Ch.25The Swift-Acting Saint

“Congratulations. You have been promoted to B-rank.”

The receptionist said, handing over the registration card.

Gu Hajun and Ha Yura received their cards and walked out to the main entrance.

“Now we’re B-rank too…”

“Yeah.”

Gu Hajun replied briefly to Ha Yura’s comment.

Ha Yura fidgeted as she spoke again.

“So we’ll earn a lot more money, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Is there anything you want to buy?”

“Not really…”

“Really?”

The conversation didn’t continue.

Ha Yura glanced repeatedly at Gu Hajun’s profile.

His already stern face looked troubled, which meant he was definitely worried about something.

She could tell, having been friends with him for over ten years.

“What’s on your mind?”

“It’s not really a worry… just something I’m thinking about.”

“What is it?”

“…Well–“

“We’re here~!”

Just as Gu Hajun was about to speak, the main gate opened and someone’s voice rang out.

Ha Yura turned her head.

A familiar pair was walking toward them.

Choi Jinseong and Seong Shinyeong.

Friends they had known for over ten years, just like Gu Hajun.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Gu Hajun greeted them too.

Seong Shinyeong and Choi Jinseong had bright smiles on their faces.

They had gone to get the artifacts they found today appraised, and it seemed the results were good.

“Looks like you got good results?”

“Jackpot! Total jackpot!!! Absolute jackpot!!!”

Seong Shinyeong jumped up and down like a child.

Choi Jinseong explained from beside her.

“They said it’s a B-rank artifact. They asked if they could buy it for research.”

“For how much?”

“Two thousand.”

“……”

“……”

The two fell silent.

“Wouldn’t it fetch more at auction? If the Association is offering two thousand, research institutes or corporations would pay even more at auction.”

“So that’s why she’s so happy…”

Two thousand, huh.

I’m jealous…

“What about you? How much did they offer for your sword?”

At Gu Hajun’s question, Choi Jinseong replied with a bitter smile.

“They said it’s just a sword with no abilities? I’m just going to sell it. Since I got the certification… collectors might buy it if I put it up for auction.”

“I see.”

Gu Hajun replied briefly to Choi Jinseong’s words.

“Hey! I’m in a good mood!!! Lunch is on me today!!!!”

“Woohoo!!!”

Seong Shinyeong shouted loudly and ran ahead.

Choi Jinseong yelled something as he chased after her.

It wasn’t quite audible, but he was probably saying it was embarrassing.

Judging by how they ran off without saying anything, they probably meant to meet at the Chinese restaurant they always went to.

Ha Yura pushed Gu Hajun’s back.

“Come on, let’s go too.”

“…Alright.”

Leaving Choi Jinseong and Seong Shinyeong who had already run far ahead, the two walked slowly down the street.

“By the way, what were you going to say earlier?”

“Ah… just that it was strange.”

“What was?!”

“Whoa!!”

The two who had run ahead were suddenly standing beside them.

“D-didn’t you go ahead?”

Ha Yura said with a trembling voice, trying to calm her startled heart.

“”Surprise~!””

“……”

Ha Yura was speechless.

They were in perfect sync, truly a couple.

“So, what did you find strange?”

At Choi Jinseong’s question, Gu Hajun scratched his head.

“Didn’t you find that girl we met today strange?”

“Hmm? She was strange, but… she didn’t really cause us any trouble, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

Ha Yura continued.

“Rather than strange… I’d say interesting? That’s how I felt.”

“Ah, I know what you mean.”

“True, she was interesting.”

The four of them thought of the same person.

The girl they met for the first time today, who stood alone without anyone to team up with, probably because she was from Seoul.

A girl around high school age named Eila, with white hair.

“When she helped me, didn’t she throw with just one hand?”

“She said she found the goblin and ghoul by intuition…”

“That blood-cleaning thing wasn’t magic. No mana moved. And I’ve never heard of such magic.”

“I didn’t realize it at the time because the bloody impact was so strong, but is it even possible for someone to destroy a goblin nest alone…?”

Everyone fell silent.

The more they thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Instead of resolving questions, more kept piling up.

“With that level of skill, she should be famous…”

“Have you seen her before?”

“…No.”

“I just don’t get it.”

Everyone fell silent again.

“Ah, who cares~! Let’s just eat!! She gave us money so she’s a good person!! End of story!”

Seong Shinyeong shouted loudly.

The other three laughed along with her words.

***

“I’m back~! I was planning to just have lunch with my friends and come back, but somehow I ended up staying for dinner too! We were going to go to karaoke after lunch and then part ways, but my friends said when else would we meet if not now. You know how deeply attached I am, right? That’s why I couldn’t coldly refuse them… Huh? Boss, what’s wrong? Why are you slumped over the desk? Oh? Why are you here, oppa? Aren’t you going to your room?”

“Shut up…”

“Huh? Boss, what’s wrong? It’s not your period, so why do you look so sad! They say smiles bring good fortune!!”

A rubber eraser flew toward Lee Segyeong’s forehead as she chattered away.

The eraser made an unnaturally dull sound as it hit her forehead, and Lee Segyeong closed her mouth from the impact.

Lee Segyeong rubbed her forehead and looked around.

