Ch.18The Saint Who Successfully Got a Job

The barrier disappeared.

The match had been decided.

The conditions for the barrier to disappear were either one side suffering an injury that made continuing impossible, or expressing that they no longer wished to fight.

In this duel, it was the latter.

“Huh, hiccup. I, I said I surrender…”

“Umm… I thought you were lying again… I’m sorry.”

“Waaah… I thought my head was going to be crushed…”

Hearing Segyeong Lee’s tearful words, Aila scratched her head.

‘Maybe I went too far.’

She had stopped her fist the moment she noticed the barrier disappearing, but…

Aila looked down at the ground.

Next to Segyeong Lee’s head, who was lying flat on the floor, the ground was cracked like a spider web.

It was the result of the air pressure from Aila’s punch.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Huh?”

Aila looked around.

She heard applause.

Many people had been watching the fight between the two.

Normally, this many people wouldn’t gather.

At most, a few bored hunters might stop by to watch briefly.

But the number of people clapping while watching the dueling arena where the two were now had to be at least in the double digits.

Part of it was because it was lunchtime, so more people had gathered, but the main reason was:

“Amazing!”

“Well fought!!!”

The battle between the two had been entertaining.

Segyeong, causing explosions beneath her feet, darting through space with hit-and-run tactics.

Aila, stoically enduring all attacks and ending the situation with a single strike.

It was a fight captivating enough to draw people’s attention.

“Whoa… what’s happening…”

“What’s wrong, unni? Ugh… my head’s ringing, help me up.”

“H-here, take my hand.”

Aila extended her hand to Segyeong, and when Segyeong took it, even louder cheers and applause erupted.

“…Unni, what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure myself…”

“Even for lunchtime, there are so many people… Ah! This isn’t the time! Unni! Greet them! Greet them!”

“What?”

“Just follow my lead.”

Segyeong waved both hands toward the audience.

Seeing Segyeong bow occasionally, Aila followed suit.

The cheers and applause grew louder.

“You’re the best!!! Aila!!! I knew you’d win!!!”

Among the spectators, someone was clapping and shouting with an exceptionally loud voice.

It was Seon-a Kang.

***

“I’ll never believe the boss again!! C-rank, what a lie! You should lie within reason!!!”

With a bang, Segyeong’s fist hit the table.

“I really thought I was going to die! I tried so hard to block that last punch! I redirected all my mana to strengthen just my head without thinking of the consequences, and I still thought I was going to be crushed!!!”

“Hey, keep it down in the restaurant.”

“Oh right, the restaurant! This isn’t fair! Poor Aila unni!! No, I wasn’t expecting a hotel buffet or anything. At most, I was thinking sushi? Or maybe a meat buffet? But what is this!!? A Korean food buffet?!”

“Hey, are you looking down on Korean food? That statement is really–“

“That’s not the point!! I would have said the same thing if it were a Western buffet! Time limit of one hour, a lunch buffet that costs 7,000 won per person—is this even a buffet?!!!! I almost got killed for this kind of buffet?!”

“Yeah, yeah, keep barking…”

Normally, Seon-a would have smacked her on the head saying “Be quiet!” but right now, she was in such a good mood that she could just smile and let the nonsense slide.

At first, it was just a hunch.

Or perhaps it could be called stubbornness.

The machine was working fine.

Therefore, Aila was C-rank.

That was an obvious fact.

But if so, were the contents of the report that described achievements significant enough to involve the Association President all lies?

The machine said Aila was C-rank.

The documents suggested Aila was at least A-rank.

It didn’t add up.

What was going on?

Unwilling to admit she’d been duped, Seon-a considered one possibility.

‘Could both be true?’

It sounded crazy, but it wasn’t impossible.

There were quite a few hunters whose internal mana tests showed B-rank, but whose skill utilization and combat sense were on par with A-rank.

In Aila’s case, the gap between C and S was quite large… but given the precedent, it wasn’t impossible.

In that sense, it was fortunate that Segyeong returned at just the right moment.

If what was written about Aila in the documents was true, if Aila had abilities comparable to S-rank.

She should be able to beat Segyeong, who’s A-rank, right?

Well, winning is all that matters.

That would at least mean she’s similar to A-rank.

