085. Thorn Grasslands (1)
085. Thorn Grasslands (1)
The next day.
We stepped out of the academy's warp gate to start the B-Rank dungeon, «Thorn Grasslands».
Out of nowhere, a merciless hailstorm of camera flashes erupted.
Flash-flash-flash!
Flash-flash-flash-flash-flash!
Dozens of reporters armed with cameras and microphones were lined up in front of the warp gate we'd just exited.
Im Ga-eul's eyes flew open in surprise, and Kang Do-hee clicked her tongue.
Hic—!?
Lee Yu-ri's hiccups made a comeback for the first time in a while.
Shin Se-hee, who'd been scanning the crowd, pressed her fingers to her brow and let out a heavy sigh, like she was deeply embarrassed.
"Sigh— I thought I'd shaken off just about everyone worth shaking off...... looks like some reporters managed to sniff us out......."
Shin Se-hee turned her head toward me and murmured, 'I'm sorry.'
"Can't be helped."
I clicked my tongue and told her.
Even with Velvet Academy approving our party registration,
we still had to register with the Hunter Management Bureau to legally operate externally.
I'd left that part entirely to Shin Se-hee. She must have been picturing a quiet, clean finish and exit...... but.
Were Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee just ordinary cadets?
Stunning 'looks',
overwhelming 'strength',
and 'growth potential' that's still got a long way to go—
They possessed not just one but all three. It was no wonder the public went crazy over them.
Even before they'd entered Velvet Academy, the names Shin Se-hee and Kang Do-hee had been on par with top-tier celebrities among the public.
Even Shin Se-hee couldn't have submitted fake names for the party registration and dungeon reservation managed by the Hunter Management Bureau,
so it looked like our raid schedule had leaked through a few people along the way.
'In the game, flashes went off every time the girls went into a dungeon or got deployed to war. So this is what that looks like when the game turns into reality.'
I just stared at the reporters with curious eyes.
"Tch, still fewer than usual."
"Th-this is fewer than usual......!?"
When Kang Do-hee said that in a cynical tone, Im Ga-eul fired back, unable to hide how flustered she was.
"Cheonhwa! Over here!! Please look this way!"
"We understand you're currently a first-year at Velvet Academy, Cheonhwa—isn't forming a party supposed to be impossible for you right now!?"
"Fighting Dog! Give us a wave!!"
"Kang Do-hee! We've known you as a solo dungeon raider up until now—what made you suddenly form a party!!! Did you experience some kind of change of heart at the academy!!"
"Which of the two of you is the party leader!?"
"Everyone! Calm down! Calm!"
The reporters' charge was practically that of monsters.
Secretary Kim, who'd been waiting on-site, tried to bring things under control, but it was no use.
Flash-flash-flash!
Flash-flash-flash-flash-flash!!
The ceaseless camera flashes kept stabbing at our eyes.
At this rate, we were going to miss our gate reservation despite the generous time window we'd set aside.
Shin Se-hee's expression hardened beside me.
"Jin Yu-ha, go ahead. I'll handle this."
"......You sure?"
"Yes, this is my fault if you think about it. I should clean it up."
It wasn't really a mistake and nothing she could've helped, but she said it like she felt responsible.
"There's just one thing I need permission on....... How much of your information may I disclose, Jin Yu-ha?"
"Shin Se-hee."
"Yes?"
"I put the party's management in your hands. You don't need to get my permission piece by piece on things like that—you're free to make the call yourself."
"......Ah."
"What, no confidence?"
When I asked it teasingly, the corner of Shin Se-hee's lips—she'd been wearing a caught-off-guard look—curled up.
"Ha, just leave it to me. By the time you get back, I'll have things ready to blow your mind."
It was a confident, cool smile.
* * *
Whoo—
Shin Se-hee took a long, deep breath as she watched Jin Yu-ha's retreating figure.
When she turned her head, the reporters' blank expressions filled her eyes.
Every face was wondering why she alone was staying put while the other party members headed for the gate.
'Thankfully, maybe because I draw the most attention, no reporters are following the party.'
These cameras had always tailed her—they were more than familiar—yet she instinctively tensed up.
