A Day on Patrol
We patrolled for a long time, but we didn't see a single ghost.
"Ghosts don't show up in the first place if a hunter with mana is nearby."
"What?!"
My sister looked at me as if she couldn't believe I didn't know that.
"That's how it is for weak ghosts that barely even qualify as monsters."
And any ghost strong enough to be called a proper monster had already been subjugated. Then why deploy hunters at all, you ask?
"Even those weak ghosts are lethal to ordinary people. Anyway, we're basically like totems. Totems that keep the ghosts from coming near."
Totems... That actually sounded like a perfect description.
I only learned about the details of this Gate after the fact.
Gate Name: Ghostly Spirit Mountain Range. A C-class Gate where ghost-type monsters and undead appear. Apparently, the resources harvested here are so useful compared to the difficulty that they keep milking it indefinitely.
"Doesn't seem like they really need to bring hunters here."
"Do you think the business owners didn't think the same thing you did?"
Of course, they excluded hunters, just like I thought...
"And of course, an accident happened."
A major accident, apparently. Twenty workers died, and a lot of equipment was destroyed, causing massive losses.
How did it happen, you ask?
"The ghosts possessed the workers."
Ordinary people without mana couldn't resist. A few strong-willed ones might have held out, but...
With dozens of people suddenly turning violent and running amok, it must have been impossible to stop.
"And apparently, the possessed people moved past their physical limits."
Terrifyingly, their arms and legs snapped in directions they shouldn't have, and they ignored their injuries to keep moving...
It was hard to restrain them, and many were injured. By the time the news got out and hunters were dispatched, the damage was already done—resulting in twenty deaths.
"After that, they started deploying hunters no matter what."
As long as a hunter was nearby, low-grade ghosts wouldn't dare approach.
"That's why this job is so popular."
You just stand there and get paid. The pay isn't amazing, but the demand is high because it's easy money.
"Hmm..."
How boring. I carefully looked around.
"Then what about the boss?"
"The Ghost Tree at the summit is the boss."
A haunted tree...
"It can't move, so it summons minions to attack. But once all its minions are dead, there's nothing it can do."
So it just watches as humans encroach on its territory.
"Is that so? I'll have to be careful."
I need to be careful not to let my divinity touch it and accidentally purify it... I suppressed my power as much as possible.
After that, the boring time dragged on. With nothing to do, I sat up in a nearby tree, playing with my phone or doing light exercises to pass the time.
"Bored?"
"Looks like you are too."
My sister seemed bored as well.
"Well, yeah... It's popular, but honestly, I don't like it."
Of course. She was an A-class hunter; she'd make way more money running proper dungeons or subjugating monsters.
"But for C-class hunters, this must be much easier than struggling through a dungeon."
"That's why it's popular."
I could see why. Having to stand around like this for hours until the work was done was incredibly tedious.
Just then...
My sensory perception picked up something.
"Huh?"
Resting in the tree, I bolted upright.
"Seohui."
"What?"
"They're coming."
Suddenly, a ghostly wail echoed through the air.
Kieeeeeek!
The screeching sound grated on my ears.
"What is that?"
"How should I know?"
By the way, is that a ghost? It felt subtly different from ghost-type monsters.
Faint, translucent, almost invisible figures were hovering around. They hovered at a distance, seemingly afraid to approach, but they were definitely gathering toward us.
Then, I realized what was happening.
"Ah, I see..."
"Nix? What's going on?"
My sister had already drawn her weapon, radiating a sharp aura.
"They're ghosts."
"I know that! But I've never seen them act like this!"
For once, my sister seemed flustered. I let out a soft chuckle and jumped down from the tree.
"They want to pass on. Normally, they'd be trapped by the boss and used at its whim, but now that the minions have been cleared, the boss's power has weakened."
The ghosts, freed from control, realized that someone who could purify them had appeared. I didn't know how they sensed it...
But they knew I could grant them peace. That's why they came...
But they couldn't get close because of my sister's strong mana.
"Seohui, step back for a bit."
"What? Even if they're weak ghosts, they can still be dangerous."
"Just go."
Frowning, my sister reluctantly stepped back. As she moved away, the ghosts drew closer to me.
"Just as I thought..."
"They came for you?"
"Yeah. I think they saw this as their chance to escape the boss's grasp."
