The Return of the Talented Monopolist is Special

At those words, the energy that had been settled on the floor immediately dissipated as if it were a lie.

“Whoo…”

The children barely exhaled.

Yujin and Eldora also silently breathed out, turning their heads toward Jade.

Despite a few faint wrinkles around his eyes, his appearance and gaze made it impossible to believe that he was in his 70s.

If you only considered the atmosphere, he seemed even younger than Geumgeum. Of course, Geumgeum would be upset if he heard that.

In the meantime, Jade turned his gaze to the head butler.

“Let’s keep it brief.”

“Yes.”

The head butler bowed his head and began reporting to Jade, pointing at each child, stating their lineage, gender, age, and the grade of their aura.

“Leode is…”

“Garbanne is…”

“Jupelo is…”

When it was time to explain about these children, Jade’s expression remained unchanged. He appeared completely uninterested.

When it came to the Inse brothers’ turn, Yujin glanced at Sirius.

He was glaring at his two sons with his arms crossed.

He must have been uncomfortable, conscious of the fact that Jade had been observing Yujin and Eldora. He probably thought that the two of them shouldn’t have lost to Yujin.

It seemed that the Inse brothers were feeling a bit uneasy under Sirius’s gaze.

Yujin clicked his tongue lightly as he watched them.

“If you’re that nervous, your father’s going to dislike you even more.”

Knowing how cold-hearted and reputation-driven Sirius was, Yujin felt a little sorry for the Inse brothers.

How much had Sirius beaten and berated the brothers in the past? Had those muscles really been made by them?

Of course, that was their problem, not his.

“Eldora is…”

Then it was Eldora’s turn.

Yujin briefly glanced at Eldora’s father and third uncle, Clark.

He had a calm expression, probably because he already knew that his daughter was the best.

“Uncle Clark hasn’t changed, has he? Always the same.”

Yujin had always followed Clark well in his previous life as well.

He was someone who clearly distinguished between work and personal matters. Although he appeared cold on the outside, he was warm on the inside.

“Mm…”

After hearing the explanation about Eldora, Jade stared at her for a moment.

His gaze seemed to acknowledge her genius, as she had already reached the third rank at the age of 12.

Then the head butler began explaining about Yujin.

“Yujin Robert is 12 years old, and his aura achievement is 2 stars…”

At that moment.

“Wait.”

Jade interrupted and looked at Yujin closely.

His eyes briefly glowed a faint golden color. It seemed he had noticed something unusual about Yujin.

‘He might have realized that I’ve mastered Dark Aura.’

At Jade’s level, it was certainly possible for him to notice that.

Yujin, holding onto a sense of tension, met Jade’s gaze.

“Your aura achievement is… 2 stars?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“…”

Jade did not ask any further questions and silently stared at Yujin.

After a moment, he nodded and gestured for the head butler to continue the explanation.

‘This man… truly, I can’t read him at all.’

It was unclear whether Jade had recognized Yujin’s mastery of Dark Aura or if he was just harboring doubts.

Once the introductions of all the children were finished, the head butler was about to begin talking about the trial of the lion.

“What do you think of the Pencel family?”

It was a sudden question directed at the children.

The children glanced at each other nervously before the Inse brothers responded first.

“They are the greatest family in the North! They have kept their honor in the harshest part of the continent, the northern region.”

“We are proud to even be here.”

Jade asked with an expressionless face.

“Honor? How have we kept our honor?”

Ains flinched at his dry voice, but Jains quickly responded.

“The Pencel family still holds the largest influence in the northern region. A major example of their honor is when they defeated the Black Dragon during the Monster Stream incident.”

Ains added.

“Thanks to that achievement, families like Kremlin and Yuk sent letters of gratitude along with gifts.”

Ains and Jains’ answers were textbook responses.

Yujin shrugged as he looked at the two brothers.

‘Surprisingly not bad. They didn’t just flatter aimlessly, but brought concrete reasoning for their opinions.’

Sirius also nodded as he seemed to agree with their responses.

Jade, too, nodded silently, but his expression didn’t indicate whether he was impressed or not.

At that point, the test seemed to be drawing to a close.

A voice came from one side.

“There was a clash with a minority ethnic group belonging to the northern outskirts.”

It was Eldora.

“Tell me more.”

“The root of the issue was a conflict with an administrative officer affiliated with the Pencel family. This suggests that there is a lack of communication with other families and regions, which is a drawback.”

Sirius furrowed his brow.

“Eldora.”

“Of course, I’m saying this for the sake of the family’s development.”

Sirius seemed about to say something, but Jade’s expression was different.

“That’s a good observation.”

“Thank you.”

Sirius bit his lip in frustration, and Jade nodded, clearly approving of the response.

‘She pointed out an area for improvement for the Pencel family while clearly stating her intent. She knows how to express her opinions.’

Yujin smiled slightly. Eldora truly had potential.

Jade glanced around as if searching for anyone else to speak before turning to the head butler.

“Then continue with what you were about to say.”

“Yes, Master.”

At that moment, Yujin spoke up.

“Frog in a well.”

“…?”

“…?”

All the children, along with Sirius, Clark, and the head butler, turned to look at him.

Sirius made a twisted expression and asked.

“What did you say?”

“The fact that the Pencel family leads most of the North is certainly enough reason to highly regard them.”

“But what? Frog in a well—”

“However, the Pencel family is stagnant. They could have gained even greater power, but they didn’t.”

Sirius gritted his teeth and said.

“Yujin, be careful with your words. You might end up being punished for this.”

