The Cooperative Mission Meeting (2)
"It really was you, Minsu. How long has it been?"
The face was a familiar one.
The person who'd called out to me was Seo Ha-eun. She was a senior from the cohort above mine at Eins.
A neat skirt ensemble. Her dyed-looking blonde hair caught the eye, but overall she gave the impression of a composed beauty. If not for the dye job, she could easily have passed for a television news anchor.
But one look at the spear slung diagonally across her back, and you'd never say such a thing.
Seo Ha-eun of Eins's 18th cohort. She was currently an S-Rank Hunter — and she'd been Yuri's predecessor as student council president.
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"Of course. I've been doing just fine."
So saying, my senior seized both of my hands. A thoroughly good-natured smile spread across her face at the same time.
In that instant, I saw Yuri's and Soso's expressions go ice-cold.
"I heard about the 19th cohort's graduation ceremony. But the fact that you've come to the Hunter Association like this means you're doing all right now, doesn't it? I was so worried I sent you a few messages, but you never replied..."
"I changed my phone number. That's probably why."
"Really? Then can you give me your new number?"
I exchanged numbers with Senior Ha-eun. In that moment, I somehow felt the air around us grow colder.
I'm not imagining this... am I?
And the murderous intent prickling so sharply against my back that it actually hurt — that was probably coming from Yuri and Soso.
Senior Ha-eun noticed the two people with me a beat late and greeted them as well.
"Oh my. There were two more Eins juniors here. Did Yuri and Soso come along too? I only sent a wreath to Flame before and haven't been in touch much. But I did hear you're doing incredibly well. An S-Rank guild, after all?"
So saying, she offered handshakes to both of them without the slightest hesitation.
The two of them looked thoroughly displeased, but neither of them could possibly not know Senior Ha-eun, so they accepted the greeting, however reluctantly.
Senior Ha-eun. Still as thick-skinned as ever.
If I had to describe Senior Ha-eun's personality, she was the quintessential social butterfly. She'd been student council president, so that was only natural — but her style was completely different from Yuri, who'd held the same position in the following cohort.
Where Yuri reigned through overwhelming skill and coldness, Senior Ha-eun was the type of big sister overflowing with human kindness.
She was even that kind to Soso and me, people she'd barely met a handful of times...
The public security volunteer work that was mandatory for Eins cadets. I'd participated in that activity with Soso, and we'd had the chance to work alongside Senior Ha-eun.
Yuri, who'd been a fellow student council member, was one thing. But Senior Ha-eun had treated the two of us, with whom she had barely any acquaintance, with extraordinary kindness.
It had been an external activity, not something inside the academy, so there was no particular need to worry about other people's eyes. The only Eins cadets on that volunteer assignment had been Soso, myself, and Senior Ha-eun.
So it wasn't an act or a performance.
She'd even stepped in to confront veteran hunters who'd looked down on Soso and me as mere cadets. In every respect, Senior Ha-eun had been a model for the cadets. She continued speaking with the two of them.
"Yuri, you're as pretty as ever. And Soso, you've gotten so beautiful! I didn't even recognize you at first. I almost thought this was a broadcasting studio instead of Association headquarters."
"Is that so...? I mean... I see... Sister Ha-eun."
"Have you been well? You haven't changed at all, Senior."
Fortunately, once my senior stepped away from me, the hostility the two of them had been radiating seemed to ease a little.
But even looking at that good-natured Senior Ha-eun, I couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
Senior Ha-eun. She looks perfectly fine now, but...
In the original work, Aca Hunter, there was a late-game episode in which famous hunters turned into villains.
The person at the heart of that episode was none other than Senior Ha-eun.
It was a twist, in its own way.
Of course, the Senior Ha-eun I'd met after transmigrating was about as far from a villain as a person could get. Just in case, I'd checked on the recent activities of Sigurd, the mega-corporation guild she belonged to.
Fortunately, there were still no unusual developments related to Senior Ha-eun. No — more than that, lately, whether in news articles or online reactions, everything about Senior Ha-eun was overflowing with goodwill.
Senior Ha-eun was an elite raid party member of the mega-corporation Sigurd. And she was a highly promising hunter that even the Association itself was pushing.
Someone of Senior Ha-eun's caliber is practically a celebrity in Korea.
For all that, she was treating the three of us here with remarkable ease.
She's such a people-person of a senior. She probably doesn't even care about the awkward relationship between Sigurd and Flame.
