Chapter 22
Hong-ryeon silently observed the man in front of her as he poured the tea. Without hesitation, she sipped the hot tea that was steaming before her.
“Aren’t you worried it’s too hot?”
“How can a magical girl who controls fire be bothered by heat? But let’s not waste time talking about the tea; that’s not important.”
The man had prepared the tea excellently, and as a result, it seemed that Hong-ryeon’s mood had calmed slightly. Crossing her legs, she began to speak.
“In a month, we’ll be facing an S-rank monster.”
“What?”
Reina’s mouth gaped in shock. What was that supposed to mean? Even an A-rank monster was considered a catastrophe, and now an S-rank? Such a rank was something you only heard about on global news, wasn’t it?
“I mean what I said. We’re going to face an S-rank monster. All of us here.”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“There’s no need to worry. When we go to hunt it, we’ll be fully prepared and fight on advantageous ground.”
The military had insisted on calling in Bing Seol Hwa, but Hong-ryeon had firmly rejected their suggestion.
This was her chance. The opportunity she needed to surpass Bing Seol Hwa.
More than 30% of Korea’s magical girl forces were already gathered here. If they also called in Bing Seol Hwa, it would be a national embarrassment. The narrative would be that Hong-ryeon, an A-rank magical girl, needed Bing Seol Hwa’s help. That’s all people would talk about.
Of course, Black Knight couldn’t be fully trusted either, but honestly, even if there was mistrust, what could be done? The fact remained that an S-rank monster was heading south. It was better to accept whatever help was available.
That said, the mission couldn’t afford heavy casualties during the monster hunt. So, this operation had to succeed with minimal damage while defeating the monster.
“So, I’m going to train you over the next month.”
“W-what?”
Lee Su-hui looked startled. Hong-ryeon gazed at her steadily, resting her chin on her hand.
“To be honest, when I first saw you, I thought you were unremarkable. But after observing you, I think you’ve got potential. So, I’m going to train you personally.”
To achieve the outcome she wanted and lure in the Supreme Leader, they needed a bait that the Supreme Leader couldn’t resist. The problem was finding a magical girl capable of surviving and leading the monster into the trap without falling victim to it.
Hong-ryeon herself had the most important role in hunting down the Supreme Leader. As an Artillery, her specialty was long-range bombardment magic, and many other B-rank magical girls already had their roles assigned.
However, this didn’t mean there were no B-rank magical girls left. But could they really be trusted with the bait role? That was debatable.
Being strong didn’t automatically make someone good at being bait. Frankly, she doubted that anyone below A-rank would even stand a chance against an S-rank monster.
Thus, Hong-ryeon had chosen Reina to be the bait. She had highly rated Reina’s vision abilities and talent, believing Reina could fulfill the role.
Of course, regardless of Hong-ryeon’s deep strategic thinking, Lee Su-hui wanted to refuse immediately, but she didn’t dare say that out loud. Not with Hong-ryeon watching her so intently.
Hong-ryeon smiled and said to Lee Su-hui, “I’m going to train you so hard you’ll feel like throwing up.”
One month. In just one month, they had to be ready to face an S-rank monster. Reina, who would serve as bait, was the most crucial part of the plan.
So, they would train hard. If they could just push Reina into the upper ranks of B-tier, she’d likely be able to handle it.
“U-uhhhh…”
Lee Su-hui’s face twisted into a look of despair as she listened to Hong-ryeon, but that didn’t stop Hong-ryeon from watching her with a steady gaze.
“Smile. I’m offering to personally mentor you. Shouldn’t you be happy?”
“H… hahaha… hahaha….”
“Yes, just like that.”
The man, who had been quietly watching the farce unfold between the two magical girls, let out a sigh and then spoke.
“Whatever you’re doing, just take it easy. Miss Yeonhwa, please take care of yourself as well.”
At that, Hong-ryeon looked at the man.
“You look tired. Why don’t you rest for a bit? You came all the way here so early in the morning, and it’s clear you’re exhausted.”
“Sh-shut up. I can take care of my own body.”
In truth, Hong-ryeon hadn’t slept at all. She had stayed up all night, coordinating with the military about the incident with the Black Knight and preparing for future operations.
