Ch.10National Events Are Dangerous (1)

It was a massive man.

Rather than massive, he simply had a well-balanced, solid body, but considering my current height, he certainly appeared that way.

“Uh…”

The man was equally flustered.

He was staring at me with an expression that seemed to ask what kind of creature I was, but it didn’t appear he had any business with me.

“Who are you?”

I blurted out the words and surprised myself.

Perhaps due to side effects, I couldn’t speak informally to anyone except Seoha, but now the words flowed smoothly without hesitation.

Come to think of it, my characteristic aversion wasn’t showing any signs of manifesting either.

Until now, there had been only two cases like this.

First was Seoha.

And second was when facing monsters in dungeons.

Flap!

“Ugh?”

I threw a blanket at the man and quickly distanced myself. Then I asked in a cold voice.

“What are you.”

“What do you mean? I’m just…”

“A monster wearing human skin?”

Upon hearing those words, the man made a meaningful expression, then began to chuckle quietly.

“Well, you’ve got quite good intuition.”

As I hurriedly looked for an escape route at those words, the man scratched his head as if embarrassed and said:

“I guess at this level, power shows through no matter how much you try to hide it? Sorry for startling you.”

“…”

“Yes. If you sensed this monstrous power of mine, such a reaction is understandable. Still, being too strong is problematic.”

The man was somehow proudly squaring his shoulders.

Seeing that, I thought:

What kind of idiot is this?

“Anyway, where’s Seoha? I heard he was here.”

“Uh…”

Now it was my turn to be flustered. So he wasn’t actually a monster?

“Seoha left to attend an event.”

“What? There’s still two hours left until then?”

It seemed that conversation was necessary for now.

#

When S-rank hunter Choi Hamin, known as “Diamond” and Korea’s first returnee, opened the door to Baek Seoha’s quarters, he saw a snow-white girl.

Silver hair that sparkled in the light, and ruby-red eyes like jewels.

The girl with a blanket over her head looked like a fairy from a story.

Then suddenly she threw the blanket and began to show wariness like a stray cat. It seemed she was a hunter with sensitive perception.

A monster, huh.

Perhaps his current self was indeed closer to that than human. Hamin inwardly smiled bitterly as he began conversing with the girl.

And they were able to learn each other’s identities.

“Yes, I’ve certainly heard about you. You’re that returnee who’s Seoha’s family.”

“…”

Since both had experienced similar things, Hamin and Baek Eunha became friendly quickly.

Once their conversation had somewhat concluded, Eunha asked him a question with an impatient look.

“After returning to Earth, how did you awaken?”

Choi Hamin is classified as both a returnee and an awakened one.

However, unable to understand the question, Hamin could only look at Eunha with a puzzled expression.

Feeling his gaze, she muttered with a dissatisfied expression.

“…Why?”

“No, I was wondering what you meant. Originally, returnees with power automatically become awakened ones upon returning to Earth, don’t they?”

At least that’s what Hamin knew.

“Huh?”

Eunha tilted her head with wide eyes, as if hearing this for the first time.

Though not to Hamin’s taste, her expression was honestly quite cute.

After explaining in more detail, Eunha began to vent her frustrations.

“Then why not me!”

“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never heard of someone losing their power during the transition, unless they came over without building up power on the other side.”

In truth, he knew the real reason from what Baek Seoha had told him before.

That all of Eunha’s memories were self-manipulated, and naturally, the power from those memories couldn’t exist.

But since he couldn’t tell her that, Hamin hid his regretful feelings and appropriately matched her words.

After comforting the whining Eunha for a while, she finally calmed down and collected herself.

In moments like these, she was no different from his little sister when she was young. Remembering the day of their reunion, a smile naturally formed on Hamin’s face.

“But you returned safely, right? I think that’s enough for Seoha.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

They had now said everything they wanted to say to each other. So it was time to talk about something else.

“So, Seoha went to Building C?”

“That’s right.”

“…But the event venue is the hall in Building A?”

“Huh?”

Leaving two hours early and going to the wrong building—something seemed off.

Hamin asked Eunha, who wore a confused expression:

“Want to go find him together?”

#

Two days before the invited event.

Helena, an S-rank hunter renowned throughout Europe, checked the information delivered to her and wore a puzzled expression.

“This is curious.”

She had been prepared to use her status and power if a simple investigation proved impossible, but surprisingly, the background check on Song Hayeon ended rather anticlimactically.

She had identified the whereabouts of the master who taught her necromancy.

“To think they simply made contact through internet broadcasts…”

It seemed they used different communication methods later on, but having the initial records made the rest easy.

The owner of that account lived in a luxury apartment complex in Seoul.

And that’s where the issue arose.

‘Baek Seoha.’

Helena knew that name.

He was a famous hunter not just in Korea but worldwide, and she had a personal interest in him apart from this matter.

But something seemed off.

