Chapter 13
“Since you’ve registered as a Hunter, how about we skip personal training today and go over the rules for exploring Gates, miss?”
The morning after I registered as a Hunter.
As I headed to the training room for my usual personal training, Yura greeted me while blocking the doorway.
A thick book tucked under her arm.
“The rules for exploring Gates?”
“You’re planning to enter a Gate soon. Even if I go with you, there’s a big difference between knowing something yourself and not knowing it, isn’t there?”
“All right. I’ll take a break from training today, then.”
The rules for exploring Gates.
They’re called exploration rules, but they’re really just precautions to take before and after exploring a Gate.
Gates usually appear on the outskirts of urban areas or in places with relatively few people.
The Gate we encountered before, which appeared in the middle of an urban area, was an extremely rare case. When that happens, the goal is to fully clear the Gate.
First, before exploring a Gate, you must report to the Association and receive permission to enter.
Some Gates are managed by guilds that have received permission and ownership rights from the Association, so you have to report beforehand and check whether a Gate belongs to a guild or the Association.
If someone who doesn’t belong to a guild enters a Gate owned by that guild, it’s considered theft of the guild’s resources, and they face severe penalties.
This is the most basic rule, so anyone aspiring to become a Hunter knows it.
The most important part comes when entering.
You have to leave an entry record.
Since entering a Gate means risking your life to go inside, before entering, you leave any unnecessary belongings in the storage box the Association places beside the Gate.
Those belongings serve as proof of the entrant’s identity, and as a substitute for a funeral if they never return.
These are two rules you absolutely have to follow before exploring a Gate.
There are other rules to follow before an exploration, but they’re very basic, like ‘Avoid disputes between Hunters,’ so there was no need to remember them in particular.
—Besides, even if you follow the rules before entering, you never know what might happen inside a Gate.
“Miss, you’re listening to me, right??”
“Yeah. I’m listening carefully, Yura.”
The next thing I needed to learn was the rules to follow after exploring a Gate.
Honestly, most of those rules were obvious, too.
Writing and submitting a report on what happened inside the Gate.
Treating the injured and turning the deceased over to their families.
Processing the byproducts obtained inside, and so on.
Basically, the usual things you’d see in a Hunter story.
Since Yura was a veteran, I could just learn this part gradually from her.
“That’s everything about the rules for exploring Gates. Make sure you remember them, miss. If there’s anything you don’t know, ask me anytime.”
“Okay.”
The book was so thick, and Yura gave so many extra explanations, that this lesson(?) took a full four hours.
“Oh my. It’s already…!”
On top of that, it was well past lunchtime.
“I didn’t keep track of the time, miss. Shall we have something simple today, like cube curry…?”
“I’m fine with anything Yura makes.”
“Thank you. I’ll prepare it right away!”
It took about as long as instant curry, but cube curry—with vegetables that still had some bite to them, unlike instant curry—felt more homey, so that was what we decided to have for lunch.
Yura took the prepped vegetables out of the freezer and portioned them.
Then she took out the chicken breast she’d boiled in advance from the refrigerator—the shredded chicken breast I ate after training to replenish my protein—and portioned that, too.
Next, she drizzled olive oil into a pot, stir-fried the vegetables first, and at just the right moment, poured in the water she’d prepared, then added the chicken breast and the packaged curry cubes sitting at room temperature.
After simmering it for about three minutes—
“Miss, the chicken curry is ready.”
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
Chomp. I took a big bite.
The rich aroma and spicy heat of the curry filled my mouth.
‘Delicious….’
Honestly, since possessing this body, I’d been able to eat countless foods that had once been no different from luxuries, thanks to Yura.
Honestly, how should I put it? I was starting to feel more and more invested in my current life.
Now, nothing but Yura’s cooking satisfied me.
‘Does Yura die a year from now? For some unknown reason….’
That was why I was worried.
Yura’s death, which had never been properly described in the story, had led to nothing but endless speculation. She was Yoo Seol-a’s personal maid.
‘I’d bet my life it was either the Association or Yoo Ho-ryeong, that bastard.’
The Association or Yoo Ho-ryeong, both of whom were after Yoo Seol-a, were the most likely suspects.
Yura, who stayed right by Yoo Seol-a’s side as her dedicated bodyguard, would be the biggest obstacle to either of them.
The Association couldn’t be dealt with right away, which was another reason I wanted to take down Yoo Ho-ryeong first.
It would be safer for both Yura and me to focus on just one enemy instead of worrying about two at once.
Though Yoo Seol-a could have seized the head of the family’s position even while her life was in danger, she hadn’t because he was still her father—but I was different.
