Chapter 9

Welcome, Yun Sol (1)

After checking Cha Yunha's text message, I slipped my phone into my pocket in a good mood.

It seemed things were finally beginning to settle down.

The hunters and managers had calmed down, and the treatment of the injured, including Yun Sol's transportation to the hospital, was nearly complete.

“Didn't this happen because the association failed to investigate the Gate properly?! Our guild will file a formal complaint!”

“Now, now. We deeply regret this incident. The association will thoroughly investigate the circumstances to ensure that something like this never happens again...”

Of course, that didn't mean everything was over.

Director Kim was sweating profusely as he tried to placate several protesting managers.

As for me, I could simply wait patiently and speak with Director Kim privately afterward.

I'd prevented a major disaster in which hunters had nearly died because of the association's mistake.

I probably couldn't expect money or any other material reward, but...

“I've made the Hunter Association owe me one.”

I'd already been wondering how to establish connections within the association, so this was an unexpected gain.

Cha Yunha's goodwill and an opportunity to meet her privately, along with connections to the association.

Just as I was trying to keep my expression under control while suppressing my excitement over these unexpected spoils...

“Um... Mr. Baek Dohyeon?”

“Yes?”

This time, one of the managers approached me.

I'd examined not only the list of hunters participating in this raid but also their managers.

Which meant...

“Ah, you're Manager Choi Minho from the guild 'Hahoe Mask,' aren't you? You're responsible for Hunter Kim Soyeon.”

“H-how do you know who I am...?”

“I'm part of this industry now, too, so I need to familiarize myself with all the necessary information. Anyway, what can I do for you?”

After hesitating for a moment, he cleared his throat and looked at me seriously.

“I sincerely thank you. Without your orders, our precious hunters, including our Soyeon, could have been seriously injured. That's why I came to express my gratitude on behalf of Soyeon, who's been taken to the hospital, as well.”

“Ah. Well, it was nothing.”

“No! What you did was truly remarkable. I'm sure the other managers feel the same way.”

Ahem. Well, I had performed rather well this time.

This feeling wasn't bad at all.

Perhaps because I'd spent almost my entire previous life being criticized, receiving this kind of positive attention felt somewhat refreshing.

“By the way, I wasn't deliberately trying to eavesdrop, but earlier, I think I saw you with Ms. Cha Yunha and Manager Park Taesik... Did something happen?”

“Ah, that. It was nothing special. Ms. Yunha came to thank me, just like you did. But Park Taesik made a fuss about her needing a medical examination and dragged her away, so I didn't get to hear her properly.”

“So that's what happened?...Ha. That bastard Park Taesik, seriously.”

“You don't seem to like Mr. Park Taesik.”

“Is there anyone who was in that tent earlier who could possibly like the man? He openly told his hunter to abandon the others and run away.”

That was true.

Of course, from Park Taesik's perspective, Cha Yunha's safety was his highest priority, so his words weren't entirely incomprehensible.

Even so, he shouldn't have openly shouted at her to leave everyone else to die and escape.

Especially since she was the team's only S-rank hunter and its leader, responsible for everyone.

His attitude stood in stark contrast to Cha Yunha's exemplary decision to put her own safety aside and choose her team.

“To tell you the truth, that bastard Park Taesik already had a pretty bad reputation in this industry.”

“Oh?”

Was it time for some gossip? Excellent.

“What kind of rumors are going around?”

“That bastard doesn't have any real ability, you see. He survives at Black Sword by sweet-talking hunters with a moderate amount of talent into letting him manage them, then working them excessively to boost his own performance. And once they get injured or become useless, he just throws them away.”

“My goodness. What a terrible bastard.”

“Exactly! But then, through sheer luck, he somehow established a connection with Ms. Cha Yunha right after she awakened and recruited her into Black Sword. Ever since she became an S-rank hunter... he's been acting like he owns the place.”

“Good grief. That's how the world works, isn't it? It's always the rotten bastards who get lucky and succeed.”

“That's exactly what I'm saying! I just feel sorry for Ms. Cha Yunha, getting tangled up with a bastard like that. Especially since Black Sword seems to be preparing to discard her these days...”

“Wait.”

What was that last part?

