The blizzard subsided.
The violence that had been tearing the snowy mountain apart until moments ago vanished as if it had never happened.
“...Is it over?”
Someone murmured.
No one could answer.
Aside from the unconscious B-rank Hunters.
The A-rank Hunters.
Even the elites of the Five Great Guilds who had joined them late.
All of them were silent.
Only one scene filled their vision.
A colossal Giant Bear.
And the man standing before it, looking at the Hunters.
“Brother Ji-hoon...?”
Only Seon Woo-jae, who recognized Lee Ji-hoon, murmured quietly.
His words broke the silence, and the Hunters began to murmur among themselves.
“That just happened... right?”
“He... stopped the boss?”
“Baek Kang-hyeon didn’t defeat it. He stopped it.”
“Who’s the man next to it? Is he a Hunter?”
The battlefield, silent until then, belatedly erupted into commotion.
“Whew....”
Baek Kang-hyeon lowered his sword and caught his breath.
Then he looked at Ji-hoon.
“You called that persuasion.”
“No.”
Ji-hoon shook his head.
“It was discipline.”
[Big Brother, this is really unfair.]
“What is?”
[I only lost my senses for a moment, and you tried to beat me right away.]
“If you wanted to get your ass beaten that badly, you should’ve just stayed crazy.”
[Sorry. Didn’t mean that.]
“You’re not even reflecting on what you did. Tsk.”
Just then, Seon Woo-jae came running toward Ji-hoon.
“Brother Ji-hoon! Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine. The Branch Director was here with me.”
Ji-hoon spread his arms wide to show that he did not have so much as a scratch, thanks to Baek Kang-hyeon.
After confirming that Ji-hoon truly was unharmed, Woo-jae let out a sigh of relief.
“Still, you were too reckless. How could an F-rank jump into a place like this?”
“He’s F-rank!?”
The bob-haired supervisor who had followed Woo-jae shouted.
“That makes no sense! You nearly put Branch Director Baek Kang-hyeon in danger too!”
“Ah... I’m sorry.”
Ji-hoon quickly apologized, then shot Baek Kang-hyeon a meaningful glance.
“Ahem. Actually, I brought him in with me.”
At Baek Kang-hyeon’s words, the air around them froze.
“Branch Director, why would you bring an F-rank Hunter into an S-rank Gate....?”
“Well, uh... we were planning to make an announcement soon.”
‘Come up with something convincing.’
Reading the words on Ji-hoon’s lips, Baek Kang-hyeon opened his mouth with an air of resignation.
“The truth is, we recently discovered that contracts can be formed with boss monsters.”
“A-A contract!?”
“That’s insane. Does that mean you can tame them and ride them around?”
“Couldn’t you use them as Supporters?”
The crowd grew even louder. Baek Kang-hyeon swept his Sword Aura through the air.
SLASH— CRASH!
The ground split, sending fragments rattling into the air before they rained back down.
“The Management Bureau will make an announcement. So if any of you spread strange rumors....”
Baek Kang-hyeon’s Sword Aura flashed blue-green.
“You will die by my hand....”
“Please remain quiet until the official announcement! Otherwise, we won’t assess your contribution to clearing the S-rank Gate!”
Ji-hoon cut him off.
“Are you crazy? You’ll make it sound as though the Management Bureau kills Hunters!”
“But there is no other way....”
“What do you mean, there isn’t? You’re a Branch Director! Use some of the Management Bureau’s authority! Good grief, you’re driving me crazy!”
[Big Brother, this stupid human is utterly beyond redemption! Even Choco is better than him!]
I don’t think that’s true.
At Ji-hoon’s mutter, Baek Kang-hyeon sheathed his sword.
“In any case, we should leave quickly. Quite a few people have already gathered.”
It was just as Baek Kang-hyeon had said.
The rescue team and additional forces were entering through the Gate.
“Then Choco, shrink down. Poppy, you too.”
[Yes, Big Brother!]
[Like at Hell Farm?]
“Yeah.”
When Choco suppressed his mana, his form changed into that of a small teddy bear.
