Chomp!

Han Suyeon took a huge bite of the potato.

Happiness flooded through her as it filled her mouth.

Even after eating so many of them yesterday, she wasn’t tired of them in the slightest.

She devoured the potato in her hand in an instant.

"Good?"

""

Belated embarrassment reddened Suyeon’s cheeks.

She wasn’t some dog. How had she let herself be won over so completely by food?

At least they had sent the siblings inside first, sparing her some of the humiliation. Experiencing a sudden moment of clarity after her indulgence, she straightened her clothes.

"So, what’s the favor?"

"You see the fields stretching uphill from my house? I want you to put up a barrier that blocks access to them."

"A barrier... here?"

"Yeah. If possible, I wanted one created by someone at your level."

Han Suyeon was one of the world’s foremost barrier specialists.

It was a field in which her special constitution could be used to tremendous effect, but more than anything, her innate talent was exceptional.

Even though her primary specialty lay elsewhere, she still held an overwhelming position of authority in this field.

"I understand what you mean. You’re worried about people seeing what happens here, right?"

"Exactly. It would be one thing if I only used the little kitchen garden inside the yard. But once I start expanding into the fields outside, things could become troublesome."

Hyunseong’s farming was fundamentally different from ordinary agriculture.

If an outsider saw it, they couldn’t help finding it strange.

The crops might transform completely in just a single day.

Fruit entirely unrelated to the current season might hang in heavy clusters from the trees.

A field that had been planted with potatoes the previous day might suddenly become a wheat field.

All of it would be plainly visible.

Of course, his property stood in an isolated corner of an already remote countryside village.

It wasn’t somewhere people were likely to see, but once he started living here, coincidences were bound to occur more often than expected.

Even recently, neighbors and guests had been dropping by without warning.

"Well... all right. I should at least earn the potatoes."

Suyeon readily nodded.

She showed no outward sign of it and hadn’t even realized it herself, but the satisfying potato she had just eaten had put her in an exceptionally good mood.

Tzzzzzt!

Mana gathered above her loosely opened left palm.

For an ordinary hunter to create a barrier, they had to force their own mana through the entire designated area according to a structure they had designed themselves.

As a mana resonator, Suyeon had no need to do that. She drew her mana out into threads of pure white and spread them throughout the surroundings.

The air around them began to tremble faintly.

Her scale is as ridiculous as ever.

The vibrations were too subtle for an ordinary person to detect.

On the other hand, any high-level hunter capable of sensing them would have shuddered at how delicately and densely the mana was being deployed.

Threads of mana settled into place, forming the framework of the barrier.

Of course, that alone amounted to nothing more than an incomplete structure riddled with holes.

The mana in the atmosphere, resonating with Suyeon, flowed into the framework and completed the barrier.

Hummm!

Space rippled violently once.

Hyunseong’s vision twisted sharply before returning to normal.

"You created a barrier this large in one attempt. Imagine how cheated all those hunters who have to repeat the same construction dozens of times just to cover a single building must feel."

"Thanks for the compliment."

Flash!

Suyeon easily withdrew her mana.

The resonating mana ceased to fluctuate, and the strange sensation that had permeated the entire area disappeared.

"It’s finished. This should be enough, right?"

Hyunseong nodded at her question.

A massive barrier now perfectly covered all the private property uphill from his house.

It enclosed precisely the area he had requested.

"The security is strong enough, right? I’d rather hunters not discover it either."

"Don’t worry. Even if agents from the National Security Bureau stormed the place in force, they wouldn’t discover what’s inside."

"Thanks."

If Suyeon was willing to say that much, there was nothing to worry about.

Her skill was beyond question.

Once they stepped outside the barrier, all they could see was the same empty field and clear sky as before.

There wasn’t even a trace of the distortion visible from within. The concealment was flawless.

"I used a standard double distortion field. Anyone other than you will see the same scenery inside the barrier that they see from outside. We used this method all the time during operations, but... I never thought I’d use it for something like this."

"Neither did I. Who would’ve imagined I’d move to the countryside and take up farming?"

Hyunseong let out a dry laugh.

As he was constantly reminded, if you lived long enough, life could take you to some truly unexpected places.

With the barrier complete, they returned to the house.

"Oh, you’re back!"

"Did you finish everything?"

"No, I’m stopping here for today."

Hyunseong set down the hand hoe as he spoke.

He hadn’t cleared as much of the field as he had intended, but he had never expected to finish everything in one day.

Even the area he had planned to clear amounted to less than a tenth of the land enclosed by the barrier, yet it was still considerable.

It would take time to acquire seeds and seedlings anyway, so there was no need to rush.

They gathered on the porch again and chatted for a while.

Ding!

"Huh?"

Yoo Seungsu stared at his phone in surprise and sprang to his feet.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

"There’s a problem with the temperature controller at our facility. I think we need to go right now."

"No! Let’s stay a little longer!"

Startled, Yoo Eunha vigorously shook her head.

She had been right in the middle of talking with Han Suyeon.

This opportunity might never come again in her lifetime. She couldn’t let it end already.

"From what I can see, it isn’t some minor malfunction. We need to get there before the whole system shuts down."

"If you have to go, go by yourself!"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You’re in charge of the software. How am I supposed to handle it alone? Do you want to lose everything we own?"

