Aftermath Of Rising Suspicion

About 15 minutes after taking a break.
Five hunters with a unique presence appeared before my eyes.

‘…They are quick.’

I knew they were coming because of [Unprecedented Sense], but they appeared almost like the wind.

I could sense the disparity in our abilities, enough to know that even if I tried to escape, they would catch me in a minute.

‘The Emergency Rescue Team.’

A kind of regular hunters, created at the request of the ‘Association.’

Comprised of at least B-rank hunters with a fair share of experience.

Among them, the woman at the center, presumed to be the leader, radiated the strength of an A-rank.

‘The pressure from her is no joke.’

Just looking at her made my heart feel constricted.

What was certain was that if this person waved her hand once, I would die without even resisting.

The four B-grade hunters behind her were the same.

They were strong enough that I was certain the result would be the same, even if I resisted.

At least… The only man among them, sporting a beard, seemed somewhat manageable.

‘Is this the strength of a B-rank, and the truly formidable A-rank hunters known as one-man armies?’

It was just a difference of a letter.
But the perceived strength was on a different level.

“…Meow.”

Meowi, who felt the same as I did, shivered slightly.
I was sure they weren’t enemies, but it was an inevitable physiological reaction to the strong.

“Excuse me. This is Rescue Team 1. I’m the leader, Song Ga-young. Are you Miss Ma Hana and Mr. Yu Seha?”
“Yes, yes!”
“That’s correct. Thank you for coming.”

As I bowed my head, they waved their hands in return.

“Don’t say that. Rather, We’re really sorry for being this late. To be honest… it’s hard to say this, but we were already thinking that the worst had happened, and we were just focusing on catching the culprit.”

Hunter Song Ga-young seemed genuinely apologetic.

It was entirely understandable, though.

The time it took for them to get here was about 30 minutes.

By that time, the villain would have already committed the crime and more.

“By the way, was there any particular reason for the delay?”

“Well, originally, there is a communication artifact that marks the location in the <Forest of the Screaming Corpses>.”

According to her, for some unknown reason, most of the artifacts stopped working. It took too long to search for the location.

I could somehow guess what had happened.
The powder that Pyo Dok-ju had scattered on the ground while roaming around.
That must be the cause of it.

“Excuse me, I know something about that part…”
“…! Is that true? A detailed report… Ah, no. I’m sorry. The two of you must be severely injured from the aftermath of the fight. I will visit later to–”
“No, no. It’s just that we used our magic too much. We didn’t get hurt that badly. Since we’re here anyway, let’s draft the investigation details now.”

Meowi and I tried our best to respond sincerely to Song Ga-young’s questions.

With my [Unprecedented Insight] (I didn’t reveal the name of the skill.), I detected the enemy before the incident occurred.

She was very surprised to hear that we turned the undead horde’s strategy against the villains.

“…That’s really impressive. I heard you haven’t even taken the promotion exam yet. How on earth did you think of that…?”

“Haha…”

Then, we induced the enemy’s energy depletion.
We tracked them after seeing internal conflicts arise between them.
The content of the story ended with blocking the escape route and defeating them in a life-and-death struggle.

Rescue Team 1, including Song Ga-young, sat together and listened to my story with interest.

“Oh, this guy… He looks young, but he’s got some guts! I like him as a man!”
“Usually, people just run away, but that’s impressive. It seems that divine guidance was with you.”
“A complete super rookie. Junior~”
“…Handsome… and even cute while explaining.”

Uh, um.
I didn’t intend for this, but.
This atmosphere seemed a bit…

‘It feels like a meeting?’

Oh, of course, excluding the bearded guy burning with camaraderie alone over there…

Anyway, I finished writing the report for them.

Rescue Team 1 immediately started cleaning up.

‘As expected, they’re dead.’

The first thing I found were the bodies of the duo of thieves.
The undead had feasted on them, leaving a gruesome sight.

I deliberately didn’t take Meowi with me.
I didn’t want to show such a scene to her.

Of course, I didn’t feel any pity for them.
It was deserved retribution, and I felt relieved that they had died.

‘I don’t want to leave any trouble to be resolved in the future.’

The corpse of Pyo Dok-ju was also neatly handled.
All belongings were retrieved.
They said an investigator would be dispatched later for a thorough examination.

‘Is this one problem solved?’

While watching Song Ga-young busily moving around.
Someone placed their arm on my shoulder.
It was the woman with the uniquely languid-looking ash-gray hair who had been listening to my story earlier.

