Chapter 51

—The clear brook water.

Amy peered down at a crayfish swimming in its depths.

"Whoa!" she muttered, fascinated. "Do crayfish usually live in brooks?"

"Of course they live in brooks. Where else are they supposed to live, the ocean?" SiWoo was also drawn in by the crayfish. "So cool, though. I heard that the water has to be su~per clear for them to live in it."

It was the moment that Sumire had been waiting for. Even so, she had a hard time starting the conversation.

'...I-I'm just too worried.'

Her nervousness was even making her break out in a cold sweat.

Only then did YuSung finally notice the other girl. It was hard for him not to, given the fact that she kept glancing at him and giving him hesitant looks.

"Sumire, is there something bothering you?"

"Huh?! U-uh! No! Th-that's not…"

Caught off-guard, she began waving her hands in bewildered denial, but that only lasted for a moment.

'...Th-this is my only chance.'

Sumire resolved herself.

"I-I want to tell you something, Sh-Shin YuSung-ssi!"

Sumire looked at YuSung square in the eyes, fully facing him as she uttered those words, even if her hands were shaking. It was a marked difference from her usual behavior, considering that she would usually dart her entire head away from someone if they made eye contact.

"I, that's… I-I'm not skilled at anything. And I'm not strong. But…"

Even as she was fumbling her words, she was making a proper point. Sumire's clear eyes were staring at YuSung's calm face.

She drew out more courage.

"Still… I want to be of h-help to you, Shin YuSung-ssi!"

But even her drawn-out courage couldn't completely change her base personality. The other boy's gaze finally broke her, and her speech fizzed into gibberish.

"Um, o-o-of course! It's not that… someone like me will be very helpful to Shin YuSung-ssi, but. B-but, I want to be in your party… n-no! That's not… I'll get stronger so that eventually… absolutely…! Um…"

Sumire stopped her ramblings, then sighed, face set in despair. She just wasn't any good at beating around the bush.

"I also want… to be like Amy-ssi… to be a member of your party, Shin YuSung-ssi."

The girl hung her head as if she had performed a great sin in admitting that fact. Even if Sumire had shown some prowess, she considered herself at a different level from Amy, an A Class student.

She assumed that was the reason why he didn't ask her to join his party.

—Because she was too lacking to be considered.

However…

Sumire would usually have, in that situation, just accepted the fact, but at that moment, she wanted to express her true feelings to YuSung.

—That she wanted to form a party with him.

—That if she could, she would try harder. That she would become stronger.

Sumire looked up at him with an earnest gaze. Her body was completely stiff with tension.

YuSung laughed with a puzzled expression on his face.

"...Uh, Sumire."

"Y-yes?!"

"Did SiWoo not tell you?"

"...Eh?"

"I already registered you as a member of my party back when we participated in the dungeon raid competition."

"Eh… a… ahh…"

Embarrassed, Sumire bowed her head once more. Odd noises began to spew from her mouth.

YuSung continued to speak amidst the awkward atmosphere.

"I told SiWoo to tell you…"

Speak of the devil, both SiWoo and Amy chose that moment to finish their crayfish catching session.

"YuSung-ah! We hit the crayfish jackpot!"

"Sumire! Can you cook these, too? You can, right? Let's eat 'em together!"

Sumire, on the verge of tears, began to blubber in SiWoo's general vicinity to confirm YuSung's words.

"Th… Shin YuSung-ssi told me… party…"

What came out was a barely coherent string of words.

But only then did SiWoo hit his forehead in shock, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh! Right, I totally forgot! YuSung told me to tell you that you're already in his party. Sorry, I can't believe I did that."

Amy, always the perceptive one, began cackling treacherously at Sumire's reaction.

"Hm~ what's this~ were you worried that he wasn't going to put you in the party? That's adorable. You know, if you check the notice board, there's a list of names there."

Amy smirked and began to poke Sumire's stomach with her finger. The other girl forced a smile on her face in response, despite her tearful gaze.

"...Th-that's a r-relief, though."

While YuSung was watching and laughing at Sumire's antics, a call came from his Pocket.

'This is… the Association President?'

YuSung immediately accepted the call. Right after, a hologram appeared, bearing the face of Kang YuChan, the president of the Hunter Association.

– Huh huh! It's been a while, YuSung-ah! I've heard a lot about your deeds!

—The sudden appearance of the Association president.

"Uuu…"

Sumire, surprised, immediately stiffened in place.

"...Th-that's the Association president."

SiWoo dropped the basket that he had been holding in his hands. The crayfish trapped in it escaped and quickly scattered off.

"Gasp! President-ni… Aah! Ack! Ack! I-I'm getting pinched!"

And Amy was hopping around here and there after getting pinched by one of the crayfish's pincers. Kang YuChan laughed uproariously as he looked at YuSung's entourage.