Eunha looked ready to cry at his scolding.

But there was no other choice.

If the temperature controls suffered a critical failure, every crop planted throughout the facility would be ruined.

Moreover, they cultivated premium varieties, so even the seedlings were expensive.

Losing them would mean an enormous financial blow.

Dragging her feet and radiating reluctance with every step, Eunha finally managed to get one photograph with Suyeon before leaving for home.

"They’re gone."

"It won’t be anything serious, will it?"

"They might not look it, but apparently they’ve operated that facility for two years without a single accident. There’s no need to worry."

Suyeon nodded at Hyunseong’s reassurance.

With two people gone, the house became much quieter.

But once the siblings had disappeared, the spirits that had been hiding emerged one by one and filled the empty yard.

When a life spirit flopped onto its back beside her, Suyeon let out a soft laugh.

"It’s so quiet. I like it."

Following the spirit’s example, Suyeon sprawled on the porch.

It was something she would never normally have done, but she even stretched out her arms and lay spread-eagled.

The rough wooden porch pressed against her back.

Yet it felt far more comfortable than the leather chair in her office that had cost several million won.

"I don’t want to go back today."

Birds chirped.

Clouds drifted across the clear sky.

There were no blaring car horns and no flashes from reporters’ cameras.

At least for this moment, she could forget every worry and stray thought she had left behind in the city.

"Get plenty of rest before you go. Don’t think about anything while you’re here."

"Thank you. Just a little longer... Let me stay like this for a little longer."

Suyeon gently closed her eyes.

It felt as though that moment might last forever, but perhaps because she wanted it so desperately, time passed all too quickly.

"Are you leaving now?"

Hyunseong asked when he saw Suyeon putting on her shoes.

"Yeah. I got a call. I think I need to head back immediately."

"They should’ve let you have a single day off."

"No, I rested more than enough thanks to you. More than I thought was even possible."

Suyeon gave him a relieved smile.

It wasn’t a polite formality. Genuine emotion filled it.

Hyunseong accompanied her through the front gate to see her off.

"It’s a shame, though. I wanted to try the other crops you’re planning to grow."

"I’ll send you some if I have any left over. Or come visit again. I’ll make you a proper meal next time."

"I’d like to... but I probably won’t be able to come back for a while. I think I’m about to become even busier."

"Really? Then take these."

"Oh, these are..."

"Payment for the liquor we drank yesterday. Steam them one at a time whenever you’re busy."

Hyunseong loaded a box of potatoes into the back of her vehicle.

Suyeon’s eyes widened. She stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"...Thank you. For everything."

Thud!

Han Suyeon stepped out of the vehicle and closed the door.

Then she approached the scene cordoned off by police tape.

The moment she appeared, the nearby civilians erupted into cheers, while reporters frantically clicked their camera shutters.

The police officers bowed their heads and cleared a path for her without being asked.

"Deputy Director. You’re here."

After she ventured some distance inside, a hunter in a black coat appeared.

His clothes were heavily stained with blood, and the surrounding roads had already been torn apart.

"It looks like you’ve already had a fight."

"Yes. We eliminated all the lesser monsters that emerged in the preliminary wave."

"Can I see the information?"

"Here it is."

Suyeon took the report and read it as she walked.

The man followed behind her and continued speaking.

"As you’ve already heard, this Gate cannot be entered in advance. We have to intercept the monsters as they emerge, and the last remaining boss is the problem. It’s classified as an A-rank Gate, but this particular monster is extremely troublesome."

"A Drauler... Wasn’t that the creature that caused so much trouble in India a while back?"

"That’s right. It possesses absurd vitality, and unless it’s killed in a single strike, the difficulty of subjugating it increases dramatically. We could assemble a team specifically suited to fighting it, but the problem is that the Gate appeared right in the middle of a major urban district."

The Gate couldn’t be cleared in advance.

If the boss monster emerged into the city and began rampaging, the damage would rapidly spiral out of control.

There were also critical facilities nearby, including a data center, so they needed to minimize the destruction.

"I understand the situation. It doesn’t sound difficult. Let’s finish quickly and go home."

Suyeon smiled as she spoke.

Sensing something unusual about her, the man turned his head slightly.

She was normally so subdued that it could almost seem frightening. Today, however, both her expression and her voice were full of life.

Did something good happen to her? No, asking would be overstepping my bounds.

The man merely shook his head.

Tzzzzzt!

At the predicted time, the Gate began to react.

A colossal monster forced its way through the fracture in space.

The grotesque creature’s pitch-black bulk made the ground sink heavily beneath it. It soon revealed its hostility toward the two humans blocking its path—

Kaboooom!

A blinding flash swallowed the surrounding space.

A tremendous explosion erupted, tearing the monster’s body to pieces.

Not even a scrap of flesh remained to fall to the ground. The creature had been vaporized on the spot.

Rumble!

"Wh-What was that...?!"

The man shielded his face with both arms and barely managed to keep his balance.

The aftershock from that single strike was enough to make his consciousness fade.

He was well aware of the Deputy Director’s strength, but that attack had contained destructive power utterly beyond all normal standards.

As expected... she truly is a living legend of the hunter world!

He stared at her in awe.

But Han Suyeon stood there looking more bewildered than anyone.

"...Huh?"

Chapter 9

Comments