Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: First Time Seeing a Saintess Who Uses Magic Well?
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Is it just me, or are the number of E-rank dungeons decreasing lately??
Is it just my imagination?
Your imagination.
F*ck, the dungeon near my house got cleared in a single day yesterday out of nowhere.
Higher-rank dungeons seem to be increasing instead.
We're talking about E-rank dungeons here, and you're talking bullshit?
Recommend some works with silver-haired golden-eyed beautiful girls
Been hooked on this lately.
Why the hell are you asking in Hunter Gallery? Lol go somewhere else.
Why not~?
It's changed recently.
First Time Seeing a Saintess Who Uses Magic Well?
Bringing newborns? Pedo;
Don't knock it, just read it. It's fun.
Agreed, got hooked recently too so I'm bingeing. Here's a summary.
Section Chief Jang Hansu of the Hunter Management Bureau glared at his computer screen.
Data related to the app used by hunters was neatly organized and displayed before him.
Using his admin privileges, he double-checked the specific information he wanted.
Gates in Korea—specifically those in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
A strange shift had occurred recently.
It was the kind of subtle change that someone who wasn't a public servant would never notice.
'Gates are being cleared in periodic clusters.'
The spawn locations of gates and dungeons are inherently random.
No one knows exactly where they'll appear.
It was only thanks to an invention by an American returner that they could even be detected in advance.
Yet those gates...
Someone was clearing them as if thinking, 'These are annoying, so let's just wipe them all out at once.'
Section Chief Jang Hansu pulled up one specific hunter's data.
Jung Sihyun. E-rank hunter. Class: Holy Knight.
Her information hadn't been fully released to the public yet, but she was the second recorded returner worldwide.
Dungeons cleared in the past week: one D-rank, thirteen E-rank.
On the surface, it looked average compared to typical hunter dungeon runs.
Diligent effort, nothing more.
But then.
"Whoa, Section Chief. What's up with this hunter?"
"Oh, just someone who awakened recently."
A passing team member widened their eyes as they glanced at the screen.
"She cleared four dungeons in a single day, then rested for two days. Rinse and repeat?"
"Yeah."
"That's really unique. Doesn't she get tired? Entering steadily once a day would be much more efficient."
"Must be a Holy Knight thing."
"Ah. Still impressive either way! Twelve out of thirteen E-ranks were solo clears."
The team member, genuinely impressed by Sihyun's record, went on their way.
The Section Chief glared at the monitor again.
Statistics alone would make her look like an average, hard-working hunter—no red flags.
But when the detailed data was laid out like this...
'I'm totally normal! So please don't pay attention to me!' It was practically screaming that message.
Was it really just his imagination?
He rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
......
Better to just call her.
The Section Chief stood up and headed to the break room.
In the quiet space, he dialed Sihyun's number.
......No answer.
Was she in a dungeon, maybe?
That would block all incoming calls.
......No, that wasn't it.
There was no such indicator when he had checked her status earlier.
The Section Chief sent Sihyun a quick text instead.
He grabbed a drink and waited in the break room.
A few moments later, his phone vibrated.
"Hunter Management Section Chief Jang Hansu speaking. Thanks for calling back."
"...You texted."
A refined voice came through the phone.
Clear and gentle, it softly tickled his ear.
"Yes. As Korea's first returner, I thought periodic check-ins would be good. Are you busy?"
"......A little."
"I see..."
The Section Chief faltered for a moment.
Anyone could tell that meant, 'I'm not really busy, but talking to you is a hassle.'
Her tone was far too calm for her to be actually preoccupied anyway.
"Then I won't bother you long. Let's keep it short."
He cleared his throat and continued.
"I wanted to recommend academy enrollment again, like I mentioned before. If money is an issue, student loans similar to those for college are available."
"......I'm not sure yet."
Clearly, she had zero interest in the academy.
The Section Chief played his next prepared card.
"How about we assign you a mentor?"
"A mentor?"
"We'll assign a Bureau hunter to you. You've already completed D-rank runs, so the E-rank limits must be inconvenient for you, right?"
"Hmm... I'll think about that one."
It hooked her a little.
The Section Chief inwardly sighed in relief.
That was enough progress for today.
"Understood. I'll contact you again later."
"Yes. Take care."
After the call ended,
Section Chief Jang Hansu leaned against the wall, placing a hand on his forehead.
Assigning a Bureau mentor was a form of special treatment.
No rookie unaffiliated with a major guild would ever refuse such an offer.
But her response was one of annoyed consideration.
In other words, mentors were just a 'hot potato' to her—more trouble than they were worth.
She really was incredibly talented, but she hated the hassle that came with it.
Suddenly, the words 'Hero Party' flashed in the Section Chief's mind.
'...Pushing her too hard wouldn't be good.'
It could backfire, and he might lose the little ground he had gained.
It was better to build the relationship slowly and steadily.
Even if it took years.
"Hoo..."
The road ahead was long.
