A Flurry of Misunderstandings
Back in Chapter 52, when Renge had been injured, her wounds had been completely healed through his power. By the time she regained her senses, he was already gone. At that moment, she truly felt he was a transcendent being. Should she call it awe? Thanks to his overwhelming, almost non-human presence, she hadn't even been able to register his face. She hadn't even noticed the words Slender Forearms floating above his head. Immediately afterward, she heard the news that Slender Forearms had appeared in Beijing, and that the person behind the random portal incident in Seoul was also Slender Forearms. Ordered by the Japanese government to gather all information on him, Renge had boarded a flight to Korea without delay.
Opinions were divided over the meaning of the name Slender Forearms, but the important thing was to gather information and, if possible, recruit him! That was why she was currently spying on him, but...
"His every little action is just so, so cute!"
She had never imagined her target would be such a beautiful boy. She had only expected someone overwhelming and cool, but following him around and looking closely, he was truly the most beautiful boy she had ever seen in her life.
And he uses polite speech! Even to a child!
On top of that, everything he did was so adorable and perfectly to her taste that her heart skipped a beat.
A-anyway, Anton's daughter couldn't be the "girl," right?
If she counted herself, the number of potential "girls" rose to five. It felt like the number of girls was constantly multiplying, but regardless, Renge, now completely smitten with Yunjae, blushed and took a bolder step toward him. Up close, his pale skin was absolutely flawless, and just looking at him made her feel warm inside.
He is seriously 100% my type!
At twenty-eight years old, with a brilliant twenty-year career as a ninja, Renge was actually quite distant from romance. On the outside, she exuded the aura of a dominant queen who could wrap any man around her finger, and rumors among gossips painted her as a man-eater. In reality, she was a total virgin who had never even been in a relationship! Her deepest, most closely guarded secret was that she was still a hardcore idol fangirl at her age.
To someone like her, Yunjae was the perfect ideal. Of course, his max-level status gave him an incredibly high charm stat, but even without that, he had reigned supreme in the "beautiful boy" category even before Mamon Saga. Renge would have fallen for him even if he were a completely ordinary person.
I've never felt this way before!
Unknowingly winning over another woman's heart, Yunjae crossed the street as the pedestrian light turned green. His light, graceful steps, the slim fit of his suit, and above all, that face contrasted with the words Slender Forearms floating above his head...
N-no! I want to stan him so bad!
She had been an idol fan for just as long as she had been a ninja. Naturally, she was bound to be drawn to something so unique. With her original mission slightly derailed, Renge followed closely behind him.
"Ah! Suyeon!"
In the meantime, Yunjae met Suyeon in front of the Blast Guild headquarters.
What? Another girl?!
Including Anton's daughter, Ileyna, that made five. And that woman was definitely Ji Suyeon of the Blast Guild.
"Yunjae!"
Suyeon greeted him warmly, casually touching his arm.
H-how?!
Renge was well aware of Suyeon's ability. She was a powerful ability user whose touch could decay and destroy anything. How could she touch him and have nothing happen?
Could Ji Suyeon be the "girl"?!
Just then, Miju, the youngest employee of the Support Part, stepped out of the Blast Guild building on an errand and ran into them.
"Yunjae, how did it go at the hospital?"
"The hospital...?"
"Ah, I went to cast recovery magic on Anton's daughter, Ileyna. I hope she recovers well..."
"She will! If it's you, Yunjae, it's bound to work."
"That's right! You're a miracle worker, Yunjae!"
"Ah! No, I wouldn't go that far...!"
Watching the three of them chat so warmly, Renge's eyes shook once more.
Who is that now?!
She looked like an ordinary office worker, but she also seemed to be in her early twenties, which meant she could technically qualify as a "girl." In an instant, the pool of potential candidates had ballooned to seven.
"Hello, Slender Forearms!"
"Ah! Hello!"
Meanwhile, Yunjae's popularity among the female office workers in the business district had exploded due to the random portal incident and various other events. As passing female employees greeted him one by one, Renge finally realized the truth.
He's just insanely popular! Well, with a face like that, of course they wouldn't leave him alone! This is getting us nowhere!
Deciding she would never uncover the identity of the "girl" at this rate, she boldly stepped forward. Suyeon was there, but she wouldn't recognize her in disguise. As a ninja, Renge had information on Suyeon, but Suyeon knew nothing about her!
