Chapter 222 – Getting Mature(2)


    Even tonight, the Seoul sky looked very bright. All the buildings in theChoin Shopping Center were litup. ire’s bar was in a corner that seemedto be avoiding the light of society will allits might, yet her reputation (as well as of her server, Shin Eun-hyuk) was sohigh that it was full today.


    “Hello! Oh, isn’t Eun-hyuk here today?” With the sound of ajingle, a female superhuman came through the door. ire, who was in themiddle of making a cocktail, raised her headand replied bluntly.


    “No.”


    “Don’t look at me in such a scary manner, unnie.” Thesuperhuman, Lim Ha-yeon, caught her gaze and replied with a giggle.ire’s eyes only grewsharper.


    “You talk like you can take him away.”


    “No, it’s a joke, but now it’s so scarythat I might die… what happened to youtwo?” It was uneptable to ask personal questions,but she was a regr who could’ve received a perfect attendance stamp fromthe bar, so she decided to giveit a try. ire put the finished cocktail in front of the customer, and theneer took the now vacant seat once they moved back.


    “There’s nothing wrong, so go ahead and order. Hunting today?”


    “No, I just came to drink. I wanted to drinka French kiss from Eun-hyuk.” The cocktail names were full of potentialsexual harassment. How would shereact if she learned that Shin Eun-hyuk was,in fact, Kang Shin-hyuk, a minor? ire sighed and began preparing her drink.


    “You’re banned from talking toEun-hyuk.”


    “Uh, unnie? I’m just kidding… what really happened? Are youtwo not doingwell?”


    “It’s going very well?” It wasn’t a lie. Rather, the problemwas it was going too well. Rum, malibu, syrup… she poured all theingredients into a cup and mixed them. Lim Ha-yeon epted thedark pink cocktail and looked around before lowering her voice.


    “I thought Eun-hyuk was better suited to you than the Empress.”


    “Of course, he’s mine… don’ttellEunah.”


    “I don’t want to die early. Oh, it’s delicious.” The scandal of the lovetriangle between Shin Eun-hyuk, ire, and Eunah had fullysolidified and was now irreversible. Frequent visitors to the bar wouldoften see the three together and observe the subtle atmosphere betweenthem. And while most of the customers were aware of the Alchemist’soverwhelming advantage, everyone kept quiet as they feared the Empress.


    “You even make your love look morous.”


    “This again?” Lim Ha-yeonsipped on her drink as she chatted with ire.Today, the atmosphere around her was strange, so shewanted to discussit.


    “At first, I thought it was something likewhat would be on TV, but it’s a triangleof bestfriends.”


    “It’s not, already… no, never mind.” ire quickly backtrackedafter almost making a huge mistake, but her opponent was also superhuman. Hereyes sharpened at ire’s reaction.


    “Already? What came afterthat, perhapsEun-hyuk…”


    “Should I kick youout?”


    “Oh, no. I’m sorry!” Lim Ha-yeon urgently apologized asire was about to activate thedefense artifact installed in the bar. ire threw a jelly in her mouth,which she had prepared as snacks. They were bear-shaped jellies marinated in vodka,having a sweet and sourtaste.


    “Well, well…”


    “Listen quietly while you eat.”


    “Yep.” ire noticed the other guestssitting at the counter before she spoke. They quietly emptied their sses,paid their bills, and vanished. She letout asigh.


    “Have you ever dated someone younger?”


    “Are you starting to show off your boyfriend right now?”


    “I’m serious?” She threw another jelly into Lim Ha-yeon’s mouth. Shediligently chewed it thennodded.


    “Younger boyfriend, you know, I prefer men who are younger than me.”


    “If my boyfriend is young, I think Ishould be more aggressive because I’m older.”


    “How cute?”


    “I chose the wrong person to ask.” Lim Ha-yeon quickly grabbed ireas she began to turn away.


    “Ah, no, no. I know the feeling! I was thinkingabout my own experience for a moment with a superhumanboyfriend when I was still in school!” ire managed notto flinch away at the mention of a superhumanschoolstudent.


    “I was a little worried because Iwas aminor.”


    “The student bit is a little bad.”


    “How should I say it? Honestly, aren’t you an adult ifyou’re eighteen?” That lightened ire’s heart a little, but Kang Shin-hyuk wasstillseventeen!


    “Well, the standards of adults were different in every era.”


    “I think that’s a bit… anyway! So what is the problem?”ire hesitated and looked around, only opening her mouth when she wasconvinced no one was listening.


    “That… I feel like I can’t controlmyself when we’re together these days. I want to treat myselfas an adult, leisurely… but when I wake up…”


    “Oh, you’re proud of your boyfriend.” Lim Ha-yeon’s expression quickly changed. Now shehad to listen about her pride in her boyfriend,who was ranked fourth internationally?


    “Isn’t itself-confidence?”


    “I wish I was in such a good mood.”Lim Ha-yeon responded casually and then lowered her voice so that only irecouldhear.


