Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 44
It had happened a few days ago.
'Hwarang'.
It was the guild led by Korea's A-Class hunter, 'Bowmaster', and the guild Mobius belonged to.
Mobius leaned back against the sofa, his eyes fixed on the black-clad woman displayed on the screen.
Although it had been over a month, he remembered it clearly.
The Princess of Dark Flare, the small fry hunter who had piggybacked on the B-Class gate.
A playing card, idly twirled between Mobius's fingers, crumpled.
He remembered her distinctly.
She was etched into his memory, impossible to forget even if he tried.
'...Heard she's first-generation.'
'What?'
'She's a first-generation training center graduate. That woman.'
Mobius, walking nearby, couldn't help but overhear the hunters' whispers.
But he paid it no mind.
Not only was it impossible for her to be a first-generation graduate, but such a renowned first-generation hunter wouldn't receive an F-Class rating.
Her accumulated experience alone should have put her at C-Class.
'There are generally only two reasons a hunter dies or suffers severe injury inside a gate.'
'First, an unforeseen accident occurs.'
'Second, recklessly entering a gate above one's skill level.'
'So?'
Remembering the woman who had challenged his decision not to save the mother, his mood instantly soured.
Thinking back, she was an unbelievably arrogant hunter.
Clearly, the F-Class rating, making her undeniably a small fry, had gone to her head because she had the backing of the massive guild, Wolf.
It was laughable, especially since she wasn't even officially part of Wolf, just contracted as a mercenary.
Mobius tossed the crumpled card aside and picked up his phone.
Scrolling down, his finger slid across the screen.
□□: Holy crap.
□□: Everyone, a re-evaluation is urgently needed
□□: ??? Wtf is that the Dark Flare something????
□□: Never seen her before but she's kinda charming
□□: Staying neutral for now
□□: Omg unnie marry me
The Princess of Dark Flare, who appeared on 'Star Hunters HOTter than Summer, 2031', seemed to be receiving quite positive reviews.
Having appeared on broadcasts himself, Mobius knew well.
Such shows were nothing more than spectacles following a script, embellished with clever editing.
The public was being fooled by such a ridiculous show.
No, it wasn't just the public.
One of his guildmates nearby muttered in astonishment.
"Wow. Calling an F-Class hunter to the Yeouinaru Station burst gate? What on earth is the Association thinking?"
Right.
The Association was being fooled too.
Naively taken in by that well-orchestrated play.
In that case, someone needed to reveal the truth.
Amidst the murmuring atmosphere, Mobius shot up.
"The Yeouinaru Station burst gate search team—I'll go."
The gazes of the Hwarang guild members instantly focused on him.
'But why Trickster too.'
Grrrind.
Mobius quietly ground his teeth.
Trickster and the Princess of Dark Flare seemed to know each other.
Furthermore, they appeared to be quite close.
To have charmed not only the public and the Association, but even the master of Corps... she was clearly no ordinary person.
Eventually, Yijun, who was leading the group, stopped walking.
The ten or so people following him also halted.
"We'll establish a temporary camp here."
At Yijun's gesture, nearby agents planted a navy-blue flag.
The golden scales mark. The symbol of the Association.
"First, we will distribute two emergency food packs and two bottles of water per person."
"If the winning guild doesn't arrive today, the next distribution will be exactly 24 hours from now."
"Though that's highly unlikely."
Meanwhile.
Watching him issue commands smoothly and efficiently in front of the large group, Eunha was overcome by a strange feeling.
Is this really the Yijun I knew?
That doubt even crossed her mind.
Not only did he look completely unchanged by age, unlike what she had imagined, but—
"Any questions? Hunter Lee Yura."
—his attitude, treating her like a complete stranger, was the most significant factor.
Hunter Lee Yura.
That's what he called Eunha.
As if that were Eunha's true name.
"..."
Eunha blinked slowly.
The gaze meeting hers was calm and unfamiliar, as if dismissing the last 30 years as non-existent.
Eunha closed the lips she had been about to part.
'Would you like to groom my dog later? He's a Bichon Frise; his name is William.'
'So, when we leave the gate, tomorrow... want to come over to my place?'
