After showering with Yoon Ji-an, who was up at the crack of dawn bustling about for work, our three-day Christmas marathon finally came to an end as we said our goodbyes.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
She had returned to her usual cool and collected self.
But a warmth and affection still flickered endlessly in her eyes.
A devoted gaze, as if she wanted to grant my every wish.
If I were to ask her to skip work and laze around for one more day, she looked ready to obey without question.
Now that I thought about it, it was a tempting offer… but the problem was, I couldn’t.
Yujeong had been raising such a fuss, asking when I was coming home and what kind of party lasts two days and one night, that the smartphone in my coat pocket was about to catch fire.
Before getting into the taxi, she left me with one last thing, her face slightly shy.
“…I trust you’ll call for me more often next year.”
I waved with a smile, responding to her words.
“Let’s see each other often next year.”
To be honest, there wasn’t much reason to call her during my school life… but things were different now.
Looking at her now, to put it crudely, it seemed like she’d come running even if I called her just because I wanted a blowjob.
The analogy is a bit vulgar, but… that’s what I’m trying to say.
That our relationship had progressed to the point where I didn’t need a reason to call her anymore.
“Whew.”
After sending her off, the memories of the past three days flashed before my eyes.
If you asked me to do it again… I could, but it was a forced march I wouldn’t particularly want to repeat.
Thanks to that, a new goal was added to my empty list of New Year’s resolutions.
“I’m going to build a harem before next Christmas, I swear.”
If I could just get all the women I’m seeing to know about each other and get along, I wouldn’t have to go through this tear-jerking circus act, right?
Of course, you think that’d be easy in a monogamous country…?
“It’ll work out somehow, I guess.”
I’m the guy who’s always managed to pull off things everyone else said were impossible.
Just like always, if I keep getting broken and shattered, I'll eventually find a way.
As soon as I got home with that thought in mind.
“Hey! Where have you beeeen!”
…My resolve was shattered by Shin Yujeong grabbing me by the collar.
“First, just calm down…”
I tried to reason with her like a gentleman, but she suddenly shoved her smartphone screen in my face.
On the screen was a picture of me at Gangnam Station on Christmas Day.
To be precise, it was when I was using magic to catch the Red Thieves bastards. The timing of the shot was so perfect that for a moment, I forgot the situation and almost let out a gasp of admiration.
“What is this? Were you with Yoon Ji-an? Don’t tell me you’ve been with that bitch until now…!”
“Whoa, whoa, that’s enough.”
I pulled the runaway train into my arms and patted her on the back.
“Let… let go of me…?!”
She flailed her fists against my chest, and I thought my ribs were going to break.
She’s just ridiculously strong…
Still, she seemed to be calming down. Her struggles gradually weakened until she finally went still.
With hot-tempered people, it’s important to calm them down first before trying to talk.
If I were to get angry too, fighting fire with fire, things would just get exhausting.
“That picture was taken on my way to the party. That bastard suddenly stole from a charity pot. I couldn’t just stand by and watch, right?”
“…Then why was Yoon Ji-an there?”
“I should be asking you. Is it really so strange for Ji-an to be there?”
“……”
She suddenly went silent.
If you think about it for just a second, you’d realize. It’s not strange at all for Yoon Ji-an, an Association employee in charge of my care, to be there.
Her breathing had calmed even more. I slowly patted her back and added my final excuse.
“The reason I stayed overnight… was because the party ended late, and I was struggling after drinking too much, so the Association got me a room at the hotel where the party was held so I could get some rest.”
“…You slept alone, right?”
The sharp point of her final suspicion aimed for my heart, but it was too late.
“Of course. But I did have a thought.”
“What thought?”
“That it would have been amazing if I had come here with you.”
“…So, your point is?”
“That we should go together next time.”
“Well… I’ll think about it if my schedule allows.”
Seeing her bring up a non-existent schedule, it seems she knows she’d look ridiculous if she went from raging like a madwoman to eagerly accepting the offer.
“Calm now?”
“C-Calm? What are you talking about?”
Shin Yujeong pulled away from my embrace, her face flushed red.
Looking at her face, it seemed the misunderstanding was completely cleared up.
