Hunter Supporter Kang Hae-bin (1)
I entered the room the old man had guided me to. The moment I stepped inside, a woman stood up.
Oh?
She looked to be nearly 170cm tall. Her body was different from the women I'd had so far. Plump breasts and hips. With just the right amount of flesh, she perfectly embodied the meaty allure that drove men wild. Her face resembled a desert fox. Her eyes slanted sideways without a hint of awkwardness, giving her an alluring vibe, and her thin lips suited her perfectly. Her outfit screamed married woman, nothing like a young girl's style. It was the classic "missy look." A tight gray one-piece dress clung to her body, accentuating her voluptuous curves perfectly.
As she bowed to me in greeting, her brown hair cascaded forward with a soft rustle past her shoulder. And her breasts jiggled with dynamic motion. Perfect.
"Hello. I'm Kang Hae-bin, and I'll be supporting Kwon Yong-jin from here on out."
What a shame. For a woman like that to be just an ordinary person.
Yong-jin-nim. That woman is not an ordinary person. She is a magical girl.
What...? Did I hear that wrong?
You heard correctly. The woman in front of you is a magical girl.
"Yong-jin-nim?"
The old man's voice from the side brought me back to my senses, and I returned the greeting.
"Hello. I'm Kwon Yong-jin."
As greetings wrapped up and we sat back down, Kang Hae-bin's breasts jiggled once more.
"Lately, we've been worried because so few hunters want to team up with magical girls. Thanks to you, Kwon Yong-jin-nim, I feel a bit relieved."
Focus. Focus. With tremendous self-control, I concentrated on the old man's words.
"Hunters aren't cooperating with magical girls?"
"As hunters grow stronger, the Hunter Association and guilds have gained enough power to handle things on their own, so the trend is to avoid working with magical girls."
"Just for that reason?"
"Of course, that's not the only reason guilds are cutting ties."
"Aren't magical girls strong? Why cooperate with hunters in the first place?"
"Magical girls have grown stronger and more numerous, but so have the monsters and monster humans in number and power."
The old man took a sip of his coffee and continued.
"Magical girls could certainly handle everything without issue on their own. But they can't do it without any casualties. That's why I believe cooperation between magical girls and hunters is crucial."
Even if magical girls had grown disproportionately strong and numerous, preventing all damage without a single loss would be tough. They're human too, after all—they make mistakes.
"Whether magical girl or hunter, the ultimate goal is to protect this world's safety. To handle any situation that arises, I wanted to form an alliance, but..."
The old man wore a bitter expression.
"That's a shame. But what's a supporter? First time hearing that."
When I asked about the supporter role, she smiled and spoke up.
"I'll explain. Most hunters join guilds these days, so they don't have activity issues. But there are solo hunters like you, Kwon Yong-jin-nim, who aren't affiliated."
"Sure, there are some."
"So the Hunter Association assigns supporters to make things a bit easier for solo hunters. They don't handle everything—just minor assistance for activities."
"I see."
Makes sense. No reason to assign a dedicated supporter just for going solo.
As I nodded, she added,
"But for the rare hunters who team up specifically with magical girls, we assign a dedicated supporter just for that hunter."
"Hm? Why?"
"It's due to the special nature of magical girls. They have to hide their identities, which makes close cooperation difficult. That's another reason hunters avoid working with them lately."
I could understand that fully. They're basically wearing masks and not showing their true selves. I might doubt whether to trust this magical girl or not.
But still, it didn't seem like enough reason for hunter guilds to outright shun magical girls like this.
"There's another reason, huh."
The old man and Kang Hae-bin exchanged wry smiles.
"There was an incident where a magical girl—no, a monster human—betrayed them."
A cracking sound came from the old man's coffee cup. The pressure in his grip was cracking it.
"During an S-rank monster subjugation, one magical girl—actually a monster human—betrayed them, costing the lives of key hunters."
Probably the managers' doing. Magical girls wouldn't do that. Why? Because the managers made them that way.
But if the managers changed that, it would be different. Whatever—none of that concerns me.
"I see. So you're my dedicated supporter, Kang Hae-bin-nim?"
"Yes. Starting today, I'm dedicated to you, Kwon Yong-jin-nim."
The manager had definitely said Kang Hae-bin was a magical girl. If she's my dedicated supporter, we'll be spending a lot of time together, right? I'd better investigate her thoroughly. One piece at a time, savoring Kang Hae-bin.
"Do you have any gear first, Kwon Yong-jin-nim?"
"Yes, I already have my equipment."
"When do you plan to start activities?"
"Tomorrow, right away."
"Understood. Then, here's this bracelet and earpiece first. The bracelet shows incident locations via hologram for quick checks, and the earpiece connects you to dispatched magical girls and hunters."
"Got it. Thanks."
"If you have questions, concerns, or need advice, contact me anytime via the earpiece."
"Noted."
The old man beside us blinked, stepped out briefly, and returned quickly.
"Here's your hunter license. You'll start as a C-rank hunter, Kwon Yong-jin-nim."
"C-rank?!"
Kang Hae-bin across from me jumped in surprise, staring at me. Her usually expressionless face showed emotion for the first time.
"Is that really high?"
"Of course! Including you, only five hunters have ever started at C-rank!"
"Oh..."
Come to think of it, why was a magical girl working as a supporter for the Hunter Association? Time to ask Woo-rim for a favor after a while.
We kept chatting, and time passed. As we finished and stood to leave, the old man warned that it might be noisy outside, so be careful.
How noisy could it be? But when I cracked the door open, a massive crowd was there.
"That can't be because of me, right?"
The old man laughed heartily.
"All for you, Kwon Yong-jin-nim. To snag the fifth hunter ever assigned C-rank from the start."
"Too annoying. Keep this secret too."
I immediately used Woo-rim's ability to erase my presence. The old man looked around in confusion, let out an awkward laugh, and left.
I slipped out of the Hunter Association quietly once he was gone.
==
News and articles kept featuring stories about me. They were spouting all sorts of nonsense—where the hell did they get info for stuff that had nothing to do with me?
Ding. A notification; I checked my phone. A text from Na-hyun.
She must collect those emoticons like crazy—every text brings a new one.
As I texted back and forth with Na-hyun, another message came in.
How do they all get the news so fast? I messaged Na-hyun and Chae-yeon to meet up. It was about time anyway. We'd be working together, so better get acquainted early. No worries about Chae-yeon, but Na-hyun might be tricky. Still, since she's friends with Woo-rim, she should get along with Chae-yeon too.
They both agreed.
==
Sipping a chocolate latte at the cafe, Chae-yeon arrived first. She seemed to have put extra effort into her look today. A short tennis skirt and white blouse suited her perfectly. When I raised my hand, she spotted me and hurried over.
"Yong-jin! How've you been?"
"Good, you too? Getting along with Chae-rim?"
"Yeah! Thanks to you, Chae-rim's been making waves at Hunter Academy lately!"
"Huh? Because of me?"
What had I even done for Chae-rim besides sex? As I puzzled over it, Chae-yeon nodded vigorously.
"You know how you used Chae-rim's ability first, right? It helped her quickly figure out her own power. Plus, since our abilities match, it's easy for me to teach her."
Now that I thought about it, yeah—I'd used Chae-rim's ability before she even awakened it. Having two close people with the same power would definitely speed up growth.
As Chae-yeon and I chatted about Chae-rim, Na-hyun arrived.
=
