Chapter 53
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: But DP Only Catches Deserters, Right?
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But DP only catches deserters, right?
"B-Burglar?!"
"Yeah. He used to be a hunter, apparently came barging in saying he needed something expensive."
"And? So what the hell did that guy take?"
"Well... He said I didn't have any money, so he just snatched my phone."
By the time the sun had set and night fallen.
I'd thought Katarina would accept my offer and back off quietly.
But maybe because she was the sharp, brainy type even in the original story.
"Your phone is mine now."
To forge a solid link between us, she vanished with the phone I normally used.
'Well, thanks to that, I could at least pass it off as a burglar...'
Of course, no one gathered here—after she'd hacked the entire hospital's CCTV and effortlessly subdued Sophia, a B-rank hunter from the US—believed it was just some ordinary thief.
"No way... Someone with skills like that was just a burglar?"
"But aside from what Shin-woo just told us, we don't have any solid evidence either."
"True, but..."
Not only Katarina's whereabouts after that.
But the only people who'd seen her were me, and Sophia and Ria, who'd only caught a glimpse before passing out.
"For now... let's just call it a burglar."
Commander Rolling, who'd come rushing breathlessly after hearing my hospital room had been attacked.
Branch Chief Lee Jin-ah, who'd followed right behind her, looked uneasy but seemed resigned to letting it slide.
'She's buying it surprisingly easily... I figured she'd grill me like she did with Princess Kurumi.'
Or maybe she had other 'pressing matters' on her mind?
As I stared at Lee Jin-ah, lost in her own thoughts again.
"......"
"......"
Oh, right—I still had something to take care of.
In the corner of the hospital room, two figures huddled dejectedly, drowning in self-loathing for failing to protect me.
"Shin-woo, I'm sorry..."
"Oppa, sorry..."
Sophia and Ria were embracing in the gloom, even sobbing quietly.
We'd technically already won once, but since we'd come from some parallel world, yeah.
'Sophia from that world might be laughing hahaha right now?'
Either way, that world was separate now, and in this one, there was only one Sophia—in this dim corner.
"Sophia, Ria—come here for a sec."
"...!"
"Oppa..."
I called over the two who'd done their absolute best to protect me, right to the bed where I was sitting.
And the moment they came as asked, I pulled them straight into a big hug.
"Wh-Whoa?!"
"Oppa?"
"Thanks for sticking by me to the end, both of you."
I hugged them tight, pouring in all my gratitude.
Their gloom didn't last.
"Heh, heheheheh! Just so you know, this is the only time I lost!"
Sophia bounced back with full confidence, striking a heroic pose as she declared it to me.
"Next time, I'll definitely protect you from that woman!"
"Yeah, got it."
"Ria too! Ria will do her best to protect Oppa!"
Ria, beside her, struck the same spirited pose and shouted with equal vigor.
'Even so, her opponent's got that insane retry-until-win ability, but for now, sure...'
Anyway, the two were back to normal.
I grinned at them.
Katarina was a big shot in the underworld, so she'd reach out on her own eventually.
With that thought, I relaxed a bit.
"Um, by the way, Auntie."
"Yeah? What's up, Shin-woo?"
A son getting attacked should've been a big deal.
I'd been on edge, wondering if she'd bring a tank or something—but no tank, and not even her husband in sight.
"Where's Uncle Seok-gyu?"
I asked out of worry, since he wasn't the type to skip a family visit like this.
Commander Rolling's face clouded over briefly.
"Sigh... It's a bit complicated."
"Complicated?"
"Mom, I'm curious too. Where the heck did Dad go?"
"Treat guy. Where is he? Curious!"
Seeing our trio with sparkling eyes full of curiosity, she gave up on keeping it secret.
"Not military secrets... right?"
"Military secrets?"
"Kids, you can't go blabbing about this anywhere, okay?"
Commander Rolling spilled everything—where the four-star Army Chief of Staff was, what he was doing on the front lines despite his rank, a plan that had soldiers and officers alike foaming at the mouth.
