Chapter 90

It would have been nice if she had mentioned that a little sooner.

“Here’s my number.”

A short while later, I finished entering my contact information into her phone, cold sweat trickling down my back.

Good. Our business was concluded.

Now all I had to do was escape safely.

“Ah, wait.”

Gu Seohyeong paused after taking back her phone.

“Excuse me, but could you lower your head toward me for a moment?”

“What?”

“It’s nothing serious. I just realized I’m curious about what you look like.”

“...”

“Haha. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know what my benefactor’s face looks like.”

Apparently, she could not make out my features clearly from where she stood.

Hmm.

As long as she merely looked and did not touch me, there should be no problem.

“All right.”

The moment I agreed, Gu Seohyeong stepped closer and peered up at me expectantly.

‘Is this close enough?’

But a few seconds later, the smile slowly vanished from her lips.

“...”

“...”

An uncomfortable silence followed.

Gu Seohyeong’s face gradually turned pale. Her eyes widened, her pupils trembling as though she had just seen a ghost.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked,

“Is something wrong?”

She stared at me for another moment before answering.

“My word.”

“Your word?”

“I had imagined someone with a gentle appearance, judging from your voice...”

Oh.

So that was it.

***

Earlier that Tuesday.

[Association President’s Office]

Loud laughter spilled into the otherwise silent corridor.

“Hehehehe!”

Three people in suits sat inside the room marked Association President’s Office. The middle-aged man occupying the seat at the head of the table suddenly raised his voice.

“At last! Our country finally has an Enchanter of its own!”

“Hahaha.”

“And the first one in all of Asia!”

The others seated around him nodded in agreement.

“Now Japan and China will have to come to us whenever they need equipment enhanced.”

“Hahaha!”

“Those Europeans have been far too arrogant, charging outrageous fees for a single enchantment.”

The room was filled with celebration over this unexpected stroke of fortune.

An Enchanter.

There were only ten known Enchanters in the entire world, and now one had finally appeared in Korea.

“By the way, have we contacted the S-Class hunters?”

“Of course.”

“I heard Hunter Esther is ready to fly straight to the Association after hearing the news. Hahaha!”

Enchanters displayed their true worth when supporting the highest-ranking Awakeners.

Every S-Class hunter already possessed equipment of exceptional quality, carefully selected to complement their abilities. An Enchanter could push that equipment to its absolute limit—or even beyond it.

For hunters who had already gathered the finest items available, enchantment was the final means of reaching an entirely new level of strength.

That was why S-Class hunters from around the world depended on Enchanters who were often only C- or D-Class themselves.

“Hehehehe!”

Serving as the intermediary in future enchantment contracts would undoubtedly bring the Association tremendous profit.

The Association president grinned from ear to ear and let out another booming laugh.

“Excuse me, President.”

But as with all good fortune, there was always an unpleasant complication.

“Gu Seohyeong submitted a request to the Association yesterday...”

The president’s good mood immediately faded.

“What?”

According to his secretary, Gu Seohyeong had been making the same demand ever since her awakening was confirmed.

—I have to repay him!

She insisted that she had a benefactor whose request took priority over everything else. Until she had repaid him, she refused to accept any outside enhancement commissions.

“At a time this important?”

“Well, the Awakener is rather determined...”

The Association president rubbed his temples.

Even at that very moment, Japan was waiting with contracts worth tens of billions of won, requesting equipment enhancements.

“Why does this Gu Seohyeong have so many demands?”

His voice sharpened with irritation.

“I went out of my way to protect her personal information, so we couldn’t even publish a proper article about her. I’ve already done everything she asked.”

“Ahaha...”

“And now she intends to pick and choose which jobs she accepts? Honestly.”

Tsk, tsk.

The Association president clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“This is why people say young people these days are selfish.”

The surrounding employees looked visibly uncomfortable, but he continued criticizing her.

“She should use such a valuable ability to contribute to the prosperity of the nation. Instead, young people are becoming more arrogant by the day, doing whatever they please. Don’t you agree?”

“Ah... yes, sir.”

How had the world come to this?

Most Awakeners were in their twenties or thirties. Older hunters were rare. Once an Awakener reached their forties, the mana accumulated inside the body often began producing dangerous side effects, making prolonged activity increasingly difficult.

“Tsk. Back in our day, when the country faced a crisis, people didn’t behave like this. At least we knew shame.”

The Association president found the current state of affairs deeply irritating. Young people awakened without any experience or discipline, then immediately began acting as though they were superior to everyone else.

‘I was delighted when I heard she intended to remain under the Association instead of joining a guild, but this woman is going to be a headache. A serious headache.’

And she was hardly the only matter troubling him lately.

“Honestly...”

After a short pause, the Association president seemed to remember something else.

“Is Jung Haseong still refusing to work?”

The secretary nodded.

The president scratched his beard in irritation.

The nation’s highest-ranked S-Class hunter had abruptly withdrawn from active duty. What could be more troublesome than that?

“That brat must have heard some strange nonsense somewhere and taken it to heart!”

He spoke harshly, while everyone around him remained silent.

“No, listen. The last time I spoke to him over the phone, he said he still felt too weak and needed to focus on his health and training for a while...”

“Hehehe.”

“But now that I think about it, the answer is obvious. There must have been a fight between hunters!”

Bang!

His thick fist slammed against the table.

“Unless another Awakener of equal rank beat some sense into him, why would Jung Haseong suddenly lose his confidence? Isn’t that obvious?”

The Association president muttered on with complete certainty.

His secretary merely glanced at his watch, showing little interest in the theory.

“Awakeners are always the problem. Fighting among themselves, causing trouble...”

“President.”

