8. Welcome, Yoon Sol (1)

After reading Cha Yunha's text message, I slipped my phone back into my pocket, feeling thoroughly pleased with myself. The scene seemed to be finally winding down—the hunters and their managers had settled, and the wounded, Yoon Sol's evacuation included, looked to be more or less seen to.

"Isn't this what happens when the Association fails to properly survey a gate?! Our guild will be lodging a formal protest!"

"Now, now. We deeply regret what has occurred. The Association will investigate the circumstances thoroughly, so that something like this never happens again…"

Of course, that didn't mean it was actually over. Manager Kim was sweating through it all, doing his best to placate the handful of managers howling their protests at him.

Me? I could afford to wait at my leisure and corner Manager Kim for a private word later. After all, I'd just averted a major disaster—one that would have seen hunters dying thanks to the Association's own negligence. I couldn't exactly expect money or material compensation for it, but…

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Let's call it one debt cleared, then. One the Hunter Association owes me."

I'd already been racking my brain over how to get a foot in the Association's door, so this counted as an unexpected windfall.

Cha Yunha's goodwill. A chance to meet her one-on-one. And now, a connection inside the Association.

I was busy reining in my excitement over this unplanned haul of loot, doing my level best to keep my expression managed, when—

"Um… Mr. Baek Dohyeon?"

"Yes?"

This time, it was one of the managers who had come up to me. I'd gone over the participant list for this raid beforehand and made a point of vetting the hunters' managers as well, so—

"Ah, you're Manager Choi Minho of the Hahital Guild, aren't you? The one handling Hunter Kim So-yeon."

"H-how do you know who I am…?"

"I'm one of the industry now myself, so I make a point of having all the necessary information at hand. So—what can I do for you?"

He fidgeted for a moment, gave a small clearing of the throat, then fixed me with a solemn look.

"I want to thank you, sincerely. Without your orders, our So-yeon and the other precious hunters would have been hurt. She's been taken to the hospital, so I came to deliver my thanks on her behalf as well."

"Ah. Well, if you say so."

"No—you truly did something enormous. I'm sure the other managers here feel exactly the same."

Ahem. Well, I had rather shone this time around.

Not bad, this feeling. Not bad at all.

Perhaps because I'd spent nearly my whole past life feeding on nothing but curses, positive attention like this had a strange, unfamiliar aftertaste to it.

"Not that I meant to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help noticing you were with Cha Yunha and Manager Park Taeshik a little while ago… did something happen?"

"Ah, that? Nothing much. Yunha came over to thank me too, same as you. Park Taeshik made a huge fuss about her needing to be examined and hauled her off, so I didn't get to hear it all."

"So that's how it went. …Ha. That bastard Park Taeshik, honestly."

"I take it you don't care for Park Taeshik?"

"Who among the people in that tent earlier could possibly like the man? He came right out and told his own hunter to abandon everyone else and run."

Fair enough. Granted, from Park Taeshik's standpoint Cha Yunha's safety came above all else, so it wasn't a wholly incomprehensible thing to say. And yet you don't just blurt that out—leave the rest to die and flee—so openly, so loudly.

Besides, she was the team's sole S-Rank and its leader—the one who bore responsibility for everyone there. It stood in the starkest possible contrast to Cha Yunha's exemplary response: setting her own safety aside and choosing her team.

"Honestly, that bastard Park Taeshik never had a clean reputation in this business to begin with."

"Oh ho."

Gossip time? Lovely.

"What sort of rumors are we talking about?"

"The man has no ability to speak of, you see. He'd sweet-talk moderately promising hunters into coming under his care, drive them unreasonably hard to pad his track record, and the moment they got injured or stopped being useful, he cut them loose without a second thought. That's how he's survived inside Black Sword."

"Good heavens. What a truly rotten man."

"Exactly? But then, by sheer luck, he got a connection with Cha Yunha just as she awakened and brought her into Black Sword. And once she made S-Rank… the man started acting as if the world belonged to him."

"Yeesh. That's how the world works, isn't it? Somehow it's always the rotten ones who get lucky and succeed."

"My point exactly! The only one to pity is Cha Yunha, tangled up with a bastard like that. And on top of that, lately… word is Black Sword's getting ready to cut her loose too…"

"Hold on."

That last part. Say it again.

"Black Sword is going to discard Cha Yunha?"

"Ah, crap."

He must have felt the weight of what he'd just let slip, because a look of that was a mistake crossed his face.

"Ah—no, no, it's nothing. Just an idle rumor, really, no basis to it…"

"No, no—don't clam up on me now. Tell me more."

"Oh, come now, this is… the sort of thing it's rather awkward to state outright…"

"You'd hold out on the man who saved your hunter's life?"

"Aigoo, honestly. If you put it that way, what choice do I have? …Whew. All right. I'm telling you and you alone, Mr. Baek Dohyeon. Not a word of this to anyone…"

He dropped his voice as low as it would go.

"…This is confidential information that leaked out from former Black Sword employees… but word is, Black Sword hasn't been too pleased with Cha Yunha lately."

"Cha Yunha—fifth among the S-Ranks, one of the two pillars of her own guild? Why on earth?"

