Receiving the Awakened registration card went by without much incident, as I had thought.

No, there were incidents, but the registration itself went smoothly.

I had a brief Q&A with an association employee I’d never met before, entered information, and had my stats measured with a testing device.

There were minor incidents of people who came to receive their Awakened registration cards or update their information arguing about who was more impressive, but I’ll skip over that as it’s not important.

After submitting all the information and waiting to receive some water, a familiar voice was heard from behind.

“Hey, you brat. You came to the association without contacting me!”

“Elder sister Min Young!”

It was a familiar face I hadn’t seen in a long time. Elder sister Min Young approached me with a deliberately hurt expression.

“Anyway, Park Ha Young, I have to say you’re heartless. How could you not contact me at all this whole time? I heard you had some incident again.”

“Incident?”

“Yeah, Yi Hyun told me. He only said there was an incident without giving details. You two are really driving me crazy.”

“Ahaha. Have you been well?”

“Do I look like I’ve been well? Anyway, really…”

Elder sister Min Young’s expression was bright as she voiced her complaints while holding a coffee. Since it was true that I hadn’t been in contact, I gave an awkward smile.

“Don’t you have to go to work?”

“A little bit of time is fine. The association president is in a panic right now. Low-level employees like me get to slack off at times like this.”

Elder sister Min Young said something that sounded like the epitome of a salary thief as she sipped her coffee. My question of whether that was okay died on my lips as she continued with her own question.

“So what happened?”

“What do you mean, what happened.”

“Are you trying to brush it off again? Someone who says nothing happened, why did you come all the way to the association?”

“Ah, that’s for a different reason…”

“Sigh, anyway there’s trouble everywhere. The Erosion Gate issue this time, and the new S-rank… Only the association is suffering.”

“Is the investigation going well?”

“What is there to investigate? There was nothing left.”

Elder sister Min Young, who had finished her coffee, spoke as if lamenting and then suddenly glared at me.

“At least you’re safe, that’s good. Really, there’s never a peaceful day. How does a kid get involved in S-rank gates three times?”

“Huh? You knew?”

“Is that even something to ask? Baek Yi Hyun was listed as a contributor for this Erosion Gate, wasn’t he? Then you must have been right there with him.”

That’s true. I quietly nodded and listened to elder sister Min Young’s story.

As always, she complained while updating me on various recent happenings. Since there was never a day without problems at the association, I just accepted it with a “I see.”

Though she mentioned it lightly in passing, she must have felt somewhat hurt inside. After all, a close friend had gone through such an incident without saying anything. Though it was because I had been preoccupied with other matters, I quietly apologized to her.

And so the topic eventually circled back to Cheon Shin Woo.

“Anyway, that rank 1 guy, you have to give him credit for being impressive. It’s fortunate that he found the sister he was desperately searching for, but… How can the country talk about nothing but Cheon Shin Woo for over a week?”

I could only laugh awkwardly, unable to say that I was the person in question.

“Come to think of it, you’re also part of Cheonrang, aren’t you? And you were seen with Cheon Shin Woo last time… If there’s any problem, tell me. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“I appreciate the thought.”

“I really can help.”

“That’s why I said I appreciate it.”

Elder sister Min Young, who had immediately noticed that I was involved in the Erosion Gate due to my connection with Baek Yi Hyun, didn’t seem to have any idea about the relationship between Cheon Shin Woo and me. Or perhaps she was deliberately avoiding mentioning it.

Though it was enjoyable to chat after so long, unfortunately elder sister Min Young was currently on duty hours. Clicking her tongue as she looked at her watch, she threw the empty bottle in the trash and said:

“Should I buy you meat after work today? Since we met after so long.”

“Huh? It’s okay.”

“Don’t refuse, just say you’ll accept the free meal. I’ve been working overtime for days and finally can leave early today…”

If possible, I wanted to hang out too. But there was no way that Cheon Shin Woo would allow it. I pondered how to refuse.

Knowing that I would refuse no matter what, elder sister sighed softly. Before returning to work, she asked me one last thing.

“By the way, what business do you have at the association? Isn’t it time for you to go to work?”

And just as I was about to answer.

“Miss Cheon Shin A. Your registration card is ready.”

A notification calling for me rang out.

“Right, Cheon Shin Woo’s sister came to register as an Awakened at the association, so the president is in a panic… Ha Young?”

Elder sister Min Young’s eyes began to tremble as she watched me hurriedly go to receive the registration card. I looked at her with an awkward smile.

“Oops, did I not mention that?”

That expression of disbelief also had a hint of betrayal. If she hadn’t thrown away the coffee bottle, she might have dropped it now.

