Chapter 183

With Number Three, I hurried to the empty lot Han Soeun had directed me to.

Spotting familiar faces, I called out "Guys!" — and Number Two and the older kids turned, eyes going saucer-wide.

"Director, your eyes—!"

But that shout didn't get to finish.

Sea-ah shot up like lightning, yanked Number Two's clothes, and hauled her back behind her.

"Ack, whoa!"

While Number Two lost her balance mid-stumble, Sea-ah pattered over to me and boldly threw both arms wide.

Thrown by behavior so unlike her, I nonetheless picked her up, and Sea-ah wrapped her arms around my neck and called out, bright:

"I missed you, Director!"

But the whisper that hit my ear was another matter entirely — hushed, secretive.

[Your eyes are working again, right? I'll hear the story later. More importantly — those people were standing outside waiting for exactly when we'd get out. They wanted to be taken to the guild, right off the bat, so Teacher Number Two and the rest of us stalled as long as we could.]

The kid's crisp rundown snapped the whole situation into place for me in one go.

I quietly patted Sea-ah's back and carefully set her back on the ground.

Then, slow, I moved toward where the uninvited guests had planted themselves.

Maybe because my body was heavier than when Suho had healed me — my vision flickered ominously, cutting in and out.

Luckily I could still make out what was in front of me, so I approached them with the steadiest gait I could manage.

When I came to a stop right in front of the uninvited guests, my whole field of view filled with solid armor.

Only after tilting my chin way up did my eyes finally meet hers.

At a stature that made me crane my neck and a presence so overwhelming, I lost myself for a moment before I could help it.

A warrior? No… an angel?

Even through my blurred vision — platinum-blond hair searing enough to sting the eyes.

Cool, clear blue eyes, sharp enough to cut through anything.

A woman of noble, sacred bearing, standing there in full armor, aloof.

Bawi Guild's Cheon Sarang was angelic in her own right, but the woman in front of me was cut from an entirely different cloth.

If Cheon Sarang was the merciful angel who embraced everything, this one was the angel of judgment — cutting down anything impure without mercy.

And at that dazzling archangel's side stood someone unreal in a completely different way.

A fairy…?

Brilliant blond hair, boyish green eyes — a young man with clean, luminous features.

Beside the towering woman — well taller than me — stood a man smaller in build than even I was, and the sheer size gap between them completed a strange picture, as if an angel and a fairy had descended side by side.

The only flaw: that foul-tempered-looking fairy was flushed red and purple with fury, trembling head to toe.

"How dare you! Making our noble Julia wait in some dust-choked spot like this! Apologize this instant!"

I'd been off in a daze at the unreal pairing; the piercing shout barely snapped me back.

"You're really Julia Morgan? The world's Rank One hunter?"

At that, the woman gave a serene smile and extended her hand first.

"A pleasure to meet you, Deputy Guild Master Chae Junhyeok. My name is Julia Morgan. When I came to Korea, I very much wanted to meet you."

The hand I ended up shaking was cool but calloused, hardened by countless battlefields.

The world's Rank One hunter is standing in front of me? No — more importantly, she knows me?

Julia Morgan.

Known as 'the Undying Valkyrie.'

Once an ordinary B-rank hunter, she'd been pushed to the brink inside a Gate, hit a second awakening, gone S-rank — the monster who'd vaulted to the top of the world in one leap.

"Ah… nice to meet you. I'm Chae Junhyeok, Deputy Guild Master of Nest Guild. Your Korean's really fluent."

I offered a light greeting, trying to ease the strung-tight air.

Barely had the words left me when the fairy at her side cut in.

"Obviously! Our noble Julia has mastered ten languages! To travel the world helping people in danger!"

At the outburst, Julia looked down at the boy with a fond, faintly rueful smile — clearly used to this.

"I can only manage basic greetings. This kind of natural conversation is all thanks to the translation artifact you built, Leo."

She tapped the intricate earring on her ear, and the boy pursed his lips and grumbled.

"Aaah, Julia! At times like this you're supposed to just take credit yourself! Why insist on handing it over to me!"

"Deceiving oneself and speaking falsehoods is not right."

At the low but unshakable voice reproving him, the boy went quiet fast.

Julia turned her gaze back to me.

"This is Leo — Deputy Guild Master of our Veritas Guild, and an artifact maker."

"…Leo? By any chance, the artifact maker Leo who puts pieces up at auction?"

At my question, the boy who'd been putting on airs perked up.

"Ohh…? What's this! You know me?"

The real Leo!

The most famous artifact maker in the world — pieces going for anywhere from tens of millions to tens of billions of won, and still impossible to get your hands on!

I'd bought his work several times myself.

I quickly rummaged through my coat and pulled out the artifacts I had on me.

Colorful little candies, and an intricate scroll.

The [Candy of Calm] and the [Deceiver's Contract] — pieces he'd made himself.

Once he'd confirmed them, the boy tucked his hands behind his back and struck a truly insufferable haughty pose.

"Well, well. So even in this pea-sized country there's someone with the eye to recognize the true worth of my noble work?"

His tone was insolent, but the corners of his mouth twitching upward and his cheekbones lifting fit to launch into orbit made it transparently clear he was hugely pleased.

"Hmph! Well, since you're my devoted fan, I'll even grace you with a handshake!"

…Never said I was a fan.

But since I didn't want to spoil his mood, I quietly took his small hand.

"So… what brings the two of you to our guild?"

At that, Julia dropped her signature smile and, expression grave, spoke.

"There's a 'proposition' I'd very much like to make to you, Deputy Guild Master Chae Junhyeok."