I may have told the story calmly, but honestly, I was scared shitless.
If even one thing had been off, I wouldn’t have escaped a huge disaster today.
Past me, who used the Association party as an excuse, I praise you…!
I went into my room, changed, and flopped onto the mattress. She naturally lay down next to me, fiddling with her smartphone.
Anyone who saw us would think we live together.
“Hey, did you know?”
“What?”
She spoke up suddenly, a mischievous look on her face.
What is it now that’s making her look like that?
“Your number of SNS followers is exploding like crazy.”
“……?”
“That picture I showed you earlier? Thousands of comments are being posted on all your posts, saying they came looking for you after seeing it.”
“……”
My face went pale. I scrambled to grab my smartphone and log into my SNS account.
Hundreds, thousands of DMs, and an enormous number of comments piled up on every post.
…More than anything, the follower count, which had already increased by 1.5 times and was still climbing rapidly in real-time, tormented me to no end.
“Hehehe, you’re an SNS star now.”
“Nooo…”
This is so unfair, seriously.
Hunter.
A huntsman who preys on beings from other worlds that appear through tears in space.
Long ago, when the rifts first began to appear.
In a time devoid of any system or legal regulation, a time filled only with chaos.
In an age before even the title of ‘Hunter’ existed, those granted Traits were called ‘heroes’ by the civilians.
They were worthy of the name.
With nothing but the will to save their families, and by extension, all of humanity, from predators of overwhelming power, they crushed their foes bare-handed, without even proper equipment, and died gloriously in battle.
Without their sacrifice, the peaceful world of today would surely not exist.
Therefore, the world, the people living upon this land, should never have forgotten them.
But they were forgotten.
Buried under the sediment of not even a hundred years, they faded from the memories of the majority.
And so, in this present day, where people enjoy peace, having forgotten their debt of gratitude for that sacrifice.
Here, there is a Hunter who is called a hero by the people.
Did he risk his life to protect people? No.
He merely did what was possible under the protection of safety measures.
Did he sacrifice his body in a harsh environment? No.
He was merely faithful to his duties, his body protected by equipment that easily cost hundreds of millions.
He earned more money than anyone, drove more expensive cars, ate more expensive food, and slept in a more expensive house.
Confronting beings from another world? He does it simply because it pays well.
No matter how hard one looks, one cannot find a sublime spirit of sacrifice, devotion, or benevolence in him.
So why is such a man called a hero instead of a Hunter?
It is a strategy to raise his own market value.
A calculated move born from a deep-seated greed for larger contracts and higher salaries.
The word ‘hero’ has been sullied.
It is no longer the pinnacle of honor reserved for the brave and the noble, but has become an utterly worldly title that those who already have much seek to acquire in their greed for more.
The man wants to ask the world, to ask the people who call him a hero.
Do you truly think he is a hero?
“Cough…!”
To ask them this question, the man stained his hands with blood.
He put them to the test, and if they failed, he killed them without mercy and displayed their heads to the world.
Thus, tens, hundreds of false heroes lost their lives and crumbled at his hands.
To the man’s question of whether they truly considered them heroes, the world answered with ‘oblivion’.
The ones they called heroes were forgotten less than a week after their meaningless deaths.
The people, too, must not have thought of them as true heroes.
“I wonder.”
What kind of expression might the fake hero, forgotten in just a week, be wearing as he looks up at this world from hell?
One day, when a true hero appears, I will know.
For I will meet my own glorious end at his hands.
Until that day comes, the man will simply continue to test, and to ask.
And now.
The subject of this year’s final test has been decided.
A young Hunter who appeared suddenly, began to capture the public’s attention, and is being called a future hero.
There is a reason for targeting this half-baked fledgling.
‘He resembles him somehow.’
The look in the young man’s eyes, which he saw from time to time, resembled his.
It resembled the look in the eyes of the one who had passed his test, not with the expected answer, but by finding one of his own.
That was what made the man unbearably curious.
That was the reason.
“…I truly hope he passes.”
With that sincere wish, the man rose, uncoiling the body he had kept crouched for so long.
It is time to go outside again.