How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

I wasn’t particularly afraid of Shinbarun.

He was always frighteningly rational, but for one thing—his sister, Shinbaran—he showed an irrational attitude as the commander of the Bucheon-Gyeongin Fortress.

Shinbarun let out a soft laugh.

“No, that’s not it.”

In the novel’s field practice section, Shinbarun aggressively targeted the half-beastman Choi Sujeong, but a trickster intervened, raising Sujeong’s favorability and inadvertently preventing him from being harsh on Shinbaran, thus slowly wooing her.

…Wait a minute. Am I currently playing the role of the trickster?

…It must be just my imagination. The people involved in this situation are a bit different too.

As I slowly lowered my gaze and then reopened my eyes, Shinbarun had completely calmed down.

“I’m sorry, Shinbaran. From now on, I’ll make sure to distinguish between work and personal matters.”

In the novel, Shinbarun reluctantly acknowledges the trickster’s criticism but ultimately understands his mistakes. He’s the type to fix things once he realizes he’s wrong.

Shinbaran trembled slightly at Shinbarun’s apology.

“Ah, it’s, it’s okay!”

…Seeing that he only apologized for not distinguishing between work and personal matters, it seemed he still had a long way to go, but still.

After finishing his apology, Shinbarun immediately turned to leave.

“Let’s not stay here any longer.”

“Yes, yes!”

Shinbarun quickly followed behind.

The gaze directed at an admired figure. It was the same look Shinbaran used to have when she looked at Nayuri.

“Unnie is amazing! She can do anything!”

I thought about the way Shinbaran’s eyes sparkled.

“She’s been like that since we were kids. Compared to someone like me—”

And I recalled Shinbaran smiling while belittling herself.

“My dream? It’s to support strong people like Unnie and Yoori!”

I swallowed a sigh that threatened to escape as I followed the two of them.

For a moment, those who might be shocked that I dropped my facade and confronted Shinbarun would truly be aghast.

If there were anyone who could peer into my heart.

Is it that they would think it strange that I usually managed to hide my dirty nature but suddenly revealed it?

Well, after being defiant just now, it seemed there was no longer any need to conceal my true self here. I also figured that none of the people around would report me to the trickster.

I was a little worried about Dumdum, but no matter how I thought about it…

“So I know very well what face a person trying to hide their tears makes.”

“I’m glad you seem to be able to relax more than before.”

“I’m sorry.”

Dumdum seemed to be the one who truly understood my true nature.

Whether that was due to his quick wits or because he picked up on the trickster’s insights was unclear.

“Ha…”

After all, I didn’t expect that if he could notice even the slightest shift in my mood, he would quickly catch onto my other emotions.

Or perhaps… I just didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Knowing Dumdum wouldn’t pry into someone else’s affairs, I might have wanted to lean on that and act a bit spoiled.

“Park Siwoo.”

Anyway, I was suddenly reassured by the miraculous mind reading that had just happened.

Dumdum probably said that because he knew I suspected he was aware of my true nature.

He’s really sharp.

In any case, if he already knows, there’s no need to hide it. I just need to be more careful about what I say.

“Can you make some time for me this evening?”

I lamented that the number of people I needed to keep quiet around had doubled and spoke to Dumdum.

“Sure.”

Dumdum replied as if he had been waiting for my words. I asked, somewhat reluctantly,

“…You have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to say, right?”

“Sort of.”

He’s perceptive.

After that, we continued to explore various parts of the fortress under Shinbarun’s guidance.

I could see the distant monsters being engaged in combat even with the naked eye. Minjaeyoon let out an exclamation.

“That’s amazing…”

“They’re all pretty desperate in their own ways.”

Choi Garam quickly chimed in with Minjaeyoon.

“If even one monster crosses the fortress, people will die in the nearby village.”

In response, Shinbarun said indifferently, “But it’s a village of illegal residents.”

“Still, it’s a place where people live, right? Saving people is part of a Hunter’s job.”

“Make sure to clearly prioritize.”

“I know~.”

I simply… remained silent.

Prioritization? It would be the people in safe zones first, then those in the intermediate zones, and lastly the illegal residents.

If a gate appears and the intermediate zone turns into a danger zone, the unfortunate people living there are sometimes strategically abandoned.

“Help me!”

“There’s information that a doppelgänger is mixed in! Shoot to kill! Eliminate everyone!”

Depending on the situation, they would block the fleeing citizens and kill them to ensure they don’t cross the forbidden line.

…Well, that’s how it is! I know other countries do the same!

So this world is somewhat of a precariously organized apocalypse.

“It’s getting close to dinner~. Since we’ve seen everything we needed to today, shall we head to our lodging?”

“Are we staying in the fortress tonight?”

I asked Choi Garam, and she nodded.

Shinbarun answered as well.

“It’s field practice. You didn’t make the foolish mistake of leaving your stuff at the lodging, did you?”

I smiled a little too brightly as I replied, “I brought everything with me.”

It had been a hassle packing in the morning. Thank goodness for my inventory.

During field practice, we move to a different location every night.

Of course, we only go as far as the outskirts of danger zones with reliable Hunters, but it’s still real practice.

From tomorrow, when we leave the fortress, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that threats of injury and death will follow us.

“Let’s go.”

We followed our mentors to our room.

The room was for six people, and then…

“Just so you know, you’ll be sleeping with us.”

We were hit with the shocking news that we would be sleeping with our mentors.

“…Huh?”