“Be mine, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon.”
Ji-hoon said nothing for a moment.
He merely looked down at Jin Seo-yoon’s hand.
The hand cupping his chin.
There was no force behind it.
Yet strangely, he did not feel like running away.
“That.”
“Yes?”
“Is it a threat or a confession?”
The corners of Jin Seo-yoon’s lips rose ever so slightly.
“What does it sound like to you?”
“Hmm….”
Ji-hoon tilted his head.
“It’s a little dangerous for a confession and a little too kind for a threat.”
“Then think of it as something in between. A confreat. What do you think?”
Jin Seo-yoon smiled lightly.
“Wouldn’t a confreat be dangerous?”
Ji-hoon pulled his chin back slightly, slipping free of her hand.
“I’m not a big fan of danger.”
Jin Seo-yoon quietly studied him.
The dangerous thing was her gaze.
It was the gaze of someone measuring the person before her.
“But you know.”
Ji-hoon spoke first.
“What do you gain by taking me?”
“A great deal.”
“For example?”
“The things you possess, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon.”
“What do I possess?”
Jin Seo-yoon took a step closer.
“Finding that out is the whole point of this.”
Ji-hoon’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
“There’s so much I want to know.”
“Then could I ask just one thing…?”
“Anything.”
“This.”
Ji-hoon pointed to the table Bae Yu-na’s fist had destroyed and the food that had fallen with it.
“Couldn’t we order more room service before we talk?”
He was starving.
“Grocery shopping on an empty stomach is the most dangerous kind, you know.”
Jin Seo-yoon’s eyes wavered for a moment.
Seeing that, Ji-hoon threw himself onto the bed.
“Ugh, whatever~ I’m only an F-rank, so I don’t know a single thing. Why does everyone keep telling me to talk~?”
“You really don’t know anything?”
“I’m telling you, it’s true! Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon did everything. I didn’t do anything!”
Jin Seo-yoon rose, saying that it seemed this really had been a misunderstanding.
For a moment, he thought she might finally back down.
“Then is that necklace a trophy?”
This time, Jin Seo-yoon pointed at Ji-hoon’s neck.
Ji-hoon glared at her.
“You told me to keep a close eye on this one, so I’ve been watching him carefully,” Bae Yu-na said.
Ji-hoon’s gaze shifted to Bae Yu-na.
Bae Yu-na blinked, apparently unable to make out what could possibly be on Ji-hoon’s neck.
“Why? What is it? Do you two have some secret only you know?”
“Yu-na, could you step outside for a moment? I’ll take care of things here.”
“You’ll keep your promise, won’t you?”
The moment Bae Yu-na asked the question, a frigid chill rose through the room.
“Administrative Officer Bae Yu-na.”
“I-I can’t breathe… Hrk…!”
“Have I ever broken a promise?”
WHUMP–
Bae Yu-na broke out in a cold sweat.
Jin Seo-yoon looked at her as if she were an insect.
Sitting between the two women, Ji-hoon wrapped himself in the blanket and ordered more room service.
“Yes, yes. Please send another one.”
Bae Yu-na swallowed a hollow laugh as she looked at him.
“…He isn’t really your type, is he, Guild Masterrr?”
Bae Yu-na had returned to her usual persona of a Korean civil servant who could not be bothered to work.
“Do I need to tell you my type too?”
“All right. Then I’ll be going. No one can know about this, okaay?”
Bae Yu-na walked out.
The frigid mana vanished with her.
“Just as I thought.”
“What?”
Jin Seo-yoon gave him a bright smile.
“You’re interesting.”
“If you mean it’s strange that an F-rank can stand in front of an S-rank like this without flinching, you’re mistaken. You have a general idea what this necklace is, don’t you?”
The King of Griffins Necklace, made from a Griffin’s feather.
An F-rank Gate had undergone a strange phenomenon and become an S-rank Gate.
Baek Kang-hyeon had killed the Griffin that ruled that Gate, then made the necklace from the trophy he obtained.
“That’s why I don’t get intimidated even in front of an S-rank.”
Jin Seo-yoon had guessed as much.
“But why did Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon give this to you?”
“Maybe he likes me. Oh, does that make this a love triangle?”
“That would be quite interesting too, but I think there’s something else, don’t you? For example, something like this….”
SLIP–
Jin Seo-yoon slid a hand into Ji-hoon’s pocket.
Then she pulled out what was inside.
“This is loot from the Gate, isn’t it?”
Jin Seo-yoon smiled triumphantly.
A special item that only appeared in an S-rank Gate, rather than a trophy from its boss.
“And you’re the only one who can find it, though I don’t know how.”
