Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Retribution (1)
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'Good, it's the day of reckoning.'
The day after sending the message to Shin Jeong-hwa.
Before heading to the meeting spot, I did one final check of the plan in front of my front door.
"The weather's nice just like the forecast said, so the park's probably packed with people."
With all those people around, Shin Jeong-hwa wouldn't dare make a rash move, right?
My plan was to hit her with stage-one hypnosis the moment we met to keep her from attacking me, but the future doesn't always go as planned, so I needed to be fully prepared.
'That's why we're meeting at the park.'
The park I'd chosen wasn't just any ordinary park.
It was close to the Millennium Guild, a spot where guild members often went for walks.
I'd gotten the idea while visiting the guild for a week to make my face known to the villain organizations and chatting casually with people I'd gotten friendly with—it was perfect for this, so I'd set it as our meeting place.
'With all the hunters around, if anything goes down, she'll get subdued right away.'
Hypnosis skill plus backup from the nearby hunters.
I only had two countermeasures lined up, but both were solid, so there shouldn't be any major issues.
"Alright. Plan check complete. Time to head out!"
I stepped outside and made my way to the park. As I crossed the street, I thought about Shin Jeong-hwa.
'I still don't know why she tried to kidnap me...'
A few reasons did come to mind.
Jealousy over Lee Seo-yeon, or suspicions about the hypnosis skill incidents and attempts to cover them up.
But there was no need to dig deep, so I hadn't investigated or pondered it much.
'The important thing is that she tried to kidnap me.'
That alone was reason enough to crush her.
She was the ringleader of the group bullying and a birth-discrimination advocate, and now attempted kidnapping was added to her list of sins.
This time, I was going to end her for good.
"I'm gonna mess her up so bad she never thinks of trying anything again."
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"Ugh..."
Lee Seo-yeon, who'd used up all her week's vacation, slumped over her desk the moment she got to work.
After the date-tardiness fiasco, she'd lost all will to live, but human resilience was tenacious, and in the end, she had no choice but to drag herself back to the office.
"I don't wanna work..."
She'd been called a lame otaku obsessed with one idol girl by the guy she liked—what was the point of going on?
As she let out a deep sigh that could have caved the ground, she suddenly remembered something she'd forgotten.
'But why's that bitch Shin Jeong-hwa been so quiet?'
After the party with Yoo Jun-hyuk and the Alice Guild, Lee Seo-yeon had monitored Shin Jeong-hwa's movements while also scrubbing whatever scant info about Yoo Jun-hyuk existed online, just in case.
Last she'd checked, Shin Jeong-hwa had been disciplined by the guild for her birth-discrimination remarks and was holed up at home under restriction.
But after the date disaster, she'd been too crushed to keep investigating.
'Someone like her must've caused trouble by now.'
It was pure prejudice, of course.
Prejudice that the main culprit behind her bullying group would definitely do something evil.
But this time, that prejudice hit the mark.
'She's not home?'
Shin Jeong-hwa had installed a webcam at home, probably to do internet streams and build a friendly image later.
Lee Seo-yeon hacked it and peered inside—empty.
She immediately hacked into the CCTVs leading from Shin Jeong-hwa's mansion outward.
How long did she watch? After about ten minutes of staring until her eyes burned, she finally spotted her.
A fallen hunter staggering down the street.
Her listless steps were suspicious enough, but the handle dangling from her waist was even more so.
'Huh? Why's she armed?'
Shin Jeong-hwa's skill was mana manifestation.
She could shape her mana itself into a weapon, and the stronger her mana, the more powerful the weapon.
But just like an athlete maintains routines and self-hypnosis to push their physical prowess further,
Users of mana manifestation often carried artifacts as parts of the weapons they manifested to boost their abilities even more.
That's why Shin Jeong-hwa always carried the hilt of the sword she mainly manifested as an artifact.
Lee Seo-yeon, having researched this beforehand, felt a bad premonition seeing the disciplined, non-hunter Shin Jeong-hwa walking around armed.
'What is she up to?'
As she hacked CCTVs along Shin Jeong-hwa's path to investigate, Lee Seo-yeon's eyes widened.
"Jun-hyuk-ssi?"
The park at the end of her route.
Yoo Jun-hyuk was sitting on a bench there, making her ominous feeling swell.
Lee Seo-yeon didn't ignore her gut and bolted to the office storage room.
"No way, right?"
It was the non-hunter department, but she was still part of the Millennium Guild.
The guild master always stressed preparing for the unexpected, so even their department had protective gear and simple weapons as standard issue. She snatched a protective suit.
A high-quality one that could withstand a few hits from a C-rank monster.
"It won't be... but just in case..."
She threw it on and dashed outside.
"You never know!"
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'Ugh, this is boring.'
Had I come too early? I yawned hugely while sitting on the park bench, watching people pass by.
"Oh my, Jun-hyuk-ssi? Out for a walk too?"
"Yeah. The weather's so nice. Staying cooped up at home gets old."
The rumors I'd heard at the guild weren't wrong—a few hunters I'd gotten acquainted with greeted me.
Knowing for sure that hunters walked here put my mind even more at ease.
'If anything really happens, they'll jump in and subdue her.'