Unlike before, when she only had to worry about her own image, now the entire party's reputation would flip based on a single word she said.
'This is Jin Yu-ha's first step.'
She wasn't a combatant, so she couldn't join the battles inside the gate.
But still, Shin Se-hee no longer carried any sense of inferiority or anxiety.
Because Jin Yu-ha had told her, in a resolute voice, that she was one of the party members too.
A faint smile touched Shin Se-hee's lips as she remembered that moment.
'Heh heh, it does feel like the husband-and-wife support roles got swapped.......'
She pulled herself together.
Either way, her battlefield was right here.
Shin Se-hee faced the cameras and opened her mouth in a clear voice.
"Now then, reporters. You're all curious, aren't you? Why I'm the only one staying put, even though we're in the same party."
Like an actress, a profoundly warm, gentle expression settled over her face.
"From this moment on, I'll answer sincerely and wholeheartedly about our party—'Utopia.' Please keep to the order and ask your questions."
*
Cheonhwa's interview, like a formal hearing, dragged on.
The reporters, who'd charged in all worked up at the start, had no choice but to look increasingly dumbfounded.
They huddled and murmured, sharing roughly the same impression.
"The hell is this?"
"I mean, I can buy that they won the group sparring and got the Party Formation Right early....... Winning squads always get some kind of reward. Getting that as the Party Formation Right does sound like Fighting Dog and Cheonhwa, but."
"......But Cheonhwa says she won't be taking part in gate raids? Just managing them behind the scenes?"
"And Kang Do-hee isn't the party leader, either......."
"A male cadet nobody's heard of. And he's even in through the Male Quota System......?"
"Hey. E-earlier! The photos! Did you get photos!?"
Suddenly, one reporter shouted, and all the others started checking the pictures on their cameras.
"Dammit, we were all focused on Cheonhwa and Fighting Dog—the focus is completely off!"
"Me too! I had a feeling he was good-looking, but I was too frantic to see anything clearly."
"Oh, oh! Here! A photo where you can kind of see his face! But what the hell......?"
In that moment.
"......."
"......."
"......."
The reporters who checked Jin Yu-ha's face fell utterly silent in unison.
"Holy crap, did they pick the party leader based on looks?"
* * *
One hour later.
There was another party that had arrived at the «Thorn Grasslands» dungeon to raid it.
These were personnel dispatched from the guild, 【Darkness】.
They'd made a reservation on a different route from the one Jin Yu-ha took, so a bit of scheduling overlap didn't matter.
Among them, the party leader, Joo Tae-rin, who had her hair in a short ponytail, scowled as she scanned the area.
"......What's all this?"
Clack-clack-clack—
"Yeah, it's me! Check your email and fire it off right away. Just eyeball it for typos! Speed is everything!"
"I'm telling you this is a real exclusive! Hurry up and send the story! Run it as-is, no cross-check! Cheonhwa said it herself! Even a second late and it won't grab aggro!!!"
"Upscale that guy's photo even if it's blurry, make it as presentable as you can. Name's Jin Yu-ha, he's in through the Male Quota System, but his skill's on par with Fighting Dog and Cheonhwa! Use that for the headline!"
Dozens of people who looked like reporters were planted at their seats, pounding on laptops or shouting into their phones.
The scene was like a flea market at the crack of dawn.
The «Thorn Grasslands» was just a B-Rank dungeon, nothing special about it.
It wasn't every day this place was crawling with this many people, so Joo Tae-rin's face was baffled.
"What, did some celebrity drop by?"
A woman who sparkled more than anyone else caught her eye.
The woman was seated elegantly in a chair, doing an interview with one reporter.
Joo Tae-rin's face stiffened the moment she confirmed who it was.
'......Cheonhwa? Shouldn't that bitch still be stuck at the academy?'
The second daughter of the Shin family, a prestigious hunter family.
Cheonhwa, Shin Se-hee.
She was a person of interest whom even the Darkness Guild kept tabs on.
Of course, they'd temporarily looked the other way since they knew she'd just entered the academy and wouldn't be coming out for a while.
And for Joo Tae-rin personally, there was bad history there, so her mood soured instantly.
"...Why is that bitch here?"
