NOVEL NEXT 80. Three-Way Confrontation (3)
“Oh, right! I bought a souvenir for oppa this time!”
At the polite use of “oppa,” Hyun Siwoo suddenly thought:
‘She must be calling me oppa because Chae Jise is here.’
[Looks like Hyun Habin cares about her image too.]
‘Exactly. She’s mindful of her image, so what was that advice from earlier?’
[Sorry, sorry. Humans really do stake their lives on image, huh? Tsk.]
Ignoring Neaiba’s words, Hyun Siwoo responded naturally.
“A souvenir? What is it?”
“Wait and see.”
The three of them ended up eating pizza together. Habin, who had briefly run to her room, came back with a rustling shopping bag.
“Here. I bought it on Kill Screen Island!”
Habin pulled out boxes from the shopping bag. The product names written on the exotic packaging were familiar to Hyun Siwoo.
“Wow, what a sister. Even in the midst of all that, you bought a souvenir for oppa. You’ve grown up, Hyun Habin!”
Satoria soap, Cella honey. Products often bought by Koreans visiting Kill Screen.
He could simply respond with “Thank you” here, but that wouldn’t be right.
[Why not?]
‘Because she bought it on Kill Screen Island!’
Kill Screen Island isn’t a place just anyone can visit, and Hyun Habin is a trainee. A normal family would be surprised that Hyun Habin had been to Kill Screen at this point.
So Hyun Siwoo decided to act surprised.
“Kill Screen Island? How did you go there?”
“I tagged along with a friend.”
“To Kill Screen Island? You just tagged along to a place like that?”
“Hey, don’t you know the saying ‘Follow a friend to Gangnam’? If you can follow someone to Gangnam, you can follow them to Kill Screen too!”
“……”
As if that’s possible.
Anyway, she has quite a knack for shutting people up with her absurd logic.
Chae Jise, perhaps wanting to help Habin, chimed in.
“We briefly visited Kill Screen Island for Solaris-related business. Habin came along at the same time. It wasn’t anything major, she just wanted to see Kill Screen Island, so Habin only went for tourism purposes.”
Not to be outdone, Habin drove the final nail in.
“What about you, oppa? You went on a European trip without saying anything!”
“…!”
[…European trip?]
Neaiba swallowed hard in surprise.
[Hey, how did she know we went to Europe? We go on business trips to Europe all the time!]
‘Fides’ was known to go just about everywhere. His daily routine involved flying around the world on private jets and teleports to solve various issues large and small.
‘C-calm down. That’s not why she’s saying that. The reason Hyun Habin is acting like this is…’
[The reason is?]
‘She probably saw my KakaoTalk profile picture and status message.’
Hyun Siwoo had deliberately set his KakaoTalk status message to say he was going on a European trip before entering Kill Screen. Once inside Kill Screen, communication would be impossible.
‘When facing long-term communication difficulties, there’s no better excuse than overseas travel.’
But who knew this would come back to bite him!
Hyun Siwoo shrugged his shoulders. He spoke in a nonchalant voice, spinning a lie.
“I suddenly went with a friend too. The day before, they asked, ‘There’s an empty seat on the plane, want to leave tomorrow?’ so I tagged along.”
“Hmm……”
“They said we could go for the lowest price.”
“Can’t resist a bargain!”
If that’s the case, then it’s acceptable!
Fortunately, Habin accepted it right away. She stretched out her hand to Hyun Siwoo.
“But souvenirs are a separate matter. Hand it over.”
“Did I leave it with you?”
“I gave you one, didn’t I?”
“……”
[Hey, what are you going to do? You don’t have a souvenir, do you? You didn’t even go on a trip in the first place!]
Hyun Siwoo was cornered.
Neaiba snickered as if finding it amusing.
‘In times like these……’
Swish.
Hyun Siwoo silently took a slice of pizza and placed it on Hyun Habin’s plate.
“Here, a souvenir for you.”
“This is just the pizza you brought a moment ago?”
“Pizza is an Italian specialty.”
“What? Are you trying to get away with it like that again?”
“If you don’t like it, don’t eat it……”
“Ah, are you taking it back? That’s mean! I’ll eat it well!”
Hyun Habin quickly grabbed the pizza. Generously sprinkling hot sauce and picking up her cola cup, she muttered as she bit into the stretching cheese.
