Chapter 46
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Gap
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lunchtime was in full swing.
- Knock knock.
At that moment, someone very cautiously knocked on the counseling office door.
I stood up from my seat and headed to the door once more.
"…Huh?"
But there was no one in front of the door.
I tilted my head and then looked down.
A small, prettily wrapped sandwich box sat on the floor below the door handle.
And on top of that box…
[₍ᐢ ›_‹ ᐢ₎]
A cute rabbit-shaped sticker was attached again.
"Oh…."
I burst out laughing.
So thoughtful.
It looked like Luna had brought me a sandwich.
She didn't have to do this.
Next time, I should make her some tasty bread or snacks.
With a smile, I picked up the sandwich box and went back inside.
Then I wolfed down Luna's sandwich.
The short lunchtime came to an end like that.
The counseling office was once again bustling with the crowds of clients who had come.
Before I knew it, as I busily continued with the afternoon consultations, the faint sunset glow outside the window had vanished, and darkness had fallen.
It was a sign that quitting time was approaching.
I squeezed out the very last drop from the nearly empty coffee pot and poured it into my mouth.
Then I pressed the intercom button.
"Next client?"
- Knock knock.
The room door was knocked on in response.
"Yes, come on in."
I pulled a fresh sheet from the tattered pile of documents to greet today's final client.
The door opened, and someone entered.
I looked up.
"…Well, if it isn't…?"
I smiled.
It was a face I knew.
Neatly combed-back brown bob haircut. Round, kind eyes.
And behind her, faintly glowing butterfly-shaped mana wings.
Baek Si-eun, the A-rank supporter from Haetae Guild, where I used to work.
"What brings you here, Si-eun?"
Baek Si-eun gave a mysterious smile and naturally pulled out the chair across from me, sitting down.
"I'm a client today too, you know?"
"Huh?"
A client?
She was famous in the guild for being bright and kind.
The type who seemed distant from worries….
But no one knows what's really going on inside.
"Lately… I've had some worries. It's burdensome to talk to a stranger, so I thought it'd be better with someone I know, and here I am."
It seemed like she really had come because she was troubled.
I nodded.
But from her perspective, she could seek out someone she knew. For me, the situation was the opposite.
If the counselor already knows the client, there's a high risk of dual relationships, and personal feelings could interfere with objective judgment.
The principle is to avoid it if possible and refer to another counselor.
However, she was now just a former colleague. Our relationship wasn't that close, and we had no current ties.
As long as I maintained clear recognition of that, it should be fine.
"I see. Good to see you."
I took a clean new diagnostic record sheet from the drawer.
And with a pen, I wrote her name in the last empty consultation slot for the day.
[Baek Si-eun]
I set down the pen and faced her.
"What seems to be the worry?"
At my calm question, Baek Si-eun gave an awkward smile.
She seemed to be choosing her words carefully before opening her mouth.
"My worry lately is…."
"I have someone I like. Or more precisely, I've liked them for quite a while…."
"I see."
It was more unexpected than I thought.
For now, I quietly focused on her words.
"Somehow… it's not working out. No progress, and it feels like we'll drift even further apart?"
I slowly nodded.
Unrequited love, uncertainty in the relationship.
This level of light consultation wasn't difficult. We could gradually figure out if there's mutual interest or if it's one-sided.
"I see. In that case, first, regarding unrequited lo—"
But before I could finish, she added with a very bright smile.
"So, I was thinking, maybe I should just lock them up at home."
I froze in place.
For a moment, I thought I'd misheard.
Lock… them… up… at home…?
I looked at Baek Si-eun's face again.
She was still smiling brightly.
I couldn't even tell if she'd really just said that.
"Wait a second…."
"Yeah?"
I quickly erased all counselor manual protocols from my mind.
Leaning forward with a serious expression, I asked directly.
"Si-eun, are you serious?"
Baek Si-eun nodded with a slightly bitter look.
"Yeah… I mean it."
She paused as if choosing her words.
Then she carefully began to reveal her real worry.
"I didn't know. That I was this kind of person."
She gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Before coming to this world, I'd never liked anyone. But once I did here, I realized."
Baek Si-eun briefly avoided my eyes.
"That the customs of the world I lived in were deeply ingrained in my instincts."
Customs?
Where was Baek Si-eun from…?
"Hold on."
"Okay."
I quickly turned on the computer next to me and accessed the Hunter Association's Otherworlder database.
I typed her name into the search bar.
Baek Si-eun… world of origin….
Ah, there it is.
[Designated World: Hestia]
I read the name in my mind.
And scanned the overview of the world attached below.
[Lifestyle similar to modern Earth.]
[Special Notes: Extreme gender imbalance. Male-to-female ratio approximately 1:57, a super matriarchal society.]
[Due to naturally low male birth rates, males are treated as top-priority protection targets for species preservation.]