The Yijun from her memory and the Baek Yijun before her slowly superimposed, like in slow motion.
In that instant, Eunha realized it anew, keenly.
The world had changed.
So, it was impossible for people not to change either.
'...Right, it's been 30 years.'
While it felt like barely 2 or 3 years had passed for Eunha, by outside standards, an immense 30 years had flowed by.
She could barely recall the face of her elementary school class president; there was no guarantee he would clearly remember the face of his squad leader from 30 years ago.
Furthermore, if someone who used to wear a blood-stained, worn-out military uniform showed up 30 years later in a frilly dress, it was understandable not to recognize them at first glance.
Even Eunha herself wasn't entirely sure if this really was Yijun.
'But.'
That perfectly logical fact felt somehow, just a little, lonely.
"Hunter Lee Yura?"
Yijun took a step closer.
"It's nothing."
Eunha stepped back the same distance.
Was it her imagination?
Yijun seemed to hesitate for a moment.
But it was only for a fraction of a second.
Yijun cleanly averted his gaze from Eunha.
He seemed to have nothing more to say to her.
The same was true for Eunha.
"...An hour should be sufficient for the initial search."
"We'll need a communication network during that time."
Ssshhh—
A faint aura began to shimmer around Yijun.
Looking like translucent curtains or fine silver threads, it undulated like a dance before finally falling to the ground as dozens of snakes.
"Sn-snakes?"
Everyone flinched, shoulders tensing.
Except for Eunha.
At Yijun's gesture, the white-scaled snakes lifted their heads in unison.
They looked like well-trained soldiers.
"—"
As he whispered something, the snakes dispersed as if on cue.
"To prepare for contingencies, it's best to move in pairs of two."
"Please reassemble here in exactly one hour."
After confirming that each person had received a white snake, Yijun spoke.
"Alright, dismiss."
With Yijun's final word, the people there began to pair up.
It was natural for agents to stick with agents, and hunters with hunters.
Just as Eunha scanned her surroundings to form a pair, someone abruptly approached.
"Ah. Princess of Dark Flare, please accompany Agent Kim Sihan here."
It was someone from the Association.
He pushed an agent towards Eunha as her partner.
His action felt almost forceful, as if insisting it had to be this way.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Kim Sihan."
The man introducing himself as Kim Sihan extended his hand to Eunha.
As Eunha's dark eyes calmly observed the offered hand—
"This Noona is coming with me."
A small, orange head abruptly inserted itself between them.
The agent standing beside him let out a sharp gasp.
"Tr-Trick..."
"Mister, find another partner."
"That would be difficult."
"Why?"
Minjoo glared up at him defiantly.
The way he adjusted the bazooka with the shooting star emblem on it felt strangely threatening.
"What's the reason it's difficult?"
"..."
"Mister, I asked for the reason? You have to say something. Otherwise, how can I possibly understand?"
Agent Sihan glanced back with a troubled expression.
Yijun wasn't even looking this way.
That meant there was no one to help the agent, no one to restrain Trickster.
"...Do as you wish."
"Oh, really? Thanks!"
Minjoo jumped up excitedly.
Sihan watched him with a somewhat resigned look, then finally turned away with a sigh.
"Let's go quickly, Noona!"
Minjoo grabbed Eunha's hand and pulled her along.
The small boy's strength was surprisingly immense, even startling Eunha.
"—So, I converted the MK 16 I had stored away, but I didn't really like it."
Even after 20 minutes, Minjoo hadn't stopped chattering beside Eunha.
"Since it came to this, I tried completely remodeling it into a bazooka version, and I think it turned out pretty decent."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It just needs tuning to be complete. Want to come see it sometime soon?"
He seemed desperate to show Eunha his new toy, completely disregarding the search.
"Okay."
"Huh. Really?"
Having invited her without expecting acceptance, Minjoo looked genuinely surprised.
An orange antenna seemed to pop out near the crown of his head.
It looked so cute that Eunha nodded, her expression softening unconsciously.
"Yeah."
"Wow, awesome! Then I'll invite you to the Corps HQ soon. There's a workshop in the basement."
"I'm sure Noona will like it too."
"Workshop?"
