The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Winter Camp (2)

The whole family was sitting together at the dinner table, spending the evening together.

At the same time, a conversation about the school newsletter began.

"Are you saying you want to go to that winter camp?"

"Yes, I really wanted to go just once!"

I answered my father's question loudly, with a desperate expression.

At that, my father paused even as he ate, lost in thought. 'Has our son ever been this earnest about something?' he wondered.

"Is there really a need to go? We're planning to go on a trip together with your mom, dad, and little sister anyway."

"That's nice too, but I really want to go to EverXld."

"We were actually planning to go to an amusement park too, even if it's not there. Wouldn't going as a family, freely, be better than going under your teacher's supervision and making things complicated?"

My father was trying to persuade me with reasonable arguments.

Honestly, the moment you get off the camp bus, you have to line up, and then there's always the hassle of having to move around in groups.

And if someone doesn't follow the instructor's directions, even the innocent ones get yelled at.

'Yeah, normally I wouldn't go either.'

But this time, I must go.

For the dungeon.

For the gate!

"No matter how much I think about it, I really want to go to the camp. It's two nights and three days, and I can even ride a sled."

"Then, we could also book accommodations and make a reservation at the sledding site, right? Isn't that right, honey?"

"If Seongjin wants it, of course we should."

No, you really don't have to do all that.

No matter how innocent a first grader may look, there's no need to give them everything just because it's what they want.

I never expected that what had always seemed like pure family affection could actually hold me back like this.

"But I already promised to go with my friends."

"You've already made plans with your friends?"

"Please, I'm begging you. Just this once, can't I go camping with my classmates?"

It wasn't a stubborn protest but a sincere plea as I begged my parents.

Father was deep in thought, but his reaction wasn't all that troubled.

We hadn't even booked a family trip yet, so there wouldn't be an issue even if they let me go.

"It's a rare chance for the four of us to go on an outing together, Seongjin. Can't you think about it once more..."

"Let's just let him go."

"What?"

At my father's words, my mother's resistance was cut off.

Father, having made his decision, spoke with a clear expression.

"We can always go on a family outing again next time. But a chance to go camping with friends like this doesn't come often."

"Hmm..."

"And, listen."

Father began whispering something into my mother's ear.

He was clearly trying to make sure I couldn't hear.

****

Ma Jun-sang lowered his voice as much as possible and spoke into his wife's ear.

—You know well enough that our Seongjin isn't an ordinary kid.

Han Suyeon twitched her eyebrows at those words.

Since he awakened, he was never ordinary, but even among awakeners, Seongjin was at a level that could not be called normal.

Not only could he hide the fact that he's a Mutamit on his own, but his talents were outstanding.

After the previous playground incident, Seongjin's extraordinariness was confirmed.

He was the only one left unscathed from that incident.

Though, according to Seongjin, he'd told them that a mysterious passer-by awakened helped, Ma Jun-sang had investigated the scene and was already suspicious.

He believed it wasn't another awakened, but that Seongjin had resolved the situation himself.

'No matter what happens, Seongjin won't be in danger. Even if a gate opens nearby.'

In fact, there was a D-class gate in Yong-in City.

Measured from the amusement park, it wasn't that far—a person could probably reach it with a run in about an hour.

But even with the gate close by, he couldn't imagine Seongjin being in danger.

Of course, that didn't mean there was nothing to worry about.

"Could he get into trouble by acting out in some weird way?"

"That's what I'm worried about too."

After their whispers, the couple put on straight faces and spoke to Ma Seongjin.

"All right, Seongjin. We'll let you go."

"Really?"

"Your dad convinced your mom."

At that moment, their son's face lit up as if a flower had bloomed.

The couple, who always felt their son seemed aloof, found it mysterious to see him with such an expression.

"But you have to wear your security bracelet at all times during the trip. And don't get involved in anything dangerous like last time."

"Okay."

"Mom's right. Recently there have been more cases of missing awakeners."

"Missing awakeners?"

Curious, I asked, and Ma Jun-sang thought back to his recent work.

"This is a case I'm investigating now. It's happened several times in this area a few months ago. That's the reason for your blue bracelet."

There really were missing persons cases among elementary schools.

Not only did an awakened girl from first grade class ten disappear, but her parents were found dead as well.

The seriousness of the kidnapping—combined with murder—escalated the investigation.

"Things have calmed down in our area, but when it gets forgotten elsewhere, it happens again. It got so troublesome that even the major guilds put in a request."

"Major guilds?"

"If you dream of being a Hunter, you must know the four biggest guilds here in Korea."

—Hwasan Guild.
—Frozen Guild.
—Nature Guild.
—Angel Guild.

These are the top four, the strongest hunter organizations in Korea.

Their influence is greater than most corporations, and having prosecutors work for them is nothing.
That's why so many in the legal world want to stay on their good side.

"Of those, Angel Guild asked our department to handle this case."

"Is the case serious enough for such a high-level guild to get involved?"

They're a group more focused on profit by subjugating gates than on missing persons.

It's hard to believe they'd get involved in such a trivial matter for no reason.

"Actually, the culprit is thought to be a former Angel Guild Hunter. In the process of tracking him, traces of a unique skill used by an Angel Guild executive were found."

A white feather made of magic power was discovered at one scene.

Though the magic power was exhausted and it quickly vanished, upon hearing rumors, Angel Guild knew right away what sort of feather it was.

It was a sign of 'Heaven Up', a skill used by Angel Guild executives.

"Thanks to that, Angel Guild jumped in with both feet. They wouldn't just stand by while a former guild member uses their unique skill in a crime."

It was a matter of the Angel Guild's honor.

If a former executive continues to cause trouble with their unique skill, people will doubt Angel Guild itself.

