Chapter 38
Si-hyun, who entered the clearing, immediately cast blessings on the men.
Starting with the necks of the men who were bruised by the monster’s grip.
And down to the archer’s ankle, torn from the monster’s grip.
The wounds of the D-rank guild members healed instantly.
Si-hyun approached the archer and crouched down as he spoke.
“You did a great job just now. That was impressive archery.”
“Ah… Th-Thank you!”
The man responded in an awestruck voice, moved by Si-hyun’s praise.
He looked at Si-hyun with shining eyes.
At that moment.
“Kihi—!”
Suddenly, the space to Si-hyun’s right distorted, and a monster’s head popped out.
“D-Danger…!”
The startled man shouted loudly.
Thud!
“Are… you okay?”
He barely closed his mouth.
Si-hyun, who had shattered the monster’s teeth with his fist, stood up.
Simultaneously, the clown’s head returned to its original place.
The sharp, pointed teeth that had jutted out like spikes were all broken and scattered.
“I’ll finish it up.”
“Yes, yes!”
The shocked man answered with wide-open eyes.
He hadn’t imagined that the teeth chewing through spears could be shattered so easily.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, it was hard to believe.
As Si-hyun turned, the furious monster glared at him.
The standoff didn’t last long.
Tat!
Si-hyun kicked off the ground and charged.
Startled by the sheer speed of the charge, the clown moved his hands.
Just like when it grabbed the archer’s ankle earlier, it aimed for Si-hyun’s leg.
But.
Crunch!
Si-hyun lightly stomped on the hand that appeared in mid-air and kept running forward.
“So predictable.”
Si-hyun sneered, mocking the monster.
It might have been a tough opponent for the Wings guild members, but it was nothing to Si-hyun.
All it could do was use spatial magic to extend parts of its body to mid-range.
Si-hyun could predict its moves by sensing the mana flow, and the monster’s body wasn’t even that durable.
Strong against the weak, weak against the strong.
A typical monster of that type.
‘That’s probably why it’s throwing up flimsy barriers.’
“Kyahhh!”
As Si-hyun approached, the furious clown threw a punch with its intact arm.
But Si-hyun simply tilted his head slightly to avoid the attack.
Then, she charged and gripped the clown’s neck firmly with her right hand.
Si-hyun and the clown’s bodies momentarily lifted off the ground.
Si-hyun’s long hair fluttered in the wind.
In that position.
Thud!
Combining the momentum with the strength of her arm, Si-hyun slammed the clown into the ground.
The monster, choked and unable to breathe, couldn’t even scream properly.
Si-hyun didn’t stop there.
“What you did to them, you should experience too, right?”
Si-hyun, who had risen first, moved slightly and grabbed the clown’s ankles.
She gathered all her strength.
Whoosh—, bang!
In a suplex-like position, she flung the clown backward, slamming it into the ground.
Payback, even worse than what it gave!
The price for toppling the archer was severe.
With its head buried in the ground and its entire body crashing down, the clown shuddered.
Si-hyun dusted off his hands lightly as she stood up.
After glancing at the clown.
“Anyone here for revenge?”
She laughed lightly and gestured to the men.
A brief silence followed.
But soon.
“Here I come!”
“Revenge, revenge!”
“Hahaha!”
“Charge!”
The excited men rushed forward.
The monster, barely clinging to life, lay limp and powerless.
Testing it with a few taps of their feet, they enthusiastically began their revenge.
The spearman whose spear had broken kicked its body.
The swordsman, whose neck had been squeezed, struck the clown’s neck with his sword.
The limp clown could only endure the one-sided beating.
“Hehehe!”
“Hahaha!”
“Serves you right!”
The C-rank Wings Guild’s dungeon tour had turned back into a picnic.
The terror-stricken expressions from moments ago had completely vanished.
Si-hyun watched the scene with satisfaction.
Then, suddenly.
‘…Did I go overboard?’
Seeing the friendly Wings Guild members in danger and hearing Han-gyeol’s cries beside her…
She’d gotten anxious and went all out.
Of course, she’d had to act since she’d promised Da-young to ensure their safety.
Breaking the magic of a monster not even B-rank wasn’t difficult.
But in the heat of the moment, she’d acted too flashily.
‘…Can I even be called a Holy Knight? At D-rank, no less?’
This didn’t look like it at all. What should I do…?
…Should I play dumb and pretend I didn’t notice?
Every day, enjoying sweet rest and only doing what she wanted when she needed to…
Si-hyun was incredibly happy with his comfortable life as it was.
Si-hyun is deep in thought about how to conclude things.
Meanwhile, the men.
As they were collecting the byproducts from the dead clown, they noticed Si-hyun’s serious expression.
They assigned the youngest member to the task, crouched down pretending to work, and whispered amongst themselves out of Si-hyun’s earshot.
“Han-gyeol, Si-hyun must be at least B-rank, right?”
“Right…?”
“Isn’t it usually criminals who hide their rank?”
“Si-hyun, a criminal? No way. Besides, she’s an Academy professor.”
The men glance subtly at Si-hyun.
She’s still lost in thought.
“Why would she hide his rank?”
One man asked.
“Maybe she’s the Association’s secret ace. Like a hidden trump card?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to use hier openly than keep her hidden? It’s not like there are only a few dungeons.”
