Previously…

While trying her best to adapt with different cultures in Wiz Empire not to mention difficulties due to language barrier, Chaewon is taken by surprise upon knowing she will be sent back if she fails in the game of hide and seek…

***

“Gosh, this is so ridiculous.”

Chaewon grunted as she wiped her sweats rolling on those round chins of hers. She can feel her lungs screaming out loud, begging for a period to rest after pumping out air non-stop since a few minutes ago. Upon the start of the game which seems childish at first, she must say that both Nako and Hitomi are doing an excellent job in hiding themselves. Tracking them deem to be hard as Chaewon is barely able to discern their scent and retrace both of the kids' traces.

A heavy sigh escapes as Chaewon takes a deep breath while stabilizing her heart beats. She knew that time was running out fast but she couldn’t afford to just run around blindly without planning properly. She had learned a few tricks from her few years of life as a slum dweller and one of them is to think like your target while analyzing their blind spot within a few seconds. Mistake will not be pardoned as it might put them at risk being caught and worse, demoted as slaves. That is the lowest rank any human can ever be and even though the King already ordered about banning slavery, there’s still a few nobilities as well as merchant didn’t take heed of the decree, using it as a way to make fast money.

Alright, now let’s focus on these mana floating around.

Mana, a unique trait to allow any people using magic. Everyone had a certain amount of mana accumulated within their bodies and only a few skilled mage can somehow see different colors of mana radiated by each person. For Chaewon, this task is a bit hard for her since she didn’t have a good teacher to guide her. She only had a few theories planted within the smart brain of hers and didn’t get enough chance to practice it. Spending a few minutes is actually a huge gamble made by Chaewon as she herself isn’t sure about the success rate but still, she wants to give it a try rather than pondering about it.

The air feels chillier than ever as she can feel her body is gliding through the air, eyes are a bit dizzy after seeing a lot of different color permeates in the air. Chattering from earlier turns a little bit faint as Chaewon gathers her focus in remembering Nako and Hitomi’s aura from earlier. Nako is a bit cold and direct but the kid radiates a firm resolution within those crystal clear eyes which can pierce one’s deepest soul. If anything, Chaewon feels like staring at the sky when she first meets Nako.

Yes, I can see that sky blue mana from that side.

Her mind slowly constructs Miyawaki Residence, forming a 3D layout inside Chaewon’s head. She can see a small red pointer is blinking at the farthest corner of the mansion which Chaewon recognizes as the storage room. She had been running around this residency, running a few errands with the other maids and without noticing, Chaewon already had a rough grasp of every place’s location in the back of her mind. She knows that Nako chose this specific storage room as her hiding place due to the fact that a lot of people are passing through, making it difficult for any ordinary person to track her with never-ending crowds.

“Hehehe, this shorty will be my first target then~”

Chaewon let out a chortle as a devilish grin creeped on her face, she blamed Sakura for giving such influence on her. No, Chaewon definitely didn’t have any grudge on this particular shorty who somehow acted all high and mighty just now. She absolutely didn’t target Nako just to flat out those prideful balloons of that overconfident kid. As she tied her red hair into a high ponytail, Chaewon reinforced her legs with strengthening magic to quicken her steps. Oh, how amazing it is to imagine such terrified looks on Nako’s face upon seeing Chaewon able to track her in less than 10 minutes.

With that in mind, Chaewon dashes at the speed of light towards the storage room. She used concealment magic on herself to not alert Nako about her presence before quietly sneaking behind the petite girl’s back with the biggest, silliest grin on her face.

Ding.

Curse it, Chaewon groans inwardly as the bell that Sakura gives from earlier suddenly jingles which alerts Nako, making the girl jump to the back while nervously looking around. However, the look of dumbfoundedness only lingers for a few moments on that kid’s face before a smirk appears afterwards.

“You got some skills, I'll give you that!”

She readied herself upon seeing Nako pulling out something from her pocket and Chaewon is bamboozled upon seeing the kid is putting on a pair of sunglasses. Before her mind can fully comprehend Nako’s action, something blinding suddenly covers the area, forcing Chaewon to close her eyes due to the intense amount of light.

“See ya later, new kid!”

“Sheez, she’s running away like some eel.”

Rubbing while blinking her eyes repeatedly, Chaewon let out her snickers as she is amused by Nako who manages to surprise her. Now she knows why Sakura refers to these two kids as his precious assets, they are better off than some knights that she knows. Moreover, no one would ever expect that some little children are working as an agent for a powerful nobility family. None.

“Alright then, maybe I need to step up my game too.”

Weird, Chaewon swears that earlier, she thought that this game would be a little bit boring since she was able to track both Nako and Hitomi easily but then, Nako was able to exceed her expectations. Thus, Chaewon thought that she might change her target for now as Nako would be too wary and cautious about Chaewon at the moment. She dives into her formless state again, this time trying to track Hitomi based on their brief encounter from earlier. This girl with soft, fluffy cheeks which contains all the hope and dream in this entire land seems unconfident at first but upon closer glance, Chaewon can detect an earnest side of Hitomi as well as solid determination laced with endless hard work which shines brilliantly like a sun but have soft aura like a peach.

“Wait, what is that?”

As faint as it is, Chaewon can see a total of five dots surrounding the spot that Hitomi resides from earlier. Before she can do anything, Hitomi’s aura suddenly grows dimmer as loud blares echo throughout the mansion. A loud and long beep signal which is on repeat for three times indicates that the mansion needed an evacuation fast to the gathering point. Chaewon is aware of this rule but she couldn’t just let Hitomi be hurt by what she assumes as some threat.

Clenching her pounding head, an after-effect of using her out of body skill, Chaewon pushed herself towards a clearing near Miyawaki’s famous garden which grew countless flower crystals. Moving stealthily to gain better understanding of this unprecedented turn of event, Chaewon creeps close enough towards the intruders who are holding Hitomi as captive.

“So this is where you are hiding, huh?”

One of the men pushed Hitomi’s cheek using his shiny blades, grazing those soft cheeks before some blood oozing from the wound. Chaewon can feel intense hatred towards these men instantly as she couldn’t withstand some adults hurting a mere child. She sees herself in Hitomi place while Baron Kim and his subordinate surround her. No, she won’t let them hurt Hitomi more than this. Her breath started to turn haggard as she balled her fist in anger, readying herself to punish those men with her spell.

“What’s with those rebellious gazes? Ungrateful runt,