A Warm Rainbow and a Hidden Observer
The small incident at Seona's Restaurant quickly became known to most members of the Sajeol Guild.
Some of them already knew about the restaurant. Others did not.
The Sajeol Guild was, at its core, an organization that pursued goodness and justice. Protecting the weak and saving people from danger. There were no absolute rules demanding they never turn a blind eye, but the guild made it a point to avoid anything that could be labeled as evil. Naturally, every guild member had wanted to help resolve what happened at Seona's Restaurant.
The matter was settled faster than expected, though it unintentionally ended up promoting the restaurant as well. A clean resolution and some free publicity. Still, even without this event, it was only a matter of time before word of Seona's Restaurant spread among people.
After all, the guild leader, Park Geon-su, visited the place quite often. Up to that point, one could have simply assumed he was a man who enjoyed good food and let the matter slide. But the fact that Seong Ye-eun accompanied him changed things.
And then there was Yuhyeon, who had joined them not long ago. Jungwoo and Seia paid little attention to the world of hunters, but Yuhyeon's return from the gate had caused an absolute uproar. It was massive news, reported nonstop on television and every other medium for days.
Yet the TV inside Seona's Restaurant mostly played documentaries or old variety shows that had once been popular. Jungwoo did not dislike the news. In fact, he used to watch it regularly. But at some point, the broadcasts became filled only with stories about hunters. There was nothing there for people who lived outside that world. Most of it either stirred envy or multiplied anxiety and fear.
So Jungwoo had half given up. He could simply seek out unrelated stories through Nutube instead. Because of that, he naturally had no way of knowing about Yuhyeon.
The S-class Hunter from South Korea who had returned alive from a gate after ten years. Setting aside raw power, he was a hunter capable of handling mana with more delicacy than anyone else. Despite his rugged, sturdy appearance, his abilities had earned him the title of artist. That was Yuhyeon.
Rumors had begun to circulate that even he frequented Seona's Restaurant, so those in the know were aware of the place. The only problem was that the names attached to it carried far too much weight.
With Yuhyeon's addition, the Sajeol Guild now had three S-class Hunters in total. It was the guild with the most S-class members in all of South Korea. The rumor that all three of them ate at the same neighborhood diner meant ordinary guild members did not even dare to set foot inside.
After all, there was nothing quite as nerve-wracking as running into your boss during lunch.
And one of the people who made the guild members' hearts tremble was currently sitting in the guild leader's office.
Park Geon-su was reviewing everything that had happened recently.
“The little boss went missing. So this is it.”
When he first received the news, an unexpected earthquake had shaken the entire Sajeol Guild building. It was a familiar phenomenon to the guild members. The whole structure tended to quake whenever Park Geon-su grew angry.
The fact that the matter had been brought to the guild rather than reported to the police meant the situation was extremely urgent. Especially since the Sajeol Guild, being one of the largest, charged no small fee for requests.
“You cannot go.”
The one who stopped him was his secretary.
“You must finalize the cooperation request for the S-class gate subjugation scheduled in the United States. This is the matter you have been working on for so long, Guild Leader.”
“…Hoo. Yes. I suppose I must.”
It seemed this was the first time the secretary had truly witnessed Park Geon-su's emotions in full. Until now, she had only seen fragments. Joy when he was happy. Sorrow when he was sad. But never had the shift been so visibly striking as today.
“It is done now. You may leave.”
Once she left the guild leader’s office, the secretary immediately made a phone call. She ordered an urgent investigation into the current state of Seona's Restaurant and a full report. Since the distance was not far, the results came quickly. She learned that a guild member had already completed the request just moments ago. Fortunately, the child had returned home safely, and it had not been a kidnapping or anything of that nature.
She had planned to inform the guild leader discreetly, but Park Geon-su, having wrapped up the matter far sooner than expected, left the guild right away. He left the remaining minor tasks to his secretary.
And so, when Park Geon-su arrived at Seona's Restaurant, the first thing that caught his eye was—
“……”
The sight of Seia and Seong Ye-eun hugging each other tightly.
He was a little surprised. No, quite surprised.
Even from a distance, Seong Ye-eun's expression was one Park Geon-su had never seen before. She had always been somewhat blunt and cold. For someone like her to wear such a warm look… It was startling. A person who suited winter was suddenly showing a face that fit autumn. How could he not be amazed?
But there was something that surprised him even more.
It was Seia's appearance.
Park Geon-su had never once seen Seia nestled in someone else’s arms. While it had not been long since he first met her, he was an old man who had encountered countless people. Many had approached him because of his power as an S-class Hunter. Some carried genuine goodwill. Others hid different intentions behind a mask of goodwill. A few even harbored clear malice.