Sigurd, the mega-corporation second only to Manseong — or, in certain fields, even surpassing it. In the original work, when Si-woo's guild Justice was expanding in size and influence, the guild it clashed with most sharply was Sigurd.
Flame was standing in for Si-woo's Justice. Which meant Senior Ha-eun, as one of Sigurd's elites, was someone who might become an enemy in the future.
No — we were already colliding with Sigurd on business in several cities through our collaboration with Pyotr.
Of course, as long as she didn't become a villain, I'd never end up fighting Senior Ha-eun directly, gear against gear.
In the meantime, her conversation with Yuri and Soso came to an end. Senior Ha-eun approached me again.
"Anyway, it was so good to see you after all this time. And to think we'd end up attending the same task force meeting. Is this fate or what?"
Yuri answered that coldly.
"That's because Flame received a cooperative request from the Association. It's nothing particularly special."
"Still, it's amazing. Yuri was incredible even back at Eins, but for a brand-new guild to already be S-Rank... Ah! Look at me. The meeting attendees are supposed to be there already. I'm so sorry for taking up your time. I'll see you in a bit!"
My senior flashed that good-natured smile, waved to our group, and headed back to her own party.
In that fleeting moment, as if something had just occurred to her, Senior Ha-eun called out to me.
"Oh, right. You know there's an Eins alumni reunion in a few days, don't you? You have to come, Minsu!"
"I don't go to those kinds of things."
But in that moment, I thought again about Senior Ha-eun's future.
If Senior Ha-eun becomes a villain... and she's a spear user.
It was nothing more than a vague feeling. But the Dragon-Slaying Spear Epitheus, the weapon prophesied to stand against the Red Dragon. And coincidentally, Senior Ha-eun was a spear user as well.
Of course, if she became a villain, she'd be about as far from a hero as a person could get. But Yuri and Soso were here.
I can't dismiss even the slightest point of contact as trivial.
So I decided to give Senior Ha-eun's request that I attend the reunion another thought.
Senior Ha-eun spoke to me once more.
"A lot of the 19th cohort want to see you, Minsu. You have to come! Ah, and if you're worried about those kinds of gatherings being awkward, don't be. I'll stick right by your side the whole time. Then you won't be as bored, right? Anyway, I'll send you a message about the reunion, so give it a look later!"
With that, my senior walked away. And Yuri and Soso didn't say a word until the moment we entered the conference hall.
The grand conference hall of Association headquarters. It was a vast, formal space, as if an international organization's general assembly were about to convene.
Of course, the Korean Hunter Association was the world's first hunter association, and the mother organization of hunter associations in other countries. In fact, countless overseas hunter deployments were being carried out under the Korean Hunter Association's leadership. In terms of status and role, it was no different from a major international body. This wasn't empty pomp.
Of course, as they waited for the meeting to begin, the atmosphere of the grand conference hall was of no interest whatsoever to Yeon Soso.
She was in a thoroughly foul mood. And she was so anxious and restless she couldn't sit still.
Why did we have to run into Senior Ha-eun here of all places?
Just thinking of Senior Ha-eun's face made her irritated. Of course, the senior hadn't been rude or done anything wrong to Soso and her companions.
Seo Ha-eun was an S-Rank Hunter. And she was a promising hunter that the Korean Hunter Association was pushing as a flagship face.
Of course, Yuri, who'd come with them, was also an S-Rank Hunter, and Soso herself believed she'd become an S-Rank Hunter before long. Even so, it was rare for a hunter of that level of fame to approach her juniors first and act so warmly.
In the hunter world's hierarchy, academy juniors like them were supposed to be the ones to approach first and observe proper formality. But Seo Ha-eun paid no attention to such formalities at all.
She hasn't changed a bit. Senior Ha-eun...
And Soso knew well that that gentle personality wasn't an act. She'd participated in volunteer work with that senior before. Even after that, whenever they ran into each other at Eins, Senior Ha-eun would buy them snacks. So Soso had actually been rather fond of Senior Ha-eun on a personal level.
Which was why Soso was even more anxious now. Senior Ha-eun was a beauty, and her personality was wonderful. She was an S-Rank Hunter, so her skill went without saying.
She's even famous with the public. And Minsu is a man, so if he looks at Senior Ha-eun...
In every way, she was the complete opposite of Soso, who as a woman had nothing going for her. Soso's personality now wasn't as extremely gloomy as it had been at Eins. But compared to Senior Ha-eun, who'd been so popular at Eins that the male cadets called her Ha-eun Maman, there was simply no winning.
