"So this is it."

Following the map on my smartphone, I stopped walking as the 'destination reached' notification vanished. Before me stood a mansion that, at a glance, was large and magnificent.

'I'm getting kind of nervous.'

I lightly adjusted my tie, approached the main gate, and pressed the call button.

"Yes? Who is it?" The soft voice of a middle-aged woman came through.

"Ah, my name is Kim Yusin."

"Yes, Hunter Kim! Please, come in."

The main gate swung open. As I stepped inside, lights flickered on with soft clicks, illuminating my path. Once I reached the top of the stairs, a beautiful, open garden unfolded before me. It looked like a fairy kingdom from a storybook, filled with white and yellow flowers and birds resting in the trees. I also noticed a small pond. The white walls were draped with ivy, creating a serene atmosphere.

Up close, I saw it wasn't just one mansion. There was a large one in the center, one on each side, and what looked like a villa in the back. Four buildings in total.

'Where is the Association President? She could have at least told me.'

It wasn't like she was giving me a riddle. Well, if this was part of the entertainment, so be it. I carefully scanned my surroundings. The lights were on in the central building, and I could see faint footprints in the yard. So, the central building… or was it? The lights were also on in the building to the right. In that case, the difference between them was…

-Massive magic power signature detected in the central building. Hong Yul is in the central building, Tower Master.

"Th-Thanks, Ea."

Sometimes, having things be too convenient takes all the fun out of it. I let out a faint laugh and knocked on the door of the central building.

The door opened, and a woman who appeared to be a housekeeper bowed her head.

"We've been expecting you. This way…"

Her voice was very quiet. I guess I should be quiet inside. I whispered my thanks and followed her.

The garden was just the beginning. The sheer scale of the mansion was overwhelming. The sofa, the windows, the fireplace—everything was enormous. There wasn't a speck of dust on the floor, and the space, a combination of white marble and dark wood, exuded an indescribable dignity. I found myself treading carefully.

We went up the stairs to the second floor.

"This is Miss Hong Yeon's room."

"Oh, is it? I should say hello."

I stood in front of her door and knocked. From beyond it, I heard a girl's voice say, "Yes."

"I'm not done with the fruit yet. I'll bring the empty plate down myself."

"Can I come in?"

'Thump.' The voice stopped.

"Wh-wh-wh-who are you?" I heard Hong Yeon's completely flustered voice. The sudden male voice must have startled her.

"It's me. Yusin."

A moment of silence. And then.

'CRASH! BANG! CLATTER!'

…What on earth was happening in there?

"Wh-wh-what?! Why are you at my house?!"

She really was fun to startle. I chuckled and grabbed the doorknob.

"I'm coming in."

"Aaaaaah! N-No, you can't! Don't come in!"

Just in case, I asked Ea to check.

'She's not naked, is she?'

-Negative, Tower Master.

'Then I'm going in.'

I confidently opened the door. A red-haired young lady in pajamas was flailing about with a beet-red face before quickly covering herself with a cushion.

"Hey!"

"Ughhh! I told you not to come in!"

"I just came to say hi, but it seemed like you were going to leave me standing outside all day."

I turned to look around Yeon's room, which I had been genuinely curious about.

'This is…'

A room is a personal space, a domain that reveals a person's hobbies, personality, and even their favorite celebrities.

But…

'This feels like a hotel room.'

Yeon's room lacked any personal touch. The neatly organized furniture and daily necessities, even the half-used packet of wet wipes, were impeccably tidy. It was sterile, devoid of any personal color. The only things that felt even slightly personal were her pink pajamas and the long cushion she was hugging. There were a few large wardrobes by the window that might hold something personal, but opening them would be a real invasion of privacy.

I met her eyes again. Why was she reacting so strongly when they were the ones who invited me? The way her shoulders trembled and her face flushed seemed odd.

"Mind if I sit?"

As I said that and sat lightly on the edge of the bed, Hong Yeon scrambled backward, pressing her back against the wall and hugging the pillow defensively.

"What's wrong?"

"That's what I want to ask you!" she shrieked. "Why are you suddenly at my house?!"

"Am I not supposed to be here?"

"No! I-It's not that! But if you had contacted me before visiting, I would have had time to prepare! I wouldn't have been so surprised, you know!"

Aha. Now I get it. I smiled.

"I'm here because the Association President invited me."

Her hazel eyes widened. "M-My sister did?"

"Yep. She told me to come over for a meal. I naturally assumed you knew."

Her body started to tremble. And then.

"SIIIIIS!"

The shout shook the entire house, and I had to cover my ears. Wow, her voice was loud. The calm atmosphere of the mansion was instantly shattered.

"Ugh, seriously!"

After messing up her hair in frustration, she looked up and glared at me. I met her gaze with a warm smile. Her face turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Get out! Out!"

"Whoa, whoa."

She pushed my back, shouting, "I'll see you at dinner! Just get out, quick!"

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!"

In the end, I was pushed out of the room. The door slammed shut with a sharp 'thud!'

"Have you finished greeting the young lady?" the housekeeper, who had been waiting politely, asked.

"…Yeah. I guess so."

"Then let us go see the Association President now."