“The honor that Ains mentioned, it’s fine. The communication that Eldora mentioned, it’s fine. But—”

Yujin shrugged.

“The Pencel family shouldn’t be satisfied with this level of honor, and communication is unnecessary. Why should the Pencel family have to communicate with others? The Pencel family is complacent with their current state.”

“Yujin Robert! Shut your mouth!”

Sirius shouted, his voice carrying a hint of aura. The air vibrated strongly.

However, Jade stopped him.

“Let him speak. This is interesting.”

“But…!”

“Sirius.”

Sirius clenched his mouth shut, and Yujin continued speaking.

“The Black Dragon was killed and overpowered, so why should we ‘communicate’ with the minority groups on the outskirts of the North?”

“Then?”

“They must be crushed. If they are walking down the path of rebellion, they should be dealt with accordingly. They are nothing but punks who don’t even know who gave them a place to survive in the North. I don’t understand why communication would be necessary.”

Eldora, who had been listening from the side, glared at Yujin with sharp eyes. It seemed she was displeased by her opinion being directly challenged.

However, Yujin was unfazed.

“You can’t coddle them just because they don’t listen. They need to be punished. That’s what the Pencel family is capable of.”

“Hmm.”

It was rare for anyone to offer such a bold opinion in an attempt to impress, especially not a 12-year-old child.

Even Sirius, who had been filled with anger moments ago, seemed to be contemplating Yujin’s words.

Everyone in the room fell silent, watching Jade for a response.

Jade, as though pondering a verdict, suddenly asked Yujin.

“Is your father Richard Robert?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Richard raised his son well.”

Sirius gritted his teeth, Clark had a mysterious smile, and the children widened their eyes.

It was a surprising compliment coming from Jade, whose expression rarely betrayed anything.

Yujin politely nodded in acknowledgment.

“It seems the introductions are finished. I’ll be taking my leave now, so please continue explaining the Trial of the Lion.”

“Yes, Master.”

Yujin’s mind felt lighter.

‘This doesn’t seem like a bad outcome.’

Meanwhile, Sirius’ expression had hardened.

‘My son isn’t the one receiving attention, but that insignificant merchant’s son…’

Clark smiled faintly.

‘This one’s interesting. I wonder how skilled he really is.’

As Jade, Sirius, and Clark were about to leave the room, Jade turned without looking back and said one last thing.

“I’ll be watching.”

Yujin gave a slight smile.

On the day of the Trial of the Lion.

Deep within the Pencel family’s underground, in the Ice Lake, Yujin and the other 12 participants gathered along with Jade and the head butler, who was leading them.

“As I mentioned a few days ago, the test involves entering the Ice Lake, passing through the ice caves beneath the water, and emerging on the other side of the lake.”

“Hoo…”

Some of the children tried to hide their nervousness as they exhaled.

The chill from the Ice Lake was stronger than expected, and the idea of having to swim in the freezing water of a lake so deep it was impossible to see the end was even more terrifying.

However, Yujin showed no signs of nervousness.

‘Hmm, seeing it like this, it’s not exactly pleasant.’

In his past life, he had been thrown into this cold lake, struggling desperately, only to fail the test.

The memory of that time stirred up unpleasant feelings.

Of course,

‘Thanks to that experience, this time around, things will go much more smoothly.’

But then, Yujin felt a sharp gaze from beside him.

Eldora was glaring at him with venomous eyes.

“Watch out.”

“Hmm?”

“Prepare yourself.”

Yujin didn’t know exactly what she meant, but he could guess the reason for her anger.

‘I must have hurt her pride by refuting her opinion earlier. She’s still so young.’

Yujin smiled lightly, causing Eldora to scowl deeply and quickly turn her head away.

“The waters are filled with magical traps, so be careful…”

The head butler paused, smiling faintly.

Probably meaning that they could die if they weren’t cautious.

In this test, it was crucial to have the stamina to move through the freezing water, the observation skills to spot traps, and the agility to avoid them.

“You won’t be judged based on who reaches first. As long as you complete the course, you’ll pass the test. Now, please remove your clothing.”

They had to strip in order to swim.

As Yujin took off his shirt, he felt several hot gazes directed at him.

“Wow…”

“Ha…”

The muscular body, covered in countless scars, was now fully revealed. It was no wonder that it attracted attention.

Rauler had already seen Yujin’s body once, so he was somewhat indifferent, but there were two others who were absolutely not indifferent.

“Wow…”

“Unbelievable…”

It was the Ince brothers.

Normally, they would have proudly puffed out their chests to show off their own bodies, but now they were too busy staring at Yujin’s body.

Even though they had seen it in the training grounds, they were still amazed, as if it were their first time.

Eventually, Ains couldn’t hold back and approached Yujin, who was in the process of undressing.

“Ahem… hey, you.”

“What?”

“…Do you eat a lot of good stuff? I was wondering if you could share what it is.”

“There’s nothing like that.”

“…”

Ains, strangely feeling his pride hurt, continued to glance at Yujin’s body.

“Sorry, but it’s kinda uncomfortable when you keep staring at me like a pervert.”

“Y-yeah.”

Ains eventually sighed and returned to his position.

Although he remembered his crushing defeat in the fight with Yujin, he couldn’t hide his desire for those muscles.

After undressing down to their underwear, the group stood at the starting line right in front of the pond.

“Start!”

At the head butler’s command, all the children threw themselves into the water.

Splash!

However…

Only Yujin did not jump in.

Instead, he simply walked toward the left wall.

The Return of the Talent Hoarder