Ji-hoon’s face reddened as if she had uncovered his secret.
“Haah… Seriously….”
“See? I was right… What is this?”
Jin Seo-yoon was holding a small tube.
“L Tower Hotel… toothpaste…?”
The other items were the same.
An L Tower toothbrush, towel, soap, and shampoo.
“Those belong to the hotel….”
“…What?”
For a moment, silence fell as though time had stopped.
“…Why did you take these?”
“Well… it’s my first time somewhere like this… and they were interesting….”
And free….
As Ji-hoon continued muttering, Jin Seo-yoon swallowed a hollow laugh.
“They’re souvenirs! Kidnapping souvenirs! Ugh, this is so embarrassing! Give them back right now!”
Ji-hoon hurriedly snatched the hotel amenities from Jin Seo-yoon’s hand.
She did not feel any desire to keep them.
“Ha… Haha… You truly are unpredictable.”
“Stop embarrassing me, get to the point, and leave. Or are S-ranks allowed to bully F-ranks like this?”
“Whew. Fine. Join Orpheus, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon.”
“What do I get if I join?”
Jin Seo-yoon leaned toward him.
“Secrecy. And I’ll let you spread your wings however you please.”
“What do I have to give you?”
“Information on new Gates, and the right to clear and manage S-rank Gates.”
In other words, she wanted him to hand Orpheus everything he currently provided to the Management Bureau.
“I’ll compensate you handsomely too. Naturally, we’ll provide a house and a car. We’ll assign you protection, and your family as well, if necessary.”
“Why are you going this far for me?”
“Because I want to secure you before your stock rises. I have to buy low.”
What stock do I even have?
“Hunter Lee Ji-hoon, you’re not really an F-rank, are you?”
“I am. Look.”
Ji-hoon took out his Hunter ID and showed it to her.
“Figures like that can be falsified.”
“How would I even know how to do that? I don’t know how.”
“Then how did you become a Hundred-Year Returnee?”
As if I know.
He had merely spent 100 years rotting in Hell because of an unfair Contract.
“Does spending 100 years rotting in another world automatically make someone the Greatest Martial Artist Under Heaven or a Sword Master? There are plenty of ordinary people too.”
“That’s true, but F-rank is too extreme.”
Jin Seo-yoon’s hand reached toward the King of Griffins Necklace.
“Something terrible will happen if you take that.”
“Why?”
“I’m telling you, something terrible….”
SNAP–
Jin Seo-yoon’s hand snapped the necklace cord.
“Ah….”
“See? Nothing happened.”
Indeed, nothing happened.
Several seconds of silence passed.
Jin Seo-yoon shrugged.
CHILL–
Golden mana flashed outside the window.
“This light is…!?”
BOOOOOOOOM—!!!!
A massive shock wave swept through the hotel room.
SHATTER!
CRASH, CRASH, CRASH!
The window and wall shattered, and golden mana shot toward Jin Seo-yoon.
“Damn it!”
She spread her mana to blunt the impact as much as possible, but it was not enough.
SKRRRRRT—
BOOM—!!!!!
Jin Seo-yoon drove her empowered palm downward.
At the same moment, something surged up her throat.
GURK–
“Urgh, cough! Cough…!”
Jin Seo-yoon vomited blood.
Before her stood Poppy, the King of Griffins, and Baek Kang-hyeon.
GRRRRR….
“Jin Seo-yoon, I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t cross the line?”
Baek Kang-hyeon had drawn his sword and was holding it to Jin Seo-yoon’s neck.
At the same time.
[Big Brother!!!! Are you all right!!!!]
That was why Ji-hoon had told her to leave the necklace alone.
Just when he had finally been enjoying his kidnapping (vacation), it came to an anticlimactic end.
“I’m fine, Poppy. What about Choco?”
[He is guarding the house with Little Brother Woo-jae. Those damned bastards stormed your home too, Big Brother!]
“What!? What about my parents!?”
Baek Kang-hyeon gestured for him not to worry.
“I have already given my subordinates their orders. Guild Master Jin Seo-yoon, what is the meaning of this?”
Jin Seo-yoon wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and rose.
“Haah… Hunter Baek, the Taming was real?”
“Didn’t you watch the news? We said it was possible to form a Contract with a boss.”
“Wow, seriously, cough! Whew, I thought it was a lie. Haha.”
To her eyes, the Griffin seemed to follow Lee Ji-hoon rather than Baek Kang-hyeon.
Either way, the odds were heavily against her now.
“What do you say, Branch Director? Shall we make a deal?”
“You’ll keep what you’ve learned secret if we let you go?”
“Yes, cough. You catch on quickly.”