"Strange, isn't it? Nobody knows the reason. All that's certain is that, on the upper echelons' wishes, they've been quietly scaling back everything they invest in her."

"…"

Cha Yunha's schedule, its training hours quietly vanishing. Black Sword maneuvering, in plain sight, to throw her away. There was something behind this. But what on earth could it be?

"And there's more, you see…"

"What else is there?"

"This one's a rumor so murky I can't vouch for its source at all… but apparently, Black Sword is moving to recruit Yoo Sehwa."

"Excuse me—what!?"

Yoo Sehwa. The rising star who had shoved past Cha Yunha to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seize the fourth S-Rank seat.

Alias: Flame Girl. The zenith of Korea's fire-attribute hunters—Cha Yunha's living, breathing contrast.

Fire and ice. The two of them were having a field day in the press, their rivalry splashed across headline after headline.

"Is that even possible? If it happened, three of the top five would belong to Black Sword."

"It's possible precisely because it's Black Sword."

"I can't imagine Cha Yunha would be thrilled about it either. …Hm."

"What is it?"

"Shh. Wait. Just—wait. Let me think."

A single possibility brushed across my mind.

The inexplicable cold shoulder toward Cha Yunha. The sudden bid for Yoo Sehwa.

…Don't tell me.

"Now I can see the whole picture."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Talking to myself. In any case—thank you, truly, for the information. It's been an enormous help."

"R-really? Well, then, I'm glad."

"Looks like I have some moving to do, so I'll head out first. Here."

"Oh—what's this? A… business card?"

"Yes. Mine. If you ever need to reach me, this is the number."

"I appreciate it, truly, but… when exactly would I need to contact you again?"

"If you ever find yourself with a grievance against your current guild—come over to Revenant."

"I—what?"

"Our door is always open for talent. I did some digging, and your industry reputation is quite solid, Mr. Choi. Oh—and if you bring Kim So-yeon along, even better."

"I—you're poaching talent that openly? Right to my face…?"

I clapped Choi Minho on the shoulder and hurried off with purpose in my stride.

First things first: a phone call.

"…This is quite a shock."

Seohyeon, reviewing the documents extracted from Black Sword alongside me, adjusted her glasses with a troubled look.

"If this ever came to light, I imagine it would send shockwaves through the entire hunter industry."

In her hands was a research report issued by the laboratory of a major American guild.

Translated, its title read…

The contents themselves were nothing I didn't already know: ice-attribute users would, in time, be phased out of the meta.

Ice-attribute abilities faced a hard ceiling on their growth for two reasons. First, their upper limit was fixed at absolute zero, a cap built into the power itself. Second, unlike fire and other attributes capable of striking a target directly, the mere act of freezing an enemy could never deal decisive damage to a monster.

The problem was that Black Sword had already gotten its hands on the report.

"Cha Yunha, currently one of Korea's top-ranked hunters. But the intel they acquired in the strictest of secrecy said she would never grow again and would slowly be weeded out. And so, the decision Black Sword reached was…"

Milk Cha Yunha for all she was worth while she still had value—then discard her the moment the sweetness ran dry.

"…So that's why training was suddenly stripped from her schedule."

"Why bother training her when her growth is capped anyway? They likely decided to reroute those hours into towers and gates, and book extra outside appearances to pull in whatever revenue they could."

"And the push to recruit Yoo Sehwa…?"

"A replacement. They mean to swap out the face of the guild. While the two of them share a roster, they'll spotlight the rivalry and milk it as a marketing tool… and by the time Cha Yunha's pushed out, Yoo Sehwa will have taken her place entirely. I'd wager that's exactly the picture Black Sword is drawing."

The conversation lapsed, and I gulped down my cold coffee.

I'd had the order of events backwards.

It wasn't that Black Sword had cut Cha Yunha loose after she truly entered her plateau—it was the reverse. Black Sword had marked her as a discard from the very beginning.

"…If anything, this works in our favor. We've laid our hands on a powerful card to play when we recruit Cha Yunha."

After all, what kind of person could stay calm upon learning that the guild they belonged to intended to bring in their rival and toss them aside?

"On that subject, there is one thing I would like to say."

"And what would that be, Seohyeon?"

"If this report is accurate…"

"…then we have no real reason to recruit Cha Yunha at all. Isn't that what you're thinking?"

"…Yes. If all that truly remains for her is a downward slope… then recruiting her at this point would be no different from buying in at the peak, would it…"

"No. It would not."

The answer that sprang from my mouth on pure reflex was so resolute it startled even me.

Because I had witnessed it, in the future.

The empress of the past, hounded from even the S-Ranks after a long and grueling slump.

How, at long last, she surpassed her own limits and inscribed her name proudly among the S-Ranks once more.

And the one who saw the newly reborn Ice Empress with his own eyes—closer than anyone, on the battlefields where we fought them—was me.

"I give you my word. She will grow further still. And I will be the one to make it happen."

"…"

"…"

"…Might you, by any chance, have fallen for Cha Yunha?"

"I'm sorry—what?"

"You defended her so earnestly. With such a grave face."

"Ah."

