Genius Swordsman In Reverse Game

It was quite rare for incidents to target the families of hunters.

Of course, there were always people who tried to borrow money from the families of famous hunters or who loitered around hoping to leech off them. But in this modern information society, where might was right and hunters were at the top of the food chain, anyone who dared to kidnap or hold hostage the family of a hunter would be swiftly brought to justice. It was practically suicidal.

So, when Yoo-ri said what she did, it was shocking.

At Jin Yuha's call, the members of the Utopia Party had gathered at his house, and to be honest, they had a lot they wanted to say.

'Mr. Jin Yuha, what the heck is up with this house?!'

'Little Fool, you had a house like this, and you've been living like that all this time…?'

'Is our junior actually a super-rich guy from the underworld, controlling our country behind the scenes? So that's where the source of the highest-grade magic stones comes from…'

'Wow— Mr. Jin Yuha, so this is the kind of house you live in… Oh! Thank you so much!'

And so on.

They had so many questions about Jin Yuha's hidden wealth, which had just come to light! They were once again overwhelmed by the halo of light that seemed to shine behind his appearance, which they had become somewhat accustomed to! Even now, as a teapot floated in mid-air, a pinnacle of magical engineering, pouring hot tea for them, they couldn't help but be astonished! But still!

"My, my siblings aren't answering my calls… And my mother and father aren't answering either… The house is in disarray…"

Yoo-ri's hands and feet were shaking as she explained the situation, and the party members, for their part, were trying their best not to stare too obviously, focusing on Yoo-ri's words.

And the most absurd part was that Jin Yuha was just as bewildered as they were.

He had called them together to ask for advice on how to deal with the ridiculously generous gift he had just received from Lina…

'You're saying your family has been kidnapped?'

Of course, in the personal story that I knew of Yoo-ri, there was a part where she borrowed money from loan sharks.

─ Are you Ms. Lee Yoo-ri? This is SWC Bank. We are contacting you regarding a matter…

But even they didn't have the guts to kidnap the family of a Velvet Academy student who had gained some reputation. They were careful not to upset Yoo-ri and tried to approach her with a legal basis as much as possible.

If they had to pinpoint who might be responsible for this…

"A Demon."

At that, the party members sucked in a breath.

"…A Demon?"

" Demons?"

"…!"

Yoo-ri bit her lip so hard that it bled, remembering the cruel treatment she had received from the Demon s during the midterm evaluations.

I immediately stopped Yoo-ri, who was about to jump up from her seat.

"Wait a moment, Yoo-ri. Sit down. It's unlikely to be the Demons. They might be capable of such a thing, but the timing isn't right."

"Mr. Jin Yuha is right. The Demons need to lie low right now."

Se-hee chimed in, and Yoo-ri reluctantly sat back down.

"What do you mean?"

Yoo-ri asked in a cold, subdued voice, her gaze deadly enough to suggest that she would beat the culprits to a pulp if they were in front of her.

"Explain it clearly."

Gulp.

Se-hee, who had always been a bit intimidated by Yoo-ri, broke out in a cold sweat at the intense atmosphere.

"...The Demons have upset Chairman Lina."

"Yeah, the Demons screwed over Lina big time during the midterm evaluations. No matter how much the media and public try to spin it as part of her test, the fact that they messed with her remains."

Se-hee nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the Demons are already being thoroughly investigated by the Magic Emperor, so the chances of them doing something so noticeable are slim."

"But what if it really is the Demons…!"

"Don't worry. If it is them, there's a way to deal with it."

Yoo-ri was about to retort, but I cut her off.

"There's an expert in that field."

"...An expert?"

"Yeah, someone who's really good at tracking down and killing Demons. There's no one better in our country."

Tap-tap—

Ding-a-ling~♪

I immediately sent a text message to someone, and a reply came back promptly.

"She says she can check right now. She's also forming a tracking team."

"...!"

The party members' eyes widened in surprise. They were awestruck by his connections!

'Ah, they don't know that Instructor Baek Seol-hee is the leader of the Demon Slayer Squad, do they?'

Coming straight here had been the right decision. Jin Yuha was treating this like his own business, offering his help. Yoo-ri's gratitude was immeasurable.

"Th, thank you… Jin Yuha…"

"Don't thank me yet. The matter isn't resolved."

Jin Yuha looked around at the party members with a serious expression.

"Take this matter seriously, everyone."

"Yes, we understand."

"Okay."

Even those who hadn't spoken nodded gravely.

"For efficiency, we'll split into parties."

In a situation like this, it would be inefficient for everyone to move together.

"First, Se-hee, please gather information and run a background check on Yoo-ri's family."

"Yes, I'll do that."

"Do-hee, you're good at tracking down hunters. Please put together a team and also request cooperation from the police."

Dh-hee and Se-hee both had reputations and connections, so it would be best to utilize their networks to gather information.

"...And Sophia and Ga-eul, let's move together."

"Yes, yes! Got it!"

"Okay, junior."

"Then, if we find anything, let's contact each other right away."

I nodded once to Do-hee and Se-hee and then immediately headed to the scene with the others.

.

.

.

Se-hee provided us with a rented car, along with Secretary Kim.

Jin Yuha, Lee Yoo-ri, Sophia, and Lim Ga-eul set off to Yoo-ri's house to investigate the scene. Yoo-ri's heart was pounding with anxiety and tension.

'I hope nothing has happened to my siblings and parents…'

'They'll be fine. They'll be fine. Nothing will have happened.'

She kept repeating these words to herself, but she couldn't help her imagination from taking a negative turn.

As she fidgeted with her hands, anxiously clasped together, Jin Yuha reached over and placed his hand over hers.

