No Ulterior Motives
There were no ulterior motives.
The Aoulbear I'd sent flying with my tail seemed to have recovered its wits quickly enough — heavy footfalls rumbled back from the direction it had been launched. But then, as if seized by pure terror, it scrambled away into the distance as fast as its legs would carry it.
As those thudding footsteps faded farther and farther off, relief began to settle over the faces of the others who had been cowering in hiding.
"Miri unni—!"
Ayoon came charging through the people cautiously climbing out of the pit, her voice on the verge of tears.
"Waaah… Unni… What were you thinking, doing something so dangerous—! I really thought something terrible was going to happen…"
I braced my feet and pushed off the ground, intending to stand and calm her down —
"Guh—!"
The shoes I was wearing tore apart as easily as wet paper, and the ground under my hands caved in like soft mud. I toppled over with a thoroughly undignified noise.
"A-are you okay, unni?"
"Pteh! Pteh! I'm fine…"
"Take my hand, unni."
How embarrassing. What even is this…
Still spitting out the dirt that had gotten in my mouth when I face-planted, I grabbed the hand Ayoon offered and tried to pull myself up.
"Kyaah!"
"…Huh?"
The moment I put even the slightest force into my grip, Ayoon went sprawling to the ground instead.
"Unniiii… That hurt…"
"I-I'm sorry!"
Covered head to toe in dust from the fall, Ayoon started sniffling with a teary pout. Flustered, I reached for her shoulder to brush the dirt off her clothes —
Riiip.
"…"
The instant my hand made light contact, her sleeve tore free like tissue paper. I yanked my hand back and could only hang my head.
My strength had become absurdly, uncontrollably strong. I felt like I was using the same amount of force as always, but ever since a moment ago, that power had been causing nothing but problems.
"I-it's okay… The clothes must have been fraying already!"
While I stood there mortified with my head bowed, Ayoon — the one who should have been receiving an apology — started comforting me instead.
"M-more importantly, the hunter! What about the injured hunter?"
"Right."
Only then did I remember the youngest hunter, who'd been badly hurt. I whipped my head around toward him.
"H-haha. I'm fine. We've already started first aid…"
Just as he said, the others had rushed to help stop the bleeding and check his condition, clumsily following his instructions to administer emergency treatment.
"So… what do we do now? That bastard of a team leader ran off, and the remaining hunter can barely move."
"Hey, that girl just sent the monster flying in one hit! Can't she just fight the monsters for us so we can get out?"
"And what if we put all our trust in her and she bolts like the team leader did?!"
The immediate threat of the Aoulbear had been dealt with, but we were still trapped inside a dangerous gate. Once people had tasted real fear, calm was a hard thing to hold on to.
I would have liked nothing more than to take the hunters' place, protect everyone, and get us out of the gate — but one look at my bare feet, exposed where my shoes and socks had shredded themselves, made it clear that wasn't happening.
In a state where I couldn't even regulate the strength needed to stand up, fighting while protecting everyone was out of the question. Even moving properly was going to be a struggle.
But we couldn't just sit around forever in a place where another monster could appear at any moment.
I was drawing a complete blank on what to do when —
"Everyone, please stay calm."
The youngest hunter, still lying on the ground, forced the words out.
"There's no need to worry too much. A rescue team will definitely come. They'll have to clean up this mess, after all."
He was right. Unless the runaway team leader had completely lost his mind and gone deeper into the gate, he would retrace his steps and exit the way he'd come. Twelve people had gone in and only the team leader had come out alone — the Association would have no choice but to send personnel to handle the incident.
The real problem was whether other monsters would show up before the rescue team arrived.
"Hah… And since an Aoulbear was rampaging until just a moment ago, o-other monsters won't come near for a while. So there's no immediate need to worry…"
"R-really?"
A terrified man asked, latching onto the hunter's assurance that other monsters weren't a concern.
The youngest hunter caught his breath, glanced briefly in my direction, and then spoke.
"Yes. We'll be fine. I'm certain of it."
At the conviction in his voice, the frightened man exhaled in relief and sank to the ground.
But why had he looked at me before answering?
I could feel Association President Kang's expression hardening across from me.
Well, of course. Given how much money I donated to the Association, a little tension was only appropriate.
All I'd done was make a simple request — keep an eye on a child I particularly cared about, now that she'd become an Awakener. And already, not even a full day later, something had gone wrong. He must have been fretting himself half to death.
"The branch director makes a truly excellent cup of tea."
"Th-thank you…"
"Then why not open a café instead of stirring up trouble?"
"I-I'm so sorry…"
At my words, the branch director's face went deathly pale.
Watching him look ready to collapse over such petty nitpicking was a little pitiful, but when an opportunity to pressure the Association fell into your lap, you made the most of it.
Everyone present knew the training site was a thoroughly vetted location — even our own affiliated rookies went there for field practice. With one B-rank and one C-rank hunter assigned, the odds of anything happening to Min's safety were virtually zero.
But President Kang knew full well why I was putting on this childish performance, so he simply sat there with his mouth shut.
Yes, yes. Do try to handle things more carefully next time, President Kang.
"Why do something you'd have to apologize for in the first place?"
"…"
"Oh my. Are you mute?"
"N-no, ma'am."
All I had to do was sit here in front of the Association President, grilling the branch director like some furious society madam, and wait for Min to finish training and come out.
I felt a touch of sympathy for the branch director suffering alone, but this was the price of failing to properly train his subordinates. He could take it.