“Wow, Junior. You have a strong stomach.”
“Sorry?”
“Usually, when people see such a gruesomely treated corpse, most of them gag or puke. The difference between monsters and humans is tremendous, don’t you think?”

Uh, well, because I’m used to it…
If I said that, it would sound suspicious.

I scratched my cheek and mumbled vaguely.
Then, without being asked, the ash-gray-haired person suddenly started to complain.

“Really. Even thinking about it again, I feel deceived.”

“Um. Uh, what?”

“I mean the rescue team. I came here because it was said to be popular. But it’s always overtime work, running around all day, and no personal time to spend. And whenever something happens, we get blamed, you know? We’re always getting scolded by the higher-ups.”

After that, the ash-gray-haired person clung to me and started talking about various things.

Seeing the faces of the surrounding team members, ‘There she goes again’, it seemed she was originally like this.

“Recently, I was forced to break up with my boyfriend too? Well… seeing each other only once or twice a week makes it impossible to maintain a relationship. I’m lonely~ I’m lonely, Junior~”

“Th-that’s right…”

“See that leader of ours over there? She’s turning 29 this year, but she’s never had a boyfriend. Don’t you feel sorry for her, Junior?”

At those words, Song Ga-young’s face instantly turned red.
As expected of an A-class hunter.
It seemed she could hear well from this distance.

“J-Jin Min-ji!”
“Ah~ I’m going to get scolded. See you later, Junior~”

She stuck out her tongue and left cheekily.
Song Ga-young, who approached while huffing, cleared her throat and extended her hand.

“Thanks to you, it ended safely. Thank you for your cooperation, Hunter Yu Seha.”

“Thank you for helping me once again.”

She shook hands and displayed a bright smile.
In times like this, it’s important to use a business smile, as I learned from social life.

“……”

Huh? But Song Ga-young’s reaction was unusual.

Her neck was turning increasingly red, and she kept clearing her throat.

Her pupils rolled around, unable to make eye contact with me.

Then the ash-gray-haired person who had fled.
No, the woman named Jin Minji or something interjected with an annoying expression.

“Uhihi, Leader~ You shouldn’t touch him. The age difference–”
“J-Jin Minji. Be quiet!”

All events came to an end.
Of course, the most important matter remained.
After all, we went to the <Forest Of Screaming Corpses> for this.

“Meowi. Are you not done yet? It feels like the Shrine’s owner is about to wake up.”
“M-meow! Just a moment, just a moment… It’s an outfit I’ve never worn before. I-I’m confused.”

After a while.

Creak.

The door of the old changing room opened, and a pair of cute cat ears peeked out.

A small little girl with two tails swaying and moving here and there.

It was, of course, Meowi.
She walked out slowly, feeling shy.
She wriggled her fingers and glanced up at me.

Blushing, she mumbled a small “Meow…” and couldn’t meet my eyes.

“S-Seha, what do you think?”
“……”
“Seha…?”

Wow…
Crazy.

‘Holy…’

Swoooosh!!!

My mind went numb.
My heart felt like it was being squeezed painfully.

Meowi was wearing none other than a hanbok¹

Not the long traditional hanbok, but a specially modified hanbok with a skirt as short as a modern skirt, simple yet cute.

‘Wow, the person who added the accessories to the overcoat is a genius.’

That outfit was the traditional attire for performing the ‘Dance of the Dancer.’

Let’s not question why it was considered traditional.

The first rule of ‘GAL’ is that as long as it’s cute, pretty, and charming, it’s perfect.

For the strange things that would come, just remember this, and there would be no problem.

“Seha?”
“Meowi. My heart hurts so much.”
“…Meow?”

After a while.
Meowi started to dance in the spacious [Shrine].

It wasn’t a beautiful dance using flowing fabric… It was more like a child’s performance.

“Meow, meow, meow!”

She did her best to move and dance around.

In my eyes, it was a million points out of ten.
But it seemed that wasn’t the case for the evaluator.

“Meow! I’m sorry!”

[You are cute so I will let it slide.]

“M-meow?”

As I watched this, I slowly opened my mouth with a satisfied smile.

“How is it? Do you think it’s good enough to pass?”
“……”

A woman crossed her arms with a sour expression at my question.

“…So why exactly did you call me here?”
“I told you. There shouldn’t be any issues if there’s someone trustworthy by my side.”
“…Haa.”

The identity of this sighing woman was none other than Moon Bora.

Meeting her after a long time, she rubbed her forehead and thought.

‘Why on earth…’

Am I here?

One hour ago.

Moon Bora was practicing magic, aiming for the upcoming entrance exam of [Gonis Hunter Academy].

