Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: House Call
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Demonic Cult's heart, the Heavenly Demon Hall.
The Ten Demons Conference had convened.
It was an unprecedented event.
The Ten Demons Conference, where the cult's future and divine will were typically discussed, was usually held once a month on a fixed date by established custom.
But today, Heavenly Demon Jahwa-yeon had ignored protocol and issued a summons.
The reason she could do so.
Because above the cult's laws stood the Heavenly Demon.
At the center of the massive round table in the Heavenly Demon Hall, four demonic figures sat in silence.
These were all the Ten Demons existing in this world.
Behind the round table, the remaining demonic figures stood in line.
And above them, on a jade throne several steps higher, Jahwa-yeon was seated.
At that moment, the heavy doors of the Heavenly Demon Hall creaked open, and Left Protector Hyeok Yeon-bo made his appearance.
He had arrived later than Jahwa-yeon.
Yet he paid it no mind, passing the round table as always and heading to his spot beside the Heavenly Demon's throne.
It was his long-standing habit, a display of being the Heavenly Demon's proxy and the cult's second-in-command.
The instant he stepped onto the throne's stairs.
"Left Protector."
A languid voice echoed.
"Yes, Supreme One."
"Go down. Take your seat."
Hyeok Yeon-bo's eyes flickered for a moment.
The voice was languid, but the command within it was icy cold.
In truth, the Left Protector was one of the Ten Demons as well.
By rights, he should have sat at the round table too.
Before the eyes of all the other Ten Demons, there was no justification to defy the cult leader Heavenly Demon's order.
"… I obey your command."
The atmosphere was utterly different from usual. Hyeok Yeon-bo instinctively tried to gauge the situation.
His gaze shot like a blade, embedding into Geumgang behind the round table.
But Geumgang couldn't meet that gaze.
'Geumgang…!'
At that moment, Jahwa-yeon spoke.
"The reason I have gathered you all here is none other than this."
All the Ten Demons' gazes turned to her.
Even Left Protector Hyeok Yeon-bo, seated at the round table, looked at her with a carefully masked expression.
"Lately, discipline within the cult has been shaken, and unnecessary murmurs have arisen. This stems from an imbalance between the two wings that support me."
The two wings.
At those words, several demonic figures' eyes turned to the Left Protector.
The cult's two wings referred to the Left Protector and Right Protector.
But the Right Protector's seat had been vacant for a long time.
No one gathered here could be unaware of who had kept the Right Protector's position empty for years to solidify their own power.
"Thus, today, in this place, I intend to restore balance to the cult."
Jahwa-yeon's gaze shifted to Geumgang, standing rigidly behind the round table.
"Geumgang has proven his unwavering loyalty to me from the previous generation to now with his steadfast devotion. In recognition of his merits, from this day forward, I appoint Geumgang to the sixth seat among the Ten Demons, which has long been vacant."
"……!"
Geumgang's eyes widened the most, and a subtle stir rippled among the other Ten Demons.
No one doubted Geumgang's prowess. It was simply too sudden.
But Jahwa-yeon's declaration did not end there.
"Furthermore, the vacant position of Right Protector shall also be entrusted to Geumgang. From now on, Geumgang will lead the cult as my right arm, on equal footing with the Left Protector."
At that instant, Left Protector Hyeok Yeon-bo's face stiffened rigidly.
This was no mere personnel shuffle. It was slicing his authority in half.
A political declaration of war by installing a watcher.
Hyeok Yeon-bo could not fail to grasp its meaning.
Geumgang hurriedly dropped to one knee and bowed his head to the floor.
"Supreme One! This is far too excessive for one such as I…."
"Whether it is excessive or not is for me to judge."
Jahwa-yeon cut him off. She slowly rose from the throne.
Her cold gaze fixed precisely on one man at the round table: Left Protector Hyeok Yeon-bo.
The aura emanating from Jahwa-yeon overwhelmed the demonic figures.
"Do you have any objections to my decision?"
It was a question posed to all, but the target was clearly defined.
Because Jahwa-yeon's pressure was directed squarely at the Left Protector.
Time seemed to freeze.
All the demonic figures of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult stared with wide eyes, fixed solely on the Left Protector's lips.
Hyeok Yeon-bo remained silent for a very long time, as if chewing his lips to shreds.
Finally, in a voice laced with grating steel, he uttered just two words.
"… Your will."
This was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, where the Heavenly Demon was revered as a god.
And now, it was a solemn conference hall where all the cult's demonic figures watched with bated breath.
In such a place, one who dared defy the Heavenly Demon's will.
Could never exist in the first place.
Yoo Seon-woo and Jin Sea finished lunch and left the restaurant.
There was still some time before afternoon consultations, but I figured I'd head back now.
"Where are you going?"
As I turned to leave, Jin Sea suddenly grabbed my arm.
Her golden eyes looked up at me.
I'd planned to just go, but she caught me.
