Chapter 60
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Azadivar Siblings
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“Whoa, this feels so weird.”
My reflection in the mirror looked utterly unfamiliar. Black bob haircut, white shirt, black suit pants and jacket. Even the low heels—anyone would buy me as a fresh corporate recruit.
Ding-dong.
“Ji-ui.”
“Coming~! Right now!”
Se-bin, all ready to go, rang the doorbell. I grabbed my keycard, slipped it into my jacket pocket, and hurried out of the room...
“Good morning.”
“Whoa...”
The admiration slipped out before the greeting.
Did this girl come into the world wearing a suit?
Her usual style wasn’t much different, but she wore the trench-coat-like ‘Black Snake Shedding’ more often than a suit jacket, which made her aura feel even more mature today.
“Sleep well? You crashed late last night.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry I conked out so suddenly.”
“As long as you got some rest.”
Se-bin flashed a bright smile and hit the elevator button. Reserved for executive room guests, it arrived in no time, whisking us straight down to the lobby.
“Good morning!”
Oh, right. The interpreter.
Joan’s words jolted me—I hurriedly popped the device into my ear. Only then did his speech come through clearly. Soon after, everyone started trickling into the lobby one by one.
“Ahaha, Hunter Shin Ji-ui, it suits you quite well.”
Ha Mi-jun Hunter, in the neatest outfit I’d ever seen him in, threw a sleazy wink my way.
With the chairman and Han Jin-woo Hunter arriving last, Joan led us toward the entrance.
“Alright, let’s head out!”
The limo from yesterday was already waiting outside. It glided smoothly down the wide road the moment we climbed in. Cracking the window for a breath of morning air left me feeling refreshed.
We passed a lake so vast it could’ve been the sea and soon pulled up to the convention hall.
The vibe’s pretty similar to last time.
The massive hall, befitting a Hunter Market, was packed with chairs. On the stage hung the American flag and Windy Guild banner, flanked by the emblems of every organization attending the conference.
“The main hall will host the opening ceremony and academic presentations. Hall A next door has food and drinks set up from noon, so feel free to grab some. If you want to head back to the hotel, just let the reception desk know—I’ve already put in the word, so they’ll call a car right away.”
“Thanks for looking out. I’ll swing by for the presentations later.”
“Ahaha, appreciate it. Oh, here are your name tags! I’ll get going now~”
Joan laughed heartily and vanished behind the stage. The chairman passed out the name tags to us.
Still some time before the opening. Maybe I should look for the Azadivar siblings.
If they’re not here, then they don’t exist in this timeline. If they do, at least they made it to the conference.
“Gonna hit the bathroom quick.”
I murmured to Se-bin and wove through the bustling crowd in the hall.
What did Mina and Muha look like again? All I remember is they both wore glasses.
I racked my brain for their portal site profiles while scanning faces diligently.
“I’ll just stand in the back and listen!”
“Shut your mouth and stay put~!”
“No, I’m telling you it won’t work!”
A scuffle was breaking out near the entrance. Turning my head, I saw a woman with long braids hanging down her back clutching the reception staff’s arm with a pouty face. Beside her, a guy was practically leaning on the desk, stamping his feet. Each time, his fluffy hair bounced.
Suntanned skin, dark eyes framed by thick glasses. And the lettering tattoos on their wrists.
The Azadivar siblings!
But why do they look so young? The ones I knew were around Mi-rae-ssi’s age!
The Azadivar siblings before me now looked about my age at most. My regression had tweaked big and small things before, but de-aging? First time for that.
“This conference is invite-only to begin with. You two invited?”
“...No.”
“We know there are a few empty seats in the back. Some people wanna come but can’t, and even among invitees, plenty don’t care about the research.”
“Mina~?”
“Tch.”
The staffer’s snide tone made Mina purse her lips and step back. Muha stuck right by her side, fidgeting with his fingers.
From the looks of it, they’re Windy Guild members, but too young to even attend the conference.
Confusing, but I couldn’t just walk past them. I approached the desk cautiously, and the staffer spotted me with a bright smile.
“Ah! Hunter Shin Ji-ui. What can I do for you?”
“Nothing major...”
I flicked my eyes toward Mina and Muha. Mina stared wide-eyed, then shuddered and whispered in Muha’s ear.
“Hey, SS-Rank. The SS-Rank from Korea!”
“What?”
“DF number one...!”
I gave the siblings an awkward smile, then turned back to the staffer.
“These two with Windy Guild too?”
“Ah, haha... Yeah. Our rookies. Just a month in.”
A month... Total babies.
“Must be crazy smart to join Windy Guild.”
“Ahaha, youngest members ever, but still a long way to go.”
Mina and Muha, sans interpreters, just alternated anxious glances between me and the staffer.
“If it’s possible...”
I locked eyes with the staffer.
“Could you let these two in just for the presentation session?”
“P-Pardon?”
The staffer’s eyes bulged, and the Azadivar siblings mirrored the shock.
“Overheard your chat earlier by chance.”
“Ah... I see. Haha, yeah... With all the scholars and VIPs, it’s kinda tricky.”
“What if I give them my seat?”
[Eloquence increased]
[Non-Awakener ‘Peter Harrison’ wavers at Awakener ‘Shin Ji-ui’s’ words.]
Okay, got him rattled.
Before the flustered staffer could respond, I pressed on.
“This conference would mean way more to them than me. Youngest members of a research-focused guild—they’d learn so much.”
“Even so, giving away Hunter Shin Ji-ui’s seat to those two’s level of...”
“They’re more than enough.”
In every timeline I remembered, the Azadivar siblings succeeded in developing the barrier. Sure, younger this time, but the potential’s there.