“Honestly, I thought someone had finally managed to motivate Jung Haseong...”

“P-President.”

A moment later, the secretary pointed uneasily at the clock.

The Association president sprang to his feet.

“Is it already that late?”

It was time for his next appointment.

“Hehe. In that case, I should be going. I’ll speak with you all later...”

Just then, the Association president noticed a familiar figure through the window behind them.

Messily tied brown hair.

Pale, almost colorless skin.

Large, round eyes.

“Is that Gu Seohyeong?”

“Yes, sir. That’s the Enchanter.”

Outside the window, Gu Seohyeong was speaking animatedly, a bright smile on her face.

And the person listening to her was...

“Who is that?”

Ssssk.

The Association president pointed toward the man beside her.

“What do you mean?”

“That man.”

“The blond one?”

“Why is he walking around with Gu Seohyeong? What if this creates a security problem?”

Another Association employee immediately answered.

“Ah! That’s the benefactor Ms. Seohyeong has been talking about.”

The Association president reacted coldly, clicking his tongue as though the explanation displeased him.

“Benefactor, my foot. He’s probably her lover.”

“What?”

“Perhaps because she used to be an entertainer, she still can’t distinguish between her private life and professional obligations. Tsk, tsk.”

If the Enchanter ever heard him speaking that way, there was no telling what kind of trouble it might cause.

How could the man be so careless?

The secretary and the other employees fell into an awkward silence.

Meanwhile, the Association president continued staring at the man walking beside Gu Seohyeong.

“He looks unpleasant, too.”

Sharp features. Dry, pale skin. Narrow eyes without double eyelids.

At that moment, the blond man appeared to glance directly toward the window.

Was it merely a coincidence?

***

‘What was that?’

I could have sworn someone had been staring at me.

Damn it.

After being followed so many times, perhaps I was finally becoming paranoid.

Whenever I went outside, I felt as though someone was watching me.

Then again, perhaps it was not my imagination.

Kang Changho might have been tracking my location from somewhere even now.

“Is something wrong?”

Whoosh.

I quickly scanned the surroundings before answering.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go inside.”

“All right.”

We soon entered a multipurpose room in one of the nearby Association buildings.

Today felt like the sort of day when one split open a log and discovered treasure inside.

Naturally, I did not mean that literally. It was merely a reference to one of Earth’s folktales about a woodcutter and a swallow.

‘Hmm.’

Who could have predicted that a thoughtless act would bring me such a reward?

In exchange for saving Gu Seohyeong from falling, I had gained the right to have my equipment enhanced.

And it would cost me absolutely nothing.

“Did you know that an Enchanter’s awakening skills are generally divided into two categories?”

However, Gu Seohyeong had only just awakened, so her current abilities were naturally limited.

“The first type strengthens abilities that already exist within an item. The second adds an entirely new ability.”

“And you can’t use the second type yet?”

“No.”

Gu Seohyeong adjusted her newly fitted glasses and glanced away.

“For now, I can only strengthen an item’s existing effects with a skill called Amplification...”

For some reason, she sounded discouraged.

But after hearing her explanation, I could not have cared less.

‘It’s free!’

I was already completely satisfied by the fact that I did not have to pay.

I had never expected exceptional quality in the first place.

“Don’t worry about it. Your skills will improve with practice.”

I placed the item I had hurriedly purchased for today on the table.

[Intermediate Ring]

[Grade: General]

[Description: A ring imbued with protective magic. Slightly reduces damage received while equipped.]

Gu Seohyeong tilted her head when she saw it.

“Is that all?”

She had clearly intended to repay me generously, so the item °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° must have seemed rather unimpressive.

But there was nothing I could do.

Aside from this ring, I owned only two pieces of equipment worth mentioning.

The Pyromancer Necklace was intended for self-destruction, while the Twin Guardian Angels already possessed the highest possible defensive effect. Enhancing either of them would serve little purpose.

“Haha. Yes.”

I responded using one of the Earth-style emotional expressions I had been practicing.

“I forgot to mention this, but I’m an F-Class hunter.”

“F-Class?”

“I barely own any equipment.”

“Oh. I see.”

Judging by her indifferent response, she probably had not yet learned much about the hunter ranking system.

“All right. Let me see it.”

Seohyeong picked up the ring and began examining it.

“Hmm.”

But something seemed strange.

She could not concentrate on the ring. Instead, she repeatedly glanced in my direction.

Eventually, she spoke in a cautious voice.

“By the way, Hunter-nim... you truly had no idea who I was, did you?”

“No. I only watch television for the news, so I don’t know much about celebrities.”

Why had she suddenly asked that?

Was she secretly offended that I had failed to recognize her?

‘She was still working as an actress until recently, wasn’t she?’

While I considered several possibilities, Gu Seohyeong appeared to gather the courage to ask another question.

“Then, perhaps...”

But she never finished.

“No. It’s nothing.”

“What?”

She simply brushed the matter aside.

“What is it? Now you’ve made me curious.”

“It really is nothing.”

“If you have something to say, then say it.”

I urged her to stop hiding the question for no reason.

Gu Seohyeong hesitated before finally speaking.

“I-I was going to ask your age. I was simply wondering how old you are!”

Earthlings truly loved asking about age.

In my homeland, people lived so long that they often forgot their own ages entirely.

Still, refusing to answer now would probably seem strange.

“Me? I’m twenty-four.”

I shamelessly borrowed Kim Kiryeo’s age.

But after I answered, Gu Seohyeong revealed something unexpected.

“Really? I’m twenty-four too.”

Then she smiled.

“Since we’re the same age, why don’t we speak more casually with each other?”

Naturally, I agreed without hesitation.

Personally, I disliked formal speech.

It only made language less efficient.