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Chapter 66
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A plain-colored vehicle, commonly seen in the city, moved along the road.
It was a car devoid of any noticeable logos or decorations.
All the windows were tinted with a subtle glossy film, making it impossible to see inside.
Inside the vehicle, there were specially adjusted seats, curtain-style partitions, and shields installed.
It was a vehicle optimized for secretly hiding people.
“Yawn…”
Si-hyun lightly yawned and leaned deeply into the backseat of the car.
Today had been an exhausting day for many reasons.
Drinking the night before, waking up late, and realizing an emergency situation.
Then hastily adjusting her schedule to clear a double dungeon.
At the end of it all, she even met a necromancer from another world.
Her body was tired, but the mental fatigue was even more overwhelming.
‘Once I get home, I’ll eat and sleep right away…’
Si-hyun’s heavy eyelids drooped as she fought off sleep.
She glanced at the man sitting in another seat, then removed her veil and placed it on her lap.
‘I’ll organize my thoughts tomorrow…’
Si-hyun rested her head comfortably against the chair.
As she closed her eyes, she thought, ‘They’ll wake me up when we arrive.’
At that moment, the man seated in another chair, the team leader from the Hunter Management Bureau, spoke.
“Ahem, Hunter Jung Si-hyun?”
“……”
Si-hyun, who had already fallen asleep, reopened her eyes.
Having been woken up just as she was falling into a pleasant sleep, a subtle irritation began to rise.
Her default expression around strangers was usually neutral.
The team leader, whose mind was filled with work and tasks, failed to read her emotions.
“First of all, thank you for your hard work today.”
“……Yes.”
“I’ve heard a lot from Section Chief Jang Han-soo. However, the information you gave us was too sparse.”
“……”
“For starters, I’d like to ask about what happened in the dungeon today.”
“…I’m quite tired right now. I’m sorry, but please ask the other hunters who participated about today’s events…”
Si-hyun politely declined in a soft voice.
Her irritation from being woken up was her personal matter. After all, the other party was an important figure in the cooperation effort.
However, the team leader wasn’t satisfied with that. He had planned to extract information by meeting her directly.
Unconsciously, his tone shifted as he spoke.
“We’re currently ensuring your safe return home, aren’t we? I think we’re entitled to some information in return.”
“……”
“I understand you’re tired, but could you spare just a moment for a quick conversation?”
Though his words seemed polite, there was a coercive undertone to the team leader’s voice.
Frustrated by her uncooperative attitude, he felt a sense of urgency.
Si-hyun slowly rubbed her eyes with deliberate motions.
She opened her eyes wide and straightened her posture, lifting her back from the chair to face the team leader.
There was no change in Si-hyun’s expression.
However, the team leader instinctively sensed that she was displeased.
It was a gut feeling born of experience.
‘…Hmm?’
Just as the team leader felt something was off—
Bzzz—
Bzzz—
A vibration came from the team leader’s pocket.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
The team leader took the call after seeing Si-hyun nod slightly.
“Yes, this is Go Jae-yoon from the management department.”
He answered the call with a formal tone.
“Yes, yes.”
It seemed he was listening as the sound of him responding continued.
The longer the conversation went on, the stiffer his posture became.
Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
“Ah, understood.”
The call ended.
The team leader looked at Si-hyun with a face full of tension.
And then—
“Ahem! You must be very tired today! We’ll make sure to take you home comfortably, so please rest well.”
“……”
“Oh, and we’ll ask the other hunters about today’s events. Haha! I must have been too impatient. I sincerely apologize.”
The team leader’s sudden change in attitude.
The confidence he had moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
All that was left was a man nervously gauging Si-hyun’s mood.
Si-hyun stared at the team leader’s face for a moment before slowly nodding.
She leaned back into the seat again and closed her eyes for a quick nap.
Her steady breathing quietly filled the car.
Watching her, the team leader broke into a cold sweat.
‘Phew… That was close.’
If only he’d taken the section chief’s hint more seriously. He almost caused a disaster.
Had he heeded his subordinate’s warning more earnestly, there wouldn’t have been any room for mistakes in the first place.
The team leader swallowed hard, recalling what the section chief had told him.
[If she gets annoyed, she might disappear overseas. You’d better handle this carefully.]
…Fortunately, he had adjusted his attitude before it was too late.
It was a relief that he managed to recover before leaving a terrible first impression.
The team leader wiped the sweat off his damp forehead with a handkerchief as he glanced at Si-hyun, who was now asleep.
What? A B-rank or A-rank hunter would’ve been nice?