They’ll create the barrier to save the world again.
[Speech outcome: Accepted]
“Adding two plastic chairs should be fine... Alright.”
“Thank you!”
Despite the pushy request, my eloquence and the staffer’s kindness got the Azadivar siblings inside.
Whew, almost headed home empty-handed.
As I sighed in relief, the staffer explained to Mina and Muha, handing them interpreters.
“For real?!”
“No take-backs! You give, you don’t snatch back!”
“Got it, got it. Hurry and thank Hunter Shin Ji-ui.”
Their eyes snapped to me in unison.
“Thank you!!”
“Thank youuuu!!”
Heads bowed deeply, a hearty wave of gratitude hit me.
“Got a sec to chat?”
“With you, Hunter Shin Ji-ui?”
The super-formal vibe was still weird.
I nodded to Mina and headed to a quiet corner by the storeroom. The siblings scurried after me like chicks, despite being bigger than me.
Standing by the seldom-trafficked storeroom door, I sized them up slowly.
Mina Azadivar, the younger of the Azadivar twins. Key idea generator in barrier research. Her twin brother, Muha Azadivar, fleshed out her ideas and handled the fine details.
“Hunter?”
“Oh, right. Heard you’re the youngest guild members!”
“Well, not that young.”
“Nineteen’s all grown up. Our guild’s just full of old folks.”
Even from that brief glance earlier, Mina was firecracker bold.
Like a hundred-times milder Mi-rae-ssi.
Nineteen in American years—freshman college age? Not crucial, moving on.
“How’d you join Windy Guild?”
“Our homeroom teacher snuck in a recommendation letter without telling us.”
“Overheard us chatting over lunch.”
Chatting about what?
I tilted my head silently, and Mina jumped in.
“We were saying how cool it’d be if there was a barrier wrapping around buildings like this~.”
Thump.
Barrier. The word I’d longed to hear from them finally dropped.
“Back in our old neighborhood before immigrating here, gate management sucked—gates popping every damn day.”
“Had to evac on trucks every time.”
“Sounds rough.”
Oh yeah, they were born in India.
Forgotten fact resurfaced.
“Anyway, even here, Muha and I kept talking barriers, and our teacher overheard and sent Windy Guild the rec.”
“Tell me more about this barrier idea?”
“Of course!”
“Of course! We’re only here thanks to you, Hunter Shin Ji-ui!”
They nodded in sync, pulling out small notebooks. Mina shoved her glasses up with her pen tip and sketched a boxy building.
“Simple version: window-washing barrier!”
“Window-washing barrier?”
“Y’know how window cleaners dump water from the top?”
“Like that—drop liquid barrier from above! Oh, and it’s made from a compound extracted from dungeon byproducts. When it hits outside air...”
Mina and Muha tag-teamed nonstop. Ratios for the compound, component traits—all laid out.
Caught maybe 10%, but one thing was clear: matched the liquid barrier principles from my past timeline perfectly.
These siblings will nail the liquid barrier again.
Doubt turned to certainty. By the end of their impromptu lecture, my lips were creeping into a grin.
“Hehe, sounds dumb, right? But if commercialized, super convenient, yeah?”
“It’s genius. No clue on science, but I get how huge this idea is.”
“If the guild acknowledged it like you~”
Mina sighed dramatically, tucking the notebook away.
“Nailed the compound, but no follow-up funding.”
“Research grants going to senior guildies first, probably...”
Muha smacked his lips wistfully, eyeing the stage where another guildie prepped a presentation.
Can’t let the Azadivar siblings drop this research.
Dungeon grind all day for byproducts to fund it? Gotta scrape cash somehow...
Find another investor? Someone interested in their work...
“...Mi-rae-ssi?”
“Mi-rae? Director An Mi-rae?”
Mina craned her neck toward me, eyes sparkling like they’d pop out.
“You know her?”
“Duh!!”
Again, synced response.
Mi-rae-ssi’s clout in science circles ran that deep.
Talking to Mi-rae-ssi’s not a bad play. No clue how the genius would rate it, but worst case, status quo?
“Mind if I share this with Mi-rae-ssi? Not stealing the idea or anything.”
“Nah, we trust you! Knew you weren’t that type in five minutes flat!”
Mina slapped my arm lightly, beaming—amped from the Mi-rae mention.
Alright, if they trust me this much, solid.
“Please, pretty please~ Tell Director An Mi-rae our idea!”
“Got it. I’ll pitch it for the best possible reaction.”
“Yesss!!”
Mina and Muha high-fived, hopping in place.
Clap.
I clapped to draw their focus back. Their identical eyes gleamed, hanging on my words.
“This barrier from Mina and Muha will definitely save the world.”
“Whoa...”
“So don’t stop the research.”
[Linked Passive Skill Triggered]
‘Words Become Seeds’
[Plant the seed of ‘This barrier will definitely save the world.’ in Awakener ‘Mina Azadivar’?]
[Plant the seed of ‘This barrier will definitely save the world.’ in Awakener ‘Muha Azadivar’?]
Perfect timing for a seed. I silently consented to the status window, and blue text flashed updates.
[Planted the seed of ‘This barrier will definitely save the world.’ in Awakener ‘Mina Azadivar.’]
[Planted the seed of ‘This barrier will definitely save the world.’ in Awakener ‘Muha Azadivar.’]
“We won’t let you down.”
“We’ll make it happen, somehow.”
[Savior of the World]
📍 Progress Increased
⏰ Progress: 41%
A new resolve burned in the Azadivar siblings’ eyes.
“We’re so grateful, can I hug you?”
“Pfft.”
The quirky side lingered.
Mina spread her arms, and I hugged her, patting her back.