Not that I'd let it get that far with hypnosis—that was the best outcome.
As I yawned so much my eyes watered to kill the boredom, my phone rang. It was Noona Yu-ra.
-Jun-hyuk-ah, is something going on?
"Huh? Why do you ask?"
It'd been a while since we talked, and she started right off asking about me.
Had she had a bad dream? But her words were unexpected.
-No, just a bad feeling. Calling on a hunch.
"A bad feeling? What do you mean?"
-Just what I said. Felt off since I woke up today.
...
Chilling.
This wasn't just any hunter—it was an EX-rank hunter's intuition worrying about me.
"Nothing's wrong. Weather's great, so I even came out for a walk."
-Really? Hmm, good if nothing's up... but still, be careful anyway. And don't just eat delivery food—cook something. Home cooking's better for you.
"Yeah, I will."
-And since you're an adult now, if you ever need to drink, it'd be okay...
Suddenly, Noona's voice cut off from the speaker.
"Noona?"
-...No. Jun-hyuk-ah, you absolutely cannot drink. Got it?
"Drink? I don't even like alcohol much."
Wine had an intriguing taste, so I'd wanted to make it a hobby.
But after she found out last time how weak I was to it, I planned to stay sober.
I'd even set up a scorched-earth policy: get blackout drunk and turn into a dog if I slipped.
My commitment to sobriety wasn't just a resolution—it was a vow.
-Yeah. Promise me.
"Got it. I absolutely won't."
We chatted about trivial stuff after that, then hung up.
"Noona's such a mom sometimes. Not even my girlfriend."
That's why I loved her more.
The comfort of someone you like taking care of you like a mom.
'She's here.'
As I finished the call and scanned around, I spotted Shin Jeong-hwa approaching from afar.
Her haggard approach was the picture of a fallen hunter, nothing like how she'd looked at the party.
'Good, come a bit closer and I'll hypnosis her right...'
Then, she gripped something from her waist.
It looked like a sword hilt, and a straight blue beam shot out, forming a blade.
'Lightsaber?'
Some high-tech weapon? The thought flashed, but it was probably her awakener skill.
I recalled learning during my hunter studies that mana manifestation could create weapons like that.
'Ha! This is perfect?'
Even if I just subdued her with hypnosis.
Word would spread that she'd attacked an ordinary male civilian with a weapon.
She'd be totally ruined without me lifting a finger.
'But just in case, better crush her thoroughly.'
Come closer. Let the people around see you're about to attack me.
Trying to kill me on sight—guess she's been through hell mentally?
'A bit more...'
I felt nearby people turning their eyes toward us.
Some hunters were rushing over...
'Now!'
The moment I locked eyes with Shin Jeong-hwa to cast hypnosis.
"Jun-hyuk-ssi!"
A familiar voice blocked my view.
"It's dangerous!"
No.
Why are you here?
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"Haa..."
Millennium Guild affiliated hospital.
I let out a deep sigh looking down at Lee Seo-yeon lying in the private room bed.
'No, I could've handled it alone—why'd you butt in.'
Long story short, my plan failed.
Lee Seo-yeon barged in out of nowhere and blocked my line of sight, robbing me of the hypnosis chance.
At the same time, Shin Jeong-hwa yelled and swung her sword, but Lee Seo-yeon was wearing the guild's special protective suit, so she escaped death.
'Four broken ribs, was it?'
Lucky at that.
Setting aside her personality, Shin Jeong-hwa was a B-rank hunter with real skills—she could've sliced Lee Seo-yeon in half even with the suit.
But right before Shin Jeong-hwa swung, the other hunters watching us charged in like arrows.
They restrained her and deflected some attacks with their skills, letting Lee Seo-yeon survive.
"Ungh..."
Her ribs had been healed with treatment skills, but the shock must've been too much—she still hadn't woken.
Watching her, I felt both proud and annoyed at the plan disruption, so I pinched her nose shut on impulse.
"Guuuuugh!"
"Feel good? Yeah?"
Why'd you throw yourself in? I had it under control.
Well, you don't know about my hypnosis skill, so to you, I'm just some ordinary guy.
"Tch, by that logic, you saved my life?"
I let go, and her nose—weak even for an awakener—turned red.
Propping my chin, I stared at her face.
"...Power to turn trash into treasure."
A power from some manga I'd seen in my past life popped into my head.
Her past was probably why, but it was funny recalling an old comic in this situation.
"You didn't need to go into debt, but... I'll call it even for now. This squares us for the tardiness last time."
A life debt outweighs that.
Might as well give her a chance to make up for it next time.
'But I still need to deal with that Shin Jeong-hwa bitch... things got messy.'
The subdued woman had been hauled off somewhere by the hunters right away.
Word was she'd been handed straight to the heroes and thrown in holding.
No angle to crush her like this.
'Visit her in jail later and do it then.'
Or I might get called as a witness at trial—could handle it there.
"Hmm."
For now, I'd nurse this girl till she woke.
"Nursing means fruit, right?"
Her crush nursing her, even peeling fruit for her?
What better reward is there?
"I'll grab some apples."
I left the room for a bit and turned on my smartphone.
"Gotta search how to peel one into a bunny shape."