Ch.88Be Mine

Lee Jin-ah, the branch director, assigned this person as an escort for us… no, specifically for me.

He was none other than Russia’s current National Authority-Level Hunter and the Soviet Union’s only National Authority-Level Hunter, Barbatov Lorensky, who also appears as the hidden boss in the final chapter of <Hunter’s Blood>.

“Dobroye utro! So you’re the Han Shinwoo I’ve heard so much about. Come to think of it, we’ve met before, haven’t we? I think so. Anyway, pleased to meet you!”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you…”

In front of the airport.

I felt queasy even though I hadn’t eaten anything since morning.

Princess Kurumi, who was returning to Korea with me, seemed to feel the same way.

Although we had briefly met in the branch director’s office the day before yesterday, she still looked uncomfortable and displeased.

“So you really came…”

“Yes, lady. I’m also here at Jina’s request.”

“…I hope you’re not planning to attack us again like last time?”

“That will absolutely never happen. Now that one kidnapping attempt has failed, it’s become a diplomatic issue. Unless Russia wants all-out war with Japan, which it doesn’t. My homeland isn’t that stupid of a country.”

“Hmm…”

Lorensky smiled warmly.

In contrast, Princess Kurumi was staring at him intensely, as if she might devour him at any moment.

She clearly didn’t trust his words and remained highly vigilant.

But then.

“Think about it carefully.”

“…?”

“The princess is returning to her family for reasons that are far from pleasant. Imagine if you were in a dangerous situation—perhaps not you, but this young man here—wouldn’t it be reassuring to have someone like me by your side?”

“Hmm…”

“Wouldn’t that be quite comforting?”

“Well… you do have a point.”

He was a skilled fighter who had managed to inflict a small wound on the face of a monster revered as a “god,” even though he was ultimately defeated.

When such a man volunteered to be an ally, it was honestly an appealing offer.

“Then I’ll be counting on you in Japan, Mr. Lorensky.”

“Spasibo! Blessings upon our new friendship that leaves the past behind!”

“W-wait! Shinwoo?!”

The Lorensky I knew from the original work wasn’t the type to stab people in the back anyway.

So I entrusted my protection to Lorensky, and we all boarded the private jet together.

About two hours passed.

“Looks like we’re about to arrive.”

“T-then this place is…!”

“Osaka! I’ve only been to Hokkaido in the north of Japan during my Soviet Hunter Association support days. To be honest, I’m excited!”

“Me too! I’ve never been abroad except for Korea! And I’ve always wanted to set foot on Japanese soil!”

Forgetting how long it had been, Lorensky and I were in a state of excitement.

Especially me, since I had trained religiously in Kyokushin Karate, founded by Master Oyama Masutatsu, known in Korea as Master Choi Baedal.

This was the birthplace of my martial art.

If I hadn’t been disabled in the military, I would have dreamed of competing in karate tournaments in Japan and winning as a representative of Korea.

‘I can’t achieve that dream now, but I’ve always wanted to visit at least once!’

“Is this Shinwoo’s first time abroad?”

“Yes! And I once aimed to be a karate athlete. That’s why I’ve always wanted to visit Japan!”

“Wow! Then you’ve fulfilled one wish. Congratulations!”

“Thank you. Now that I’ve been to Japan, next I’d like to visit China or Russia. Especially Moscow. I heard there’s a huge cathedral there?”

“You must mean St. Basil’s Cathedral. Let me know when you come. Since we’ve met like this, it must be fate. I’ll personally guide you to the innermost parts of the cathedral where ordinary people can’t enter.”

“…! Thank you!”

Lorensky and I were laughing together as we prepared to disembark.

“Excuse me, but could you two please be a bit more serious…”

Princess Kurumi, who was leading the way as the airplane door opened, said this to us.

“Osaka! It’s really Osaka!”

“Sake! Let’s buy some sake first!”

I’m truly happy!

In my previous life, this was impossible.

And in this life, both my parents were busy people, so the only proper trip I’d ever taken was to Busan ten years ago.

Even though I knew we were here for work, I couldn’t help feeling excited.

Princess Kurumi smiled slightly at us, as if she couldn’t help it.

“…After things work out well, let’s go somewhere fun then.”

“Sounds good!”

“I need to exchange my rubles for yen first!”

With that warm atmosphere, we were all about to pass through Osaka Airport without any special inspection…

“Hello~! Kurumi!”

That’s when it happened.

“…Sister Sakura?”