I needed the power held by the Sword Emperor family for Yoo Seol-a to survive.
Leaving that power alone just because they were family would only put her at a disadvantage and keep her life in danger.
So, just as I’d already resolved to do, I would take the position of head of the Sword Emperor family for myself.
Even if that meant committing the unforgivable act Yoo Seol-a didn’t want to.
It would wound the heart of the character I cherished and loved, but there was no other way.
Ding-dong~.
Just as I was wrapping up my meal, lost in thought, the doorbell rang.
“Huh? I wasn’t expecting anyone today.”
At the sound, Yura got up and headed to the intercom.
And then—
“Huh? …Huh?? Why is the elder here??”
She hurriedly dashed off.
In a very flustered voice, she opened the front door and rushed outside.
“Yu, Yura…?”
I had no idea why she was acting like that, but I soon found out.
Because—
“Kahaha! It’s been a long time, our Seol-a!”
“G-Great-Granduncle…?”
“That’s right. It’s your great-granduncle! Goodness~. Our Seol-a, you’ve grown so much~. The last time I saw you, you were tiny, only coming up to my knee~. Heh heh heh~.”
It was because Yoo Hyeok-jin, the Head of the Elders’ Council and one of the central figures of the Sword Emperor family, had suddenly come to visit.
The Sword Emperor family’s Elders’ Council.
It was where the retired Hunters of the Sword Emperor family spent their old age, and the strongest group that mobilized whenever the family’s forces suffered a major gap.
And the one who ruled over that place like a king was Yoo Seol-a’s great-granduncle, Yoo Hyeok-jin, the Head of the Elders’ Council.
Yoo Hyeok-jin was an A-rank Hunter, but so powerful he was considered above A-rank, and an incredibly skilled greatsword wielder.
Even after retiring, he continued to hone himself, and despite nearing eighty at this point, he still boasted solid muscles.
On top of that, even though he was eighty, his face didn’t look like that of an eighty-year-old.
Going by the descriptions in the story, I’d thought, ‘Isn’t he a monster or something?’—but—
‘What is this, is he actually a monster?’
I’d definitely grown pretty confident after awakening my ability and easily defeating an A-rank monster.
But seeing Yoo Hyeok-jin face-to-face like this, I realized how absurdly overconfident I’d become.
Even though I was an S-rank Hunter, his presence was so extraordinary it made me swallow nervously.
Even Yoo Ho-ryeong, whom I’d seen before awakening my ability, couldn’t hold a candle to him.
I couldn’t help being amazed that this was a retired Hunter who had grown stronger while roaming the deadly Gates alongside Yoo Jin-seong, the Sword Emperor, for so long.
At the same time, I could see just how much Yoo Ho-ryeong had neglected his own training.
“Hmm~. Looks like our Seol-a was gauging her great-granduncle’s strength?”
“Eh…. Y-You noticed?”
I’d tried to be discreet as I gauged him, but to this master, it must have seemed like a granddaughter’s little game.
“Even if you’re an S-rank Hunter, you’re still a novice who’s only just awakened. After decades as a Hunter, I can sense that much. Heh heh heh~.”
Pat. Stroke.
Yoo Hyeok-jin gently patted my head.
“Still, you’re impressive. You’re talented enough to gauge your opponent’s strength already. Much better than your father.”
Judging by his pleased smile, he seemed to like me very much.
The Elders’ Council, led by Yoo Hyeok-jin, had been a group that supported Yoo Seol-a to the very end, so his reaction was only natural.
“More importantly, Elder, what brings you here today without any notice?”
Yura, who’d been waiting to give us room to talk, asked Yoo Hyeok-jin.
She was clearly flustered by such a sudden visit.
“Ah, I just came to surprise our Seol-a and congratulate her.”
“Pardon…?”
“…What?”
I’d thought he’d come to say something important.
But as it turned out, he’d just come to congratulate me on becoming a Hunter, without telling anyone except the Elders’ Council.
What a letdown.
“Is something wrong?”
No.
No, but something about this was…
“Did you think I’d come to say something important? Heh heh heh~!”
“You came without any notice, Elder. I thought perhaps you’d come to take miss back to the main house…”
“It is about time we did that. We kept her away to protect her from Yoo Ho-ryeong and his new wife until she became a Hunter. But—”
He looked at me intently.
With a serious expression.
“—Seol-a, do you want to go to that dangerous place?”
And he said he would respect my wishes.
Honestly, I wondered why Yoo Seol-a had never asked for help when she had such a dependable ally.
I’d never know the answer now.
I looked him straight in the eye and answered.
“I want to go. To where I’m supposed to be. To the position that should rightfully be mine.”