Chapter 50

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 50

Chapter Title: Are You My Master?

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After that, we spent the whole day wandering through gates.

Preferably ones that were off the beaten path, where few people went and hunters rarely bothered to check.

Even so, with Han Yuseol by my side, getting around wasn't too hard.

She was faster than most cars, after all.

And even while zipping from building to building at such insane speeds,

she protected me perfectly so I wouldn't get hurt. It was impressive.

Being held by her felt so cozy, I could barely tell the wind was blowing.

"Huaaah, I'm exhausted..."

But that didn't make the fatigue disappear.

After hitting nearly ten gates,

I was already beat and had to ask Han Yuseol to carry me.

Not that it was much of a carry—she was just piggybacking me.

"You must be quite tired. How about heading home now and getting some rest?"

"Yeah, I think so. You must be tired too, Yuseol."

"I'm fine. This is nothing compared to when I go around alone."

Eh? This is nothing?

"How many gates did you hit back then, exactly?"

"On busy days, close to thirty in a single day."

"Th-Thirty?!"

"Yes. Gates sometimes pop up in places like Gangwon or Jeolla Provinces, where there are fewer hunters and people don't visit much. When I took those on too, the number added up."

Wow, impressive.

Of course. She wasn't even in a guild back then.

She could just whoosh off anywhere she wanted and whoosh back.

Still, she must have been mentally drained too.

Even so, she went all the way out there just to protect people. She's amazing.

"Hehe, I'm glad Yuseol's my first guild member."

"P-Pardon? What brought that on...?"

"Just 'cause. I like you, Yuseol!"

"I too am always grateful to you, Master."

Good to hear.

I always felt like I was the one imposing one-sidedly.

"So, you're not going anywhere, right?"

"I stamped and copied the contract for you already. I'll stay by your side from now on."

"Mmhii!"

Right, right.

We signed the contract and slammed our thumbprints down.

Nowhere to go, hehe!

"Shall we head home then?"

"Yes. Oh, before that...!"

"Did you forget something?"

While being carried, I stretched out my arms, about to yell "Charge!"—then caught myself.

I almost forgot the most important thing.

"We gotta buy chocolate milk on the way back! Almost slipped my mind."

"Pfft. Of course. The most vital matter."

"Hehe, right? I just remembered!"

"As expected of Master. Your memory's far better than mine."

Of course!

I'm the Grand Master, after all!

On the way back, we bought enough chocolate milk to fill a bag.

It was so hard to resist until we got home that I ended up drinking one.

A week passed since then.

These past few days, Yuseol and I had been running all over Seoul, clearing gates left and right and gathering info everywhere we went.

And it wasn't just gathering info.

We sifted through it all, separating the important from the useless,

and I handed off only the key stuff to Han Yuseol to organize.

I couldn't exactly tell her, "My intelligence drops when I leave the gate,"

so I just asked if she could handle the sorting instead.

Surprisingly, she agreed readily.

Thanks to that, we're in this situation now.

Tak, tatak—

"Whoa, Yuseol, your typing is insanely fast."

Sitting at the computer, I watched her fingers fly and let out a gasp of admiration.

For someone like me who had never touched a computer, her movements were dazzling—hard to follow with my eyes.

"I used a laptop a lot in college, so this is basic."

"You went to college too...? I thought you'd lived your whole life swinging a sword."

"I get that a lot."

See? I'm not weird.

Maybe it's the Sword Empress title,

but she seems like someone who's devoted her entire life to the sword—that word...

"Uuuugh..."

"Master, what's wrong?"

"Can't think of a word. Yuseol, what do you call it when something bursts out of your body like whooooosh?!"

"Wh-Whooooosh...?"

"Yeah! Whooooosh!"

I gestured dramatically, mimicking something cool aura rising from my body,

and Han Yuseol stared blankly before hesitantly starting to speak.

"Ah! Wait! I got it!"

But I cut her off urgently.

I was secretly proud of figuring it out first.

"Aurora! Right?!"

"Uh, well... Close. It's usually called an 'aura' ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or 'aura.'"

"So basically nailed it?"

"Yes. As expected of Master."

"Ahem!"

No matter how much my intelligence drops numerically outside gates,

my actual brain is razor-sharp!

"Anyway, I totally felt that aura from you, Yuseol!"

"I see. Ah, I've just finished organizing it. Want to check?"

"Huh? Already?"

I was munching on jelly from the mart today and nearly dropped the bag in surprise.

There was a ton of it, and she finished already?

Impressed by her skills again,

but cold sweat trickled down on the other hand.

'Can I even verify this now?'

The screen was packed with dense text—intimidating.

When did I even gather all this info? I don't remember any of it.

Still, I'm the investigator here.

Maybe it'll click once I see it.

Plus, it'd be weird if I assigned the task and didn't check.

