Chapter 125
Chapter 125
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 125
Yoon Se-ra, who had slept deeply and woken in the early evening, slipped into the midst of the crowd enjoying the party, the fox tucked under her arm.
With the successful conquest of the labyrinth's 8th floor and Christmas festivities thrown in, all of Hawaii was buzzing with excitement.
"Headbang! Perfect timing. Is Yun Jae-hun really your brother?"
Just then, Monic, who had been holding a boozy gathering over there, spotted Se-ra and came rushing over with a bottle of strong liquor clutched in one hand.
"He is, but what's the problem with that? It feels like you're itching to heal me over it."
"What's wrong with a little healing? I'm a healer. Thanks to you, I made it back from the labyrinth in one piece, so I won't even charge you special."
Se-ra struggled to hold down the fox that was trying to rise up.
"Anyway, wow. Who would've thought you and Yun Jae-hun were actual siblings. So that's why Ali kept going on about your brother?"
"Captain Ali only found out recently too. I kept it secret that I was his little sister."
"Why? Oh, right, you were originally F-rank. Yeah, that must've felt burdensome. Man, you two don't look anything alike. No wonder no one picked up on it."
Monic dragged Jae-hun over and planted him beside her, then stuck out her tongue, saying even if she grabbed passersby and asked, no one would believe they were siblings.
"Your parents were both S-rank, right? Is there some special power flowing in your family blood? You guys must have all the good stuff."
"Just my mom. Dad was A-rank."
"S-rank or A-rank, same difference."
If S-rank was the sky, A-rank was still skyscraper height, yet Monic casually lumped the two together.
Well, to someone comparable to the universe like an L-rank, sky or skyscraper probably looked about the same.
"What? Yun Jae-hun and Headbang are siblings?"
Garcia jumped in next, having overheard the commotion. For some reason, his face was full of dissatisfaction.
"Tch. This makes it even harder to mess with Yun Jae-hun. Even I can't take on two L-ranks at once."
Why on earth was he thinking of messing with Jae-hun in the first place?
When Se-ra glanced at Jae-hun to ask what was going on, he nodded toward Ali, who was chugging booze with a grin.
'It's not about my brotherAthena just rubs him the wrong way.'
He seemed to be planning to take out his frustration from getting beaten by Ali on Athena, brother included. That wouldn't do.
"You absolutely can't touch him. I'm the type who loves family way too much. I wouldn't trust myself not to get angry if I heard he got hurt."
'Touch Yun Jae-hun, and you'll answer to me.'
Se-ra had a talent for wrapping such threats in the nicest packaging. Garcia clicked his tongue.
"Hey, wasn't getting tormented by jealousy nightmares enough for you? No, waityou took down Ali and Julian there and loved it, right? Too bad. Shouldn't have woken you. Should've let you live in that dream forever."
"You must've had one heck of a dream. Good for you it came true, even if only in your dreams."
Ali cackled at Monic's sarcasm as they drank together. Garcia, who had contributed the least in the labyrinth, bellowed in response.
"Shut up! Anyway! Fight me instead. When I woke up in the labyrinth, you'd already passed out, so I didn't get to see your skills. Of course, I have some common sense, so I'll wait till you're fully recovered. Then we can have a proper go."
This lunatic! Se-ra was aghast. Before she could even cover his mouth, Jae-hun urgently grabbed her.
"Se-ra, what does he mean? Passed out? Your body still isn't better? You said Liberi healed you completely!"
She naturally hadn't told Jae-hun about passing out from skill backlash. She'd only said she'd gotten hurt fighting the Silent Dragon but Monic had healed her fully. The others had kept quiet out of tact, but damn Garcia had spilled it all.
"It's not serious. Monic really did heal all my wounds. The passing out was just from running out of mana."
Garcia, you bastard. I'm not letting this slide. Se-ra glared at him murderously. He glanced back and forth between her and Jae-hun, sensing the mood turning weird.
But the reason he lacked tact was precisely because he was in a position where he didn't need it.
"Not serious, my ass. Your whole body was shredded to rags and tatters..."
Slap! The one delivering retribution to the babbling Garcia was none other than Se-ra's Sunshine, Elizabeth.
The fox, who had been wagging its tail nearby, leaped high and slashed across Garcia's face with its clawsclaws that pierced even L-rank skin like steel.
"Argh!"
"Oh my, Elizabeth!"
Se-ra startled and snatched the fox out of the air. She stroked its head furiously as it glared sulkily at Garcia.
"That's my baby! Good girl!"
Garcia, clutching his face, stared at her in bewilderment. He'd thought it was tame. Bullshit.
"Come to think of it, didn't you almost fall to the Sin of Lust in the labyrinth? This thing isn't tameit's a con artist..."