Let’s be satisfied with that, okay?

‘I won’t be fooled anymore!’

The result exceeded her expectations.

It was overwhelming.

None of Segyeong’s attacks had any effect, and while Aila’s attacks were few, they displayed tremendous destructive power.

A perfect all-rounder in both offense and defense.

The first thing Seon-a did after watching that fight was to reduce the fraudulent contract hidden in her bosom to paper dust.

It absolutely wasn’t out of fear.

It was because it wasn’t necessary anymore.

With abilities like that, she could profit from the regular contract they had signed.

There was no need to extract unfair gains through a fraudulent contract.

Again, it definitely wasn’t because she was afraid of being hit by that fist.

“You weren’t planning to give me money even if I won, were you?! Right?! I thought something was off from the beginning! There’s no way you would willingly throw away 5 million won, especially for winning against a C-rank!!”

“Hey, listening to you, one would think I’m always lying.”

“When it comes to money matters, isn’t that usually the case?”

“Haah…”

Seon-a sighed.

Really, an employee who knows her boss so well.

“I was going to give it to you.”

“Liar.”

“It’s true. 5 million… Zimbabwe dollars?”

“…I knew it.”

As Segyeong turned her head away, Aila set her plate down on the table.

Both of them were speechless looking at the plate.

“Unni, we have less than 10 minutes left, can you eat all that?”

“Leave her be… I’m more scared by the fact that the amount of food on her plate is still the same.”

“How can someone eat so much and still look like that… It’s unfair.”

“Mmm… huh? What did you both say?”

“Nothing… Aren’t you full? The boss and I are already stuffed.”

“I am full, but… *munch*. The boss said I could eat as much as I want here, and to eat enough to last for days… *munch*.”

“…Boss, can you afford the food expenses?”

“She’ll just have to earn that much.”

Clap, clap.

Seon-a clapped her hands.

The two sitting across from her turned their attention to her.

“Well, with this test, Aila, you’re now an official employee of Rainbow Entertainment. I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes. I look forward to working with you too.”

“You remember the contract terms, right? Since you’ve already signed.”

“Yes.”

Aila swallowed a wrap filled with white rice, spicy stir-fried pork, ssamjang, kimchi, bean sprouts, and various seasoned vegetables before answering.

Although it hadn’t been 5 minutes since she brought the plate, it was already half empty.

“Unni would be successful even as a mukbang creator.”

“Mukbang? What’s that?”

“It’s a thing where—”

“Ahem! Focus! Outsiders, keep quiet!!”

“Why am I an outsider?!”

“Hmm, what’s that~? I can’t hear the loser who lost to a C-rank~?”

“Oh, really!!!”

Segyeong stood up with a reddened face.

She seemed very angry.

Just as Aila was about to get up to stop the two.

Buzz-

A vibration sounded.

Segyeong grinned as she took out her phone from her pocket and immediately sat back down.

“Did it go through? You worked hard today, so I added a little extra.”

“I’m grateful for your heavenly kindness, boss…”

“Heavenly? Is that all I am to you…?”

“I’m grateful for your kindness that surpasses the heavens.”

“That’s better.”

The corners of Seon-a’s mouth turned up.

When she turned her head, Segyeong’s face also had a beaming smile, as if her previous anger had been a lie.

What was going on?

Only Aila, unable to follow the situation, remained frozen.

“Hey. Ignore her, let’s continue our conversation.”

“What did you do?”

“The greatest panacea in this materialistic age.”

“Ah…”

She bribed her.

“Setting aside the details of the contract… you remember the most important part, right? I find the person you’re looking for, and you work for our company until I find that person…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Good, then would you like to give me information about that person? I need that to find them.”

Having cleaned her plate completely, Aila wiped her mouth with a tissue and slowly opened her mouth.

“There’s something I didn’t explain properly.”

“…Why are you suddenly making me nervous again…”

“No, it’s not strange… I just think it would be troublesome if I don’t explain this.”

“What is it?”

“The person… people I’m looking for, I don’t know who they are.”

“What nonsense is that?”

Seon-a was dumbfounded.

What kind of nonsense was this?

What? She doesn’t know?

Aila continued.