“Fine! I’m big-hearted enough to let something like this slide.”
‘She really does eat well.’
It was a good thing he bought two pizzas.
He had bought plenty, thinking if there was too much, she could put it in the fridge and reheat it when hungry. But unexpectedly, Chae Jise had joined them. If the three of them had shared one pizza, it wouldn’t have been enough.
[Huh? Isn’t one pizza enough for three people?]
‘…Neaiba. If you don’t know, stay quiet. Do you know how well she eats? She could probably eat a whole pizza by herself.’
[…What?! R-really?!]
Ignoring the shocked Neaiba for now.
“Anyway, thanks for the souvenir.”
Hyun Siwoo belatedly thanked her and put away Hyun Habin’s gift. Habin’s response was muffled as she chewed on pizza, but it sounded like she said something along the lines of ‘If you know, then treat me well.’
Meanwhile.
‘Neaiba, there’s no ring on Hyun Habin’s hand right now, is there?’
[Nope, there isn’t.]
Hyun Siwoo glanced once more at Hyun Habin’s hand as she picked up the pizza.
As expected, the ‘Demon God’s Ring’ was not visible.
‘Looks like she used Deceiver’s Wish.’
[Is there any other explanation?]
‘It’s a bound item, so she couldn’t have thrown it away.’
Deceiver’s Wish, the trademark of Hyun Habin from the first iteration.
The fact that Ahezar now looks like an ordinary iron sword must also be due to the effect of that skill.
‘She’s using it well, I see.’
After a moment of silence as they ate pizza.
Perhaps the earlier souvenir squabble had eased the awkwardness a bit, as Chae Jise naturally brought up a topic with Habin.
“Habin, about your early graduation from the training institute.”
“…?”
Habin, who had been engrossed in eating pizza, raised only her eyes to look at Jise. Her expression was curious about what she was going to say.
“Did some problem come up?”
“Ah, there’s no problem with the graduation itself. It seems certain you’ll be able to graduate early.”
“Then?”
‘Hyun Habin is graduating early?’
Hyun Siwoo fell into thought upon hearing this.
‘So it’s because Kill Screen suddenly opened up.’
From what he’d heard, Hyun Habin had been desperate to skip out on the training institute, so this must be good news for her.
[Once she’s out of the training institute, will she just hole up at home now?]
‘I don’t think so… She’s been conquering dungeons behind our backs all this time anyway.’
Just what consequences would Hyun Habin’s early graduation from the training institute bring?
Chae Jise continued. Her expression was quite serious.
“I forgot to mention this earlier because I usually don’t think about it, but once you graduate from the training institute, you’ll receive an official license, Hyun Habin. You’ll be registered with the state as an official Awakened, in other words, an official hunter.”
“And?”
“When you become an official hunter, you’ll have responsibilities that come with it.”
“Responsibilities…?”
‘Ah!’
Hyun Siwoo immediately understood what she meant.
‘It’s because of Article 6 of the Special Hunter Law!’
Article 6 of the Special Hunter Law.
Hunters must respond to Gate-related emergency requests and participate in emergency situations. They cannot refuse or avoid this without a justifiable reason.
This was similar to a law that used to apply to medical professionals in the past. As it happened, Chae Jise was explaining that part.
“Medical professionals like doctors and nurses are required to provide emergency medical care immediately if they’re requested or if they encounter a patient in an emergency situation. They’re legally prohibited from avoiding or refusing this. There’s a similar clause for hunters.”
“……”
“Those with a hunter license must be mobilized for Gate-related emergencies. It’s forbidden to refuse without a valid reason.”
“So, if there’s a Gate outbreak nearby and they ask for help, I have to…”
“That’s right. It’s your duty to respond no matter what. Sometimes you can even be forcibly mobilized for national projects.”
“What? So if they call, I have to go, even if it’s not an emergency?”
“Well, that shouldn’t happen too often, but…”
“How did this law come about? Don’t tell me it was Fides again! Was it Fides?”
Cough.
Hyun Siwoo, who had been drinking cola without thinking, choked.
“Cough, hack, ahem!”
“…?”
“The carbonation, ugh, it’s too strong…”
[You’re something else.]
“Are you alright?”
Chae Jise patted his back with a worried expression. A warm golden light emanated from her hand.
A healing skill.
Neaiba marveled at the sight.
