Breaking Up with the #1 S-Class

The red-haired girl began approaching me with killing intent.

I didn’t understand the situation, but I could be certain of one thing.

I absolutely did not have a grudge relationship where we would kill each other.

“Excuse me. I’m not sure what misunderstanding you’re having, but I’m not that kind of person.”

I waved my hand and spoke to the red-haired girl.

I was telling her I wasn’t her enemy.

I was seeing this girl for the first time today.

Yet she was suddenly trying to kill me—she must be fundamentally misunderstanding something.

“I’m a guild member here. A guild member of [Hunter S] who joined 3 days ago.”

To clear up the misunderstanding, I pointed to the guild right next to me.

I was a guild member here, and my passing by was purely coincidental.

“…”

The red-haired girl began to pause after hearing my words.

And she glared at me as if thinking.

“You’re a [Hunter S] employee?”

“Yes… I’m Lee Si-woo, a guild member who joined [Hunter S].”

The red-haired girl was still making a savage expression, as if not completely convinced of who I was.

I introduced myself to her with the most gentle-looking face possible.

The most appropriate word to describe me right now was “guild member”.

“Oh… I see. Mr. Si-woo. I remember hearing from my brother that he hired one new member.”

The red-haired girl smiled at me, saying “Ah, I see.”

I could now understand the identity of the red-haired girl.

Based on the word ‘brother’ she mentioned, I guessed she was Park Jin-ha, Park Jin-soo’s sister.

“Yes… I’m that Lee Si-woo. You’re Jin-ha, right? Nice to meet you.”

Now that we could communicate, I let out a sigh of relief.

And I held out my hand for a handshake to Park Jin-ha, whom I was meeting for the first time today.

I thought misunderstandings could happen.

I was glad the misunderstanding was cleared up.

But…

“By the way, why doesn’t an employee know their proper work hours?”

Park Jin-ha didn’t accept my handshake.

And she didn’t lower her guard at all.

Her suspicious gaze continued.

“… No. I know my work hours. It’s 9 o’clock.”

“That’s right. But I’m curious why you arrived at work so early today.”

I tried to explain to Park Jin-ha as persuasively as possible.

She seemed very suspicious about my early arrival at the company.

Honestly, it was a bit early to come to work right now.

But it was simply a coincidence.

There was absolutely no other meaning to it.

I had just happened to arrive at the company a bit early today.

“I was just touring some gates for exercise and ended up coming early.”

“Oh… for exercise?”

“Haha… yes.”

“Okay. Let’s say that’s true.”

I answered very honestly.

Park Jin-ha seemed to understand my explanation without further objection.

I tried to feel relieved again, but…

“Then why do I sense A-class level power from you? From what I know, this new recruit was supposed to be B-class.”

Park Jin-ha’s suspicious gaze continued.

Apparently, she was very suspicious of my hunter rank.

Park Jin-soo had obviously shared some information about me with Park Jin-ha.

Perhaps Park Jin-soo had described me as B-class.

So Park Jin-ha was now very suspicious of me.

It was understandable to be suspicious since she sensed A-class level strength from a hunter who should have been B-class.

“… Haha… At that time, B-class was definitely correct. But I just grew to A-class hunter level…”

I told Park Jin-ha exactly what happened.

I didn’t remember lying to Park Jin-soo.

At that time, I definitely had B-class level skills.

And it was absolutely not a lie that I just grew to A-class level power.

I had been training from tonight until before coming here, and thanks to that training, I could gain A-class level power.

That was all, and I told Park Jin-ha everything truthfully.

“In just 3 days?”

However, Park Jin-ha seemed even more disbelieving, and her gaze became even more intense.

Despite telling her everything truthfully, she was gradually losing trust in me.

“Yes…”

But I had truly told the truth. I was feeling a bit wronged.

I wasn’t bold enough to lie to this scary woman who was about to kill me.

I hoped she would just believe me.

“Ah. So that’s how it is. You became stronger in 3 days. I see.”

“…”

Seeing me like this, Park Jin-ha chuckled as if finding me ridiculous.

And now truly preparing to kill me, she began to readjust her sword.

She was slowly approaching to execute me.

“It’s the truth! Please believe me! Just a little…!!!”

Seeing that, I sensed death.

This woman was not someone I could handle in any way.

I immediately knew that if we fought, the match would be decided in seconds and I would die.

That’s why I could only cry out and appeal my grievance.

I was in a situation where I would definitely die if nothing changed…

“I have one last question, though there’s nothing more to ask. Actually, this is the most important question.”

“What is it?”

Pausing for a moment, as if giving me a last chance, Park Jin-ha stopped.

