Chapter 560: Acquaintance Introduction (2)

Despite the somewhat confusing first impression, tidying up the situation wasn’t as difficult as expected.

After all, the most surprising part was simply that Lulusia and I shared a common acquaintance.

The fact that Lulusia and I had met for the first time today, or that Sihee and Cha Yuri had considered each other rivals without knowing each other, wasn’t a deep enough relationship to require explanation.

Since everyone already here was my acquaintance, it was just a matter of introducing the three of them to each other.

“First, I’ll introduce everyone formally, one by one. This is Cha Yuri-ssi, my colleague from the same company and a party member. She’s an A-class Hunter, and her awakened ability is wind magic.”

“…Nice to meet you.”

“…It’s nice to meet you for the first time, Cha Yuri-ssi.”

Cha Yuri and Do Sihee exchanged a somewhat awkward conversation.

As soon as that awkward exchange ended, the Saintess barged in and greeted Cha Yuri.

“Yes~! Cha Yuri~! Nice to meet you~!”

“Ah, um…. Nice to meet…”

“Cha Yuri-ssi, you’re affiliated with a company too~! I’m Lulusia Belmonte~! Please take good care of me!”

“…….”

Lulusia greeted her with the same enthusiastic expression she had shown when first meeting me.

Conversely, seeming slightly overwhelmed by her energy, Cha Yuri subtly glanced my way and asked,

“Is the Saintess person always like this?”

“I only met her today myself, but aside from the lack of personal space, she seems like a good person.”

“It’s just… hard to get used to that lack of personal space…”

Cha Yuri, perhaps finding Lulusia’s unfamiliar personality difficult to adapt to, asked me in slight bewilderment.

Considering her personality, her reaction wasn’t strange. Even I, who am generally quite outgoing, was a bit taken aback by that absurd lack of personal space.

Given Cha Yuri’s personality, she wasn’t someone who would offer empty pleasantries, so it was perfectly understandable that she’d feel uncomfortable around someone like Lulusia.

‘Considering Sihee’s personality when I first met her, it’s quite strange that she gets along so well with Lulusia.’

At least they were in the same guild, so there must have been opportunities to become closer.

There’s even a saying that no matter how much you dislike someone, going into a dungeon together once can make you best friends. It’s probably similar to the suspension bridge effect.

Conversely, it also meant that even Cha Yuri could become as close as Sihee and Lulusia if given enough time.

In reality, perhaps there wasn’t even a need to become close with people you might only meet once today.

“Cha Yuri-ssi, this is Do Sihee-ssi, a Hunter affiliated with the Ariel Foundation. She’s also an A-class Hunter, and we happened to meet inside a dungeon and became personally acquainted.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Cha Yuri-ssi.”

“…Mm.”

Upon hearing the phrase “personally acquainted,” Cha Yuri’s expression shifted subtly, as if pondering something.

She could probably guess what that “personal relationship” entailed.

After all, there weren’t many reasons for a company Hunter and a foundation Hunter to build personal friendships.

While I was thinking that, Sihee, who had the deepest connection with Lulusia among us, continued the introductions regarding her.

“I’ll introduce Lulusia. She’s the Saintess from Vatican City, Lulusia Belmonte. The Vatican sends Hunters to study abroad every generation for inter-country exchange.”

“It’s Lulusia~! Feel free to call me Lulusia~!”

“…….”

“As I mentioned earlier, please take good care of me~! Yuri~!”

“Ugh, um….”

Cha Yuri, unable to refuse the handshake offered with such a bright smile, awkwardly clasped and shook her hand.

With such shyness, how did she even get into the Sky Blue Shield in the first place?

“By the way, I didn’t realize you and Cha Yuri-ssi already knew each other.”

“It’s not really ‘knowing’ each other. I just happened to notice you during monster subjugation activities in the same area, and you left an impression. In this day and age, a Hunter wearing an unnecessarily large hat and cumbersome robes is bound to stand out.”

“…What?”

“Plus, that staff looks like an inconveniently large old tree branch to carry around. At first, I thought you were trying to act like some Karin Rayner character, but you actually utilize wind magic quite well? That was a bit surprising.”

“…….”

Ah, crap.

There was no way the prideful Cha Yuri would let Sihee’s words slide.

As expected, upon hearing the blonde lady’s words, Cha Yuri’s face turned red, and she started trembling.

Knowing that her outfit was indeed inspired by Karin Rayner’s attire, I could fully anticipate Cha Yuri’s reaction.

Before I could get Sihee to apologize and mediate, our party’s wind mage finally exploded.

“Sihee, you’re being a bit too harsh for someone you just met…”

“You’re the one with the ridiculous ability to shoot useless arrows, you fucking idiot.”

“…….”

“…What did you just say?”

