“So you weren’t completely clueless either.”

“……”

“Hehe, no need to make that face. Yes, there are definitely some benefits. Why wouldn’t there be?”

White Rose paused as she spoke. Just as I was thinking, ‘Is there really nothing?’, she continued.

“First, Cheonrang and Lavian Rose will form a close relationship. An alliance, I mean. Isn’t it great to help each other in times of need?”

Cheon Shin Woo, the actual person involved and the guild master, had a face that showed no intention of helping at all.

“Second, this is related to the ideal I pursue. Becoming familiar with the public.”

“……To become familiar with the public?”

“Awakened and unawakened, ordinary people and hunters. We’re all the same people, yet we call each other by different titles, keep our distance, and even hate each other. Isn’t that not beautiful?”

White Rose, having finished her tea, poured a fresh cup. Her voice was so calm that it didn’t match her flashy alias of White Rose.

“Especially Cheonrang and Amwol, the barrier to becoming familiar with them is too high, that’s the problem. Especially those two troublemakers.”

“Tch, why are you suddenly picking on someone who’s quietly minding their own business? I don’t cause problems, you know?”

“Yes, those two are the main problem. At least Baek Yi Hyun has strange stories floating around as funny anecdotes, so he’s somewhat better, but Jeokcheon doesn’t even have that.”

I carefully looked back and forth between the two. Baek Yi Hyun, wearing an expression that made him look like a thug from any angle, glared at White Rose while grinding his teeth.

At that moment, Cheon Shin Woo said this.

“At least I think I’m better than that monkey-like guy.”

“What, you bastard?!”

“……”

Baek Yi Hyun started jumping around angrily. He really did look like a monkey. I thought that perhaps Cheon Shin Woo might actually trust these people quite a bit.

White Rose held her forehead.

“……It’s like a dog covered in dung barking at a dog covered in chaff. Well, Yi Hyun, if you hadn’t done those things……”

“Who are you calling a dog covered in dung?! And you’re not so clean yourself, old hag!”

“At least I’m cleaner than you.”

“You old witch!”

It was certain. These three people seemed closer than I had thought.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked Baek Yi Hyun.

“What do you mean by ‘those things’?”

“Huh? You don’t know? This is quite a famous story.”

If I knew, would I be asking? I pretended to take a sip of tea while waiting for his next words.

“I killed my father. There was a lot of talk about that for a while.”

I ended up spitting out the tea I was drinking.

“W-What?”

“It was necessary.”

Baek Yi Hyun put on an unnecessarily solemn and cool expression.

Is it necessary to say that you killed your own father like that…?

“You probably know this, but Amwol was originally a guild created by my father using me as a front. That bastard, I should have killed him earlier.”

“What…?”

“There are a lot of complicated and annoying problems, but to put it simply, that bastard in our family was originally a politician. Such a guy used his son to establish a guild. You can guess what he did after that, right?”

“……”

“All sorts of corruption and connections….. Anyway, there were a lot of problems. The idea of trying to put a leash on hunters by colluding with the Association also came from that bastard’s head. The Bupyeong Disaster was also led by him. The incident where Kang Se Jin, the only S-class hunter belonging to the Association that the old hag mentioned earlier, died. It was hell trying to clean it up, and it still gives me a headache……”

Everything had been surprising from the start. It was shocking that Elder Sister Se Jin had died due to political issues, but it was also shocking that Amwol was involved in it.

Meanwhile, Baek Yi Hyun suddenly seemed different from before.

This person, he actually thinks things through…

“Hey, why do your eyes look so disrespectful all of a sudden?”

“Huh?”

“Tch, this is the look our vice guild master’s kid gives me. Hey! Are you looking down on me? How dare you!”

“……Baekya.”

“W-W-What, why! Why are you suddenly calling me?!”

“Sit down.”

When Baek Yi Hyun started growling at me, Cheon Shin Woo barked at him. White Rose watched them with a fond expression, as if watching her 7-year-old and 6-year-old nephews fight.

“We’ve strayed from the topic. So, what do you think?”

“Pardon?”

“About my proposal.”

“That……”

“That’s unexpected.”

“What is?”

“I thought you’d say yes.”

“Ah.”

On the way home, Cheon Shin Woo, who was driving himself, spoke in an indifferent voice. It seemed he was quite concerned about my saying I wanted to do the work myself.

“Well, she said to contact her again if I change my mind.”

I thought while looking out the window.

When I expressed my intention to decline, White Rose had quite a disappointed expression.

Even so, she said to come anytime if I change my mind, and I almost unconsciously answered ‘yes’, enchanted by her face.

Actually, I didn’t refuse for any grand reason.

I simply didn’t want to drastically change my daily life right now. I even hid the fact that I’m S-class because it was bothersome, so why would I welcome fame?

Cheon Shin Woo smiled faintly at my refusal, as if he had expected it. White Rose quickly erased her disappointed expression and gave me a gift.

