“Ah, it’s so cold.”
Choi Miyeon rubbed her numbed hands against her pants as she waited endlessly for Lee Manbok in the central garden.
“Geez, at least hold this.” Jeong Suyeon handed her a hot pack.
Choi Miyeon accepted it gratefully. “Ah, Big Sis, thank you. I knew I could count on you.”
“Honestly, if it weren’t me, who would look after you? You’re so careless. Carry hot packs with you! You’re not even in good health.”
“Heh, you’re so precious,” the executive standing beside them chimed in.
Choi Miyeon rubbed her hands over the hot pack and glanced at them. They were Choi Seonghun’s direct superior in the Truelight Guild, and they’d known Choi Miyeon for quite a long time as well.
Of course she knew it was nonsense, but what Lee Arin had said still bothered her.
I should at least ask Dad… just in case.
“Hey, why is Uncle Seonghun taking so long? He finally gets to meet the Father thanks to his daughter.”
“Haha, it was so sudden. He’s been busy lately; there’s a lot of work,” the executive answered.
That was how it was.
Jeong Suyeon had informed the executive that Choi Miyeon would be meeting Father Lee Manbok in Lee Arin’s stead. Upon hearing that, the executive had suggested that Choi Seonghun join them as well, saying that since his daughter was doing something so important, he should be present. After all, within Truelight Church, there was nothing more significant than meeting the Father in person.
If what Lee Arin said were true, there’d be no need for this kind of consideration. That executive is so kind too, it makes no sense.
Thinking about it, it really was ridiculous. If the executive truly looked down on Choi Seonghun and had been abusing him, there was no way things would be like this. It really was nothing more than nonsense.
Lee Arin… where did you go so wrong?
When she thought about it, Lee Arin having become isolated within the church had been going on for several years now. Was it after someone she’d been close to, like a sister, had died in an accident? But in the end, no matter how you looked at it, it was simply because Lee Arin lacked faith. She should have endured it through belief in Truelight Church, just like Miyeon had.
“Ah, Miyeon. You brought it, right? The one I gave you…”
“Oh, you mean this protection stone? Yeah, you told me to bring it.” Choi Miyeon took out the protection stone she’d received as a gift from Jeong Suyeon a few months earlier.
To be honest, she didn’t really believe in this kind of superstition, but she’d kept it out of appreciation for the thought. The transparent crystal caught the light filtering through the gaps between buildings even in the darkness, sparkling faintly. They’d said it had the power to protect its owner.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed a bit more clouded than when she’d first received it…
Jeong Suyeon’s face brightened. “Yep, you did well.”
“But why did you tell me to bring this?”
“Hm? Oh, I thought it’d be even better if it received the Father’s blessing. You’ve been carrying it with you all this time, right?”
“Of course. It’s not just anyone’s; it’s from you, Big Sis.”
Jeong Suyeon patted Choi Miyeon’s shoulder fondly. The executive smiled broadly at the warm scene. “Our Truelight sisters are all so close. Sister Jeong Suyeon is truly impressive.”
“Hahaha, if you think so, please promote me this time.”
“Trying to make up for missing out on Lee Arin? Don’t get your hopes up.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Miyeon!”
The executive and Jeong Suyeon had been talking when Choi Seonghun came running over after receiving a message. Sweat beaded on his forehead from rushing over after working late into the night.
“Dad, why are you running like that? Take it slow.”
“How could I not run?!” Choi Seonghun hurried over and grabbed Choi Miyeon’s hand. His face was flushed red from how hard he’d run. “What is all this about, suddenly meeting the Father?!”
“Yeah, well, it’s just…”
“It’s an honor, isn’t it?” The executive cut in with a sly smile, inserting themself into the conversation between Choi Seonghun and Choi Miyeon. “I never imagined that Seonghun’s daughter would have the honor of meeting the Father so soon. A good thing is a good thing, so I invited you as well, Seonghun, to meet the Father once. You’re grateful, right?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, yes. It is an honor, but still…” Choi Miyeon felt the hand holding hers, Choi Seonghun’s, trembling faintly. His gaze also seemed to waver with unease. “So then, for what reason exactly is my Miyeon meeting the Father?”
“If the Father said he wants to meet her, what reason could possibly be needed?”
“That’s right. Just take it as an honor. What reason do you need?” Jeong Suyeon shot back in a slightly sharp tone.
Choi Seonghun swallowed hard. “Even so, if you call someone out, they should know why. So suddenly, and avoiding other people’s eyes—why Miyeon of all people…?”
"Dad!"
