Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 118
#118. S-Class Grand Assembly
2022.11.26.
"There were many recommendations from the support unit members for her appointment as captain."
Daeyoon first intended to explain the circumstances behind the Princess of Dark Flare's selection as the support unit captain.
Isn't that so.
To appoint a low-ranked concept hunter as captain in such an important secret operation—if someone unfamiliar saw it, they might misunderstand it as corruption.
"The fact that she obtained an overwhelmingly large number of skeleton cores in the support qualification test held at the Colony of the Dead, and acknowledging her merit in preventing the Bokgye Mountain dungeonization, the Association appoints the Princess of Dark Flare as the support unit captain..."
But was it his imagination?
It seemed no one was properly listening to Daeyoon's words.
"You've come. I was wondering when you'd arrive."
Yoo Hwan, who had blatantly cut off Daeyoon's words, waved at Eunha with a pleased face.
Not only that.
Junhwan and Suhyeon, who were sitting opposite him, shot up and bowed respectfully to Eunha.
"Ms. Yura, here, my seat. I'm fine standing."
Junhwan even readily offered his own chair.
Suhyeon, sitting beside him, also tapped Junhwan's chair as if to say, do so.
At that, Yoo Hwan, as if he couldn't lose, kicked Jaemin, who was sitting next to him, and gestured with his chin towards the seat beside him.
"No, younger brother, sit here."
"..."
"..."
Crackle—
Invisible sparks flew between them.
"We appreciate the kindness, but this person is a 'Master-certified' family member of our Corps."
"Family or Happy Meal, I don't know. This person and I stayed up all night drinking and have long since become sworn brothers."
Why? Why does the air feel like it's freezing murderously?
Daeyoon glanced at Gwanghyun with a stiff face.
Gwanghyun, too, seemed to have read the unusual atmosphere and was swallowing dryly.
Besides.
"Ahem."
The man hiding his face with a hood and mask behind Hagyun, Shin Siwoo.
He, who hadn't made a single sound until now, suddenly cleared his throat and then, at an angle invisible to others, poked Hagyun's back.
'Huh?'
Hagyun, who hadn't quite grasped Siwoo's intention, was just blinking from behind his mask.
Screech.
The sound of a chair dragging was heard in the silence.
Eunha, who had been standing blankly, had chosen a seat for herself.
Everyone's gaze turned towards Eunha.
The seat she chose was right...
"There happened to be an empty seat here."
It was right next to Hagyun and Siwoo, that is, Wolf.
"If that is Ms. Yura's wish..."
Junhwan didn't hide his dejected face, but he didn't argue with Eunha's choice and sat back down in his seat.
However.
"Younger brother, are you serious?"
Yoo Hwan couldn't believe this situation at all.
She said the contract was over, yet she voluntarily sat next to Wolf. He couldn't understand her inner thoughts.
Moreover, to refuse this Monkey King's offer and deliberately sit next to that gloomy black mask?
The moment Yoo Hwan narrowed his eyes as if to raise an objection, someone from the opposite side quietly spoke.
"Shall we begin the meeting now?"
Everyone's gaze turned that way.
The owner of the voice was the unidentified man sitting to Hagyun's left.
Only Hagyun, Gwanghyun, and Association President Daeyoon knew his identity.
The others just thought of Siwoo as a subordinate Hagyun had brought, or one of Wolf's executives.
No one suspected that he was Wolf's young master and Korea's hidden S-Class hunter, Baekrang.
Siwoo, with more than half of his face covered by a mask and hood, glanced sideways.
At that, his eyes met pitch-black pupils staring intently at him from right beside him.
It was Eunha.
The moment their eyes met, she silently mouthed words.
'Hi.'
"...!"
Siwoo hastily averted his gaze in another direction.
And then, in as calm a tone as possible, he spoke again.
"...Much time has passed. Let's proceed quickly, President."
"R-right."
Daeyoon fixed his dazed expression and nodded.
Even though the meeting hadn't even officially begun, he somehow already felt tired.
The meeting, which finally began after much ado.
"As you all know, the exact date of the South Coast Gate's appearance cannot be predicted. Therefore, what we decide in this meeting today are merely countermeasures. It is no exaggeration to say that everything depends on your judgment on that day."
While everyone was listening intently to his words, Siwoo once again glanced at Eunha sitting beside him.
"...?"
Perhaps sensing his gaze, she too turned her eyes slightly this way.
Her pitch-black pupils seemed to be asking, 'Why?'
Siwoo faintly shook his head and then fixed his gaze back on Daeyoon.
"───"
Meanwhile, Daeyoon, pointing to a holographic phase map of the South Coast vicinity, was explaining the general outline of the operation, such as the assembly points and standby locations for each unit.
Siwoo, listening to his explanation, raised his large hand and adjusted his slightly crooked mask.
It was a relief he was wearing a mask.
Otherwise, the corners of his mouth, which kept twitching upwards unintentionally, would have been noticed by everyone.
—He had no choice but to admit it.
He was inwardly pleased that she had forsaken other seats and sat beside him.
About 2 hours later.
Just as the short yet long meeting was about to end,
"For now, this is all I have to convey. Let's wrap it up here for today and gather again soon—"
Clatter, bang, bang!