"It'll be okay."

Swish.

Yoo-ri turned her head to see Jin Yuha's hand covering hers.

"Don't worry. Everyone will be safe."

He spoke with absolute certainty, and even though there was no real basis for his assurance, there was something about his words that made her want to believe him.

"Yeah…"

Yoo-ri slowly nodded.

.

.

.

And so, we arrived at Yoo-ri's house.

"Ga-eul, please ask around the neighborhood."

"Okay, senior! Leave it to me."

Yoo-ri and I would check the inside of the house. The chaotic scene made me scowl.

The small, shabby room was in disarray, with clothes strewn everywhere, and the furniture had been opened and smashed. There were clear signs that someone had searched through everything without trying to hide it.

I stepped into the house, still wearing my shoes.

Then I immediately checked the floor.

"Definitely, someone's been here."

There were footprints inside the room, indicating that the intruders hadn't bothered to take off their shoes. I recited the characteristics of the culprits, utilizing the tracking skills I had learned from Baek Seol-hee.

"There were four of them. All female. And it doesn't seem like it was that long ago."

"...!"

"They must have been in a hurry. They broke in by force."

The family kidnapping theory, which I had been unsure about, now seemed more plausible.

"Do you think they targeted Yoo-ri's family because they knew she would be coming here today?"

"...Umm, I don't think so."

I widened my eyes at Sophia's unexpected response. I tilted my head, prompting her to elaborate.

"Well, if it was a kidnapping, they wouldn't need to search the place like this."

"Why not?"

"Hmm, kidnapping is about taking people away, right?"

"But?"

"Well, if they were taking people away, would they really need to search the entire house? Even if they took them while they were asleep, they'd be focused on the people, not the valuables."

"Oh."

When I thought about it, it made sense. If they were after a ransom, there would be no need to search this shabby room! Would they really take the time to search such a humble abode while committing such a serious crime?

I was finally able to relax a little.

"For now, it doesn't seem like your family is in immediate danger."

"...Really?"

"Yeah, if there had been any resistance, there would be signs of a struggle, but there aren't any. The broken furniture was targeted directly, not as a result of attacking people. Of course, we can't be sure. For example, they might have threatened the family and taken them away, and then someone else came and searched the place."

Yoo-ri's expression was a little more composed than before.

"Hmm, I think I'll take a look around the neighborhood. Sophia, please help Yoo-ri search the room."

"Yes!!"

I left them inside and stepped out.

"Sleepy Black Hole! Sleepy Black Hole! Sleepy Black Hole!!"

Outside, I could hear the voices of children.

Swoooosh!

"Wow! You're so fast!!"

"Sister! Sister! Sister! Me too!!"

"Waaaaah!! Do it again! Again!!"

The neighborhood kids were all huddled around Lim Ga-eul.

And in the middle of them, Lim Ga-eul maintained a dignified expression, covering half of her face.

"With the black flames of hell at my back and the power of the Black Dragon… I can run faster than anyone else…"

I looked at her and couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"...Senior, what are you doing?"

"The hatred of the world—Eek!? Hic!?"

Lim Ga-eul's face turned bright red, embarrassed at being caught in such a silly pose.

Usually, I could just laugh it off as her being cute, but now wasn't the time.

"...Yoo-ri's family might have been kidnapped, and you're playing around?"

"Ju, Junior! I, I wasn't playing! I was asking around!! I, I swear!"

Lim Ga-eul hurriedly explained, looking flustered at the misunderstanding.

"Asking around?"

No, I couldn't believe it. I gave her a skeptical look.

"...At first, the kids were too wary, so… I played with them to lower their guard and ended up getting a little too into it!"

Lim Ga-eul whispered to me.

"Hmm?"

"I saw these kids playing here every day… I thought they might have seen something suspicious and could tell me about it…"

'She's actually doing a good job.'

I looked at Lim Ga-eul with newfound admiration.

"...Junior, your eyes look a little weird."

"So, did you find out anything?"

"Ah, yeah? Yeah! Just a sec!"

Lim Ga-eul patted the head of the little boy who was hanging onto her.

"Hey, kid. Have you seen any suspicious groups going into that house?"

"Suspicious groups?"

"Your sister here is a hero called 'Sleepy Black Hole' who defeats evil!"

'Isn't she embarrassed to say that herself…?'

But it worked wonders on the kid.

"...The hero of justice! Sleepy Black Hole!"

"Umm, have you seen anyone unusual or anyone you don't usually see?"

The little boy thought for a moment and then stared straight at Jin Yuha.

"No! This big brother is Sleepy Black Hole's companion! I'm talking about someone else!"

"Oh! The four women who came here this morning?"

I widened my eyes.

Four women.

It matched the traces I had seen in Yoo-ri's house exactly. I asked the kid directly, a little urgently.

"Any other distinguishing features? Like a missing eye or a limp. Did they call each other by name…?"

Lim Ga-eul gave me a look, as if it was absurd to expect a kid to know such specific details.

Slap!

"Oh! The other women called one of them 'Hyeji'!"

"...Really?"

"...Hyeji…?"

Suddenly, a cold voice spoke from behind us.

I turned to see Yoo-ri, her face contorted with rage.

"That, bitch…?"

At her intense reaction, Yoo-ri tried to remember who Hye-ji was.

Then it hit me.

"Could it be…?"

It was a hazy memory,

My first encounter with Yoo-ri. The memory of when I had joined her party as a lucky substitute after their original dealer had deserted them during the E-rank dungeon, Camel Forest.

At that time, Yoo-ri's party had a dealer.

And when she deserted them, I had taken her place.

'The dealer who deserted… Wasn't her name Hyeji?'