YuSung's party returned back to the Association branch after taking care of the lake dragon subspecies. Mei Lin checked their documents, then aimed a thin smile at the group.
"…As I thought, you all took care of it with no problem."
Clack clack.
She returned to her seat, high heels clicking against the floor. With an elegant wave of her hand, she began a phone call with another person.
But that elegance only lasted for a moment. As soon as the other person accepted her call, Mei Lin's demeanor instantly became polite and demure.
"Ah, yes, yes! Correct. Everything has been taken care of, as reported. It all wrapped up just now, in fact."
It was a rather sad look for the manager of Academy City. She didn't have a choice in how to hold herself in that case, though—the person on the other end of the line was Kang YuChan, the person holding the highest position in the Hunter Association.
"Yes! Yes, yes… I understand."
She smiled and nodded her head.
– Huh huh! I knew YuSung would do it! Even if the Fist King's personality is like that, when I see how he raised YuSung, I'm reminded once more that he truly is my rival.
Kang YuChan sung the boy's praises for some time. At some point, however, he stopped and began giving his subordinate some covert instructions.
– Ah, speaking of… Didn't Japan send over an expedition request recently? I remember hearing about it involving a rather peculiar dungeon.
"Japan… are you talking about the Castle of Nightmares?"
The Association president nodded in response.
– Yeah. If possible, could you hand that request over to our YuSung? A hunter wields the experiences they go through as their weapon! …I'm sure an expedition to another country will be a great experience for him, as well.
"I understand. So, if possible, I should hand the expedition request from Italy over to student Shin YuSung, as well…"
– Huh, huh! Sounds good! Please tell him all of this after the Representative Selection has ended. There's plenty of time between it and the International Competition, after all.
"Yes, sir."
With a short reply, Mei Lin ended the call. She sighed, letting out all of her pent-up nervous energy. Even someone as high up in the ranks as her would be hard-pressed to confront her superior.
Unfortunately, she was forced to perform similar calls to Kang YuChan every day due to the man's vested interest in keeping tabs on Shin YuSung and anything related to the boy.
'A student that the Association president is keeping an eye out on. On top of that, his master is the Fist King…'
Had a hunter with such a high pedigree appeared before? Due to that, even someone with a managerial position like Mei Lin was having a tough time dealing with YuSung.
'…My workload increased again. Oh well, nothing I can do about that. I'll just have to stick close to Shin YuSung and see how he performs during the Selection.'
* * * *
The enormous mansion of the Shinsung group, considered to be royalty of the modern era…
The land that the mansion was built on boasted enough acres to rival the land used by Gaon Academy. Thanks to the enormous size of the estate, one needed to take a car from the entrance of the estate to the main building if they wanted to reach it in a timely manner, but EunAh was already used to all of this.
Slam.
She disembarked the lengthy limousine, sunglasses perched on her face. Lee SuHyun smiled and greeted her.
"My sincere congratulations for defeating a rank 4 boss monster, Miss. And I heard some rumors that you've obtained an artifact, as well. Fufu…"
"Oh, that? Eh~ it was nothing!"
Despite her words, though, EunAh's face was beaming with pride at her accomplishment.
"Where's dad and grandpa, by the way? I went and used an outing pass and everything."
"The president arrived here thirty minutes ago. As for the vice-president, he will not be able to make it today."
"…That so?"
A smattering of disappointment showed up on EunAh's face. She quickly covered it up with a careless-sounding laugh.
"Can't help it, then… Dad's busy 'cause of his work, after all."
EunAh made her way towards the outdoor party venue, where various employees of the Shinsung group and her relatives, including Kang YuChan, were waiting.
"Hahaha, here you are, my adorable little EunAh! Come on, quick, sit next to your dear old grandpa. I've been waiting for my little puppy for so long…"
The iron-blooded Kang YuChan began guffawing like an idiot. All of the relatives carefully eyed his reactions.
Eventually, one of them spoke up, chancing their luck. "EunAh~ your grandpa said so many good things about you while we were waiting."
"Oh, come on, grandpa." EunAh glared. "Stop saying stuff like that. It's embarrassing."
"Ha ha ha! But your grandpappy here is so proud of his little puppy! What am I supposed to do about it?"
Kim SeokHan then petted her head, causing her to straighten her back with a pleased expression on her face.