"A proposition?"

"Yes. Just, saying it out on the street doesn't quite work — I'd like us to move somewhere we can talk quietly…"

The moment those words landed, Leo cut in, loud.

"Hey! You heard her! Now hurry up and take us to your guild! We were supposed to fly in next week — we moved the schedule because of you! Do you have any idea what one second of our noble Julia's time is worth? You could grind yourself to the bone for a year and — mmph, mmph!"

Julia clapped a firm hand over the boy's mouth.

Then, expression pained, she added:

"It doesn't have to be inside your guild. Anywhere quiet where we can talk will do."

I fell into thought.

Common courtesy said I should invite guests who'd come this far back to the guild, but for the kids' safety I wanted the guild's location kept strictly under wraps.

No suitable outside spot came to mind either, and just as I was frowning —

"Direeectorrr! I'm hungryyy."

…!?

At the sudden coquettish voice, my eyes — and Number Two's, and Yul's, and Sihyeok's — all went round.

Even with her ears bright red, Sea-ah kept doggedly tugging at my clothes.

"I used up all my energy clearing the Gate — if I don't eat right now I feel like I'll pass out… can we go eat first?"

Then she jabbed Yul, frozen next to her, in the side.

Sharp-witted Yul caught on and stammered his way into backup.

"Uh, y-yeah. I-I'm hungry too… I want to eat somewhere quiet…"

Watching the kids' heartrending amateur acting, I caught on that they were trying to keep us from heading to the guild.

Clever little things.

I cleared my throat and picked up the beat, natural.

"The kids are hungry, so we're heading to a restaurant — Julia, have you had dinner yet? If it's all right with you, I'd like to treat…"

"If you're inviting us, gratefully. As it happens, there's a place nearby I know well — shall we go there?"

A restaurant recommended by the world's Rank One hunter.

I raised an eyebrow slightly, secretly holding out hope.

Some ultra-luxury fine-dining spot only global VIPs frequent, maybe? Or an unbookable top-tier safehouse—

And a short time later, the place we arrived at, hearts fluttering, was—

"…a pork soup joint?"

A stupid-sounding word slipped out of me.

Sure, it was a quiet restaurant with private rooms tucked in the back.

But sitting the world's Rank One hunter down in the middle of a neighborhood gukbap place — boiling stone pots, the earthy reek of pig innards thick in the air — the sheer disconnect gave me an actual headache.

And the scene that followed was even more of a spectacle.

The private room happened to be traditional-style — floor seating, shoes off.

When Julia — decked in gleaming medieval-style full plate — plunked down cross-legged on the cramped floor without ceremony, Leo, clearly not comfortable on the ground, squirmed for ages beside her.

He finally gave up and flopped down with both legs tucked demurely to one side, mermaid-princess style.

Watching this bizarre tableau unfold in real time, I opened my mouth, cautious.

"Um… Julia. Is this really okay?"

"Oh — is it that you can't eat sundae-gukbap? I've been thoughtless."

"A-ah, no! I'm absolutely wild about gukbap."

"That's a relief. This place has excellent broth."

She smiled brightly, spooned in a generous scoop of chili paste, and shook a whole load of chives in on top.

Beside her, Leo puffed his chest out and put on airs.

"Ahem! Our noble Julia travels the ends of the earth — there isn't a local dish she can't handle! A Korean soul food like this is child's play!"

But even as he shouted all this, Leo's own hand was wandering, lost.

He'd bravely ordered the same dish as Julia, but the second he saw the mystery pig parts bobbing in the boiling stone pot, he'd gone chalk-white in an instant.

And Leo wasn't the only one who couldn't manage it.

A glance around — unlike Number Two and Number Three, who were lifting their bowls and drinking straight, the kids, just like Leo, were only picking at the broth.

"Ma'am — could we get four kids' pork cutlets over here, please?"

When I pressed the call button with a small grin, Leo startled and yelped.

"Wh-why four! I-I'm going to eat this sundae-gukbap, got it?!"

"I didn't order them for you, Leo. I ordered them for myself."

At the offhand reply, Leo's face went scarlet fit to burst.

Soon crispy pork cutlets came out, and the kids cheered and started sawing away.

Leo pointedly turned his head and glared into his own stone pot, but he couldn't hide the way his eyes kept sliding over to the cutlets.

I let out a small laugh, pulled Leo's pot in front of me, and set a plate of crispy cutlet down in front of him.

"Leo, would you swap dishes with me? Must be the winter — something hot and brothy sounds better than cutlet right now."

"…Hmph. If you're going to beg me that earnestly, I suppose I could hardly refuse."

Leo's answer came back gruff, but his hand snatched up the fork faster than lightning.

He took a huge bite of cutlet and, apparently deeply moved, chewed with cheeks puffed round — a child, no other word for it.

Watching him fondly, Julia set her spoon down and smiled softly.

"You really are as wonderful as rumor says, Deputy Guild Master Chae Junhyeok."

"No, no, nothing of the sort…"

The picky-eater routine had just tripped something instinctive — an echo of the Sunshine Class kids from before.

Of course, calling him a child was pushing it; he looked closer to a teenager.

Once I'd eaten enough, I set my spoon down and looked her square in the eye.

"So… this proposition you mentioned earlier — what is it, exactly?"

Julia likewise set her spoon down and dabbed lightly at her mouth with a napkin.

As she slowly lifted her head, the warm smile on her face had vanished without a trace.

"To get to the point… would you consider naturalizing — to America?"

"What?"

At a word so utterly out of left field, I doubted my own ears.

"…Naturalizing?"