It was a pretty earring crafted in the shape of a rose.

As she gave me the gift, she said this:

‘This is a personal gift. A code name that sings of flowers, no matter how I think about it, I feel like I should bring you over to our side… But if I did that, that youngster would probably get seriously angry. Still, if you ever need help, feel free to tell me.’

The earring she gave me was an A-grade item with shield and communication functions.

But perhaps, I should have listened to their conversation in more detail then.

This world should perish.

That is the right flow.

−Excerpt from the records of a certain cult

“Hello.”

“Oh my, it’s been a while.”

On a peaceful day, a peaceful commute to work continued.

As if the previous events were just a dream from one night, my daily life quickly returned to how it was before.

I’m not sure how long it’s been since I last came to work.

Despite being absent for quite a long time, my team members greeted me without much concern.

There were only polite inquiries like ‘Did something happen?’ or ‘Were you sick?’, but everyone focusing on their own work was truly typical of office workers in this era.

The worries I had while coming to work seemed unnecessary, as my team members were just treating me as ‘the youngest member who got promoted to an official guild member’.

“Alright, let’s work hard today too!”

The team leader, who seemed particularly cheerful despite the low energy, encouraged everyone and went to his seat.

I wonder why this scene, which used to feel so natural in the past, feels so unfamiliar now.

I looked at my desk with a strange feeling.

My seat, my work. A place where I can stay and continue to work as long as nothing major happens.

“……”

It was an indescribable feeling. Even I couldn’t understand myself, and complex thoughts crossed my mind.

‘……I just wanted to protect properly.’

Yesterday, on the way back, Cheon Shin Woo said that. He wanted to protect properly. Protect what? The question that almost popped out of my mouth went back in as soon as I saw his expression.

His wistful expression, as if he was filming a drama by himself, would have driven Cheon Shin Woo’s fan club crazy if they had seen it.

White Rose’s words seemed to bother him, but his true feelings were still questionable.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have any particular fondness or nostalgia for him.

When I turned on the familiar program, I saw numbers that had become unfamiliar after not seeing them for a few days. I looked up the necessary data and compared the figures as usual.

Cheon Shin Woo worries about me. Because I’m family, because I’m the sister he’s been looking for, that’s why he wants to protect me.

White Rose said that our relationship is far from a normal family. That I’m being overly cautious.

Two things are certain: that Cheon Shin Woo is still hiding something from me, and…

“……”

Damn it, I can’t concentrate because of thoughts about that person!

To think that I can’t do my work properly like this. This would never have happened in the past!

I quickly tried to erase yesterday’s events from my mind and focused on the work in front of me.

After concentrating on the immediate tasks for a while, I heard the sound signaling lunch time.

Certainly, thanks to the additional staff, things have become less busy. Maybe it’s because I worried a lot about how people would react to me. The overly peaceful surroundings felt rather awkward.

Even so, isn’t it too indifferent considering the news of a new S-class and Cheon Shin Woo’s sister appearing?

“You know Park Ha Young from the accounting team? There’s a rumor that she’s actually a parachute hire.”

“Ah, that unawakened person?”

“It’s strange that an unawakened person came to our guild, right? We had such a hard time getting in… Isn’t it weird how the team leader favors her so much?”

“The team leader has been singing about needing additional staff for a long time. Isn’t he just fond of her because she’s the youngest?”

“Well, actually…”

No, it’s not peaceful. I thought bathroom gossip only happened in novels, but it exists in reality!

I tried to hold my breath as much as possible, pretending there was no one in the stall.

I’m really sorry, but even if you whisper like that, I can hear everything because my hearing has improved…

The person sitting two seats away from me told the person next to them, ‘There’s a rumor that she’s Cheon Shin Woo’s sister.’ I don’t know where they got such rumors from. Actually, it’s correct.

“What? Even so, that’s too much. Isn’t there too much of a class difference? If they’re siblings, they should look alike, but where did that face come from?”

“Hmm, that’s true. That’s right. Her impression seems particularly blurry today too… Sigh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Moon Ji Won, the leader of the C team’s strategy team, strongly suspects that direction. Even so, how could she have the nerve to come back so shamelessly after disappearing for over a month?”

And an unawakened person at that. A bitter smile came to me at the unspoken words.

“She was caught up in an S-grade gate. Twice, at that. Have you ever experienced gate syncing? Once you experience that, it drains a person. Even if there’s no actual injury, it mentally drains you.”

“That’s all just an excuse…”

Finally, the two people gossiping in the bathroom left. I waited a bit, confirmed that no one was there, and only then could I come out.

The touch of water as I washed my hands felt particularly cold.

I understand how those people feel, but still…

“Haah.”

I wasn’t caught up in S-grade gates twice, but three times, and I even awakened…

Somehow, today I started to wonder if the decision I made was right.