The conspiracy theorist’s idea was dismissed immediately.
“Could it be for love or something?”
“Love? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“If she’s too powerful, no one would dare approach her. So she hides hier rank to blend in and socialize with others.”
“Oh, that actually sounds kind of plausible. Then, who would she be in love with?”
All the men’s eyes turn to Han-gyeol.
“Let’s make some sense here.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“This doesn’t seem likely.”
“…Excuse me.”
Han-gyeol, who had been listening quietly, made a grim face.
The romantic guild member’s theory was dismissed as well.
“She looks like a foreigner, doesn’t she? Maybe she has a reason, like she had to change her identity and become Korean?”
“That’s pretty convincing.”
“Does she have a secret she can’t reveal to others?”
The identity-washing theory came up next.
The men continued exchanging various theories.
Then one man raised a question.
“But do we really need to know why?”
“…That’s true.”
“Whether he washed his identity or whatever, in the end, it means she wants to keep it hidden, right?”
“Exactly.”
The men’s gazes shift briefly to Si-hyun, then back to each other.
“She must have his reasons. She’s so beautiful and kind; doesn’t it make sense for her to have some story?”
“And she’s our lifesaver. Shouldn’t we just go along with what she wants?”
Everyone nods.
The Wings Guild members’ opinions started aligning.
When they’d finally reached a conclusion, the youngest finished organizing the byproducts and stood up.
Realizing it was time to leave the dungeon, Si-hyun raised his head.
“Everyone, today’s events…”
“Si-hyun, you were amazing!”
“So this is what it means to be a talented D-rank hunter?!”
“As expected of an Academy professor! Hahaha!”
“We’ll have to work even harder! Hahaha!”
The men shower Si-hyun with compliments, chuckling heartily.
Si-hyun’s mouth opens slightly at the unexpected reactions.
‘They didn’t catch on to this?’
Si-hyun’s brows furrow slightly, still in disbelief.
The men quickly noticed the subtle change in her expression.
“You’re a C-rank, but you haven’t taken the promotion exam yet?”
“We should throw a celebration party soon!”
“Let us know when you take the exam!”
“…Um, sure.”
Si-hyun found herself nodding involuntarily.
In an instant, she’d gone from a ‘talented D-rank’ to a ‘talented C-rank who hasn’t taken the promotion exam.’
Does this make sense? Are they really going to let it slide like this?
Though Si-hyun tilted her head in slight confusion, she followed the men as they headed toward the exit.
‘They’re all pretending not to know, aren’t they?’
The men’s shamelessness almost fooled him for a moment, but Si-hyun wasn’t naive.
Even if it was about defeating a boss, they must have noticed something was strange since she broke the barrier.
With a peculiar expression, Si-hyun looked at the men walking ahead.
Why were they going out of their way to do this, even without her asking?
Honestly, she didn’t know the reason, but it didn’t feel bad.
‘Maybe I should trust them this once?’
Even if rumours spread, it wouldn’t be the end of the world; it’d just be a bit bothersome.
And if they didn’t spread? Then he could continue building trust with the Wings Guild.
It didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Just before they reached the exit, Si-hyun called out to the men.
“Everyone.”
They all stopped and turned around.
Their demeanour was entirely different from when they were trapped in the barrier earlier.
Si-hyun smiled shyly as she spoke.
“Thank you.”
It was a short statement.
But that was enough.
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you!”
“We’re alive because of you, Si-hyun!”
Emotions ran high as the party exchanged words of gratitude.
***
The Wings Guild members dropped Si-hyun off at his home before heading to their guild building.
They had reserved the dungeon with this in mind, so it was a natural flow.
“Should we just check in and then all go grab drinks?”
“Sounds good!”
“I’m in.”
Their next plans flowed naturally.
As the men returned to the guild building,
Da-young greeted them upon their arrival.
“So, how was today? I told you Si-hyun was trustworthy, right?”
“Wow, she was really amazing!”
“I didn’t realize from just seeing her around the guild building sometimes, but she’s got such a cool personality too!”
At Da-young’s words, they excitedly praised Si-hyun.
Pleased with their response, Da-young nodded with a smile.
Then, one man hesitantly asked Da-young a question.
“Master, you’re close to Si-hyun, right? She has such an exotic look. Do you know where she’s from?”
“Oh, that?”
Da-young replied as if it were nothing special.
“She’s from a country so far away, you wouldn’t know it even if I told you its name.”
“Oh, I see.”
“So that’s it!”
“Just as I thought.”
Though Da-young had only lightly concealed the fact that Si-hyun was a returnee…
The men firmly believed in the theory they’d previously discussed about her washing her identity.
‘So she’s royalty or a noble from some far-off land!’
Just from her appearance, it made sense. It wasn’t the looks of an ordinary person.
Now they understood why she always exuded such a dignified and refined atmosphere.
And yet, she also showed such a down-to-earth side.
The men found themselves captivated by Si-hyun’s charm in an instant.
“She looked so beautiful when she said goodbye at the end…”
“Oh, that moment! She was really cute.”
“It was so hard to keep a straight face every time she smiled and complimented us.”
“Exactly, exactly!”
The men laughed with wide smiles as they chatted.
Han-gyeol joined in, nodding enthusiastically.
Watching the guild members, Da-young chuckled and shook her head lightly.
—
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