Choi Hana's Hidden Identity? (2)

Song Sia arrived at Theia's Grand Hall a little early.

Today was the Pure White Festival—the day the Saintess's goodwill visit would take place at Gwanghwamun.

The current Saintess, Marianne, was a powerhouse who, by hunter ranking standards, stood at S+-class or higher. Unlike ordinary priests, she was a vessel who received the Goddess's blessing directly. Alongside her vast holy power, the sacred spells she wrought could only be called miracles.

The purpose of her visit was to suppress the chaos of the gates, which grew stronger in cycles. In truth, no one could casually target her life—

But the villains won't just sit quietly either.

Especially not Crimson Teeth, who had been running wild of late.

As a symbolic figure of the Goddess Church and a state guest, Theia Academy had decided to select outstanding cadets and send ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them as volunteer workers to the venue.

Lee Junwoo and Choi Hana…

Song Sia looked down at the screen of the smartphone in her hand. The list of participating cadets was displayed there—High Class students, along with a handful from Middle Class. Lee Junwoo and Choi Hana, in particular, would be attending not as ordinary cadets but as members of the Student Council Disciplinary Committee.

I never thought they'd end up in the Disciplinary Committee.

Aegis, of course, would participate under the hero party's own name. Their operational zone and authority would be on par with the Disciplinary Committee. But for two Middle Class freshmen to hold the same role as Aegis—that was nothing short of a humiliation.

President Jo Arin. What is she thinking?

In a corner of the Grand Hall, Song Sia stood alone, wanting nothing to do with the crowd, and watched the stage. Up there, a girl with red twin-tails rode a witch's broom—Student Council President Jo Arin.

"This is the team assignment zone map! It's not like I prepared it specially for you lot or anything! I-I made it myself, all night long!"

Her voice, amplified by magic, rang out as she bustled about.

"I even combined the deployment charts from the affiliated hunter guilds and the unlicensed guilds into this zone map, so hand them out as soon as the team leaders arrive!"

Theia's current strongest. A genius of fire magic who had already earned a B-class hunter license while still a cadet. Song Sia had heard that her standards—for herself and for others—were as exacting as her skill. Getting involved with Jo Arin meant a real chance of becoming famous as a hunter later on.

And yet Jo Arin had temporarily inducted Lee Junwoo and Choi Hana into the Disciplinary Committee.

So she has the same eye for people after all.

In Choi Hana's case, she had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probably been included specially as Junwoo's partner. In any event, after Hell Week, Aegis had held several meetings. Naturally, talk of their former operator, Lee Junwoo, had been unavoidable. And their current operator, Jeong Ungyeong, had spoken of him constantly as well.

There is one thing you must understand. I cannot do everything perfectly the way Lee Junwoo could.

Song Sia had sensed enormous ambition in her—but for that very reason, Jeong Ungyeong was excellent at self-assessment. In the past, An Yumin and Ha Yeeun would have pushed back against any praise of Junwoo. This time, neither of them said a word.

Because everyone felt the hole he left behind.

And from the few brief side conversations, Song Sia could tell that those two, as well, had shed a great deal of their misunderstanding toward him. Even so, there was absolutely no chance Lee Junwoo would ever return to Aegis.

After Jeong Ungyeong left for another appointment, Song Sia had asked the other two:

"Did either of you apologize to Lee Junwoo?"

Song Sia was still largely devoid of emotion—but when it came to Junwoo alone, her feelings had opened their eyes.

I… don't want Lee Junwoo to… suffer.

So if those two were the root of the trauma he carried, the way she herself was, then their apologies were necessary. Only then would the wounds left in him disappear. At the same time, though, she felt another kind of wariness and displeasure. She did not want those two approaching him.

"That's something I'll handle myself."

"I-I'll… try contacting him separately or something."

Apparently the other two felt much the same. At this point, the three of them could hardly go find Junwoo together and laugh their way through an apology.

And Song Sia felt a contradictory emotion. She hoped his wounds would heal through those apologies—and at the same time, she hoped he would never accept either of theirs.

I don't want Lee Junwoo getting involved with other women again.

During Hell Week, those two had clearly been conscious of him the way she was. But Junwoo had shown them no interest at all. Of course, he had shown none toward her either—the one who had tried to drink his blood.

So even now, Song Sia was in pain. She wanted to draw closer to him. She felt the constant hunger for blood. And yet she could see no way to improve their relationship even a little.

Wait…

Just then, Lee Junwoo entered the hall.

"Haa…"

Her heart pounded. At the same time, a wave of anemia washed over her again.

Just seeing Lee Junwoo was enough to set her on edge. He had ignored her completely during Hell Week—and yet, because he was the reason her True Blood had opened, she found herself even less able to give him up.

Her partner for the day, Choi Hana, did not seem to have arrived yet. That meant there was at least a little time to try talking to him. She had no acquaintances she could turn to for anything resembling romantic advice, so she had spent the whole night reading romance fantasy novels and reached a conclusion.

I have to create some kind of point of contact, no matter what…

That was why she had attended the Criminal Studies freshman welcome party as well. Even there, though, she had never gotten a chance to speak with him. That day, strangely enough, Junwoo had worn a serious, thoughtful expression even at the welcome gathering.

He really did look serious. It couldn't have been about a girl… right?

