The Support Ate it All-Chapter 559: Finals Week 17–18 (14)

[Defection].

For example, if Hong Yeon-hwa uses it while affiliated with Group A, she can switch her affiliation to Group B or Group C.

Naturally, it’s not random—you choose.

I can bring up to four people over.

That is, if I add three more [Duplication] cards.

And there’s still the chance of drawing more from the <Card Shop>.

Not that we have to dump them all into [Defection].

Even if it fell behind in priority, [Freeze] was still a more than powerful card, so it would be better to duplicate flexibly depending on the situation.

After organizing my thoughts, I spoke to my party.

“Let’s move toward Group C.”

“Like yesterday...?”

“Not as deep as yesterday. Only halfway in.”

“Then... we meet them there?”

Like they’d gotten the idea from [Defection], Park Nari asked, and I nodded readily.

“Yeah. Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi.”

The sooner we pull other members over, the better.

That increases what we can do, and decreases what the other side can do.

Even more so if those members are top-tier.

So the moment the monster wave ended, we moved to secure the cards and agreed to meet around the midpoint of the border between Group B and Group C.

When we arrived, there wasn’t even a single fire goblin in sight.

Since we’d only vaguely agreed on “the border,” there was also the possibility that Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi were waiting a bit farther off.

So to confirm, I asked Chaemi to scout.

“Pii—”

After circling the area once and returning, it landed on Park Nari’s shoulder.

“Ah, I guess they’re not here yet....”

“That can happen. Let’s rest while we wait.”

We needed rest anyway, so we settled down in a spot with a relatively open view and waited.

After some time passed like that, a huge eye made of mana formed in the air.

[Observe] had activated.

Missed the timing.

If they’d used it a little earlier, they would’ve seen us working on the Hidden Piece.

If they’d used it a little later, they would’ve seen us meeting Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi.

Unfortunately, all they could see right now was us resting at the border.

They couldn’t tell whether we planned to push in after this, or if we were simply standing guard.

Which means they wasted a card again.

Until we secure more [Observe], I’m really going to conserve it and use it sparingly.

If we just endure whatever other groups use, that should be it for today.

Even after the mana eye disappeared, we kept resting and waiting at our leisure.

Since lunchtime had passed, Beomi started tapping Park Nari with its front paw, whining.

“GRRROWL.”

“Hold it a little longer.... We’ll eat after everything’s done.”

“Grrr...”

It flopped down with a dissatisfied growl.

Chaemi was also sitting quietly off to the side, grooming its feathers, but soon it seemed to sense something. It lifted its head, then—

“PiiiEENG—!”

With a FLAP-FLAP, it shot up into the sky.

Then it flew ahead and hovered in place.

When I looked forward carefully, sure enough, there were two human silhouettes.

Using Chaemi as a marker, they were coming straight toward us.

“They’re here.”

Of course, it was Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi.

When they reached us, they greeted us with a word each.

“Kim hyung.”

“Hiiii!”

Normally, they’d wave brightly and go, “Hiiii hiiii!!” but today they looked noticeably drained.

At that, Go Hyeon-woo let out a bitter smile and explained.

“Looks like Han So-mi is rather tired. She lost sleep last night.”

“I was just about to fall asleep and then—BANG!—and my place was gone.”

Han So-mi held up an open palm.

Looks like the [Bombardment] used last night blew up their lodging.

I kept a straight face and asked Park Nari.

“That’s awful. We got bombardment too, right?”

“Uh, yeah.... Right....”

It wasn’t a bomber that showed up, it was a card—but I didn’t lie.

I furrowed my brow and said to Han So-mi.

“Bombardment for us, bombardment for you... judging by the circumstances, doesn’t it feel like Group A did it?”

“Damn Moyong Jun!”

“After signing a nonaggression pact, too. That’s not okay.”

“A backstab!”

“We should hit them back.”

“Down with Group A!”

We clenched our fists and burned with fighting spirit, while Beomi and Chaemi stared at each other like they couldn’t believe it.

“Grrr.”

“Piiik.”

Like they were saying, So that human’s out here lying with a straight face.

I ignored them and got to the point.

“Did you try for the Hidden Piece?”

“Sadly, we hit our limit after one card. After that, our capabilities were lacking, so we had no choice but to withdraw.”

“Hey, succeeding at all is something. What’d you get?”

“This.”

What Go Hyeon-woo pulled out was [Freeze].

Then they continued in a worried tone.

“It clearly has a powerful effect... but it seems like it wasn’t what Kim hyung wanted.”

“No. It’s fine. Because we pulled it too.”

When I smiled and showed them [Defection], the swordsman couple’s faces brightened.

“Then it seems things worked out safely.”

“It didn’t ‘work out’ exactly, but it finally dropped. Want to use it right away?”

“I am prepared at any time.”

“Me too!”

Han So-mi added, fists clenched.

“Good. I’ll use [Duplication] first.”

Whether Hong Yeon-hwa actually cleared the Hidden Piece, and what they got from it, was still unknown—so leaving one spare [Defection] in reserve was the best play.

—FWASH!

Two [Duplication] cards vanished, and [Defection] increased to three cards.

Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi each took one and used it immediately.

The yellow C stuck to their chests blurred into colorless translucence, then in the next moment turned into a blue B.