As far as Helena knew, Baek Seoha was a skilled spear user.

‘Is the spear art merely a smokescreen?’

It was hard to see it that way, but there was still a slim possibility.

As she continued pondering, new information arrived from the awakened intelligence agent she had hired.

About another person living in that house.

“…Interesting.”

They couldn’t even confirm if it was male or female. However, it was certain that this person was Baek Seoha’s family.

‘In that case, I’ll start with the closer one.’

Having made her decision, Helena sent a certain message to Baek Seoha with a seductive smile.

That she wanted to talk about his secret.

And that’s how today’s meeting was arranged.

“What did you call me for?”

Building C’s special training ground.

Originally designed for a different purpose, it had been specially modified for high-rank hunters’ training and exchange activities.

“Well, what do you think my business is?”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t come here for idle chat.”

Baek Seoha’s demeanor was cold.

He had probably already noticed that she had investigated him, so it wasn’t strange.

“Don’t be so impatient. I’m still not quite sure myself.”

Helena smiled gently and observed Baek Seoha’s reaction.

And then she thought:

‘So it’s not this one after all?’

If Baek Seoha truly had deep knowledge of necromancy, he wouldn’t be calmly facing off against her like this.

[Grrrr.]

[Kieeee…]

[Groooar.]

At least, not if he could sense the presence of the dead that filled the training ground.

“A bit disappointing.”

In the situation just now, Helena had over ten opportunities to kill Baek Seoha.

It seemed the rumors about him being close to S-rank were just gossip from impatient people.

As her interest waned and she was about to leave, Baek Seoha responded with a smile tinged with mockery.

*Snicker*

“If you want to test me, I don’t particularly mind.”

And the place he glanced at had a dead spirit twisting its body, desperate to take a human soul.

It meant he had noticed everything from the beginning.

“Ah…”

Helena’s expression changed as she realized this. A red, eerie light began to swirl in her beautiful emerald eyes.

And finally, unable to hold back, she spoke:

“Let’s say we met by chance before the event and had some light exercise together…”

A death aura that could make one’s mind go blank.

“Let’s go with that story.”

#

“Huk! J-just a moment! Slow down! Ugh.”

Thump.

Thump.

Thoomp.

For some reason, Choi Hamin’s expression hardened as we headed to Building C, and he started running while carrying me.

In what people commonly call a princess carry.

“At least… huff… carry me on your back!”

“No time for that. Seoha is in danger.”

“What?”

I thought it was an absurd statement, but Hamin’s face was serious. So I had no choice but to endure and let him carry me.

Bang!

Crash!

Inside Building C’s training ground where we arrived, explosion sounds that belonged in a war movie were echoing.

“Tsk.”

Hamin clicked his tongue and quickly unlocked the entrance, allowing us to enter the building through a long corridor.

Whoosh.

Rustle.

The scene inside was devastating.

The interior of the building, which was clearly made of sturdy materials, was completely wrecked.

“Just two people did all this to this place…”

Hamin swung his arm forcefully with a surprised expression.

Whoosh!

The dust cloud cleared, revealing two people clearly.

One was obviously Seoha, and the other was a strangely familiar face.

It was definitely that woman I met in the busy street.

“Huff, huff. Brother? How did you get here…”

Seoha asked in surprise, but I was in no condition to answer due to the effects of our express train journey.

“…Impressive.”

After a moment of silence, the woman spoke to Seoha, who was catching his breath while gripping his spear.

“I heard you were close to S-rank.”

“…”

“But from what I can feel, it’s not just close, is it?”

The woman with the seductive smile soon laughed softly and continued:

“But in the end, this side was the wrong answer.”

Then she looked in my direction. Very intensely.

Feeling that, Hamin’s face twitched as he responded:

“Helena, is it? What kind of outrage is this?”

“Outrage? As I said, we were just spending time together.”

“Do you think such wordplay will work?”

Hamin seemed quite angry. He felt like a completely different person from when he was exchanging jokes with me earlier.

Seeing this, Helena waved her hand as if to calm him and said:

“Don’t be like that. I was simply curious about something. In the end, neither of them has any noticeable injuries, right?”

That was certainly true.

Compared to the traces of what seemed like an intense battle, their physical injuries were minimal.

It meant both sides had fought while holding back their power.

“Seriously, the event hasn’t even started yet, and you’re already causing problems.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Helena left with just those words.

In the final moment, she once again gave me a gaze filled with desire.

After a brief silence, Seoha strode over and immediately snapped at Hamin:

“Why did you bring my brother here?”

“Huh? No, well…”

“Did you forget everything I said? I told you he needs to be managed like a newborn in an incubator.”

“Look, even so, I’m not that…”

“You’re also a problem. Didn’t I tell you not to follow just anyone? Why did you follow this suspicious person?”

“W-well…”

In the end, I got thoroughly scolded by Seoha again.