After Choi Miyeon cried out in alarm, the executive sternly scolded Choi Seonghun, “No, you—! I don’t know what kind of ridiculous thoughts you’re having. It’s utterly irreverent.”
“As a father with a daughter, isn’t it only natural to worry?”
“Dad, seriously, what’s wrong with you?”
“Miyeon, you stay out of this. If anything were to happen to you, I—”
“Hahaha, what are you all chatting about so cheerfully?”
Suddenly, a group of people emerged from inside the prayer hall building.
“Father, this way, please.”
“It’s dark, so please watch your step.”
Choi Miyeon blinked. Amid more than a dozen heavily armed Hunters, she could see—
“Father…!” To think she would meet the religious leader she had only ever seen as a speaker on a distant podium like this in person.
An elderly man with a long white beard, dressed neatly in a hanbok, swept his gaze across the garden before taking his place beside his statue. The statue and the old man looked uncannily alike.
“Hmm. It seems there’s no problem.”
At that sight, Choi Miyeon unconsciously clasped both hands over her chest. She’d heard rumors that some believers fainted just from seeing Father Lee Manbok, and in that moment, she could understand why. An overwhelming emotion surged through her heart.
“So, is this the young lady in question?” Lee Manbok looked at Choi Miyeon with benevolent eyes.
It felt as though a faith she had never once doubted since birth had taken physical form.
“That’s correct! Father, have you been well all this time?” The executive abruptly prostrated themself on the ground. Choi Miyeon hesitated, wondering if she should follow suit, but Lee Manbok waved his hand.
“Hoho, why all the formality? I’m someone who dislikes excessive courtesy. Even more so from my own people.”
My own people…!
The phrase brought a strangely comforting sense of stability. For Choi Miyeon, who had lived within Truelight Church since birth, it resonated all the more deeply, like words that built a solid fence around her.
I really was right to stay here.
After all, this was the only place that would accept someone like her, who was useless both as a Hunter and as a human being.
While Choi Miyeon was lost in emotion, she brushed off the hand of Choi Seonghun, who quietly tried to pull her toward him.
“…Miyeon. Come here.”
Her father was usually clueless, but acting like this even in a place like this honestly crossed the line. “What’s wrong with you, Dad? Being irreverent in front of the Father…”
“Don’t talk back, quickly…”
Just as Choi Seonghun, utterly lacking in awareness, tried to pull Miyeon behind his back—
Bang!
Bang!
Choi Miyeon only realized that it was the sound of gunfire after she saw an opaque shield deployed at lightning speed.
“An attack!”
“Reinforce the shield and secure an escape route!”
The Hunters surrounding the Father moved swiftly. Startled by the sudden situation, Choi Miyeon blinked. The next thing she registered was a woman’s scream.
“Aaaah!”
Choi Miyeon, who was close to Lee Manbok, barely made it within the range of the shield, but Jeong Suyeon, who had been standing a little farther away, did not. Hit by a stray round that ricocheted off the shield instead of penetrating it, Jeong Suyeon clutched her waist and collapsed.
Choi Miyeon gasped in shock. “B-Big Sis!” She was utterly flustered.
Although she had received an A-rank in latent potential evaluation, Choi Miyeon had been deemed unfit to continue a Hunter’s life without even basic training, so she was completely unfamiliar with combat situations. And if the opponent wasn’t even a monster but a human, all the more so.
A gun; Big Sis Suyeon had been shot!
Just as Choi Miyeon panicked and tried to run toward Jeong Suyeon, she heard the executive shout, “Hey, you slow idiot! What are you doing? Hurry up and stop your daughter from going out there!”
…What?
“Ugh! M-Miyeon!”
Choi Miyeon froze, unable to move forward or turn back, and looked over her shoulder at her father reaching out toward her. Choi Seonghun, who had just been kicked in the back by the executive, was stretching out his hand toward her with a desperate expression. Just as he always had—desperately, as if reaching for the most precious thing in the world.
“It’s dangerous, come here!”
“…Ah… b-but Big Sis…!”
“Hurry!”
“Right now, you’re more important, Miyeon!”
When the executive who had just kicked her father said that, Choi Miyeon’s mind grew even more confused. Already shaken by the sudden gunfire, witnessing something like that made it even harder to think.
What did I just see? No, I must’ve seen it wrong. No, maybe not.
Maybe it made sense. Because Dad was being slow in such a critical situation, because he was always clueless and frustrating, because her safety was more important…
“Hahaha.” Lee Manbok stroked his long white beard, his kindly face untroubled. “Everyone is truly reliable.”
