Chapter 90: Retired S-Rank Hunter (4)

The identity of the woman drunkenly flushed at the convenience store’s outdoor table was none other than Hye-eun’s mother.

Furthermore, she was also a former S-Class Hunter, retired from her company affiliation.

It wasn’t uncommon to see the Ahjumma piling up bottles of alcohol like that when I visited Hye-eun’s house, but…

I hadn’t expected to encounter the Ahjumma looking like that outside, so a slightly flustered feeling arose in my mind.

“Son~! It’s hard to see your face these days??”

Because she was calling me in a rather loud voice, guzzling soju straight from the bottle-not even bothering with a paper cup-at the convenience store’s outdoor spot.

Naturally, the gazes of other people passing by also focused on me.

“Hye-eun’s mother, you’re very drunk.”

“Son! Don’t be like that~~? I told you to just call me Mom~~!!”

“I’m too embarrassed to do that. It’s a bit embarrassing even if Hye-eun sees.”

“Then call me Mother-in-law~~!!”

“Hye-eun and I aren’t quite in that kind of relationship yet…”

As I was trying to smoothly change the subject with the usual excuse, Hye-eun’s face came to mind.

Come to think of it, it was practically the same as officially becoming lovers with her just a few days ago.

The thought occurred that calling her, Kang Eunyoung, Mother-in-law wouldn’t be that strange.

“Okay, Mother-in-law. Please get up now.”

“Hehehe, you’re not denying it anymore, huh~~? You said you were dating my daughter, and it seems it’s true~~??”

“Did Hye-eun say something?”

“Is she the age to tell Mom things like that~? In Mom’s eyes, I can just tell by looking~~.

And besides, since you’ve been staying out overnight so often lately, wouldn’t not knowing make me a fool~~??”

“…I suppose that’s true.”

Three times had already passed since she stayed overnight at my house after our first sex, so if one assumes Hye-eun and I had been dating even before that first overnight stay, it’s certainly a suspicious circumstance.

What expression would she make if she knew we had relations more than five or six times before we even officially started dating?

I suspect she’d probably scold me severely. Just like she always did.

‘Taekyung-ah! Hye-eun mentioned you’re not eating breakfast these days!

From now on, Ahjumma will prepare breakfast for you, so come every morning, eat with Hye-eun, and go to school together!’

‘Taekyung-ah, do you really have to go to the Hunter training high school? Ahjumma is saying this purely out of concern. It’s just so dangerous for male hunters in this field…

…If your stubbornness is that set, I guess there’s nothing I can do. Still, be careful. If anything happens to you, how sad Hye-eun would be.’

‘Son! How long are you going to keep calling me Ahjumma? Last time I told you to call me Mom, didn’t I??

How can you do that when Hye-eun is watching? Then how about Mother-in-law? Hye-eun would probably like that too….’

‘Mom!! What weird thing are you saying to Taekyung again!!’

‘Honestly! Who told you to speak so loudly!! You’re going crazy like you want my ears to fall off….’

In many ways, she was one of my benefactors, having taken care of me throughout my childhood and school days to the point where calling her ‘Mother’ wouldn’t feel out of place.

Of course, in this world where gender roles are reversed, the perception of mothers isn’t significantly different from that of fathers in my previous life.

At least, as I felt it, Hye-eun’s mother gave an impression closer to a mother than a father, even more so than in my previous life.

Ever since the day I lost my parents and asked for help, she took care of every little detail, and I was frequently moved by her devoted love in caring for me, who isn’t even related by blood.

Thanks to that, I sometimes slipped up and called her ‘real mother’. She seemed quite pleased each time, though.

However, that doesn’t mean Hye-eun’s mother lacked the motherly aspects typical of this world.

For instance, when I lost my parents, the S-Class Hunter who saved me was none other than her, Kang Eunyoung.

‘…Mom? …Dad?’

‘Taekyung-ah, snap out of it!’

‘Hye-eun-ah, take Taekyung and go quickly! Quickly!’

‘Mom? What about Mom?’

‘Mom will go later, so go quickly!!’

It was an old memory, already over ten years past, but still vivid enough that I could recall it.

Because her image-blocking the monster without hesitation to save me, who had lost my senses after seeing my parents swallowed whole by it-remained quite deeply.

S-Class Hunter Kang Eunyoung was a famous figure among hunters, even appearing occasionally on terrestrial TV programs until her retirement, but…

That was the first time I had actually seen her handle her awakened abilities and fight.

