Meeting the Leech
"Let's go, kids."
Standing in front of the elevator, Kang Jiye casually pressed the up button.
......?
"You pressed the wrong—"
"Nope, this is the right way!"
Yena slipped into the elevator as she said it.
Kang Jiye ruffled her daughter's hair with an easy smile. Something about the whole exchange looked almost too practiced, so I just shrugged and followed the two of them inside.
We arrived at the apartment rooftop.
I hadn't paid attention before, but the elevator had a separate button labeled PH—for the penthouse, meaning the roof.
Judging by the way Kang Jiye also ran a fingerprint scan, it clearly wasn't a place just anyone could access.
Some kind of combat-ready system, maybe?
"Welcome, Purple Bunny."
A vehicle was waiting on the rooftop.
"Huh?"
The greeting came not from Kang Jiye, but from a man in a black suit—and he was addressing me.
He continued without so much as a glance at my bewildered face.
"Choi Jiho, Deputy of the Hunter Administration Transport Team. From this moment, I will be escorting A-class Safety Guardian Purple Bunny. Please board."
Thump.
Kang Jiye gave me a light shove, and I found myself climbing in before I could think.
The vehicle waiting for us looked like a large sedan from the outside, yet it matched no make or model I knew.
Kang Jiye checked Yena's seatbelt, then nodded to Choi Jiho. The railing visible beyond the windows dropped away beneath us.
Vwooom—
Oh, this.
A vertical-takeoff flying vehicle.
Given that we were on a rooftop, it wasn't entirely unexpected—but still, this was my first time riding a car that could fly.
Back when I'd been playing the game, the vehicles I'd used had been far more combat-oriented than this ordinary-looking design.
"Cool, right? I deliberately didn't tell you."
Kang Jiye grinned as she said it, and I nodded.
"It is cool."
"Never ridden one before?"
"Nope. I'd heard of them, though."
The design was almost too ordinary.
Which meant it could theoretically lift off mid-drive through the city without warning—like one of those undercover super-cars secret agents used in movies to hide their identity.
Kang Jiye answered my unspoken thought.
"These are usually reserved for operations. For catching ability-using criminals who go on the run after lying low. Using one just to ferry people around is pretty rare."
"Then why am I riding in one?"
The greeting hadn't even been directed at Kang Jiye—it had been for me.
As if the whole thing had been prepared solely for Purple Bunny.
"Because your contributions were that exceptional."
"What contributions?"
"Well... there are several, but if I had to pick the biggest one—the Plant Queen intel. Thanks to you, a number of hunters managed to save their families."
"......!"
"You didn't know? It was classified, so I couldn't say anything. Honestly, I only heard about it from the Director myself not long ago."
So attackers like Kim Siwoo had continued operating even after that. The Plant Queen would have assumed he'd completed his mission and died, which might have given her a boost of confidence.
But if that's the case...
I asked Kang Jiye carefully.
"I see... So are they still active?"
"No. Operations have stopped."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Far fewer of them showed up than the numbers you estimated. Looks like they went quiet after the operation failed. That's why we want your consultation."
...Of course.
I'd hypnotized Kim Siwoo into believing a lie, but the others had simply gone in and died—and that would have registered clearly on the Plant Queen's senses.
With variables stacking up one after another, she would have no choice but to proceed with caution.
This operation might not even be solvable with hunters alone.
If my guess was right, the ship's current state wouldn't allow for any leisurely searching and subduing.
Though we'd only know for sure once we arrived.
Hm?
Then a thought struck me, and I tilted my head.
"But is it okay for us to go together like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Doesn't this basically advertise that Purple Bunny lives at your house?"
There was only one purple pot-lid living under Kang Jiye's roof: Pecia. Sure, hair colors in this world ran a bit more diverse than usual—but anyone who wasn't a complete idiot would have to get suspicious.
If word got out that some kid with zero mana was working as a Safety Guardian, it would cause a massive uproar.
But Kang Jiye just snorted and poked a hole in my logic.
"You've got it backwards."
"Huh? Backwards how?"
"Because Pecia has no mana, no one will ever suspect you're Purple Bunny. People will just figure I happen to have a lot of purple-haired girls in my life."
"......!"
"And for the record, you don't need to worry about this conversation leaking either."
Kang Jiye raised her right palm.
A light the size of a ping-pong ball shimmered above it.
A barrier core?
She'd already deployed a sound-blocking spell without me noticing.
The Hunter Administration had its own dedicated landing pad for flying vehicles.
It felt less like a helipad and more like a small airport terminal.
"ID card, please."