Seeing her situation, the man, Baek Seung-hyun, nodded slowly.
“Yeah, I’m not your manager, so I trust you know what you’re doing. But overexerting yourself can be just as bad.”
After saying that, the man made an “ah” sound and spoke again.
“If you’re going to leave, at least have breakfast before you go. Given the situation, I made plenty of food.”
“Breakfast? Who has time for that? I need to…”
At that moment, a small rumbling sound came from Hong-ryeon’s stomach. She had been active all night, burning calories, so it was no surprise she was hungry.
The man’s lips twitched into a smirk as he set the food on the table.
“See? If you don’t have enough energy, you won’t be able to do anything properly. So, why don’t you eat first, regain some strength, and then decide what to do?”
He then turned to Lee Su-hui.
“You should eat as well, Miss Su-hui. I’ll tidy up the bedding in the meantime.”
With that, he casually walked toward the girl’s bedroom. Hong-ryeon, left speechless, stared at him with her mouth slightly open.
“…Do managers normally clean up the bedding too?”
“Aha… well… before we came here, he was my manager and lived with me, so… at first, I insisted on doing it myself, but… it’s just so convenient…”
Hong-ryeon sighed in disbelief, muttering as she brought the food to her mouth. Before she knew it, she had ended up eating both dinner and now breakfast at this place.
“Are you a pet being pampered or something?”
Finally, unable to hold back, she directed her words toward Su-hui. Depending too much on a manager should have its limits, right?
“Uhh…”
Su-hui wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t. After all, whenever she returned home from fighting monsters, all she did was laze around while he took care of everything. What could she even say?
“At least deny it a little.”
“It’s just… I don’t even know what I should say…”
By the time they realized it, both had finished their meal. Standing up, Hong-ryeon stretched her stiff body and spoke.
“Alright, we’ve eaten, so we’re good to go now, right? Let’s head out.”
“W-wait! Let me at least wash up…!”
“There’s no time for that.”
As soon as she said that, Hong-ryeon transformed and used a purification spell.
“There, now you’re clean. Let’s go.”
“…Didn’t you say you don’t like wasting magic on everyday life?”
“What nonsense. This isn’t wasting; it’s avoiding wasting time. Stop complaining and transform already.”
Finally, Lee Su-hui also finished her transformation into Reina.
Just before the two magical girls stepped out of the lodging, Baek Seung-hyun grabbed Reina’s shoulder and spoke.
“Be careful. Don’t get hurt. I’ll make something delicious and wait for you.”
“Ah, okay!”
Reina smiled at his words. Watching this, Hong-ryeon opened the door first and stepped out, followed by Reina.
Baek Seung-hyun, who had been quietly watching the magical girls fly into the sky, suddenly turned cold and muttered,
“Tch, they just keep bothering me. Don’t they know when to give up?”
He was speaking to the ‘something’ writhing in his shadow, whose limbs had been severed.
…
…
[The signal from the Gremlin has suddenly been cut off.]
A voice echoed through the conference room where the New Humanity Association executives were gathered. The executives reacted with alarm.
[But the Gremlin is an S-rank monster. You’re saying its signal just vanished?]
[Maybe it shut off its own signal? That guy always liked to scheme alone.]
[Either way, it’s a problem. And if the signal was cut by someone else, that’s even worse.]
The executives of the New Humanity Association were all composed of S-rank monsters, hidden in the shadows away from public knowledge. For one of their members’ signals to be cut off suggested something serious was happening.
[…Honestly, it might be for the best. We can replace Gremlin with that ‘Black Knight,’ or whatever he’s called.]
[Well, from what I saw last time, he doesn’t seem like someone who would be easily persuaded.]
[In that case, we’ll have to force him into submission and make him one of our executives.]
[Enough. The important thing right now is the Gremlin. I remember there was some project in progress in the northern region of Korea. Someone should investigate that.]
[I’ll take care of it.]
The black cat monster Bastet raised her hand.
[After all, I was already handling the operation in Korea. Since it’s the same peninsula, I might as well take charge.]
With that, the dark energy filling the conference room began to writhe ominously.
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