“Don’t worry. There doesn’t seem to be any mana infused. It looks like ordinary firearms.”
“This level won’t break even a standard shield.”
“We’ve identified the sniper’s position. We’ll send others to deal with them immediately. Please wait just a moment.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out in succession, but just as the guards said, every bullet bounced harmlessly off the shield.
Lee Manbok stood there smiling serenely, as if he had merely come out for a stroll. “I never worried to begin with. The skills of our Truelight Guild members are something you can trust!”
And to Choi Miyeon, that conversation sounded strangely off. After all, Jeong Suyeon, who had been unlucky enough to miss the shield’s range, was still lying on the ground, clutching her waist where she’d been hit by the stray round. And she was still exposed to danger outside the shield.
Was this really a situation where there was nothing to worry about?
Red blood spread out, darkening the ground.
Jeong Suyeon, collapsed on the floor, lifted her head and met Choi Miyeon’s eyes. Upon seeing Choi Miyeon safe, relief surfaced in Jeong Suyeon’s eyes, which had been filled with pain.
“Th-that’s a relief. You’re not hurt…”
"B-Big Sis!” Even after being shot, she was still worrying about her. Tears welled up in Choi Miyeon’s eyes. “Just wait a moment! I’ll save you right away!”
“Executive, take Miyeon and get into the prayer hall, now!” Jeong Suyeon shouted. At that moment, Choi Miyeon snapped back to her senses as a strong grip seized her shoulder. The executive grabbed her with a terrifying expression and yanked her toward them.
“N-no! I’m fine, please help her first!”
“What are you saying at a time like this! Get into the prayer hall, now!” the executive shouted harshly. As if the situation wasn’t chaotic enough, they were yelling too.
Of course, they were acting like that because they were worried about her…
"Meow."
That was when a black cat suddenly poked its head out from behind the statue.
It was a familiar cat, the one Choi Miyeon had been holding all day, the one that had been left behind in the room and gone wild when Lee Arin ran away with Jeong Daon.
Why was that cat here…?
The moment Choi Miyeon met the feline’s distinctive pupils and gaze, she felt a stabbing pain pierce her head, like being struck by lightning. As if icy water had been poured over her head, a chill ran down her spine in an instant. It felt as though she had been released from a spell.
She blinked.
What exactly…is this situation?
Suddenly, in the corner of her vision, she saw a hunched, shabby old man stroking a pitiful-looking beard, saying, “Our Truelight believers really are admirable for their loyalty.”
And there was the smell of Jeong Suyeon’s blood at the tip of Choi Miyeon’s nose, along with the warmth of Choi Seonghun’s hand gripping her own.
In the midst of all this chaos, Choi Seonghun’s wrist was exposed. Just as Lee Arin had said, something Choi Miyeon had never even thought to look for until now. A pitch-black bruise extended down over the back of his hand. It was unmistakably the mark of someone having struck him.
“Ah…”
As she stood there, not knowing what to do, the gunshot-wounded Jeong Suyeon shouted hoarsely, her face twisted like a demon’s, “I told you to hurry to the lab! Keep the crystal I gave you safe!”
"...Big Sis."
Everything about this situation felt wrong. It was as if everything she had believed in until now was collapsing.
When Choi Miyeon froze in place, unable to handle the sudden weight of reality—
Crash! A blazing fire arrow slammed into the shield.
“Aaaah!”
“The shield’s broken!”
“Magic, magic!”
“There’s a mage!”
The shield that had endured even a barrage of bullets without issue shattered uselessly under that attack.
“Protect the Father at all costs!”
“Five seconds until the shield can be cast again, block it with your bodies for now!”
The flustered guards prepared to re-cast the shield while blocking the direction the attack had come from, closing ranks around Lee Manbok. But—
Whoosh! Choi Miyeon felt something whip past her side at high speed.
It was a small-framed woman. The woman, who had been crouching and holding her breath, sprang forward from the shadows on the opposite side, the blade in her hand flashing white.
The last thing Choi Miyeon managed to recognize was the murderous light in Lee Arin’s eyes.
Whoosh! The blade flew straight toward the back of Lee Manbok’s head.
“F-Father!”
A guard, belatedly sensing the killing intent, tried to intercept, but it was already too late.
With everyone’s attention focused on the direction the bullets and magic had been coming from, and on re-casting the shield, the guard coverage to the rear had thinned for just that single moment. Lee Arin, who had been lying in wait for precisely that opening, burst out of the shadows. Everything happened in an instant.
A scream erupted from the mouth of the person who was stabbed. “H-Hruaaaargh!”