"Well, I guess I was pretty amazing this time around!" she boasted. "I managed to defeat a boss monster, one that was a bad match-up against me, too. And I also got an artifact."
The meal at the mansion had already become a celebration party where people were singing EunAh's praises. The girl in question then took out the Thunder Dragon's Orb from her Pocket.
"I asked someone, and they told me I should just eat it like candy. YuSung let me have it."
Hearing that, Kim SeokHan's heart grew warm.
'…Shin YuSung, you're quite skilled at toeing the line. Truly, you are a man I shouldn't underestimate. "
'I should do the boy a favor in return for this later on,' he thought.
"Camping was more fun than I thought it would be. There were a lot of bugs, though, and the tent was kind of cramped."
And right as he thought so, EunAh came in with an outrageous declaration. Her careless words made every Shinsung employee at the table stiffen in shock.
One of the relatives broke out into a cold sweat as they saw the expression on Kim SeokHan's face.
"Haha! Er, Mr. P-President! Let's eat before our meal grows cold…"
Lift.
Kim SeokHan stretched out a hand to stop them.
"…Ho ho. EunAh, about that, wh-what's… what do you mean by that? A tent?"
Kim SeokHan's question seemed innocuous, so EunAh began answering him while picking up some food with her fork.
"Oh, that! Yeah, at first, I told him that I'd never sleep in the same tent as a guy, but…"
Her expression stiffened. Only then did it look like she realized what the question was about.
"He brought one tent…"
Munch munch.
EunAh purposefully turned her head towards the lobster salad she was eating to avoid the man's gaze.
"Wow, this isn't bad! Grandpa, w-we should focus on the meal, don't you think?!" She seemed to like the taste.
"Y-yes, we should!" he replied, trying to smother himself as much as possible.
"But EunAh," he asked gently, "you aren't saying… that you camped outside using a tent, are you?"
"Wh-what, it's not like I could just sleep on the ground!" EunAh's face grew more and more red as she kept talking. "And there was another girl with us, her name's Sumire! So don't worry! Nothing happened!"
Kim SeokHan was radiating killing intent from his pores. 'How dare that boy camp with the successor of the Shinsung group, my precious granddaughter, outside and in the same tent? And with another girl, to boot.'
To his eyes, YuSung's treachery knew no bounds.
'Shin YuSung! You little…!"
Starting from that moment, Kim SeokHan would firmly etch every stroke of the boy's name into his heart.
* * *
* * *
The recipient of Gaon Academy's headmaster's favoritism…
YuSung still didn't have enough SP to buy a team room. However, using the extracurricular he had just gone on and the Representative Selection as a reason, Kin ByungCheol had handed him the rest of the SP he needed.
'…But here I thought I'd have a harder time gathering the money needed.'
The club room that he had bought was nearly completely empty. YuSung sat down on a worn chair someone had abandoned in the room and began to think.
"Mm…"
20 million won could buy him 16,000 banana-flavored milks (1,200 won each), and he would still have money left over. He could drink three bottles of it every day for over ten years.
Considering that was the case, just how much money was 400 million won?
[Deposited amount: 400,000,000]
[Total balance: 422,523,000]
YuSung stared at the hologram with a serious expression on his face.
'I knew she was rich, but…'
To think that she was rich enough to give 400 million won like it was nothing. He had refused the offer at first, of course, but EunAh was adamant.
[C'mon, just take it already. Who said this is payment for the artifact? I don't want to spend my time hanging around in our team room if it's gonna be shabby.]
It was obvious that she was trying to be considerate of the boy, though.
If a party wanted to function, it needed a room. To buy and furnish the room, one obviously needed SP and money. Of course, the headmaster's unending persistence led to the boy having plenty of the former; the same was not the case regarding money, however.
But EunAh had lifted that burden from his shoulders
'That's one problem down, thanks to her.'
While YuSung was carefully inspecting the room he had chosen, someone opened the door.
"So this is the place you've chosen."
It was So HaeJung, one of the instructors at Gaon Academy.
She looked around the room as if reminiscing, cracking a soft smile.
"The sun shines through quite nicely."
It was the room that she had used back when she was a student at Gaon. Even the always-clerical So HaeJung seemed to be lost in her thoughts.
"…It's quite a nice room for your party."