But he couldn't give up.
High-rank dungeon spawn rates were steadily rising worldwide.
They needed to secure as much talent as possible.
There was simply no room to let capable people go to waste.
Stopping by the bathroom on her way back, Siyun glanced toward the living room.
Her sister was lounging comfortably on the sofa, eyes glued to her phone.
The smartphone was currently floating in midair.
It shifted its position automatically as she moved. It was amazing.
Could Saintesses do that too? A random question crossed her mind.
It had been about a week since her oppa-turned-unnie had come home.
Needing rest, her unnie lived a surprisingly routine life.
First, she rose before dawn and prayed for hours.
Siyun hadn't known at first; she just thought her unnie was an early riser.
That was until she woke up to use the bathroom at dawn one night.
She spotted her unnie praying silently in the living room and checked the time in shock.
It was a bit past 5 a.m.
She stayed motionless until Siyun eventually rose for breakfast.
Siyun had asked out of curiosity once.
"You're not in that other world anymore. Do you still have to pray? Unnie, you were a total atheist before."
"Mm, it's just a habit now. This is how I recharge. Besides, maybe gods really do exist?"
She had returned as a theist.
Aside from her diligent prayer, everything else about her matched her old atheist days.
Next, after breakfast, on her non-outing days,
She would roll around watching TV or fiddling with her smartphone all day long.
Siyun sometimes overheard odd mutterings too.
"I want a Status Window too... I want new skills!"
Siyun assumed it was hunter-related, but not understanding it, she let it slide.
Lately, Sihyun had opened a bank account with her updated ID.
Since then, she had started ordering delivery for dinner regularly.
Though, Siyun was always the one who got to pick the menu.
Siyun moved to head back to her room.
Then, Sihyun looked up at her sister and spoke.
"Siyun-ah."
"Yeah?"
"I think I'm in big trouble."
"Huh?! What happened?"
The sudden words startled Siyun, making her jump in place.
At the intense reaction, Sihyun blinked a few times, then made an awkward face.
"Ah, sorry! I was just kidding."
"Don't say it like that if you're just going to make me worry..."
"Well, you know. This one VTuber is just too cute."
"......Huh?"
Sihyun said, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"That 'favorite' thing? She's my top character. Her voice is so soft-spoken and just seriously adorable."
"Uh, um... Do you want to show me who it is?"
"Here!"
Sihyun beamed, holding out her phone.
Siyun felt an instinctive sense of dread as she eyed the screen.
Then, she slowly bowed her head.
Her face burned a bright red.
She was too embarrassed to even look up.
"D-Do you not like VTubers?"
"N-no... It's not that."
Siyun had thought the novels she recommended had shifted her unnie's interests.
She should have bought a PC or a laptop instead.
Anything to pull her into playing games.
Siyun peeked at her unnie through her spread fingers.
Sihyun had a perplexed expression on her face.
Clearly, she was still clueless about the VTuber's true identity.
Thank goodness.
"Her voice reminds me of when you were a kid? She chews her words sometimes, but it's weirdly charming."
"......"
Acting cute... hearing her say that face-to-face is just...
"I'm glad you don't hate it. Can I hook this up to the TV?"
"......Yeah."
She wanted to watch it on the big screen—that was her real goal.
Siyun nodded slowly. Her 'acting tone' had certainly paid off well.
Honestly, she wanted to tell her to quit watching.
But looking at that innocent, excited face made it impossible.
After all those years of suffering in another world...
As long as she wasn't caught, just letting her watch was fine.
She could endure it.
But she set one condition.
"In return, after my stream—I mean, after the stream ends, the TV is for something else."
"Huh? Of course. It's not just mine anyway."
Sihyun smiled brightly, agreeing immediately.
She felt like she was freeloading on her sister.
She was just grateful that her sister accepted her new hobby.
Plus, her sister was always kind enough to explain everything she didn't know.
She helped her do whatever she wanted.
If only the Hero Party had even 1% of this kindness...
"......I'm going to go work now."
"Okay!"
Siyun trudged back to her room.
Sihyun tilted her head at her suddenly listless sister.
'Work must be really tough.'
Do I look like that when I head to the dungeons?
She made a mental note to be more considerate, then turned back to the TV.
TTube's main screen appeared on the television.
The recommended videos tempted Sihyun, but her eyes drifted unconsciously to the news sidebar.
[Hunter Assaults Civilian. Case Referred for Prosecution.]
A Hunter had assaulted a civilian.
The stalker incident from before resurfaced in her mind.
Thanks to a thorough , she hadn't seen him since.
"......It's dangerous."
Her pretty, cute sister might enchant someone else without meaning to.
What if it happened to be another hunter?
What if she wasn't nearby to protect her? What if she was far away?
Her lovely face frowned as her gaze shifted to the corner of the table.
The business card from Kind Person No. 1 was still there.
A guild run by a production hunter.
Maybe she should pay them a visit while she was out dungeoning.