Ch.78Someone Like Han Shinwoo Is Easy

“I’m sorry about earlier, sir. It seems there was an error with the machine.”

“Well, you could have just said that from the beginning…”

“There’s a saying in Korean that you should listen until the end, Senior Riverine. You were too hasty this time.”

“Ah, well, I’ll purchase this perfume at the regular price anyway!”

The misunderstanding was resolved well.

Riverine, who had started calling me her junior, was now completely treating me like a junior member of the Villain’s Troupe.

This was all thanks to my phone call with Ms. Katarina earlier.

“Shinwoo! Of course you’re part of our Villain’s Troupe! Riverine, you’re his senior, so take good care of him. Got it?”

“…! Yes! Understood!!”

At first, I was just trying to go along with it, but Ms. Katarina had already made me a member of the Villain’s Troupe without my permission.

I was worried about accidentally going down the villain route, but since I’d already progressed much further on the righteous path, this level of contact should be fine.

Having become Riverine’s junior, I first headed to the perfume shop on the first floor of Shinsegae Department Store where she claimed she had been scammed.

And I had just cleared up the misunderstanding caused by a machine malfunction.

“Phew… That’s Korea for you. Still, they resolve issues very quickly.”

“Haha…”

“……”

“By the way, junior. Do you have time after this? If not, make some. From now on, I, as your ‘senior,’ will specially teach you about our Villain’s Troupe!”

“R-right now?”

Here it comes, my first relationship event with Riverine.

Pretending to explain about the Villain’s Troupe while actually having a cozy date at a café.

For an experienced player who knows the right approach, this event could easily raise Riverine’s affection from “slight interest” to “might be in love…” status.

But there was a problem…

“No way! Oppa was shopping with unnie right now.”

“Unnie…?”

That’s right.

I was currently at the department store shopping with Sophia.

And we had promised to visit a delicious king crab restaurant together on our way home when the shopping was done.

‘It’s a bit disappointing to miss the café event… but I guess it can’t be helped?’

Lia was firmly attached to one of my arms, as if saying there was absolutely no way.

Looking up at Lia’s eyes, she was staring at me coldly as if asking, “Are you really going to betray us?”

“I’m sorry, senior.”

“…!”

Since I couldn’t be the heartless adult who disappoints a child.

Though it was truly regrettable, I decided to just skip this affection event with Riverine.

“I’m afraid I can’t because I have a prior engagement.”

“Is that so? That’s too bad…”

“Hey!!”

“?!”

“?”

“…!”

But.

Somehow, even though not even five hours had passed, how did this happen?

“Han Shinwoo, you idiot!”

“Oof?!”

Like a wife who caught her husband cheating, Sophia delivered a high kick straight to my side.

“How is it that whenever I turn my eyes away for just a moment, you always have women around you?!”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Collapsed on the floor, I wanted to retort immediately.

But after hearing her words.

“Shinwoo.”

“Shinwoo~!”

“Mr. Shinwoo.”

…Despite being a virgin, I somehow had an excessive number of female acquaintances.

‘What is this? A bug?’

Ms. Yoo Cheran, Princess Kurumi, Ms. Katarina, and now Senior Riverine—I already had four women around me.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t have a single same-sex friend…’

But let’s put aside such trivial matters for now.

What I needed to do right now was to calm Sophia down by pretending Riverine was my work senior.

“Sophia. There seems to be a misunderstanding. Riverine senior is my workplace superior.”

“Oh, really?”

“…Hello. I’m Riverine.”

“Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Sophia, Shinwoo’s girlfriend.”

Sophia naturally introduced me as her boyfriend while shaking hands with Riverine.

It seemed to be resolved well, which was a relief…

Squeeze.

…or so I thought.

“You said your name is Sophia?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you have dinner plans with my junior today. Would it be alright if I joined you?”

“Hoho. No, it wouldn’t be alright.”

“Hohoho. I just wanted to treat you to a meal~.”

“Hohohoh. I’m not a beggar—I have enough money to buy king crab and snow crab myself.”

“Riverine senior?”

“Unnie?”

Both women were smiling, but not really smiling.

Like the strongest spear against the strongest shield, the two seemed unlikely to yield to each other.

Crackle.

Now they were even shooting lasers from their eyes at each other.

‘How am I supposed to stop this?’

Since they would all become comrades in the latter part of the story anyway, I thought I should stop them right away before things got worse.

“Huff, huff…!”

“…?”

But at that moment.

“Who…?”

I made eye contact with a blond boy I had never seen before in the original “Hunter’s Blood,” despite being a veteran player.

Currently, he was inhaling deeply to an unusual degree, and at the same time, how should I put it?

Crunch-!

He looked extremely angry.

***

Even now, when I close my eyes, I remember.

That day when the rain poured down heavily.

That worst day when humans, happy to have water to drink, carelessly went outside and became monster food one by one.

The person who was like a mother to me, who died because of me.

