Chapter 41 The Third Meeting with My Ex-Girlfriend

It started as a mild cold, but it seems that staying injured in below-freezing temperatures for too long is quite difficult.

Park Jin-ha, who was taken away in an ambulance, apparently needs to be hospitalized.
Of course, since it’s just a high fever, it shouldn’t take too long if she gets an IV drip.

A Red Gate that appeared suddenly.

Somehow we managed to clear it, and there don’t seem to be any other problems.

But I feel a bit disappointed that my precious day off was almost completely erased because of the Red Gate.

Still, the situation was quickly resolved.

Before I knew it, the sun had set and evening had fallen.

Winter days are short, and now it’s getting much cooler to match the night temperature.

Shopping for clothes with Park Jin-ha has obviously been canceled now, so I’m thinking of just going home.

Actually, there would normally be a process of discussing various things with the Hunter Association.

But Min Seo-jin and Reytana have already taken care of almost all of that, so I don’t have to worry about it.

Now I can just head home with peace of mind.

However.

“Hey. Why are you following me?”

After leaving the department store and walking for quite a while, I felt someone persistently following me from behind.

When I turned around, sure enough, it was Reytana with her blonde hair and nun’s habit.

She probably thought she was following me secretly, but her outfit stands out too much.

When I turned around and looked at Reytana, she revealed herself slightly as if caught.

Then approaching me, Reytana greeted me delicately like a shy girl.

“Hero. I thought I should report this. I’ve submitted the gate conquest under Si-woo’s name. Officials from the Hunter Association will visit you soon.”

“I see.”

“Hero can now become an S-class hunter.”

“That’s good.”

Reytana smiled as she informed me.

Clearing the Red Gate, conquering an SS-class gate—the achievement would be entirely credited to me.

Now, whether I like it or not, I can no longer hide that I have an EX-class skill, and there’s no reason to hide it anyway.

In fact, I’ve become strong enough that no one can really threaten me anymore, and I didn’t plan to keep hiding it either.

“Hero. When I heard you fell into a Red Gate, I rushed over immediately. Did I do well?”

“Yeah.”

Reytana had an expression like she was hoping for praise, but I wasn’t particularly interested.

I turned my back to Reytana and continued walking.

“Um… Hero. Would you like to… have dinner?”

After stopping me from leaving, Reytana called out to me once more.

It seemed like she wanted something.

“Dinner, huh…”

“And after dinner?”

“Huh? Then we could go to a cafe…”

“And after the cafe?”

“Then… we could walk around the streets…”

“And then?”

“… And then…”

“Just be honest. What’s your purpose?”

“… Well… that…”

When I asked Reytana, her cheeks turned red and she started fidgeting with her fingers.

Seems like she’s trying to say something that’s difficult to express in her own words.

I actually know what Reytana is trying to ask of me without her having to say it.

“Sigh.”

I sighed at the sight of Reytana.

Then I continued with an annoyed tone.

“Reytana. You seem to be misunderstanding something, but I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

To be honest, I still don’t like Reytana.

Because of her, I almost died, and my younger sister had to endure the humiliation of being kidnapped.

So even if she’s now acting like she likes me and creating a sweet atmosphere, I just don’t like this situation.

Of course, I could understand that Reytana isn’t an evil person.

I could somewhat empathize that she did those things unavoidably, following the Goddess’s orders.

After all, if the world was about to end, she wasn’t in a position to be picky about her methods to save it.

But still, dislike is dislike.

“Uuu…”

Hearing my words, Reytana showed a deeply disappointed expression.

She looked like an abandoned puppy.

Reytana had always lacked some kind of stimulation.

Was it because of her ascetic lifestyle since childhood?

Or was it because she tried to live up to the expectations from those around her?

Or was it pride in receiving the Goddess’s power?

Or was it a combination of everything?

No one knows the exact reason, but regardless, Reytana’s inner self lacked nothing.

