Chapter 59 The Disappearance of a Little Sister

Cutting through the first-year classroom to the second floor of the school, the teachers’ office was located in the center.

After waiting there for a few minutes, a person who appeared to be a parent came out and nodded a greeting to me.
I returned the greeting and entered the teachers’ office, where I was guided by a teacher to an inner consultation room where I met the homeroom teacher who was waiting.

“Hello. Are you the homeroom teacher?”

“Hello. Are you Lee Si-eun’s guardian?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m Lee Si-woo, Si-eun’s older brother.”

“I’m Lee Eun-hee, Si-eun’s homeroom teacher.”

A quite pretty young female teacher with black bobbed hair, dressed in office attire.

This is Si-eun’s homeroom teacher who will be consulting with me from now on.

“I didn’t know Si-eun had such a handsome older brother.”

“Hahaha. Likewise, I didn’t know Si-eun had such a pretty teacher.”

I sat on the sofa.

And we exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere became quite cordial.

But.

Unfortunately, I’m trying to get a bit more serious.

“Excuse me, I have something to ask about Si-eun.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Is she being bullied or anything like that?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well… because she doesn’t have parents.”

Si-eun always showed me a bright face.

She always treated me well with an expression suggesting she had no worries at all.

Thanks to that, I was able to work without particularly worrying about Si-eun, but.

On the other hand, I also have this thought.

What if all of what Si-eun shows me is actually an act?

What if she’s actually struggling a lot but enduring it? That kind of thought.

So today I wanted to take this opportunity to ask.

If there’s even a slight indication of that.

“You don’t need to worry. Si-eun is really popular. You don’t need to worry about that at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can guarantee it.”

“That’s a relief…”

The homeroom teacher listened to my serious question seriously for a moment,

then smiled as if it was nothing to worry about.

I relaxed my tension, relieved by that smile.

“Hehe…”

“What’s so amusing?”

“Nothing. I just realized that everything Si-eun says about her brother is true.”

“Si-eun talks about me?”

“Yes. Quite a lot.”

And then I heard something quite unexpected that made me feel good.

To think that Si-eun thinks of me that way…

As a brother, I might have been a little touched…

After a wave of emotion passed.

The consultation continued for about 10 minutes.

“I’ll be going now. Please take good care of Si-eun, teacher.”

“Goodbye.”

The consultation was over.

I said goodbye to the teacher.

And so I left the teachers’ office.

‘As expected, nothing special…’

Honestly, although I used the grand term “consultation,” it wasn’t particularly important.

Just whether I communicate well with Si-eun, and how I think about Si-eun, and so on.

Only such obvious and light questions.

‘She’s a good kid.. well.’

Also, Si-eun is unexpectedly an honor student.

I already knew Si-eun was an honor student as she always brought home report cards showing she ranked in the top 30 in her school.

Nevertheless, it seemed she was leading her school life much more diligently than I thought.

And naturally, as such an honor student, there was no need for any consultation or anything like that.

It’s fundamentally different from problem children who have a lot to consult about.

Si-eun is the kind of child who does well on her own even if left alone.

It’s been a long time since Si-eun and I discussed which university and which department she wants to attend.

And since we always talk about her school life, there wasn’t particularly anything I didn’t know.

And I also tend to trust such a Si-eun.

That she’ll do well on her own.

That’s why the consultation with the homeroom teacher ended relatively quickly.

Without any worries.

But.

“If she wants to become a hunter…”

Actually, there is one worry.

What Si-eun’s homeroom teacher said to me at the end.

That statement was something I absolutely couldn’t dismiss lightly.

‘If Si-eun says she wants to become a hunter, what are your thoughts on that, as her brother?’

Even for me, who had been answering smoothly with prepared responses and a smile, that question momentarily left me speechless.

‘If she wants to become a hunter…’ was a hypothetical situation I had never even considered.

For me, who had been involved in the hunter industry for a long time, it was something I absolutely couldn’t ignore.

Imagining a situation where Si-eun becomes a hunter.

What would I say to her?

‘Well… I’ll leave it to Si-eun’s judgment.’

For now, I gave the teacher that answer to the question.

That I respect Si-eun’s judgment, that Si-eun will do well…

But, although I said that, my true feelings were completely different.

‘I would never allow her to become a hunter, even if it killed me.’

I have absolutely no intention of letting Si-eun become a hunter.

