189. Affection Reader (3)
189. Affection Reader (3)
In the dead of night.
The Chairwoman's Office of the Velvet Hunter Academy.
Rina stared at the woman in front of her with a baffled expression.
"......So, Seol-hee. You've gotten stronger?"
By Rina's assessment, Baek Seol-hee stood at the wall between ordinary beings and Transcendents.
To grow stronger beyond this point was impossible by ordinary means.
In other words, the situation required a "miracle."
There was no way she wouldn't be baffled when that same Baek Seol-hee suddenly showed up and announced she'd gotten stronger.
Rina's eyes narrowed as she looked at Baek Seol-hee.
When she checked Baek Seol-hee's Mana,
she could perceive that the aura surrounding her had indeed become deeper and denser.
'......She really did get stronger? And noticeably so?'
Rina shot to her feet.
"Wh-What in the world happened—!! Unless you hunted down a Demon by yourself—!!!"
Rina sprang up from her seat and asked, but Baek Seol-hee simply pretended not to hear.
With a nonchalant face, she yawned.
"Haaahm......"
Then she covered her mouth with her hand.
That awkward gesture—anyone could see she was deliberately trying to show off her hand.
Flash!
A bewitching pink gem on her hand sparkled.
'......This rascal.'
Rina instantly realized that this had something to do with Jin Yu-ha.
Normally, when something happened, she'd charge in head-on as if she didn't have a clue about hierarchy,
but every single time she had something to brag about concerning Jin Yu-ha, she always pulled this ridiculous behavior.
Baek Seol-hee enjoyed boasting about Jin Yu-ha in this roundabout way.
And she wasn't even good at it!
Rina's insides bubbled with anger as she watched Baek Seol-hee's behavior.
However, this time, the reason for her simmering was a little different from usual.
'That was the power of an artifact......?'
With a rigid expression, Rina thought back to the events of a few hours earlier.
*
"What's this now....... The Utopia kids took a lowest-rank request? And they departed the very same day they accepted it......?"
Chairwoman Rina was swamped with hundreds of reports pouring in every day.
Among them, matters related to Utopia were treated with the highest priority.
A group of Irregulars who always gave her a headache!
But even she, the Chairwoman, couldn't treat them carelessly.
For a party that had only recently formed, in fact, Utopia had amassed no small number of achievements so far.
And each one of those achievements was extraordinary.
Just off the top of her head, she could think of:
The Demonized Human subjugation early in the term.
The rooting out of corruption in the Hunter Management Bureau.
The prevention of the cadet catastrophe during the Midterm Evaluation.
And most recently, even the Blue Crab Wave.
Judging by experience alone, they were comparable to a mid-tier famous party.
And they were still just first-years—kids who'd only formed their party half a year ago.
It was mind-boggling.
On top of that, hadn't Rina herself, personally, incurred quite a large debt to them during the Midterm Evaluation?
So, as long as their demands didn't violate academy rules, she had no choice but to grant most of them.
'So I thought it couldn't be helped even if they swept up all the missions this time.......'
And out of nowhere, their first request was a lowest-rank one?
And the only pending request on their list was the single U.S. Monster Subjugation Request?
'What on earth are they thinking......?'
She didn't particularly believe the note appended to the end of the report: "Appears to be consideration for other new parties and senior parties."
What kind of guy was Jin Yu-ha, the one at the center of Utopia?
'I don't know about the others, but that guy Jin Yu-ha. He never does anything that makes him take a loss.'
He'd squeezed a Subspace Tattoo out of her from the very first day of school.
And as if that wasn't enough, he'd received a Subspace Tattoo every single time a new party member joined.
Recently, even a house.
Yet at the same time, Rina acknowledged him.
Because the direction of the Utopia Party he led wasn't wrong.
Even if his methods were a monopoly, his direction was always toward a noble heroism.
'Hmm, whatever the case, there must clearly be some intention here....... What could it be?'
She was carefully examining the report and pondering when it happened.
Ding─♬
A sudden chime rang out.
'......What?'
Truthfully, she didn't even know how long it had been since she'd heard that notification sound.
After she'd joined the ranks of the Transcendent, she hadn't encountered it at all—it had been almost ten years.
Because of that, Rina raised her guard instead.
Hummm—
Next, she felt a foreign energy trying to pierce through her Mana.
As she probed that energy, Rina's face hardened.
'......This is the energy of a Demon!!!'
Fwoooosh─!
How long had it been since she'd last received a Demon's attack?
Of course, with a single gesture from Rina, that energy vanished without a trace,
but her wariness hit its peak.
'......A Demon's energy that even tries to invade me. This could be dangerous for the children.'
She had reached that conclusion merely a few hours ago......
And now the cause had come right to her doorstep!
Chairwoman Rina's eyes narrowed as she looked at Baek Seol-hee's finger.
'An artifact imbued with the energy of a Demon......'
Fortunately, nothing sinister or malicious was contained within it.
Nevertheless, it was an outrageous object into which a powerful Demon's Authority had been crammed wholesale.
'......Well, that Jin Yu-ha brat. Did he go catch another Demon somewhere this time?'
In truth, a Demon's Authority was the realm of miracles.
To a Transcendent like herself, it likely wouldn't have been particularly useful,
but for Baek Seol-hee, who stood exactly at that boundary, it would boast the highest efficiency.
'That guy, seriously.'
He went to take a lowest-rank request and came back having hunted a Demon.
As she recalled his cheeky face, her head throbbed again.
While Rina continued her thoughts,
Baek Seol-hee kept up her absurd behavior right in front of Rina.
Suddenly sweeping her hair back with the hand wearing the ring.