[Wow! This is the first time you’re properly receiving healing in your second iteration. But to think it’s for choking?]
“……”
Between the reality check and tension, Hyun Siwoo’s coughing subsided. Chae Jise continued speaking naturally.
“Where were we? Ah, it wasn’t Fides’s opinion. It’s more like a decision made collectively by the national leadership and public sentiment.”
“Hmm, so it wasn’t the masked magician’s doing. I’ll let it slide then.”
‘Masked magician?’
[Masked magician?]
Hyun Siwoo and Neaiba flinched at the term Hyun Habin used.
Masked magician?
‘Surely that’s not a nickname for Fides?’
[I think it is? You always wear a mask. And you’re a magician.]
‘…!’
There’s no refuting that!
Moreover, Neaiba added:
[Hey, and this is just my hunch, but doesn’t Hyun Habin… dislike Fides?]
‘What?’
[The atmosphere didn’t seem very positive when she said ‘masked magician’ earlier.]
‘…Surely that’s a misunderstanding, right?’
[Is it?]
If you asked people around the world, nine out of ten would have a favorable opinion of Fides. The remaining one would either be indifferent or jealous.
So statistically speaking, shouldn’t Hyun Habin have an above-average image of Fides, even if not extremely positive?
However, that assumption was shattered by Habin’s next words.
“Hmm, still, if I ever meet that masked magician, I’ll have to teach him a lesson. He keeps changing his mind all the time.”
[See! Hyun Habin dislikes Fides!]
‘But why!’
[How should I know?]
‘Ugh…….’
He wanted to ask, ‘What happened?’ ‘Why do you want to teach Fides a lesson?’ but with Chae Jise right there, he didn’t want to risk any misunderstandings.
‘Neaiba, did I do something wrong to Hyun Habin when I was Fides?’
[No? You two never even met, did you?]
‘Then what could it be?’
While Neaiba and Hyun Siwoo wore puzzled expressions, Chae Jise concluded her explanation.
“Anyway, trainees are fine. As a trainee, you don’t have to respond to national emergencies or urgent requests. But once you graduate from the training institute and become an official hunter, Habin, these responsibilities will apply to you too.”
“These people, really! In the end, they’re saying they’ll forcibly drag me out of my house to work! Is that how you treat precious hunters?”
“I guess they can’t stand the thought of those precious hunters just lazing around at home.”
“Hah……”
Why does Habin’s life always turn out like this?
‘I knew it. I thought things were going too well!’
Habin sighed deeply in the middle of eating pizza, as if the ground might cave in. Frowning intensely, she suddenly stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“To get some ice. My insides are burning!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she strode towards the kitchen.
Clank- Clatter, clatter.
Along with the sound of ice being scooped from the refrigerator, Habin’s intermittent muttering could be heard.
“You crazy bastards… Why won’t you just leave me alone…!”
“……”
“……”
‘She seems pretty pissed off.’
Hyun Siwoo nodded and pulled out some dipping sauce. His sister might be angry, but it’s not like they could change the law right now, and they should at least finish eating the pizza, right?
As he was about to dip his pizza into the garlic sauce—
“…?”
He felt someone staring at him intently.
[Hey, Hyun Siwoo! Chae Jise is watching you right now!]
Neaiba whispered. Hyun Siwoo slowly raised his head. His eyes met directly with Chae Jise’s, who was sitting across from him.
‘Why is she looking at me like that?’
[Did we get caught?]
Chae Jise’s expression was unsettling. The earlier smile had vanished, replaced by a serious look as she opened her mouth.
“Hyun Siwoo-ssi, since it’s just the two of us now, let me ask you something.”
“……”
[Hey! We’ve been caught! She’s figured it out!]
‘N-no, that can’t be!’
Hyun Siwoo tried hard to maintain a calm expression. Perhaps because he was so used to dealing with people while wearing a mask, it felt quite awkward to have his bare face exposed now.
‘Still, I’ve put on a poker face countless times before.’
If push comes to shove, he’d have to insist it wasn’t true.
Steeling himself, Hyun Siwoo spoke with an expression of annoyance.
“What is it?”
After a moment of silence, Chae Jise finally asked her question.
“…When do you plan to be honest with Habin?”
“……”
[Woah!]
Neaiba screamed as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
[Hey, looks like we’ve been found out! We’ve been caught! We’re done for!]
“……”