– Looks like you've already made some new friends. Good, you'll need a fair number of fine allies with you if you want to make it as a hunter.

YuSung smiled in lieu of an answer.

Kang YuChan sent him information regarding a dungeon through his Pocket.

– I'll cut to the chase… A dungeon that needs to be cleared just happened to spawn in the Academy City area. Why don't you take a shot at it?

There were only five days left until the Representative Selections.

There was no chance of a dungeon that needed to be cleared conveniently spawning in that time. It was clear what Kang YuChan's intent was—he had given the boy a chance to become stronger.

It was the sort of opportunity a regular student would be hard-pressed to obtain. YuSung nodded.

"Leave it to me."

– Okay! How refreshing. I like it! The dungeon isn't that large-scale, so three people should be enough to clear it. Huh huh, Mei Lin will give you the detailed schedule.

Kang YuChan gave off an invigorating laugh, at odds with his usual unapproachable aura.

And soon after, the call disconnected.

* * *

SiWoo's expression was pale.

"Wh-when he said Mei Lin… isn't that the name of the manager of Academy City?"

"Sorry, is that what you're surprised about? I've been out of it since the Association president came into the picture… to think you were on personal call terms with him, you really are the best, party leader…"

Amy mumbled, face set in admiration. YuSung waved his hands as if it was nothing special.

"It's not me. It's just that he and my master know each other."

The pink-haired girl nodded in an exaggerated manner at the boy's modest response.

"Right! And come to think of it! Party Leader-nim's master is the Fist King!"

"You really are extraordinary… YuSung-ah… you're the pride of F Class."

SiWoo gave him a thumbs up, impressed. The fact that YuSung had a genuine connection to those two giants—the Fist King and the Association president—was a mighty unique circumstance.

Ring!

[Boss Subjugation Request]

[Habitat: Mount Everline]

[Boss Name: Lake Dragon]

[Difficulty: Rank 4]

[Three Participants]

[Time Limit: 2 days]

YuSung read the information that was sent to his Pocket, then looked around at the group before beginning to speak.

"Good timing. We happen to have a lot of free time, too. Let's go right before the Representative Selection happens."

"Uh, huh, what?! Heh heh… u-uh, actually."

But Amy was pensive after YuSung's declaration. Eventually, she opened her mouth and began to choose her words carefully.

"Actually, I-I have a broadcast scheduled on that day…"

"...Haha, YuSung-ah, I actually have an archery competition held outside of the school scheduled at that time, too… I'm not that bad with a bow, you know? Even if I'm F-rank."

In contrast, Sumire was pleading to YuSung with her eyes to pick her.

"Then, for now, I'll go with Sumire and…"

"Okay! L-leave it to me!"

—Sumire's energetic response.

YuSung pondered over who to choose for the remaining participant slot. As he was doing so, he suddenly recalled the promise he had made for the next day: he had told EunAh that he would talk to her on the rooftop of the school on Monday.

'Good timing. I guess she'll be my third.'

It seemed like YuSung had already picked out EunAh as one of the participants in his head, despite the fact that she wasn't even a member of his party.

Meanwhile, Sumire looked incredibly happy to be participating in the raid.

"I'll do my best… to not be a b-burden to you, Shin YuSung-ssi!"

'Mhm. It's a rank 4 this time as well, so I'm sure it'll be fine."

Of course, a monster subjugation request like that one was different from a gate or Association raid request, but the difficulty level, like YuSung had just said, was the same.

Sumire was, in contrast to YuSung's carefree attitude, igniting her own fervor.

'...I'll become even stronger!'

The reason she wanted to become even stronger was, of course, YuSung. A party member who was a burden to her teammates would not be allowed to remain a team member any longer. Therefore, Sumire had to become stronger to stay by YuSung's side.

The boy in question, seeing the impassioned Sumire, thought: 'She really has changed a lot.'

—A change for the better.

YuSung was the catalyst for her transformation, just like how his master, the Fist King, had been the catalyst for him.

"Then, Sumire, the hunt could go on for a while, so make sure to at least pack some essentials."

"L-leave it to me!" Sumire enthusiastically nodded her head.

SiWoo was relieved as he watched all of that take place.

"Phew. Sumire, I'm leaving our YuSung to you. I didn't think an extracurricular would be given to him so suddenly like this."

"Right? I definitely would've gone with you if I didn't have a broadcast already scheduled!"

Amy also chimed in, sounding regretful. YuSung shook his head.

"No problem. I've already decided on the last member."

Three participants.

Excluding YuSung and Sumire, there was one spot left. Even so, he was confident when speaking so.

Even if the request was rather finicky and could take a while to fulfill, YuSung believed that the other person would agree to it.

'...Because she's the sort of person who hates owing a debt to someone.'

The last member of the subjugation request on YuSung's mind was EunAh.