Red, Yellow, Red - 3
After the brief greeting with Kang Hana, Kim Suhyun dropped the news without warning. It hadn’t reached the media, but Irina had been part of the group dispatched to Russia. According to Suhyun, she had crossed over and been thrown straight into the mission.
“But why wasn’t Irina mentioned in any of the news reports?”
S-rank ability users draw the world’s attention no matter where they go. They’re the real superheroes who save the world from monsters and villains. They have legions of fans, powerful backers, and even outright worshippers. Irina sits near the top even among S-ranks. Maybe only three people on the entire planet could fight her on equal footing. Add Lee Hyunwoo later and it becomes four. Now with Kim Suhyun in the picture, I suppose it’s five.
With that kind of power, her popularity is inevitable. Of course, her behavior is so unhinged that she stirs up controversy everywhere she goes…
“Right, Suhyun? This is the first I’m hearing of it too. Even the Matap Clan had no idea.”
Even when Kang Hana asked, Kim Suhyun kept her eyes fixed solely on me as she answered.
“It seems they went to full-scale war with an Elder in Russia.”
“…Huh?”
“What?!”
I wasn’t the only one shocked. Kang Hana shot up from her seat, eyes wide.
S-rank ability users and Elders. Both are treated like living strategic nuclear weapons. When they clash for real, an entire region gets wiped off the map. Villains might not care about public opinion or collateral damage, but most S-rank heroes carry a heavy sense of duty. People like that don’t start fights that could cause mass civilian casualties.
Most of them, anyway.
“How bad was the damage? With her involved, I bet it was catastrophic,” Kang Hana asked.
Kim Suhyun stayed silent, blinking slowly while still staring at me. Only when I repeated the question did she finally speak.
“Whether by luck or not, there weren’t any significant cities or towns in the area.”
“That’s a relief. A huge relief.”
Did Irina care about South Korea’s diplomatic relations? Not likely. She’s the type to smash anything she dislikes and laugh about it afterward. And if another country dared criticize Korea, she might just decide to wreck them too.
This hasn’t happened yet, but in the original story, when Lee Hyunwoo clashed with Chinese ability users and China protested, Irina—interested in Hyunwoo’s talent—heard the news and turned the entire Chinese coastline into a wasteland under the excuse of “subjugating villains.”
That’s why both villains and fellow heroes call her insane. She seems stable one moment, then suddenly goes berserk. Her mood swings are so extreme you start wondering if she has bipolar disorder. But the most terrifying part is that her mind is perfectly normal. She does all of that completely sane, without a single screw loose.
“This is why I keep saying the examiner is amazing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Examiner. Do you know about one of Irina’s nicknames? The one the villains gave her?”
I gave a small nod at Kang Hana’s question.
“I’ve heard it. But isn’t that just the villains insulting her out of spite?”
“Half of it is. The other half isn’t. They mean it from the bottom of their hearts.”
Even Ma Hakjun acknowledged the “Crazy Yellow Bitch” nickname. If it reached that far, it meant everyone else had heard it too.
“She’s a very strange person. She almost never treats anyone kindly. The only exceptions are other S-ranks, and even then, half the time it’s just her picking fights.”
“She really does sound crazy.”
When I agreed, Kang Hana smiled. “Right?”
“She’s the same in front of reporters and cameras. If she doesn’t like someone, she’ll straight-up say ‘Get this idiot out of my sight.’ It’s a combination of overwhelming pride and zero concern for what others think.”
“That’s… pretty harsh.”
“Yes. And that same person suddenly shook hands with Examiner Baek Seojin and even said she worked with him to handle monsters. That’s exactly why everyone is so interested in you right now.”
Kang Hana quickly added, “Of course, that’s not the only reason!” She seemed worried I might think she was implying my fame came solely from appearing close to Irina.
“Anyway, Examiner. What I’m trying to say is—”
“Senior.”
Kim Suhyun gently grabbed Kang Hana’s shoulder just as she was about to continue. “Don’t you have class today?”
“Hm? Oh, today’s a free day.”
“A free day.”
The smile had completely vanished from Suhyun’s face as she stared at Kang Hana. For some reason my chest tightened. The thought of the Red Witch making that expression made my head spin.
