Hunter Academy’s Battle God

During Metro City’s 'underground water subjugation', Shin KangYoon became annoyed after he lost a contract he was sure was already his.

'Her name was Kim EunAh, right…?' KangYoon wanted to calm down, but EunAh's proud expression had bothered him.

He was a rank 7 hunter and the patriarch of the Shin-oh family; EunAh was just a kid, but the person behind EunAh wasn't someone he could ignore.

The President of the Shinsung Group, Kim SeokHan, was an iron-blooded man with the nickname of ‘The Gold King’. Even if it were KangYoon, nothing good would come of being on his bad side.

'Things have gotten tiresome.'

KangYoon clicked his tongue. Since Shin MiHyang was aiming for the position of patriarch, losing the contract would put him at a disadvantage.

'If I don't do something, things will become dangerous…'

Everything had started from the moment he’d thrown YuSung away. The son he'd sent to an orphanage had been taken by the Fist King and grown to become the rookie standing at the peak.

Thanks to that, the Shin-oh family’s heir resented him, and that single misjudgment had created a weakness that MiHyand could take advantage of.

In the worst-case scenario, there was a chance that MiHyang would gather the masters of the three guilds that were part of the Shin-oh family and make a general assembly.

'To think he'd get the Shinsung Group's heir on his side… Quite impressive.' As his thoughts reached that point, his expression hardened. 'No… Was this a planned revenge? He probably put EunAh in his party for this moment.'

If that weren't the case, there wouldn't be a reason for EunAh to be resentful toward him, Shin KangYoon was sure of that.

'To think he'd hide his true intentions and use her to stab me… As expected, he inherited my blood.'

Abandoning YuSung was his fatal mistake, but errors could be fixed.

'I guess it doesn't matter… After all, HaYoon will be moving soon.'

* * *

* * *

Within Rebellion’s base, Cheat mumbled and looked at the screen. "Do you want to make a bet?"

The only person besides Cheat was YuWol, so he had no choice but to reply to her. "A bet about what?"

"From what I've heard, they've been friends for over 10 years. I wonder what expression she'll make once she's betrayed."

"It doesn't matter, right?" YuWol found Cheat annoying.

He admired how Claw could handle someone who asked many nonsensical questions like that; Cheat, and he were the complete opposite.

Even if YuWol appeared annoyed, she didn't stop. "But still, I'm sure she's going to be surprised. Maybe she's going to get angry. She might make a blank expression, or maybe she’ll cry… That would be nice. Someone who’s strong crying is—"

"I'll say it once again; I'm not interested in your tastes." YuWol tried to finish the conversation with Cheat.

Cheat smiled and pointed to one of the monitors. "Then how about a bet like this?"

The hunters on the monitor were in a meeting.

"Will they figure it out… Or not?" Cheat said while making a playful expression.

The bet had already started a long time before.

* * * *

A beautiful yellow flower flourished in a pot, resting on a terrace filled with trees and fresh air. YuSung and Isshin walked through the terrace, an awkward atmosphere between them.

"I saw the match against the English team… As expected, your team is strong." Isshin started to feel embarrassed.

'I'm doing something that isn't like of me…' After the match against the Korean team, Isshin had no choice but to recognize it.

He hadn't known what he really thought about Sumire, so he’d originally though it was anger, but everything had become clear.

"Sumire didn't participated because of the Saint's Sphere, right?"

"Yes. The light of the Saint's Sphere is fatal for undead, after all."

"As expected… You're a good party leader."

Isshin was almost about to say, 'unlike me,' but he didn't. He hadn’t been able to support Sumire when she was having a harsh time. YuSung was too different from him.

Just like Sumire had said, YuSung looked like a kind and warm person. The more he thought about it, the weirder he felt.

Isshin bit his lips and then opened his mouth. "T-take good care of… S-Sumire."

YuSung smiled at Isshin's request. "Of course."

Although it was while they were in middle school, Sumire and Isshin used to be party members, so YuSung could understand Isshin's feelings and had guessed that Isshin's emotions toward Sumire probably weren't anger due to how sad he had looked..

'It's just that he wasn't good at expressing his emotions.'

The Japanese Team was given another chance through a consolation round, so they were very important for YuSung's Asian team alliance.

"Isshin, there's something I want to ask the Japanese team…"

"It's about the International Competition, right? The European team’s movements aren’t normal."

"What do you guys think?"

Isshin looked at his Pocket for a brief moment before sighing and opening his mouth. "That's something that can be discussed with Seiki and Sakura… But I can send them the message. Not only that, but Sakura and the gun guy seem to have a good relationship."

"Thanks. Mentioning it to him will be enough."

As Shin YuSung grinned again, Isshin smiled bitterly.

As expected, he was completely different from him.

The person who could make Sumire happy probably wasn't him, but YuSung.

"Now that I think about it… I wasn't in a place to ask you that favor. I'm not Sumire's party member or anything else…"

As he thought that, he got a bitter sensation. Isshin sighed and carefully asked, "However, I'm still going to ask. YuSung, how is Sumire doing…?"

It was clear how much he cared for Sumire. YuSung felt thankful. "She's doing well. Before coming here, we went to Academy City."

"A weekend in Academy City… I see."

It didn't matter how you looked at it, it was a date.

Isshin couldn't hide his bitter feelings anymore, but if YuSung was someone Sumire trusted, it would be weird if they didn't date.

"Academy City's park is famous in Japan too, so walking around together should've been nice… Sumire likes flowers very much, after all."

Looking at a white flower he didn't know the name of, Isshin kept talking. "Since she likes cooking… Having dinner together from time to time should be nice."

Isshin had been rejected before confessing. Because of that, him talking to YuSung about it seemed a bit off—maybe they were things he wanted to tell Sumire.

"We already went to the park. I had dinner with Sumire and had breakfast…"

Isshin's expression hardened. Although it sounded normal at first, Isshin couldn't let something go. "Dinner…? Breakfast? Th-that makes it sound like you spent the night together."

YuSung simply replied, "Yes."

Unlike his usual, calm self, Isshin stuttered. "Wh-what?! D-do you mean you've slept with her on the same bed?!"

It was true that YuSung and Sumire had slept on the same bed while discussing the past.

"Yes. Sumire wanted for us to stay together."

As YuSung said something that could easily be misunderstood…

"B-but you guys are still students…"

Slide-

Isshin’s imagination ran wild, and he ended up with a nosebleed.

To think that, despite having such an innocent-looking face, he'd have such a relationship with Sumire. While Isshin was making a dumb-looking expression, YuSung gave him a bright smile.