“The sword in your hand—isn’t that a sword from the Sword Saint Society?”

She pointed to the sword I was holding with her chin.

The sword seemed to really bother Park Jin-ha.

“Huh? This is a birthday gift I received from a childhood friend when I was young…”

Sword Saint Society… Come to think of it, my childhood friend Lee Na-ri was from the Sword Saint Society.

I remembered receiving a sword as a birthday gift from Na-ri in the past.

I had been using this sword since then… I didn’t know what the problem was.

But I soon understood the reason.

“Huh…? The people who fell were wearing Sword Saint Society swords…?”

All the people Park Jin-ha had been fighting were wearing Sword Saint Society swords.

She must have been suspicious of me from the beginning because of this.

That’s why she directly asked, “Are you also one of them?”

But, I’ll say it multiple times, this was just a coincidence.

It was just a sword received from a childhood friend.

I had absolutely nothing to do with those fallen people or the Sword Saint Society.

“Haa… I see.”

Park Jin-ha sighed as if she no longer expected anything from me.

“So, summarizing what you’re saying…”

And she confirmed once more with me.

“You’re a company employee who coincidentally came early, coincidentally raised your rank in 3 days, and coincidentally received a birthday gift from a friend that happens to be a Sword Saint Society sword. Is that right?”

“… Well, something like that.”

Park Jin-ha emphasized the word “coincidentally”.

It was a statement that seemed like mockery.

Her expression showed she didn’t believe me at all, but sorry, all of this was true.

Park Jin-ha seemed to think all my words were lies, but I had truly told the truth.

“You want me to believe that?”

“It’s really true.”

“Your tongue feels itchy.”

Even though I appealed more, Park Jin-ha no longer wanted to talk to me.

And she quickly charged at me.

Clang!

“Ugh…”

The sound of swords colliding was heard.

Although I blocked Park Jin-ha’s sword, I couldn’t follow her movements with my eyes at all.

I had blocked it by instinct, but without that instinct, my upper body would probably have been cut in two.

Park Jin-ha seemed completely serious now.

Her killing intent towards me didn’t disappear.

“Not bad.”

Park Jin-ha chuckled, looking slightly surprised.

And she smiled with a bit of praise about me.

Swish.

“Kuaak…”

I couldn’t last long.

My sword was pierced by Park Jin-ha’s sword along with her smile.

And after receiving a critical wound in my abdomen, I knelt down.

As expected, I couldn’t even compete.

Park Jin-ha currently possessed S-class strength.

From the beginning, I had sensed an enormous difference in power.

She was S-class, and I was A-class.

It was completely different from the A-class dimensional monster I had just hunted in the dungeon.

Right now, I couldn’t catch up.

Moreover, I was extremely exhausted.

I couldn’t move anymore.

“Your body is tougher than I thought.”

Park Jin-ha looked down at me and spoke.

She seemed somewhat interested in the Hero skill’s physical performance.

But it was just simple curiosity.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll just cut your throat.”

Park Jin-ha raised her sword again to finish me off.

“Huk… huk…”

My breath was getting ragged.

I could sense death.

I felt I was about to die helplessly.

As I was accepting death, whether I liked it or not, fortunately, a savior arrived.

“Hyung-nim Si-woo…!!!”

Barely turning my head, I discovered a man urgently running towards us from far away.

It was Park Jin-soo.

“Huh? Brother?”

Seeing Park Jin-soo, Park Jin-ha also stopped the sword she was about to strike me with.

“Hyung-nim Si-woo? Hyung-nim Si-woo… Pull yourself together.”

Park Jin-soo ran straight to me.

And hugging me tightly, he had a very serious expression.

“Ugh… Jin-soo…”

I was hit with a sense that I might have survived.

It was hard to make a sound, but I barely managed to speak.

“What… could this be?”

Park Jin-ha still seemed unable to grasp the situation, staring blankly at me and Park Jin-soo, but she was gradually beginning to understand.

“Oh, hyung-nim Si-woo… Pull yourself together. Hyung-nim Si-woo…!!!”

Park Jin-soo began to cry out to me.

Blood was currently flowing from my abdomen.

From the side, my condition must have looked very serious.

“Hyung-nim Si-woo. Who did this? Who did this to my life’s benefactor?”

Park Jin-soo began to show tears.

And he started shouting and questioning in this situation.

“Jin-ha. What’s going on? Don’t you know anything? Who exactly did this…”

He turned and looked at Park Jin-ha.

Park Jin-soo still seemed unaware of the current situation due to his overwhelming emotions.

“Oh… no… Brother… this is… well…”

And with his question, Park Jin-ha’s expression turned deathly pale.