Chapter 334: For Crazy Women, Since Old Times (1)

The moment I discovered Sihee and Eunbyul lying collapsed on the floor, my instinctive movement reacted before my reason did.

There wasn’t even a need to make a grand assessment of the situation. Because the sight that already entered my eyes was enough reason to send the woman before me flying.

It was fortunate that I was holding my scutum, partly for practicing shield techniques. Thanks to that, I could charge in with my shield and subdue the opponent.

And in another sense… it was fortunate that what I was holding wasn’t a greatsword with high lethality.

At first, I even wondered if she was some kind of hidden monster from the black mud swamp.

The sight of the two people, covered in mud and subdued by several mud golems created around that woman, was naturally enough to spark such an imagination.

If I had been holding a greatsword, I might have just cut her down instinctively.

If the target were a monster, it wouldn’t matter whether I cut it down or not, but if it were a person, there would be problems in various ways.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the one who bounced off my shield seemed to be a person, not a monster, and the owner of the red side ponytail slowly groaned from where she had fallen.

“Ughhh….”

I didn’t particularly feel sorry. Even if she was a person, it was an undeniable fact that she was attempting to harm Sihee and Eunbyul.

Seeing the mud golems that had been holding Sihee and Eunbyul slowly crumble with a ‘fusss’ sound, it seemed my guess was right – she was indeed controlling them.

“Sihee-ssi, are you okay?!”

“…Sungchul-ssi?”

Her eyes trembled as if she still hadn’t grasped the situation.

“…Is this perhaps a dream?”

“That is not the case.”

“Then, how on earth….”

She must have wanted to ask why I was here when our appointment was clearly canceled today.

In fact, I was the one who wanted to ask her the same question.

There were many other things I wanted to ask after assessing the situation, but it seemed I didn’t have the time to discuss them right now.

Waving my hand to casually dismiss the blonde young lady’s question, I immediately turned to her with a question to grasp the current situation.

“We can talk about that later, but first, who is that woman?”

“What?”

“She didn’t seem to be on very good terms with you, Sihee-ssi. Is she perhaps an enemy?”

“An enemy… she is, but….”

Seeing the hesitation in her answer, it seemed their relationship wasn’t something that could be simply described.

Just as I was about to turn my gaze towards Eunbyul to get objective information, the voice of the woman who had been sent flying came from her direction.

“An enemy? How disappointing. Sihee and I aren’t like that.”

The woman with the red side ponytail, who had tidied her clothes and gotten up from her spot unnoticed.

She fixed her gaze on me and Sihee, crossed her arms arrogantly, and spoke to us again in a sharp voice.

Conversely, Sihee regarded the woman’s appearance with caution, expressing her animosity towards her without reservation through her eyes.

She had clearly been hit by my shield, bounced off, and rolled all over the muddy ground, yet her clothes and hair were immaculate, showing no signs of getting dirty.

Considering she was controlling mud golems just moments ago, a suspicion that she might be an earth mage began to cautiously form.

Facing her as she slowly approached, her footsteps distinct even on the muddy ground, I firmly gripped my shield, my guard fully raised.

“You don’t need to be so wary. I truly am not Sihee’s enemy.”

“From the scene I just witnessed, you didn’t look like that at all.”

“It was just a typical sisterly quarrel. Isn’t it natural for close family members to fight and clash as they grow?”

“……”

“If you don’t believe me, ask that child directly. Whether I’m Sihee’s older sister or not.”

With such a confident attitude, I shifted my gaze to Sihee, who, in her own way, shook her head and denied the statement.

“That’s a lie. I’ve never considered that woman my sister.”

“You’re the one lying, Sihee. You used to follow me around calling me ‘Unnie, Unnie’ so affectionately when you were little.”

“No! I will never acknowledge a bitch like you as my sister!”

“Sigh, really. To be so shameless even after losing a duel….”

Between the two young ladies spouting arguments that ran parallel, I moved closer to Sihee again, maintaining my vigilance towards the red-haired side ponytail woman.

If both of them had been people I knew, perhaps, but the woman before me, far from being an acquaintance, was someone I had just met today.

In such a situation, my heart naturally leaned towards Sihee, with whom I had built a connection over many years.

“I don’t think I need to hear any more. Sihee-ssi clearly seems to consider you an enemy.”

“…It seems the new colleague you’ve made recently has quite deep loyalty. Though I wonder how long that attitude will last.”

“Loyalty, my foot! It’s not like that with Sungchul-ssi!”

“Hmm, Sungchul-ssi, is it? That sounds like a masculine name. I’ll remember it.”

“……!!”

Do Sihee, belatedly covering her mouth after shouting in excitement, shook her head.

Judging by the atmosphere, she probably didn’t want her to find out my true identity.

Perhaps the reason she hastily canceled our meeting today was to avoid a situation where that woman and I would cross paths.

The reason she probably didn’t find my name particularly strange might be due to my mysterious mask.

On days I went to work at the Guild, I still wore it out of habit.

I had done my best to grasp the situation with the information given, but the woman’s identity remained a mystery.