Standing right in front of Yunjae, Renge's heart went thump-thump!
"U-um, excuse me...!"
She had unintentionally reverted to a complete fangirl.
"Ah, yes...?"
When Yunjae noticed her and offered a shy, slightly awkward smile, her heart did another violent flip.
Oh my god! He is so gorgeous!
Her heart fluttering wildly, she spoke with a flushed face.
"W-what exactly does Slender Forearms mean?"
Honestly, she didn't even care about that anymore. While Renge was seriously contemplating quitting her job with the Japanese government to transfer to the Blast Guild, Yunjae replied.
"Ah! I just made it up as a joke! It doesn't really mean anything!"
"Pardon?"
But remembering her duty, Renge was momentarily taken aback.
"O-on the news, they said it meant carrying out the will of a girl..."
At those words, Yunjae became even more flustered.
"Ah! It's just because my forearms are so thin! I have no idea why they're saying things like that!"
"Eee?!"
So there was no girl involved at all? As a startled Renge let out a characteristically Japanese reaction,
"Are you Japanese?"
Yunjae, who was close friends with Akemi, recognized the reaction and asked.
"Ah, yes! Haha! I came all the way here looking for a job!"
"Ah..."
Yunjae stared at her intently.
W-what! Why is he looking at me like that...!
She worried for a second if she was being suspected, but
He's paying attention to me! This feels amazing!
Rather than worry, her pure fangirl heart swelled under his gaze, making her chest throb even harder.
"Ah, I have a close Japanese friend named Akemi. Your voice and appearance somehow remind me of her."
"Really? I have no idea who that is!"
When Renge denied it, Yunjae quickly bowed his head.
"Ah, I'm so sorry! I just thought you sounded similar...!"
"No, no! It's totally fine!"
He's so polite, too!
As Renge's face lit up with excitement, the others seemed to write her off as just another passionate fan of Yunjae.
"He says he chose Slender Forearms just because his arms are really thin!"
"Ah! I'm just skinny all over, Miju!"
"But your arms really are prettier than most girls'."
"Ah, Suyeon, not you too!"
Miju and Suyeon's testimonies made Renge flinch once more.
"So Slender Forearms doesn't actually belong to some girl...?"
Did this mean governments and intelligence agencies all over the world were wasting their time on a wild goose chase?
"Ah, yes, they're just my forearms."
Feeling the need to convince the skeptical woman, Yunjae took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve. At that moment, Renge's eyes went wide.
"They're paler and thinner than mine!"
"Ah! I'm just skinny all over!"
Yunjae quickly hid his forearm, blushing with embarrassment.
"Your forearms are truly beautiful!"
While Renge completely forgot her mission and stared with a blissful smile, utterly charmed, ability users from other nations and organizations watching from afar added Renge to their list of potential "girls" and had a collective mental breakdown.
"Damn it, how many girls are there? Does it mean every girl in the world?"
Renge wasn't the only active ability user on the scene.
"Could he think of himself as the girl?"
A massive influx of foreign ability users had infiltrated Seoul.
"We'll never know unless we ask him directly. But either way, he's a US citizen. He's not Korean."
Among them, the ones with the closest connection to Yunjae were the American ability users.
"He was issued citizenship in Point 6, and he doesn't hold Korean nationality."
Officially, Yunjae was currently an American. Having been missing for so long, his Korean citizenship had been legally terminated. To travel to Korea, he had obtained citizenship in Point 6 with the help of Mayor Manson, so technically, he was indeed an American.
"So it only makes sense for him to come to America."
A transcendent ability user who had shaken the entire world! Nora nodded in agreement with her partner Johnson, who insisted that they must recruit him for the sake of national interest.
"But it's still a mystery why he's working as a temporary office assistant there instead of a full-time employee. There has to be a reason, right?"
Johnson let out a heavy sigh at her words.
"I haven't the slightest clue."
His identity aside, what truly baffled them was his behavior. Ever since he appeared like a savior during the global portal invasion, the entire world had been intensely focused on him. In fact, they had been keeping an eye on him since the first portal raid in Seoul, allowing them to gather information on him relatively quickly. The problem was that they couldn't find out anything else about him other than his US citizenship and his temporary job as an office assistant at the Blast Guild.
