Ch.49Red Yellow Red – 3

“…Huh, so Rina also went to Russia together?”

“Yes. I heard it from my grandfather.”

After a brief greeting with Hana Kang, this was the sudden news Soohyun Kim brought up.

Though it wasn’t reported in the media, Rina was apparently among those dispatched to Russia.

According to Soohyun’s explanation, she went there and was assigned to a mission…

“But why wasn’t there anything about Rina in the news?”

S-rank superpower users receive public attention no matter where they are in the world.

Because they’re strong. Because they’re real superheroes who save the world from monsters and villains.

They have many fans, supporters, and even people who worship them.

Moreover, Rina ranks among the upper echelon of S-rank users.

Among all S-rank superpower users worldwide, maybe only three people could properly fight her?

Later, when Hyunwoo Lee joins, that number will increase to four.

Ah, now there’s Soohyun Kim too, so I guess it’s five.

Anyway, with that kind of status, she naturally has a thick fan base.

Of course, she causes a lot of controversy because she acts quite insane, but…

“Yeah, Soohyun? This is news to me too. Even the Magic Tower didn’t know about this.”

Despite Hana Kang’s question, Soohyun keeps her eyes fixed only on me as she answers.

“Actually, it seems she engaged in a full-scale battle with The Elder in Russia.”

“…What?”

“What did you say?!”

I’m not the only one surprised. Hana Kang also jumps up from her seat in shock.

S-rank superpower users and The Elder.

They’re all treated as living strategic nuclear weapons.

When they properly clash, the entire area literally becomes scorched earth.

Villains don’t care about others’ opinions or evaluations anyway.

Most S-rank superpower users are individuals with a strong sense of duty.

Such people wouldn’t initiate actions that could cause massive civilian casualties.

“Most” of them, that is.

“Was the damage serious? With that woman, I imagine it must have been terrible.”

Hana Kang asked the question, but Soohyun remained silent.

She just blinked her eyes, still keeping her gaze fixed on me.

So when I repeated Hana’s question, Soohyun finally spoke.

“Whether it was luck or not, there weren’t any notable cities or villages nearby, I heard.”

“That’s fortunate. Really fortunate.”

Relations between South Korea and other countries? Would Rina even care about that?

She’s the type of woman who would smash things first if she didn’t like The Elder, then laugh about it.

And if foreign countries criticized South Korea, she might even harm those countries too.

It hasn’t happened yet, but to explain a part of the original story:

When Hyunwoo Lee had a conflict with Chinese superpower users, China protested.

And what did Rina, who had shown interest in Hyunwoo’s abilities, do when she heard the news?

‘She turned the Chinese coastline into a wasteland under the pretext of eliminating villains.’

This is why not just villains, but even fellow superpower users call her crazy.

A woman who seems controlled but suddenly goes berserk as if she’s lost her mind.

Unpredictable tension, a psychological state that makes you wonder if she has bipolar disorder.

But the scariest part is that this woman’s psychology is normal.

She’s doing all that insanity with a sound mind, with no problems whatsoever.

“This is why I say the Arbiter is amazing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Arbiter. Do you know about the nickname villains gave to Rina?”

I nodded slightly at Hana’s question.

“I’ve heard of it. But isn’t that just villains calling her names maliciously?”

“Half yes, half no. They call her that with genuine sincerity.”

Not just villains, even Hakjun Ma acknowledged the nickname “The Yellow Madwoman.”

If that’s the case, it means others must have heard this nickname too.

“She’s a very strange person. She’s rarely been nice to anyone. Maybe only to fellow S-rank users? And even then, I’ve heard half of those interactions are more like picking fights.”

“She does seem quite insane.”

When I express agreement, Hana smiles and says, “Right?”

“She’s the same in front of reporters and cameras. If she doesn’t like something, she’ll say things like ‘Take this idiot and get lost.’ It’s a combination of her enormous pride and not caring about others.”

“That’s… a bit extreme.”

“Yes. And such a person suddenly shook hands with Arbiter Seojin Baek and even helped deal with monsters. That’s exactly why everyone is so interested in you now.”

Immediately after, Hana hastily adds, “Of course, that’s not the only reason!”

She seems worried I might misunderstand that I’m only getting attention because of my apparent friendship with Rina.

“Anyway, Arbiter, what I mean is…”

“Senior.”

As Hana is about to continue, Soohyun gently grabs her shoulder.

“Don’t you have a class today?”

“Huh? Oh, I have a free period today.”

“A free period, you say.”

Her expression completely devoid of any humor as she looks at Hana.

I can’t help but feel my heart jump in surprise.

Just imagining The Crimson Witch with such an expression makes my head spin.

