TDLHRH 7

How am I supposed to explain this? Tell him, “Your sister isn’t human anymore”?

The thought that Haerang might actually believe it made it even more unsettling than the idea of him thinking I was crazy. I didn’t want to share the miserable details of my past with him.

What do I do about this?

The chicken meat in my mouth, which had been full of flavor moments ago, now felt like tasteless rubber. As I mechanically chewed the meat until it turned into minced pieces, I finally opened my mouth again.

“It’s just that… I had a rough time, so I didn’t really think about eating. But as soon as I smelled chicken, I got really hungry.”

“Baek Horang.”

“Stop with the informal tone. You eat some too. If you don’t eat, I’ll just end up eating more.”

With what I thought was kindness, I forcibly shoved the largest remaining piece of chicken into his mouth. Haerang frowned but quietly accepted it. Having scolded and disciplined him as a child, it was oddly satisfying to see him obediently chew his food with his mouth shut even now.

After watching him for a moment, I shifted my gaze to the window. It was now fully nighttime. The dark sky felt like it was exposing my true nature, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

Draining a cup of cola in one go, I suddenly stood up.

“You handle the cleanup. I’m going to bed.”

“!”

“Didn’t I tell you not to talk while eating? If your sister says to do it, you do it, got it?”

Stopping Haerang from arguing further with just a single sentence, I walked back to my room, pretending nothing was wrong. I didn’t really need to sleep, but for some reason, lying on this bed made my eyes naturally start to close.

Before completely letting go, I casually waved my hand to set up a barrier around a 50km radius of the house. I doubted anyone in Korea would try to kill me, but the instincts of a former Demon King demanded preparation for even a 0.001% chance. Without retainers to handle pests or other nuisances, prevention was the only way to stay safe.

As my eyes began to close, wrapped in the blanket, a forgotten piece of common sense suddenly popped into my head.

Right, I didn’t brush my teeth.

With that final thought, I fell asleep.

***

Horang woke up at 6 a.m.

It was a time when most people were still deep in sleep. Oddly enough, this cheap blanket felt cozier than the finest bedding in the demon realm, and I had thought I might stay in bed until the afternoon. But now, something approaching this place had me wide awake.

Expanding my senses, I found Haerang still sound asleep in dreamland.

That kid says he’s all grown up, but he’s still got a long way to go.

Haerang had taken precautions, buying out the neighboring houses and installing various security devices, but to me, they were nothing more than childish tricks.

Even a tenth-floor Demon King I killed ages ago could have easily gotten past those.

Without realizing how skewed my standards had become, I simply clicked my tongue at my carefree brother.

Well, if my brother’s lacking, his sister just needs to step up.

Stretching my neck from side to side, I focused on the presence approaching the house and teleported straight to the roof. From the clear vantage point, I saw a black car below.

It looked fairly expensive, but since I didn’t know much about cars, I didn’t particularly care. What did it matter if an intruder’s car was fancy or not, especially at this ungodly hour?

Hovering in the air, I reached out and lifted the car effortlessly. The driver, clearly panicked, tried various things, but the car, now caught like prey in a net, hung motionless in the air.

“Who are you?”

“……Is this the residence of Guild Leader Haerang?”

“I asked first, didn’t I?”

Horang’s fingers twitched at the audacity of the insolent human responding to her question with another question.

With just that small motion, the flashy car’s front bumper crumpled hideously. As the car continued to deform, the human, staring blankly, hastily answered in panic.

“I-I’m Jin Do, a combat hunter from the Korean Hunter Association Headquarters. By any chance, are you…?”

“I didn’t say you could ask questions.”

The mention of the Hunter Association caught her attention, so she stopped the car-crushing display, but Horang still wasn’t impressed by this human.

Why was he making so much noise? Baek Haerang had gone to bed late after crying his eyes out, and she didn’t want him to wake up. Of course, compared to the screams she’d heard in the demon realm, the human’s voice was no more than a fairy’s song, but the fact that this pest had found her within a day of arriving in Korea made her even more irritable.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Two days ago, an unidentified woman appeared riding a dragon from an unregistered gate in Quebec, Canada. Guild Leader Baek Haerang is reported to have taken her in. I’m here to verify the facts.”

“Oh, that’s me. He’s my brother. Now leave.”

“W-wait, I…”

Horang was about to casually toss the floating car 100km away when something unexpected made her widen her eyes slightly.

The man, who had introduced himself as Jin, opened an uncrumpled car door and jumped out. Naturally, Jin plummeted to the ground, but in the brief moment before impact, ice shards shot up from the ground, cushioning his fall.

Even though it was early spring and not winter, the sudden appearance of ice in a residential area piqued Horang’s interest. More than anything, the first notable surge of blue energy she’d seen since arriving on Earth intrigued her.

