Waving the Flag of Revolution
I was waving the flag of revolution when [
] Click. I just shut off the TV.
"...Tch... Was that me?"
Me, my ass. Yeah, that was totally me.
Who would've thought my broadcast debut would be like this... I mean, I could brag that my first debut was on the news, but who would even believe me?
At the time, all I could think about was cheering up Ra-yoon, so I accidentally put way too much power into it.
"It was overkill, but there's no way they'd track the cause all the way out here, right?"
Human curiosity knows no bounds, and the thought of scoop-hungry reporters trekking out to this countryside already sent chills down my spine. My sister shipped me here under the pretext of hiding my identity, and if she found out I'd clumsily turned myself into a spectacle... what would happen then? My next exile might be some godforsaken island.
...For now, if sis calls, I'll just play dumb and deny everything.
I love games about healing with animals on a remote island, but that doesn't mean I want to live it for real. Games are games, reality is reality. Never cross that line.
"Hmm... For the time being, I'll go dark! No one's coming to visit anyway, so I'll just hole up quietly inside..."
Ding-dong— The doorbell echoed through the house.
Normally, I'd be thrilled thinking it was a delivery, but today it filled me with dread. Why did it sound like it was mocking me, like "Oh, nope. Island exile confirmed~"?
Ding-dong— It rang again, as if urging me to hurry up and open the door.
Twice already? Definitely not a delivery.
Hoo... Go dark. Time will sort this out.
"Unni~!!"
The moment I vowed not to open the door, a familiar voice called from the entrance.
"Huh? Ra-yoon? It's the weekend, what's up...?"
Confirming it wasn't reporters, I headed to the door.
Beep-beep— I pulled the handle, the door lock disengaged with a click, and there stood Ra-yoon in casual clothes.
"Hi, unni! Were you sleeping this whole time?"
"Uh... kinda got a guilty conscience... Anyway, what's going on?"
"Well... actually... I have a favor to ask you."
"...? Come in first. We'll talk inside."
Phew... Good thing it's just Ra-yoon. Nearly ended up on some nameless island.
I opened the fridge to check the leftover coffee. According to Ra-yoon, it was about an hour's walk from her village to my place. Even for an Awakener like her, that's no easy stroll.
"Ra-yoon~ Americano or caramel, which one?"
"Uh, huh? Th-then... caramel... please..."
Ra-yoon had looked uneasy ever since she walked in the door. I thought she'd gotten over it after seeing my magic yesterday and snapping back to normal, but was she still hung up on it?
Should've made up some other excuse if I knew it'd rattle her this much.
As I brewed the coffee and turned back, Ra-yoon flinched.
"Ra-yoon, what's wrong?"
"W-well..."
She fidgeted with her fingers, squirming in place for a while, then stood up from the sofa like she'd made a big decision.
"Unni! Please! Teach me magic!! No, teach me, please!!"
The words barely left her mouth before she bowed at a perfect 90 degrees. I blinked at her in a daze.
"Magic? What, that's it? Sure, whatever, I'll teach you."
"Eek... Figures, right? Not just anyone can learn it... Huh? For real?"
"Yeah, but you can't learn the spell I used yesterday. Your mana reserves are too low for something that inefficient."
"Yes!! That's fine! Thank you so much, unni!!"
Ra-yoon hugged me tight, looking like she'd conquered the world.
I'd learned recently that in this world, the only way to learn magic was from someone you knew who could already use it—like a guildmate or acquaintance. High-level spells, almost like secret arts, cost hundreds of millions in private lessons.
In the end, only rich hunters with connections could wield magic. Instead of sharing knowledge to advance together, they hoarded it, letting magic stagnate. Humans really are selfish creatures.
Already underwhelming, and this just makes it worse... Haa...
Magic is meant to be spread widely and developed openly.
I, Rose Crimson, witch walking the path of sorcery, can no longer stand by and watch this travesty.
"Ra-yoon!"
I pried her off me and gripped both her hands tight. She let out a dumb "Huh?"
"From this moment, I'm pulling the trigger to change this corrupt world."
Some might call it heresy. But like how a coup becomes a revolution if it succeeds—or a failed revolution becomes a coup—it's a gamble until the results are in.
Stepping forward myself would yield the best outcome, but I can't draw attention anymore.
Instead, I'll make the girl standing before me the flag of revolution!
