Ch.258Side Story: Kang Ra-hye and Kang Yu-na

Kang Ra-hye, an A-rank hunter of the Eternal Guild, was a rather peculiar person.

Unlike the old Earth where artificial eyes, hands, and legs had clear limitations, the current Earth—where Gates had appeared and the concepts of awakened abilities and hunters had taken root—allowed anyone to regrow new body parts if they so desired.

Although hunters with such healing abilities were extremely expensive, for an A-rank hunter of the Eternal Guild, it was an amount that could be gathered with determination.

Especially for someone with overwhelming skills like Kang Ra-hye, it went without saying.

Nevertheless, she left herself with one eye and one arm missing, making no effort to fix them, which naturally made people consider her strange. Even more so considering she was originally right-handed.

“Don’t you think she could become S-rank soon?”

“Those strict evaluators? No way. Do you know how many people have failed the S-rank hunter exam?”

“But isn’t it strange not to promote someone like her?”

Her skills were absolutely top-tier. Rumors were openly circulating that she would soon become South Korea’s eighth S-rank hunter.

The Kang Ra-hye who was once considered a parachute appointment, with numerous A-rank hunters swarming to test her skills, no longer existed. There was only a hunter whose abilities no one could approach.

“No. I’m certain sister Ra-hye can do it.”

Kang Yu-na was convinced. Though she couldn’t tell her colleagues why.

—That person? Limited to Earth, no one can beat her. She could probably go toe-to-toe with your guild masters. She’ll be S-rank soon. It’s too wasteful for her to remain A-rank.

How could she explain that she heard this from her brother, who somehow had connections with the guild masters of Eternal Guild—women who thoroughly despised men?

“Good work, Yu-na.”

“You too, sister.”

Besides, she had experienced firsthand that this was no exaggeration while being in the same party as Kang Ra-hye.

Ra-hye never struck a monster twice. Her sword would simply flow like water, yet bones, scales, and armor would all be severed, and once cut, a monster would never move again.

And while doing so, she never allowed even a single attack against herself. It would be abnormal not to believe it. The A-rank Gate they had just cleared was proof enough.

“What will you do when we get back, sister?”

“Rest. We’ve worked hard.”

Though you don’t seem tired at all. Yu-na mentally clicked her tongue as she watched Ra-hye casually dragging a salamander’s corpse with her bare hands.

True to its etymology as a fire lizard, ordinary flame-resistant gear was useless against a salamander’s fire.

Even touching its corpse would be difficult without complete immunity to flames, like that granted by elemental spirits such as Ifrit or the Phoenix.

This was only an A-rank Gate because it was a juvenile; had it been an adult, it would have been upgraded to S-rank without question. Yet Ra-hye was calmly handling its corpse with her bare hands, which defied common sense.

“A-rank Hunter Kang Yu-na, A-rank Hunter Kang Ra-hye. Gate Name: Salamander subjugation confirmed. Do you have any protective gear to return?”

“No.”

“Excuse me? But neither of you are flame-type ability users… Are you saying you subjugated the salamander without flame-resistant gear?”

The receptionist, who had initially been amazed at seeing such a cleanly killed salamander corpse, naturally asked about returning gear, then was shocked by their response.

Hunters in the lobby began to murmur. Understanding their reaction, Yu-na gave a bitter smile. If even she, who had witnessed it firsthand, found it hard to believe, how much more unbelievable would it sound to others?

“What happened, Hunter Yu-na?”

“Don’t ask me. I don’t know either.”

While Ra-hye was calculating the money they could get from selling the salamander’s corpse, the receptionist quietly questioned Yu-na. Yu-na had nothing particular to say. That hunter was just absurdly strong, that’s all.

Still, she was curious, so she formed a small plan. She would use alcohol to bring out human honesty.

“Sister, do you have any hobbies?”

When they were feeling tipsy after several bottles of premium liquor per person, Yu-na casually brought up the topic.

“Hmm… I don’t really have anything I’d call a hobby. Why do you ask?”

“I just realized I’ve never seen you do anything. You know you’re a real mystery? Someone who doesn’t seem to do anything special, yet is so incredibly strong? How does that make sense?”

“Ahaha… I wonder.”

Ra-hye just sipped her drink and laughed at the probing question. She wasn’t drunk enough yet. Yu-na ordered something stronger.

And kept ordering. Ra-hye showed no signs of getting drunk, and Yu-na needed her tipsy to ask deeper questions.

“…”

After a considerable amount of time, Yu-na’s theoretically perfect plan failed to materialize. She stumbled out of the bar, half-unconscious after drinking until her nose nearly went crooked.

In the end, she got no proper answers. Despite being known for her alcohol tolerance due to her awakened ability, Ra-hye seemed to have no limit to her capacity.

Despite drinking at least twice as much as Yu-na, the only signs were a slight flush on her cheeks and alcohol on her breath. It made Yu-na wonder if they were even the same species.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you home?”

“I’m fine, really fine. If someone tried to mess with me… I’d have been married by now.”

