▶ Chapter 24. Disciple Proposal (1)
+ Chapter 8. Disciple Proposal
The twelve-year-old’s eyes turned silver once again.
[…Are you finished bathing?]
The twelve-year-old—or rather, the Administrator—was looking up at the ceiling.
It was almost as if he was worried that I might not be done bathing yet and he might accidentally see some part of my body other than my shoulders.
Why does his face look a little red too?
“Yeah. I’m done. You’re the Administrator, right? The one who’s been alive since the Joseon Dynasty?”
There was a one-second delay.
[The System will not answer that question.
Please state why you summoned me.]
“From now on, I’m calling you Confucian Admin. Short for Confucian Administrator.”
[Please state why you summoned me.]
“Confucian Admin! Hmm… somehow it sounds like the name of a dumpling. Got anything else?”
[Please state why you summoned me.
If you summoned me for something trivial, you may receive a penalty.]
“Tch.”
I wanted to tease him some more, but I couldn’t because I might actually get penalized.
And judging from how serious he suddenly looks…
Maybe information about the Administrator wasn’t supposed to be revealed any further.
“Fine. I won’t tease you or ask any more questions.”
[Please state why you summoned me.
If you summoned me for something trivial, you may receive a penalty.]
The answer remained the same.
For some reason, that annoyed me, so I glared at the twelve-year-old—Confucian Admin—and opened my mouth.
“I’m thinking about raising disciples who can give me bonus experience points. Hmm… Now that I think about raising more disciples, I suddenly don’t want to.”
[Do you dislike raising disciples?]
That question came out of nowhere.
“Right now, yeah. I did plenty of it in my previous life. And quite a few of them caused me a lot of trouble. But…”
A sigh escaped me before I realized it.
“Suddenly, I miss them.”
[ ]
A window appeared, but there were no words on it.
“What’s wrong?”
No answer.
“Anyway, considering the situation, I think I’ll have to take some disciples. But I can’t just accept anyone, right? One of the disciples who trapped me and caused my death in my previous life was one of them. He already looked like a treacherous bastard from the start, so I tried to reject him, but circumstances forced me to take him in.”
No answer.
“Those three SS-rank brothers seem perfect as disciples. They’ve contributed a lot to world peace, and their personalities seem decent too. But maybe because I got stabbed in the back so badly in my previous life, I can’t fully trust them.”
Still no answer.
“Can you tell me whether I can trust those three brothers?”
That was the real reason I had summoned him.
[An answer can be provided.
Would you like to use a Rank 10 Mana Stone as payment?
Yes / No]
A Rank 10 Mana Stone?!
There was only one in the entire world.
Something so rare that it was impossible to put a price on it.
“Ugh…!”
It honestly hurt like hell to give it up, but I absolutely needed the answer.
With my hand trembling slightly, I pressed Yes.
[The payment will be taken, and an answer will be provided.]
The Rank 10 Mana Stone disappeared from my inventory.
What a waste…
Then words appeared before my eyes.
[Han Yonghwan, Han Junggeun, Han Dongju.
You can trust them.]
Maybe I had been more nervous than I realized, because relief immediately washed over me.
And since they were people I already had a good impression of, I also felt strangely happy.
“I see. So I really can trust them. I’ll go see them once I get back.”
[Is your business finished?]
“Huh? Yeah.”
[Then I will take my leave.]
Unlike last time, Confucian Admin even said goodbye.
He suddenly seems a little more human.
It was kind of funny.
Anyway.
“I’ll stay here for two more days before going back.”
I had loved the sea in my previous life too.
And now I was staying in a hotel overlooking the ocean.
This is amazing! …I wonder how much better that 700,000-won hotel would be?
I promised myself that I would definitely stay there next time.
Then I threw myself onto the bed and stared beyond the sea.
Maybe it was because one of my biggest worries had disappeared, but I felt really good.
As I watched the sunlight glitter across the surface of the water…
He suddenly comes to mind.
Because his silver hair had been even more beautiful than those sparkling waves.
My first disciple.
“Ru.”
I had buried thoughts of him deep inside my mind because thinking about him would only make me more curious.
But maybe because of Confucian Admin, I couldn’t stop myself anymore.
Ru was also the type to constantly talk about proper boundaries between men and women.
Maybe that was why, despite being ridiculously handsome…
“That guy was single his entire life, wasn’t he?”
I wondered whether he had lived a good life afterward.
But somehow, I had a feeling he hadn’t.
“Master…”
The voice I had heard just before taking my final breath had seemed like Ru’s.