And Senior Ha-eun...
In their second year, the public security volunteer work she'd participated in with Minsu. Something had gone wrong during that assignment, and Minsu had put on an unexpected display of prowess.
Senior Ha-eun had probably already known then that Minsu had defeated Yuri in a sparring match. But she wouldn't have known much about a junior a year below her.
That day, though. During the public security volunteer work, Minsu had performed at a level far beyond any cadet. And when it was all over, Soso remembered the look in Senior Ha-eun's eyes as she'd gazed at Minsu.
That wasn't simple surprise.
Perhaps it had been a woman's instinct. Soso had unwittingly realized that in that moment, Senior Ha-eun had become aware of Minsu as a man.
Fortunately, after that, the senior had graduated and there'd been no particular contact with Minsu. But Soso, who'd spent countless hours in romance dramas and novels and online romance advice forums, knew well.
That a chance encounter like today's was the perfect opportunity to rekindle those old feelings.
And sure enough, Senior Ha-eun had repeatedly asked Minsu to please come to the alumni reunion.
Yuri and Arin alone are enough to drive me crazy. If Minsu starts contacting Senior Ha-eun again too...
She'd even watched them exchange contact information today. She'd wanted to snatch Senior Ha-eun's smartphone and smash it right then and there, but given the location, she'd had no choice but to endure it.
More than anything, if she did something like that in front of that kind senior, Minsu might come to despise her. But if Minsu had treated Senior Ha-eun with great familiarity — in that moment, Soso would definitely have done something.
No. Absolutely not... Leaving Minsu alone with that popular celebrity of a senior at the reunion...
Before the meeting started, Yuri and Minsu seemed to be talking continuously about this cooperative mission, but none of it was getting through to Soso.
I can't... I can't let him be taken from me again. No matter what it takes.
The seats assigned to Flame. Coincidentally, Minsu was sitting between Soso and Yuri. And in the brief pause in Yuri and Minsu's conversation —
Soso placed her hand on Minsu's thigh.
The meeting hadn't started yet, so Yuri, Soso, and I were seated and waiting.
The task force assembled for this S-Rank dungeon raid had an impressive roster of attendees as well.
"Manseong and Sigurd's 1st Elite Raid Teams. And the Association's Special Forces will be participating as well."
Yuri told me this after checking the faces of those elite teams. The 1st Elite Raid Teams of two mega-corporation guilds. And the Special Forces of the Hunter Association on top of that.
Each of those elite teams alone was considered among the world's finest. The fact that three such elite teams were gathering together meant this S-Rank dungeon raid was anything but ordinary.
I reviewed the materials I'd received from Executive Director Maria once more. Those materials, too, were restricted from viewing except by authorized personnel.
Even at the desk where we'd just met Senior Ha-eun, there'd been another personal background check to receive the license and access pass needed to enter this place.
Paju–Kaesong S+.
The Association seemed to have sent investigation teams to that dungeon any number of times, but in the end they hadn't been able to identify the boss monster.
And more than anything, what made this mission dangerous was that domainization of the dungeon had already begun.
Unlike a dungeon collapse, monsters weren't spilling out of the dungeon to roam the real world. But domainization could actually be more dangerous than a dungeon collapse.
The phenomenon in which a gate interferes with reality, converting reality itself into a dungeon — that was domainization. And the range of that domainization was far wider than the dungeon's interior.
Which was why this dungeon's name spanned two entire administrative districts.
"A dungeon that expands its domain to this extent is unprecedented. The Association and the government are trying to conceal the danger of this dungeon raid as much as possible. But looking at these materials alone, the danger is..."
As Yuri said. The Association had originally intended to use this dungeon mission to boost its approval ratings. But the dungeon's threat level had been far higher than expected. The delay in the dungeon raid's schedule was also because what should have been a solo mission under the Association Special Forces' leadership had expanded into a cooperative mission with other guilds, requiring a period of coordination.
But even these materials have their limits when it comes to knowing about that dungeon.
There was information that would be disclosed directly at today's meeting. And I, too, was extremely tense about this mission in particular.
In the original work, the cooperative mission Si-woo had participated in was Paju S. The dungeon hadn't spread across two administrative districts, and the estimated boss monster's rank had been S-Rank.
This mission, by contrast, was an upgraded S+-Rank. And the level of the participating raid teams had changed accordingly.
As I organized this mission in my head, waiting for the meeting to begin — suddenly, I was startled.
Soso abruptly placed her hand on my thigh.