In between our chat, we'd crossed Main Street and into Uptown, the ritzy part of New Seoul. Also the part of New Seoul strictly for Hunters, with equipment shops, potion shops, and other related places still open for business.
Imagine the typical MMORPG hub and you basically got it. Even at this late hour, it was still lively and bustling with activity.
And because everyone here was a Hunter, they were all too preoccupied with their activities to pay much attention to me and Yura other than a passing glance.
After I took a proper look around, I glanced at Yura and said, "So you live in this flashy district, huh?"
"Sh-Shut up, okay?" Yura blushed and said, "It's cool! I always wanted to have a place here since everything a Hunter needs is close by."
"...You don't just use the Hunter Network to ship things to your door? Isn't that free?"
Yura huffed and said, "That's for lazy people! Besides, it's always better to look at what you buy in person!"
"Sure, sure~" I smiled and said, "Lead the way then, Love. Show me to our lovely abode."
Yura grumbled and tugged me along. "Stupid, Hubby. Cheeky bastard. Calling it 'our' abode before he's even been there..."
I chuckled and kept my arm wrapped around her shoulders while casually looking around at our surroundings.
At least, on the surface.
But internally, I was mapping everything out and taking a note of anyone watching us too closely. A habit I carried over from my past life.
One that I had thought I got rid of, but it seems like it came back now that I had something to lose.
For the most part, there wasn't anyone paying attention to us. Like I said, everyone here was a Hunter. They didn't care much about me or Yura other than a passing curiosity since they were all on business or decompression mode.
But there were a few exceptions.
'That man there on the roof... Mm, he's not looking with malice. Just concern. Probably from the Hunter Association. If I had to guess, Kim Gyun sent him.'
Kim Gyun had seemed pretty concerned about Yura, so that made sense. And while Lee Shin would have said it was fine, a man like Kim Gyun with that sort of personality would keep eyes on his charge regardless.
But there were two other people who were different.
'The woman pretending to enjoy a drink in the bar. She's looking at me with disdain and disapproval. And at Yura with concern... probably from her parents.'
It wasn't malice. But more the vibe of an aunt or something disapproving of her niece's boyfriend. Which made sense. There was no way Yura's parents would leave her without someone watching her while they were in a Gate Expedition.
That woman was probably a family friend or something. If I had to guess, Yura would know who the woman was if I pointed the woman out.
Of course, my lovely Yura was too busy already thinking about the hot steamy night ahead, judging from how her red neck and hasty steps dragging me along.
But the last person...
'That's not human.'
A single glance.
I had casually swept my gaze across the crowd as we walked, pretending to map my surroundings. And as I did, I saw him.
A man with a bright smile. Golden hair and clear blue eyes. A cheerful demeanor, mixing in with the other Hunters and casually striking up conversations while seemingly strolling along the sidewalk.
Except that I'd already seen him three separate times.
Yura didn't notice. But again, she was pretty distracted.
And the 'man' hid it well. None of the other Hunters noticed he was off either. He just seemed like a 'cool guy' to their eyes.
But...
'Archangel. What are you doing here?'
...A divine being like that couldn't hide from my gaze.
The archangel masquerading as a human casually shifted his gaze over to look at Yura.
I met his gaze and smiled.
The archangel froze. For a split second, the warm smile faded, replaced with alarm, shock, and then a mechanical assessment.
But just as quickly, it faded back into the warm smile and the archangel walked away into the crowd.
Yura tugged me and said, "Come on already, Hubby! You'd BETTER spoil me after all the nonsense you made me deal with today..." She looked at me and subconsciously licked her lips, blushing.
I smiled and kissed her neck. "Then you'd better hurry, Love."
The archangel could wait.
For now, I had the love of my life to please.
===
The witching hours of early Sunday morning. Around 3 AM, in Yura's private suburban home in Uptown.
Yura was cuddled up in her bed, covered in kiss marks and with a content smile on her face.
I tucked her in, giving her a pillow to hold while she slept.
I would have let her hold me, but there was something I had to handle first.
"Be right back, Love." I gently kissed Yura's forehead and then walked out of her room. Along the way, I grabbed a handful of mana stones that she had on her desk. Nothing special, probably just scraps she kept from Hunter Academy or something that she forgot about, judging from the dust on them.
For someone like her, it was worthless.
But for me...
> Compilation activated.
> User's recollection of the [REDACTED] theorem is confirmed.
> Scanning...
> The [REDACTED] theorem is validated by the Hunter Ability System.
> Reverse compiling the system [Elementary Magic].
> Recompiling [Elementary Magic] into a form suited for the user.
> [Thaumaturgy] has been compiled.
> Current Compilations: Demonic Sword Ragnarok (allows control of hellfire and serves as Demonbane and Lightbane), Thaumaturgy (using universal principles and concepts, magical phenomenon can be produced using physics and axiomatic proofs).
I clenched my hands, watching as the mana stones dissolved into golden motes of light, swirling around me for a moment before settling into an invisible spectrum.
"Good. Still works." I murmured. "Now... to interrogate an archangel."
I wiped my hand across Yura's door, placing an anti-parahuman barrier on her room to bar anything and anyone other than me.
Well, technically a normal civilian could enter. But considering the state of the art defense system Yura had installed with golems, elemental spirits, and other ridiculous things... plus Yura herself, it was fine.
If there was anything I'd learned from my past life, it was that an 'absolute' barrier couldn't exist. The harder you tried to make something 'absolute' the more it crumbled.
So you just made sure to deliberately leave it incomplete, letting you keep the useful parts while compensating for the deliberate flaws.
But that was a story for another time.
For now...
"Angel hunting."
...Time to see just what the fuck an archangel was doing eyeing the love of my life like that.