If she turned out to be S-rank, they’d treat her exceptionally well?
The team leader scoffed at his own naive assumptions from earlier.
Hunter Jung Si-hyun’s level wasn’t something so trivial.
This woman was an unmeasurable rank. She was, quite literally, a super-special-grade awakener.
A person whose individual power could surpass even national authority. A walking doomsday weapon.
The information he’d just received over the phone confirmed this.
The team leader pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat now streaming down his forehead.
***
The car arrived near Si-hyun’s home.
Si-hyun politely greeted the men and began walking toward her house.
Still drowsy, she paused, bowed her head, and rubbed her eyes.
Then, after glancing at the moon in the sky, she started walking again.
The team leader, who had stepped out of the car and was watching her back, let out a quiet sigh.
“My, oh my… Haha…”
Words that failed to form properly escaped his lips.
After driving all the way here, Jang Han-soo, who was standing beside him, spoke in a quiet voice.
“Today’s dungeon must have been intense. She looks very tired.”
“…I suppose so.”
“Pardon, sir?”
When the section chief asked again, the team leader replied in a flustered tone.
“I’m hearing that it’s chaos right now. They’re even saying she alone is stronger than all the hunters in the raid team combined. People are also asking who on earth that nun is.”
“…What? Really? That much?”
Even the section chief was astonished at these words.
After hearing Si-hyun’s confident tone, he vaguely assumed she might be an S-rank awakener.
And, of course, even that was incredible enough to warrant putting trust in her and making preparations.
But stronger than the entire raid team combined? That was practically on the level of a natural disaster.
The section chief gaped, unable to close his mouth.
The team leader glanced at the suddenly dazed expression on the section chief’s face before speaking.
“Under no circumstances should you disappoint her. You’ve already built rapport with her, so put in the effort.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Absolutely! Absolutely spare no resources. Give her whatever she wants! Provide her with whatever she asks for! No matter what, make sure she stays in Korea. Understood?”
“Yes, I’ll do my utmost!”
Nodding earnestly, the section chief glanced at his phone.
Paused on the screen was a TriTube video. It displayed a clip of the VTuber Momobin.
Afterward, the two men toiled away late into the night, burdened with their newfound tasks.
It was fortunate that they had prepared some measures in advance. Truly fortunate.
***
Time passed, and the date changed.
At the Dawn Guild’s conference room, people began gathering.
Once everyone was present, a male administrative staff member affiliated with the guild started his report.
“The management bureau continues to repeat the same response. The nun is a foreign hunter who naturalized in Korea, and they cannot disclose any further information.”
“Is it really necessary to keep the information so tightly under wraps?”
“They say it’s at the nun’s request. Apparently, if upset, she might leave for overseas…”
“……”
For a moment, the room fell silent.
The statement applied not only to the management bureau but also to guilds attempting to scout her.
There was now a reason to tread carefully.
“Has the management bureau’s informants reported anything?”
“No, it seems this is top-secret information known to only a select few. The responses we’re getting from the management bureau are all directives handed down from above.”
“Hmm…”
Because of the importance of information, larger guilds tend to secretly cultivate connections within the management bureau.
Even those informants had no knowledge of the nun, indicating the bureau’s meticulous handling of the matter.
“Is this nun really such an extraordinary person?”
The president of the Dawn Guild, who had been silently listening, finally spoke.
Although he was a civilian, he had made the Dawn Guild the strongest guild with his exceptional management skills.
In response to the president’s question, Yeo Do-hyung briefly surveyed the conference room.
He confirmed once again that Choi Ga-eul, who usually attended, was absent today before speaking.
“To be honest, I’ve never seen anyone so exceptional in my life.”
“Even compared to Ga-eul?”
“…It’s literally incomparable.”
“Hmm…”
The president and many others swallowed their breaths.
Choi Ga-eul was a supporter ranked among the top in the world.
But to say she was beyond comparison? It was too immense in scale to even fathom.
“In any case, let’s continue gathering information.”
“Yes, I’ll investigate data on foreign hunters.”
“I’ll look into recent arrivals to Korea.”
The meeting progressed smoothly.
However, the Dawn Guild could not uncover any additional information about the nun.
This was not unique to Dawn but also true for the Knight Guild, Blue Forest Guild, and the mid-sized guilds that had participated.
Si-hyun was not merely a foreign hunter who had naturalized in Korea.
She was the second returnee, yet to be revealed to the world.
Korean guilds, misled by incorrect assumptions, ended up wasting their efforts in vain.
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