We pulled another two-person table over and all sat together.

Eleanor and I sat side by side, while Meiling, Seo Yui, and Lumina sat across from us in a neat row.

[…]

Even with five people at the table, silence smothered everything.

Unable to bear the awkwardness, I broke it first.

"No wonder you didn’t call me this morning. How long have you been following us?"

"Wh–who’s following who?"

Meiling snapped back, her face flushing with anger.

"Like I said, I just came out with the others to hang around, and while getting food we just happened to see you two here."

"Oh, really?"

The lie was written all over her face.

If it truly had been coincidence, she would’ve scoffed, said ‘What nonsense?’ and made a baffled expression.

But right now, her cheeks and ears were red as she flared up—obviously trying to cover her guilt.

I turned my gaze to Lumina.

She flinched, her eyes darting away.

That alone made everything clear.

"Then why are you eating here with her, when you said you were just delivering items?"

Meiling’s question left me dumbfounded.

"Why? Am I not allowed to?"

The moment those words left my mouth, the three across from me froze.

Meiling’s eyes widened. Seo Yui, mid-bite, stopped with a fry hovering near her lips. Lumina hunched her shoulders, stiff as stone.

"Eleanor asked me to watch her work at the workshop. Time passed, and since it was already lunch, we came out to eat. What’s wrong with that?"

"No, no, there’s nothing wrong. Yein’s right. Absolutely."

Lumina forced an awkward smile.

"Meiling, let’s just eat. You said you were hungry."

"…Why do you have to eat with her though?"

Lumina’s smile froze on her face.

Uh oh.

I was caught off guard, my mouth suddenly dry.

Meiling’s eyes were turning red, her gaze shimmering with tears.

"You should be eating with us! Why are you eating with Eleanor?"

"What? That doesn’t even—"

"Yein, try to understand." Seo Yui cut in gently, "Meiling probably just wanted to hang out with everyone. We went through so much in that dungeon, remember? And yesterday, we were all too tired and just shut ourselves in our rooms. So today, she wanted to go out together. She was hoping you’d come back sooner, I think."

"…"

I looked at Seo Yui’s face, then glanced at Meiling.

She had turned her head away.

If that’s what you wanted, just say so. What are you, seven years old?

Even after hearing Seo Yui’s explanation, I still found it absurd. But I didn’t want to sour the mood at the table any further.

Eleanor, meanwhile, had been staring blankly at Meiling the entire time.

Her expression practically said: That’s really the daughter of the Forward Engineer president?

That thought reminded me of something I had forgotten.

Right, there was an article yesterday saying Chen Kai was stepping down as president.

Meiling must have seen it too. If so, maybe her head was a mess and her mental state was shakier than usual.

"Alright."

I looked at Meiling and said,

"This afternoon, let’s hang out together. So come on, cheer up and eat."

"…"

Meiling quietly turned back, unwrapped her burger, and began nibbling at it.

Good grief.

It was like babysitting a kid.

My eyes met Lumina’s across the table.

She looked relieved, though she gave me a wry smile.

A dozen minutes later…

"Then I’ll head back to the workshop."

Eleanor looked at me and my squadmates.

"Yeah. I’ll message you about the rare items for the shop next week."

"Okay."

She waved, turned, and walked away.

"So…"

I turned to Meiling, who was half-hiding behind Lumina.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?"

"…Somewhere cool."

Her voice was thick, almost like she had sniffled.

"Cool, huh? Then it’ll have to be indoors."

Shopping was out; we had done that recently…

"How about a movie?"

"Oh, that sounds great!" Lumina clapped her hands together.

"Mm, I like that idea too," Seo Yui said with a smile.

I looked at Meiling. She gave a small nod.

"Then let’s go to Yongsan Station. It’s not far—we can just walk."

We set off.

Lumina and the slightly-cheered-up Meiling walked ahead, while Seo Yui and I trailed behind.

Since it was the weekend, the streets were packed. If you weren’t careful, you’d bump into strangers at every step.

"Ah, Yein."

Seo Yui, walking alongside me, called softly.

"There’s something I didn’t get to say earlier."

"What is it, senior?"

"It wasn’t just Meiling."

"Huh?"

I blinked, unsure what she meant. Then Seo Yui smiled.

"I also wanted you to come back quickly."

"…What?"

At that moment, Meiling and Lumina both turned back to look at us.

And then it happened.

"Ugh!"

"Ouch!"

Cries of pain rang out. I looked toward the sound.

Lumina was staring down in shock.

At her feet, sprawled across the pavement, was a boy.

The moment I saw his face, I was taken aback.

I hadn’t expected to run into him again.

"A-are you okay?"

Lumina instinctively reached out, then froze.

"Dammit, watch where you’re going! You—huh?"

The boy, halfway up, stopped as well.

"You guys… You’re the ones from the Seawater Cave…."

"What’s wrong, Hong Gihun? You know them?"

A group approached—three of them, one guy and two girls, all about our age.

The guy was big, with several scars across his face like he’d been slashed.

One of the girls wore a crop top that revealed her stomach, while the other’s skin was deeply tanned from the sun. Both wore heavy makeup.

"…They’re from Gwangcheon. We ran into them before, in the Seawater Cave."

Hong Gihun got to his feet and explained.

"Ah, right. The ones you tried to eat before Iris showed up and ruined it, huh?"

The scarred guy sneered, and the two girls on either side snickered. Hong Gihun’s face flushed red.

So if Hong Gihun is with them, that means these guys are all Crystals?

I hadn’t seen any of their faces in the game before.

Which meant, in my perspective, their worth ranked below Nam Yein.

"A-ah…"

Lumina stiffened, eyes wide at the sight of the Crystal group.

"Unbelievable. When you bump into someone, you should apologize."