    “By the way, Eun-hyukis…”


    “You think so?” ire tried to pretend to be cool on the outside, but shewas screaming on theinside.


    “It can’t be that way. Still, if you’re saying this, he mustbe younger than I thought.”


    “He’s younger than us, forsure.”


    “Huh… so, how is Eun-hyuk? Is he sick? Ouch!”One of the bear jellies struck her in the head this time.ire handed her a long ind iced tea asshe was in pain.


    “For the counselingfee.”


    “Well, did you benefit from this consultation?”


    “My mind feels a little easier.”


    “I think you like Eun-hyuk a lot.”


    “Yes.” iresighed.


    “I like him so much, I think I’m a fool.” Which was whyit was getting more and more difficult. She mumbled quietly as Shin Eunahentered thebar.


    ***


    -You have subdued those who areharmful to the order of things! Bonus based on membership level! You received 66,000,000HP! As a VIP bonus,you received an additional amount of HP equivalent to50% of the reward, for a total of 99,000,000HP!


    -Agility has grown to SS-rank!


    -You acquired the Heart ofConfusion!


    -You have acquired the Horns of the Predator.


    -Of thePredator…


    Kang Shin-hyuk’s prediction had been correct. Thanks to Shu’s ability fadingaway, he received a proper reward for defeating the fire lizard.


    ‘Now, even my agility has reached SS-rank.’ All stats had reachedSS-rank, and even Golden Dragonwas at SS+, so it was no exaggeration to say he had reacheda status worthy of number four in the world. Ithadn’t even been a year since he acquired the Godyer sword and entered the HeroUniverse, but he had already managed to acquire thismuch.


    ‘Thinking back, the dimensional quest was really helpful.’ If it weren’t forthat, he wouldn’t have been able to huntthese ridiculous monsters reliably. Hended on the ground with asmile, unable to curb his rising satisfaction. Since there were no enemiesalive left, allhe needed to do now was recover the monsters’bodies.


    “Grandpa!”


    “Oh, Shu. You woke up already?”


    “Thanks to you.” As he was recovering themonster corpses, Shu approached him. He was briefly worried, but she seemed to bein goodshape.


    “A little of the reward came to me aswell since you used my abilities to clear these guys up.”


    “It works likethat.”


    “But I was surprised. How did you use my abilities so perfectly?”


    “It’s thanks to spiritual power. Should I teach you?”


    “Yeah, that would be it.” Sheughed andhung onto hiswaist.


    “It felt good, though! It’s hard tofind someone who understands our people that way! Well, I believedfrom the beginning that grandpacould.”


    “Don’t tell anyone aboutit.”


    “Can we do it one more time? Yes?”


    “…It sounds a little weird, so stop.” Itsounded somewhat illegal, as she said it. The twofinished cleaning up the battlefield and headed toward thewall, where Kwati was.


    “When will they wakeup?”


    “I shifted the burden as much as possible, so probablyat least threedays.”


    “You did a very bad thing.”


    “I was trying to help, so it’s okay.” Rather, they would probably thankher when they saw the walls werepleted.


    [Anvil!]


    “Oh, Kwati.” Kwati approached them after arrangingthe Yeomin carefully on theground.


    [I really don’t know what I would’ve donebymyself.]


    Judging by the amount of HP he had acquired, it was definitelya good thing Kang Shin-hyuk was ableto deal with it. Of course, it was possible thanks to the dark bulletfired with Shu’sability.


    “Kwati, you did well too. You had good timing.” It was just fora moment, but Kwati had certainly dampened the fire lizard’s mes.Had she not done it, the sword wouldn’t have been able toshow off its abilities.


    [Because we couldn’t be left as a burden until the end. I’m d ithelped.]


    “The others weren’t so good.” It was a problem that theyall possessed the same abilities. It is what made thelizards poor opponents forthem.


    [If I have the chance. I will definitely return thefavor.]


    “Is it not over now? I built the wall,so next time you’ll stop it yourself. Isn’t that right, grandpa?”


    “It is.” As Kang Shin-hyuk casually affirmed Shu, Kwati’s face darkened for a moment.Kang Shin-hyuk noticed it andsmiled.


    “But since I made the walls, I’ll make someweapons before I leave.”


    [Anvil!]


    The overly thrilled Kwati hugged him, the rock protecting her chest,hurting him a little.


    “Oh, don’t cling; it hurts.”


    [Sorry, sorry.]


    -A new fox appears wherever you go…!


    “The administrator counts this one as a fox too.”


    “Grandpa, Anvil grandpa.” Suddenly, Shu called out his name.


    “Before that, talk to me first.”


    “What isit?”


    “It’s important,” Shu said so a little shyly.


    “If it’s grandpa, you might be able to make me an adult.”


    -The wrong approach!


    “Administrator, is that an error message?”


    -The wrong approach!


    -The wrong approach!


    Rather, wasn’t it the administrator’s approach that felt wrong?