Satisfied, I nodded.

“Welcome to Group B, comrades.”

“Comrades!”

Han So-mi answered back with a giggle.

But then, mana gathered again in the air and took the shape of a huge eye.

“This time, we got caught red-handed.”

Not only were we with the swordsman couple, but the fact that their affiliation had switched was now exposed too.

Go Hyeon-woo looked up at [Observe] and said.

“I feel a measure of apology toward Jeong Jin-myeong. However, is there any other way to deal with this?”

“If that’s Jeong Jin-myeong who used it.”

Spilled water, wasn’t it.

But if it was Moyong Jun, the story changes a lot.

“Hong Yeon-hwa hasn’t switched yet.”

“They will try to hold her by any means.”

“Then we secure her first. Let’s move.”

We started moving quickly.

*****

Hong Yeon-hwa stopped and slowly looked around.

Do I wait here?

They had just arrived at the agreed location—the border between Group A and Group B.

Naturally, they’d brought the Hidden Piece with them too.

But since it took a pretty intense battle, the temporary party members who had come along—including Baek Jun-seok—had all ended up combat-incapable.

Hong Yeon-hwa glanced back toward the volcano for no reason.

Now that I think about it... I feel kind of bad.

They were going to use them as much as they wanted, then betray them too.

It felt like the triangle inside them was spinning violently, stabbing at their conscience.

Later, I’ll at least buy them a meal, Hong Yeon-hwa vowed.

Still, if I have this....

The item card in their hand was [Defection].

So that’s what “you can change” meant.

Thinking about meeting Kim Ho again and finishing the finals together made the triangle inside them feel like it was rapidly dulling.

“...Heh.”

They were grinning like an idiot, but the next moment, they wiped the smile clean off their face and turned their head.

Two human silhouettes were approaching fast.

The problem was their direction—they were coming from Group A’s main base.

Looks like I’ve been found.

Maybe they hadn’t figured out [Defection], but they’d definitely sensed something off.

Well, after shooting up that pillar of light and making a huge commotion, of course they would.

Hong Yeon-hwa seriously considered running right now.

I’d get caught anyway.

Judging by their approach speed, as a mage, Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t seem like they could stall for long.

If luck was on their side, they might rendezvous with Kim Ho’s party first—but if not, they might miss each other.

In that case, wasn’t it better to hold position?

And I’ve got the pride of a promising prospect.

Run with my tail tucked without even fighting?

If it were Kim Ho, sure—but in this case, absolutely not.

So Hong Yeon-hwa simply crossed their arms and waited for the pursuers.

As the distance closed, their identities became clear:

Geum Johan of the disciplinary committee club, and Lee Seul-bi.

After landing in a burst of light-footwork, Geum Johan threw out a question immediately.

“What are you doing here?”

“You tell me. Why did you come all the way out here?” 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

When Hong Yeon-hwa shot back curtly, Geum Johan’s brow twitched for an instant.

But they forced patience and answered.

“Moyong Jun sent us. He said it looks like you’ve got other thoughts, so we should hurry and check.”

“......”

“Now it’s your turn. What were you doing here?”

Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated for a moment, thinking what to say.

They could dodge it with, Do I have to report every little thing? but for some reason, they didn’t feel like doing that right now.

So they opened their mouth in a bold tone.

“Yeah. I’ve got other thoughts.”

“...!”

“Honestly, I lost a lot of affection. Watching you make excuses and then still end up holding hands.”

“Wasn’t that already settled? I thought you accepted everything.”

“I accepted it. I still do. It was probably necessary.”

Geum Johan frowned.

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because it’s something I need.”

So you should accept it too and let me go—that was the point.

Lee Seul-bi let out a quiet sigh.

“Feels like it’ll be hard to stop you. But you’re Group A. Even if you go, won’t it be pointless?”

“Who says? That it’s pointless.”

When Hong Yeon-hwa showed the card, the two disciplinary committee members’ faces hardened.

“...[Defection]. There was something like that.”

“I don’t have any personal feelings toward you two, but I’m going.”

“You’d better not use it.”

With the warning, Geum Johan stepped forward.

If it came to it, they were planning to rush in and snatch the card away.

Whether they read that intent, or simply felt rebellious, Hong Yeon-hwa scoffed and used the card.

—FWASH!

The green A stuck to their chest blurred, then turned into a blue B.

At that, Geum Johan let out a mixed sigh—half anger, half regret.

“We treated you fairly well since you were in the same group... and you still crossed over.”

Then they drew the golden sword at their waist.

—SHIIING.

“At this point, there’s only one option. We bring you down.”

If they made Hong Yeon-hwa combat-incapable, they could inflict losses on Group B for at least a few hours.

Lee Seul-bi also pulled out a staff and prepared to chant magic.

“Just so you know, we both brought [Protection]. If you were thinking of using [Discharge], drop it.”

“I’m not using that.”

With a flat ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) reply, Hong Yeon-hwa swept their staff.

Red magic circles formed one after another beneath their feet.

Geum Johan lowered the golden sword and kicked off the ground—

—Piiiiii—!

“......”

“......”

At the sharp cry, everyone lifted their heads.

From far away, an eagle was flying in, and somehow it looked incredibly familiar.

“...!”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face lit up brilliantly.