YuSung also seemed to like how the sunshine lit the classroom up brightly.
"Yes, this one's my favorite."
So HaeJung wrote down something on a document as he made his decision, then nodded.
"Okay, you're free to use this room until you graduate… You really are incredible, you know. To think that a first-year student could obtain their own room when even the third-years have a difficult time doing so."
TL/N: Korean highschool lasts for three years.
So HaeJung's words were not those of praise but admiration. Becoming a member of the Sevens as soon as he enrolled in school despite having an F-rank Trait… Leading the weakest class to victory… His prowess in the various extracurriculars he had participated in…
A student like that was a first during all of her years of teaching.
"Keep doing your best. You'll go on to do great things, I'm sure of it."
A warm atmosphere.
"Thank you, Instructor So HaeJung."
The slightest bit of pride seemed to seep through the woman's professional mask.
"…You remembered my name even though I'm not even your homeroom teacher."
She skimmed through the list of party members. "You're quite talented to boot," she remarked, fascinated. "Getting a girl as difficult as her to be a part of your team…"
She was referring to EunAh. A girl with her background, skills, and strong personality was difficult to control, even for an instructor like So HaeJung.
"And on top of that… the Representative Selection is soon, isn't it? You'll be facing off against Adela then?"
Her eyes narrowed. The topic she had just brought up was the reason why she had personally sought out YuSung instead of sending him a message on his Pocket.
"Adela is one of the students I'm in charge of."
So HaeJung smiled bitterly and took off her glasses. Even as her vision blurred, she looked directly into YuSung's eyes.
"I want you to win."
The reasons for it were complicated.
YuSung was quite accomplished. However, So HaeJung felt much more favorable towards Adela, who was one of the students she supervised. That ironically led to her wanting YuSung to beat her.
"That child is strong. If you observe her closely, however, there's something rather worrying about her…"
YuSung listened to all of this without a single word. So HaeJung relaxed at this.
"…Everything is boring to her. Like when you play a game and all of the enemies you meet are ones you've already seen before."
That was something that the current YuSung could understand. During the time the Fist King had raised him, YuSung always had something new to learn and a new opponent to face, no matter how strong he grew. In fact, the title of the strongest felt like it was growing farther away from him the more powerful he became.
Adela, however, had already lost any semblance of a goal a long time ago. She had learned of her own strength before she had obtained a purpose to strive towards.
Her flawless win record wasn't new or anything deserving of glory to her—it was just dull and boring.
So HaeJung tried to properly meet YuSung's eyes, even though she could barely see them.
"…I'm just an ordinary person, though. I don't know anything about the loneliness that a genius can experience or anything like that."
She was the type of person who often heard from others how her expressionless mask scared other people. Just that once, however, she wished that her true feelings would reach the boy in front of her.
"If there's one thing I know, however… it's that she's lonely."
She turned her head away and smiled bitterly.
"I see," YuSung carefully responded.
His calm reply prompted her to speak up again. "I, her instructor, can't do anything for her."
She turned her gaze back to YuSung (though she missed him due to having her glasses off and ended up looking at the air next to him.). "…But you can. Third in the student rankings after just the first exam… Winning in the intramurals… The double raid at the Association… You've even captured a villain… You haven't failed in doing a single thing."
So HaeJung's expression was serious.
Adela had the potential to grow even stronger. Her genius was at the level where calling her a genius was an understatement. Her talent was, to be frank, handed down from god.
All she needed was that little push. And—as Adela's instructor—So HaeJung made a sincere appeal to YuSung to be that push.
"It's possible for you. No, let me rephrase. You're the only one in Gaon who can do this."
The boy in question smiled, bemused, at the serious topic.
"Instructor, I'm over here…"
"Oh… Is that so? Ahem! My eyes aren't what they used to be…"
She had been saying all of this while staring at thin air all that time. So HaeJung coughed to hide her embarrassment.
Still, YuSung had received her earnestness loud and clear. The notoriously strict woman was a great instructor who looked out for the children she was in charge of—it reminded him of the Fist King.
"Yes, I'll win," was his energetic reply.
Of course, he wasn't going to win solely for Adela's sake.
Even if So HaeJung hadn't requested this of him, he had been planning on doing his utmost to pursue the goal that he had been chasing for most of his life.
.
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