-young – someone who the other guilds and clans desperately wanted for themselves – had more than made up for their misgivings.
'We'd also gotten her for a low bargain.'
It was no wonder her valuation within the guild shot up when Sun Hee-young announced that she would not join any other clan or guild.
Kim Hyunsung's party, which was admittedly still in the spotlight, once more became the subject of the Free City of Lindel's attention. I admittedly did not know the history of every survivor that had reached Lindel, but I was fairly certain no one had received as much attention in the past as our party.
"Hyung! It's time to eat."
"I know."
While I was still immersed in my experiments within my workshop, Park Deokgu slipped through the door after knocking.
Recently, the party had made it a point to eat together during every meal. This was to become more acquainted with Sun Hee-young and Kim Ye-ri and discuss plans for our party. Compared to the four of us, who had been close since the start, it took some time for Kim Ye-ri and Sun Hee-young to warm up to the gang.
Surprisingly, Jung Hayan and Sun Hee-young seemed well-matched, and the two became close friends. Meanwhile, I hadn't had the chance to converse with Kim Ye-ri, for she was always hiding her face and shying away.
'She's such a quick-witted kid, though...'
Although she was freakishly quiet, she dutifully stuck to Kim Hyunsung, almost as if she could sense security within Hyunsung's power. I knew that it would take some time for her to warm up to us, but it also felt frustrating to see her being so unresponsive to me.
Wanting to ease the slight awkwardness, Park Deokgu opened his mouth to speak.
"By the way, what's Hyung so busy with? I hardly get to see you outside of meals."
"I've had a lot to do. I'm doing so much at once, so I can't really focus on one."
"Can you tell me just one of them? My curiosity is driving me crazy. It's been so long since you started, don't you think it's time to tell me one of your secrets?"
"Well..."
"Oh, don't do that suspense thing. Just tell me."
"The most recent thing I was doing was a potion to control my emotions..."
"Is that even possible?"
"It was only a theory, but you can think of it as virtually impossible. I just thought I'd try and see if I can touch the basic human needs..."
"For example?"
"Something like sex, sleep, or appetite. In fact, if I get it correctly, it won't ever hurt your emotions. It's all about simply making you drowsy or feeling tired of your body..."
"So... It's technically not controlling your emotions?"
"This is why touching emotions is fun. For example, suppose you created a potion that relaxes your muscles as well as your body. If you say you added something magical to it, the affected human would feel drowsy. This is because the brain interprets the body's signals at will."
