*
They say it's customary to refuse once, but I didn't expect the reaction to be this big.
Park Hye-ji is staring at me with wide eyes; it feels fresh, different from her usual self.
"Wait, did you properly understand what I said?"
I nodded without a word. She looked utterly incredulous.
"You don't possibly not know who Choi Tae-soo Grandpa is, do you?"
Who attending the Great Academy wouldn't have heard of Choi Tae-soo?
It'd be one thing if he were some mediocre figure, but it's strange for a Hunter hopeful to not know the top-tier ones.
'He is a bit of an ignorant old man, though.'
Memories of sparring directly with the old man came to mind.
Wasn't he the guy who showed off his skills, claiming he was losing to a green junior?
It's not like he didn't control his strength, but he still swung his fists hard enough to knock the kids out.
Well, thanks to that, I got some good practice, but those are all memories now.
'Hmm, if I turn back time to the past, will Proto revive too?'
["Since he is part of the system... that is highly likely."]
It's something I don't even want to think about, so I should consider it virtually impossible to load before that day.
"Hey. Are you even listening to me right now?"
"Ah, no, I was just thinking. Yeah, I know him well."
"Then don't you know how good of an opportunity this is? No matter how great you are, directly receiving Grandpa's teachings is..."
"I've even had sparring lessons with him."
"You sparred with Grandpa?!"
Hearing my words, Park Hye-ji grabbed my hand with a surprised expression.
"When? When did that happen?"
"Calm down. He just came to A class and did a sparring lesson once, that's all."
Choi Tae-soo's presence seems quite significant to Park Hye-ji.
I didn't know she'd react this much.
Well, the instructors decided to turn a blind eye, so it's not strange that Park Hye-ji from another class doesn't know.
"Without even telling me... Anyway! You experienced it yourself, so you know how precious this opportunity is, right?"
Park Hye-ji crosses her arms and confidently puffs out her chest.
Well, it's an average size, not small, but it looks small because there are so many big people around.
"Where are you looking right now?"
"Hmm... Anyway, I'm not interested."
"No! Why aren't you interested!"
"Hey. Hey... Calm down."
If you speak that loudly, people will stare.
It seemed like she would keep making noise, so I moved to a place with no people for now.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"Let's talk somewhere with no people."
"Hmm... So you're saying you're thinking about it seriously. Okay, let's go then."
Park Hye-ji obediently follows behind; it's a bit of a special sight to see Park Hye-ji and I together, so eyes are pouring in from all around.
__Why are those two together?
__Did you hear? Kim Si-woo is 4th in the test this time.
__Does that even make sense?
Some bastards were taking pictures in the middle, but well, I don't have to pay much attention to it.
I'm not the old Kim Si-woo anymore, you see.
Recently, my value has risen a bit. With several incidents overlapping, the atmosphere is quite approving.
'It seems like the guys who hate me still hate me, but well, they're probably just jealous.'
There are goddesses all around me, so well, they might be jealous.
That being said, when I first saw her, I thought Park Hye-ji was a similar type to Seo-ah, but she was more emotional than I thought.
She also seems to have a strong pride in being Choi Tae-soo's granddaughter.
'Well, I guess accepting is the right thing for me.'
It was a request that wouldn't be a minus for me at all.
I've experienced the old man's skills firsthand, so there's no need to say more, and it was an opportunity to get closer to Park Hye-ji.
Recently, even in the interview, it seems like the old man likes me quite a bit.
So it seems like he's trying to use his granddaughter. Seeing how he emphasizes doing it together, he must have told her to bring me along.
I don't know why Park Hye-ji is so obsessed with Choi Tae-soo, but looking at her reaction, it doesn't seem like she'll ever give up.
'Then I should use her as much as possible.'
It's not bad to drag it out like this and make her beg rather than accepting right away.
Isn't it true that the more desperate you are, the higher the value goes?
"The Grim Reaper Guild also made a nomination, you see."
"The Grim Reaper Guild?"
I nodded without a word.
In fact, a guild is comparable to Choi Tae-soo.
The master of the Grim Reaper Guild is treated as equal to Choi Tae-soo.
"But... but you don't carry out missions directly with the master there!"
"That's true."
The Grim Reaper Guild did make a nomination, but the guild master, who is very mysterious, wouldn't move directly.
He hasn't even revealed his face.
The only time I saw him directly was when I was catching the Red Yeti last time, and I watched from afar.