“It turns out I’m that Cheon Shin Woo’s younger sister.”

“Uh…”

“Ah, and I also Awakened.”

“Huh…?”

Is this how early humans reacted when they first discovered fire? Elder sister Min Young was frozen for over a minute.

“W-w-w-what did you say?”

“That’s how it turned out…”

“…”

Just when she seemed to be reacting, elder sister Min Young froze again and looked at me with an unreal expression. Since it was a matter directly related to safety, I hadn’t told anyone, but I felt a slight regret that I should have told her earlier.

“Shin A! Where are you? We need to go now!”

Just then, Min Yu Shin’s voice was heard from over there. I waved to elder sister while answering “Yes!”

“Elder sister, I’ll see you later then. I’ll contact you.”

There was no response. She was still frozen.

I wonder if she’ll be able to return to work like that.

“Who is that?”

Min Yu Shin, who came looking for me, glanced at elder sister Min Young and asked. I shrugged and answered.

“She’s an elder sister I became close with when I was a returnee. She’s an association employee, and she helped me with a lot of things.”

If anything, she could be called more of a family than Cheon Shin Woo.

“…Is that so?”

Min Yu Shin’s eyes narrowed. I recalled that he was an assassin, then shook my head.

And so, receiving the Awakened registration card ended without much incident. Although I received a B-rank card by reducing my ability scores, Cheon Shin Woo and the association president made some kind of deal in the process, and the unsightly sight of a man in his 50s clinging to Cheon Shin Woo’s pant leg was seen.

The fact that I am the younger sister of Cheon Shin Woo, the unofficial world rank 1, my Awakening that happened while being involved in gates, and the danger said to be approaching the world…

After many events and incidents passed, peace arrived.

What kind of life will I live from now on?

#Chapter 3. Ranking Battle and Siege Battle

The one who smiled faintly beyond the white veil, speaking in a voice devoid of emotion.

I clearly knew that being, knew there had been the same situation.

And so I finally sympathized, and made the best decision I could.

However, if my decision was not the right answer…

What should I have done?

That famous production guild, Coffee Cookie. And the department store under Coffee Cookie.

I was standing in the middle of that department store full of price tags that would make one faint just by looking.

Moreover, I was lost…

It’s not like I wanted to get lost on purpose.

I guess it’s about time I start worrying if I have a talent for getting lost.

A few days ago.

I don’t know what kind of deal Cheon Shin Woo made with the association president when I received my Awakened registration card, but in any case, the new ID card I received was a clean B-rank Awakened registration card.

My new ID card engraved with the three characters of the name Cheon Shin A, not Park Ha Young.

The feeling of receiving that registration card with two things I had longed for coming true at once was… honestly, not much of a feeling.

It had been several days since I found out I was Cheon Shin Woo’s younger sister and several days since I Awakened, but it didn’t feel real.

Perhaps it still felt distant from me.

But not for Cheon Shin Woo.

I don’t know when we met for him to act so familiarly, but he really did his best for me to the fullest extent he could.

Although the problem was that it was entirely by his own standards.

Yes, Cheon Shin Woo really did as he pleased.

At least the day I went to receive the Awakened registration card was okay.

We just finished an awkward meal and went to rest at the still unfamiliar home.

The next day was fine too. I don’t know why he wants to keep me under his control so much, but when I stayed quiet without saying much, he also quietly dealt with his backlog of paperwork.

Perhaps because I got angry when he suddenly left his position before.

I could see him trying his best not to go anywhere.

And when it actually became like that, it was uncomfortable.

I’d rather he go clear a gate or something…

Even though he said he has his own house, he lived together with me in the penthouse he gave me.

It was awkwardly uncomfortable.

Family or not, I still only thought of him as a stranger, so how could it not be awkward?

In his own way, he would prepare delicious food, hand me items from who knows where he got them, obtain limited edition game packs…

When I didn’t play the games, he played them himself. I could only look with blurred eyes at the 30-year-old rank 1 playing games.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t even say I wanted to go somewhere and just stayed cooped up in my room.

During that time, what I did was check up on myself.

First, closely examining my skills.

It was really essential to prevent incidents like last time where I mistakenly designated the casting target and made monsters go berserk.

Second, looking into hunter tips.

Although hunter is a kind of license that can only be obtained by taking a test, I had to look into it just in case.

And I looked for things that are illegal under the Special Hunter Law, but everyone seemed to be doing them secretly.

Other than that, it was checking the rewards I had received.

As expected of an S-rank gate, the items that came in were substantial, but with my knowledge only scratching the surface, I just stashed them away without knowing how to utilize them, or more precisely, where to sell them.