Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: 4. Jin Sea
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Jahwa-yeon left the counseling room and headed silently to the parking lot with Geumgang.
She climbed into the back seat of the heavy sedan.
At first... even riding in this strange contraption had felt awkward, but now she was quite used to it.
The door closed, and the noise of the outside world vanished like a lie.
In the quiet space, Jahwa-yeon stared blankly out the window at the passing scenery.
Geumgang sat in the driver's seat, stealing a glance at her mood through the rearview mirror.
'What on earth...'
It wasn't anger or sadness. It was an expression he couldn't read.
At that moment, she spoke softly.
"Geumgang."
At Jahwa-yeon's low voice, Geumgang flinched, his body trembling even as he gripped the steering wheel.
In truth, he knew the paper the Left Protector had given him had disappeared.
Outside the counseling room, while he waited anxiously, the counselor had brushed past him, deftly—but noticeably enough for him to catch—slipping the paper away.
He had pretended not to notice then.
No, it wasn't pretending.
He had tacitly allowed it.
His own cowardice, unable to defy the Left Protector's orders or tattle to the young lady.
He had desperately hoped that the young doctor, a third party, would hand over all this truth.
That he would do what he himself couldn't.
Geumgang lacked the courage to meet her eyes in the rearview mirror, so he kept his gaze fixed ahead and replied heavily.
"Yes, Young Lady."
Jahwa-yeon, still gazing out the window, spoke in a cold voice.
"Once we return to the cult, immediately convene the Ten Demons Conference."
Jahwa-yeon declared it with a sharp aura.
A chill ran down Geumgang's spine.
The Ten Demons Conference was a meeting held only for major cult matters, attended directly by the Ten Demons.
Geumgang replied in a steady voice, pouring all his loyalty into it.
"I... will obey your command."
With that answer, silence filled the car once more.
Jahwa-yeon gazed at her reflection in the car window.
Her once chaotic mind cleared like a lie.
She was pondering the path ahead.
'As you wish.'
But he hadn't given her the answer.
He had merely reminded her that she already knew it.
And with those words, her mind had cleared like a lie.
Yes.
I am the Heavenly Demon.
My judgment is the cult's law.
No one's permission is needed.
The path was crystal clear.
'Counselor. Yoo Seon-woo...'
For the first time, Jahwa-yeon recalled his name.
From now on, she would definitely remember it.
"I knew you would."
"Oh... so confident~"
Jin Sea looked at me with an enigmatic smile.
"Let's go grab some food."
I stood up, grabbed my jacket, and changed the subject.
Jin Sea bounced after me, not letting up on her questions.
"But really~ I won't tell a soul~ Can't you just tell me~?"
I pressed the elevator button and replied.
"Nope."
Then I felt a light tap on my back with her palm.
"Hmph."
I chuckled at Jin Sea's pout and stepped into the elevator.
We arrived at the reserved restaurant.
The problem was that S-Rank Hunter Jin Sea was quite famous.
"Hunter Jin Sea!!"
"Just one autograph, please!!!"
The moment she entered, people swarmed from all directions.
"Sorry, go ahead inside. Don't want to cause a scene."
"Got it."
So Jin Sea stood outside signing autographs for the crowd.
She couldn't disrupt business, after all.
Through the window, I could see her surrounded, signing away.
While I waited, bored, I turned on the wall-mounted TV in the corner of the room to pass the time.
The news channel was on.
The anchor's calm voice delivering the day's updates suddenly grew urgent.
- Breaking news! A new Dimensional Transfer has been confirmed near Cheorwon in Gangwon Province... Suspected to be from an unregulated world with an Otherworlder...
"What? Another one?"
- Lately, the influx of Otherworlders has been increasing, and accordingly, newly regulated worlds are multiplying...
The phenomenon of people crossing over from other dimensions without reason or warning.
People called it Dimensional Transfers, and those who came through were Otherworlders.
Once a Dimensional Transfer occurred—once the path opened—a world steadily spat out Otherworlders like regulars.
We called such worlds with consistent exchanges... or rather, outflows, "regulated worlds."
Prime examples included the world the Heavenly Demon I'd just counseled, Jahwa-yeon, came from: Jungwon.
The Empire, a fantasy world ruled by swords and magic with nobles.
Neo City, a metropolis of machines and AI.
And countless others—nameless worlds, post-apocalyptic ruins where everything had perished.
The variety was endless.
And I was one of them.