By the time I first found out she lived next door, S-Class Hunter Kang Eunyoung had already been retired for over three years.

It seemed her husband, Hye-eun’s father, had also passed away in an unfortunate accident sometime before that.

As is the case with most retired hunters, around that time she had almost completely lost her awakened abilities.

Thanks to the remaining swordsmanship skills she possessed, she was just somewhat good at cooking.

Therefore, normally she shouldn’t have been able to handle the Treralodon that swallowed my parents and rushed to kill me too, but…

The mother of that day-ah, no, S-Class Hunter Kang Eunyoung-regained the awakened abilities she had temporarily lost, and…

Using only a ‘No Entry’ sign standing on one side of the amusement park, she defeated two Treralodons.

After that, the scene was cleaned up by other hunters who came out for support, and the government, judging that the monsters’ proliferation could no longer be stopped, closed down the nearby amusement park and factories, turning them into dungeons.

More than any of those hunters who appeared belatedly then, flashily killing and defeating monsters with all sorts of skills…

…none left as impressive a memory for me as former S-Class Hunter Kang Eunyoung, who appeared bare-handed and saved me.

Come to think of it, I probably started aspiring even more to become a hunter who wields a greatsword from around that time.

Because her appearance-wielding the ‘No Entry’ sign like a two-handed sword and smashing monsters-was so beautiful.

She was the person who first instilled in me the desire to become something in this world, and the one who contributed the most to my growing up until now.

That was the person I knew as former S-Class Hunter Kang Eunyoung.

“Leaving home~~ Taking the train~~ The day I go to the training center~~.”

Although right now she was drunkenly singing loudly and making a racket in a residential area…

As soon as she saw me, I quickly got her up from her seat, tidied up the spot appropriately to avoid causing further disturbance, and then…

…forcibly slung her over my back, and we ended up returning home together. That was the current situation.

“Hye-eun’s mother, if you keep singing so loudly in a residential area in the middle of the night, it’s a disturbance to others.”

“You called me Hye-eun’s mother again~~?? If you keep doing that, I’ll feel sad, son~~??”

“Hye-eun’s mother is Hye-eun’s mother.”

“I told you to just call me Mom~~!! If you keep doing that, I’ll feel sad, son~~??”

“…Okay, Mom. So please lower your voice now.”

“Okay~~.”

As I walked down the street with her leaning against me while carried on my back, many thoughts began to arise.

From the day I asked for her help in my childhood until I graduated middle school and high school, I had received much help from Hye-eun’s mother.

The fact that I, too, had now become a proper hunter, able to protect and help others, felt newly wondrous.

When would be a good time to tell her that I had become a hunter?

I thought she would be the person among those I know who would be happiest as soon as she learned the fact that I had awakened.

If possible, I wanted to let her know about my awakening as soon as possible.

Recently, so many busy schedules had arisen since my awakening that I hadn’t had a chance to greet her, but…

It would be necessary to tell her about my awakening and the fact that I am active as a hunter as soon as possible.

That would be repayment for her, who raised me until now.

“Another day~~ fades away~~.”

…At least, it wasn’t something to say to her right now, when she was heavily drunk.

Usually, she was a person full of maternal love, worthy of the ‘Mother of the Era’ award, but whenever she drank, she became unable to contain her excitement and turned into this kind of person who causes disturbances.

Should I consider it fortunate, at least, that she’s not someone who resorts to violence when drunk?

For a while after that, she sang three songs by the same singer from behind my back, and finally, seeming to have run out of energy, she rested her chin on my shoulder.

“Are you done singing now?”

“…….”

Did she fall asleep?

Since it was much better than yelling loudly in a residential area, I decided to take her home to Hye-eun’s house as she was, when…

…I heard her muttering, half-drunk, beside my face.

“Taekyung has grown up so well…. Mom is really happy….”

“How could he be so handsome…. So dependable, just like seeing Hye-eun’s father back in the day….”

“……What?”

“Still, don’t be a hunter…. Hunters are dangerous….

I should have stopped him even when he said he would do it…. If only I had done a little better back then….”

Along with her voice, which sounded like she held many regrets, I could hear sniffling sounds from behind my back.

Soon, I felt the sensation of my shoulder area, where she rested her chin, becoming damply wet.

It was an old memory, already nearly 20 years past, yet I couldn’t know how to console her as she missed her husband, so…

I just walked the night streets, carrying her, without saying anything.