A Little Stomachache on Bukhan Mountain
The chief instructor blinked in bewilderment.
"A mother… a human mother?"
Surely they hadn't gone and created some bizarre hybrid.
A grotesque religious cult had just turned up, after all. Even ordinary words felt somehow unsettling and uncanny.
Pecia answered.
"She didn't give birth to me. She's the one who took me in with happy love. She said she didn't care even if I was a magic beast."
"…"
"But I was born human. The one who gave birth to me was human, and the one raising me now is human too. So that makes me human, doesn't it?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. So are you a magic beast or aren't you?"
"I told you, I'm human!"
"Then what was that just now about being a magic beast?"
"When did I say that?"
"Ha!"
It felt like talking to a robot—like something that was only roughly imitating human language without any sense of consistency.
…Overwhelming combat power. A mental skill that freely controls even high-tier magic beasts.
The chief instructor fretted at the hilt of his greatsword, turning it over in his thoughts. Whoever this clown was, she was no ordinary-rank magic beast.
He flicked his gaze around.
His eyes, which had first settled on Captain Hook, shifted to the toy soldiers, then swept over the teddy bears. The veins in his right hand, locked around the greatsword, began to stand out thicker and thicker.
Then he saw some of the teddy bears carefully carrying the fallen students, and he swallowed hard.
"…Fine. Drop it."
He closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh.
He took his hand off the greatsword and dropped his rear onto a nearby rock with a heavy thud.
"Is your mother still alive, clown?"
The girl froze mid-motion. Her head twisted around at an unnatural hundred-and-twenty degrees to look down at the chief instructor.
"Parent insult?"
"No."
She nodded.
"…Which mother?"
"Hm?"
"The one who abandoned me? The one who took me in? Which mother."
The chief instructor's brow furrowed, then he gave a small nod as if something had clicked into place.
"The one who took you in."
"Ahh—!"
The clown girl spun her body around properly and hopped in place.
"Of course she was alive! At least until I came in here."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means I don't know either! That priest over there said he was going to kill my mom. I was already fretting over it, so while we're at it, may I ask you a question, Sir Knight?"
"Go ahead."
"I've actually been working really hard for human society all this time… catching bad guys, handing out intel on magic beasts."
The chief instructor's expression tightened slightly. He looked at the clown girl and said,
"Keep going."
"But now my mom's the one in danger. Of course the humans won't just sit around doing nothing. Still—what if the humans I helped failed to do their part? What happens then?"
"…Well, that'd be pretty galling. What do you think?"
"Me?"
The clown girl grinned and tapped her lips with a finger.
"I think this whole 'Earth Show' is meaningless. What's the point of performing on a stage that's already broken? You either throw it away, or smash it and build a new one."
Magic beasts really were incomprehensible creatures. They had goals and thoughts of their own, but grasping them was never easy.
Still, he had a feeling that if that "mother" of hers died, something very unpleasant would follow.
Having roughly pieced the context together, the chief instructor asked with pointed significance,
"What about the mother who gave birth to you, then? Replaced by the new one?"
"…"
The girl stared at him blankly, then spun around with a huff.
"I'm not telling."
"Why not."
"Because it's boring! Honestly, the quality of your parent insults is just—"
"Ah, fine. Forget it."
The chief instructor found himself genuinely curious who on earth had taken in and raised this bizarre creature.
The fighting wasn't completely over yet.
Surviving evil spirits kept bursting out sporadically all over Bukhan Mountain.
With the teddy bears scattered in every direction, the chief instructor stayed by the students and kept watch on the situation.
Then, for some reason, the pirate captain who'd been up on the hill started charging this way.
"Hey! Hey! Royal Guard!"
"…!"
Suddenly a blurred shape streaked along the pirate captain's flank. It was clearly aiming to ambush the students—but its path happened to intersect right in the middle.
The charging pirate captain swung his right arm, and with a wet thwack, blue blood sprayed.
A pain-choked shriek tore out as the wavering form was forced into the open.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!"
The evil spirit thrashed, trying to yank free the hook buried in its left shoulder. No matter how hard it grabbed and shook the arm, the pirate captain didn't so much as flinch. It was simply dragged along wherever he ran.
Shraaak!
At last ten claws stretched long and thin, and the evil spirit lunged both arms at the pirate captain's face.
Looking thoroughly annoyed, the pirate captain drew a flintlock pistol, pressed it under the spirit's jaw, and pulled the trigger.
Bang! The evil spirit's head exploded like a smashed watermelon.
…
Still dangling the flopping corpse from his hook, Kratan arrived in front of the chief instructor.
He thrust the cigar clenched in his teeth forward and made his request with absolute confidence.
"Light."
The chief instructor didn't bother asking why. He heated his greatsword, then touched the tip to the cigar. With a poof of smoke, it caught fire.
Kratan's eyes went huge, and he immediately took a long, deep drag.
"Huuuup."
Amazingly, Kratan's wounds and torn clothes began to regenerate. Open gashes sealed shut; missing pieces filled back in. The chief instructor watched the chest knit itself together and couldn't help admiring it.
"Handy."
The doll-like eyes that had been spinning with pleasure settled back into place.
"Handy only if you can actually use it. This doesn't just light from any old fire. So—wanna join my crew?"
"I'm not kindling."
"Come on, think about it."
"Stop talking nonsense and go help your queen."
Hooo—
Cigarette smoke washed over the chief instructor's face. Kratan smirked with oily amusement.
"Whoops. My bad."
But the chief instructor didn't react at all. Without so much as a blink, he watched Kratan's expression and every little gesture from start to finish.
