Doing Good Deeds Will Bring Blessings¿

It took Yu Hanul only moments to bring the situation under control.

There are people who like to simplify things with numbers, claiming that twenty mid-rank Hunters can take down one high-rank Hunter. On paper, judging by average stats, that might sound plausible.

“Aaaagh!”

“S-stop! Stop! I surrender!”

But unfortunately, those kinds of figures are quite far removed from reality. A trap of statistics, you might say.

Yu Hanul was like a bowling ball mercilessly knocking down bowling pins. Pins fall; the bowling ball knocks them down. Pins merely stand there. They have no ability to shatter the ball in the first place. No matter how many pins there are, they cannot withstand it.

“Don’t come any closer!”

It must have been how humans feel when faced with a natural disaster.

Yu Hanul subdued James’ subordinates with absurd ease.

“Th-this is impossible!” James Chen shouted, his eyes bloodshot. His hands were tied behind his back, his face pressed into the dirt in a thoroughly pathetic position. It was the result of Yu Hanul’s sudden appearance and surprise attack.

Overpowered far too easily, James’s face was filled with confusion.

“Why are you here?!”

An S-rank Hunter like Yu Hanul was an anomaly even among other S-ranks. And yet he was here.

To be honest, from the moment Yu Hanul appeared, it no longer mattered what James had prepared. The outcome had already been decided. That was what a veteran S-rank Hunter was.

“What do you possibly gain from helping Leila Lopez?!”

This was completely beyond his expectations. Who could have imagined Yu Hanul would intervene in this situation?

James had crossed paths with Yu Hanul several times before. That was precisely why he knew down to his bones, the gap between Yu Hanul and himself, no, between Yu Hanul and ordinary people.

“Lopez kidnapped a Hunter from your country!”

“That’s exactly my point.” Jeong Daon—no, in truth, Han Jaeyeong, currently transformed into Jeong Daon—nodded. “I agree. Why would we bother getting involved in a messy fight like this?”

“...What?”

“But it seems our princess thinks differently.”

Jeong Daon’s reasoning had some merit. Since awakening, hadn’t she been dragged into more incidents than she could count on her fingers? The root cause of all of it was that Jeong Daon had been underestimated. If so, then there was only one solution: demonstrate power so overwhelming that no one would dare underestimate her again.

“We did need to make an example.”

Still, considering Jeong Daon’s physical condition wasn’t great, entrusting this to Han Jaeyeong was at least worthy of praise.

Learning restraint is a good sign. She’s been far too reckless until now.

In Jeong Daon’s form, Han Jaeyeong cast a sideways glance at the camera recording the scene, then— Whoooosh! They conjured a blaze in their palm, incomparably greater than the flames James had produced.

Even the idiots who weren’t convinced by a single incantation magic video should understand at this point.

They intended to moderate the level of what was shown.

One Hunter, fleeing from Yu Hanul’s sword, was engulfed in flames and let out a horrific scream. “Aaaagh!”

“Don’t worry, you won’t die. It’ll just hurt terribly,” Han Jaeyeong muttered coldly. “Anyone who lays a hand on me will end up like this.”

Regrettably, no matter that human civilization had accumulated for thousands of years, at its core it was not so different from beasts. In the end, it was survival of the fittest. They had to make it clear that this side possessed sharp claws so that no one would ever dare to touch Jeong Daon carelessly again.

Crash, bang!

And just as importantly, it was firmly driven home that Yu Hanul, casually swinging his sword and sending people flying, was on Jeong Daon’s side.

“And James Chen, every bit of your disgraceful behavior has been recorded.”

That Han Jaeyeong appeared in Jeong Daon’s form was, of course, meant to deceive James. As expected, once James Chen became convinced that Leila could be completely subdued on her own, he happily rattled off his entire plan. Submitting this footage would be more than enough to prove that James was the one who siphoned off the problematic item.

James shouted in a rage, “Don’t be ridiculous! A video recorded without the subject’s consent can’t possibly be admitted as evidence in court! And you’re not even a U.S. citizen—!”

“That might be true in a courtroom,” Han Jaeyeong replied calmly, “but your judge isn’t an American judge, is he?”