A phone call came to her in the midst of it.
Her face automatically stiffened at the ensuing content.

“A class hunter… attack…?!”

The victims were none other than Yu Seha and Ma Hana.

Despite appearances, the astute Moon Bora quickly grasped the situation.

‘The information about <Sword Saint> has been leaked.’

Fortunately, thanks to a well-handled response, they were able to repel it.

But if they were calling her directly, something must have happened.

Moon Bora hurried to the gate, worried.

That’s how she rushed inside.

What she saw was Yu Seha waving his hand with a nonchalant attitude, and Rescue Team 1 replying, ‘The guardian has arrived. Understood,’ and disappearing.

It was then that Moon Bora realized she had been tricked.

“…Yu Seha?”
“Yes.”
“…Stop trying to act cute. Anyway, I’m not your guardian.”
“Oh? You weren’t?”
“Eeeek!!”
“Just kidding~”

Honestly, she felt it even at their first meeting.
He was an extremely rude man to be around.

“But it’s true.”
“…What’s true?”
“You’re someone I can trust. Really, there was no one else I could call besides you.”

With those words, he smiled knowingly, leaving her even more bewildered.

“Why do you think I’m trustworthy? To be honest, behind the scenes, shady things–”
“You wouldn’t.”
“…Pardon?”
“You would never do such a thing.”
“……”

She was at a loss for words due to the certainty he had in her.

On what basis could he make such a confident statement?

Simple flattery? Sycophancy?

‘…No.’

His eyes were unmistakably sincere.
Moon Bora felt slightly uncomfortable under Yu Seha’s transparent gaze.

‘…Right now, I am more suspicious of you than anyone else.’

Yet, you say you trust me?

Moon Bora turned around.

Since Ma Hana’s test seemed to be ending smoothly, there was no need to stay here any longer.

“Won’t you say goodbye to Meowi?”
“……”

At his words, Moon Bora stopped in her tracks.

When she first saw Ma Hana upon entering this place, Moon Bora barely swallowed her rising shock.

‘…It’s hard for me to believe.’

It wasn’t the dance that surprised her.
Even from a distance, the growth was unmistakably there.

Though she was still a tiny girl, her back exuded strength and a majestic presence incomparable to before.

‘And that…’

Yu Seha was the same.
Though he had always been strong, seeing him again made it clear he had grown immensely.

It had only been a little over a month.

It was something impossible by common sense.

But he had done it, just as he had confidently declared to her.

Thus, Moon Bora couldn’t help but harbor the seed of doubt called ‘suspicion’ towards Yu Seha at this.

“It’s not polite to look at each other’s growth now. And I want to hear directly from Miss Ma Hana.”
“Is that so?”
“…Then, see you at the academy.”

After finishing her words, Moon Bora extended her hand towards Yu Seha.
Unlike before, she didn’t remove her gloves before offering her hand for a handshake.

“……”

Yu Seha smiled bitterly at this fact and firmly grasped her hand.

Clunk.

“Butler. Please start the car.”
“Yes, Miss.”

At Moon Bora’s words, the luxurious limousine quietly began to move.

Inside the car, security against bullets and noise was guaranteed.

It was one of the few places where she could feel at ease.

“…Phew.“

Moon Bora sighed deeply, which was unusual for her.
Unconsciously, she tapped the seat with her fingers.
It was evidence of the turmoil and agony in her mind right now.

‘…Get your mind together, Moon Bora.’

The worry was short lived, though.

She couldn’t believe it.
She prayed desperately for it not to be true.
Wasn’t she sure of it because she saw it with her own eyes?

She dug into her pocket and took out her phone.
She immediately entered the number she had memorized.

The name, ‘Prof. Peng Jin-ah’, appeared on the screen, and the call was connected immediately.

“Yes, Professor. Yes, yes… the coordinates are as sent. Yes, the Rescue Team 1. With Team Leader Song Ga-young as their leader, it will not be difficult to identify the body by asking.”

Someone’s voice came on the phone screen.
Moon Bora stayed silent in response to the words of the person presumed to be a woman before continuing.

“Yes, as you mentioned, it’s nothing more than a wild guess on my part. I hope he isn’t the one. But just in case he is… in the worst-case scenario, I’m moving to prevent a large-scale loss of life. Yes, then, I will see you later at the ‘Gonis Hunter Academy.’”

Tak.

Moon Bora quietly wiped the screen after ending the call.
She looked out the window at the passing scenery and prayed again in her heart.

Please…
I beg you.

‘Yu Seha…’

I sincerely hope you are not a demon.