NOVEL NEXT Chapter 66
A drab-colored vehicle, common in the city, rolls down the road.
It’s a car with no noticeable logos or embellishments.
All the windows are covered with a subtle tinted film, obscuring the interior.
Inside the vehicle, there are specially adjusted seats and curtain-like barriers to provide additional privacy.
It’s a vehicle optimized for discreetly hiding people.
“Yawn…”
Si-hyun lightly yawns and leans back deeply into the back seat of the car.
Today has been a tiring day in many ways.
She had woken up late after drinking, only to realize there was an emergency.
Then she hastily adjusted her schedule to break through a double dungeon.
In the end, she even met a necromancer from another world.
Her body was weary, but the mental fatigue was significant.
‘When I get home, I’ll eat and go straight to bed…’
Si-hyun sleepily opened her drowsy eyes.
She glanced at the man sitting in the other seat and adjusted her veil, placing it on her lap.
‘Let’s sort things out tomorrow…’
Si-hyun comfortably leaned her head against the chair.
She closed her eyes, thinking, ‘They’ll wake me up when we arrive.’
At that moment, the man seated across from her, the team leader from the Hunter Management Agency, spoke up.
“Ahem, Hunter Jeong Si-hyun?”
“……”
As Si-hyun was quickly drifting off to sleep, she opened her eyes again.
Having been woken up just as she was about to fall into a pleasant slumber, an unpleasant feeling began to bubble up.
Since her expression was usually blank when around strangers, the team leader, whose mind was filled with work, couldn’t pick up on her mood.
“First, thank you for your hard work today.”
“……Yes.”
“I’ve heard a lot from Manager Jang Han-soo. However, the information you provided us was quite lacking.”
“……”
“First of all, I’d like to ask about what happened in the dungeon today.”
“…I’m a bit tired right now. I’m sorry, but please ask the other hunters who participated today…”
Si-hyun politely declined in a soft voice.
The feeling of being woken up when she was about to fall asleep was personal. The other person was someone of importance with whom she had a cooperative relationship.
However, the team leader was not satisfied with that. He had every intention of digging out information if they met in person.
Unconsciously, his tone shifted as he spoke.
“Since I’m currently escorting you home safely, I think I deserve the right to share information.”
“……”
“I understand you’re tired, but could we at least discuss a little?”
He spoke as if being polite, but there was an underlying pressure in the team leader’s words.
He felt frustrated that her demeanor was uncooperative.
Si-hyun slowly rubbed her eyes.
Opening them wide, she detached her back from the chair and looked at the team leader.
Her expression didn’t change.
However, the team leader instinctively sensed that her mood had soured.
It was an intuition born from experience.
‘…Hmm?’
Just at that moment, a vibration came from the team leader’s pocket.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Seeing Si-hyun nodding, the team leader answered the call.
“Yes, this is Ko Jae-yoon from the Management Department.”
He answered politely over the phone.
“Yes, yes.”
He kept responding, sounds following as he listened intently.
The more their conversation continued, the more rigid his posture became.
Sweat began to bead on his forehead.
“Oh, understood.”
The call ended.
The team leader looked at Si-hyun with a tense face.
And then.
“Ahem! Thank you so much for your hard work today! We’ll escort you home comfortably, so please rest well.”
“……”
“Oh! I’ll ask the other hunters about today. Hahaha! I was a bit hasty, wasn’t I? I sincerely apologize.”
The sudden change in the team leader’s demeanor was striking.
His previously confident face had vanished.
Only a man who was carefully watching how Si-hyun felt remained.
After a moment of studying the team leader’s face, Si-hyun slowly nodded.
She leaned back against the chair again, seeking a brief nap.
The sound of her even breathing quietly filled the car.
As he watched her, the team leader broke into a cold sweat.
‘Phew… that was a near mistake.’
He should have trusted Manager Jang’s words more. It could have turned into a really big problem.
If he had taken his subordinate’s words more seriously, he wouldn’t have put himself in a position to make blunders.
The team leader swallowed hard and recalled what his manager had said.
[If you mess up, she might just leave the country. Mind your manners.]
…Still, it was fortunate that he changed his attitude before it was too late.
He managed to salvage the situation before the first impression was seriously damaged.
The team leader pondered as he looked at Si-hyun’s serene face as she fell asleep.
What? B-rank or A-rank hunters would be great?
What if she turned out to be S-rank? He would treat her like royalty!
