Chapter 140. If You Endure Three Times...
Chapter 140. If You Endure Three Times...
Even right before the front door closed, Hero looked worried.
— Drive safe... don't just gulp down every drink they hand you... if some punk tries anything...
The earnest way he said it almost made me laugh out loud.
Laila gave him reassurance.
"I only have you, Hero~"
She gave him those words with a kiss and opened the door.
Right until the door shut, he looked exactly like a big golden retriever watching its owner leave for work with pitiful eyes.
'Pfft... what an adorable person...'
Thinking of how utterly lovable he was, she took out her phone.
The group chat was already buzzing with excitement.
— Wow... they rented the whole place today?
— Has anyone arrived yet?
— I'm heading out soon too!
She typed a reply as well.
— I'll be there soon :)
This time she was alone.
The ride felt a little unfamiliar without Hero, who always used to sit in the driver's seat.
After arriving by taxi, she decided to spend some time at a café near the meeting spot.
'Without Hero here... it's a bit awkward...'
As she drank her coffee, she glanced around.
She spotted several students around her age in the café.
Faces that anyone could tell belonged to 'new students'.
Their awkward but hopeful expressions and the way they sat alone reminded her of herself.
'I wondered what kind of people they would be...'
She felt anticipation.
From what she had looked up, this university was fairly prestigious in the Republic of Korea.
As the meeting time drew near, a message popped up in the group chat.
— I'm here! Where do I go?
— I'll be waiting inside!
— See you all in a bit!
Laila packed up her bag and rose from her seat.
The place she arrived at was a large barbecue restaurant.
According to the new student notice, the department had rented the entire venue.
When she opened the door and stepped inside, the staff greeted her warmly.
"Are you here for the new student OT?"
"Ah, yes! That's right."
She fished out her ID from her bag and showed it, and the staff member smiled brightly and pointed inside with a gesture.
"It's booked for the group. You can head right in."
'So this was what they meant by sponsorship... they really rented out the whole restaurant?'
The tables filled up as students trickled in one or two at a time, and before she knew it, she was seated among people.
The tension eased slightly and a small smile came to her lips.
She was still only in her early twenties herself, but her classmates truly looked young(?).
'That would make me a big sister to them, I supposed?'
Just as that smile touched the corners of her mouth, someone on her left spoke to her.
"Um... are you a new student too?"
---
Park Hyo-jung, a new student who had just turned twenty.
Arriving in front of the restaurant for OT, she hesitated slightly while looking at her smartphone screen.
"This is the right place..."
She had arrived a little early, but a few tables inside already had people gathered and chatting.
She wanted to blend in naturally, but for some reason she disliked the idea of visibly standing out as someone who came alone, so she paused at the entrance.
'...?'
That moment.
A conspicuous, no, a strikingly eye-catching person came into view.
Hair with a hint of blue.
Transparent golden eyes that seemed to reflect sunlight.
Impossible facial features and skin tone, and a neat yet graceful smile.
'Wow, what's this? There's a foreigner among the new students? Wait... was she even human?'
An unbelievably beautiful appearance.
Drawn to her as if by instinct, Park Hyo-jung hesitated, approached as if mesmerized, gathered her courage, and spoke.
"Um... are you a new student?"
The woman with blue-tinged hair tilted her head slightly and smiled softly.
"Yes, I'm a new student~ Nice to meet you."
Even her voice was clear and gentle.
Park Hyo-jung hurriedly introduced herself.
"My name is Park Hyo-jung! I'm twenty and... I'm here as a new student..."
Then the other person smiled quietly as well and spoke.
"I'm Laila. I'm a new student too, um... I'm twenty-two."
'Maybe she took a gap year?' Park Hyo-jung thought as she nodded.
A big sis, older than herself.
Perhaps because of that, even her demeanor, attitude, and manner of speaking felt somehow mature and composed.
"Is... is it okay if I call you big sis?"
"Of course~"
A warm current flowed between the two of them.
Yet even as she smiled, Park Hyo-jung felt slightly uneasy somewhere in her heart.
'Wait a second, Laila...?'
The Department of Gate Security Strategy.
Anyone applying to this department was bound to be very knowledgeable about hunter-related information.
Unknown Hunter Laila — she had seen that name countless times on the news.
And besides... that hair color, those eyes, that aura.
They looked so similar.
But she soon denied it to herself.
'No... maybe she just had the same name? There were tons of people with the same English names...'
Yet no matter how she looked at it, the person in front of her really looked just like that 'Laila'...
Realistically, there was no reason for the actual 'Laila' to be here.
Just like there was no way the investment genius 'Warren Buffett' would be a new student in the economics department of a Korean university...
'I wanted to ask, but... I had heard it was rude to casually ask a foreigner their name...'
Just then, someone appeared in the middle of the restaurant holding a microphone.
"Nice to meet you all!"
