"You have arrived."

The map app on my smartphone displayed the message. I had arrived at the Hunter Association Development District, finally here to meet the Association President. I checked my reflection in a glass window, smoothed my hair, adjusted my clothes, and went inside.

"Please present your access pass," a security guard at the entrance requested, his tone bored.

"Here you go."

The guard, who'd been expressionlessly scanning the barcode on my ID, did a double-take. "W-welcome, Archmage!"

"Thank you for your hard work."

The guard glanced around furtively before speaking in a hushed voice. "If it's not too much trouble, could I ask for an autograph?"

"Of course, I'd be happy to."

With no paper nearby, I signed my name in large letters on the office visitor log. The security guard promptly tore out the entire page and tucked it into his pocket.

After passing the entrance and walking a little further, another Association staff member was waiting. He stood in front of a small, open-air vehicle that looked like a golf cart.

"I've been waiting for you. Please, get in."

"Pardon?"

"I'll take you to the Association President."

Thankfully, she hadn't forgotten I was coming. Relieved, I awkwardly climbed into the back seat. The staff member said, "Here we go," and stepped on the accelerator.

'I'm nervous.'

Meeting the Association President was always a tense affair. From our few encounters, I knew she wasn't a bad person, but she was so wildly eccentric that I couldn't help but worry. Plus, the meeting location was bizarre. Why summon me here instead of just telling me to come to the Association building?

"We're here."

"Ah."

I looked around. Were we really here? The place was desolate, with no buildings or people in sight. A smooth surface that could have been a road or a runway stretched out before us, with a massive hangar squatting at the end. The staff member who'd dropped me off left in the vehicle after a brief radio exchange, offering no explanation.

Left all alone, I started walking toward the hangar.

"Oh! Is that you, Yusin?"

Having heard my footsteps, the Association President's voice echoed from inside.

"President! It's been a while… hah!"

I had steeled myself, determined not to be surprised by anything, but a shocked sound escaped my lips against my will. There she was, standing in a swimsuit in the middle of a Seoul runway, with not a drop of water in sight.

"Gahahaha! You lucky bastard! My baby! Come here! Let me give you a hug!"

The scantily clad president came charging over and threw her arms around me. I had come wearing my hunter suit this time, but as she embraced me, I heard it crack and break... again. Resigning myself to my fate, I said, "I hope you've been well."

"Of course, of course! Thanks to our hero of Africa, I can hold my head high!"

"But why… are you in a swimsuit?"

"I'm going swimming, so I'm wearing a swimsuit."

Her answer was so fundamentally logical that it left me dumbfounded. What the hell was with the bikini? If she was wearing it as a ploy to mentally overwhelm me… it was a resounding success. I had no idea where to look.

"President, the reason for my visit is…"

"I know, I know! We'll talk about that boring stuff later. For now, let's go!"

"Go where?"

She grinned and pressed a button on the hangar wall. 'Rumble!' The massive hangar doors parted, and I could only gape at what emerged from within.

'No, this is insane!'

'…Why is a fighter jet coming out of here?'

"All right! Shall we get going?"

Watching the red-haired woman in a swimsuit place a hand on the fighter jet's fuselage and wink, I felt a profoundly strange sensation. I'm a person who prefers things that are logical, reasonable, and rational. A red-haired woman in a bikini leaning against a fighter jet in the middle of Seoul—yeah, my brain had just short-circuited.

What on earth was her intention? What was she aiming for? The more I thought, the more I felt like I was getting lost in a labyrinth of my own making.

"What are you spacing out for? Follow me."

She beckoned to me and walked ahead. I followed as if in a trance. She had me get into the fighter jet—one of those sleek models I'd seen in the news or American military movies, though I didn't know its designation.

"Here, wear this," she said, handing me a helmet with a strange hose attached.

'Whoa. Is she really planning to fly this thing?'

As I fumbled with the unfamiliar equipment, she came over and put the helmet on for me.

"Stay still!"

I decided to stay still, which proved agonizing as certain parts of her body kept catching my eye.

"All set?"

"Yes!"

