Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Scandals Lack Romance (1)
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From the very beginning, it had been that way.
Ever since those early days when I first began to perceive the world. I had no idea what it meant to shine. The world I saw was just drenched in dull gray, unable to distinguish one thing from another, and even I, standing blankly in the midst of it, was eroded by that drabness.
The stars in the night sky that others said shone so brightly were merely hazy smudges scattered across an even darker expanse. The moon that people romanticized as so pretty was just floating there, dingy and lifeless.
The streetlights that lit up the night merely pushed back the darkness a little, and the city lights called night views were, to me, nothing more than scattered specks.
- Yuna, you know? They say people shine when they're in love.
It was one day before I became an adult, words from a friend. She said light flows from the one you love. So I blankly looked around at people. Passing by on the streets, entering buildings, heading somewhere—I gazed at them all.
But there was no way light would flow around me. No one showed me any light. To begin with, I couldn't even comprehend what light was. It was an unknown thing I'd never experienced.
- Yuna, capable people are the ones who shine. Like you.
After becoming an adult, I awakened. An S-rank hunter, a grade others couldn't even dream of. Someone in the guild with me said I was a shining person now that I'd gained such power. So I looked in the mirror. Wondering if even a sprinkle of light had scattered over my body or around me.
But what I saw was still my own dull, gray-tinted form and the mess around it. I wouldn't call it scenery. There were no shapes that others deemed beautiful; they were just messes to me.
It didn't bother me. It wasn't depressing. How could I resent something I'd never known? So I simply had no interest in anything else.
That's how I lived as a hunter. I joined a guild because of persistent requests, but I only did what I felt like doing. Being S-rank meant no restrictions, so it was pretty comfortable.
I preferred solo activities over going out with guildmates. Unless it was absolutely necessary, I spent time alone. Being by myself was actually more enjoyable.
One summer day in the midst of that routine life, I turned on the TV like always and tuned into the Hunter Association channel. Those were the only things that sparked even a bit of my interest.
- The Hunter Association here! This month's top hunter registrants!
Top hunters were steadily appearing this month too, it seemed.
- Wow~ Impressive. A hunter registered as a top hunter after re-measurement! Ansiu the hunter, who was D-rank on first registration! In just half a year, he re-awakened and skyrocketed straight to A-rank~ Probably the first time in the world anyone's jumped three ranks at once!
The profile of the man who came up then was intriguing. A type of hunter I'd never seen before. Re-measurements were rare enough, but jumping three ranks caught my eye.
Since he was someone who piqued my interest to an extreme degree, I requested his contact info from the Association. They wouldn't refuse my request, of course.
I sent a simple letter. Just saying I wanted to try a gate together. If he refused that, my interest would end there anyway, so no big deal.
The reply came back positive. I felt intrigued again and set up a meeting.
On the appointed day, I arrived first and waited. Sipping coffee and spacing out, something approached me before I knew it.
I looked up slowly from the bottom. It was radiant.
Light.
Light was flowing. I'd never seen it before, but I knew instantly. I could tell at a glance that this was light. It shone so brilliantly. It flowed naturally from this person's body, soaking the floor.
I grabbed my cup with both hands to hide my trembling fingers and took a sip of coffee. I spoke in a lower voice than usual. Kept my gaze steady, dazed.
I couldn't show a bad first impression.
To the light I'd seen for the first time.
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"Let's go together again next time... "
She said that after coming out of the gate. Still with eyes full of wonder at something novel.
"Uh, you didn't do anything."
I handled everything alone, so why come along again?
"No, it's just... Um... Sorry. I'll do properly next time... "
She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. Fumbling with her words in a small voice, she seemed lacking in social skills but showed a bit of consideration. I could feel a hint of genuine apology.
"Yeah, whatever. It's fine. Wasn't a tough place anyway."
"Uh... About that. Um, by any chance... "
Click-
I turned my head at the noise from around us. From the moment we exited the gate, all eyes were on us. I'd overlooked that an S-rank hunter was basically a celebrity standing right next to me.
- Hunter Yuna Lee!! Who's that man next to you!
- Is he your boyfriend?!
Reporters snapping shutters nonstop, flashes popping.
- Yuna! Please sign this!
- Kyaa! You're so pretty!! Can we take a picture together?!
Ordinary people cheering at the sight of her beside me.
"You sure get... a lot of popularity."
I said again, looking around. Must be inconvenient with all this attention. A life with no privacy didn't seem much of a blessing.
"... Well, whatever. It's okay. Power comes with a price... "
She reverted to her expressionless face. Cutting off concern for others, intent on going her own way. Ignoring the attention as if it were natural.
- Kyaa! So cool!!
Though they seemed to like that attitude even more.
"Then contact me again next time~ Take care going back."
"Yeah... "
The massive crowd felt suffocating to me too, so I left quickly. Clearing monsters in the gate wasn't hard, but I didn't want to spend my precious weekend buried in people.
I headed straight home.
********
Well past morning, I got ready to head out without even eating lunch. Dressed simply as usual, fixed my hair. Being the weekend, Sihyun was just sprawled in the living room.
"Bro, heading out again today?"
Sihyun asked, lifting only her head while lying down. Had I been going out a lot lately? Come to think of it, I'd been making plans every weekend to hit gates, so yeah, pretty frequent. Naturally, today was another gate trip.
"Yeah, someone asked to go to a gate together, so I'm just gonna go."
"... Bro, you like Hunter Yuna? Wait, are you guys dating or something?"
Eh...? We're just going to hunt monsters in a gate, why ask that? Do couples even date in gates?
"No way? Me, with her? All of a sudden...?"
Sihyun sighed and turned on the TV. The thin slab lit up, displaying an image with fitting sound, drawing the eye.
- Here's today's news.
The announcer calmly listed recent events in a steady voice. Crimes, corporate abuses, gate breaks. Various topics, but only one grabbed my attention.
- Hunter relay news for the week. Scandals surrounding Korea's representative S-rank hunter Yuna Lee just won't stop.
Had she done something to cause trouble?
Since our first gate together, she always contacted me first. Invites to go to gates again. Or questions about weapons or magic I could handle. That was it.
She showed so little interest in worldly affairs that I couldn't imagine her doing anything malicious. Like a child focused solely on her curiosities, she seemed utterly unrelated to scandals, so I was puzzled.
- Despite being a member of Luna Guild, she's famous for solo activities, so rumors persist that she's found a comrade—or lover.
Ah, just dating rumors. Makes sense for an S-rank hunter's love life to hit the news.
- The man presumed to be Yuna Lee's lover is almost certainly Ansiu the hunter, who recently skyrocketed to A-rank via re-measurement. Luna Guild has yet to comment.
"Huh...?"
Me?
"Me, all of a sudden...? Why...?"
- Thankfully, the public is flooding with congratulations for the handsome-beautiful hunter couple's debut. That's the news.
"That's what I wanna know, bro."
How many women does he have to charm before he's satisfied?
"No, this is unfair."
I didn't do anything.