Hunter Academy’s Battle God

There were 52 minutes left until the appointment—YuSung and Sumire had arrived early at the ShinOh family mansion.

Thud—

A guild member in a suit politely opened the limo door for YuSung and asked, "Would you like to look around before the appointment? I can guide you, if you’d like.”

"It's okay." YuSung waved the person away. Though he hadn’t been there for 10 years, he didn’t need a guide.

"Understood. Then, I'll take my leave…"

After the guild member left, YuSung and Sumire took a slow walk around the mansion. He hadn’t been there for many years, but things were just as he remembered them—the lion statue to welcome visitors, the small pond with colorful carp swimming around within, etc.

"Wow… The carp are really big." Sumire deliberately tried to bring up something for them to talk about since she noticed YuSung was being a bit quiet, but he only responded with a faint acknowledgment—far from his usual, warm responses.

Tap, tap, tap—

YuSung stopped next to a large tree near the pond and looked around. Everything truly looked like it’d been frozen in time from the moment he left, but that wasn’t the only problem…

Swoosh—

He placed his hands on the large tree and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the pleasant caress of the wind over his skin.

[Why…?]

He recalled memories from far in the past, so distant that he couldn’t remember people's faces, though he could almost hear their words in static voices.

[How was such a failure born from two rank 7 hunters?]

[What can we do? That's his fate.]

Back when he was a child, the adults’ words had been absolute, and he’d felt that KangYoon’s silence and MinSeo’s cold stares were his fault.

If only…

If only he’d been more talented, he would have been accepted. If only that’d been the case…

He remembered how he used to run to that same tree and bury his face in his knees beneath it whenever such thoughts crossed his mind. Those had been his moments of comfort within a quiet world, albeit brief.

He took his hand off of the tree and called out to Sumire, who had been quietly waiting. "Sumire."

She perked up. "Yes! YuSung?!"

"I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts. It’s been 12 years since I was last here, after all."

Sumire felt relieved when she saw his usual smile, but she also couldn’t help but be surprised. "12 years?!"

“Yes,” he replied. “12 years.”

It’d been 12 years since his Trait was discovered to be F-rank and they’d abandoned him at an orphanage before the Fist King found him.

Sumire was quick-witted enough to realize he was remembering his troubled past and became more cautious. "I see, 12 years…" She didn’t ask why he hadn’t returned to the mansion in all that time—she didn’t even dare ask if he’d missed his family.

"Though so much time has passed, everything looks the same… I used to lean against this tree and read books.” YuSung smiled and sat next to the tree as if he were trying to imitate his younger self.

Sumire chuckled. "It doesn’t look like the tree can completely cover you anymore."

Swoosh—

She slowly sat next to him.

YuSung spoke while trying to sound unaffected. “I’ve grown a lot since I was five, after all.” He recognized her delicate attitude and understood how careful she was being with her words. It made him curious about something…

"Sumire,” he said, “what does family mean to you?" He’d already met her family over dinner and seen how much they meant to her, but he wanted to hear the answer from her mouth.

"Hmm…" She pondered over the question, seeming to find it difficult. “My family is my support… I know they will be by my side through thick and thin… My family are unconditional allies”!

That was good enough for YuSung to reach a certain level of understanding. "I see…" He thought about how her family had always been by her side and how they were why she could be so kind despite all the hardships she’d been through.

'I think I understand.' He felt his complicated emotions clear up.

Sumire watched his face and felt relieved when she saw how his mood improved. "Even though it's autumn, the weather is quite chilly…"

"Yes, you're right." YuSung placed his palm over the back of Sumire’s cold hand.

"Ah…" Her eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to face him, not pulling away from the sudden touch.

"Sumire," YuSung gently said while looking into her eyes and interlocking his fingers with hers.

Squeeze-

"Going by that definition, you must be like family to me." He believed that, no matter what happened, she and his party members would always be by his side.

Sumire’s mouth trembled a bit, and her face flushed as she nodded and said, "Yes, that's right. No matter what happens, I'll always be by your side!" She lifted her head and confidently exclaimed, “YuSung, you and I are family!”