It seems a little different from the magic I use.

While Horang found the situation amusing, Jin stood stiffly on the ice, his expression tense as he balanced himself against the chill rising around him. According to the intel from Quebec and the hunters who had gathered in Paju, this person wasn’t supposed to attack first and had been described as approachable for conversation.

Then why…?

Feeling a chill run down his spine, Jin hurriedly shouted to calm Horang down.

“Let’s talk! Please, I have no intention of harming you!”

“Yeah, people who say that are usually the ones who stab you in the back.”

“It’s true! You can ask Guild Leader Baek Haerang yourself!”

“He’s sleeping right now. If you wake him up, you’re dead.”

As a killing aura cast a shadow over her face, Jin felt a cold sweat break out and every hair on his body stand on end. It was as though death itself had come to greet him, filling him with a suffocating dread.

Had Jin been slightly less experienced or weaker, he might have fainted then and there. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white as he barely held himself together.

“I’m here on official Association business. It’s urgent, so please, just let me deliver the message.”

“Hmm…”

The day before, Horang hadn’t paid much attention, but upon reflection, it was clear that Haerang held a significant position, traveling in chauffeur-driven cars and being addressed as “Guild Leader” everywhere they went.

The Association must be the international organization formed 20 years ago when gate crises began to erupt. If this man was part of it, he probably wasn’t here to harm Haerang.

Of course, he could be lying, but Horang figured that no one trembling under her killing intent would dare lie to her face. If he did have that level of resolve, it would mean he had enough power to harm Haerang anytime, and eliminating him now might be the safest option.

After mulling it over briefly, Horang made her decision. If he was telling the truth, killing him would only trouble Haerang. For now, she’d let him go.

If he tried to attack Haerang later, she could simply erase him then.

Having calculated the possibilities, Horang lowered the car, still hovering midair, to the ground. She could have used more power to fix the crumpled parts, but she didn’t feel like bothering.

Just then, she sensed movement inside the house. Haerang had woken up.

A small wrinkle appeared on Horang’s otherwise smooth brow.

“Ugh, seriously…”

Noticing the same thing, Jin’s face brightened. The killing aura had dissipated, and now someone who could mediate this situation was awake. Jin cautiously melted the ice beneath his feet and descended to the ground, his previously raised shoulders relaxing slightly.

As everything seemed to settle, the sound of the door lock turning echoed, and Baek Haerang appeared.

“…Noona, what’s going on here?”

“Hmm, welcoming a guest?”

Horang’s response left two people on the verge of losing it. One was Jin, who couldn’t openly state the truth, and the other was Haerang, worried about what on earth his sister had been doing.

Only Horang maintained a confident expression as she descended and affectionately patted Haerang’s softly tousled hair. However, since her height didn’t quite match, Horang hovered awkwardly in midair while doing so.

Despite feeling slightly embarrassed, Haerang quietly accepted her pats.

It was Jin who broke the awkward atmosphere first and initiated the conversation.

“Hello, Guild Leader Baek Haerang. I am Jin Do, a combat hunter from the Korean Hunter Association Headquarters. I am here to verify reports that a gate returnee was taken without following proper procedures.”

“…At this hour?”

“Yes, at this hour.”

Jin’s firm response left the Baek siblings’ expressions subtly distorted.

“Are you serious? This early in the morning?”

“Yes, because if I came later, Guild Leader Baek Haerang would surely have ignored me, claiming you were busy with guild matters. You’ve disregarded Association summons quite often in the past.”

“Ahem, well, that’s because I was genuinely busy with work…”

“I’m sure you were. That’s why I came at a time when you wouldn’t be busy.”

Jin’s curt, unyielding replies left Haerang at a loss for words. As they say, the guilty have no defense.

In truth, anticipating this kind of scenario, Haerang had deliberately packed his schedule for the following day. He’d already coordinated with his secretary and team members. But he hadn’t expected someone to barge in so recklessly like this.

The so-called Holy Rookie…

It was hard to believe that such brazen behavior was tolerated by the rigid, rule-abiding Association, but considering Jin’s current stature in the hunter world, it made sense. The first S-rank hunter to emerge in five years since Haerang himself.

Not only that, but the publicly released footage of Jin freely wielding ice magic during the hunter exam had been utterly shocking. Honestly, Haerang had seriously contemplated recruiting him after seeing those videos.

The main reason was that an ice mage could be a significant counter to Haerang himself, who typically wielded a greatsword and fought on the frontlines. An ice mage could easily restrict his movements, which could pose a major problem if Jin decided to emigrate to another country.

To address this potential issue, Haerang’s guild had even held an exhaustive 12-hour meeting to come up with solutions. However, Jin’s decision had rendered all their efforts meaningless.