Ch.112Delinquent High School Girl?

“Sophia respects whatever choice I make…”

Ms. Cheran’s advice gave me a lot to think about.

It was true that Sophia would likely follow my opinion no matter what it was.

That’s not to say I was leading Sophia around according to my whims.

Rather, because she was like that, as family, I wanted to support her just as much as she supported me.

“I should really meet her and talk in person.”

“Oppa, have you thought about it?”

“Yeah. Coming out for some fresh air has helped clear my head a bit.”

“Hehe, that’s good then.”

First, I need to meet Sophia again.

Just as I was finishing my contemplation, and since Ms. Cheran had probably left by now, we finished our drinks and were about to leave the café when…

“What the hell?! What do you mean it doesn’t work?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am…”

That’s when it happened.

“What’s going on?”

“…! Oppa, could that be what they call a ‘difficult customer’? I’ve never seen one before!”

“Ria, you shouldn’t say things like that out loud…”

Ria’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she pointed toward the café counter.

There was some kind of yellow stone…

“I’m telling you this is gold! I just want to barter! What kind of café is so inflexible?”

…No, it was a female student holding a gold nugget, insanely trying to exchange gold for coffee at the café.

“Ma’am, even if you say that, we don’t have enough money to give you change…”

“Ugh, fine, I’ll just break off a small piece. Can’t you just exchange this for a strawberry latte? Honestly, I’m the one losing out here!”

“Well… there’s nothing in our policy about exchanging gold and such…”

“Then I’ll just pay with my card.”

“Huh?”

I didn’t know why, but the kid must have really wanted a strawberry latte to bring gold from home.

I felt sorry for her and couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Besides, she looked exactly like a delinquent student.

It’s right for adults to properly soothe these kinds of kids and send them home.

“Student, did you run away from home? If you’re hungry, should I buy you a sandwich or something?”

“R-really?! Wow, I like this human mister! I’d even like to keep you as a pet if I could!”

“Pet…?”

The student smiled awkwardly at me like a wolf.

Her manner of speaking gave off strong middle school syndrome vibes, making it seem like she really needed an adult’s guidance.

“Thank you, human mister. I left home without bringing any money from this Korea? place.”

“Oh, are you a foreigner?”

“For-eigner? Um… well, I guess so? Hehe. Anyway, I was in trouble, so thank you!”

Meanwhile.

“O-oppa.”

“Yes?”

Ria was hiding right behind my back, calling me in a small voice.

Wondering what was wrong with Ria’s seemingly frightened reaction, I carefully bent down.

“She’s… a monster.”

“…What?”

“She, I mean, she’s a humanoid monster just like me.”

“Huh?”

Ria said she could sense monster energy from inside the female student.

At those words, I became dazed, wondering if there was also a high school girl monster among the “Hunter’s Blood” expansion packs.

***

“Munch munch~. Mmm! Delicious! Wow, this is even better than the cafeteria food at my academy!”

“……”

“Mister, thank you for buying me food and keeping me company. Hehe, thanks to you, I’m realizing anew that humans… I mean, people of this era can be this kind!”

“Is that so? That’s good…”

“P-please eat more…”

A humanoid monster had appeared in the heart of downtown Seoul.

And this monster, who had tried to barter a gold nugget at a café because she had no money for food, was now rescued by me and sitting at the same table.

…Who would believe this?

‘But it’s the truth, so what can I do?’

With that mindset, since this was a monster appearance after all, I couldn’t just leave her alone, so I had no choice but to stick with the monster high school girl as I had originally planned.

Whisper whisper.

“Oppa.”

“Yes.”

“But there’s something strange about her.”

“Strange how?”

“It’s like… she’s not quite at your level, but she feels both monster-like and not monster-like.”

“…? What does that mean?”

Either she’s a monster or she’s human.

Ria’s ambiguous answer that she was neither a humanoid monster nor a Kaijufication Hunter like me.

Whisper whisper.

“Anyway… she’s an ambiguous monster.”

“An ambiguous monster? So she could be human?”

“Well… I can sense human energy, so maybe?”

“That’s complicated.”

Story-wise, we were approaching the final part of “Hunter’s Blood” Chapter 1, which was divided into two parts.

It was time for the battle to defend the 38th parallel against the National Disaster-Level monster that had annihilated North Korea, the final boss of the early-mid section.

But.

‘Where did this expansion pack roll in from…’

I was already getting a headache, wondering where the original work had gone off track again.

As I was sighing with an “ehh~”.

“Um… s-sorry. Have I been too shameless, just eating for free?”

The monster high school girl, who had been spreading ice cream on her toast and eating it heartily, stopped eating and apologized, thinking I was giving her a look.

“Huh? No, it’s not that. Mister just has some things on his mind.”

“Worries? Do humans… I mean, do people worry too?”

“Huh? Well, yes. About future plans, things to prepare for…”

“Especially this oppa has the most trouble with women.”

“Ahem?! Well, um, th-that’s true too…”

Ria’s direct comment left me speechless, forcing me to clear my throat.

But maybe our chemistry was amusing.