Sat in the pilot's seat, she put on her helmet as well—the bizarre contrast of a bikini body and a fighter pilot helmet once again made my head ache. I'd expected a pilot, but it turned out she was flying it herself. As the open canopy lowered, a sudden wave of fear washed over me.

"P-president!"

"Yeah?"

"Is it okay for me to be in this?"

"Hmm… normally, the person in the back needs training too, but it should be fine. You're a hunter, right?"

I'm a human before I'm a hunter.

"Have you ever had G-force resistance training?"

"No."

"They have a course for it at the academy."

"I was in the non-combat department, so I couldn't take it."

"Really? Eh, whatever. I'll fly slowly."

Excuse me, ma'am! This isn't a car! What the hell does 'flying slowly' even mean?!

Just then, the jet's engine roared to life, and a vibration ran through my entire body.

"We're going to break the sound barrier. You can handle 9 Gs for about fifteen seconds, right?"

"I can't! I'm getting out of here!"

"Don't forget to protect your body with mana! Well then, let's gooo!"

The fighter jet took off, and I experienced what it felt like to die.

* * *

'Caw. Caw.'

Listening to the clear, bright calls of the island birds, I was crouched beside the fighter jet, throwing up. A short distance away, the Association President stood with her arms crossed, clicking her tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Such a delicate constitution."

"…President, in this day and age, that kind of remark is… 'Urp'!"

Unable to watch any longer, she came over and patted my back. I finally came to my senses after heaving up everything I had eaten that morning. I lifted my head. The sky was cloudless, a salty ocean breeze was blowing, and the sound of crashing waves tickled my ears.

"Where are we?"

"Hawaii."

"…Ah, I see. Hawaii."

I decided to just give up on being surprised. I also set aside the question of why I was only now finding out our destination.

"President. Could there have been some kind of mistake? I just requested a meeting…"

"Haha, actually, I'm on vacation today! I'll listen to your work stuff in a bit. Since we're in Hawaii, let's go for a swim!"

I didn't know where to even begin to argue. 'Why did you drag me along on your vacation in a fighter jet?'

"Yusin, hurry up!" she urged, already far ahead.

"Ah, yes! Coming!"

Since I hadn't known we were coming to Hawaii, I was completely unprepared. I bought a pair of swim trunks and flip-flops at a nearby beach shop, changed, and jumped into the ocean. It was a safety beach guarded by hunters, so there was no fear of monsters.

'Wow, it's been a long time since I've been in the ocean.'

I hated to admit it, but it felt better than I'd expected. The emerald sea was like something out of a dream, and the water temperature was perfect. I floated on my back, looking up at the blue sky. Ah, this was healing.

"Hey! Kim Yusin! Go buy me a cocktail!"

When she first said she was going for a swim, I'd imagined something fantastical, like her parting the North Pacific to fight a school of sharks. But she was much more subdued than I'd expected, just floating around on an inflatable tube, enjoying cocktails and fruit.

"Yusin! I've drifted away! Give me a push!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

When I swam over and pushed her tube, she would giggle with the delight of a proper lady.

'Ahem.'

We came together, but the Association President today outshone every other woman on the beach. Of course, the men weren't about to leave her alone.

"Hey! Where are you from?"

"Wow! You are so hot! Can I buy you a drink?"

While I was distracted, a few tall, slender American men approached her. She just laughed as if they were beneath her and waved them away with a "Fuck off" in perfect English.

It was a cold rejection, but the men were persistent. Finally, the Association President smiled sweetly and gave them the middle finger. The men took offense, their faces turning red as they advanced. The President just stood there, as if daring them to try something.

He was too stunned to speak.

Just then, the three men were simultaneously flung backward into the sea. Flipped upside down, they flailed their legs uselessly above the water's surface.

It was nothing special. I had just created a ring of mana and used it to pull them under. I moved my fingers. The men, having swallowed a good amount of water, sputtered and coughed as they stood up.

"What the he—!"

This time, a volley of water droplets the size of fists rained down on their faces like machine-gun fire. As the men shielded their faces and retreated, I slowly walked over to the president's side. I casually put an arm around her shoulder and smirked.

"What's the matter?"

The men stared at me, dumbfounded. Then, perhaps realizing I was a hunter, they quietly tucked their tails between their legs and fled.