Wearing a special robe that didn't show the inside and flying through the air, wielding a giant scythe, he looked pretty cool.
"Is the cost perhaps the problem? Our guild has prepared quite a bit! It won't be lacking even compared to the Grim Reaper Guild."
"Guild?"
Was Park Hye-ji affiliated with a guild?
"My grandpa isn't affiliated with a guild. So we decided to borrow my father's guild name."
Indeed, is that how they're proceeding with the request?
"Ahem. So how much is it?"
"Um... Would this much be enough?"
The amount Park Hye-ji presented was much higher than the amount the Grim Reaper Guild said they would give.
Well, I'm a decent rookie, but is it necessary to invest that much?
"The Grim Reaper Guild wouldn't be able to give this much, would they?"
Park Hye-ji crosses her arms and straightens her back; that confident expression, for some reason, makes me feel pissed off.
Well, there's still time.
"So, will you do it then?"
"Well, I'll think about it."
"Huh? Hey! I've done this much! Hey! Kim Si-woo! Hey!!"
Ignoring Park Hye-ji's shouts from behind, I headed to the class.
*
"Heu-heung~ Heu-heung~"
The woman humming in a melodious voice entered a gloomy-looking room.
The huge robe covering her face couldn't hide her figure.
The woman, shaking her bursting, huge breasts, sighed as she looked at the woman sitting quietly in the dark-looking room.
"Are you still doing that? If this much time has passed, isn't it obvious?"
The knight wearing black armor next to the sitting woman drew his sword and aimed it at the woman's neck.
"Whoa~ Whoa~ Can you move your doll? I'm so scared~"
"Haa. Are you in the mood to joke right now?"
The shapely woman avoided the aimed blade and slumped down on the chair.
"Why are you so prickly."
"Do I look like I wouldn't be?"
"Even though he was someone you couldn't read, he wasn't someone who didn't keep his promises, right? Then you should think he failed."
The woman on the opposite side slammed the desk and answered loudly.
"Shut up!!"
"What~ You didn't even like him that much usually~"
"If you keep doing that, I'm going to kill you!!!"
The woman holding the handle of the puppet doll grabbed the collar of the woman who kept making playful noises.
"Haa. How long are you going to escape reality?"
"..."
"The Hunter Association is dying to kill us, and do you know how many people the Cult Leader has sacrificed with his unreasonable operations every time?"
"..."
"On top of that, now he's kicked the bucket?"
"That's... we don't know... yet."
"He said it himself. If he doesn't come back, assume he's dead."
As the strength in the puppeteer woman's hand gradually weakened, the woman on the opposite side grabbed her collar and pulled her up.
Her body was half lifted due to the height difference, but the puppeteer did not resist.
"We don't have special powers like that man. But the power that man gave us remains."
As the woman gestured, an unstable-looking rift appeared.
The power to connect different spaces.
"So... so what do you want me to do!!!"
"We have to do something. There's no one to lead us but you. That fierce bastard also had his head blown off by Choi Tae-soo and died."
"..."
"The fanatical old man was killed by the Grim Reaper. And how did that man die again..."
"Stop talking!!"
The puppeteer shook her head as if she didn't want to hear it.
"Do something. Don't just sit there feeling sorry for yourself."
"What can we do when that bastard is dead too!!!"
Even that man, who seemed omnipotent, didn't he eventually die?
Every planned event failed, and pushed and pushed, didn't things eventually turn out like this?
Compared to that man, they were just insignificant beings.
"We're not great people like that man. We have to move in a way that suits us."
The woman whispered in a soft voice and hugged the puppeteer in her arms.
"I'm not smart enough to know. So please help me."
"In the end..."
"Huh?"
"You're telling me to do everything!!"
"Haha, was I found out?"
Seeing that the woman's eyes had changed, she secretly let out a sigh of relief.
It was right to see the Cult Leader, who showed omnipotent abilities, as gone.
That man, who seemed to see fragments of the future, was somehow off, not normal.
Still, his abilities were real, so I just lived as he told me to.
'In the end, he failed.'
Now that man was gone. But the power he received from that man remained intact.
'And, the things that man said will happen as they are.'
Every plan failed, but most of the things that man said happened as they were.
He said something incomprehensible about someone constantly interfering, but when there was no interference, it happened as it was.
"That day will come."
"..."
"For that day, we just need to move in our own way."
Nothing has changed.