We went through a body scan like an immigration checkpoint, then presented our identification.
When the scanner lit up green, you were cleared to enter.
Hypnosis!
But if this was Hunter Administration scanning equipment, it would definitely detect the demonic energy on me. Mental skills could fool a person's senses all day long—but precision machinery didn't lie.
So instead of fooling the machine, I had to fool the eyes of the person operating it.
Thud—
I walked straight past the scanner even as it blazed bright red, acting as if nothing were wrong.
Kang Jiye watched, then asked in a faintly worried tone.
"That went okay, right?"
"Don't worry. The second anyone notices something off about me, they'll foam at the mouth and collapse."
"Huh?"
"I put them under hypnosis. If they catch on to the anomaly, they'll experience decades of illusions first."
"Illusions? What kind of illusions?"
A lifetime of never holding a girl's hand, dying alone of loneliness in a tiny room while jerking off!
...I decided not to say that part out loud. Knowing Kang Jiye's personality, she'd definitely scold me or try to stop me.
Besides, my hypnosis wasn't going to break.
That male staffer at the scanner looked like C-class at best, and the only way the hypnosis trick would trigger was if I personally proved I was a magical beast.
So this was pure confidence.
Confidence that this was Pecia—that this was me.
I planted both hands on my hips.
"It's a whole thing. Anyway, it's one hundred percent safe, so don't worry."
"R-right."
Kang Jiye stared at the scanner in mild disbelief.
It was still glowing red, and yet not a single person was reacting—which clearly struck her as bizarre.
"We're dropping Yena off at the playroom and then meeting the Director, right?"
Kang Jiye snapped back to herself and nodded.
"Yeah. Let's go."
"—Hey, you! What the hell is this report?! I told you yellow doesn't suit me!"
"I-I'm sorry, sir!"
......?
As we neared the Director's office, raised voices spilled out into the hall.
Someone was getting thoroughly chewed out inside.
From the situation to the dialogue itself, it was so similar to my previous life that I figured people were the same no matter which world you were in.
Bang!
A man clutching a stack of documents burst out through the door, and Kang Jiye and I stepped inside as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The face of the man I assumed was the Director lit up immediately.
"Oh......! You're here!"
He was a tall, lean man. His hair was slicked neatly back, and his features were sharp and well-defined.
He looked like an ordinary middle-aged guy now, but in his younger days he must have been quite the handsome one. Even his expression radiated a deep-rooted self-assurance.
After briefly straightening his clothes, he strode over and gestured toward the seats.
"Sit."
The Director's office was an ordinary workspace.
A glass-topped table sat in the center, with long sofas arranged on either side.
He snapped his fingers, and a young female secretary appeared to prepare tea.
After exchanging a brief greeting with Kang Jiye, the man turned his gaze on me.
"So...... Purple Bunny, was it?"
"Yes."
"Kim Hansoo, Director of the Incheon Branch. Pleasure to meet you."
I accepted his handshake.
"I'm Purple Bunny. Looking forward to working with you."
Kim Hansoo took a loud sip from his teacup, then asked,
"So...... any interest in receiving my endorsement instead of Deputy Director Kang's?"
"Excuse me?"
What endorsement?
The question came completely out of nowhere.
When I tilted my head in confusion, he spoke in a soothing, pleased tone, as if coaxing a child.
"You won't lose out on anything. As you know, even in the Safety Guardian world, there's an unspoken hierarchy of sorts."
"……?"
What on earth was he talking about?
Wasn't today supposed to be about recognizing my contributions and planning an operation?
I glanced sideways at Kang Jiye in bewilderment, and she clicked her tongue softly, avoiding my eyes. She looked faintly embarrassed.
"Think about it carefully. The Director of a Hunter branch—and Incheon, no less—is one of the top positions in all of South Korea. It carries weight not just here, but in Seoul too, you know?"
"……."
"Doesn't look like you're following. Here, take a look at this."
Kim Hansoo thrust a sheet of A4 paper at me.
Incentives, item support, safe house access, four major insurance packages plus anniversary gifts.... What is this?
He'd written down every possible benefit a Safety Guardian could receive. Even a rough glance put the support package in the hundreds of millions of won.
Was this guy seriously trying to scout me?
Right in front of Kang Jiye?
Ha!
If there was ever a situation that deserved the phrase "I can't believe this," this was it.
I stared hard at Kim Hansoo as he enthusiastically explained the benefits.
"...and so, the more years you accumulate, the more authority you— Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Well...."
I was dying to ask Kang Jiye why she'd dragged me into a meeting like this.
If the situation was going to be this awkward, she should have shut it down from the start!
