The Saintess and the Gallery of Returnees
The Returnee Villainess Gallery. People were buzzing about a video that had just been uploaded. It was none other than the challenge video Baek Dohee had posted.
“……”
Your account has been temporarily suspended.
World Hunter Ranking No. 2. The Saintess Anastasia narrowed her eyes and closed the gallery. She then dialed her secretary.
“Um, I have an urgent favor to ask.”
Anastasia’s voice was trembling ever so slightly.
“Could you look into one person for me? As quickly as possible.”
Anastasia sent him the challenge video that was currently trending on social media. She asked him to identify the woman who resembled Evelyn.
“Sister…”
Beep beep. The call ended shortly after.
Anastasia clutched her phone tightly with both hands.
“Is it really… really you…?”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heart was pounding so violently it felt like it might shatter her ribs and burst out.
“Evelyn…”
It was then that longing for the villainess began to fill the Saintess’s eyes.
# 11 a.m.
“I’m bored…”
Left alone at home, I let out a small sigh. Dohee and Jinah noona were both out—her at school, me at work. They said they wouldn’t be back until at least five in the afternoon no matter how early they finished.
Since I had nothing to do and had already taken care of the housework in place of my busy noona, it was still only eleven o’clock.
“I should go outside for a bit…”
It seemed better to take a walk than to stay cooped up inside.
“Oh.”
As I was strolling around the neighborhood, a building caught my eye that was hard to ignore.
It was a PC bang.
“Maybe I’ll play some games for the first time in a while?”
Before the Cataclysm, I used to spend most of my day at PC bangs because I loved gaming so much. Reminiscing about those times, I walked into the PC bang as if possessed.
I paid with noona’s card and sat down.
“Whoa.”
When I turned on the computer, there were tons of new games.
“Still, the familiar ones are best.”
I launched a game I used to play a lot.
This really is exactly like the old days.
It had been twenty years, so I expected it to be completely different due to updates, but surprisingly, not much had changed.
I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
At least it made adapting easy.
Should I eat something while playing?
I was feeling a bit hungry anyway. I clicked the food order banner, thinking I’d have some ramen.
“Why are there so many options…?”
These days, PC bangs sold way more than just ramen. The food I remembered was limited to cup noodles and frozen hot bars, but the menu looked like it belonged in a proper restaurant.
“Then I’ll go with this…”
I ordered the most popular set at the top. Of course, I paid with noona’s card again.
Soon after, stir-fried pork rice and jjapaghetti arrived.
“Let’s see…”
I immediately scooped up a big bite of ramen and put it in my mouth.
“Wow…”
A stimulating flavor filled my mouth—the kind that couldn’t be compared to any dish I’d eaten in the other world.
Yeah. This is life.
# It was right in the middle of an intense gaming session.
WHOOOOOOOSH—!
A sharp, ear-piercing siren suddenly rang out from somewhere.
REAL SITUATION! REAL SITUATION! REAL SITUATION!
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
A Gate Break has occurred in the Gangnam-gu area!
Citizens nearby, please evacuate to the nearest shelter immediately!
Repeating the broadcast! A Gate Break has occurred in the Gangdong-gu area…
Beep.
The computer shut down automatically, and the part-timer yelled for everyone to evacuate.
“Ugh… I was about to win…”
I let out a sigh full of regret. Following the part-timer’s instructions, I headed to the shelter.
A lot of people had gathered at the shelter. But no one seemed particularly panicked. Most of them just looked annoyed.
“Why do these keep happening so often lately?”
“Tell me about it. I’m already dying from how busy I am.”
Rather than trembling in fear, they were grumbling about how long it was taking.
“Please let it end late.”
“I didn’t finish my math homework.”
There were even kids hoping the monster subjugation would drag on because they didn’t want to go to hagwon.
“……”
It was quite different from the scene I had imagined…
Not bad, though.
The fact that they weren’t afraid of monsters meant they had that much trust in the Hunter Association. And that probably meant the Association was doing its job well.
I shrugged lightly and waited for the situation to end.
SITUATION RESOLVED! SITUATION RESOLVED! SITUATION RESOLVED!
The announcement that the situation was over finally came.
“It’s finally over.”
People started hurrying out of the shelter. As I followed them out, I suddenly felt a suspicious aura and turned my head.
Not too far away, the disgusting stench unique to monsters was wafting through the air.
What? I thought the monster subjugation was finished?
Wondering if the Association had made a mistake in their broadcast, I headed toward where the aura was coming from.
“Hmm?”
When I arrived at the source of the aura, Jinah noona was there.
Clang—!
She was swinging her sword alone at a massive black rock.
“Noona!”
“Sihyun?”
Noona turned her head at my call.
“Why are you here?”
“I felt a strange aura and came over, and there you were.”
“A strange aura…”
Noona turned to glance at the pitch-black stone.
“You mean this thing?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded slowly.
“If it’s okay, can I take a look?”
“You? Why?”
“I saw something similar in the other world. I just want to check if what I’m thinking is right.”
“……”
Noona seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. We moved closer to the stone.
Just in case, I placed my hand on it.
Rumble.
As expected, the stone absorbed my energy in the blink of an eye.
“This bastard has no manners…”
I immediately pulled my hand away and kicked the stone.
“Where did you get this?”
“It came from an S-class gate we cleared a few weeks ago.”
S-class gates occasionally yielded special minerals that didn’t exist on Earth. Those minerals usually had hardness and durability so extreme that modern technology couldn’t even analyze them. As an S-class hunter affiliated with the Association, noona had been personally testing its strength.
“What the heck is it that you’re acting like this?”
“Let me get straight to the point… This isn’t a mineral.”
I let out a deep sigh.
“Not a mineral? Then…”
“It’s an egg. And a pretty dangerous monster’s egg at that.”
“An egg?”
Monsters didn’t have maternal instincts. Most of them abandoned their eggs the moment they laid them. The eggs left behind would enter a long hibernation while waiting to hatch.
They could stay dormant for years. Sometimes even decades. They waited for an environment suitable for hatching. Until prey that could supply the enormous nutrients needed for hatching appeared nearby.
“Think of it like a carnivorous plant.”
It disguised itself as a mineral or gem, then instantly absorbed energy the moment a powerful lifeform appeared nearby. And the target this egg had chosen was none other than…
“You, noona.”
Since she was an S-class hunter, she could supply a huge amount of energy at once.
“So we need to dispose of this egg right now—”
Crack.
At the sudden sound, we both whipped our heads around.
A crack had formed on the monster egg.
Did it already absorb all the energy? Already?
I instantly raised my power to stop it from hatching. But something bursting out of the egg was faster—it leaped straight into my arms.
[Mommy!]
It was a baby wolf with snow-white fur.