“The people I want to find are the acquaintances of the person I’m about to tell you about. Like family or friends…”

“Ah, I understand. So you’ll give me information about that person, and you want me to find their acquaintances, right?”

“Yes. Is that… difficult?”

Isn’t the difficult part this restaurant where most of the food was cleared out in an hour?

Suppressing her true thoughts, Seon-a smiled and answered.

“What’s difficult about it? That’s what our company does. So don’t be nervous and just tell me about that person.”

Her tone was rough.

Aila stared blankly at Seon-a.

Something felt like it was welling up from deep within her heart.

“His name is… Kim Ji-woo, and his hometown is Seoul, South Korea.”

“Do you know which part of Seoul?”

“I don’t know that much.”

“Hmm… Do you know his family relationships?”

Seon-a took out her phone and started taking notes.

“Mother, father, younger sister. A family of four.”

“You don’t know their names?”

“No.”

“Hmm… Birthday?”

“June 9th.”

“Pfft!”

“Why are you laughing?!”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

June 9th…

Wasn’t her birthday July 4th?

Put them together and it’s 6-9-7…

“Ahem!”

Seon-a dispersed the thought that suddenly came to mind with a fake cough.

“Y-yes, June 9th… Do you know the year? It would be better if you knew that too.”

“As of ten years ago… he would have been 17.”

Aila’s voice trailed off.

She wasn’t certain.

According to the research of Great Sages and Archmages, the flow of time in the hero’s homeland and this world was the same, so during the 10 years that passed there, 10 years would have passed here too… but she wasn’t sure.

“So he’s 27 now? Born in 2001 then?”

“If it’s 2027 now, then yes.”

“So, when was it?”

“Pardon?”

“The day this person died.”

The day he died.

Hearing those words, her stomach churned.

The day the hero died.

The day the hero died in my place.

Because I stood there stupidly, the hero, trying to save me, took the attack instead and—

I killed the hero—

“Hey!”

“Eek?!”

She felt pain on top of her head.

Aila rubbed her crown.

“Why are you ignoring me? Answer quickly, when did that person disappear?”

“Dis…appear?”

“You’re asking me to find his acquaintances. He disappeared, so you’re asking me to find his acquaintances, right?”

Seon-a said, fidgeting with the empty plate.

“…Whether he died, went missing, or suddenly lost contact and became untraceable… anyway, you’re looking for his acquaintances because you can’t contact him directly, right?”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to. But if you do, it might be easier to find him.”

At Seon-a’s words, Aila took a deep breath.

Yes, this is necessary.

This must be necessary.

If she can’t do what needs to be done because she’s weighed down by her karma, how can she call herself a saint, the hero’s lover?

Aila slowly opened her mouth.

“…He went missing 10 years ago.”

Since the hero was summoned 10 years ago.

Even knowing it’s meaningless, negative thoughts keep arising.

If only she hadn’t called the hero then, if she hadn’t forcibly brought him over.

Wouldn’t the hero be living happily?

“10 years ago? That’s going to be hard to find.”

“Yeah, that was during the Great Rift, wasn’t it?”

“…What?”

You told me to speak, and now you’re saying you can’t find him?

Aila glared at Seon-a.

Seon-a flinched momentarily, avoiding her gaze, and spoke in a crawling voice.

“N-no. I mean it’s difficult, not impossible… 10 years ago, dungeons suddenly appeared and people were dying left and right, so administrative work was completely paralyzed… Do you know how many people disappeared then?”

“Unni. You don’t know about this?”

“She’s a bit ignorant about worldly matters. The details are confidential.”

“Hmm… a mysterious woman… I like it.”

This time, Seon-a glared at Aila.

Aila looked away.

‘From now on, you’re an experimental subject who barely escaped from a mad scientist’s lab.’

That was the backstory Seon-a had given Aila.

This would cover her abnormal strength, her ignorance of worldly matters, and her extremely biased knowledge.

Thinking this, Seon-a told Aila this setting, and Aila agreed.

‘Stick. To. The. Story.’

‘I understand.’

The two communicated silently, only moving their lips.

“Ah, time’s up. I’ll pay the bill, so you two go ahead.”

“Okay~!”

“Understood.”

As the buffet time ended, the three rose from their seats.