“Black Sword is planning to abandon Ms. Cha Yunha?”

“Oops.”

He seemed to realize the weight of what he'd just said, and an expression of regret crossed his face.

“Ah, well... It's nothing important. Just rumors, you know. Completely unfounded...”

“No, don't be like that. Please tell me a little more.”

“Ah, well, you see, it's rather difficult to discuss something like this openly...”

“You can't even tell the person who saved your hunter?”

“Oh, come on. You're putting me in a difficult position by saying that....Phew. Fine. I'll tell you, Mr. Baek Dohyeon, but only you. Please don't repeat this anywhere else...”

He lowered his voice as much as possible.

“...It's confidential information that leaked from former Black Sword employees... Apparently, Black Sword's management hasn't been particularly pleased with Ms. Cha Yunha lately.”

“Ms. Cha Yunha? The fifth-ranked S-rank hunter and one of the guild's two leading figures? Why on earth?”

“Strange, isn't it? But I don't know the reason. Apparently, they're gradually reducing their investment in Ms. Cha Yunha according to the wishes of upper management.”

“...”

Cha Yunha's schedule, with increasingly less time allocated to training.

Black Sword's blatant moves toward discarding her.

There was definitely something going on. But why?

“And another thing...”

“There's more?”

“This one really is a rumor with no identifiable source... Apparently, Black Sword is attempting to recruit Yu Sehwa.”

“What!?”

Yu Sehwa. The rising star who had pushed Cha Yunha down and claimed fourth place among S-rank hunters.

Also known as the Blaze Queen. The pinnacle of Korea's fire-type ability users, a direct counterpart to Cha Yunha.

Fire and ice. She was currently making headlines in the media because of her rivalry with Cha Yunha.

“Is that even possible? If that happens, three of the top five hunters would belong to Black Sword.”

“It's possible precisely because they're Black Sword.”

“I doubt Ms. Cha Yunha would be too pleased about that, either....Huh.”

“What's wrong?”

“Shh. Wait. Just a moment. Let me think.”

A possibility suddenly flashed through my mind.

The seemingly groundless mistreatment of Cha Yunha. The sudden attempt to recruit Yu Sehwa.

...Don't tell me.

“I can see the whole picture now.”

“Pardon?”

“No, just talking to myself. Anyway, thank you so much for the valuable information. You've been a tremendous help.”

“I-is that so? Well, I'm glad.”

“I think it's about time I got moving, so I'll be going first. Here, take this.”

“Uh, what's this... A business card?”

“Yes. My business card. If you ever need to contact me, call this number.”

“I'm grateful, but... Why would I need to contact you again?”

“If you ever become dissatisfied with your current guild, consider transferring to Revenant.”

“Pardon?”

“Our doors are always open to talented people. From what I've heard, you have quite a good reputation in the industry, Mr. Choi Minho. Oh, and it'd be even better if you brought Ms. Soyeon along.”

“Wait, are you openly telling me you're trying to poach talent...?”

I gave Choi Minho a light pat on the shoulder and hurried away.

First, I needed to make a call.

“Ms. Seohyeon?”

-Yes, Guild Master. What do you need?

“Among the people we've bought off at Black Sword, is there anyone who can access highly confidential information?”

-One moment...

-...We have one spy with access to Level C information.

“Okay. Then tell that person to hack into everything Black Sword's leadership has on Ms. Cha Yunha, including their documents and meeting records, and bring it all over to us.”

-You've been keeping that asset in reserve because of the risks involved. Are you sure? Once they begin operating in earnest, the likelihood of being discovered will increase.

“It's fine. If they get caught, we can just pay them enough to send them overseas somewhere and cut our ties. Oh, and one more thing.”

-Go ahead.

“If they have any information about the limitations of ice-type awakened individuals, tell them to prioritize obtaining that, too.”

“...This is quite shocking.”

Seohyeon adjusted her glasses with a troubled expression as we reviewed the materials stolen from Black Sword.

“If this were made public, I imagine it would cause a major uproar in the hunter industry.”

What she held was a research report published by a laboratory belonging to a major American guild.

Translated, its title would be...

[Research on the Limitations of Freezing Abilities - A Comparison with Fire-Type Abilities, Focusing on Insufficient Offensive Power]

The contents themselves were something I already knew—ice-type abilities would fall out of favor in the combat meta.