Lust... The looks around them turned strange. Se-ra uttered just one word.
"Elizabeth."
The fox leaped again, slashing the other side of his face this time, and Garcia screamed once more. Only then did everyone turn away, pretending they hadn't heard a thing.
"See, I warned you. It can pierce L-rank skin."
Kang Se-jun, drawn by the commotion, clicked his tongue at Garcia.
"What the hell is that fox anyway!"
'An L-rank fantasy species with the Administrator inside.'
She couldn't say that, so she skipped the front half.
"The summon contract is L-rank. It summons a fantasy species matching the awakener, so this fox is L-rank like me. Don't treat it lightly."
"Ah."
If they were the same rank, it made sense it could scratch their skin. Kang Se-jun finally looked satisfied and stopped staring at the fox.
"Is your body okay?"
"Yeah, Se-ra. Why don't you head back and rest instead of wandering around?"
Jae-hun anxiously scanned his sister's body. No way he'd see the lingering dull aches inside just from looking.
"I'll bring food to your room, so go rest with your Liz..."
Jae-hun got that far when the fox in her arms raised its claws at him. Se-ra hurriedly turned to shield him.
"Just call it Fox. Our Liz is sensitive and really hates when others call her Elizabeth."
"What if it hates its name being called too?"
"It likes when I say it, so it's fine."
No, even yours isn't all that... The Administrator sent an emoticon, but Se-ra ignored it.
"I can handle eating and walking around. What, you think I'd let my brother worry?"
She poked the belly of Yun Jae-hun, who had spent quite a while recovering from overusing two high-backlash titles. He mumbled and shut his mouth. He had no comeback, even with a hundred mouths.
"Still, Yoon Se-ra, you should take it easy. At least while you're in Hawaii..."
But Kang Se-jun was different from Jae-hun.
His constant nagging about being more careful had Se-ra fleeing in horror.
"Whew. Why's that regressor acting up all of a sudden? He's been extra bad since we left the labyrinth."
She finally shook off both men and shook her head.
"I did tell him not to die and to survive no matter what, but I didn't mean go this overboard with the overprotection."
He'd seen illusions related to her from the Silent Dragonmaybe that was it? That damn Silent Dragon was useless even in death.
She felt bad for Kang Se-jun still suffering nightmares, but she wasn't about to stay stuck to him.
Se-ra sneaked along the beach with Elizabeth, careful not to get caught by Kang Se-jun. Joining the drinking party was fun, but this quiet stroll had its own charm.
Then the watch on her wrist buzzed. An alert for a call from Do Jun-young.
"This is convenient."
She could answer without pulling out her phone. Se-ra connected the call.
"Yes, Director Do."
I heard you got hurt. Are you okay?
The voice asking after her welfare sounded urgent. Se-ra gave a wry smile.
"You just heard from my brother, right?"
He called and vented. Wondering if she didn't trust him enough to tell.
"He does have a point."
Still, calling his friend right away to pour it all out. Made her a bit scared wondering if they always swapped stories about her like this.
"Don't worry. Monic healed all my wounds, and I took potions too. For going in and out of the labyrinth, this is lucky."
Then the fox nestled in her arms patted her shoulder with its paw.
"...Ahem. Not that you did great or anything. I'll rest up properly here."
As the paw slyly returned to place, Do Jun-young's relieved voice came through.
That's a relief. ...I wanted to celebrate your birthday in person.
Today was Christmas, Se-ra's birthday. The day he'd always remembered with gifts when she was little. A smile tugged at her lips at the wistful tone.
"Did you prepare a gift this year?"
It had been twenty years since they met as superior and subordinate at the Associationno birthday gifts from him since. So she'd had no idea he was the friend of her childhood memories.
Yes.
She'd asked playfully, but got a straight answer.
"Whoa, really?"
I prepared it hoping you'd return before the day ended.
"What's that? Gifts aren't talismans or anything."
To me, it is. That's how desperately I hoped.
Her tongue went dry at the deep sincerity in his matter-of-fact words. She pictured Do Jun-young alone in that distant homeland, preparing a gift for someone whose return date was unknown, praying for her safe homecoming while gazing at it. It felt somehow embarrassing.
Fortunately, the talisman granted my wish. Yoon Se-ra, I'm truly glad you returned safely. Good work.
"Thank you for worrying. Seems I'll stay in Hawaii until things wrap up here."
I heard from the Association President. Don't worry about Korearest easy.
"Yes."
The call ended with final goodbyes. Whether from the hot sea breeze or not, her cheeks felt warm, so Se-ra fanned them with her hand.
The first summer Christmas she encountered was scorching hot.