Stalking #111
The blonde tanned guy could be called a real man's man in more ways than one. After all, he'd done something no ordinary person would ever dare imagine. Getting beaten up during the exam and then picking a fight again right out on the street? After getting thrashed so badly, he was still this aggressive. I'd thought he might have some deep plan, but it turned out to be pure impulse. Charging into a fight with absolutely nothing to back it up. He looked like he came from a decent family, yet he didn't even bring a single bodyguard. He didn't even have friends tagging along. What the hell is this guy's deal?
Kang Sian stared at the blonde tanned guy, who was now cornered. His tropical outfit didn't match his current situation at all. The guy scratched his head, then met Kang Sian's gaze. Typical of a free-spirited Californian, his eyes were a little bloodshot. "……Figures guys like this would be the same."
"Y-you! What did you just say?!"
"I said you're a druggie. Got a problem with that?"
That level of bloodshot eyes was a classic symptom of marijuana use. It might not be, but given his current mental state, the odds were high. Kang Sian kept his gaze shamelessly lowered. The blonde tanned guy couldn't continue speaking under the pressure and isolation. Instead, he made a desperate attempt to escape. He shoved the mages aside and pulled a knife from his pocket, trying to stab them.
"What do you think you're doing right now?"
It was pointless. Against superior muscle, an ordinary knife thrust was nothing. He fell silent after failing, and the muscle mages' expressions grew even more twisted. When his next stab was blocked as well, his heart sank. "Ah, no……!"
"I asked what you think you're doing."
Do you feel the difference in power now? Acting up here won't do you any good. Clatter. The pocket knife fell to the ground.
"Anyway, I doubt you'll give a proper answer even if I ask. How about I just hit you as much as I got hit?"
"Hmm? Shall we?"
Violence had always been an effective means of communication. Whether it was the right one was debatable, but its history ran deep. So Kang Sian and the muscle mages decided to follow in their ancestors' wise footsteps. They dragged the blonde tanned guy into a back alley.
"Let go! If you don't let go right now, I'll tell my parents!"
"Ah, sure. Go ahead and tattle all you want about something that'll be ruled self-defense~"
"You trash! Do you even know which guild I'm from?! The famous Kankon Guild in California—"
"Hey, can someone shut this guy's mouth?"
Schoolyard violence descended upon the blonde tanned delinquent who looked like he'd be good at NTR. For the first time in his life, the guy who'd always thrown his weight around since elementary school was facing merciless brutality. "Eek, eeeek!"
In his mangled senses, he could already picture the future. He struggled with all his might to break free, but with his arms, legs, and mouth blocked, there was nothing he could do. Like the typical delinquent he was, he was about to hit rock bottom in misery. On the other hand, it was a rare sight you didn't see every day. Just like that, several people disappeared into the darkness. Groans followed, but they were drowned out by the sounds of the promotional street. Every year, countless students who relied on their family name got broken just like this. It was a fitting end for a frog in a well who didn't know his place.
W-what in the world…… Ines thought she should do something, but she couldn't bring herself to step forward. There was fear, and there were reasons of principle. Rather than pulling out a knife at all……! From start to finish, if he'd tried to settle everything with his body like a real man, there might have been room for intervention. But the moment he reached his peak, resorting to a cowardly surprise attack with a weapon was hard to defend. No, it went beyond defense—it was downright ugly. Since his first attack was a surprise attack, he should've seen it through with the same weapon in hand. What the hell was he thinking? Ines revoked her earlier judgment of him as an honorable Southerner. And she raised her evaluation of Kang Sian just a little higher. Confirmation that he wasn't someone you should recklessly challenge. Of course, that didn't mean she was giving up. Abandoning everything just because the opponent was strong would tarnish the name of Alabama. She burned with hatred toward the despicable opponent who so shamelessly committed crimes.
Soon, she glared sharply as Kang Sian and the muscle mages emerged, dusting off their hands. When Kang Sian gave the others a casual greeting and left, she followed behind him. Tap tap. She headed toward the end of the promotional street.
"Wait, isn't this ice cream all melted?"
She flinched at Kang Sian's sudden muttered words. But she couldn't show it or stop. She needed information for the future. Suppressing all her emotions, she buried herself as deep in the crowd as possible. She watched as Kang Sian took out his phone and made a call. She strained to catch even the smallest sound, but with her current abilities, it was impossible.
"Yes, security department…… CCTV…… just in case…… I'll send the location…… Understood."