"Is this some conspiracy by the Blast Guild?"
Currently, the Blast Guild was at the forefront of securing this incredible talent. Even if he wasn't active as a combatant, he was still technically affiliated with them.
"We can't let this go on. We need to make contact to get answers. We have to make our move before anyone else beats us to it."
"That was definitely Renge, right?"
"Yeah. She approached him in disguise, but it's her."
The duo had already noted that Japan's Renge had made contact first. Fearing they would lose the upper hand to Japan if they delayed, Nora and Johnson exchanged looks.
"But..."
"The answer might be closer than we think."
"The answer?"
Nora gestured with her chin toward Mari, who was walking out of the Blast Guild building.
"Mari Rose."
She then pointed to her laptop screen.
"A C-class hunter. Twenty-seven years old. She has a remarkably long career for her age—fourteen years."
Displayed on the screen was Mari's hunter profile. Having registered at a very young age, she looked incredibly youthful in her photo.
"She's from Charlotte, North Carolina? Aren't you from there too, Johnson?"
"Charlotte. That's close."
Finding a fellow hometown native, Johnson looked quite pleased.
"But..."
Nora tilted her head slightly.
"What is it?"
"No, nothing. It's just that C-class hunters usually don't have very detailed profiles."
Shaking her head, Nora closed the laptop and spoke.
"Their management is a total mess. Well, it's not like it matters. C-class hunters are basically just potential criminals anyway."
It wasn't entirely unreasonable for Johnson to say that. Generally, true ability users were classified as B-class or higher, while those below them—mostly ordinary humans armed with firearms—made up the bulk of the C-class.
"Still, this woman's record is completely clean. With a career that long, you'd expect at least a minor theft or something."
Many C-class hunters turned to robbery or other crimes just to make ends meet. After all, dealing with weak, fearful ordinary humans was far easier than fighting monsters.
"Maybe she just never got caught?"
"Well, if they get caught, it's summary execution. The hunter world is pretty ruthless. Just last year, two bastards got summarily executed."
It was surprisingly common to view them as potential criminals. The Hunter Association regarded unregistered hunters as criminals, and if a registered hunter caused trouble, they were often summarily executed on the spot rather than handed over to law enforcement. Though it seemed like a step backward in human rights, it was deemed a necessary measure in a world ruled by raw power.
"In any case, since she's been traveling with him since Point 6, she must know the most about him."
"Could she be the 'girl'?"
With so many women surrounding him, finding the "girl" was proving nearly impossible. Deciding it was better to focus on the most likely candidate, Johnson asked, eyeing Mari as the prime suspect pulling the strings of Slender Forearms.
"But usually, you don't call a twenty-seven-year-old a girl, do you?"
There were many theories, but Mari was indeed a strong candidate. The only catch was her age.
"You'd get slapped for saying that."
While some women liked being told they looked young, this was a different story. Nora pointed out that being treated like a little girl in one's late twenties would naturally be offensive, and Johnson nodded in agreement.
"Let's go make contact anyway. Before those other bastards try to snatch him up."
"It'll only take a moment."
Nora let out a soft chuckle, as if she had a plan up her sleeve. With that, they stepped out of the car.
Their target, Mari, was currently sitting alone at a cafe across from the Blast Guild headquarters, sipping a cafe mocha piled high with whipped cream.
"Ah, my blood sugar is crashing."
Perhaps due to the stress of acting as both an office assistant and a manager, she frequently slipped out to get a sugar fix. Letting out a deep sigh, she looked up at the sky.
"The pressure keeps building, but nothing has actually changed."
Most of the workload was still concentrated on Yunjae, and Mari's only job was gathering information on the aftermath of the guild's ability users. That was why she had ended up here alone while Yunjae, immediately after returning from Anton's hospital, had gone off to consult with other hunters.
"Desk jobs really don't suit me."
Although her current life was comfortable and safe, she couldn't help but miss the field sometimes. It was exhausting and dangerous, but at least out there, she didn't feel like an insignificant cog in a machine. While a gloomy Mari stirred her whipped cream,
"Miss Mari Rose."
A friendly-looking man and an intellectual-looking woman, both dressed in sharp business suits fitting the corporate district, approached her table.
"...Who are you?"
There were plenty of foreign employees in this area, so their appearance wasn't unusual. What was unusual was that they had approached her. If