Distinguishing between them had always been entirely up to Park Geon-su's own ability. He could not rely on anyone else, nor should he. He had been betrayed and had betrayed in turn. Through those bloody battlefields of the heart, he had cultivated an ability unrelated to being a hunter.
It was the eye for people.
The discernment born from his years of experience allowed him to grasp a person’s nature with near-perfect accuracy.
When he looked at Seong Ye-eun, he saw someone for whom opening her heart was no easy task. He did not know her past in detail. For people who were blunt and cold, the past usually contained only shameful scars, reverse scales, or things that needed to be mourned.
Seia was also a rather peculiar child. She was always bright and cheerful. As cute and adorable as could be. But that was where it ended. She did not easily open her heart beyond that.
Yet that same child was now curled comfortably in Seong Ye-eun's embrace with utterly relaxed eyes.
Two people who rarely opened their hearts to others had done so for each other. It was truly fascinating.
That the strongest S-class Hunter among all hunters and a small child who was only now slowly learning about the world had opened their hearts to one another.
And above all…
It made him a little envious.
Park Geon-su rarely trusted people easily, but Seia was an exception. He did not even perform a deep analysis of what kind of person she was. That was the advantage of children. They were among the few pure beings who could believe what they saw.
Jungwoo was not very different. Like father, like daughter. He too was exactly as he appeared on the surface.
Ah, there was one thing that was not as it appeared.
This very place—Seona's Restaurant.
It looked shabby and worn. Nothing particularly special about it. If anything, its only distinction was that it seemed more run-down than its surroundings. Yet this place was completely different from how it looked.
‘So that friend Yuhyeon was here too.’
He was the type to come and go like the wind, rarely appearing at the guild. He only entered gates when he felt like it.
When the embrace finally ended, the people inside the restaurant suddenly began coming outside. For some reason, Park Geon-su quickly hid himself.
“Why… why am I hiding?”
The S-class Hunter and leader of the Sajeol Guild was hiding. Still, since he had already hidden, he decided he might as well see what they were doing outside.
He carefully poked his head out to observe, while cautiously expanding his senses by circulating mana as discreetly as possible. He was a little curious about what they were talking about.
That Park Geon-su would use mana just to eavesdrop.
‘It’s a secret, but Seia is a wizard.’
Just then, Seia's voice drifted over.
A wizard? What on earth did that mean?
He strengthened his eyesight as well and continued watching. Seia was using a magic stone to create a rainbow in the sky.
“Hm? That is…”
It was the magic stone from the gate where Yuhyeon had been trapped. When he first saw it, its completely unique appearance made him want to borrow it for research. But after receiving that one, he had not been given any others.
Yuhyeon was a hunter who created and used his own subspace. Park Geon-su had no idea how many he possessed, but the fact that he had not given any to him, the guild, or even the association, yet had handed over a whole bunch to Seia… It left him feeling slightly miffed.
Still, if he imagined himself in Yuhyeon's position, he probably would have given the magic stones to Seia as well.
“Ahem. I suppose I must see the little boss’s magic.”
There was no time. He had handled his work roughly and come here, but that was only a temporary measure. He needed to return soon and finish things properly. The situation was urgent and pressing, yet watching Seia laugh brightly from afar made those thoughts vanish again.
Well, watching that magic before leaving should be fine.
The magic Seia was casting.
At first, his gaze had gone there out of curiosity about what she was making. But as time passed, his attention shifted more to the look in Seia's eyes as she gazed at the magic she had created.
Whether she knew of that gaze or not, Seia finished her successful first magic performance and was now chatting happily with her audience.
“Is there any magic you want to use?”
“Mmm…”
At her magic mentor Yuhyeon's question, Seia thought for a moment.
What kind of magic did Seia truly want?
Seeing a rainbow like this. The magic Yuhyeon had shown her last time. The results were different, but they seemed to pursue the same thing—giving joy to those who watched.
Seia did not have the ability to express that neatly. She simply spoke about the feelings she had when she first saw the circus, and then when Yuhyeon showed her something next.
“I like warm things!”
Warm things.
Suddenly, Yuhyeon recalled the first time he had heard Seia say something was warm. It was probably when she ate the grilled mackerel, wasn’t it? It was the same word, but of course it carried a completely different meaning now.
“I see. Warm things. That’s good.”
As he answered, Yuhyeon's gaze suddenly turned toward one side. He had sensed a familiar mana. Was it not ridiculous to be secretly watching them so stealthily from the shadows?
He did not know why, but a childish urge to tease rose up.
“How about this? Is this warm too?”
A large, solid hand, covered in calluses and scars, gently settled on top of Seia's head.
Anyone else might have been startled, but to Seia, Yuhyeon was her one and only—no, one of her two—mentors.
“Hehe. Yes! It’s warm!”
At the same time, from the source of that other mana, something faint could be felt.
It was jealousy.