He always appeared strong, so she couldn’t help but feel a need to protect him after she saw his weak side.

"Sumire…" YuSung, having let the burden in his heart go, smiled.

"YuSung!" Sumire gave him an extremely happy look in return.

* * *

* * *

They entered the main building 10 minutes before the appointment.

"Woah, this is incredible…” Sumire burst out in admiration. “I can’t believe there are so many artifacts on display that you’d even have a hard time finding in museums.”

Upon entry, they were greeted by the sight of a glass showcase filled with priceless artifacts; each came with a description of its origin and was systematically categorized in a manner that would put most museums to shame.

It was somewhat of an ostentatious display, but it showcased how powerful the ShinOh family was in the hunter world.

"You're right,” YuSung said. “There are more than I remember." The ShinOh family guild was one of the top four back when YuSung lived there, but they didn’t have as much wealth back then—it was proof of KangYoon’s achievements as the patriarch.

"And this marble!" Sumire pointed at the floor, covered with such highly-polished marble that it was almost like a mirror. Though most might’ve seen it as ordinary marble, it looked different to her.

Tap—!

"It contains mana properties! Judging by how it can maintain a constant temperature as well—"

She was interrupted by the guild member who’d brought them there. "Haha, you have a great eye. You're right. This marble is from a golem’s body. Thanks to that, it’s always warm.” It was quite an expensive use of such marble, and the total value of the flooring in the mansion alone would’ve been enough to construct the rest of the building.

"Woah. There's so much of it… That's incredible!" Sumire exclaimed.

Encouraged by Sumire’s enthusiastic reaction, the guild member continued to talk. "This is just part of what the ShinOh family guild has to display! Our guild operates 12 museums, and many national treasure artifacts are stored by the Association—"

“Stop.” Someone interrupted the excited guild member.

Tap, tap—

Shin HaYoon descended from the 2nd floor via a spiral staircase.

"Explaining things is good~ But I'm sure YuSung must be tired after his long journey here, so let’s have him take a seat first.”

Though she said it with a smile on her face, the guild member gave her a flustered bow. "Ah, I'm sorry… I was short-minded."

"It's okay. I'll take YuSung. You may leave." HaYoon sent the guild member off and turned to YuSung. "I didn't expect to see you here again. It's nice that you’re here, little brother."

"Nothing would change if I avoided it, so I figured it was better to come directly," YuSung said. They they stood close to each other, there seemed to be a certain, uncrossable gap between them.

"I'm fine with anything, but… I didn't expect that child to come too." HaYoon gave Sumire a disapproving look—it was clear she didn't like someone unexpectedly attending such an important event.

Flustered, Sumire apologized. "Ah, I wanted to meet YuSung's family, so I asked him if I could come. I'm sorry…"

HaYoon waved her hand. "No, it doesn't matter~ There will be many familiar faces before the meal, so chat with them." She wasn’t the type of person to show emotions in front of YuSung to begin with.

Tap, tap—

Up on the 2nd floor, they saw familiar faces, just as HaYoon had said.

"Is it you, YuSung? My goodness… It's been so long!" Shin MiHyang covered her mouth with a fan. Despite being four years older than KangYoon, she was so beautiful that she looked to be in her late twenties. It’d been more than 10 years since he last saw her, but she hardly looked a day older.

Her attitude toward him, though, was vastly different. "You grew up to look like Yu MinSeo? Indeed, one cannot hide their bloodline~!" She’d been the one to ask how an F-rank failure had been born from two rank 7 hunters.

"Hahaha! Really? In my opinion, his presence and atmosphere make him look like the patriarch!" Even her husband, Park ByungJun, praised him.

"YuSung resembling oppa? What do you mean? He just looks like Yu MinSeo~!"

Sumire silently squeezed YuSung’s hand as she noticed his face getting more tense and quietly asked, “Are you okay?” She was the only one in the mansion who truly cared for him

Thanks to her, he was able to relax a bit and smile. "Yes, it's been a long time."