"Um... Not sure what that means, but I'll do my best, unni!"
And so began my real-life character-nurturing game.
In Gangbuk stood a towering building—the headquarters of Maru Guild, one of Korea's top guilds. Though only three years old, its prestige pierced the heavens. Starting with Guild Master and A-rank hunter Cheon So-hee, the presence of initial member and S-rank hunter Yoo Ji-na made them the envy of all hunters.
And their appearances always caused a stir.
"Ah, hello!! Yoo Ji-na Hunter-nim!!"
A female hunter spotted Yoo Ji-na in the guild hallway and bowed deeply in greeting.
"...Yeah, hi."
Yoo Ji-na responded naturally, without much surprise at the sudden greeting. The woman's face lit up as she bowed repeatedly and ran back to her group watching from afar.
"Did you see?! She replied to my greeting...!"
"H-hey...! Are you nuts...?! Lucky she did...!"
"Whoa... Rumors about her personality softening up are true?"
They thought they were whispering, but their voices carried down the hall.
Cheon So-hee, overhearing it all, smiled at Yoo Ji-na, who seemed unfazed. Yoo Ji-na shivered at that grin.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh~? Nothing, just thinking our empress is even taking greetings now~"
"What? I always return greetings."
Cheon So-hee burst out laughing at the absurd reply, her face shifting to shock.
"You're joking, right? A month ago, you were giving off 'come closer and I'll bite' vibes."
"...It wasn't that bad...?"
"Want me to grab a random guild member and ask how you were a month ago?"
"..."
Yoo Ji-na, who had plenty of guilty spots, fell silent.
Just a month ago, she'd kept everyone but Cheon So-hee at arm's length. At first, it was grief over losing her family overnight—she didn't want to talk to anyone. But as time passed, her heart closed off, and forming new bonds terrified her.
Every time she caught criminals, her enemies multiplied, putting those around her at risk. So she only kept the A-rank hunter Cheon So-hee close.
The public criticized her as a heartless ice queen, but no one denied she was an S-rank hunter. Watching her rampage alone on the battlefield, splattering monster blood and her own, people called her the Blood Empress.
But a month ago, she'd softened. The deep dark circles under her eyes had faded a bit, though her fierce look remained. Those around her sensed the walls she'd built had crumbled.
At first, they chalked it up to imagination, but recalling her little sister's return as a Returner made sense of it. Gradually, Maru Guild hunters approached her, leading to scenes like this.
"Anyway, you look good like this, so keep it up. Time to fix your image."
"I'm not a celebrity. What image...?"
"You're basically one. And don't forget—you're our guild's star hunter. Your image is our guild's image."
"Haa... Fine. I'll be careful."
Worn out from the lecture, Yoo Ji-na rubbed her temple with a sigh.
Before they knew it, they'd reached the conference room. Today was Maru Guild's monthly raid strategy meeting.
Opening the door let in the muffled noise.
A blue-haired woman held her smartphone horizontally, shoving it at those around her, explaining fervently.
"This isn't CG, I tell you!! It's magic—magic!!"
"Magic? Never heard or seen such a thing."
"Yeah, Yuri. Drop it and sit... Oh? Guild Master's here! Sit down, Yuri...!"
The woman in front pouted indignantly, and Cheon So-hee greeted her warmly.
"Hi, Yuri. What's going on?"
Spotting Cheon So-hee, Maru Guild's B-rank hunter and her cousin Cheon Yu-ri whined tearfully.
"Hiiing, So-hee unni, hear me out. These guys won't believe me!"
"What'd you say?"
"Check this video. It was on the news yesterday."
Cheon Yu-ri thrust her phone forward, showing a streak of light illuminating and scattering across the night sky.
"What's this? A movie?"
"See? Even the guild master says it looks like CG."
"It's not!! Unni, this isn't a movie—it's real. News called it an unidentified optical illusion, but I swear, someone's using a new kind of magic..."
"Yuri~ Let's start the meeting. Sit down."
"N-no way, unni, you don't believe me either?"
"Last time you chased some 'new magic user' on vacation to Japan, it was CG, remember?"
"Th-that was...!"
"Someone drag our little shepherd girl away. We need to start."
Betrayed by her trusted unni, Cheon Yu-ri froze in place. Eventually, a man stood, hauled her off, and Cheon So-hee clapped loudly to draw attention and kick off the meeting.