Had I gotten a little worked up, digging up my past life?

Wallowing in old memories always did turn me sentimental, honestly.

"No. Not at all. I simply hold Cha Yunha's capability as a hunter in very high regard. That's all there is to it."

"…I see."

Or was I imagining things?

For just an instant, something like relief seemed to flicker across Seohyeon's expressionless face.

"If that is your judgment, Guildmaster, then I accept it. I will trust your eye."

"Thank you."

The conversation petered out there, leaving behind a faintly awkward silence.

What conversational grenade could I lob in to break it?

"Hm. Have you had lunch yet, Seohyeon? It is about that time—there's a decent restaurant nearby, so if you'd like—"

Riiiing—

Just then, the intercom on my desk rang.

Click.

"What is it?"

After hanging up, Seohyeon and I traded a meaningful glance.

"Excuse me…"

Yoon Sol peeked in through the guildmaster's office door and shuffled inside, watching her every step.

Not a trace of her usual boldness was to be found anywhere on her.

"H-hello. Mr. Baek Dohyeon…"

…"Mr."?

"Welcome, Yoon Sol. Please, have a seat over here."

We settled into the guest sofas facing each other across a low table, and Seohyeon served her tea.

"Oh, thank you…"

She raised the cup to her lips, went hot-hot-hot!, and jolted back as if scorched.

Goodness, she was flustered.

"Yoon Sol."

"Y-yes!?"

"…What's with the polite speech all of a sudden?"

"Ah, ah…"

"Back when we had our Hyunpi, or when we met before the raid kicked off, you spoke plenty casually. You even handed me advice like a senior—and I'm a full two years older than you, you know."

"Well, that was… I suppose the mood back then just called for it…? Besides, now you're the man who saved my life. I can't very well keep talking down to you."

"Oh ho."

After that, Yoon Sol stared holes into her teacup for a while, then—as though reaching some kind of resolution—drew one long, deep breath—

"Thank you for saving me!"

—and sprang to her feet, bowing to me at a crisp ninety degrees.

"I-I wanted to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deliver my thanks in person, so I came here…"

"…"

The bandages wound snugly around her shoulder caught my eye.

Her wounds hadn't even finished healing, yet she had insisted on dragging herself all the way here just to say thank you.

"Sit down for now."

"Oh—yes? …O-oh, yes!"

She dropped back onto the sofa and snapped her spine straight like a rookie reporting to the precinct on day one, both fists planted on her knees. That parade-ground posture of hers was, I had to admit, kind of adorable.

"At ease. Sit however you like."

"But I couldn't possibly… besides, even if it was all in the past, I did threaten the man who saved my life."

"If you mean the Hyunpi incident, that one was my fault, so don't lose any sleep over it."

"Is… is that so. But still…"

Yoon Sol ran her right hand gently over the bandage on her left shoulder.

"…After I came to, one of the Association staff walked me through everything that happened. How our team was surrounded by a Gigant Cobra and a swarm of Poison Snakes and driven to the brink—and how, thanks to your flawless command, Dohyeon, every single one of us made it home safe. If it hadn't been for you… I'd probably have stayed unconscious and never opened my eyes again."

"I see. Well, 'never opening my eyes again' is laying it on a little thick… but yes, I did help."

"Yes. So I wanted to thank you face to face, and… w-well, give you something in return."

"In return?"

"Yes—a reward, or an item dropped in a tower or a gate, or really, anything you'd like to order me to do. If it's within my power, I'll do it without fail. A debt of gratitude must always be repaid—that's my personal creed!"

"Do you think you can afford it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You do know I'm the third son of the Baek family, yes? Could you put up a reward steep enough to satisfy a third-generation chaebol heir?"

"Uh. Uhh… now that you mention it, that could be a problem."

"And rare items? You'd just have to buy those with money, same as anything else."

"Th-then I'll grant you a favor instead!"

"A favor. And if it's genuinely within your power, you'll grant anything I ask?"

"Yes, yes! I, Yoon Sol, am not the kind of woman who says one thing and means another!"

"Anything at all?"

"Yep!"

"Really, truly—anything?"

With a wicked glint in my eye, I let my gaze slide over her from head to toe.

"Uh, um… d-don't tell me… what you're planning to order…"

"And what exactly do you think I'd order you to do?"

"N-nothing! No way, even you wouldn't go that far. Ugh…"

Yoon Sol's face blew past crimson and flushed to the very verge of combustion.

Ahem.

Seohyeon cleared her throat disapprovingly from the side.

Perhaps that was enough teasing for one day.

"I'm joking. Just joking. It's not as though I did anything so extraordinary—the ones who actually carried my orders out in the flesh were the hunters, Cha Yunha first among them. So there's no need to take it all so heavily."

"I-is that so? …Phew. Thank you."

"That said… if you truly are grateful to me, Yoon Sol, might I ask one small thing of you?"

"Oh, yes! Anything you like! …Within reason."

"Don't worry. It really is simple."

I took a single sheet of paper from Seohyeon and held it out to Yoon Sol.

"Oh, what's this… a contract?"

"Yoon Sol. I would like to recruit you as the first hunter of my guild, Revenant."