"Um, Director."
"Haha, come now, no need for 'Director.' Just call me Uncle Hansoo."
"Then...... Director. What's my role today supposed to be? What about the strategy meeting?"
Kim Hansoo answered with a sly smile.
"Role? A young lady like you doesn't need to worry about that sort of thing. Central Hunter Administration hasn't issued any orders yet, you see."
"I see. Then I'm going home! There's nothing for me to do, right?"
"......!"
Kim Hansoo stared back at me in shock.
"Does that mean you're accepting my offer?"
Huh?
I blinked several times.
"How did you get that from what I said?"
"Because that's the reason I called you here today."
"I'm going to decline, though?"
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Kim Hansoo grinned and stared at me steadily.
"Why?"
"Why? Do I really need to explain my reasons?"
"Of course you do. I'm the Director of the Incheon Branch. I'm your endorser's superior. You ought to tell me."
"……."
I shot Kang Jiye a look pleading for help. I seemed to have run into a complete lunatic of a boss, and I couldn't exactly beat him to death over it.
Kang Jiye gave a bitter smile and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"Come on now, at least give her time to think it over, Director. Let's leave it here for today."
For today?
I had zero intention of having this conversation again.
But Kim Hansoo seemed to feel the same way—he glared at Kang Jiye and lowered his voice.
"No. You're not leaving. You step outside for a moment."
Kang Jiye sighed.
"Director."
"No!!"
Suddenly Kim Hansoo started pumping both fists up and down and screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Think about it! I! As a superior! Having a collaborative asset! Weaker than my own subordinate! Does that! Save face! Or not?!"
"......!"
Is this guy insane?
"Kids these days! When an adult makes an offer! They should snap to it! Yes, sir, understood!!!!!!!!!!!! Right away!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Kim Hansoo's head had turned tomato-red as he huffed and puffed. He was thoroughly enraged.
...Ah. Wait a second.
In that instant, I realized why Kim Hansoo was throwing this tantrum.
He reminded me of my past self.
Back when I'd been a guild master in an online game, something similar had happened. I'd gotten thoroughly wrecked in a sparring match by some talented new recruit and thrown a fit just like this.
Of course, past-me hadn't taken it out on other people—I'd just yanked the ethernet cable and screamed my head off alone at home.
Still, getting outclassed by a subordinate as a superior inflicted a level of deprivation beyond imagination.
Getting peed on and publicly humiliated was already bad enough—but the fact that it happened because he'd been outdone by his own subordinate must have been unbearable.
Then Kim Hansoo suddenly snapped back to himself with a sharp "Ha!" and his eyes flew open.
"......Ahem. That was a joke. Was it funny?"
Crazy bastard.
Having flipped his expression in an instant, Kim Hansoo laughed boisterously.
"Hahahahaha! Of course Purple Bunny needs time to think as well. I fully understand, so don't take it too hard."
With that, Kim Hansoo deliberately stood up in an exaggerated motion. Pretending it was an accident, he bumped the table with his knee, and Kang Jiye's teacup sloshed over.
Kang Jiye twisted her body with practiced ease, dodging the tea shower completely.
I clicked my tongue at the sight.
Wow... Auntie. You've really been through it.
That had definitely been on purpose. Even if you chalked up the knee bump as an accident, Kang Jiye's reaction speed was something you only developed after getting hit by it more than once or twice.
For the first time, I started to feel sorry for her. No wonder she'd flinched yesterday when I called Kim Hansoo a big-hearted guy.
How much had she suffered under a petty boss like this?
"Well then, shall we head out? You should at least greet the teammates you'll be working with."
Once outside, Kim Hansoo clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
"Alright, as you all know, this is Purple Bunny, who will be working closely with our Incheon Branch going forward! Don't think of her as Deputy Director Kang's Safety Guardian—think of her as the Safety Guardian of our entire 'Incheon Branch'!"
......This bastard, all the way to the end?
"Hello! I'm Purple Bunny, Safety Guardian of Hunter Kang Jiye!"
The moment I drove the stake in that I was Kang Jiye's subordinate, Kim Hansoo's cheek twitched.
Kang Jiye finally covered her mouth and burst out laughing—pff!
Cheers from the Hunter Administration staff followed.
"Yes, understood!"
"Welcome, Purple Bunny!"
"Nice to meet you!"
"Kyaa, so cute!"
"That's not a rabbit mask, is it? Hey, hold this for a second—I've got something to ask that person."
"What, why? Deputy Cha, is that your type?"
"My little sibling is a reporter, so I was going to ask for an interview. Don't say stuff that'll get me misunderstood."