Or staring at a hangnail on her fingertip and blowing on it— hoo.
Or suddenly gazing out the window and smoothing her lips.
Each time, she made sure to angle the ring on her finger toward Rina as well.
She kept doing it with that stoic face without saying a single word, and honestly, it was intensely grating.
'......It's truly so unpleasant to watch that I can't stand it. I received one too! I'm telling you, I received one!'
Of course, she'd refused it because of the suspicious Demon energy! And even if she'd gotten it, it wouldn't have been particularly useful for her, who had already entered the ranks of the Transcendent!
But still!
She, too, had been offered it!
However, explaining that to Baek Seol-hee also seemed a little undignified.
Rina glared at the ring Baek Seol-hee was showing off as if boasting, and moved one hand hidden under the desk.
Hummm—
'It looked...... like this?'
No matter how powerful Rina was, she couldn't duplicate a Demon's Authority,
but merely copying the artifact's external appearance was a piece of cake.
Slide.
Having completed the task under the desk in the blink of an eye, Rina slowly raised her hand above the desk.
Freeze.
In that instant, as if Baek Seol-hee's time alone had stopped, her body turned rigid.
Though the trembling in her eyes as she murderously stared at the hand indicated that her time was, in fact, still flowing.
After staring for a long while, Baek Seol-hee pointed at Rina's hand and parted her lips.
"......That."
At that, Rina lifted her hand with a shamelessly casual air.
"Ah, you mean this? Hmm, something like this suddenly appeared on my hand a while ago."
"How much...... how much stronger did you get......"
Baek Seol-hee asked in a rigid, hard voice.
'How much stronger......?'
Hmm, roughly estimating how much stronger Baek Seol-hee had become, it was about 4%.
Still, since she herself was the superior, she ought to be higher.
"Ahem, r-roughly...... se-seven percent."
Out of conscience, she said exactly 3% more than Baek Seol-hee.
"......7%?"
Nevertheless, Baek Seol-hee's voice was cold and subdued.
Rina sensed from that that something had gone wrong, but she couldn't take back the words already spoken.
"Y-Yes! 7%!"
Crack─
For some reason, Baek Seol-hee's face became terrifying as she glared at Rina.
"......S-Seol-hee?"
Sensing something was off, Chairwoman Rina called out to Baek Seol-hee.
Whoosh!
Baek Seol-hee leaped out through the window.
"......Why on earth is she acting like that?"
Rina said this because she didn't know that the artifact's Authority was determined by Jin Yu-ha's affection.
But no one was there to answer her anymore.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Utopia Party, having finished its schedule, returned late at night to Velvet Academy.
The moment Shin Se-hee heard the news of Utopia's return, she dashed out like a bullet.
And there, she encountered a new face.
A small girl with long blue hair reaching her waist.
Her expression was so emotionless that it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
"......You're Ichika, right? Hello?"
"Yeah, hello......"
Ichika waved her hand weakly in greeting.
'This woman is the new Special......?'
She'd known that the empty Special role would eventually be filled by a new person.
But, this soon......?
'There was never any mention of this......!'
Feeling inexplicably wronged, Shin Se-hee shot a glare at Jin Yu-ha.
Clearly, she herself had let go of lingering attachments and had become the Operator by her own will.
Yet, there was this inexplicable sense of emptiness, as if her position had been stolen from her.
But she mustn't let it show outwardly. Mustn't let it show......
Shin Se-hee suppressed the surge of emotion with effort and bit down on her lip.
"I'm sorry."
"......What?"
In the midst of that, Jin Yu-ha suddenly offered an apology.
"Wh-What are you sorry for......?"
"I didn't expect that Ichika would become our party's Special, either. I'm serious."
"......You didn't expect it?"
"Yeah, this was completely unplanned. If I'd known in advance, I would've told you first. Since we need to discuss it together."
Jin Yu-ha apologized to her sincerely.
Melted away─
Just that alone soothed a little of her hurt and disappointment.
As if that weren't the end of it, Jin Yu-ha scratched his cheek and continued.
"And, well, the Special role is a bit of a unique position, right? Since it handles large numbers at once, it's heavily affected by compatibility."
"That's true....... If the compatibility isn't right, it honestly often becomes a burden."
Shin Se-hee nodded in agreement.
"Weeell....... From now on, our Utopia is going to utilize the Special role, too."
"Hmm, yes, then we'll need to organize a slightly different formation than before."
"Ah, right. So, what I'm saying is, there'll probably occasionally be strategies that Ichika can't do."
"......What?"
"Like I said, the Special role is affected by compatibility. So...... if it's okay with you, then at those times, could you maybe, Shin Se-hee, take a combat role as the Special from time to time......?"
"......M-Me?"
"Ah, o-of course! I'm planning to avoid interfering with your work, of course! But if you're too busy, it's okay to refuse!"
When Jin Yu-ha said that much,
Shin Se-hee's heart became completely soft, like melted pudding.
'Sure enough, aren't I way too easy a woman......?'
"Ahem...!"
Embarrassed for no reason, Shin Se-hee coughed dryly.
"Ah, I understand. If you ask, I'll occasionally take a combat role as well. O-Of course, only when work isn't busy!"
Though she said it in a roundabout way, Shin Se-hee had no intention of refusing.
With the situation settled,
the next thing that came to mind was the matter of the ring that had suddenly appeared.
"But...... Jin Yu-ha, I have something I want to ask about this......"
That was when it happened.
Swish─!
"Eek!?"
A person suddenly wedged herself between Shin Se-hee and Jin Yu-ha.
"My disciple, I have an urgent matter to discuss."
"Ah, M-Master?"
"Follow me for a moment."
It was Baek Seol-hee.