Meiling stepped forward, her voice sharp.

The Crystals looked her up and down.

"What’s this? A little brat talking big."

The scarred one scoffed.

"Hong Gihun, don’t tell me this kid’s a Hunter candidate too?"

"Most likely."

"Cute."

The tanned girl smiled at Meiling.

"But what a pity, ending up in Gwangcheon. If you’d come to our academy, we would’ve spoiled you rotten."

"Guess her family must be broke~."

The girl in the crop top sneered down at Meiling.

"Ah, that makes sense. Gwangcheon’s where all the poor kids end up, after all."

"And I heard their abilities are so pathetic they don’t even dare apply to other academies~."

"So pitiful~."

Both the crop top girl and the tanned girl burst out laughing.

"Graduates from Gwangcheon can’t even get into guilds. They just scavenge low-grade materials on the first or second floors of dungeons."

"Right, right. There was a nickname for them, wasn’t there?"

"Hmm~. Was it… trash hunters?"

"Ah, that’s the one!"

Lumina’s face went pale, and Meiling’s fists trembled at her sides.

"Why are you even in a Hunter Academy?"

The scarred boy glared at us.

"You’d be better off working a construction site. At least then your Awakened abilities would actually be put to use."

"Are you done talking, you—!"

Meiling couldn’t hold it in any longer. She was about to explode when—

"Pfft…"

Everyone’s gaze shifted to me.

"Impressive," I said, staring at the Crystals.

"How do you manage to spew such laughably cliché lines so smoothly? I was so fascinated I couldn’t help but listen in silence. At this point, it’s a talent. Remarkable."

Hong Gihun and the girls gaped at me, their expressions blank with disbelief.

"Birds of a feather flock together, huh? Guess your little group is full of idiots with no sense of fear."

The scarred boy narrowed his eyes.

"Oh? You know that saying? Smarter than I thought. Too bad you don’t realize you’re in no position to use it. That ignorance just proves your brains aren’t enough to hide the truth."

The next instant, the scarred boy swung a fist at me.

But it never landed.

"!?"

His face froze.

"Don’t do something so stupid."

Seo Yui, standing beside me, had caught his wrist.

"You—!"

He tried to yank his arm back, but it was useless.

"You bitch!!"

He swung his other arm at her.

But that one too was instantly seized.

Sweat broke across his forehead as he realized something was wrong.

Seo Yui sighed softly and looked at him.

And then—

"Aaaagh!!"

The boy screamed, his whole body twisting in pain. Both arms were forced stiff, as if locked open.

Seo Yui must have applied just the slightest bit of strength.

"Hey! Oh Jihoo! What the hell are you doing to Gwangcheon kids?!"

The crop top girl shrieked.

People around us had stopped to stare.

"Senior Seo Yui. Let him go," I said, flicking my fingers lightly.

She nodded and shoved him away.

"Ugh!"

The scarred boy went flying, tumbling across the pavement.

The crop top girl, the tanned girl, and even Hong Gihun stared in shock.

I stepped past the frozen Crystals and stood over the scarred boy.

Looking down at him, I spoke quietly.

"There are too many people here. How about we move somewhere secluded and have some fun?"

"You bastard…"

He glared up at me.

"A Crystal Hunter candidate wouldn’t seriously back down after a Gwangcheon kid’s provocation, would he? I do hope you’ll follow."

I smiled.

"It must be the heat, but today, killing trash like you wouldn’t weigh on my conscience at all."

His face stiffened.

"Come on. Get up."

I offered my hand.

"U-ugh!!"

He scooted back on the ground, then scrambled to his feet—only to bolt away at full speed.

"Hey! Oh Jihoo!"

"What the hell??"

I turned toward the girls, who were shouting in confusion.

"I asked him to talk somewhere quiet, but he ran away."

"What…?"

"That’s ridiculous—"

I stepped closer.

"How about you two join us instead? You too, Hong Gihun."

At that, he flinched violently.

"As Crystal students, you shouldn’t feel intimidated just because our side has one extra person. Right?"

"You seriously want to fight us?"

"Unbelievable…"

The girls scoffed in disbelief.

It was then Hong Gihun spoke, drenched in sweat.

"L-let’s just go, seniors."

Clearly, he had realized the difference in power after watching the scarred boy.

"You were so cocky back in the Seawater Cave. What happened? Be bold, like you were then."

I smirked.

Hong Gihun’s face twitched, but instead of lashing out, he grabbed the girls by their wrists.

"L-let’s go! Now!"

"Hey! Hong Gihun!"

"Let go of me!"

Ignoring their protests, he dragged them away.

When they disappeared, the frozen crowd of bystanders finally resumed moving.

"Why’d you just let them go?"

Meiling came up, her face full of dissatisfaction.

"They were nothing. We could’ve killed them with a flick of a finger…"

"And that’s exactly why," I said, meeting her eyes.

She frowned in confusion.

"If it weren’t for Seo Yui and me, you would’ve attacked them seriously, right? Then they’d be dead."

After ten days of survival training on Bottle Gourd Island, our average level was over 51.

Those Crystals I just checked with the lens? The strongest of them was level 33.

At this point, fighting opponents like that held no meaning at all.

The level gap was too wide—even the experience gained would be worthless.

"Remember. We’re not ordinary Hunter candidates anymore."

"…Fine."

Meiling grumbled reluctantly.

I walked over to Lumina.

"Guess we just stepped in dog shit. Time to buy new shoes."

I grinned.

Lumina, who had been tense all this time, finally smiled.

"Sorry. If I hadn’t bumped into him, this wouldn’t have happened."

I shook my head.

"Not your fault. Forget it. It’s hot—let’s hurry to the theater."

"Yeah."

And so, we started walking toward Yongsan Station again.

(End of Chapter)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.