"Ooh, Kim Yusin."

As the men disappeared, the president burst out laughing and held out her palm. I gave her a high-five. "That could've been bad."

"Yep. You spared those bastards' lives."

'If I ever run into you guys again, you're buying me a meal.'

The small incident ended without any further trouble, and we resumed our fun. But the president's requests started piling up: buy her something, throw something away, pull her tube. I belatedly realized I was waiting on her hand and foot.

"President."

"What?"

"Isn't this an abuse of power? Is it okay for you to boss around a junior hunter like this?"

She blinked blankly for a moment, then suddenly grinned. "You little punk! You think you're hot stuff now, talking back to me?"

"I'm not talking back, I'm making a legitimate protest—Whoa!"

"Ahaha! Take this!"

Leaping from her tube, she grabbed my head and dragged me underwater. After subduing me, she ruffled my hair like I was a child before heading back to the surface.

'This is self-defense now!'

This time, I grabbed her shoulder as she tried to surface and pulled her back down. Her surprised expression quickly turned into a mischievous grin as her eyes gleamed.

'Uh oh?'

She wrapped her arms and legs around my body like an octopus. And then.

Caught in her red mana, I was instantly sent spinning out like a whirlpool. It was like being on a spinning banana boat.

"Aaaah! I-I'm sorry!"

"Gahahahahaha!"

Our bodies, which had been carving through the sea and creating huge waves, suddenly shot out of the water and into the air. We were impossibly high.

"Hup!"

She separated from me, leaving me to fall from the sky into the sea alone.

'I need to cast magic!'

<Aiolos>

I reflexively wrapped my body in fourth-order wind magic. As I descended, cushioned by the spell, I saw the president, who was falling from an even higher point, thrust her clenched fist forward.

'Swish!'

The red mana that shot from her fist grazed my side. I wasn't hurt, but the Aiolos surrounding me dissipated instantly. I'd felt this before when I'd jumped from the helicopter to the hotel, and the sheer absurdity of it made me want to laugh.

'Seriously, what insane control…!'

I crashed into the sea with a huge splash, and the president landed next to me, cackling.

"Haaaah." Floating on her back in the water, she laughed. "Ah, that was fun."

"…I'm glad to hear that."

I, on the other hand, thought I was going to die. She looked at the waterproof watch on her wrist. "It's about time to work. Let's get out."

"Work? Didn't you say you were on vacation?"

"Hey! Where in the world does a working adult get a hundred percent complete vacation? You have to do overtime even when you're on a trip."

Her logic was often difficult to follow. Anyway, we got out of the sea.

"It should be about time," she muttered, checking her watch again.

I looked up at the sky. The flow of mana was unusual. 'Rumble!' The sky above the beach rapidly darkened as if storm clouds were gathering. Then, a large rift tore open within them. Sirens blared from the beachside speakers, followed by an emergency broadcast.

"Emergency rift! A rift has occurred! All visitors, please evacuate the beach immediately!"

People began to evacuate amidst the commotion. Still, as modern people living in a chaotic world, their response was calm and swift. The state of Hawaii seemed prepared, as soldiers and armed hunters quickly arrived on the scene.

The President, still looking at her watch, said, "It's here."

A monster fell from the rift and landed on the beach. It was a large, gorilla-like creature, nearly seven meters tall with a massive build. A rank-6 monster, Gailas.

While people had been calm when the rift appeared, they must not have imagined such a large monster would emerge, because panicked screams erupted. Everyone was fleeing toward the city in a stampede.

"All right, then."

Hong Yul walked toward the monster and drew back her arm. The monster, sensing her mana, turned to face her.

"Hup."

She threw a punch.

'Boom!'

The sky, which had been dark with storm clouds, instantly cleared. The giant beast bowed its head. A large hole, like one in a tire, was punched clean through its torso.

Hong Yul, with a nonchalant expression, dusted off her hands. "Let's go eat."

"Ah, yes, ma'am."

'Crash!'

The gailas collapsed to the ground, dead. From the moment it fell into the vacation spot of a certified rank-1 hunter, its luck had run out.

* * *

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