I looked at the ghosts gathering closer. There were about several dozen of them.
"What are you going to do?"
My sister still looked anxious.
"Since they want to pass on..."
I should let them. This was different from casting Turn Undead. I simply let my divinity flow naturally into the surroundings.
At once, the ghostly wails subsided, replaced by a wave of tranquility.
Quietly, silently, the ghosts began to dissolve. They were passing on simply from the residual warmth of the divinity radiating from my body.
My sister watched from a distance, her eyes wide.
Ignoring her gaze, I slowly released a bit more of my divinity.
The sacred energy formed a faint, glowing halo around me, illuminating the dim forest... A gentle breeze rustled my hair.
"May you all find peace."
Every ghost in the vicinity vanished into the light.
I watched the scene with a bittersweet feeling. I thought I'd have to fight some ghosts... I didn't expect to be sending them off like this.
"Is it over?"
"Yeah."
It felt incredibly anticlimactic.
"W-well, at least everything's fine."
"Yeah."
I stared blankly at the sky. The ghosts had already moved on, leaving no trace behind.
Eventually, it was time for the workers to clock out. People packed up their gear and prepared to leave, and the hunters gathered to exit the Gate one by one.
The hunters were the last to leave, making sure everyone else was safely out first.
"Thank you for your hard work."
The site manager came over to express his gratitude, and the job was finally over.
To be honest, it was such an easy job... It was boring and tedious, but as an experience, it wasn't bad.
On the way home, our stomachs started rumbling, so we decided to grab dinner.
Our dinner menu was... pasta!
To be honest, I didn't usually care for pasta because the portions were always so small... But since I had made an astronomical amount of money from the hair loss treatment, we ordered several dishes to share and enjoy.
Earning money and spending it like this... felt much better than I expected.
In the middle of a sweltering summer.
A hellish rainy season had begun.
The guild was relatively comfortable since the AC was running constantly... but outside was a different story.
It was humid! So humid it felt disgusting.
Just stepping outside for a moment made me feel damp all over.
Especially in my cleavage... and under my breasts...
The parts of this body that were already uncomfortable felt even stickier and grosser.
"Phew! Air conditioning really is the best."
Since I didn't have any work today, I was relaxing at the guild.
While I was at it, I helped supervise the others' training and healed anyone who got hurt.
After taking my sister's advice and showing a bit more consideration, the guild members started feeling more comfortable around me.
Of course, only strictly as a hunter...
I managed to get along decently with the women, but the men...
From what I heard, they found my looks too intimidating. Just being near me gave them a sense of pressure, making it hard to approach.
There used to be guys who tried to hit on me before... It was a bit disappointing that no one did anymore.
Teaching those fools a lesson had its own kind of fun.
I sat back comfortably in the lounge chair and watched TV.
I flipped through the channels with the remote to find something interesting, but there was nothing.
Well, who would broadcast anything fun during working hours?
But then, my thumb froze on the remote as a news channel caught my eye.
"China's Gate Raid Fails...? Massive Casualties...?"
What's going on all of a sudden...? I heard China had a massive hunter industry because of their huge population...
A failed raid? What on earth happened?
The man chuckled as he looked at the post he had uploaded.
Then he recalled the event from a few days ago.
Just thinking about it sent blood rushing to his lower half, making him dizzy.
"Ha, fuck..."
If he had a decent job, he might have even confessed to her.
He knew he'd get rejected 100%, but her body and face were just too hard to resist. It was practically an act of violence. Any man would have reacted.
But now, the man thought it was a good thing he hadn't done anything stupid.
At first, he thought she was just an ordinary woman... but later, he somehow found out her true identity.
She was a major celebrity, and a terrifying existence in many ways.
S-class hunter, Nix Hemera...
Her breasts in the photos looked a bit smaller, but in reality, they were even bigger. Well, back then, she was shamelessly braless...
"Ha, fuck..."
Thinking about her made his lower half go crazy. Did she know? That he was jerking off to her like this? Ha, what a slut...
Before jerking off, he searched for porn. He tried to find a woman with a body and face as close to hers as possible... but there was almost no one.
Well, having breasts that big while keeping such thin arms and legs was practically impossible.
Still, he managed to find someone somewhat similar, and watching the video, he imagined her.
So fucking hot...