Still — this man really did brew an incredible cup of tea. Absolutely delicious.
I should scout him later and put him in charge of the café at headquarters.
I was savoring the fragrant aroma, idly calculating how much a scouting package might cost, when —
"D-Director!!!"
An Association employee burst into the reception room in a panic.
Hmm. Barging in without even knocking when the Association President, the branch director, and I were all present? That was another offense worth writing up…
"Th-there's been an accident in the gate used for basic training!"
Crack.
"…What did you just say?"
Blood rushed to my head at the employee's sudden shout. My hand clenched without thinking, and the teacup I was holding shattered into pieces, spraying shards and tea in every direction.
"President Kang."
"I'll resolve this immediately."
He was on his feet before the words had fully left my mouth.
"Show me the way."
I'd only meant to toy with them a little and leave it at that. Of course something had to go wrong.
"I'll be going there myself."
At the very least, the branch director would be stepping down from his post.
…If Min is unharmed, I'll even give you that café job. So don't worry about the family you need to support.
If Min is unharmed.
The entrance to the Dungeon was thick with chaos when I arrived.
"An Aoulbear? It's strong, sure, but Team Leader Lee and a rookie should have handled it no problem, right?"
"Dude. Apparently a lizard shifter trainee panicked, got the rookie hurt, and then the other trainees freaked out and scattered in every direction."
From the hunters gearing up for the rescue team, talk of a shifter who could only be Min drifted out.
Min panicked and got in a hunter's way… Impossible.
That child had been a little unstable since Awakening, but I knew better than anyone that she wasn't the type to freeze in terror like that.
If she'd drawn attention on purpose to help the hunters and caused a problem that way, I might believe it. But freezing up and holding a hunter back?
Something was off.
"That's Team Leader Lee, who went in with them."
Where the branch director pointed, a middle-aged man sat slumped on the ground. The moment our eyes met, he scrambled to pull on his gear.
To my eye he looked like a bare-minimum C-rank — the type who'd scraped into a higher rank on equipment and experience alone.
"M-Mrs. Yu! It's an honor to meet you."
"You know who I am?"
"Of course!"
But why was the team leader who'd supposedly entered the gate with Min only now putting on his equipment?
"I hear something serious happened inside."
"Yes. A trainee's reckless behavior got my teammate hurt, and the panicking trainees scattered in all directions. I judged that I couldn't defeat the Aoulbear and rescue the trainees alone, so I came out to request support as quickly as possible."
There was nothing wrong with what Team Leader Lee said, on the surface.
It was a judgment that raised the odds of saving at least one person, at least.
"Then you'll be our guide. I'm going in myself."
"But the rescue team still isn't ready…"
"The Association President is right here with us. What further preparation do we need? Lead the way."
"Understood. Please follow me."
Once a Dragon Shifter like me entered, the small fry — wolves and the like — wouldn't even dare come near. There was no reason to wait for the other rescue teams to finish preparing.
Team Leader Lee quickly took the lead.
"I warned her so many times, but that young lady just kept doing dangerous things."
Even as we ran lightly past the gate toward the site of the attack, Team Leader Lee kept spouting useless chatter.
I had no interest and no desire to listen. He should have focused on guiding.
"It's just ahead, Mrs. Yu. Just in case, let me check first…"
But the moment we drew near the place the Aoulbear had supposedly attacked, Team Leader Lee's endlessly running mouth suddenly stopped.
"Th-this can't be…"
He froze stiff in place, looking like a man who'd seen something impossible.
Before his eyes, ten people were clustered around a man lying on the ground, apparently badly injured.
And among them, sitting calmly on the ground with her clothes in complete disarray, was Min.
Her clothes were a mess, but she didn't seem seriously hurt. That was a relief.
"Ah! That's the bastard who ran off alone!"
I was about to rush to Min, leaving the team leader who'd guided us behind, when a voice reached my ears.
"It's really him! How can someone from the Association abandon people and run?!"
Starting with that person, the others began raising their voices in anger at the team leader who'd come with us.
The man who'd supposedly gone into the gate, only belatedly putting on his gear. His strange panic the moment he saw everyone was safe. And now the furious accusations of the crowd.
At last, a rough picture of what had happened formed in my mind.
I quietly raised a hand and revealed the tail and horns I normally kept hidden.
"President Kang."
"Yes, Mrs. Yu."
"I trust you'll clean this up properly."
And before I even heard his reply, I swung my arm with full force into the head of the team leader still frozen in shock.
CRAAACK.
A sound close to an explosion rang out from my hand, and that despicable bastard's body crumpled sideways.
His gear must have been decent quality — disappointingly, his head was still attached. He'd only lost consciousness.
"…Of course. I'll handle it thoroughly."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
The Association President would take care of the rest well enough.
Listening to his belated reply, I wiped the hand that had touched something filthy with a handkerchief. Then I tossed the soiled cloth carelessly to the ground and ran toward Min, who was looking this way.
"My dear! Are you all right?!"
Separate from how foul that bastard had made my mood, this was a chance to etch into every person present exactly who Min was.
A businesswoman never lets an opportunity slip by.
"M-Mother?"
"I was so worried about our Miri that I came running. You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
Even if Min never actually became a daughter-in-law of our family, the story of what happened today would spread for a while — and that would become a fence protecting her.
I had absolutely no personal motives. Every bit of this was for Min's safety. Of course it was.