“Yes! It’s me! The one and only sister of our little sister! Sakura~.”

After passing through security and reaching the passenger terminal, there was a woman waving at Princess Kurumi in the middle of an unusually empty space, accompanied by numerous bodyguards.

She was wearing the same kimono as Princess Kurumi and was as beautiful as cherry blossoms fluttering in the wind.

I immediately recognized her as the second daughter of the Kitsune family.

She was Princess Kitsune Sakura, one of the main culprits behind the Japanese catastrophe in the original <Hunter’s Blood>.

‘So it’s her—the princess who tried to control Amaterasu in the original story but failed, resulting in all of Osaka being engulfed in flames.’

She was the typical aristocratic lady character with an exceptionally strong sense of possession.

Perhaps because of that personality?

In the original work, Princess Sakura awakens Amaterasu, who had been sleeping in the Kitsune family’s secret underground chamber, to increase her own power.

She then tries her best to control it by any means necessary, but naturally fails.

Enraged, Amaterasu kills Princess Sakura before leaving the Kitsune family mansion, becoming classified as a National Disaster-Level monster and the final boss of the Japan scenario.

‘At least Amaterasu is already under Princess Kurumi’s control now. That’s fortunate.’

I didn’t know this in the original work, but these two knew each other.

Well, being from the same family, they would inevitably know each other.

…Though they clearly weren’t on good terms.

“What brings you all the way here, Sister Sakura?”

“Hoho. What do you mean ‘what brings me here’~? My little sister has returned to her homeland after several months! It’s only natural for her only sister to take care of her, isn’t it?”

“…Take care of me? Me?”

She’s lying.

How can she tell such blatant lies with such a cheerful face?

It’s obvious she’s just a sycophant looking to pick up some scraps.

“Just from Princess Kurumi’s reaction, they don’t seem to get along well. Why would she come all the way here then?”

“She obviously wants to extend her influence here too. I heard that Princess Kurumi once subdued all the direct descendants of the family at once. She’s doing this because she’s afraid Princess Kurumi might gain her own support base.”

“In simple terms, she’s trying to increase her connections!”

We whispered.

Princess Kurumi was coldly facing her sister, who was smiling until her face might cramp.

I explained the current situation to Lorensky as we watched the two.

But then.

“Are these two people behind you Kurumi’s companions?”

“…!”

“Hmm!”

Perhaps she wanted to make a good impression on Princess Kurumi?

Princess Sakura, pretending to be kind, spoke to us as if we were mere employees.

“He seems quite gentle for a Beast Hunter?”

“It’s clearly an act. If you look carefully, you can see wrinkles of disgust between her expressions.”

Just as he said, while she was smiling on the surface, if you looked closely, there was a hint of hostility in her face as she looked at Lorensky, clearly wishing he would go away.

Then the princess made eye contact with me too.

“This one seems weak for an escort? No, rather… hmm…?”

Princess Sakura was about to give me a formal smile as well.

However, after a few seconds, her expression—which had remained smiling until death even in the game—began to crumble.

“…Huh?”

First, she looked shocked and dismayed.

Thump, thump.

Suddenly, she walked past Princess Kurumi and came right up to me.

Stretch.

She stretched both my cheeks outward like Japanese mochi.

“E-excuse me…?”

And when I opened my mouth, wondering what was happening.

Sparkle, sparkle.

I could see the look in her eyes of an aristocratic lady clearly obsessed with possession.

“You, be mine.”

At the same time, as if entranced, she began drooling and suddenly made a proposal.

“I don’t know how much Kurumi is paying you, but I’ll give you twice… no, four times that amount!”

“U-um…”

“So! You, be mine! No, from now on, just become Japanese!”

Getting citizenship is that easy?

…No, it’s not, and I was at a loss for how to respond to this sudden proposal to become Japanese.

“I’ll personally rename you. That’s fine, right?”

“Um, well…”

Just as my existence was being rewritten like a game character…

“Sister. That’s enough.”

“?!”

“…!”

“Hooh…”

In that moment, everyone at the airport could feel it.

“Shinwoo is ‘my person.'”

The little lady who had once been bullied and ignored as an illegitimate child was no longer here.

What stood here now was a hero who had succeeded in controlling Amaterasu, the monster known as the sun god—the first in Kitsune family history to do so—albeit with a little help from me.

It was Princess Kitsune Kurumi, who had become one of the candidates for the next family head.

“If you approach Shinwoo without my permission one more time, I will not stand idle.”