‘They said they were close friends.’

Is Hana the type to lie? No, she’s not that kind of person.

But judging by Soohyun’s reaction, they don’t seem that close.

Could it be that only Hana is under that misconception?

But Hana isn’t the type of character to be so oblivious.

“Ahem! Um, Arbiter. If it’s alright, may I very cautiously make a suggestion?”

“A suggestion?”

“Yes. I absolutely, absolutely don’t mean to pressure you. I’m just saying it for you to consider.”

Saying it like that might make me feel even more pressured.

I nodded, deciding to at least hear her out.

“Do you know about the Magic Tower clan, Arbiter?”

“Magic Tower? Of course I do. It’s a famous clan.”

Magic Tower, one of South Korea’s top clans with a good social reputation.

True to its name, it’s home to numerous exceptional magic class users.

Magic class users are relatively fewer in number compared to weaponry or martial arts classes.

That’s why clans from the lowest to the highest ranks all covet magic class users.

The Magic Tower even sends magic class users as mercenaries in a dispatch format.

And in the original story, I remember it as the clan that provided tremendous support to Hana Kang.

They helped her so much that people even wondered if she was the daughter of one of their executives.

I heard her identity was revealed somewhere, but I didn’t read that far, so I’m not sure.

“Wait. Hana? Is your proposal related to the Magic Tower clan?”

“You catch on quick. Yes, it is.”

…She really must be an executive’s daughter after all, given how casually she can make such proposals.

But what’s important isn’t Hana’s background. My current situation is the issue.

“I’m sorry, but if that’s the case, I can’t listen any further.”

“What? W-why not?”

“Even though I’m just a low-level employee, I’m still a civil servant.”

A superpower user from one clan having this kind of conversation with a user from another clan?

Of course, there’s no problem with that. Visiting another clan upon invitation is a common occurrence.

But civil servants are different. Privately accepting clan proposals could lead to serious trouble.

It’s the same principle as a civil servant meeting with corporate individuals in a personal capacity.

Depending on how it’s viewed, it could appear as if bribes are being accepted in exchange for favors.

“I just wanted to express my gratitude. Is that impossible too?”

“Gratitude?”

“Yes. Do you remember when you fought the Orox?”

If it’s about fighting the Orox, that must be the day I alternated between meeting The Elder and Rina.

Honestly, those encounters were scarier than any gate or monster.

“Of course I remember. But why?”

“I heard you saved a superpower user during that incident.”

I thought for a moment at Hana’s words, then nodded.

Park Minho, was it? I did help someone who was hit by the Orox.

“Actually, that superpower user is the younger sibling of a Magic Tower clan member. So regarding that gratitude…”

“If you want to express gratitude, there are other ways.”

“Well, that’s…”

“Be honest with me. There’s another reason, isn’t there?”

If they really wanted to express gratitude, they would have come to me.

Or if there was some reason they couldn’t, they would have found another way.

Suggesting I come to the Magic Tower like this seems suspicious in many ways.

“The truth is, there’s someone who wants to make you a clan recruitment offer.”

“Me? The Magic Tower clan? But I’m not a magic class user.”

“The Magic Tower clan doesn’t only have magic class users. It’s just that many famous individuals are in the magic class, but there are many other class users working there to protect the magic users.”

Hana’s explanation continued as follows:

Recently, a support class position in a hunting team became vacant, and finding someone to fill it hasn’t been easy.

Because they need someone who not only can detect and measure but also has above-average combat skills.

In that situation, I caught their eye, and they said I would be the most suitable candidate.

“Even so, isn’t it wrong to try to poach national personnel like that?”

“It’s prohibited for national superpower users, meaning field operatives. But you’re not one, Arbiter. You’re just a regular administrative official. So there’s no major issue, and the Magic Tower doesn’t feel burdened either.”

“That’s… true.”

“Yes. Plus, clans pay a lot in taxes and national crisis support funds. You can think of it as preparation for times like these.”

So because they give, they should also receive?

What a wonderful capitalist system this world has!

“Please don’t take this negatively. I’m just making a suggestion with good intentions. First of all, the compensation would be incomparable to what you’re getting now, and it would be good for your career recognition too.”

It’s a sad reality. But I have to acknowledge it.

Compared to my current administrative civil servant job…

No, even compared to field work, having a record as a top-tier clan member is more advantageous in this world.

If I were still an ordinary civil servant, this would have been the best opportunity.

It would be much better to quit this civil servant job and join a clan.

Others might criticize me for not accepting the offer immediately.

‘But not anymore.’

Now that I’ve finally gotten on the right track, running away to a clan would be insane. Yeah.