If that really had been him…
Then the one who found me dying with horrific wounds all over my body—
And the one who desperately kept holding my corpse in his arms, as though I wouldn’t die as long as he refused to let go—
That must have been Ru too.
All I could do was sigh.
I couldn’t even imagine how badly my death must have affected someone who had followed only me for so many years.
It was obvious that he probably went after revenge afterward.
But that guy did have a strangely twisted side to him.
He had caused plenty of bizarre incidents before.
I was worried that my death might have pushed him into doing something even crazier than simple revenge.
I just hope you didn’t do anything too strange…
Your master wanted you to be happy.
I really wanted to know what had happened to him.
But there was no way for me to find out.
Damn it.
I grumbled and tightly closed my eyes.
But Ru’s face in my memories refused to disappear.
Maybe because I had spent so long thinking about him, he appeared in my dream that night.
—Single since birth?! I simply preserved the purity of my body, heart, and gaze for the person I love! And that person is…
He seemed to be saying something along those lines, but I couldn’t hear the important part.
I was simply so happy to see him again that I ran forward and wrapped both arms tightly around him.
The person in my arms froze stiff.
I leaned close to his ear and whispered.
—I missed you.
—…I missed you too. That’s why I…
He continued saying something.
But I couldn’t hear it.
It was almost as if some restriction prevented those words from reaching my ears.
Then, suddenly, I heard something.
—Please wait just a little longer.
“What the hell did you do that you’re telling me to wait—huh?”
It was only after opening my eyes that I realized I had been dreaming.
But then…
“…What was I dreaming about?”
I couldn’t remember.
This had happened plenty of times before, so I didn’t think much of it.
I felt like I had been hugging something hot, firm, and very large.
That part had left a pretty strong impression on me, but…
There’s no point thinking about it. I probably won’t remember anyway.
I jumped out of bed.
“Let’s go eat breakfast.”
Thinking about my personal trainer, Health King, I needed something packed with protein.
Meat!
Humming happily, I went outside and stuffed myself with protein.
I spent the rest of that day enjoying the sea while eating as much protein as I wanted, and I kept doing the same until lunch the next day.
Then evening came.
“I want to stay here and have more fun…”
Of course, I was already having fun.
Maybe what I really meant was that I wanted to have fun even more intensely.
But it was about time to head back.
I didn’t want to skip any more personal-training sessions, especially since I had kept attending them regularly even after moving.
And besides…
I need to offer those three brothers a chance to become my disciples!
I had to do that too.
I stopped by Gangneung Central Market, bought a bunch of things, and then headed back to Seoul.
Han Yonghwan.
Formerly ranked first in South Korea and currently ranked second.
Guild Master of the Sowon Guild.
And the eldest of the three SS-rank brothers.
He had an extremely cold and composed personality, and his face was almost always expressionless.
After becoming a hunter at the age of fifteen because of an unfortunate accident, he had spent the next seventeen years going through almost every kind of incident imaginable.
Because of that, no matter what happened right in front of him or what kind of ridiculous thing he heard, Han Yonghwan could maintain his composure.
But right now…
Suppressing his emotions was somewhat difficult.
No.
Honestly, it was extremely difficult.
“Look at this! One of our employees examined the sneaker prints left behind at Olympic Park and figured it out. No Huntering is a woman!”
Five minutes ago, one of the directors of the Hunter Association had suddenly barged into the Sowon Guild.
He was holding a printed sheet of Hunter Association documents in one hand.
“Apparently, she’s probably young and poor. So, Hunter Han Yonghwan, you should step up and do your patriotic duty!”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You’re very popular with women, aren’t you? Seducing one young, poor woman should be a piece of cake for you. Seduce No Huntering and make her reveal her identity! Then the press conference where she reveals herself can be held by the Hunter Association—”
“Director Kim.”
“Hm?”
“Is that your personal opinion, Director Kim, or the official position of the entire Hunter Association?”
“My personal opinion, of course. I thought of it during the meeting. Brilliant idea, isn’t it? Right now, I may only be a director of the Hunter Association, but back in my prime, I was quite the—”
Han Yonghwan barely managed to suppress the astonishing surge of rage rising inside him.
“This conversation is currently being recorded.”
“Hm?”
Han Yonghwan’s expression remained perfectly calm.
“I mean that I have recorded you speaking in that manner about a hero who eliminated a Rank 9 Break, resolved two sudden Gates, and saved the lives of twenty-two precious citizens.”
His voice turned cold.
“This recording will be submitted to the Hunter Association as evidence when I formally report Director Kim’s misconduct.”