“Haha. Really? That’s unexpected. I thought humans all just lived mindlessly!”

The monster high school girl quickly regained her smile as she spoke.

“By the way, are you two family? You don’t look very alike.”

“Ah, we are…”

“Oppa is my fiancé, and I’m his fiancée.”

In response to her question, Ria confidently answered with a “hmph!” while linking arms with me.

“Wow~. Mister, isn’t your bride too young? Between your woman problems and this, you’ve got a lot of sins~.”

“Ha, haha… I-I guess…?”

Truly at a loss for words, I could only nod along.

Whisper whisper.

“Oppa, don’t you think you’ve naturally gained some likability points?”

“Instead, I feel like I’m dying, Ria…”

Meanwhile.

“…I’m envious.”

The monster high school girl’s expression turned somewhat melancholic as she watched our happy family.

“I have a family too, but I don’t have anyone who would joke around with me like that.”

“Do you have older brothers or sisters? Or younger siblings?”

“Both. But maybe because our bloodlines aren’t perfectly connected… I don’t have anyone who would eat with me like mister is doing now.”

Somehow I ended up hearing about a broken family.

Well, growing up in such a household, no wonder the kid left home with a gold nugget.

As I expected, her parents must be problematic.

‘But then, does that mean her entire family consists of people who are mixed with monsters? Like her?’

Maybe it’s just some kind of special constitution.

Looking at the high school girl in front of me who acted too human to be called a monster, I was unsure if it was right to treat her as a monster in the first place.

Just then.

“If you felt that lonely, come to my palace later, Shina. I’ll at least eat meals with you.”

“Yu-Yurian unni?!”

A woman in a blue military uniform with a commander’s attire suddenly appeared next to our table.

“Um… are you family?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Judging by her outfit, she looked like a Commander Hunter… or if not that, a female soldier from another country.

‘But was there a country with blue military uniforms?’

“Unni, how did you find me?”

“Well, you were always singing about wanting to visit cafés made by humans if you went to the past.”

“You heard that…?”

“Yes. So as soon as you disappeared saying you’d act separately after crossing the 38th parallel, I was able to track you down.”

“I didn’t think you’d track me down so quickly…”

Shina laughed bitterly, unexpectedly meeting her family so soon.

Meanwhile, I was breaking out in a cold sweat on my forehead as I listened to the conversation these kids were having as if it were perfectly normal.

“38th parallel…? Crossed over? But by now, in Pyongyang…”

“A monster appeared, right? But don’t worry, Father. We’ve already taken care of that monster.”

“Fa-ther…?”

“Father? Unni, what are you talking about?”

I felt like a difficult puzzle had suddenly been solved.

Shinwoo and the woman in the blue uniform stared at each other in silence for a moment.

Meanwhile, only the oblivious Shina tilted her head, wondering what was going on.

“You still don’t get it? Shina. This person in front of us is our father. More precisely, the Emperor from 20 years in the future.”

“Uh… huh? W-what?!?! F-Father? This incredibly kind person is Father? Really?!”

“Then you two are…!”

A being that was neither a humanoid monster nor a Kaijufication Hunter, but something in between.

The Emperor’s children that Ria from the future said she would soon send to take Sophia away.

In other words.

“My… daughters?”

“D-daughters?!”

“…! To think I’d live to hear Father call me his daughter…”

Even though it was the past, she had just been called a “daughter” by her father for the first time.

At that fact, Shina blushed, not knowing what to do, while Yurian’s eyes welled up with emotion.

However, there was something else that needed to be done now.

“Then you’re the ones that future Ria sent…!”

“Father, please forgive my rudeness.”

Thud.

“?!”

“U-unni?! Are you crazy?!?!”

Yurian quickly struck Shinwoo’s nape, knocking him unconscious before he could even Kaijufy.

Seeing this, Shina’s face turned pale, and she stammered.

“Don’t worry. I just knocked him out.”

“N-no, but still! What if Father had killed you instead?!”

“That wouldn’t happen. According to Queen Ria, Father was extremely weak in his human state during this time. She said it was a period when he couldn’t even perform partial Kaijufication.”

It wasn’t like she had killed him, and this was the best option for now.

Yurian thought they should keep Father somewhere safe until the operation was over.

“Let’s move Father somewhere else for now. Shina, grab his legs.”

But just then.

“Kyokushin Karate…”

“Huh?”

“Crescent Kick.”

Crack!

Ria’s attack precisely targeted the gap between Yurian’s ribs with enough force to collapse one side of the café wall.

“Ugh?!”

“Huh? So you’re Father’s family…”

“Shina, you idiot! If past Queen Ria was here, you should have said something!”

“Queen Ria?! This tiny girl is the Second Queen?!”

“Are you really that stupid?!”

Yurian, who was knocked outside the café, spat out a short breath mixed with blood and immediately scolded Shina first.

To think she wouldn’t recognize not only Father but also the Second Queen.

However, Ria wasn’t about to miss this opportunity.

“Hyah!”

“Huh?”

“Um…”

“Run away!”

Ria, carrying the unconscious Shinwoo on her back, fled through the collapsed café wall, passing by the two of them.