Just as the loud sound of footsteps was heard from the corridor, the conference room door suddenly burst open.
"Huh? What, is the meeting already over?"
The short-haired girl who had forcefully opened the door slightly lifted the baseball cap she was wearing.
"No, right? I even took a taxi to get here."
"Y-you..."
Daeyoon, frozen while holding the meeting documents.
Was he invisible to her?
The suddenly appearing girl rolled her pink eyes and quickly scanned the interior of the conference room.
And.
"Kyaa! Unnie!"
Poof.
Wasn't she snuggling right into Eunha's embrace?!
Daeyoon wasn't the only one surprised.
Gwanghyun, who was beside him, was also astonished, and Monkey King and Doctor Plant, sitting in their seats, also stared at the girl with wide eyes.
'Why is that kid...'
Phantom Thief Kang Ayeon.
It was because no one among them had predicted that she, infamous for her thorough pragmatism, would participate in the Association's South Coast Gate operation meeting.
In fact, Ayeon had been completely ignoring the Association's summons until just yesterday.
It was impossible not to be surprised that such a person had suddenly barged into the meeting place without any prior notice.
Moreover, that attitude.
"Unnie, I heard you stopped the Bokgye Mountain dungeonization?! Let me see, are you hurt anywhere? Ooh, look at how rough your hands have become..."
The way she clung to the Princess of Dark Flare and rubbed her hands against her own cheeks was quite unfamiliar.
Daeyoon had seen Ayeon since she was a middle school student who awakened as an S-Class, but he had never once seen her so readily make physical contact with others.
Yoo Hwan and Roje, who had experience subjugating gates with Ayeon several times before, also found the girl before them unfamiliar.
As they stared at Ayeon with wide eyes—.
"..."
Crack.
A sound, like a pen breaking, something ominous, was heard.
Siwoo, half-pushed out of his chair, was staring intently at the back of Ayeon's head, who was causing a ruckus right beside him.
His piercing blue eyes, not covered by the mask, were unusual.
It was because Siwoo, who had been sitting next to Eunha, had been rudely pushed aside by Ayeon, who had charged towards Eunha like a bull upon entering the conference room.
If he hadn't reflexively assumed a landing posture, he would have rolled on the floor.
Goooo...
His dark blue hair, slightly visible from under his hood, slowly began to turn white.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Siwoo growled in a suppressed voice.
Ayeon, who had been pouring all her attention onto Eunha, finally noticed the man in the black mask whom she had pushed aside.
Her innocent-looking pink eyes scanned him up and down, then soon curved brightly.
"Ah, didn't know."
A cheerful and refreshing reply.
Conversely, Siwoo's gaze grew colder and colder.
"...You."
The moment Siwoo parted his lips,
Bang—!
The conference room door burst open once more with force.
Everyone's gaze, which had been on Ayeon, turned towards the door.
And there, they discovered a small boy with tangerine-colored hair.
The boy, carrying a bazooka with a large star mark on his shoulder, was...
"M-Master?!"
It was Trickster Song Minju.
Thump!
Junhwan kicked his chair and stood up.
Why is Master here?
He glanced at Suhyeon with a surprised face.
However, Suhyeon too had her jaw dropped so low it looked like it would touch the floor.
She hadn't expected it either.
"Junhwan hyung, I'm disappointed. Why did you keep such an important thing a secret from me?"
"Ah, no... That is, so..."
Junhwan, his words trailing off, sent a troubled look towards Suhyeon.
Hey, help me out.
That was the meaning.
"It wasn't Bae Junhwan alone; it was a decision made by our entire Corps. Master, you still need to recover."
"Th-that's right, Master. How long has it been since you got out of bed? This operation, even if Master doesn't participate directly, we can somehow manage..."
Junhwan nodded eagerly, agreeing with Suhyeon's words.
However, despite their excuses, Minju still had his cheeks puffed out sulkily.
Recovery, what recovery.
I'm perfectly fine like this.
Minju, fiddling with his bazooka with a dissatisfied face, soon spotted Eunha in the corner of his vision and his eyes sparkled.
"Noona!"
Minju, flying over like a flying squirrel, sharply turned Eunha's chair.
Ayeon, who had been clinging to Eunha, momentarily lost her balance and staggered.
Of course, Minju, completely oblivious to Ayeon's condition, fixed his gaze solely on Eunha and began to chatter.
"Noona, you didn't even say a word to me? Do you know how bored I am in the hospital every day?"
"Hey, kid."
Ayeon, her voice boiling with anger, narrowed her eyes fiercely.
"Ah."
Minju, who had been clinging to Eunha like a limpet, turned his gaze towards Ayeon.
"Didn't see ya."
"...What?"
—And there were two people staring blankly at this chaotic party unfolding before them.
"P-President, what is all this?"
"I don't know either."
It was Association President Ko Daeyoon and his subordinate Kim Gwanghyun.
"I can't believe it, but it seems..."
Daeyoon slowly parted his lips with an incredulous face.
The scene unfolding in real time before his eyes.
It was undoubtedly the first time in the history of the Korean hunter world, the grand assembly of S-Classes.