At those words, James’s face drained of color. Just as Han Jaeyeong said, an American court might refuse to recognize the legal validity of this video, especially if he hired an expensive lawyer. That was simply how human courts worked.

“The one who will judge your crime is Association President Estella.”

In other words, their judge was not a magistrate, but Estella.

James bit his lip, then turned his furious glare toward Leila, who had been standing still and watching the entire farce unfold.

“…This was Estella’s doing, wasn’t it? She dotes on you, Leila—!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Leila Lopez denied it darkly. “She cared about you. That’s why she didn’t believe me when I named you as the culprit.”

“That’s absurd! If Estella really cared about me, she wouldn’t have sent me to some backwater like that in the first place—!”

“Ah, here they go again.”

Han Jaeyeong found it unbearably tiresome and decided to ignore the two of them. Honestly, incidents like this weren’t rare within the Hunter Association, so much so that they were sick of it. From an outsider’s perspective, it was nothing more than a bizarre romantic melodrama.

What is Association President Estella’s approval even worth, anyway?

You should know your own abilities better than anyone else. Why did they need to be validated by someone else?

“Well, anyway, I guess this is the ending our princess wanted?”

“…Please stop saying ‘princess’.”

Yu Hanul, having thoroughly dealt with James’s subordinates, returned while flicking blood off his sword and walked up to Han Jaeyeong.

Han Jaeyeong smiled and shrugged. “Why? That’s what you kept calling her in the dungeon. Now you’re embarrassed?”

“I told you, stop it. You’re mistaken.”

“But it fits pretty well. You’re the knight, and Daon is the princess.”

“And you’re the cranky fairy grandmother?”

“Wow, out of three words, there’s only one you can actually deny.”

“I won’t ask which one that is.”

“Right, right. Anyway, let’s wrap this up—”

“You think this is where it ends?!” a sudden shout rang out.

Startled, Han Jaeyeong reflexively raised their hand to cast a spell, while Yu Hanul, who hadn’t yet sheathed his sword, aimed his blade.

Even so, James Chen was faster. Mana surged up from somewhere and wrapped itself around James’ body.

“…Damn it!” Han Jaeyeong quickly extended their mana to cast a counterspell, but something interfered. “What are you doing?!”

“I-I was trying to dispel it—!”

As if thinking the same thing, Leila Lopez’s mana collided with Han Jaeyeong’s.

It was a minuscule delay.

But that delay proved fatal.

The moment the item’s magic activated, James vanished from the spot. He had successfully escaped.

"Leila Lopez!" Han Jaeyeong didn’t hesitate. They strode over and seized Leila’s shoulder hard. “What happened? You said the inventory scan was finished.”

Neither Han Jaeyeong nor Yu Hanul were that careless. They had assumed James Chen might possess a teleportation item, which was why they had used Leila’s unique skill to scan his inventory in advance. And to buy time for that, Han Jaeyeong had deliberately deployed plant-type monsters.

“You said he didn’t have a teleportation item?”

That was why they hadn’t activated the teleportation dispel they had prepared in advance. Yet to be blindsided like this…! To escape so easily?

Swish! Han Jaeyeong pulled a wand from their waist and aimed it at Leila Lopez’s throat. She had interfered with their magic, and despite clearly knowing, through the inventory scan, that James possessed a teleportation item, she had said nothing. It could only be described as deliberate.

“Lopez. What are you thinking?”

But Leila merely stood there, her face still pale. She gave no answer.

***

“Huff… huff…!”

Having cast teleportation magic in haste to escape, James Chen collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. His body wouldn’t respond from the sudden depletion of mana, yet crude curses kept spilling from his mouth.

“Damn those damn fools!”

He couldn’t understand how things had ended up like that. Why, of all people, had Yu Hanul shown up there? It wasn’t a matter of the game board being overturned. The entire board had been obliterated by a falling meteor. There was no way he could handle that.

No, no. I have to do something!

He couldn’t fall here. He had finally driven Leila Lopez out of the Hunter Association. All that remained was to reclaim what had originally been his position!

Do you know what it took for me to get this far?

First, the video. I have to recover the video.