According to the report, ice-type abilities had two limitations.

1. Their upper limit was fixed at absolute zero.

2. Unlike fire-type abilities and other elemental abilities capable of dealing direct damage, the act of 'freezing an enemy' itself could not inflict significant damage on monsters.

For these two reasons, there was a fixed ceiling to how much an ice-type ability user could grow.

The problem was that Black Sword had already obtained this report.

“Cha Yunha is currently one of the country's top-ranked hunters. But Black Sword secretly obtained information suggesting that she would be unable to grow any further and would gradually fall behind. So the decision Black Sword made was...”

Work Cha Yunha as hard as possible while she still had value, then discard her once they'd squeezed everything they could out of her.

“...So that's why they've recently removed training from her schedule.”

“They probably figured that since her growth potential was limited anyway, there was no point in training. Instead, they could devote that time to Tower and Gate raids and squeeze in more outside engagements to boost revenue.”

“And their attempt to recruit Ms. Yu Sehwa...”

“A replacement. They're planning to replace the face of their guild. While both of them are in the same guild, they'll emphasize their rivalry and exploit it for marketing purposes... Then, by the time Cha Yunha starts falling behind, Yu Sehwa will have completely taken her place. That's probably the future Black Sword has in mind.”

Our conversation fell silent, and I gulped down my coffee, which had long since gone cold.

I'd gotten the order of events wrong.

It wasn't that Black Sword had cut ties with Cha Yunha after she entered a serious period of stagnation.

On the contrary, Black Sword had considered her expendable from the very beginning.

“...If anything, this works out well for us. We've obtained a powerful card to play when recruiting Ms. Cha Yunha.”

Who wouldn't resent an organization that planned to bring in their rival and then discard them?

“Regarding that matter, there's something I'd like to say.”

“What is it, Ms. Seohyeon?”

“If this report is true...”

“Then there's no reason for us to recruit Ms. Cha Yunha in the first place?”

“...Yes. If all she has left is a downward path... Recruiting her at this point would be no different from buying at the peak of the market...”

“No. That's not true.”

The answer came out of my mouth reflexively, with a firmness that surprised even me.

“This isn't the end for Ms. Cha Yunha.”

Because I'd witnessed the future.

The former empress, who had been driven out of the S-rank rankings after a long slump.

I'd witnessed her finally surpass her own limits and proudly reclaim her place among the S-ranks.

And I was the one who had seen that newly reborn Ice Empress fight on the battlefield against those things from closer than anyone else.

“I guarantee it. She will grow stronger. And I'll make sure she does.”

“...”

“...”

“...By any chance, have you fallen for Ms. Cha Yunha?”

“Pardon?”

“You were defending Ms. Cha Yunha with such a serious expression.”

“Ah.”

Had I gotten a little carried away while recalling my previous life?

Whenever I thought about the past, I kept becoming sentimental.

“No. Not at all. I simply place a high value on Ms. Cha Yunha's abilities as a hunter. That's all.”

“...Is that so?”

Was it my imagination?

For a brief moment, Seohyeon's expressionless face seemed to show a hint of relief.

“If that's what you say, Guild Master, then I understand. I'll trust your judgment.”

“Thank you.”

After that, our conversation came to an end, leaving a slightly awkward silence.

What topic could I bring up to dispel this awkwardness?

“Hmm. Have you eaten, Ms. Seohyeon? It's lunchtime, so perhaps we could find a decent restaurant nearby—”

Ring, ring—

At that moment, the internal telephone on my desk rang.

Click.

“What is it?”

-Yes, Guild Master. This is reception. A visitor has arrived. However, she doesn't have an appointment...

“Right. I wasn't expecting anyone today... Did you ask for her name?”

-Ah, yes. She said her name is Yun Sol.

“...! Yun Sol?”

-Yes. Is she someone you know?

“Ah... She's an acquaintance of mine.”

-I see. Then may I escort her to the guild master's office...?

“Yes. Please do.”

-Understood.

I hung up and exchanged a meaningful look with Seohyeon.

“Excuse me...”

Yun Sol opened the door to the guild master's office and timidly stepped inside, looking around nervously.