There are absolutely no exceptions to this.

Even if I have to take responsibility for my choice, even if Si-eun comes to hate me, I will definitely dissuade her.

Being a hunter ultimately means risking your life.

Even I have nearly lost my life several times recently.

The hunter industry is a slaughterhouse rampant with betrayal and conspiracy.

It’s absolutely not a place overflowing with dreams and hope.

I have no intention of letting Si-eun come to such a place.

I alone am enough.

‘Sigh… enough. What am I thinking?’

I seem to have been needlessly thinking strange thoughts because I was concerned about the mention of becoming a hunter.

Honestly, I don’t need to worry about this at all.

In the first place, not just anyone awakens hunter abilities, and even if they do awaken, if their abilities aren’t above a certain level, it’s much worse than just attending a decent university.

In that situation, at least Si-eun wouldn’t need to worry about the hunter profession.

I think I was just worrying unnecessarily.

‘Let’s find Si-eun and go eat.’

Anyway, the consultation is over.

So now it’s almost after school, and I’m thinking of taking Si-eun to a nice restaurant.

And I’m also thinking of buying her lots of clothes and things like that.

I plan to enjoy shopping with my little sister after a long time.

So I was looking for Si-eun to go shopping together, but…

‘Huh…? Why isn’t Si-eun here? She’s not answering her phone either.’

Strangely, no matter how much I looked for Si-eun, I couldn’t find her at school.

And that wasn’t all.

Ring ring.

“The customer you are calling is not available…”

My little sister, who would normally answer my calls promptly, for some reason wasn’t answering her phone.

An ominous feeling passed through me.

The situation seemed to be unfolding strangely.

“Excuse me. May I ask you something?”

“Oh! Yes. Ask me anything.”

“Have you seen Lee Si-eun?”

“Hmm… I haven’t seen her.”

I asked a female student I had seen in Si-eun’s classroom.

With a somewhat urgent expression.

But, unfortunately, this student hadn’t seen her.

“Excuse me, have you seen Lee Si-eun?”

“I haven’t seen her.”

Still, I kept asking every student I met to find at least some clue.

“Excuse me, have you seen Lee Si-eun?”

“I haven’t seen her.”

The majority hadn’t seen her, but.

“Ah! I saw her.”

“Really? You really saw Si-eun?”

“Yes…!”

I was able to find one female student who said she had spotted Si-eun.

“Do you know where Si-eun went?”

“Um… I was watching from a distance so I didn’t see clearly, but she was going somewhere with a blonde woman?”

“Hmm… Can you tell me what this blonde woman looked like?”

“She was wearing silk clothes and had swords at her waist.”

“Is that so? Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

After thanking the female student, I headed outside the school.

What the student told me was a very good clue.

From the clues of a blonde woman wearing silk clothes and swords at her waist, I could roughly guess who had taken Si-eun.

‘The Sword Saint Society…?’

It must be the Sword Saint Society.

Dressing like that and wearing swords at the waist—that could only be the Sword Saint Society.

In today’s modern society, they would be the only ones who dress with such distinctive style.

‘But… why on earth?’

But once I was certain it was the Sword Saint Society, I had a slight question.

Because no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t think of a reason why the Sword Saint Society would kidnap Si-eun.

‘Why on earth…?’

Various thoughts flashed through my mind.

Perhaps it wasn’t the Sword Saint Society but someone disguised as them who had kidnapped her, like what The Order had done before.

Such thoughts crossed my mind, but.

The Order would definitely not have done such a thing.

Reytana would have no reason to do such a thing.

Also, the Witch’s Temptation guild would not have done such a thing either.

Min Seo-jin is not that kind of person.

If not a major guild, I briefly thought that perhaps a small or medium-sized guild was impersonating them, but that possibility was absolutely non-existent.

A small or medium-sized guild impersonating a major guild’s name? That would be impossible unless they were completely insane.

Then there is only one answer.

This was really done by the Sword Saint Society.

I can’t think of why the Sword Saint Society would kidnap Si-eun, no matter how much I consider it.

‘Hmm….’

No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t come to mind.

But, actually, whatever the reason might be, it didn’t matter at all.

“No matter how I think about it, they really went too far.”

The fact that they kidnapped Si-eun.

And the fact that I was very angry.

These two things were all that mattered.

And this was absolutely an issue that couldn’t be overlooked.

I headed straight to the Sword Saint Society headquarters.