Catching the culprit before things get messier is the top priority.

"With a major guild helping, they'll catch him soon. But don't let your guard down, all right?"

"Okay."

They allowed me to go to the camp, but hinted I should avoid anything dangerous.

Ma Seongjin only answered, 'Okay', in words.

"By the way, when is the camp?"

"From December 23rd to the 25th."

"The 25th?"

It was currently December 10th.

Vacation started on the 15th, and the camp was set for eight days later.
Hearing "the 25th", Ma Jun-sang tilted his head.

"So you're planning to spend precious Christmas at an amusement park? If you stay home, maybe Santa Claus will come and leave a present."

"I don't care. I'm not a kindergartener anymore."

Both parents reacted unexpectedly to their son's indifferent response.

Of course, Seongjin already knew there were two Santas.

"Is Santa coming to our house?"

At that moment, the youngest, Ma Yun-hee, sitting next to her brother, spoke up.

Since she's still in kindergarten, she believed in those magical things easily.

It was the reason Ma Seongjin had to summon patience before speaking.

"Of course! He'll definitely come."

"Yunhee, what do you want for Christmas?"

Unaware her parents were Santa, Yunhee thought for a second, then replied innocently.

"A doll!"

"What kind of doll?"

"Uh... a panda and a bunny doll."

The parents smiled warmly as they took note of their daughter's Christmas wish.

"Then Daddy will tell Santa what you want."

"Santa will definitely pick out something really pretty for you."

Later, they'd wrestle with what kind of doll to buy at the department store.

Ma Yun-hee asked her brother sitting next to her.

"What do you want, oppa?"

"I want ownership of two movies and 20,000 won in game currency."

"Huh? I thought boys liked dinosaur and robot toys."

'Am I at that age?' Seongjin almost blurted out.

Sure, it was the right age, but he didn't really want toys.

That's why his room was always neat, with no toys scattered around.

"Then what are you going to do with your panda and bunny?"

At her brother's casual question, Ma Yun-hee replied with a sly grin.

"I'm going to marry them."

"Pft!"

"I'll live happily with them—they're much nicer than you, oppa."

"Puhuhut!"

Seongjin nearly spat out the food in his mouth.

Not only was she considering polygamy, but they were a different species.

He tried not to laugh while imagining what sort of play his little sister would come up with.

****

A large vehicle was climbing a mountain road.

The headlights lit up the night path, but it wasn't a particularly eerie place.

This area had various facilities, including a theme park, but the truck passed them and continued up the road.

After driving for quite some time, the truck finally stopped before a gigantic hole floating in midair.

— Yong-in City D-Class Gate —

Like a black hole, a blue hole opened in space itself—it's a miniature version of an existence that once almost threw the world into chaos.

Such holes are still opening all over the world, but now they're significant sources of profit.

"We're here, get out."

The driver parked in the quiet area and got out.

Several Hunters sitting in the back began to get off.

"Hunting at night? I'm dead tired."

"If you hadn't broken the item you rented from the market, we wouldn't be working like dogs right now."

"Agh, yeah! Sorry. Sorry!"

"Enough fighting—let's just go in and get it over with."

The Hunters, checking their weapons, headed to the gate entrance.

Though soldiers were stationed nearby conducting checks, they could pass easily simply by showing their Hunter licenses.

The inside of the gate resembled a factory.

In this futuristic facility, fit for an SF movie, robot monsters were being mass-produced.

"What do you think? If we wipe those guys out, maybe we'll get a good price for magic power stones?"

"We need to catch something bigger than those small fries—otherwise, we'll never pay back our debt."

Their debt totaled ten million won.

Even if they caught one of the monsters being churned out, they'd only earn ten thousand won per one, so they needed to catch something stronger.

Ordinary monsters would just respawn, but they weren't the only ones hunting here.

They proceeded deeper into the factory in pursuit of a boss monster, which would net them hundreds at once.

"Why are they all machines? This isn't StarcXft's Terran army."

"It was established this gate would have that kind of concept. No biological monsters appear."

"Wouldn't it be worth a lot if we modified those and sold them as robots?"

"What's the point? They vanish when they die and only leave magic power stones behind."

Chatting as they descended into the deep basement of the factory, the Hunters finally found a wide, open space.

There were no other hunters or plentiful machine monsters.

It felt like a boss would appear at any moment, and the Hunters tensed up.

At that moment—

Flap, flap—!

Black feathers fell from above.
The being that descended through the air horrified them.

"An angel?"

The angel with black wings wore tattered cloth over her body.

Her eyes were covered by something like a visor, and her appearance was unmistakably that of a young girl.

"Is this the boss monster?"

"No, you said there were no biological monsters."

"Isn't she a Hunter who followed us? Maybe she's a Mutamit, and the wings are her trait."

"How can a little kid like that be a Hunter?"

The very fact that someone who looked like an elementary school student was inside the gate was strange in itself.

The leader, a B-class Hunter, spoke up confidently.

"Who are you? If you're a Hunter, get out right now! We were here first."

"...."

The angel floated in the air without responding.

Maybe it was a humanoid robot, like something from a movie?

If it was an angel-type android, they could at least rationalize it.

"Huh?"

At that moment, the angel raised her hand and pointed at the leader.

Crack—!

With an emotionless gesture, the leader's upper body simply vanished.

It happened in an instant.

"Kyaaaaa!"

As the female mage Hunter began to scream, the Hunters fell into total panic.

It was the moment they tried to run in terror, sensing true danger.

Flash—

A huge flash swallowed the vast space.

The intense heat from the light left not even a trace of the Hunters—they were immediately annihilated, leaving not a speck of dust.

The angel, having killed them all in an instant, then disappeared as if she were never there.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn....
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】