They definitely said they were close.
Would Kang Hana lie about something like that? No, she wasn’t that kind of person. But judging from Kim Suhyun’s reaction, they didn’t seem particularly close. Was Kang Hana the only one who thought they were? That didn’t fit either—Kang Hana wasn’t exactly oblivious.
“Ahem! Examiner, if it’s all right… may I carefully make one small suggestion?”
“A suggestion?”
“Yes. I absolutely, positively don’t want to burden you. I’m simply asking you to consider it.”
Stating it that way only made it feel more burdensome, but I nodded to hear her out.
“Are you familiar with the Matap Clan, Examiner?”
“Matap? Of course. It’s one of the most famous clans.”
One of Korea’s top-tier clans with an excellent public reputation—the Matap Clan. True to its name, it was packed with outstanding magic users. Magic types were relatively rare compared to weapon or martial arts users, so every clan, from bottom to top, desperately wanted them. The Matap Clan even lent their mages out as mercenaries.
In the original story, they supported Kang Hana heavily. They helped her so much that rumors spread she might be an executive’s daughter. I’d heard her identity would be revealed eventually, but I stopped reading before that part.
“Wait. Student Kang Hana? Is this suggestion related to the Matap Clan?”
“You catch on quickly. Yes, it is.”
She really must be an executive’s daughter if she could make an offer so casually. But her background wasn’t what mattered. My current situation was the problem.
“I’m sorry, but if that’s the case, I can’t hear any more.”
“What? Why?”
“I may be a low-ranking one, but I’m still a civil servant.”
A clan hunter talking to another clan’s hunter? No issue. Being invited to visit other clans happened constantly. But civil servants were different. Accepting private offers from clans could cause serious trouble. It was the same as a government employee meeting with corporate figures in private. Depending on perspective, it could look like accepting bribes in exchange for favors.
“It’s just that I wanted to express my gratitude. Is that not allowed either?”
“Gratitude?”
“Yes. Do you remember fighting the Orox last time?”
The Orox fight—that was the day I ran into both the Elder and Irina. Honestly, the gate and monster had been less frightening than that encounter.
“Of course I remember. What about it?”
“I heard you saved an ability user during the incident.”
I thought for a moment, then nodded. Park Minho. I had helped the person who got hit by the Orox.
“That ability user is actually the younger sibling of a Matap Clan member. So we wanted to express our thanks…”
“If you want to express gratitude, there are other ways to do it.”
“Well, that’s…”
“Be honest. There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
If they truly just wanted to thank me, they would have come in person. If circumstances prevented that, they would have found another method. Suggesting I visit the Matap Clan with her felt suspicious in too many ways.
“The truth is, someone wants to offer you a position in the clan.”
“Me? In the Matap Clan? I’m not even a magic type.”
“The Matap Clan isn’t composed only of magic users. It’s just that many famous figures belong to the magic department, but there are plenty of other types working to protect them.”
Kang Hana’s explanation continued. A support position in one of their hunting teams had recently opened up, but finding the right person was difficult. The role required more than just detection and measurement—it demanded combat ability above a certain level. In that situation, my name had come up as the perfect fit.
“Still, isn’t it wrong to try to pull someone from a national position like that?”
“It’s prohibited for state-affiliated ability users in field positions. But you’re not in the field, Examiner. You’re general administrative staff. There’s no major issue, and the Matap Clan wouldn’t be burdened either.”
“That… is true.”
“Yes. Besides, the taxes and emergency support funds clans pay to the nation are quite substantial. Think of this as the reason those exist.”
Since they take, they must also give. What an admirably pure capitalist world this is!
“Please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m suggesting it with good intentions. The compensation would be incomparable to what you have now, and it would look excellent on your career record.”
It was a sad truth, but I had to acknowledge it. Compared to the ordinary administrative civil servant life I currently lived—no, even compared to field work—activity records from a top clan were far more advantageous in this world.
If I were still just an ordinary civil servant, this would be the opportunity of a lifetime. Quitting this civil service job to join a clan would absolutely be the smarter move. Other people might even curse me for hesitating.
But not anymore.
I’ve finally stepped onto the right path. Running off to a clan now would be insane. Absolutely not.