There was none of her usual confidence in her demeanor.

“H-hello, Mr. Baek Dohyeon...”

Mister?

“Welcome, Ms. Yun Sol. Please have a seat over here.”

She and I sat facing each other on the guest sofas, with a table between us, while Seohyeon served Yun Sol some tea.

“Ah, thank you...”

Yun Sol brought the teacup to her lips, only to recoil in surprise with a startled cry of “Hot!”

She was certainly flustered.

“Ms. Yun Sol.”

“Y-yes, sir?”

“...What's with the sudden politeness?”

“Ahhh...”

“When we had that real-life fight, and when we met before the raid last time, you spoke to me so confidently and casually. You even gave me advice as my senior... Even though I'm four years older than you.”

“No, that's... Back then, the atmosphere made it seem okay, I guess... Besides, you're now the person who saved my life, so I can't exactly keep speaking to you so casually.”

“Oh?”

After that, Yun Sol stared intently at her teacup for a while before taking a deep breath, as though she'd made up her mind.

“Thank you for saving me!”

She sprang to her feet and bowed toward me at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

“I-I wanted to come and thank you in person...”

“...”

My eyes fell on the bandages wrapped tightly around her shoulder.

She'd gone out of her way to come here and thank me, even though her wound hadn't fully healed yet.

“Please, sit down first.”

“Ah, yes?...Ah, yes, sir!”

She sat back down on the sofa, straightened her back like a new recruit entering a military barracks for the first time, and placed both fists on her knees.

I found her rigid, military-like posture rather cute.

“Make yourself comfortable.”

“But I can't... Besides, even though it was in the past, I actually threatened the person who saved my life.”

“If you're talking about the real-life fight incident, that was my fault, so you don't need to worry about it. You even controlled your strength so the bodyguards wouldn't get hurt.”

“I-is that so? But still...”

Yun Sol gently stroked the bandages on her left shoulder with her right hand.

“...After I regained consciousness, an association employee explained everything that had happened. They told me that our team had been trapped and surrounded by a Gigant Cobra and a group of Poison Snakes, but thanks to your perfect command, every single member managed to return safely. If it hadn't been for you... I probably would have remained unconscious and never woken up again.”

“I see. Well, saying you'd never have woken up again is a bit of an exaggeration... But it's true that I was able to help.”

“Yes. That's why I wanted to meet you in person to express my gratitude... And, um, I'd like to give you something in return.”

“Something in return?”

“Yes. A reward, or maybe an item dropped from a Tower or Gate, or anything you'd like me to do. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely do it. My personal motto is to always repay a debt of gratitude!”

“Are you sure you can afford that?”

“Pardon?”

“You know I'm the third son of the Baek family, right? Can you afford to pay a reward large enough to satisfy a third-generation chaebol heir?”

“Uh. Uhhh... Now that you mention it, that might be difficult.”

“And as for rare items, I could just buy them with money anyway.”

“T-then I'll do you a favor!”

“A favor, huh. You'll really do anything I ask, as long as it's within your ability?”

“Y-yes! I, Yun Sol, am not a woman who goes back on her word!”

“Anything?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Really, anything?”

I slowly looked her up and down with a suggestive glint in my eyes.

“Uh, um... Don't tell me what you're going to ask is...”

“What do you think I'm going to ask you to do?”

“N-no! Even so, something like that would be... Ugh...”

Yun Sol's face turned so red that it looked ready to burst.

Ahem.

Seohyeon cleared her throat beside us, sounding displeased.

Perhaps I'd teased her enough?

“I'm joking. Just joking. It's not like I did anything particularly incredible. After all, the ones who actually carried out my instructions were the hunters, including Ms. Cha Yunha. So you really don't need to feel so obligated.”

“I-is that so?...Phew. Thank you.”

“However... If you're truly grateful to me, may I ask you for just one simple favor?”

“Ah, yes! Please, ask me anything!...As long as it's not something too strange.”

“Don't worry. It's really something simple.”

I took a sheet of paper from Seohyeon and handed it to Yun Sol.

“Uh, what's this... A contract?”

“Ms. Yun Sol. I'd like to recruit you as the very first hunter of my guild, Revenant.”