Chapter 120: Inevitability (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 120: Inevitability (2)
“To think you live in this tiny room with your younger sister… The inconvenience must be immense!”
Jung Si-a looked at me, her eyes filled with pity.
Her habit of jumping to conclusions and letting her imagination run wild was still the same.
Then again… it’s a bit strange to say it’s still the same.
Only a few months have passed. It’s not like a person can change completely in that time.
If I let her imagination run any wilder, I might end up with a real sister I never had. I’d better cut this short.
“I don’t have a younger sister.”
“Wh-what…! Are you saying my deduction was wrong…?”
“Yes, completely.”
“I-I see…”
She’d only gotten one guess wrong, but Si-a instantly grew sullen, as if she’d lost her entire fortune.
Having dealt with her more than anyone, I knew exactly how to lift her spirits.
“Would you like another cup of coffee?”
“Oh, would you be so kind!”
Look at that.
Just offer her something she likes, and her energy comes right back.
I boiled the still-warm water a bit more and made her another cup of instant coffee mix.
Just like that, she was smiling brightly again, sipping her coffee with a happy slurp.
At this rate, this could go on forever, so I decided to get straight to the point.
“So, the reason you came here… it’s to recruit me for your guild, right?”
“Mm, that’s right. All the scouts in the guild were unanimous. They said you should be our number one recruitment priority.”
“Ah, I see.”
That’s strange.
It wasn’t odd for the scouts to rank me as their top priority, but there was no way Fake Si-woo would have allowed it.
Shouldn’t that guy be doing everything he can to avoid me?
So I asked.
“Um… does the Guild Leader also want to recruit me?”
To which she replied.
“I do not know!”
“……”
Why is she so confident when she doesn’t even know?
“…Don’t you usually need the Guild Leader’s approval to recruit someone?”
As I added that, she scrunched her brow and began to grumble.
“What am I to do when the Guild Leader has vacated his position!”
“…The Guild Leader vacated his position?”
That bastard Fake Si-woo. Did he use his sabbatical as an excuse to completely wash his hands of the guild’s operations?
Just then, Si-a said something shocking.
“Yes! He placed a convincing fake in his seat and disappeared!”
“Huh?”
My god.
What did I just hear?
“A fake… you said?”
“Yes, a fake! He is so convincing that everyone else seems to be fooled, but he could not deceive this princess!”
…It seemed to be true.
It looked like Si-a had genuinely noticed that the current Son Si-woo was a fake.
But how?
“How did you know he was a fake?”
“One look is all it takes!”
…That sounds like a lie.
“Really?”
“Hmph, it is the truth. Do you not trust this princess?”
“…I have to, yes.”
It still felt like a lie, but when she pushed so stubbornly, it was hard to question her further.
If I pressed her any more, she might get sulky.
“Anyway! The Guild Leader cherishes me greatly. If I tell him I recommended you, there should be no problem, so do not worry.”
Hmm.
It was true that I cherished Si-a a lot.
I felt sorry for her, knowing the hardships she’d faced growing up, and her behavior was so childlike that being with her felt like having a second daughter, which always made me smile.
But that was that, and this was this.
“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of joining a guild yet.”
“What…!”
Hearing my words, her body went rigid.
She seemed to be in considerable shock.
“Wh-what is your reason!”
“Uh… I don’t really have one, but if I had to say, it’s that I don’t want to belong anywhere just yet?”
Even that was an excuse I’d squeezed out.
If I were to speak the real reason, I’d probably lose my life on the spot.
“T-to think you would reject this princess’s choice for such a trivial reason…!”
Si-a stood up, her body trembling.
“I shall never forget this humiliation!”
She spoke boldly, but her face was on the verge of tears, looking like she could burst out crying at any moment.
Seeing that made my heart soften again.
Still, there was nothing I could do for now.
As long as the nondisclosure clause was in effect, I couldn’t reveal a thing.
“A-a day will come when you regret this decision!”
With that, she downed the coffee in the paper cup in one gulp.
Puffing out her cheeks, Si-a turned her back to me.
She stomped toward the entrance, but her pace was painfully slow.
It was obvious she wanted me to stop her before she left.
“Excuse me, Princess?”
The moment I called out, she spun around.
“Have you had a change of heart?!”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Eek…! Then what is it!”
“It would be best not to tell anyone else that the Guild Leader is a fake.”