Though I had committed an unforgivable sin and deserved to die, at least in the broken world, I was called a hero, and to me, she was my only precious person.

So the woman who killed that person.

And the mastermind hiding behind that woman who left the world in that state.

‘Lia…! And Han Shinwoo!’

Crack-

“W-what’s happening?!”

“An earthquake…?”

The entire department store began to shake.

The lights started flickering, and people were quickly evacuating to the department store’s basement shelter as if a monster had appeared.

Han Jaewon, who had been glaring at Lia with murderous intent, made eye contact with Shinwoo again.

“Excuse me…”

Immediately, Sophia let go of Riverine’s hand and tried to approach him with an ominous feeling as he put down his luggage.

But two people stopped her simultaneously.

“Sophia, stay still.”

“Ms. Sophia. Please don’t come here, it’s dangerous.”

Han Jaewon actually knew.

That releasing such killing intent now wouldn’t help with what was to come.

Nevertheless, the enemies who had killed so many of his comrades and family-like people were right in front of him—not just one, but two.

“Han Shinwoo…”

“……”

“Let go of Lia and leave. Then I’ll at least spare your life.”

“Let go of Lia and leave…?”

Unable to hold back, Han Jaewon pointed at Lia with his finger as if giving a final warning.

But.

“And if I refuse?”

“…!”

“Lia is like a precious little sister to me. I’d rather die than abandon her.”

Since it was obvious what someone emitting such killing intent would do to Lia, Shinwoo walked to the side and shielded the trembling Lia with his back.

At those words, Han Jaewon smirked and said:

“Like a little sister… with that kind of belly… your taste is quite perverse.”

“What?”

“I’m saying the conversation is over, Han Shinwoo.”

Crackle. Crack!

No more dialogue was necessary.

If he wouldn’t listen, revenge could be taken by force.

Anyway, future Ms. Katarina had said that only Han Shinwoo needed to be safe, so killing Lia wouldn’t matter.

No, it might even have a better influence on the future—thinking this, Han Jaewon immediately drew the holy sword from his back.

“Uraaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Emitting black lightning from his body, he transformed into a monster with a pitch-black form.

“W-what?!”

“O-oppa, that’s…!”

“Kaijufication?”

Kaijufication Hunter.

Shinwoo was surprised by the appearance of a special hunter profession that could only be created with a specific code, which shouldn’t exist except for himself.

“Anyway, you’re currently in your weakest state among all timelines…”

“?! How can you speak while in Kaijufication…?”

“So even someone like me should be enough to take you down!”

Before Shinwoo could be surprised, Han Jaewon grabbed his neck and broke through the department store’s outer wall, taking him outside.

“Grrrr…”

“?!”

“Kraaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Shinwoo also immediately transformed into a monster to prepare for a counterattack.

And so, the two National Disaster-Level monsters, transformed into similar forms, clashed their bodies in the middle of Gangnam.

“Grrrrrr!”

‘Who the hell are you?!’

“I have no reason to tell you that!”

Shinwoo grabbed both wrists, trying to subdue him with strength.

But Han Jaewon raised crimson demonic energy from one hand holding the sword, and immediately repelled one of Shinwoo’s hands with tremendous heat.

“Arondight!!”

“?!”

“Activate!”

Crash!

Lancelot’s holy sword Arondight.

Due to the holy sword’s ability to kill even gods, Shinwoo couldn’t afford to be hit, so he broke his stance and quickly distanced himself from Han Jaewon.

But before he could even back away:

“Did you think you could distance yourself from me?!”

“Tch!”

The current Han Shinwoo was in his weakest initial state among all timelines.

Thinking that he could easily subdue the current version, Han Jaewon had no hesitation in closing the distance.

“Gruk! Gruk!”

‘Hey! There are people around—are you crazy swinging that thing?!’

“From the moment we both transformed, people have already evacuated!”

As he said, Gangnam was already empty.

Therefore, Han Jaewon, who didn’t need to control his power, released the holy sword’s output to maximum, enough to darken the blue sky.

“Arondight – Over Buster!!”

But.

“Gruk?”

‘Oh really?’

Shinwoo, who had no idea that there were no people around.

“Grrrrruk?”

‘There really aren’t any?’

And I had been running away the whole time.

Thinking there might be civilians who couldn’t evacuate.

“Gruk – Gruk.”

‘Kyokushin Karate – Hand Blade Catch.’

Then he precisely and cleanly caught the pitch-black blade that was falling like a meteor with both hands.

“What?!”

With the holy sword’s maximum release blocked for the first time, leaving Han Jaewon at a loss, Shinwoo aimed for his abdomen, thinking that since they were both Kaijufication Hunters:

He should be able to withstand this much, so I’ll use just enough force not to kill him.

“Grrruk. Gruk!”

‘Continuing with Kyokushin Karate – Back Kick.’

“Oof?!”

Whack!

He immediately kicked him back through the hole in the department store’s outer wall that we had broken through.