Putting on a Show for Big Sis
“You little punk. Wasn't it your ‘little brother’?”
“Six years ago, it was my ‘little brother.’ Now it's my little sister.”
Just as I was debating whether to grab dinner or not, the guild master—my sister's boss, as she'd mentioned that morning—showed up in our room. Their conversation alone made it clear they were true besties. Was it because of the guild's flat hierarchy, or had they always been close? I'd bet on the latter.
The woman with red hair tied up in a high ponytail introduced herself as Cheon So-hee, guild master of Maru Guild and my sister Yoo Ji-na's one and only friend. After her intro, she offered me a handshake with a casual “Just call me So-hee unnie,” but my sister, overhearing, scowled and grumbled, “Can you skip the ‘one and only friend’ part?”
My sis is a total loner here... As a fellow asocial senior, I felt a weird swell of pride.
Anyway, Cheon So-hee, the Maru Guild master, wasn't here just to hang with her friend—my sister. I figured it had something to do with all the news broadcasts about her that had been playing nonstop since morning. But nope, their chat was all about me.
“Her face hasn't leaked yet. The Hunter Management Bureau is keeping it under wraps too, worried about the fallout.”
“That's a relief at least... And with the gender change on top, as long as the people here keep their mouths shut, it won't get out.”
“But sis, do we really need to hide? It's not like it's a big deal.”
Their conversation had been dragging on for over twenty minutes, and I had zero clue what was going on. Was it that big a problem that I was her sibling?
Cheon So-hee glanced at my sister and said meaningfully, “You wanna tell her?” My sister nodded, looking like she had a migraine.
“Well... I-kwon, you know I've lived pretty rough while you were gone, right?”
“‘Pretty rough’?”
“Quiet, you. Anyway, ever since I started hunting, it hasn't been just monsters I've dealt with. There've been other hunters, criminal guilds, organizations... So yeah, I've made a lot of enemies.”
“So you're saying those jerks might come after me, your family? Sis, I can handle mana just fine, y'know?”
“But little sis, the stuff your big sis has tangled with isn't your run-of-the-mill gangs.”
Cheon So-hee jumped in after my sister got interrupted, earning a glare—but sis just slumped fully into the sofa, defeated. So-hee unnie pressed on undeterred.
“If it were just ordinary crime syndicates or guilds, we wouldn't worry this much. That's police and Bureau territory. But our empress here plays in a whole different league~”
“Huh?”
“Want an example? Back in the day, your sis half-dismantled a top guild even the Bureau was scared to touch.”
What, is she some kinda hero?
“She nabbed most of the guild members directly involved in crimes, but a few remnants slipped away. From their perspective, she stole their rice bowl—how pissed would you be? They wanna get revenge, but no beating an S-rank hunter. So they went for the people around her.”
“People around her?”
“Yeah, but as you know, back then, nobody got close to Ji-na except me. So they started targeting Maru Guild members. But when Ji-na didn't react at all, they backed off quick.”
Is my sis a total pushover? How do you just sit there while your own guildmates get hit? I started worrying about my blood sister's mental state.
“The problem is, punks like that aren't just one or two. Hell, even Silver Arrow Guild has been poking at Ji-na lately. Better safe than sorry.”
So basically, with all these enemies gunning for her blind spot, she wanted me to watch out. But seriously, wasn't that irrelevant to me?
“If anything, that makes it even less of a problem.”
“Huh?”
“Heh, don't underestimate me—I was called the Great Witch back in that world, y'know?”
I puffed out my ample chest proudly to show off my strength.
“Oh right! You're a Returner! So at least C-rank hunter level, huh? We were worrying for nothing!”
“We haven't seen it ourselves yet. She's talking big, but...”
“Ugh! Wanna see it now?”
Irked by my sister's words, I shot up from the sofa and struck a casting pose.
“[Light]!”
I chanted the light spell Light in imperial tongue, and a glowing orb floated up beside me. My sister just propped her chin on her hand, stone-faced on the sofa, while So-hee unnie clapped like she was watching a kid's talent show.
“Whoa, amazing!”
“So-hee, you're spoiling her. You could do that too.”
“What?!”
Daring to test me? It wasn't just some basic Light spell. My mana was fully recovered now—I'd show them the real deal! I'd underestimated these Earth folks; their mana pools were so tiny that even low-tier magic got this reaction. Mid-tier probably wouldn't impress either. Hmm... No Laurus, so no high-tier solo, but I had one upper-tier I could pull off alone.
“Watch close—this spell's not for just anyone. But it needs a target. Volunteers!”
“Who'd volunteer to get spelled?”
“It's not attack magic. This is a support spell. A buff!”
So-hee unnie, eavesdropping with a grin, raised her hand. “I'll do it~!”
“Hold up, I can't let you test some sketchy spell on So-hee. I'll do it.”
“Huh? I'm fine with it. Why not me?”
“No.”
It's not sketchy, geez... I approached my sister, took both her hands, and whispered the incantation in my mind. Normally, spells need chants, but you don't have to voice them. The [Light] earlier? Got caught up in the moment, voiced a silent cast for flair. Looks cool, right?
Chants act like triggers but also tip off enemies to your spell. So mana users in combat go silent chant. You voice chants for tricky or unfamiliar spells.
“Here goes?”
As I cast, sparkles shimmered around my sister like a special effect. So-hee unnie watched in awe; sis still looked skeptical. Once done, sis patted herself down. “No feeling?” she said, eyeing me.
“Hmm... Wanna do rock-paper-scissors with So-hee unnie real quick? So-hee unnie, if you beat sis even once by tomorrow, I'll grant you a wish.”
“For real?!”
So-hee unnie jumped right in; sis joined reluctantly.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Fist vs. paper. Sis won. So-hee called again undaunted—another paper loss. Five straight losses later, she caught on.
“Whoa... Ji-na, how are you this good?”
“What? Rock-paper-scissors isn't skill—it's all luck.”
Three minutes passed. Maybe forty rounds? So-hee hadn't tied once—all losses. Their faces shifted from surprise to outright shock.
“J-Ji-na! How'd you do that?! Future sight or something?!”
“.........I-kwon, what the hell did you do?”
“Hehe, curious? The spell on sis is [Miracle Time]—a buff that maxes out the target's luck!”
[Miracle Time] shines in gambles like rock-paper-scissors or lotteries. Your chicken lays double eggs; you find cash on the street. In combat, it dodges death or lands impossible hits. I gave a rough rundown, and So-hee unnie's eyes went wide, jaw dropping.
“If that's true, it's insane... Could upend the hunter world—or crash markets...”
“Ah, no need to worry that much.”
“Huh?”
“It only really kicks in on low-odds stuff like rock-paper-scissors. Buy lotto? Fifth prize max, no duplicates. Oh, and once a week only. Hehe.”
““......””
OP, right? No one's seen this spell before, and only I can cast it!
They stared, awestruck, then exchanged a glance and nodded.
“I-kwon, mind if we talk privately for a sec?”
“Order room service if you're hungry, sis. Big sis'll cover it.”
What was this “grown-ups talking, kid go play” vibe? No way... Were they scouting me for sis's guild?! My magic was killer... Fine, at my age, can't mooch off sis forever—time to work. Benefits looked sweet too. Parachute gig? Sweet!
Two days later, I thought: Should've just arm-wrestled her then.
Magic? Pfft. These days, even mages brute-force it.