Drunk on the thrill of believing he had completely crushed Leila, he had failed to guard his tongue. But who could have predicted that Leila would bring in Hunters from Korea? If that footage reached Estella’s hands, it would be over.

Think. Think.

They said that even if the sky falls, there’s always a hole to crawl through.

James forced himself to breathe and think.

“…Right. I just have to make sure none of them leave the dungeon.”

No matter what footage they had, if Yu Hanul, Leila Lopez, and Jeong Daon all failed to make it out of the dungeon, wouldn’t that solve everything?

“Then I’ll just trigger a Dungeon Break here and—ghk!”

Thud! A heavy blow struck James hard on the head.

“Ugh!”

Before he could even register the pain of his face hitting the floor, the foot crushing his head pressed down harder. Barely managing to turn his face to the side, James looked up at the woman stepping on him.

More than humiliation, it was shock that overwhelmed him.

“H-how are you here…?!”

“You should’ve thought more carefully about Leila’s unique skill.”

It was a voice he had heard before. The girl’s voice, so irritating it scraped at his nerves.

James screamed, “You again!”

The one crushing his head underfoot was Jeong Daon. The very girl who had shattered his pride earlier.

“How did you follow me?!”

“I already knew there was a teleportation item in your inventory.”

“That’s impossible! If you knew, then why would Leila—?!”

“Well, that woman belongs to me now.”

What?

James doubted his own ears.

What was this little girl saying?

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”

Jeong Daon grabbed James by the head and hauled him up. With her other hand, she pressed a sharp blade to his throat.

Because of that, James was forced to see her face up close. It was unmistakably the same face he had seen before.

“At least not until I get what I want.”

And yet, though the features were identical, she could not possibly be the same person. When she had mocked him earlier, he had thought her smile merely irritating, yet even that smile had felt human by comparison.

Now, there was nothing on Jeong Daon’s face. No exhilaration at conquering an enemy from a position of superiority. No thrill at crushing the weak. Only the boredom of someone repeating an act hundreds of times before.

Instinctively, he understood. This was something detached from humanity, something entirely different.

"I had something to ask you."

"Ugh...!"

“You’ve seen this before, haven’t you?”

As she spoke, Jeong Daon held out a bracelet engraved with a serpent. The moment he saw it, James Chen’s eyes flew wide. “That’s…!”

He started to say something, then clamped his mouth shut.

Jeong Daon blinked at the obvious way his mind began racing. “You know something, don’t you?”

“…If I tell you, what will you give me in return?”

James was desperate in his own way. The urge to survive had taken hold of his entire body. But the one in control here was Jeong Daon.

“I have no intention of making a deal with you. I already have a prior arrangement.”

"I..."

At this rate, there was no other choice. He would leak a small piece of information first, test the waters, and look for an opening.

Just as James parted his lips to speak—

“Ah… ah…!”

The words wouldn’t come out. His tongue, about to reveal a fragment of the truth, stiffened. His eyes wouldn’t move. His heart pounded violently. His thoughts slowed, and at the same time, an overwhelming pain consumed his mind. Something planted inside his head felt as though a time bomb were about to detonate. His vision went white.

Instinctively, he knew. At this rate, his head would burst—

“As if I’d fall for the same trick twice.”

No, wait.

As James writhed in agony, someone forced his mouth open. A slick, unpleasant liquid was poured down his throat. The sensation was revolting. Something alive entered his body.

It wriggled with a will of its own like a worm, then swiftly burrowed toward his head, the source of the pain.

“Cough!”

And after some time, James became aware that he was sprawled pathetically across the floor. White foam frothed at his lips.

“Wh-what is this…?”

“You were under a suggestion spell and nearly turned into an idiot. Surprisingly, you probably won’t be the first.”

Under suggestion?

James blinked blankly. “Th-then how did you…?”

“You’re of Chinese descent, so this concept should be familiar to you. It’s a kind of gu poison.”

“Gu… poison?”

Jeong Daon—no, something wearing the shape of a young girl—smiled faintly. “You are now a thrall governed by my blood. So, shall we begin?” Her tone was refined, almost gentle to the ear. “Where is Orbis?”