"Yeah. Even guild members aren't allowed in easily, but I'll give Noona a very special tour."
"Coincidentally, the DDG-101 USS Zumwalt figure arrived recently too."
His small shoulders bounced, clearly conveying Minjoo's excitement.
"It'll be fun to build it together with Noona. Right?"
His excited smile was that of a typical middle school boy, but whether others saw him that way was another matter.
"Oh! Behind the workshop is my special treasure vault, and in there..."
Blah, blah, blah.
As his small lips moved ceaselessly, Eunha watched Minjoo with a peculiar gaze.
'This child is the master leading a guild.'
And not just any guild.
Minjoo's Corps, according to Siwoo, was a powerhouse guild ranked among the top five in Korea based purely on combat strength.
'So it's best not to get involved unnecessarily.'
'Considering the future, it would be better to cleanly return the gate core from before.'
...If only she had known she would meet Minjoo here today, she would have brought the gate core. Could she have imagined this?
Well, it didn't matter.
Since she received his invitation, she could return the gate core then.
Watching Minjoo, still engrossed in bragging about his collection, Eunha slowly parted her lips.
"Isn't this strange?"
"Huh? What is?"
Eunha slowly scanned their surroundings.
During their walk so far, they hadn't encountered a single monster, let alone any signs of civilians.
"We should have had at least one or two battles by now."
Although they hadn't reached the center yet, the complete absence of monsters, which should normally be teeming, was definitely odd.
"Oh. That's because Maestro probably put them all to sleep."
Minjoo shrugged nonchalantly.
'Put them to sleep?'
Eunha knew about Yijun's unique ability.
Pheromones.
Simply put, it was the ability to charm living creatures.
The snake currently perched docilely on Eunha's and Minjoo's shoulders was also a product of his pheromone ability.
Thirty years ago, Yijun used to assist in battle by luring insects like ants. The insects he summoned served as cannon fodder during combat or were useful for plugging holes in destroyed barracks.
It seemed the present-day Yijun had advanced beyond simply controlling insects to manipulating snakes and even putting monsters to sleep.
Minjoo glanced at the white snake draped over his shoulder and lowered his voice.
"...Convenient, I guess. Or maybe cowardly."
Poof!
Something exploded near Minjoo's shoulder.
Startled, Eunha stopped abruptly.
Thud. Something fell weakly at her feet like a dry leaf.
It was the snake's severed head.
Bending slightly to check the snake's carcass, Minjoo jumped up in place.
"Wow. Look at all this red blood, Noona. Was this a real snake?"
Not a trace of guilt could be seen in his innocent expression.
"What good is convenience if the durability is absolute zero?"
Tapping the severed snake head with the tip of his shoe, Minjoo then burst into laughter.
The headless snake body slid down his shoulder and fell limply in front of his shoes.
"...Wasn't it meant for communication in case of emergency?"
Eunha asked, her gaze fixed on the snake's remains.
Minjoo, who was blowing a large pink bubblegum bubble, grinned.
"Noona, you believe what that guy says?"
A smile of cruel purity.
Wearing such a smile, Minjoo abruptly stepped closer.
"Give it here. Let me get rid of that one too while I'm at it."
Eunha instantly knew where his round, cute brown eyes were looking.
Eunha turned her head to look at her own shoulder.
The snake's vertically slit pupil stared back at her steadily.
Somehow, it felt like their eyes met.
Not with the snake, but with something else within that pupil.
"Run—"
Averting her gaze from the snake, Eunha was about to part her lips towards Minjoo when—
Rustle...
A strange sound occurred.
Eunha and Minjoo simultaneously snapped their heads towards the source of the sound.
It was the snake.
The snake whose body and head had been separated by Minjoo was moving.
The severed body and head were slowly but strongly pulling towards each other, like magnets.
"Huh? It's not dead yet?"
That's weird. I definitely got it in one shot.
Tilting his head, Minjoo fumbled for a spare pellet bomb. Just then—
Smack!
"Ugh?!"
Suddenly, Eunha forcefully shoved Minjoo.
As Minjoo, thrown back by the impact, snapped his head up—
BOOOOOM—!
A massive explosion erupted right before his eyes.