He couldn’t help but chuckle at how foolish his previous thoughts had been.
Hunter Jeong Si-hyun was far beyond that level.
This woman was an unmeasurable rank. She was a superlative awakener, to put it simply.
A person whose strength could surpass even a country’s power. A walking, talking weapon of war.
The information he just received from the call hinted at this fact.
The team leader took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat that had soaked his forehead.
* * *
The car arrived near Si-hyun’s house.
Si-hyun politely nodded to the men and walked towards her home.
Still somewhat drowsy, she stopped to rub her eyes, bowing her head.
After glancing once at the moon hanging in the sky, she continued on her way.
As the team leader watched her back while she got out of the car, he let out a quiet sigh.
“Good grief… heh heh…”
Incomplete thoughts flowed out.
After driving this far, the manager, Jang Han-soo, standing next to him, spoke in a low voice.
“Today’s dungeon must have been quite an experience. She looks really tired.”
“…That’s likely.”
“Hmm, what?”
As the manager questioned, the team leader spoke in a bewildered tone.
“They say the chaos is tremendous. There are even rumors that she’s stronger than all the hunters combined in the raid party. Who on earth is that priestess?”
“…Really? Is it that serious?!”
He was stunned by this information as well.
Having heard Si-hyun’s confident words, he had vaguely thought she was probably an S-rank awakener.
Of course, even that was already amazing. That was why he trusted her and was preparing various things.
But to be stronger than all the hunters combined? That level was practically a natural disaster!
The manager gaped, unable to close his mouth.
The team leader briefly glanced at the manager’s altered face and then spoke.
“Under no circumstances can we let her down. You’ve built a rapport with her, so you’d better lend a hand.”
“O-of course.”
“Absolutely! Under no circumstances should we skimp on support! Give her everything she wants! Provide her with whatever she desires! Whatever happens, we must ensure she stays in Korea. Got it?”
“Yes, I’ll do my best!”
Nodding earnestly, the manager looked at the phone he was holding.
A paused video of a VTuber named Momobin appeared on the screen.
After that, the two men continued their nighttime work as they tackled their new assignments.
Fortunately, they had prepared some things in advance, so at least they were somewhat prepared. Thank goodness for that.
* * *
Time passed, and the date changed.
People gathered in the meeting room of the Dawn Guild.
Once everyone was assembled, a staff member from the guild began to report.
“The management department keeps repeating the same response. The priestess is a foreign hunter naturalized in Korea, and they won’t release any other information.”
“Is it really necessary to keep the information this tightly held?”
“They say that’s the priestess’s request. If things go sideways, she might just leave the country…”
“……”
The room fell silent for a moment.
Those words applied not only to the management department but also to any guild looking to scout her.
A reason emerged for cautious approaches.
“Hasn’t there been any information from our informants within the management department?”
“Yes, it seems to be highly classified information known to only a select few. The response from the management department seems to be a directive from above as well.”
“Wow…”
Due to the importance of information, larger guilds often cultivate ties with management department officials in private.
That even the informants knew nothing about the priestess indicated just how thoroughly the management department had done their job.
“Is that priestess truly that remarkable?”
The president of the Dawn Guild, an ordinary man who had made the guild the strongest with his remarkable insights, quietly listened to the discussions.
Responding to the president’s question, Ye Do-hyeong scanned the meeting room.
He reconfirmed that Choi Ga-eul wasn’t participating today and then opened his mouth.
“To be honest, I’ve never seen someone as remarkable as that.”
“Even when compared to Ga-eul?”
“…It’s not even a comparison.”
“Wow…”
Including the president, many people swallowed their breaths.
Choi Ga-eul was a supporter who would be a top contender even on a global scale.
For him to say it’s not comparable at all? That scale was so large it was hard to fathom.
“Anyway, let’s keep gathering more information.”
“Yes, we’ll investigate materials on foreign hunters.”
“We’ll check into the people who have recently entered Korea.”
The meeting proceeded swiftly.
However, the Dawn Guild couldn’t obtain any more additional information about the priestess beyond this.
This wasn’t only true for Dawn, but also for the Night Guild, Cheongrim, and other mid-sized guilds that had participated.
Si-hyun wasn’t just a hunter who had naturalized from a foreign country.
She was the second returnee that hadn’t been publicly announced yet.
The guilds in Korea were getting caught up in a misguided focus and were spinning their wheels in strange directions.