Eventually Kratan lost interest and left first.
"…So, no one is in critical condition right now."
A little later, most of the students had come back to their senses. Aside from a few serious injuries, there were no fatalities. Instead, a number of corpses believed to be instructors had been found at the Ether Stone point.
The moment student Lee Taeyoon finished his report, he asked,
"What about the people who went to the Safe Zone?"
"All of them returned safely. The enemies were already dead, apparently."
The chief instructor let out a breath of relief.
"Good. I never imagined they'd even taken that place."
The Safe Zone the chief instructor had mentioned was the cultists' hideout. They had nearly walked straight into the tiger's den of their own accord.
How the enemy had gotten hold of information known only to the academy's upper ranks was anyone's guess.
At that, Lee Taeyoon gave a faint smile.
"It wasn't your fault, Instructor."
"I never thought it was."
"Yes, sir."
Even if they had fought, those small fry should have handled themselves. How many people did they have?
After spitting once, the chief instructor fixed his eyes on Pecia. She had a Gate open and was directing the teddy bears. The Party Bears were lining up, carrying their comrades' heads and limbs inside.
"Keep everything about the Safe Zone's condition strictly confidential for now. Don't touch the bodies either. What about the entrance?"
"Uh… well. It should open any second now."
Sure enough, only a few seconds later the sky rippled once. The ground began to tremble little by little, and birds took flight from every direction.
Then, the moment the quaking stopped, a massive surge of mana came racing closer at terrifying speed.
Even accounting for an S-class, it was an insane pace.
The corner of the chief instructor's mouth curled up.
Kim Seojun, you bastard.
It was a major incident, but there was no way the strongest hunter in the country would charge ahead alone without any comrades.
He was definitely scrambling to cover something up.
A prickle—
The instant the high-density mana needled his back, he opened his mouth.
"Scared the shit out of me, you son of a bitch."
"…Glad you're unharmed, Senior Taehwan."
"I am. Explanations later—start cleaning up."
"Understood."
Kim Seojun brushed past the chief instructor and approached Pecia.
He looked down at the clown-transformed Pecia for a long moment, then spoke.
"Hunter Kang Jiye is on her way. I don't know what the hell this look is, but drop the transformation."
Pecia tilted her head and shot back,
"Why? Even if you tell me to, it's kind of a problem."
"Why is it a problem."
"Well, my mood was a little down and I was thinking of switching back, but then I just got some happy news, so now I want to stay like this. Don't you think the happy thing happened because I transformed?"
What kind of situation was this now.
Apparently that wasn't her true form after all. He'd been wondering how someone that eye-catching had managed to stay hidden until now.
Kim Seojun swept his bangs up once.
"This isn't the time for games. And what's with that mana surge—are you advertising yourself as a magic beast?"
"I already put everyone under hypnosis so they won't care, so it's fine. It's an unavoidable side effect when I use Joker."
"Just drop it already. I'm asking you."
"I said no."
"Want to get executed, then?"
"Go ahead and kill me. If you want to see who comes up next."
Somehow, even with Kim Seojun on the scene, nothing about the situation changed. At a glance, it was clear she was an existence beyond anyone's control.
The chief instructor quietly watched the two of them bicker back and forth for a long while.
To think there was actually something that could get under that arrogant junior's skin. Back when he'd been famous at the academy, they'd called him the Ice Prince.
The incident where he'd announced, "I'll test whether you're qualified as instructors," and then beaten every instructor and teacher senseless was still unforgettable. The rampage had continued until the chief instructor himself stepped in.
A short while later, Hunter Kang Jiye—presumably the "mother"—finally appeared and ran straight to Pecia.
"Oh my goodness! What on earth is this! Drop it right now. Wipe off that lipstick. I'll hear the story later. Hurry!"
Pecia shook her head.
"Nooo. This isn't lipstick."
"People are going to be here any second! Hm?"
"Yeah, just listen already, you little—"
"Please don't swear at me. I'm her guardian, you know."
"Ha… I'm sorry."
For crying out loud. What a circus.
The two of them had come as support, and yet both of them—along with everyone else—had their full attention locked on Pecia alone.
Pecia danced in front of Kang Jiye like she was putting on a cute little show.
"I don't wanna~! I don't wanna! Instead of that, how about we all go on a fun amusement park trip together? Or you could try stimulating my mood!"
"Haa… you really— wait. Hold on. What's wrong with that one."
Even so, Hunter Kang Jiye's attention was pulled elsewhere. She picked up a teddy bear that was groaning beside her.
Maybe it was because her interest had been stolen—Pecia's smile dipped just a little at the corners.
The chief instructor, snickering at the pathetic display, suddenly blinked.
That one…
The teddy bear clutched its stomach and thrashed in Kang Jiye's arms. Pecia's gaze swung that way too.
The teddy bear really did look like it was in bad shape.
In a faintly flustered tone, she said,
"Party Bears aren't supposed to get stomachaches…?"
"Want to take a look yourself?"
"Give it here."
The moment Pecia took the teddy bear, its posture curled in on itself—and its rear end tore open with a wet riiiip.
A glittering blade was visible in the hole.
The chief instructor went rigid with horror.
…!
That—that lunatic—!
Pecia carefully pulled the dagger out of the Party Bear's rear, read the inscription on the blade, and her face twisted.
Her lips thinned; the whites of her eyes began to show.
The adorable little beauty immediately hiked her eyes up into a furious glare.
"You… YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!!!! There's plenty of other things to eat!!!"