Military police.
Also known as military cops, they handled not just internal army discipline but, depending on the situation, national security itself.
And among active-duty MPs, there was a unit specialized in tracking and capture: the Deserter Pursuit Team.
Known in English as Deserter Pursuit, or commonly just DP.
"Wh-Why are we, who're supposed to catch deserters, tracking some civilian?"
"Shh! Quiet down! What if someone hears?!"
"Ahem~."
Two soldiers, disguised as civilians, whispered from the back of a Lamborghini(?) trying to stay low-key.
They were the top performers in the DP unit, talented enough for potential long-term service extensions.
In the world of Hunters Blood, where monsters popped up constantly.
Jobs that could fight them were hailed as heroes, with benefits beyond imagination.
Hunters, the prime monster-slayers, were the world's most beloved and aspired-to profession—number one globally.
And number two? In Korea, surprisingly, it was 'soldier'—beating out even hunters.
A job you inevitably experienced in a divided nation.
And during that dream 18 months, regular soldiers got top-tier treatment—everyone wanted to stake their claim and stay long-term.
But promotion to officer was as tough as passing the hunter exam. Even as DP top dogs, they were barely on the cutoff line.
"Work with me, you two."
On a sunny day.
The general showed up at the MP base unannounced... well, graced them with a visit.
"Whiiirrr! Seeeeaaaluuute!!"
"Ah, good to see you, MP commander."
"Colonel Yoo Guk-cheol!! Yes, sir!! Doing great, sir!!!"
"Anyway, I've got some people I'm looking for..."
"I'll find them anywhere in the world, sir!!!!"
The MPs flipped out at the general's arrival—no exaggeration.
The two DP soldiers targeted nearly imagined crossing the Jordan.
'This could be our big break...!'
'It's the freaking Army Chief of Staff!'
Even catching a division commander's eye guaranteed success.
But this guy? Untouchable compared to some division commander—the Army's big boss.
No joke, four-star Army Chief of Staff Lee Seok-gyu himself.
"You both want long-term service, right?"
"Yes, sir!!!"
"For our country!!! This body of ours!!! Is ready!!! To serve!!!"
"Hahaha! Love that youthful bellow! Too good to waste on hunters!"
Now riding in Lee Seok-gyu's personal ride #25, the DP duo was along for the mission.
Private First Class Kim Jun-young.
Sergeant Choi Han-sol.
Praying for military stakes, they were tense but more fired up than ever.
And right then.
"You two have tracking skills, right?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Then can you track where the maker of this is?"
Lee Seok-gyu, driving himself from the front seat, handed a small glass vial back to the two soldiers.
They took it reverently with both hands and peered inside curiously.
But seeing nothing, they were dumbfounded.
"Uh, isn't it empty?"
"Y-Yeah... Or is this some kind of test?"
"T-Test, sir?!"
"You know... to check loyalty or whatever...!"
Empty vial or not, it was from the superior—must be something!
Can't eat it, but superior gave it—delicious!
Absurd, but army miracles made it real. Maybe the general was testing them.
Watching his sweating junior, Choi Han-sol declared it so.
And answered boldly.
"We can track it all the way to the factory that made this vial!!"
"Hahaha! Excellent. But I'm not after the factory. It's the one who manipulated the thread inside."
"S-Say what?"
"Thread... sir?"
Thread?
What thread?
They peered intently into the vial again.
But no thread—or anything.
Meanwhile, Lee Seok-gyu chuckled heartily in the rearview mirror.
"If you can't see it, feel it. Then you'll know."
"Yes, sir!"
Feel what? Need to see it first...
In civilian life, complaints would've spilled. But this was the army.
General's orders—action required.
"Here goes!"
"Sergeant Choi?!"
Empty as it looked, Choi stuck a finger in the finger-sized vial.
And then.
Swish.
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
"There's... really something here?"
"R-Really?!"
Not a loyalty test?
The two immediately pulled out the invisible remnants of Reverin's mana thread and examined it closely.
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