This was her routine. Post-meal cafe time.
In the end, we entered a quiet cafe near the restaurant.
Once our drinks arrived, I took a sip of my bitter Americano and spoke first.
"I've been so lonely without anyone to go to cafes with~"
She pouted and grumbled.
But if she'd asked anyone else, no one would refuse tea time with S-Rank Hunter Jin Sea.
"How's the new team? Better?"
"Ughhh…."
I asked about her well-being.
The moment my question ended, Jin Sea let out a strange sigh and flopped face-first onto the table.
- Thud.
She lay there limp like a corpse, forehead planted on the table.
"It's the worst."
A muffled mutter came from under her head on the table.
The worst?
I found it hard to understand.
Haetae Guild, where she was, and where I'd been.
Haetae ranked among Korea's top ten guilds.
Honestly, though, Haetae was an excellent guild but felt a bit lacking compared to the absolute top tiers.
And all those shortcomings were covered by Jin Sea.
S-Rank Hunter Jin Sea.
With her star power always in the community poll's top five for popularity.
Her official subjugation success rate hovered near 90%.
The remaining 10% share was mostly mine.
That's why the guild higher-ups hadn't been thrilled about me being on her team.
So when I left, I heard there was a personnel reorganization.
The guild surely gave their top strike team member top-tier team treatment.
Top-rank tankers and supporters from within the guild.
Yet, the worst?
I asked her, still muttering with her face buried in the table.
"What's the problem?"
Jin Sea lifted her head slightly but avoided my eyes.
She looked down, pouting like a child, and mumbled.
"… I don't know."
"……?"
Eh?
"Just the worst."
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
This wasn't like Jin Sea.
There had to be a real reason behind her outward whining.
I opened her status.
[Jin Sea]
Main Stance
[Gate in■■ ■■ before ※■ @ ! ■■ne.]
The noise was worse than before; I couldn't read a full sentence.
'… No clue what this says.'
But I could make out "Gate" and "before."
Barely piecing it together from that.
It seemed to refer to the raid scheduled before the team disbanded.
A large gate raid. We'd had high expectations.
We were set to enter directly and conquer it.
Being a new method, the team and I were pretty tense.
But Jin Sea alone had been thrilled. Said it'd be fun.
With the team disbanding, the raid was naturally canceled.
Maybe that lingering regret?
Just speculation; I didn't know the exact situation.
Anyway, she seemed to be struggling to adapt to the new team.
I smiled and pulled a crisp business card from my wallet.
"If it's tough, come by."
It was the counselor card from yesterday.
I couldn't offer direct help…
But I could at least be a listening ear when things got hard.
At my words, Jin Sea slowly lifted her head.
She took the card carefully and smiled faintly.
"Thanks."
I smiled back at her.
I returned to the counseling office and called the association's department in charge.
A familiar clerk's voice came through the receiver.
"This is Counselor Yoo Seon-woo."
- Ah, Counselor! I've been waiting for your call. Have you decided on the first house call guild for next week?
House call.
Nice word for it, but I saw myself as the supplicant going to the guilds.
Guilds wanting counseling apply to me.
Then the counselor (me) coordinates schedules and order to select the guild.
At first, I was skeptical about how many applications I'd get.
So I planned to handle it all myself without association help.
But I was completely wrong.
The first day applications opened, my office phone and fax exploded.
Major guilds, including Korea's top ten, flooded in.
Only then did I realize the situation and ask the association for help.
I'd wondered why, but looking at past incidents made it clear.
Guilds already had dedicated counselors managing hunters and Otherworlders.
However.
An A-Rank hunter showing anxiety symptoms broke the counselor's arm mid-session.
An S-Rank hunter in severe depression knocked out the counselor with unleashed mana.
And countless other incidents.
Civilian counselors were like lambs tossed into a lions' den before hunters and Otherworlders.
The disconnect that counselors were civilians who couldn't understand hunters' plights.
Plus the inherent instability of Awakeners and Otherworlders meant sessions required protecting the counselor too.
Thus, every guild was desperate for hunter-exclusive counselors.
In the end, I wasn't the supplicant anymore; somehow, I felt like the one in power.
Of course, I never thought of myself that way.
Not the top dog. Just feeling suffocated.
What if they break my arm?
- Counselor? Shall I read the candidate guild list again?
The receiver's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Ah."
Without hesitation, I said calmly.
"Haetae."
- Ah, Haetae. Got it. One moment….
Shuffling papers sounded through the receiver for a bit.
Then, a voice far more cautious and troubled than before hit my ear.
- Um… Counselor?
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
What?
- Haetae Guild didn't apply for a house call this time. Not on the list.
I froze for a moment.
"… Pardon?"
- Yes. Only top ten guild that didn't. I double-checked several times… no application.
From what Jin Sea said, I thought Haetae had definitely applied.
'Did you apply?'
'Of course, I told them.'
But no?
"… Huh?"
I couldn't help but be flustered.