[Big Brother, this is a gift.]
Choco clung tightly to Ji-hoon’s leg and held out something from his pocket.
“You brought this....”
[Top-Grade Mana Jerky (SS): Top-grade feed made in a Magic Furnace. The ultimate snack for meat-loving Demonic Creatures. Humans can eat it as well, but its effects are halved.]
“Did you bring this all the way from Hell Farm?”
[That’s right. The other big brothers and big sisters each brought one too.]
In other words.
Someone had brought the weeds from Hell!
“Good job, Choco! You did so well! You’re adorable!”
[Big Brother, can’t breathe.]
They could take their time checking the spoils once they got home.
When Ji-hoon looked at Baek Kang-hyeon, the man cleared his throat.
“First, I believe you will have to come to the Management Bureau with me.”
As expected.
“That sounds like a pain....”
“You still have to go. Do you not need to protect your family?”
He was right.
All the credit for clearing today’s Gate had to go to Baek Kang-hyeon.
Ji-hoon did not know what sort of scenario the man was concocting, though.
“Commissioner, we are on our way now.”
–Hurry. The Five Great Guilds have caught the scent.
“It is an S-rank Gate, so they must have caught it long ago. Fortunately, all the Guild Masters are overseas, are they not?”
–No. One of them went there.
“...What?”
A woman appeared before Baek Kang-hyeon as he held his communicator.
She was tall, with flawless features and perfect proportions.
She wore a black dress.
CLICK— CLICK—
The woman had come to an S-rank Gate in high heels.
With each step she took, the surrounding air sank as though crushed by gravity.
“H-Hunter Jin Seo-yoon...?”
Woo-jae, the first to recognize her, blinked.
Then.
“I-I’m a huge fan!”
“Please give me your autograph!”
Ji-hoon quietly sidled over to Woo-jae and asked, “Why are they acting like that?”
“She does commercials.”
“What about the Branch Director?”
“Of course he does. He’s popular.”
“They are all public-service advertisements, though.”
Jin Seo-yoon stopped directly in front of the group as they spoke.
“Branch Director Baek Kang-hyeon, what exactly happened here?”
“What do you mean, Hunter Jin Seo-yoon?”
“Guild. Master. How long has it been since I became the Guild Master of Orpheus? Why do you still address me as Hunter?”
Baek Kang-hyeon let out a small sigh before speaking again.
“Yes, Orpheus Guild Master, Hunter Jin Seo-yoon.”
“...Fine. In any case, I believe you owe me an explanation.”
Jin Seo-yoon raised a leather-gloved hand and pointed at Ji-hoon.
“Tell me who that man is.”
Then she pointed at the shrunken Poppy and Choco beside him.
“And what those bastards dressed up as monster cubs are.”
This is bad.
Of all people, an S-rank Hunter had caught them.
And according to Woo-jae, she was a Hunter at the very peak of popularity.
Her fan base looks quite strong too. Isn’t all this going to spread across Jin Seo-yoon’s fan club community?
[Don’t worry, Big Brother. Little Brother Baek Kang-hyeon will handle everything.]
Since when was he your little brother?
As Ji-hoon entertained that thought, Baek Kang-hyeon spoke.
“He is my Big Brother.”
“Yes, your Big Brother... what?”
Jin Seo-yoon narrowed her eyes.
“In other words, these S-rank monsters are the Big Brothers I contracted with.”
“Uh, I see... Did you learn some sort of Taming skill? That’s news to me.”
“It is not a skill.”
Baek Kang-hyeon adjusted his grip on his sword.
“As I said, it is a legitimate contract.”
“Yes... a contract....”
Jin Seo-yoon watched Choco crunch and munch on the jerky, then let out a long sigh.
“All right. That is the Management Bureau’s official announcement, then?”
“It is. Though the Commissioner may revise it somewhat....”
“Yes, yes. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything too. But explain it to me properly later.”
Jin Seo-yoon turned and began to walk away, only to glance back.
“Or let Orpheus use this Gate Dungeon from time to time.”
“We will consider that favorably.”