The world I came from.
This world called it:
'Entropy Earth'.
A place with the same structure and laws as here, but no mana or superpowers.
Sometimes, watching TV, it felt like my time there was a dream.
Like right now.
On the TV screen, drone footage shook unsteadily.
At the center was a man who seemed to have just completed his Dimensional Transfer.
But his presence was no joke.
Battle-scarred full plate armor, a bushy beard, and crucially, a massive double-headed axe as big as he was slung over his shoulder.
He scanned his surroundings with a tense expression.
Looked like an Otherworlder from the Empire.
Now, his future boiled down to one of three paths.
Adapt to this world with a good heart, prove his worth, and become a Hunter.
Or overconfident in his power, wreak havoc, and turn villain.
Or worst case.
Immediately show his feral side, resist the responding Hunters... and get gunned down on the spot.
I swallowed dryly, eyes glued to the screen.
Beyond the translucent barrier from the heavily armed Hunters, a woman in a plain white doctor's coat—no protective gear—approached him cautiously.
The axe-wielding man tensed like he might charge any second, vigilance unwavering.
How many seconds could that barrier protect the doctor?
Tension hung thick.
How much time passed?
Whether her words got through or not, he finally lowered his axe to the ground slowly.
Then, under the Hunters' guidance, he surrendered peacefully.
I let out a relieved sigh without realizing it.
At least he'd dodged the third option.
"Phew..."
Why was I so invested in that scene?
Because that spot, in the doctor's coat.
Would soon be mine.
Until now, for on-site Dimensional Transfer responses, they'd sent regular counselors or psychiatrists like that.
Otherworlders' languages were auto-translated during transfer, so communication wasn't the issue.
But the problem wasn't communication.
Otherworlders were ticking time bombs.
Faced with their unpredictable power, countless doctors and counselors had died or returned injured.
That's why I was created.
The first in Korea.
Hunter Mental Counselor.
With a Hunter's physical prowess and a counselor's skills.
I hadn't been deployed to the field yet under the guise of an adaptation period... but that perilous role would soon be entirely mine.
After becoming a counselor, I'd casually asked an Association staffer.
'When's the No. 2 counselor getting hired? Sooner the better.'
The staffer avoided my eyes, cleared his throat, and replied.
'Well... the requirements are so strict...'
'...So, around when?'
'Probably... when the current spot... opens up... then recruitment...?'
'...Pardon?'
Current spot opens.
In plain terms, only after I died on duty, got buried, and grass grew on my grave would they hire a successor.
What great news.
I gave a wry smile and downed some water.
- Rattle.
Then the sliding door to the private room opened briskly.
"Whew, done! Sorry! Crowd came out of nowhere."
Jin Sea plopped down across from me and chugged the water glass on the table.
"Ugh... alive. So, what's your afternoon like? Dispatch?"
"No. Clinics through this week."
"Oh yeah? When do dispatches start?"
Dispatch.
Annual Otherworlder numbers weren't huge.
So beyond basic counseling, I handled house calls—visiting guilds directly.
"Probably... next week?"
Clinics afternoons this week.
Dispatches from next.
From Otherworlder care to mobile mental care.
Is this right?
"Then... our guild first, right?"
She leaned forward over the table, golden eyes sparkling.
"Hm..."
Probably best to start with familiar spots.
Comfortable with people I knew.
For the first time in a while, I instinctively checked her status.
I forcibly pieced together the noisy text.
'Wants to meet you at the guild. Desperately hoping you'll visit the guild?'
Not easy to parse, but probably something like that.
Lately, noise had started creeping into her Main Stance.
Early in our Hunter days, fighting together on the front lines, it hadn't been like this.
As time passed, she climbed higher and higher.
And at some point, the static began.
It happens sometimes.
With powerful mental Hunters, or when someone's level rises beyond a threshold, interfering with my ability.
Not everyone gets it upon growing stronger. Just occasional cases.
Jin Sea wasn't a mental ability user.
So I figured it was her high level plus strong mentality.
Her prowess as a Hunter was immense, after all.
"What're you staring at?"
Then Jin Sea noticed my gaze and leaned in closer.
I snapped out of my daze and met her eyes.
"So, our guild. You're coming, right?"
I smiled back and answered lightly.
"Yeah, I'll come."
At that, Jin Sea's golden eyes curved in satisfaction.
Even if I'd left the guild.
I still saw her as a reliable comrade.