What the heck is he saying? It wasn't like he'd learned some hearing-enhancement technique from Gray Zone. Right now, she was still just an ordinary hunter aspirant. Judging that she couldn't piece anything together with such limited information, Ines forced herself to get a little closer. Of course, the moment she did, Kang Sian started heading somewhere else again. Cursing inwardly, she kept following. Past the promotional street, past the crosswalk, past the stores, past the hill, past the alley. They walked through a dim, complicated maze of alleys. But unlike other paths, time in these alleys felt incredibly long. Her impatience was swelling rapidly when Kang Sian stopped and looked up at the sky filled with tangled pipes and rising smoke. What was that, stretching? Or just unconscious habit? The moment that thought crossed her mind, his lowered head tilted slightly to the side.
"Who exactly are you? Why do you keep following me?"
She was screwed. Startled by the polite speech, she took a small step backward. "Eek?!" A puddle splashed, a clear sign of her panic. Kang Sian turned his prediction into certainty. Then he turned his body completely around. He was now facing Ines head-on. "Hup."
"Oh. It's that person from back then."
Her face had been memorable enough that he recalled it immediately. However, the vague something at the edge of his memory didn't surface. It was the feeling of almost recognizing someone's identity. Truly strange and fateful.
"W-what are you staring at like that!"
"No, you just seem like someone I know pretty well."
It was just a vague feeling. Since his thoughts on the matter had hit a dead end anyway, Kang Sian set it aside. "Let me ask again. You've been following me since earlier—what's the reason?"
"Following you? I don't know what you're—"
"No, you've been tailing me ever since some point. You were watching from the alley too."
How did he know? She'd hidden as carefully as possible so she wouldn't be noticed. But if you keep turning your body or head, people tend to notice. Especially since Ines's appearance wasn't exactly ordinary. If someone didn't recognize that, that would be strange in its own way. Ines, on the other hand, looked like she'd seen someone using mind-reading techniques.
Damn it, what do I do? Should she just run away? The right thought crossed her mind, but after a moment of hesitation, she abandoned it. Running away here would be something a coward would do. Besides, considering that man's personality, even if she ran, she'd probably end up in a bad situation. Ines decided to face him head-on, even if she'd get beaten up due to the skill gap. That was the true hunter's spirit she believed in.
"Y-yeah! I saw you by chance and followed you! So what, what about it!"
"……?"
She became shameless, as if she'd drunk a courage potion. However, perhaps because they were facing each other, harsh words wouldn't come out even if she forced them. Because of that, there was a slight groaning quality to her tone. Kang Sian thought she looked normal but was really weird. "You do know that's stalking, right?"
"So what if it's stalking!"
"It's a first-degree misdemeanor."
"So what if I commit a crime!"
Wow, her mindset is similar to my friend's. If I introduced them, they'd probably get along well. "That's a bad thing to do, though."
"Stalking a jerk like you isn't a bad thing!"
Whether that was words or just hot air was unclear. Her speech had stiffened from extreme tension. Kang Sian let out a dry laugh as he looked at the woman who still maintained discrimination even in this situation. Honestly, her complete lack of fear and her overall vibe reminded him of his friend in many ways. "Then, are you following me to get revenge or something?"
Of course, to Kang Sian, it didn't feel like revenge. She didn't even have a decent weapon in hand. "Th……at's right! I followed you to get revenge on you for everything!"
But she just blurted it out. Saying she'd followed him for information-gathering purposes would've been too embarrassing, so she'd chosen this instead. Naturally, Kang Sian looked at the woman shouting about revenge when she wasn't even prepared for it with a strange expression. He even seriously wondered if this was what happened when cousins married. "I didn't think you'd come after me just because one of your club members got beaten up."
"Just because?! Do you really think what happened back then was nothing?!"
"Yes."
Ines was shocked by his attitude of dismissing it as trivial. More precisely, she couldn't accept that an event that had become a lifelong memory for her was nothing more than a minor incident to Kang Sian. "Do you even know what happened to our club member who fought you back then?!"
"I'm not really curious, though."
"He became impotent! And treatment failed!"
"Oh dear."
That was truly unfortunate. Kang Sian pressed F to pay respects for losing the joy of being a man. Even though the guy had been a small-minded person, he was still human and a man. Kang Sian maintained a solemn expression for a full 0.1 seconds. It was a moment filled with genuine sincerity. Really.