[Thus, competition among females to claim adult males is extremely fierce, and in this process, physical conflicts and institutionalized forced courtship akin to bride kidnapping are permitted for some high-ranking females.]
Oh boy.
Now I remembered.
Hestia.
Only then did her words from earlier make sense.
It might have been commonplace in the world she lived in.
But not here.
I shifted my gaze from the monitor to her.
And spoke seriously as both a counselor and her former colleague.
"Si-eun, I get it. I think I understand why you had those thoughts."
A faint light of relief passed over her face at my words.
I cut off that last hope.
"But this isn't Hestia—it's Earth. That would be a crime here."
She was silent for a long time.
Finally, she gave a small nod.
A bitter nod of resignation.
"Yeah… I understand."
Baek Si-eun smiled faintly.
"Actually, that's why I came. I know in my head that the person would hate it, but I keep waffling…."
Then she looked straight into my eyes.
"But you saying it so bluntly like this… it actually makes me feel a bit relieved."
I felt a little reassured by her confession.
This was the Baek Si-eun I knew.
And as both a counselor and former colleague, I comforted her.
"It's okay. It's natural to be confused. You've lived your whole life in another world."
"The important thing is that you know it's wrong and came here to stop it. That's more than enough to make you amazing."
A smile bloomed on her face at my comfort.
As if nothing had happened, she returned to her usual bright self and stood from the chair.
"Thanks, Seon-woo. I feel lighter now. I've decided what to do."
"As thanks, I'll buy dinner. Let's go eat."
I hesitated at her offer for a moment.
But what she needed now might not be stiff counseling, but a comfortable meal.
I nodded with a smile.
"Sure."
Late at night.
The deepest part of Haetae Guild headquarters.
The air in the underground training room was hot and heated.
"Hoo…."
Jin Sea breathed heavily, wiping the sweat beading at her chin with the sleeve of her sweat-soaked training uniform.
She stepped out of the training room.
On the floor lay guild members collapsed in various poses.
A major raid was right around the corner.
A single small mistake there would lead straight to death.
So everyone was focused on training.
"How were the records?"
Jin Sea gulped down an ion drink that tasted like plain water and asked the training coach standing beside her.
"Record broken."
He just gave a thumbs-up with joyful eyes.
Jin Sea nodded slowly.
Then she slowly turned her head to check on her fallen comrades.
"……?"
Jin Sea's eyes narrowed faintly.
Something was missing. They had all been there.
A low voice escaped her lips.
"Where's Baek Si-eun…?"
One person was absent.
The team's only supporter.
"Ah, Hunter Si-eun had an appointment today as a supporter, so she left early."
The coach answered nonchalantly.
Jin Sea whipped her head toward him.
"What appointment?"
"I… don't really know the details…."
An ominous premonition flashed through Jin Sea's mind.
Baek Si-eun was the one Jin Sea monitored most closely.
Originally, it was enough to keep watch within the guild, but after Seon-woo left Haetae, it became harder.
Thus, unavoidable gaps sometimes occurred….
During that gap, when she had briefly gone into training, Baek Si-eun had vanished.
"……."
Jin Sea trusted her instincts.
And this time, they'd be right too.
Not just once or twice.
"Is training over for today?"
"Yes? Ah, yes, it is."
Jin Sea tossed her sweat-soaked towel haphazardly into the laundry bin.
And headed outside without a moment's hesitation.
The private room in the barbecue restaurant where the two sat facing each other was a cozy, quiet space untouched by the outside clamor.
- Sizzle.
Red beef sizzled deliciously on the grill.
"Hahaha! Really? Team Leader Wi Jae-wan said that?"
Baek Si-eun burst into laughter at the old story I told.
"Yeah, he told me to quit being a hunter and become a counselor. Said he'd send me clients."
It was in the past.
"I see… so that's why you quit…. Because of Team Leader Wi Jae-wan…."
The other Haetae hunters apparently didn't know the exact internal story.
She had asked precisely why I quit.
I placed a well-cooked piece of meat on her side plate and smiled.
She said "thanks" and naturally ate it.
No need to thank me.
She's the one getting fed, so she should grill the meat diligently.
We chatted about trivial things for a good while like that.
What happened in the guild after I left.
Updates on colleagues.
"Still, doing this job alone is convenient in that way."
"I bet… I've had a lot of worries about team members lately too."
"Team members?"
As far as I knew, Baek Si-eun got along well with everyone in the team.
If anything, she was on good terms with all.
"What do you have to worry about?"
I asked out of genuine curiosity.
"Well…."
At my question, the bright smile on Baek Si-eun's face faded slightly.
She poked at the mushrooms on the grill with her chopsticks, hesitating whether to speak.
I waited silently for her to continue.
Finally, she spoke in a small voice.
"Hey, Seon-woo."
"This might just be my imagination…."
She looked straight into my eyes.
"It feels like Sea doesn't like me much."
It was about Jin Sea.