If she went around blabbing about this, it could get complicated in many ways.
She looked so young and had such a peculiar persona that not many people would believe her, but… you never know when words might gain credibility and blow up.
At my words, she puffed her cheeks out even more.
“Do you take this princess for a fool?! I know better than to speak of such things to just anyone!”
If she knew so well, why did she tell me everything?
“…Then why did you tell me?”
I asked out of curiosity, and she shook her head.
“You… are somehow different. The way you patted my head earlier, and how the coffee was brewed to my exact preference… It feels as though you are not a stranger I have just met.”
“……”
Could it be that, deep in her unconscious, she recognized me?
“You had best be careful yourself. The moment you carelessly repeat what I have told you to another, this princess shall personally punish you!”
I smiled and nodded.
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
Then, her previous confident demeanor vanished, and she continued hesitantly.
“And, um… I would like to come over for coffee sometimes.”
Don’t tell me she’s convinced he’s a fake because Fake Si-woo won’t make her coffee…?
* * *
Some days are like that.
A time when you encounter something, or someone, completely unexpected.
A moment so exquisite, so wondrous, you can’t tell if it’s mere coincidence or inevitability.
For Kim Do-jin, today was one of those days.
A day when a single, hard stone was thrown, shattering the placid surface of his otherwise ordinary life.
It happened during a boring lecture.
It was ‘Hunter History,’ a class that traced the history of Hunters.
What woke him from the old professor’s leisurely, lullaby-like voice was a conversation between two students sitting behind him.
“Hey, did you hear about that?”
“Hear about what?”
“Apparently, there’s an exhibitionist girl at our university.”
“An exhibitionist girl? What’s that?”
“Dumbass, you don’t know? A girl who gets off on exposing herself outdoors!”
“…You’re saying a girl who goes to Korea University is into that?”
“Yeah, she posts exhibitionist pics on a private social media account, and I heard some of the photos were taken in our school’s bathrooms and classrooms.”
“That’s insane.”
Their conversation was enough to make Kim Do-jin’s eyes fly open.
Students at Korea University were, by default, geniuses who had overcome tremendous competition to get in.
The idea that among such brilliant minds was a pervert who enjoyed outdoor exhibitionism was fascinating.
‘Outdoor exhibitionism…’
He wondered what kind of face she made while doing such things, and why she would post it on social media for others to see.
It was hard to understand, but that made him all the more curious.
What would a woman who did something like that look like?
Just as heinous serial killers often looked surprisingly ordinary and gentle in person, he wondered if this exhibitionist girl was similar.
‘Maybe I should patrol around once in a while…?’
He managed to endure the old professor’s two-hour-long sleep-inducing assault while lost in these fleeting thoughts, then had lunch with his group members.
The fateful moment arrived as he was taking a slow walk to the Magic Department building for his next class, letting his food digest.
“Excuse me! Sorry, but could I ask for directions?”
A woman’s voice came from behind him.
Seeing that he was the only one on the path, Kim Do-jin stopped and turned around.
“Where are you looking for…”
The moment he saw the woman approaching from a short distance away, Kim Do-jin couldn’t finish his sentence.
Because she was someone he knew all too well.
She had sharp eyes, yet their gaze was as warm as it had always been.
Her skin had gotten a little tanner, but other than that, everything was exactly as it had been six years ago.
“Could you tell me where the infirmary building is?”
At her question, Kim Do-jin fumbled for a moment before managing to point toward the infirmary.
Thankfully, it wasn’t far, and the building was visible. If it hadn’t been, he would have ended up making a fool of himself.
“Thanks, student! I’m a Healer who’ll be working at the infirmary starting next week! Are you a Hunter aspirant, by any chance?”
“Uh… yes.”
“If you ever get hurt, come find me! I’ll treat you with extra special care compared to the other students.”
“Thank you…?”
“Hoho! You’re cute. See you around, then?”
Kim Do-jin stared blankly as she walked away, waving cheerfully the entire time.
A moment later, immense confusion flooded his mind.
“What in the world is Ju-yeon doing here…?”
Han Ju-yeon.
His sister-in-law, who had left for America six years ago, had returned.
And as a Healer in the infirmary of the university he attended.
She was talented enough to receive massive offers from major American guilds. Why on earth was she working here?
Kim Do-jin couldn’t understand it at all.