Chapter 12

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 12

Chapter Title: Luna

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Languid weekend evening.

“Ugh… ha…”

Jin Sea was buried in the plush sofa in her penthouse living room, a massive floor-to-ceiling window offering a sweeping view of Seoul's glittering nightscape.

She had just finished an intense workout.

A pleasant muscle ache mingled with the cooling sweat on her fine hairs, sending a refreshing chill rippling through her body.

That was when it happened.

A familiar yet… slightly different gaze prickled from the empty air around her.

She instantly knew who it belonged to.

“Phew…”

Good thing she kept her constant defense active.

The system flickered desperately, projecting her inner thoughts exactly as they were.

Jin Sea reached out softly toward the system window hovering in the air.

Sensing her touch, the system erupted in frantic light, resisting desperately.

But unfortunately, its opponent wasn't someone it could fend off with mere resistance.

Jin Sea felt a spark of surprise.

“Seon-woo's ability awakened?”

Gazing at the system wriggling helplessly above her head, she flashed a playful smile.

She couldn't just show him this as is.

This time, let's try something a little different.

She lightly clenched her fist in the air.

In that instant, the system window crumpled like a sheet of paper.

- Crunch… crinkle…

High-pressure mana currents bloomed from her pale fingertips, forcibly dismantling the system and reassembling its data.

She peeled off the broken characters one by one, arranging them neatly and engraving pure, harmless sentences in their place.

The perfect false information she had crafted.

The moment it appeared on the screen, the system began screaming.

The entire system window flushed bright red, spewing desperate warning messages.

Jin Sea shook her head at the warnings like a child refusing candy.

“No… I don't like that.”

She cupped her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cheeks with both hands.

Incongruous with her recent actions, her face flushed apple-red.

“It's too embarrassing…”

Just the thought of him almost glimpsing her true feelings made her heart tickle and pound.

Then the sensed gaze vanished. He had stopped using his ability.

She rose from the sofa and approached the massive floor-to-ceiling window.

Seoul's nightscape sparkled endlessly below.

Her golden eyes fixed on one spot alone.

A particularly vivid black officetel building.

“……”

That was the place Jin Sea had recommended to Yoo Seon-woo.

'Security's tight, and it's close to the counseling office. Perfect.'

Of course, the real reason was this.

At that moment, a light in the window winked out.

His day was over, so it was time to end hers.

“Good night.”

Jin Sea whispered softly to the building.

Then she turned off her room's lights.

Monday morning.

The hour when the city was just stirring from sleep.

Dawn air filtered into the counseling office through the window.

I picked up a freshly printed A4 sheet from the printer. It was still warm.

[Today's counseling office opens in the afternoon. Please take note to avoid any inconvenience.]

I neatly attached it to the glass door.

No morning sessions today.

I was heading straight to the Union Guild from the morning.

My first house call.

The start of proactive counseling visits.

Union Guild.

True to its name as the Otherworlder Union, it was a cradle for Otherworlders from all regulated worlds.

Martial artists from the Central Plains unaffiliated with the Azure Heaven Alliance or Demonic Cult, Empire knights, even Beastkin.

I had to deal with people of wildly different common senses.

Probably… the largest demographic by guild population was the Empire.

I closed my eyes quietly and activated my ability.

Outwardly the picture of a diligent worker rising early, but her inner thoughts were pure Monday morning child.

The reason for no mission today was probably the counseling.

I packed my things and stood.

The Union Guild lounge on Monday morning was, to Luna, nothing but a cacophony of noise and irritation.

The expensive beans provided for hunters were just bitter water.

The ergonomic sofa poked uncomfortably at her back.

The guild's star Otherworlder hunter and public face.

Luna.

She pressed her temples against chronic headaches, glaring at Choi Su-ho, the guild staffer seated across from her.

“What… counseling?”

“Mental counseling.”

At Choi Su-ho's dry response, Luna's brow furrowed deeper.

“No thanks.”

“I don't want to either… But it's a direct order from the Guild Master.”

Choi Su-ho rubbed his face wearily.

She had been relieved at no scheduled missions for once today.

But what counseling out of nowhere?

No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wonder only the guild's problem children were lounging here.

The Union Guild had made a clear judgment.

To catch those like Luna who slyly dodged counseling, they notified on the morning of.

And moreover.

“Hunter specialist counselor. First one coming to our guild.”

At those words, Luna's red eyes shook like an earthquake.

Hunter specialist counselor.

That guy?

She knew. A week ago, she had already visited him.

The day before had been particularly awful in every way.