I nodded and followed her up the stairs to the third floor.

'Shuffle. Shuffle.'

As I climbed, I heard a presence from above. I looked up to see someone sitting on a dining table.

'Is that the President?'

I reached the top of the stairs and stood before her. Association President Hong Yul was wrapped in bandages. The ones she hadn't finished applying were stained crimson with blood. Her injuries looked severe.

"Oh, Yusin, you're here? Sit wherever."

The housekeeper retreated downstairs, leaving me alone to sit across from her. I couldn't look at her directly. She was bare except for the bandages wrapped around her torso. Instead, my eyes kept drifting to the end of the bandage she hadn't yet applied. The thick, dried blood showed just how fierce the battle had been.

"Are you reusing those? You should use new ones."

"Ah, this? It's not just a bandage; it's a super expensive recovery item. This blood will be gone in no time."

Just as she said, the bloodstains on the bandage began to disappear as if being absorbed. But that meant she had been bleeding until just a moment ago.

"Your overseas dispatch… it seems to have been intense."

The Association President nodded readily. "It was a grade-9 dungeon. It was pretty tough."

A grade-9 dungeon. The worst on Earth, one that only the few officially recognized rank 1 hunters in the world could attempt. The reason it hadn't become a bigger issue was partly because it coincided with the 'Classic Gate,' but more importantly, because it appeared on an island nation in Africa.

"If we had just left it, a whole country would have disappeared, right?" she said as she finished wrapping her chest and moved on to her arm. "So I went. It was a tough fight without much support, but I managed somehow."

"Don't overdo it. You're seriously injured."

She paused, then looked at me and grinned. "Are you worried about me?"

"Of course. How could I not be?"

I was being sincere. 'You absolutely have to survive. The Rank-11 Disaster, Nemesis, will come someday. We need a major power like you to be fully intact until then if we're to have any chance.'

"Time for a changing of the guard," she said, resuming her bandaging. "Our country is a bit behind. We need the young ones to step up now. That's why I'm so obsessed with the Academy."

"…Ah."

"The faster kids like you grow, the sooner I can retire with peace of mind. I want to get married and live happily with my husband before it's too late."

'What? What did she just say?' For some reason, the image of a battered husband kept popping into my head.

"In that sense, I'm raising Yeon strictly, too. I even took her with me on this trip."

"You took Hong Yeon to a Rank-9 dungeon?"

"Are you nuts? I dropped her off in a country on the way—what was its name? Tanzania? Anyway, a grade-7 dungeon had opened there. Support from other countries was focused on the grade-9 dungeon, so that place was getting no attention, which made it dangerous."

"A grade-7 dungeon is for official rank 3s. You sent your younger sister to a place like that?"

"Of course! She's my sister. I have to raise her to be strong." As she said this, Yul suddenly grinned at me. "I made good use of your name back then."

"…Huh? Me?"

"Yep! I told her a bunch of your heroic tales." She cleared her throat. "While you were crawling on your belly, our Yusin took down the head of the Healer Union all by himself! That Oh Bonggyu! But what are you doing now? You think you can even hold a candle to him? You think he'll ever look your way if you keep this up?' I just kept pushing her like that."

This woman…

"And then her eyes just lit up with this fierce determination! The juniors I sent with her said she went on a rampage in the dungeon! A rank-4 rookie hard-carried in a grade-7 dungeon, outperforming the rank-3s! And what's more? When the military was about to flee from a monster horde, she blocked their path, snatched the radio, and gave a whole speech! The soldiers were so moved they were all, 'If a girl that young is fighting, we can't back down!' and came back to fight! Wow, I thought I was watching a drama!"

Wow… I thought I'd been having a dynamic time lately, but it seems Hong Yeon's was just as eventful.

"The Kim Yusin effect is incredible, huh? The kid who was stuck in a rut started fighting so tenaciously, and now she's even developing leadership skills! Ah, and with this, Yeon is now officially rank-3."

"That's great to hear."

She finished wrapping the bandages and tugged at them here and there. "Ugh, this thing is great and all, but it's too tight on my chest."

Saying so, she stretched the bandage wrapped around her chest. She was obviously not wearing a bra underneath, and I whipped my head away in surprise.

"Hmph."

The Association President let out a strange smile and leaned against the table. Why has the mood suddenly changed?

"Cute. Actually, I called you here because there's something I wanted to show you."

"Yes?"

Strange delusions kept clouding my mind.

"Catch."

She took out something like a card and threw it to me. I hurriedly caught it.

"This is…"

"The Archbishop and the Pharaoh seem to think very highly of you." She smiled, resting her chin on her hand. "It even came through an official notice from the Global Hunter Alliance. The success of the Armin Walter assassination operation was thanks to the absolute support of Korea, and they express their deepest gratitude for the cooperation."

"…!"

"And that cooperator from Korea was a single person: official rank-4 hunter Kim Yusin. That's right. You're the number one contributor to the Armin Walter operation."

I stared blankly at the official certificate she had given me.

'Official Rank-3 Hunter Kim Yusin.'

"Congratulations on the promotion, rank-3 hunter Kim Yusin," the President said with a graceful smile.

* * *

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