A young man with a good-natured smile.
"New juniors entering Korea University's Department of Gate Security Strategy! I'm the department student president, Park Joo-hyun!"
Applause and laughter erupted in response.
"Everyone, relax and have fun! Juniors who just turned twenty, please watch your drinking and drink in moderation! There will absolutely be no forced drinking or anything like that!"
Light applause broke out among the students.
The tension seemed to melt away at the words telling them to enjoy themselves without coercion.
"We'll be quietly eating over there, so don't mind us and chat comfortably! Once the mood has warmed up a bit, we'll drop by and say hello!"
It was a time for talking to one another, asking about hometowns, asking about hobbies.
Everyone was eating and keeping conversations going, but their gazes kept being drawn toward one place.
Laila, the woman with blue-hued hair.
She was only quietly listening and eating, yet cautious glances turned her way as if she were a celebrity.
She was far too conspicuous.
It wasn't only because of her looks.
Everyone had the same name surface in their minds.
'No way... the real Unknown Hunter?'
'She looked exactly the same though...'
'No, why would a hunter like that bother coming to college?'
College, which they had come to for the sake of employment.
Unknown Hunter, who had already succeeded at the highest level to the point where the concept of employment was unnecessary.
'There's no way.'
That was the thought shared by everyone.
---
After Laila left, the house became quiet.
I was standing in the middle of the living room with my arms crossed, pacing slowly.
"...Hm."
Anyone who saw me would think something serious had happened, but in truth my mind was very simple.
"She should have arrived by now... maybe she's eating by now?"
The mealtime had long since passed, but I hadn't eaten anything.
In the first place, I wouldn't die from skipping a meal or two.
Someone would strike up a conversation with Laila.
She would respond kindly and warmly to anyone.
And that person—if some extremely rare lunatic... let lingering feelings push him to hit on her?
"Sigh..."
I considered it objectively.
Laila was Unknown Hunter.
Her name, her face, her abilities were already known throughout the world.
And the fact that she was dating me was also publicly known.
"Though you never know..."
But not all humans think the same way.
If, just if, someone who had lost their mind tried to mess around just once?
"Sigh... even if I go blind, I'm not letting that happen..."
I let out a small sigh and ran a hand through my hair.
To begin with, there was absolutely no chance she would suffer any harm.
The other person would probably end up in a state that was half a corpse.
I simply didn't like the very fact that my Laila was smiling for anyone else.
Call it obsession if you want.
It was simply how much I loved Laila.
"The department name was definitely..."
I sat down at the computer and began searching for details about the department Laila would be attending.
There were more than I'd thought.
All of Korea's top ten prestigious universities had the department, and there were plenty of provincial ones too.
What they all had in common was a boastfully fierce competition rate.
"Oh... there are things like this too?"
Second-generation hunters, guild children, or people with experience responding to monster disasters.
Students who had stacked their achievements using their parents' careers in the related industry as a stepping stone.
Viewed negatively, a silver-spoon selection process; viewed positively, an elite military academy.
The government was criticized at first, but in the end, under the name of 'national security', they increased the departments and expanded admission opportunities.
However, news also caught my eye that problems like fraud, backroom deals, and bullying were still present.
"...I really have to go after all."
My body rose naturally.
I'll just watch over her.
I'll just check on things.
Rationalizing it to myself like that, I began my 'disguise' (?).
A black baseball cap with a large brim, a black mask, a neutral-colored hoodie.
To anyone watching, I'd just look like a somewhat big-bodied, stoic ordinary person.
"A perfect 'disguise' (?)."
The moment I put on my shoes at the front entrance, my smartphone vibrated.
[My Saintess] I'm eating with my classmates right now! Hero, please make sure to eat as well—don't skip meals just because I'm not there!
[My Saintess] I took a photo with my classmates~ What do you think?
A photo taken with her classmates in her department.
The corner of my lips tugged upward slightly.
Looking closely at the photo, I could see that Laila hadn't drunk a single glass of alcohol.
'She doesn't even get drunk... it's not like she couldn't drink...'
---
Unless she was drinking with me, Laila always detoxified the alcohol.
But not everyone could detoxify it.
And excessive drinking numbs one's judgment.
"Hyojung has gotten pretty drunk... so I have to take her home. I need to go home too."
"Hyojung lives alone anyway, right? Can't you just keep drinking and then crash at her place together?"
"I'm sorry. I really have to go home. And I think I need to take Hyojung home."
"Then we'll take Hyojung home."
"No. We'll be fine, so please take care of my classmates who are still inside."
As she said that and tried to turn away, he grabbed the sleeve of Laila's jacket.
If you endure three times, you avoid murder?
I snorted and shifted my steps in that direction.
"If you go to the second round, professors will drop by too. Wouldn't it be good to get yourself noticed?"
No.
If you endure it three whole times, you're just a pushover.