Chapter 66: Chapter 66

A nondescript vehicle in muted urban tones moved steadily down the road.

The car bore no noticeable logos or decorations, and its windows were covered with a subtle tint, making the interior completely obscured from view.

Inside, the vehicle was equipped with customized seating, curtain-like partitions, and screens, all designed to discreetly conceal its passengers. It was a vehicle optimized for covert transport.

“Yaaawn…”

Si-Hyun let out a soft yawn, reclining deeply into the backseat of the car.

Today had been an exhausting day for her, in many ways.

Waking up late after a night of drinking, she’d barely had time to register the emergency before being thrown into action. Adjusting her schedule on the fly, she had delved into and cleared a double dungeon.

To top it all off, she’d encountered a necromancer from another world.

Her body was sore, but the mental exhaustion was even more overwhelming.

‘When I get home, I’m eating and going straight to bed…’

Her heavy eyelids fluttered shut, only for her gaze to lazily shift toward the man seated across from her. With a casual motion, she removed her veil and set it down on her lap.

‘I’ll sort through my thoughts tomorrow…’

Leaning her head comfortably against the backrest, Si-Hyun closed her eyes, thinking to herself, ‘They’ll wake me up when we arrive.’

At that moment, the man sitting across from her—identified as a team leader from the Hunter Management Department—spoke up.

“Ahem, Hunter Jeong Si-Hyun?”

“……”

Si-Hyun, who had just begun to doze off, opened her eyes again.

Interrupted at the very moment she’d been falling asleep, irritation flickered faintly in her chest.

Since she defaulted to an impassive expression when dealing with strangers, the team leader, preoccupied with work-related matters, failed to notice her mood.

“First, let me say you did an excellent job today.”

“……Thank you.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Manager Jang Han-Soo. However, the information we have on you is somewhat lacking.”

“…….”

“So, I’d like to ask about what happened in the dungeon today. Could you share some details with me?”

“…I’m very tired right now,” Si-Hyun replied in a soft, polite tone. “I’m sorry, but I think it would be better to ask one of the other hunters who participated today.”

Her voice was composed and courteous. She didn’t want to let her personal irritation affect her response, especially given that the man was an important contact within their collaborative efforts.

But the team leader wasn’t about to let it go so easily. He’d been determined to extract as much information as possible during this meeting, and without realizing it, his tone shifted.

“Well, we are escorting you safely home right now. I’d say that gives us the right to request some shared intel, wouldn’t you agree?”

“……”

“I understand you’re tired, but surely you can spare a moment for a brief discussion.”

Though his words maintained a veneer of politeness, there was a distinct undertone of coercion. His frustration with her perceived lack of cooperation was becoming apparent.

Si-Hyun slowly rubbed her eyes, her movements unhurried.

Raising her gaze, she straightened her posture, pulling away from the chair to face the team leader directly.

Her expression didn’t change, yet the team leader’s instincts flared.

Something about her demeanor had shifted, and his gut told him she was displeased.

‘…What’s this?’

Before he could make sense of the change, his pocket began to buzz.

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

The team leader’s phone vibrated.

“Excuse me for a moment,” he said, glancing at Si-Hyun. She gave him a slight nod, permitting him to answer.

“This is Ko Jae-Yoon, Hunter Management.”

His tone was polite as he took the call.

“Yes, yes…”

As the conversation continued, his responses became more terse, and his demeanor visibly stiffened.

Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he listened.

“I understand. I’ll handle it,” he replied finally, ending the call.

Setting his phone down, the team leader looked at Si-Hyun, his face visibly tense.

Clearing his throat, he spoke with a drastic shift in attitude.

“Ahem! Hunter Jeong Si-Hyun, you’ve done an outstanding job today! Please, feel free to rest while we safely escort you home.”

“……”

“Oh, and as for today’s events, I’ll gather the details from the other hunters. Haha! I was being a bit hasty earlier, wasn’t I? Please accept my sincerest apologies.”

His abrupt change in demeanor was almost comical. The confidence he’d displayed earlier had vanished entirely, replaced by a man carefully treading around her mood.

Si-Hyun studied him for a moment before nodding faintly.

She leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes again, settling into rest.

The sound of her steady breathing filled the quiet car.

Watching her, the team leader dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated.

‘Phew… That was close.’

He mentally berated himself for not heeding the warnings he’d received earlier. This could have gone very, very badly.

If he’d taken his subordinate’s words more seriously, this situation wouldn’t have arisen in the first place.

The manager’s words echoed in his mind.

[“If things go south, she might just leave the country altogether. So tread carefully.”]

Fortunately, he’d adjusted his approach before making a critical mistake.

Glancing at the now-sleeping Si-Hyun, her serene face as peaceful as ever, he reflected on his earlier assumptions.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if she were a B-rank or A-rank hunter? If she’s S-rank, we’ll treat her with utmost care…”

Now, he chuckled bitterly at his own naivety.