Although she claimed to be Sihee’s older sister, Do Sihee adamantly denied it.

As a strange tension began to fill the air, Eunbyul’s voice reached me.

“…She is Master’s half-sister, Do Yehee-nim.”

“Half-sister?”

“It means they share the same mother but have different fathers.”

“Both Master and Do Yehee-nim’s mother is the current chairperson of Dokyung Group, Do Kyunghee-nim, but their fathers are different individuals….”

“Ah, I see. That kind of relationship.”

In other words, not full sisters, but a somewhat complicated family relationship.

Now I could finally understand that Do Yehee was the person Do Sihee often mentioned as her rival in the succession competition.

I could roughly understand why their relationship didn’t seem very good.

After all, sisters constantly clashing over succession would naturally strain their relationship, even if it had potential.

Of course, this was just speculation, as I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about the succession battles among chaebol heiresses.

The red-haired side ponytail young lady, nodding slightly at Eunbyul’s explanation, immediately turned to me and greeted me again, as if pleased.

“Now you know, right? That I am Do Yehee.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“Then you must also realize how rude your actions were just now, Sungchul-ssi?”

“……”

…When did this woman even see me? Why is she suddenly calling me by name familiarly?

While I was contemplating whether to warn her about the sudden closeness, the shameless woman before me voiced her complaint about the previous attack.

“It hurt quite a bit. Your shield bash. I heard you’re skilled with a sword, but it seems you’re quite adept at shield techniques too?”

“…Did Sihee-ssi tell you about me?”

“No! That woman just found out by arbitrarily investigating you!”

“Investigating? It’s just information I found out while looking into Sihee’s recent activities. Choose your words carefully.”

“That’s investigating, you bitch!!”

Startled by Sihee’s rough, vulgar curse, which I heard for the first time, my gaze shifted to her momentarily. As soon as she let out the harsh word, Sihee, whose eyes met mine, quickly averted her gaze with a look of realization.

Suppressing a laugh that almost escaped at her reaction, I shifted my gaze back to Do Yehee, who I was making eye contact with, and replied.

“…Well, it’s true that a shield bash upon first meeting is a rude act.”

“I’m glad you understand. This time, I’ll generously grant you special forgiveness, but in return, next time, perhaps with me…”

“But that was unavoidable since you were tormenting Sihee-ssi in the first place, wasn’t it?”

“……What?”

“…Sungchul-ssi?”

Do Yehee tilted her head slightly, her brow furrowed as if genuinely unable to comprehend.

Towards the woman showing such a bewildered reaction, I explained the situation that led me to confront her with a shield bash right from our first meeting.

“Even if you are Sihee-ssi’s older sister….”

“I’m not her sister.”

“…Even if we are half-sisters, wasn’t it true that you were tormenting Sihee-ssi and Eunbyul-ssi with your abilities? You could argue that I’m meddling in private family matters, but in the situation just now, I couldn’t help but side with Sihee-ssi, whom I already know.”

“…Are you serious? You’re saying that to my face, Do Yehee, a candidate for the next successor of Dokyung Group?”

“Well, I just found out a moment ago… but that’s not particularly important, is it? You’re not the actual chairperson of Dokyung Group.”

“……!!”

Do Yehee, her expression agitated as if she truly couldn’t believe it, levitated herself.

However, I had no intention of retracting my words, nor did I intend to apologize for sending her flying with a shield bash right from our first meeting.

Even if she were not just a successor candidate but the chairperson herself, my actions in the situation just now likely wouldn’t have changed.

Given that I arrived late on the scene, there was a high possibility of misunderstanding, but at the very least, the first sight that met my eyes was this woman wielding magic against a bound Do Sihee.

Without knowing if that magic possessed lethality or danger, charging in with my shield was the best choice I could make at that moment.

I had simply performed a highly logical and natural action, so I had no regrets.

It was also true that, thanks to that action, the restraints of the mud golems holding Sihee and Eunbyul were released.

“Y-you heard that…? You really don’t know who I am…?”

“You’re not a chaebol chairperson, so how am I supposed to remember every single successor candidate’s name? I didn’t even know which group’s young lady you were when I first met Sihee-ssi.”

“Unbelievable…. How could you not recognize me, Do Yehee, a successor candidate of Dokyung Group….”

Seeing her unconsciously repeat the same words in informal speech, it seemed my failure to recognize her was quite a shock.

But I can’t exactly say I know someone when I don’t.

Hunters belonging to the foundation are likely children of chaebols or famous figures, so information about Dokyung Group’s heirs might be considered essential knowledge. However, for Sung Taekyung, a citizen of South Korea who has lived an ordinary commoner’s life for 22 years, knowing who the chaebol successor candidates are was hardly necessary knowledge.

It would have been better to spend that time accumulating knowledge to become a hunter.

“…You didn’t know me either? W-well, I did think you were being a bit too unrestrained from our first meeting.”

…Seeing this young lady’s similar reaction, perhaps all hunters affiliated with the foundation are like this.