Chapter 24
At that time, in a VIP hospital room at the Awakener Specialist Hospital in Gangnam.
Baek Eun-Seol was leaning her back against the head of the bed, staring out the window with blank eyes.
A light bandage was wrapped around one of her arms, but the rest of her body had already healed well without any major issues.
It was the result of being transported to the hospital immediately after the gate clear, where top-tier Healers had been attached to her to treat her for hours.
She had fallen into a deep sleep after the treatment and hadn’t been awake for long.
'…'
Her body was mostly recovered, but her mind was still complicated.
“I am merely a Servant who moves according to my Master’s will.”
“If you have the mind to serve a Benefactor. Then offer that gratitude to my Liege Lord.”
“…Liege Lord.”
The female Vampire had said that saving her was the order of her “Liege Lord”.
Just how strong was he to command such a powerhouse as a Servant?
And, just why… did he help her?
Knock, knock-.
At that moment.
The sound of a knock broke her thoughts.
“Excuse me.”
A man entered the hospital room with a profound voice.
A middle-aged man with a neat suit and a solid physique.
It was Kim Tae-Seong, the Korean Hunter Association President.
“How is your body feeling?”
“Association President.”
Baek Eun-Seol gave a light nod.
“I’ve gotten much better.”
“That is a relief.”
Kim Tae-Seong offered a polite greeting and sat on the chair next to the bed.
A small fruit basket was held in his hand.
He placed it down on the bedside table.
“You must have been very surprised. Getting plenty of rest is the top priority for now.”
“Thank you.”
Baek Eun-Seol replied shortly.
She and he had worked together for a long time.
A relationship where they maintained formalities with each other, but without any unnecessary affection.
Kim Tae-Seong was a person who prioritized practical benefits over emotions.
A thorough Public Official who was only interested in making the Association and the country stronger.
So from Baek Eun-Seol’s perspective, he was actually comfortable to deal with.
Because there were no approaches with personal feelings or ulterior motives.
“The Association has made an Official Announcement regarding this incident for now.”
After a brief silence, Kim Tae-Seong got to the main point.
“That it was safely concluded as Hunter Baek Eun-Seol’s Solo Clear, and there were zero casualties among the nearby residents. The investigation into the Difficulty Re-evaluation is still ongoing.”
“Yes.”
“The citizens are relieved. The public opinion is that the Ice Empress saved the Republic of Korea.”
Kim Tae-Seong continued speaking.
“However.”
He paused his words there for a moment.
“There is one thing I would like to ask.”
“Please speak.”
“Right before the gate was concluded, a System Window confirming that the entry limit was full was verified.”
Kim Tae-Seong said in a lowered tone of voice.
“The Field Support Team witnessed it, and it seems the circumstances have leaked onto the internet and elsewhere. There are many eyes watching, so it won’t be easy to hide.”
“…As expected.”
It made sense.
She was the only Hunter who had officially entered, so the fact that the capacity was full meant someone had infiltrated unofficially.
“Inside the Association, we are presuming it to be an A-rank or Higher Skilled Individual possessing a Stealth-Type Skill.”
Kim Tae-Seong’s eyes quietly looked at Baek Eun-Seol.
“By any chance, did you see anything inside?”
Instead of directly asking the reason why she struggled, it was a question that carefully coaxed out the internal situation using the intruder as an excuse.
She read the hidden meaning without difficulty.
“I did.”
Baek Eun-Seol opened her mouth.
“First of all… there was only one monster inside the gate.”
“Only one.”
“Yes. But it was on a different level.”
She added shortly, recalling the overwhelming power from that time.
“Even though I went all out, I was no match. Minimum S-rank. Or higher.”
“…Hoh.”
Kim Tae-Seong’s brow furrowed slightly.
“And, it was a Vampire-type Monster. A Vampire.”
“A Vampire.”
Kim Tae-Seong quietly repeated the word.
“If it was such a strong Vampire, how on Earth did you deal with it?”
“An Unidentified woman appeared. She must have been the one who filled the entry limit.”
Baek Eun-Seol calmly listed only the facts.
“She appeared the moment I was pushed to my limit, and she dispatched the monster in a single breath.”
Kim Tae-Seong’s eyes widened slightly.
“In a single breath? A monster that surpasses an S-rank?”
“Yes. A Ranker. And at the level of a Top Ranker at that.”
“Did you figure out the identity of that woman?”
“I’m not certain, but she also appeared to be a Vampire.”
“…”
Kim Tae-Seong remained silent instead of answering. He had an expression as if he were gathering numerous pieces of information in his head.