She had everything and always lived in satisfaction.

In a way, perhaps because of her upbringing, she couldn’t understand others’ pain and developed somewhat sociopathic tendencies.

Reytana had never once desired anything.

But she did feel something was empty.

Due to the absence of emotions and desires, she wanted some kind of stimulation.

Everything was full, but conversely, everything was empty—that was the essence of Reytana as a person.

On one hand, Reytana felt regretful about herself, but it didn’t matter much to her.

Receiving something from other foolish people was neither possible nor should it be.

Even if she lacked some sensations, it didn’t matter.

After all, Reytana was born as a clergy member.

She believed her destiny wasn’t concerned with such trivial things.

So all she could do, all she had to do, was just pray.

But.

Reytana had been feeling many emotions she had never experienced before.

These were related to the Hero, Lee Si-woo.

Meeting him, the incident where he invaded the Order—through these events, Reytana was able to feel truly diverse emotions.

For the first time in her life, she felt fear.

For the first time in her life, she felt submission.

For the first time in her life, she felt sexual desire.

For the first time in her life, she felt dependence.

For the first time in her life, she even felt sadness.

Her encounter with Si-woo was very brief.

But for Reytana, there were so many first-time emotions.

As many as all the emotions she had felt throughout her entire life…

Having always lived an exceptional life, she was very surprised at herself.

She couldn’t help but realize how much she had been missing.

As she realized this, desire started welling up inside her.

Her heart, which she thought was full, was actually empty, and now she wanted to fill it.

Reytana wanted to learn more about these feelings.

‘I… did wrong…’

But she couldn’t.

Reytana knew very well what wrongs she had done to Si-woo.

She put him in mortal danger and even kidnapped his younger sister, Lee Si-eun.

Even in her own opinion, regardless of it being for a greater cause, these were actions unlikely to gain favor.

That’s why she had no choice but to endure this cold treatment.

She knew very well that it was impossible for him to treat her kindly, even in her own judgment.

‘Why did I do such things…’

Therefore, Reytana’s emotional thirst could not be quenched.

It was a situation that couldn’t be fixed no matter how desperately she begged.

So Reytana couldn’t help but regret this moment.

If only she had acted more gently, would things have been different?

If only she had thought more about others, could she have bridged this emotional gap?

Reytana had many such thoughts.

And in the end, it was regret.

Despite it being for a greater cause, Reytana regretted her past actions.

‘It cannot be undone…’

She desperately wanted to fill this emotion, but there was no way.

She had no right to.

Lamenting why this happened to her, tears formed in Reytana’s eyes.

Just as I was about to leave Reytana behind.

“Huaaang…”

I heard crying from behind.

When I turned around, Reytana was crying bitterly in the middle of the street.

—Wow. That woman must have been rejected.

—But isn’t that the Saint?

—Come on. It’s probably just someone cosplaying as the Saint. As if the Saint would be crying in the middle of the street.

—Hmm… I guess so. Anyway, that guy must be a real jerk.

And people scattered around the street started reacting to Reytana’s crying.

There weren’t many people because of the Red Gate, but still, they were gathering one by one.

“Sigh.”

The thought that this was really annoying completely dominated my mind.

I approached Reytana again.

“Follow me.”

“What?”

“I said follow me. You wanted to eat, right? Don’t you want to eat?”

“Ah… no…! I do want to.”

I took Reytana and left the street.

Well.

I can at least have a meal with her.

We’ll probably end up being involved with each other one way or another anyway.

Somehow, ever since I became the Hero, I feel like a lot of annoying things keep happening.

After leading Reytana out and avoiding people’s gazes, I headed to a nearby restaurant I knew.

Just when I thought I had avoided annoying situations, I encountered another one.

I don’t understand why I keep running into her these days.

“Ha. Why is she here again…”

At the restaurant where Reytana and I arrived.

In one corner of the restaurant, eating her meal, I found myself face to face with Yoo Eun-ha.