The money-obsessed boss and her brother were there.

Someone was missing.

“Unnie hasn’t come back? I don’t see her.”

“Eila is in my room…”

“Huh? Why is unnie in your room?”

“She asked to borrow my computer and went in… it’s been 4 hours now…”

She hadn’t come out for 4 hours.

Lee Segyeong checked the time on her phone.

It was just before 9 o’clock.

If it had been 4 hours, that meant since 5 o’clock…

“What about dinner?”

“…She didn’t eat.”

“What?!!”

Lee Segyeong was shocked.

Unnie skipped a meal?!

Did we do something wrong?

Just as Lee Segyeong approached to open the door, Lee Chanwoo blocked her way.

“Are you crazy? Don’t disturb her…!”

“Ah, did unnie say not to come in?”

As Lee Segyeong backed away, Lee Chanwoo answered.

“Not exactly, but you shouldn’t just barge in when someone’s using a computer, that’s basic courtesy.”

“What nonsense… Unnie! Aren’t you going to eat?!!”

She pushed Lee Chanwoo aside and knocked loudly on the door.

After a moment, the door opened with a creaking sound.

“Oh, you’re back?”

“Unnie, aren’t you going to eat?”

“Is it that late already?”

“What have you been doing on the computer to skip dinner until now?”

“Just… this and that?”

Lee Segyeong looked at Eila.

She didn’t seem to be lying.

Well, unnie wouldn’t be looking at weird things on the computer like oppa does…

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I am hungry, but I can endure it.”

Eila looked around.

“Did… everyone not eat because of me?”

“I ate, but I don’t think the boss and oppa did?”

“Really?!”

At Eila’s words, the two nodded.

“Y-you could have eaten without me…”

“It’s fine, let’s just eat together… Hey, make some ramen.”

“How many packets should I make?”

“Three… just make all we have left…”

Kang Seona looked at Eila, then sighed and spoke.

Eila said:

“I-I’m fine with just one packet…”

“……”

“…Two packets.”

“Hey, how many packets of ramen do we have left?”

“Six packets left.”

“Me too! I want some too!!”

“You heard her? Make them all.”

“Okay.”

Sounds came from the kitchen.

Soon after, a spicy aroma tickled their noses.

The four sat around the table and shared the ramen.

Slurping sounds filled the air.

“So, did you like it?”

Kang Seona slurped up some noodles, then casually asked Eila.

“It was… complicated. I was really surprised when they suddenly told us to form teams.”

“Really?”

Eila spoke while mixing rice into her ramen broth.

“But something was strange.”

“What?”

“Higher rank means stronger, right?”

“Usually, yes.”

“But everyone I met today was surprisingly weak…”

“Even within the same rank, there can be differences.”

“I looked them up, and they’re supposedly promising hunters about to be promoted to B-rank.”

“*cough* *cough*!! W-water!”

Kang Seona choked and gulped down water roughly.

“Are you okay?”

“The broth hit my uvula…”

“Ugh, that feels awful… Oh, by the way–“

As Lee Segyeong put down her chopsticks and started to speak, Kang Seona slammed her water cup on the table and said:

“Promotion isn’t just about being strong. You need various achievements.”

“…How do I raise my rank?”

“Why do you ask?”

“The reason I went so far this time was because I couldn’t enter the dungeons here with my current rank, right?”

“That’s right.”

“If I raise my rank, I’ll have access to more dungeons.”

“…There are other jobs besides dungeon raids–“

“No.”

“……”

“That’s not an option.”

Kang Seona stared into Eila’s eyes.

‘No matter what I say, she probably won’t change her mind…’

“Raising your rank isn’t that simple.”

“If people at that level can rise to B-rank, I think I could easily reach A-rank.”

Eila looked at Lee Segyeong.

“I did beat them, after all.”

Lee Segyeong bristled at those words but had nothing more to say.

Eila was indeed stronger than her.

She couldn’t argue with someone who had effortlessly, almost playfully, defeated her when she thought she was in the upper-middle tier of A-rank.

Kang Seona sighed.

“Promotion doesn’t happen just because you want it to. Various conditions need to be met… Fine, fine. Do what you want. Just don’t ask me or the others for help, figure it out yourself.”

“So I can handle it myself?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

This should be enough, right?

Kang Seona’s mind was racing.

Promotion was good, but it was too soon now.

They hadn’t even properly profited from her yet, and she was already talking about promotion.

But she had no legitimate reason to stop her.

Eila seemed to have already made up her mind firmly.

Kang Seona’s desperate plan was to dump everything on Eila to handle alone.

For a hunter to be promoted, various administrative procedures were necessary.

Until now, she had used her connections to make things easy, but it wouldn’t be simple for the naive Eila to prepare the necessary documents and meet the conditions by herself.

“Thank you, Seona… for allowing me.”

“Well, you need to learn about society too, right?”

Kang Seona slurped up some slightly cooled noodles.

“Good thing I prepared everything in advance.”

Eila’s final comment was drowned out by the sound of slurping noodles.

***

Monday morning, a smiling Eila held out her hunter registration card in front of Kang Seona’s eyes.

“…Did I not wake up properly?”

The registration card had an ‘A’ on it.