The answer came from the party's Damage Dealer next to her.
"......Uh, uh!? W-W-What's this! Cheonhwa and Fighting Dog formed a party!? And they got the Party Formation Right as a sparring reward? Utopia Party......?"
The Damage Dealer shouted while staring at her phone.
"Let me see."
Yoink.
Joo Tae-rin snatched the phone out of her hand like she was stealing it.
Her thumb scrolled through the article, and a look of sheer absurdity spread across her face.
"What is this bullshit? The party leader running Fighting Dog and Cheonhwa is a man?"
"But, this seems real? See, Cheonhwa still hasn't gone into the dungeon."
"......Screw it, I'll just ask her myself."
Thud. Thud.
Joo Tae-rin's face went rigid as she walked toward Shin Se-hee, who was still being interviewed.
*
"S-So, is that, really true? That the male quota adm— I mean, Cadet Jin Yu-ha truly won a sparring match against Fighting Dog...!?"
"Yes, it's a fact you'd learn with just a tiny bit of digging. Why would I lie about it? Inside the academy, it's already quite the hot rumor, you know?"
"......B-But, th-then, is it all right to print this as-is—."
"If you're worried about Cadet Kang Do-hee's image, you don't need to. After all, hasn't Cadet Kang Do-hee consistently insisted that she wouldn't join a party unless the party leader was stronger than her?"
"Hoooh....... So that's why Cadet Kang Do-hee has been running dungeons solo all this time......."
"Yes, that was exactly the reason."
Shin Se-hee had handpicked one journalist with high credibility and a favorable attitude toward her for one-on-one conversation.
She was carefully constructing Jin Yu-ha's image, blending truth and fabrication in just the right ratio.
In reality, the Party Formation Right was something Jin Yu-ha had received as compensation for the Demonized Human Misunderstanding Incident.
And Kang Do-hee had been operating solo all this time because the Parandis Guild Leader incident had kept her from opening up to anyone else.
But the reporter, who had no way of knowing any of that, was busily scribbling down her words verbatim.
'If we can't hide him from the start anyway, then this is the right call.'
Jin Yu-ha had been revealed to the world a little sooner than expected,
but Shin Se-hee had been planning on this direction from the beginning.
Now that a party containing herself and Kang Do-hee was known to the world,
they'd poke around all over and instantly figure out Jin Yu-ha was the party leader.
And it was only a matter of time before people learned Jin Yu-ha was the Damage Dealer handling the party's offense, a Male Quota student, and that his looks were beyond extraordinary.
What kind of reception would Utopia Party get once people zeroed in on all that?
It was obvious: every kind of sensational trash talk undercutting Jin Yu-ha would fly around.
Of course, all they needed was time; his reputation would gradually shift as they kept operating.
But Shin Se-hee wanted to lighten even the weight of that brief period.
She knew better than anyone how deeply criticism from the faceless public could sink into a person's heart.
So she'd struck first, pulling Jin Yu-ha out into the open,
and chose the aggressive approach of leveraging her and Kang Do-hee's fame to place him on the same level.
'Of course, this won't let us dodge every last jab.'
That was when it happened.
"Cheonhwa."
Joo Tae-rin had come up beside her before she knew it and called her name.
Shin Se-hee's head slowly turned to the side.
"Oh my, look who it is!"
"......."
"Huh, wait, who was it?"
Shin Se-hee tilted her head with the most natural, innocent face.
A thick vein bulged on Joo Tae-rin's forehead.
"You're...... still the same."
Cheonhwa switched back to a radiant expression.
"Ayy, it's just a joke, Joo Tae-rin. It's been a while. Are you here to raid today?"
"......What kind of trick are you playing."
"A dirty trick? You'll hurt the dirty trick's feelings."
Shin Se-hee, who'd been studying her intently, suddenly lowered her voice.
"Anyway, to think you're addressing me so brazenly...... the world's gotten a lot better. Are you sure that's okay?"
She shot a sidelong glance toward the reporter.
Joo Tae-rin's face twisted into a vicious scowl.
"Just quietly finish your raid and leave. Then I'll keep looking the other way, like I have been."
Shin Se-hee's voice was icy cold as she delivered the warning.