So Luna took a personal day and went to the counseling office she'd only heard rumors about.

Just to eavesdrop once, and if it seemed good… maybe try it herself.

She sat in the deepest corner seat and deployed cloaking.

Her exceptional hearing sucked in every sound from the office.

Other hunters' troubles, and the counselor's responses.

His methods were highly effective. A tiny hope sprouted that it might actually help.

So she planned to listen quietly and slip out. Right then.

‘What?’

The stealth veil enveloping her tore away forcibly.

And the man in the doctor's coat was staring straight at her.

“Are you… perhaps a patient?”

She was caught.

By a plain counselor who didn't even radiate mana.

In the end, she fled without a scream.

Too embarrassed.

And gave up on counseling.

But.

That man was coming here himself.

“Aaaaaah…”

Luna covered her eyes with both hands and leaned back.

Choi Su-ho in front of her tried to calm her.

“Calm down. He's gotta be a good counselor.”

I know. I know that.

She had to admit his skill.

He soothed hunters' traumas with a few words and offered brilliant solutions worthy of applause.

But. She knew, yet.

“Ah…”

Precisely because she knew all that, she didn't want to go.

Her situation from the start… wasn't something that could be resolved.

So rather than expectation of resolution.

The embarrassment of facing the man who forcibly dispelled her cloaking loomed larger.

Having her Empire magic dispelled in her homeland… meant that much.

“Luna!”

Someone entered the lounge then.

The guild manager.

“Shall we go?”

Realizing all escape routes were blocked, Luna finally stood.

She… was dragged kicking and screaming to the counseling room.

The counseling room the Union Guild prepared for me was quite comfortable.

But in stark contrast, the HR manager sitting across from me had dark circles down to his chin.

He might be the one who needs counseling.

“Wh-what… so many?”

But I couldn't help marveling at the Union roster handed to me.

The screen was packed with profiles of over twenty hunters.

For my first house call, we'd agreed with the association to focus on quality over quantity.

So only those the guild urgently wanted.

But Union proposed far more than expected.

- Thud!

“Please, Counselor…”

The manager bowed deeply before me.

They had their own circumstances too.

Hunter management didn't look easy.

I nodded quietly without another word.

The office probably wouldn't open this afternoon either.

Scrolling through the hunter list.

I spotted one.

“Shall we start with this one?”

Seeing the name I pointed to.

The manager's face lit up.

“Yes. I'll bring her right away…”

The team leader bolted out with a beaming face.

From his retreating figure, I could guess how tricky Luna was in this guild.

How much time passed.

- Creak…

Finally, the door opened very slowly.

A woman appeared through the gap.

A beauty with white hair.

Luna froze at the doorway.

Neither advancing nor retreating.

As if blocked by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a wall.

I met her wariness head-on with an unwavering gentle smile.

Last week, she panicked when her cloaking peeled away and fled the moment our eyes met.

So the attitude to take now was simple.

“Nice to meet you.”

I decided to erase it all from her memory first.

Pretend the past never happened.

You and I are meeting for the first time today, and I know nothing of your embarrassing history.

Start our relationship anew, wiping away Luna's psychological resistance.

A glint flickered in her eyes.

Luna's tightly shut lips parted just a tiny bit.

“Ah… yes… hello…”

She nodded stiffly like a machine.

And perched precariously on the edge of the chair, still guarded.

Good.

Not a bad start.

At least she's at the table, open to talk.

Now, time to assess.

What was her issue…

I met her red eyes and quietly used my ability.

I read the system's suggested line and felt puzzled.

Beastkin?

What Beastkin…

The woman before me looked human to anyone.

No trace of anything animalistic.

Right then.

The message from last week popped up again.

But she wasn't invisible now.

Regardless of my will, my ability activated automatically.

What did it release?

The world looked the same.

Puzzled, I shifted my gaze… and suddenly, my eyes locked.

“……”

My gaze naturally fixed above her head.

Luna noticed my odd stare and looked up questioningly too.

Above her head.

Amid the white hair, a pair of long, white somethings protruded.

Fluffy ears covered in down, pale pink glowing faintly inside.

In other words.

Rabbit ears.

She noticed too; both ears twitched.

Luna slowly raised her hand to her head.

The moment her fingertips touched the soft texture—familiar, yet utterly wrong right now.

Her eyes trembled wildly.

“Wh-what?! Why is this here?”

Luna nearly screamed, desperately covering her ears with both hands.

“No! Don't look!!”

But her small palms couldn't hide those long, large ears.

'Oh.'

I sensed inwardly that something had gone wrong.