From their conversation during Hell Week, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already knew it was not lingering feelings for An Yumin.

What on earth is he thinking about? What is he worrying over?

Perhaps that was where she would find a hint for getting closer to him. And if there was anything she could give him—it was her True Blood.

A moment later, Song Sia approached Lee Junwoo.

"Lee Junwoo. Can I talk to you for a second?"

The instant the words left her mouth, Song Sia happened to glance at the video playing on his smartphone screen.

What is that?

And the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment she saw the anime-style 3D character moving on that screen, cold sweat broke out against her will.

D-don't tell me he's newly discovered a taste for that sort of thing.

Tastes deserved respect, of course—

Right… people have all kinds of preferences…

She was prepared to try anything if it meant getting closer to him. But reading romance fantasy did not make Song Sia an otaku. Those books had been reference material, nothing more.

Watching the character dance on the screen, her anemia only grew worse.

"You like this kind of thing?"

I looked at Song Sia. What she was staring at was the screen of my smartphone—and of all things, Naharing was dancing there to a Japanese song. A dance that had been trending in YouTube clips, so the otaku vibe was somewhat toned down. Still, it was a little embarrassing.

Of all times…

Come to think of it, Song Sia had attended the freshman welcome party a few days ago. That had been right after I learned Choi Hana was Naharing—so I had been seriously considering how that fact would affect future quests.

I casually avoided Song Sia's gaze.

"No. It just popped up on the algorithm."

"Really? Still… you must watch that sort of thing pretty often."

Oddly enough, Song Sia seemed interested. Then again, she was conscious of me enough to fall under my Marionette—so maybe everything I did was a matter of curiosity to her.

"So what's up?"

"Um…? Nothing major. Back then… at the freshman welcome party, you looked like you were thinking about something, so I just wondered if something was going on…"

At those words, I reflexively glanced back at Naharing's video. Song Sia's red eyes flashed for an instant. I hurried to speak.

"It's nothing. Just the temporary Disciplinary Committee offer. I was only thinking about today's volunteer work."

"I see. Okay."

Once I said that, Song Sia asked nothing more. Instead, she pulled something from her pocket and held it out to me—

"Good morning! Hello, Mr. Lee Junwoo!"

Choi Hana came up beside me. Song Sia looked at me and spoke quickly.

"It might be useful. Use that."

With that, she left at once. I slipped the envelope she had given me into my pocket without checking it.

"Did Ms. Song Sia have some business with you?"

Choi Hana asked, looking at me with mild curiosity.

"Nothing important."

As I said it, I glanced at her. Today she was not wearing a maid uniform—just a neat cadet uniform. The short skirt and the black stockings she wore against the still-chilly spring weather left an impression. But her usual calm demeanor was unchanged, so no matter how I looked at her, I still could not believe she was Naharing.

And the moment I saw her, something I needed to do first came to mind.

"Oh, right—want this?"

I held out the Barrier Pendant to her.

"Wh-what? This necklace… for me?"

"Yeah. I don't need it."

The Barrier Pendant obtained from Bonchina. A useful item that could automatically deploy a barrier independent of the caster's mana. It would have been fairly helpful for me as well—but it was not something I would miss desperately.

Through that pendant, I had created a water-attribute Authority. With the new Authority—Wall of Quietly Rippling Water—I could replace the Barrier Pendant's function. Moreover, unlike the original pendant's rock attribute, this Authority had been judged as water thanks to the aquamite mineral used as the pendant's material.

The more elemental attributes I can use freely, the better.

So I handed the pendant over to Choi Hana without regret. With the overall difficulty of reality climbing, supporting my partner Choi Hana with items I no longer needed—to guard against any potential danger—was the more advantageous move for me.

"……It's so beautiful. Are you sure I can accept a pendant that looks this precious…? Thank you so much!"

Choi Hana took the necklace and bowed her head deeply to me. For a moment, Naharing's image floated up in my mind again.

Naharing got even more famous because of her donation reactions.

That slow, soft, distinctive way of speaking she mixed into her reactions. Those donation reactions had sparked a minor cult following in YouTube clips. But the Choi Hana in front of me was so shy she looked awkward—no reaction at all. Thinking about the gap left me with a strange feeling.

Before long, the two of us moved with the gathered cadets toward Gwanghwamun Square.

Choi Hana arrived at Gwanghwamun Square with Lee Junwoo. Crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands had poured into the place. To the faithful of the Goddess Church, the Saintess was a greater figure than any other living person—so today's event was, for them, nothing short of a pilgrimage.

Her organization, Blood Jaguar, was already responsible for one of the zones. For Choi Hana as its boss, this was an extremely important mission. She absently fingered the pendant now hanging around her neck.

I… received another gift from Mr. Lee Junwoo.

The thought left her with a peculiar feeling. Oddly enough, a ticklish sensation stirred in a corner of her heart. She tried to push it down for the sake of today's mission—but she could not help becoming conscious of him again and again.

Surely… it doesn't mean anything special… right?

Just then, President Jo Arin, still riding her broom, approached nearby. Looking at Junwoo, Jo Arin said:

"All right—Team Three, I'm counting on you for this zone!"

And the moment Choi Hana looked at the twin-tailed president, she suddenly recalled something Scarlet had told her—words the so-called strongest cadet, Jo Arin, had left behind while evaluating Lee Junwoo.