“Yes! Then it’s a deal, right?”
Her gaze shifted to Ji-hoon.
“And if they’re the Big Brothers... does that make you the little brother?”
[You crazy bitch! How dare you call Big Brother a little brother!]
“I’m Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon’s assistant. I’m just a little... exhausted... hahaha....”
He truly was exhausted. He had amplified his mana with Poppy’s feathers, but it had only ever been temporary power.
He had expended all his strength, and the moment Choco returned to normal, all the tension left him. He already felt ready to collapse.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Ji-hoon spoke with difficulty.
“Wow... S-rank... wow....”
Of course, a suitable amount of acting was included.
Jin Seo-yoon’s gaze swept over Ji-hoon from head to toe.
Then it settled on his necklace.
“Did the boss mob give you that too?”
“Uh... yes, as a clear reward....”
“I see.”
You had better guard it carefully.
Muttering to herself, Jin Seo-yoon approached the Gate entrance.
WHOOSH—
She vanished in an instant.
***
Immediately after leaving the Gate, Jin Seo-yoon stopped for a moment.
“...Hmm.”
She flicked her wrist once as she recalled the scene from moments ago.
The griffin.
The Giant Bear.
And the F-rank Hunter who had stood between them.
“That makes no sense.”
She murmured quietly.
Baek Kang-hyeon.
She knew the man was strong.
But....
“That... wasn’t his way.”
He was the type to smash through things head-on.
He blocked, endured, and cut his enemies down.
But that scene from earlier.
“...He stopped it.”
He had not killed it.
He had not overwhelmed it either.
Had he truly formed a contract with it?
How?
The image of the man beside him naturally took shape in her mind.
The Hunter with cold sweat beading on his forehead.
“If that was acting... he truly didn’t have a trace of mana.”
It was not that he had no mana because he was F-rank.
He had entered this Gate and genuinely wrung something out.
“Or rather, something had wrung him dry.”
She could not tell who had wrung him dry.
But at least one thing was certain.
The necklace he had been wearing.
“...I wanted that.”
Her eyes narrowed.
The strange feathers set sparsely into it had emitted tremendous waves of mana.
Jin Seo-yoon slowly turned.
As she began to walk, she raised her smartphone to her ear.
“Connect me to headquarters.”
–Yes, Guild Master.
“No hunting.”
–...Pardon?
“The S-rank Gate that appeared today is off-limits to hunting.”
Silence continued over the phone for a moment.
–What should I tell the executives....?
“The Management Bureau will contact us soon. They’ll make sure we can hunt properly.”
Tell them to hold off until then.
The moment she finished speaking, Jin Seo-yoon ended the call.
Flying straight back from overseas was worth it.
The corners of her lips curved up ever so slightly.
***
Meanwhile, Ji-hoon had gone to the Management Bureau and was sharing an emotional reunion with Poppy and Choco.
[Big Brother! Finally paying my respects!]
Still in the form of a small teddy bear, Choco performed a full formal bow.
Then he rolled forward onto his head.
[Choco, you fool! You have to brace your core properly!]
[Hup! Got it!]
Choco bowed again.
No, hey. You’re not supposed to bow twice....
“There, there. Choco, you’ve been through a lot. Let’s live together again from now on.”
[You’re all I have, Big Brother. And I have one question.]
Was he curious about the jerky?
[Why is that human our little brother?]
“Huh?”
[Exactly, Big Brother. We need to establish the hierarchy clearly! Is he truly serving us as his big brothers, or was that a lie he told merely to escape the situation?!]
Poppy joined in and made a commotion.
Then Baek Kang-hyeon came in.
“Ah, well, I just blurted out whatever came to mind at the time....”
[What?! Whatever came to mind! You bastard! So it was a lie after all! We must kill this bastard at once, Big Brother!]
[I thought I finally had a little brother too. Too bad. Sniff.]
An F-rank Hunter interpreting between two S-rank boss monsters and an S-rank Hunter.
That was me, Lee Ji-hoon.
“...I don’t even know anymore.”
Is any of this right?
Seriously.