Jeong Si-Hyun’s level wasn’t something that could be measured with standard ranks.

She was beyond that—a truly extraordinary awakened being, the kind of person whose strength could surpass even the power of nations. A living, walking weapon of mass destruction.

The details he’d received from the call confirmed as much.

Wiping away the fresh beads of sweat, he sighed deeply, relieved to have avoided what could have been a disastrous first impression.

***

The car pulled up near Si-Hyun’s home. She politely bid farewell to the men before heading toward her house. Still groggy from exhaustion, she stopped briefly, rubbing her eyes as she bowed her head.

After taking a moment to glance at the moon hanging in the night sky, she resumed her steps.

The team leader, who had stepped out of the car to watch her walk away, let out a quiet sigh.

“Goodness… haah…”

Unfinished words spilled out as he muttered to himself.

Standing next to him, Manager Jang Han-Soo broke the silence with a soft voice.

“Seems like today’s dungeon was quite something. She looks really drained.”

“…I’d imagine so.”

“Uh, pardon me?”

When the manager sought clarification, the team leader responded in a stunned tone.

“Word is spreading fast. People are saying she’s stronger than the entire raid team combined. Some are even asking, ‘Who the hell is this nun?’”

“Wha— What?! That much?!”

The manager was visibly shocked by the revelation.

He had vaguely assumed Si-Hyun might be an S-rank awakened, given her confident demeanor and formidable actions.

And sure, even being S-rank alone was extraordinary—it was enough to make anyone trust her and invest in her preparations.

But stronger than the entire raid team combined? That sounded more like a natural disaster than a person.

The manager’s jaw dropped, and he stared blankly, unable to close his mouth.

The team leader glanced briefly at the manager’s now comically distorted expression before speaking.

“Under no circumstances can we afford to disappoint her. You’ve already established some rapport, so make sure you use it.”

“Y-Yes, of course!”

“Absolutely, positively do not withhold any support. Let her do whatever she wants! Get her anything she asks for! Whatever happens, make sure she stays in Korea. Got it?”

“Yes, I’ll do my utmost!”

Nodding earnestly, the manager glanced at his phone.

On the screen was a paused T-Tube video—a clip featuring the VTuber Momobin.

The two men, burdened by this new and overwhelming task, continued their late-night work.

Fortunately, they already had some preparations in place, or things could have been much worse.

At least, for now, they could call that a small blessing.

***

Time passed, and the date changed.

At the Dawn Guild’s conference room, people gathered. Once everyone had arrived, a guild administrative officer began his report.

“The Bureau of Management keeps repeating the same answer. The nun is a foreign hunter who naturalized in Korea, and they cannot release any further information.”

“Is there really a need to keep her information so tightly under wraps?”

“They claim it’s at her request. She apparently said she’d leave for overseas if things go south…”@@novelbin@@

“……”

A brief silence hung over the room.

The statement wasn’t just aimed at the Bureau but also at any guild attempting to recruit her.

It was clear that any approach had to be handled with extreme care.

“Have we heard anything from our Bureau informants?”

“No, sir. It seems this information is highly classified, known only to a select few. Even the responses from the Bureau are said to be directives from higher-ups.”

“Hmm…”

Due to the importance of information, larger guilds often establish covert relationships with Bureau staff.

Yet even these informants reported that they knew nothing about the nun.

This meant the Bureau had handled the situation with exceptional thoroughness.

“Is that nun truly as extraordinary as they say?”

The president of the Dawn Guild, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

Although not an awakened individual himself, he was a highly capable man who had built the Dawn Guild into the strongest guild.

In response to the president’s question, Yeo Dohyung glanced around the conference room.

He confirmed once again that Choi Ga-Eul wasn’t present today before speaking.

“To be honest, I’ve never seen anyone as extraordinary as her in my life.”

“Even compared to Ga-Eul?”

“…There’s no comparison, to put it plainly.”

“Hmm…”

The president and many others in the room swallowed nervously.

Choi Ga-Eul was one of the world’s top-ranked supporters, easily ranking within the top five globally.

Yet to hear that she wasn’t even comparable… The scale of the claim was so overwhelming that it became difficult to even imagine.

“Let’s continue gathering information, regardless.”

“Yes, we’ll investigate records of foreign hunters.”

“We’ll look into recent arrivals in Korea.”

The meeting proceeded smoothly.

However, the Dawn Guild wasn’t able to gather any additional information about the nun.

This wasn’t just true for them—it applied equally to the Knight Guild, Cheongrim Guild, and even mid-tier guilds that had participated in the dungeon raid.

Si-Hyun wasn’t simply a foreign hunter who had naturalized in Korea.

She was the second returnee, a fact not yet disclosed to the world.

Due to their misplaced focus, Korean guilds ended up chasing shadows in all the wrong places.