“That’s quite the statement. Alright. Get home safely, Yu-na. Be careful not to fall while walking. And don’t fall asleep on the street. Oh, and give my regards to Yu-seong.”

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry…”

Yu-na, who was about to leave after automatically responding, stopped in her tracks. Come to think of it, Ra-hye had always asked about her brother’s well-being. And her brother seemed to care about Ra-hye too.

That ill-mannered human would ask about Ra-hye’s recent situation whenever he had the chance.

Plus, when Yu-na mentioned they had become friends, Ra-hye had been genuinely surprised. It was impossible not to be suspicious.

‘Is there something between those two that I don’t know about?’

The alcohol accelerated her growing suspicion. They clearly knew each other, but it was rare for people to care so much about someone else.

Especially between a man and a woman.

‘What if they’re more than just friends?’

The thought sent a shiver down her spine. What if they weren’t just acquaintances but thought of each other as more than friends? After all, isn’t there a saying that men and women can’t just be friends?

Maybe the woman her brother said he went on a date with was Kang Ra-hye. Given how persistently he tried to hide it even from his own sister despite her repeated inquiries, it seemed possible.

Her alcohol-soaked brain pieced together the hypothesis. Everything seemed to fit perfectly.

“Sister. This might be a sensitive question…”

“What kind of question? I’ll answer if I can.”

“Do you like Yu-seong?”

So she asked directly. It was a level of rudeness she would never commit when sober, but with alcohol’s help, it came out all too easily.

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes.”

Ra-hye’s reaction was unexpected. Neither embarrassment nor discomfort—she just opened her eyes wide and then burst into laughter.

“Pfft, of course not. Your brother is my benefactor, that’s all.”

“Benefactor?”

“Yes. He showed me the path I needed to take, opened my eyes, and helped me put down burdens I no longer needed to carry. Isn’t it natural to ask about someone like that?”

‘Isn’t that basically liking someone?’

While Yu-na, thoroughly soaked in alcohol, was having such exaggerated thoughts, Ra-hye patted her shoulder a couple of times, saying she seemed very drunk and should go home quickly, then disappeared into the distance.

But a woman empowered by alcohol feared nothing. Using her ability’s monstrous strength, Yu-na arrived home in the blink of an eye and locked herself in her room with her smartphone.

Worried her voice might be heard outside, she pulled the blanket over her head and made a call.

“Why are you calling at this hour?”

It was her brother.

Fortunately, he seemed to be on Earth today. Usually, he was in another world or in areas with no reception, making it impossible to call him.

“That woman you said you dated before, it’s sister Ra-hye, right? What’s your relationship? How far have you gone?”

“How much did you drink that I can smell the alcohol just from your voice? If you’ve had that much, go to sleep properly instead of making calls.”

Click. The call ended without hesitation. “Ugh,” she dialed again.

“What now?”

Thankfully, she wasn’t ignored. Despite feeling wronged, Yu-na lowered her voice and shouted:

“You jerk! Who told you to hang up?”

“If you’ve drunk that much, just go to sleep. Why are you calling in the middle of the night?”

“No, I have something to say!”

“What, asking if I’m dating that person? Making such nonsense drunk calls is why I don’t want to—”

“Sister Ra-hye is from another world like you said, right?”

“…”

The other end of the smartphone suddenly went quiet. After a while of silence, a much more cautious voice came through.

“Why do you think that?”

Noticing she had hit the mark, Yu-na pressed on more triumphantly.

“Because she’s close to you!”

She thought she had come up with a much more plausible reason on her way home, but her brain, intoxicated with alcohol and the joy of victory, didn’t care about such details.

She had won, her brother had lost, and what did reasons matter?

“…”

Click. The call was cut off again.

Yu-na’s consciousness also cut off as she fell asleep under the blanket, drunk on the joy of victory.

“Brother, water… water please…”

I looked at Yu-na, who was groaning like a zombie from her hangover, with contempt before throwing her a bottle.

“Here, drink up.”

“Ughh…”

Despite my attitude, Yu-na emptied the entire 500ml bottle of water and collapsed back onto the bed. I deliberately didn’t use healing magic. It was revenge for making me come all the way here.

“Do you remember our conversation yesterday?”

“Conversation? What conversation…?”

I had come prepared to tell the truth thinking she had finally figured it out, but seeing her like this was just absurd.

“Sigh… never mind. Just tell me what’s the last thing you remember.”

“Drinking with sister Ra-hye and asking if she liked you…? No, was it after we left? I’m not sure…”

“You even asked something like that?”

She’s been causing trouble everywhere. I shook my head in disbelief.

After pouring ten 500ml water bottles over Yu-na’s head as she whined for more water, I went outside. My smartphone was ringing. I almost hung up on the unfamiliar number but decided to answer just in case.

“Um… Yu-seong?”

And I lost my composure at the unexpected voice of the Sword Saint.

“Wait, what happened to your phone that you’re calling from a number I don’t recognize?”

“I accidentally squeezed it too hard yesterday and broke it. Do you know what I should do in this situation…?”

“…”

They became friends, she said—did Yu-na’s behavior rub off on her?