“The ridiculous ability to shoot useless arrows, you fucking idiot. It’s funny how you, with your half-assed ability that’s neither magic nor close combat, are judging others like you’re hot shit. You certainly stood out in many ways too. While everyone else fights with magic, you were using a weapon that was only relevant a thousand years ago. Are you some kind of attention seeker?”

“A-are you done talking?! You old-fashioned mage!”

“Says the one who can’t let go of a weapon used since the Stone Age. Who are you calling old-fashioned?”

“…Both of you, stop.”

“S-Sungchul-ssi?”

“…….”

After grabbing both of them by the scruff of their necks and subduing them instantly, not long after they met and were growling like they were about to fight,

I pulled both their heads close to me and mediated in a low voice, quiet enough for Lulusia not to hear.

“What are you doing? How are you two growling at each other less than five minutes after meeting?”

“T-that woman called my ability fucking useless!”

“…You started it.”

“I was just sharing my thoughts! A Hunter these days dressed up with a hat, cloak, and staff to use magic… cough gasp! Ugh…!”

“If you don’t know your own place and criticize others’ outfits, you have no right to complain when criticism comes back, do you? As expected, Hunters from the Foundation are all just fucking… Ah, Aaaak! Aak!”

“I said, both of you, stop.”

“S-sorry, Sungchul-ssi…!”

“A-alright, stop…!”

As the pressure on their necks intensified, the two finally shut their mouths and nodded.

I hadn’t imagined a fairytale-like scene of cheerful greetings, but I certainly didn’t want to witness a brutal fight between alley cats either.

Whether they’d meet again or not was another matter, but I had to get them to make up first.

“Both of you, quickly hold hands and make up.”

“…….”

“…….”

“Aren’t you going to make up?”

“…I did nothing wrong.”

“…She started it.”

“Fine, do whatever you want, Sihee. But if you don’t apologize first, I’ll tell Lulusia over there exactly what you demand every time we meet… your weird sexual preferences…”

“…Ah, I’m sorry, Cha Yuri-ssi. Thinking about it, pointing out your outfit right from the start was my mistake. I’m sure your Hunter attire has meaning to you, so I judged you too stereotypically.”

“…….”

“Accept her apology, Cha Yuri. And you apologize too.”

“…….”

“If you don’t accept, I’ll tell them too. About the ‘play’ you engage in with me using the dungeon for personal use, to our Sky Blue Shield party members…”

“…I-I’m sorry too. I got defensive and said harsh things. …You seem good at hunting, though.”

“No, well… Your ability seemed quite versatile too.”

“…….”

“…….”

After the apologies were exchanged, the two women cautiously looked up at me.

Seeing their tense eyes, like students waiting for exam results, I released their scruffs.

“Don’t fight next time, both of you.”

“O-of course, Sungchul-ssi.”

“…I won’t fight either, Sungchul-ah.”

“Y-you shouldn’t fight~! F-friends should get along~!”

“It’s okay, Lulusia. Both of them promised to get along.”

“R-really~? You’re not fighting, right~?”

“O-of course, Lulusia.”

-Nod nod.

Lulusia’s deflated voice certainly helped diffuse the tense atmosphere.

There probably aren’t any belligerent humans who would continue arguing after hearing a voice like that.

Seriously, what reason did they have to be so wary of each other the moment they met?

Cha Yuri even had a previous record of mediating a fight between her and Hye-eun, so in a way, she was a repeat offender.

Still, this time Sihee was the one who instigated it, so I should let it go at that.

Sihee probably didn’t have any ill intentions when evaluating Cha Yuri’s outfit, but honestly, from Cha Yuri’s perspective, it was understandably offensive.

Of course, the subsequent remarks like “fucking useless ability” and “attention seeker” were definitely crossing the line on her part.

It might sound strange coming from me, but considering they’re practically related by marriage, it would be nice if they could get along just a little.

As I thought that and managed to mediate, Lulusia then interjected into our conversation.

“Um, excuse me~.”

“Yes?”

“Why do Sihee and Yuri call Taekyung ‘Sungchul~’?”

“Ah, that’s…”

“…….”

Should I just tell her the truth, that it was my alias when I was active in the Union?

Cha Yuri and Do Sihee first met me when I was part of the Union, so they’re used to the name Kim Sungchul and call me that when it’s just the two of them, but my current affiliation is with the company.

It didn’t seem like a good idea to have my past activities in the Union spread around like this.

“It’s just a nickname. Sihee-ssi and Cha Yuri-ssi have known me for quite a long time. It’s a sort of pet name.”

“Ah~! So it’s a pet name~!”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

“…Yes, it’s just a pet name.”

“Then can I also call Taekyung ‘Sungchul~’ too…?”

“That’s a no.”

“…Not allowed.”

“…… Hmph.”

Lulusia looked a bit dejected at Sihee and Cha Yuri’s clear refusal.

Still, thanks to her ‘sacrifice,’ the two who were on bad terms found common ground.

…Though perhaps there wasn’t a need to refuse so firmly.