"A-Alright, let's see... Uuuum..."

So I sidled up next to Han Yuseol,

one arm crossed, chin in hand,

imitating the glasses-wearing boss lady from yesterday's drama as best I could.

'Hm! Got it completely!'

Yeah, that's the gist!

Super cool!

What is it... So moving!

The ending's probably where the ant and spider become friends or something!

Okay, approved!

"Yes! Perfect. This should do it."

"Glad you like it. I'll send the file straight to your phone then."

"Thanks!"

I bowed my head and shoveled in more jelly, thinking,

I'll double-check it secretly inside a gate later.

"By the way, Master, you're really planning to use this for a gate guide?"

"Yep."

"May I ask why?"

"Why? Uuum..."

No real reason.

If anything, my phone has this expensive enchanted item now,

so I brainstormed ways to use it and came up with this.

And another reason... Yeah, Hunter Gallery.

People who post good stuff there get tons of praise and attention.

Not that I want praise or anything!

I just thought posting there might get people to notice me a bit.

"Hunters..."

"Hunters?"

"...Uu, sorry. Pretend you didn't hear that."

I started to say it but got embarrassed,

so I clamped my mouth shut and flapped my sleeve pointlessly.

Han Yuseol, who had been staring at me for a while, rested her chin on her hand and nodded.

"I see. That's what it was."

"Huh?"

"No need to say more. As always, Master, you have such a mature mindset for your age. I respect that."

"R-Really...?"

No idea why she said that,

but yeah, I'm a bit mature.

Grandma used to say, "Our Hayang is so grown-up~!"

"With a goal like that, I can't slack off. Better focus on making that guide for a while."

"Really? You'll help more?"

"Of course. I'm your sword, after all."

Whoaaa...!

That line was so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cool!

It reminded me of the heroine from that anime three days ago!

Come to think of it, she was a swordswoman too.

Hair was blonde, so a bit different,

but the heavy vibe and expressionless face...

She resembled Han Yuseol in so many ways.

Gasp, does that mean we could do this too?

There was this scene in that anime I totally fell for!

"Hey, hey! Yuseol! I've got a request—think you could do it?!"

"Yes, if it's Master's request."

Even her cool nod looked just like the character.

Excited, I stomped my feet, grabbed Han Yuseol's hand, and dragged her to the living room.

"So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like...! Change into gate raid gear, then do this pose, and say the line like...!"

"Understood. Just recite the line?"

"Yes! Oh, but pose is key too. I'll be here like this, so you stand there..."

"Hmm. Good. But that angle makes you look too pitiful, so maybe sit here instead..."

"Whoa, great! Let's do that!"

After that, thanks to Han Yuseol's unexpectedly enthusiastic participation,

we filmed a super convincing scene.

Hehe, gotta treasure this forever.

"Haa, I miss Hayang..."

Jeong Yujin sighed pathetically from her bed, staring endlessly at her phone.

Lately, she'd barely seen Hayang.

She knew something busy had come up,

but still, dropping by Titan Guild once in a while would be nice.

She clung to her phone hoping for a text or call,

but as usual, nothing today either.

Of course, with a solid backup like Han Yuseol around,

a B-Rank like her might not hold her interest anymore.

"Ugh, what am I thinking. Sweet Hayang wouldn't do that."

Shaking off the negative thoughts, Jeong Yujin smacked her own head and shook it vigorously.

She's probably just swamped or has some other reason.

Comforting herself like that, she opened her phone to send the first message today when—

Ding—

"Huh?"

A sudden incoming message.

Seeing the sender's name, Jeong Yujin's eyes went wide.

[Angel Hayang♡]

"It's Hayang?!"

What brings her at this hour?

Not super late, but bedtime for kids.

Suppressing her pounding heart, she checked the chat.

[Angel Hayang♡] - (Video)

No text, just a single video.

Curious, she tapped it, and it started playing.

There was Han Yuseol, fully geared up inside the house for some reason,

and Hayang, leaning on the sofa like a pitiful heroine, gazing at her.

"Wh-What's this?"

Jeong Yujin's confusion was brief.

Han Yuseol approached Hayang, slumped on the sofa.

Swish—

She sheathed the sword in her right hand,

then extended her armored right hand with restrained elegance and spoke.

Even indoors, snowflakes lightly drifted for a moment.

It even seemed a faint chill hung in the air.

In that anime-like scene, as Jeong Yujin unwittingly gaped,

Thud—

The video, under 10 seconds long, ended.

"What the heeeeeck?!"

She was thrilled to see Hayang's face after so long,

but couldn't figure out what the video meant.

She tried posting on the community, but found no useful info.

"Heh, Hayang's still cute..."

Still, it was probably filmed for fun.

Hayang sitting prettily on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sofa in a cute dress with that pitiful pose was precious enough to savor the score.