Baek Kang-hyeon began drawing up his mana, then.
WHOOSH–
He let it subside.
“All right.”
“Branch Director?”
“It is all right, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon. Guild Master Jin Seo-yoon will not be able to move rashly now.”
“No, that’s not what I….”
“You’ve gotten a little smarter since becoming Branch Director, haven’t you? How about I keep this piece of information secret?”
Jin Seo-yoon looked at the Griffin standing beside Lee Ji-hoon.
Its presence was overwhelming.
“An F-rank Hunter who is close to an S-rank boss monster. I’ll keep it secret.”
“You must. Otherwise….”
“You’ll strip Orpheus of all its Gate Management Rights, right? I’m not that stupid.”
Jin Seo-yoon pulled herself upright.
Her legs were still trembling.
“Let me ask one thing.”
Baek Kang-hyeon nodded.
“Did you destroy all this, Branch Director? Or was it that monster?”
Jin Seo-yoon pointed to the shattered wall and window.
Baek Kang-hyeon nodded.
“I did.”
Jin Seo-yoon’s eyes narrowed briefly, then relaxed again.
“Okay, let’s go with that. Then I’ll be….”
“Wait.”
Ji-hoon stopped Jin Seo-yoon as she tried to leave.
“Are you really leaving after getting me all worked up?”
“I’m sorry. The truth is, you’re not my type, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon….”
“That’s not what I meant!”
Ji-hoon pointed to the man standing blankly by the door, staring at the scene.
It was the employee who had brought his room service.
“My room service! What are you going to do about it?! I was looking forward to it so much!”
“….”
“….”
[How dare you ruin Big Brother’s meal?! I’ll tear you apart, you bastard!!]
Poppy’s growls.
The sight of the S-rank Hunters Baek Kang-hyeon and Jin Seo-yoon confronting each other.
And the sound of Ji-hoon throwing a tantrum at an S-rank Hunter for his food.
To the employee, it was all too unreal.
THUD–
He fainted on the spot.
“Ahaha… Ahahahahaha! Hunter Lee Ji-hoon, ahahaha! I take back what I just said.”
Jin Seo-yoon struggled to push the room-service cart inside.
“Hunter Lee Ji-hoon, you might actually be… quite my type.”
[How dare this snake of a woman come after Big Brother!]
“I’ll be going, then. I hope we can meet as partners next time.”
Jin Seo-yoon walked toward the gaping hole.
THOOM–
She jumped down.
Only then could Ji-hoon inspect the room-service food.
“…Let’s pack it to go.”
[Yes, Big Brother.]
Ji-hoon began packing the food as though nothing had happened.
Only moments ago, two S-rank Hunters had snarled at each other.
The hotel window and wall had exploded.
A man had fainted in that very room.
“This is steak, so we’ll pack it separately… Oh, this is dessert.”
[Big Brother, this fruit looks quite delicious too.]
Yet to him, it was merely a room containing food too precious to waste.
“…What kind of man is he?”
Baek Kang-hyeon muttered to himself.
Ji-hoon looked up.
“Branch Director.”
“Ah, yes.”
“You said you’d find me a house too, right?”
“Yes, that was part of our Contract.”
“Then please find me one that doesn’t explode easily.”
What am I supposed to do if it explodes every time someone attacks me?
The corners of Baek Kang-hyeon’s lips rose at Ji-hoon’s words.
“I’ll take out fire insurance for you.”
“The insurance company’s coffers will run dry.”
Trading jokes like that, Baek Kang-hyeon drove Ji-hoon home.
***
The Orpheus Guild Master’s Office.
VMMM–
THUD–
THUMP–
Jin Seo-yoon barely managed to brace herself against the office wall before sliding to the floor.
“Haah… Haah….”
Had Baek Kang-hyeon’s Sword Aura always been this powerful?
This was not the same strength he had possessed when they had worked as Hunters together.
No matter how hard he had trained or how high his Skill Proficiency had risen,
the difference could not possibly be this vast.
It wasn’t just Baek Kang-hyeon.
The most suspicious part was, as expected, the boss monster he had formed a Contract with inside the Gate.
Could a single Contract create such a vast difference in power?
Exhausted, Jin Seo-yoon pressed a button on her desk.
–Yes, Guild Master.
“Haah… Call the medical team.”
–Understood. The dispatch team has also returned. What should we do with them?
“Discipline them. They failed.”
They had failed both to bring back Lee Ji-hoon and to abduct his family.
They had even been discovered by the Management Bureau.
“For this defeat… I’ll pay them back… over a long time… slowly.”
Then came the sound of the medical team arriving.
SLUMP–
Jin Seo-yoon blacked out.