“A Vampire, hunted a Vampire…”
He quietly muttered.
And soon, his gaze changed subtly.
“- Speaking of Vampires, something comes to mind.”
Baek Eun-Seol also immediately caught the meaning of his words.
'Jinjo.'
Because she too had already been recalling that name in her mind.
“Jinjo (True Ancestor).”
Kim Tae-Seong finally brought up that name.
“An Unregistered Awakener. An Unconventional Being who cleared the Tower of Trials Nightmare 3rd Floor in just 3 seconds. And, that word is a term related to Vampires. It is a very coincidental matter.”
“…It is.”
“We cannot rule out the possibility that it is connected to this incident.”
Baek Eun-Seol quietly nodded.
“And.”
Kim Tae-Seong continued speaking, riding the momentum.
“There is one more incident that comes to mind.”
“…Black Cow.”
When Baek Eun-Seol-Seol beat him to the punch, Kim Tae-Seong nodded.
“Yes. The Black Cow Annihilation Incident. The incident where a Mysterious Force wiped out an entire Dark Guild in a short period of time.”
“…”
“That incident, and Jinjo. And even this Seollim-dong Incident where a Vampire intervened…”
Kim Tae-Seong said, lowering his voice.
“Three incidents. Perhaps they are all intertwined in some massive 'something'.”
“…”
A massive and dark Scenario.
A brief silence flowed through the hospital room.
“Other than that, is there nothing else you saw?”
At that question.
Baek Eun-Seol kept her mouth shut for a moment.
There was still a part she hadn’t talked about.
“Liege Lord and Servant.”
The conversation she had shared with the female Vampire at the end.
But that story, in the end, did not come out of her mouth.
“…Nothing.”
She answered shortly.
“Because she hid her traces immediately without even revealing her name.”
“I see.”
Kim Tae-Seong nodded.
As usual, there was no major change in his firm expression.
“Thank you for the valuable testimony.”
He calmly stood up from his seat.
“I have held onto someone who hasn’t fully recovered for too long. Excuse me for this. I will take my leave now, so please get plenty of rest.”
Kim Tae-Seong lightly bowed his head and turned his body.
He slowly moved his steps toward the door.
The moment his hand was about to touch the doorknob.
He stopped his steps for a moment.
Without looking back, standing exactly as he was facing the door.
“…By any chance.”
He let the words slip out in a low voice.
“If anything else comes to mind, please tell me at any time.”
Leaving only those words.
The door quietly closed.
'…'
Silence lingered in the hospital room once again.
Baek Eun-Seol quietly stared at the firmly closed door.
“As expected.”
Like the seasoned veteran of the Hunter World he was, the Association President had definitely noticed intuitively.
That she was hiding something.
The fact that he backed off without pressing the issue meant he was respecting her.
‘In the end… I didn’t say it.’
She hadn’t mentioned the story about the “Liege Lord” to the Association President.
Why was that?
Was it because she didn’t want to hastily hand over something to the Association that she hadn’t even sorted out herself yet?
Or was it because she thought it would be rude to carelessly dig into her Benefactor’s identity?
She couldn’t clearly know the reason herself.
However, she somehow didn’t feel like letting others know about the existence of the one called “Liege Lord”.
And.
If they were that strong, they would definitely get intertwined again someday, in some way.
She had an intuitive certainty that they would eventually appear before her again.
Of course, being associated with such a being was also a little scary.
But, more than that.
“…It was the first time.”
She quietly whispered.
To receive help without any price, even when she had shown her weakest side.
A salvation purely received, without being used or traded…
In her life where she had lived building walls like ice, this was the first time.
'Yeah, I can’t live with a debt.'
Baek Eun-Seol slowly opened her eyes.
A faint resolve dwelled within her gaze.
She made a promise to herself.
That someday, she would find the one called “Liege Lord” and properly express her gratitude.
Once she made that decision, the complicated thoughts filling her head felt a little sorted out.
At that moment, her gaze suddenly turned to the Smartphone placed on the bedside table.
'…Friend.'
The thought naturally came to her.
The only friend she had thought of in the crisis of death.
They had promised to play duo today, but she hadn’t been able to contact him because of the gate incident.
“I should contact him.”
After crossing the threshold of death once.
That one and only friend who treated her without any conditions felt newly more precious.
Baek Eun-Seol reached out and picked up her Smartphone.
She turned on the screen and opened the Rio Hunter Mobile Chat App.
The familiar nickname on her friend list.
Tap, tap-
She typed a message in a good mood.