Chapter 16

On the way back to the mansion. Inside the car, there was only silence.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' says that Unnie is an F-Class, Unnie… And hits the ground.]

The cat was always like that.

"An F-Class hunter…"

Jehwi, who was holding the steering wheel, also had a confused expression on his face.

Eunha made an indifferent face, but she also thought that the F-Class judgment was surprising. 

Although there was no rank system 30 years ago, Eunha was a hunter recognized by the superiors to the point that she was promoted to a squad leader. It was also thanks to her unique ability of 'fire', which was superior in terms of combat. Moreover, unlike then, Eunha now had a contract with a divine beast.

Still, she was an F-Class. It was definitely weird.

'Come to think of it, the measurement results didn't indicate whether there was a contract with a divine beast or not.'

Was it because the cat that Eunha had contracted to was not included in the twelve divine beasts? Anyway, it was a relief. She had to hide the fact that she signed a contract with the cat due to the restrictions.

'No way.'

Was it because the contract with the cat was not entered into the measuring instrument that she was classified as F?

―No. No way.

Eunha had never once thought of herself as weak. Even before she signed the contract with the cat.

While the three of them were immersed in different thoughts, it seemed that they had arrived at the mansion. Jehwi stopped the car.

"We've arrived."

"Good. Wait in the car for a moment."

Siwoo, who got out of the car first, opened the back door. After seeing Eunha get out of the car, he closed the door and opened the trunk. Then, he took out a box.

"What's this?"

"It's a terminal. Open it yourself."

Inside the box was a machine smaller than the palm of her hand. It was quite similar to a pager from Eunha's memories.

"In the future, this terminal will be your partner in the gate. This little guy identifies battles and collects data. When a certain amount of experience is accumulated, you can go back to the measuring machine and update the rank."

He carefully explained how to use the terminal. It was easy to use, and the operations were not very difficult.

Eunha, who was looking at the terminal, lifted her head and checked Siwoo's expression. His attitude had not changed from before the measurement.

Eunha, who had doubts, opened her mouth and spoke straight-forwardly.

"… Aren't you going to cancel the contract?"

"What do you mean cancel?"

"The result. It said I'm an F-Class."

He seemed to want a hunter who would bring attention. While hiding the fact that she was a first-generation hunter, she came out as an F-Class, so there was no reason for him to insist on Eunha anymore.

After a moment of silence, Siwoo, who understood the gist of her words, burst into laughter.

"It doesn't matter. Because I know that Sunbae is not an F-Class."

"Then why did the measurement result come out like that?"

"That's something I don't know."

The measuring instruments owned by the association were identical to the state-of-the-art measuring instruments used by the World Hunter Administration. It was said to be the most reliable measuring instrument on Earth.

It bothered him that the official measuring instrument, which had no errors, only showed errors for Eunha. They needed to know more about the oddity, but one thing was for sure.

"But it doesn't make any sense for an F-Class hunter to fight with me, who's so skilled."

You're still an S-Class. Saying that, Siwoo turned his back. After checking the time on his cellphone, he hurriedly got back into the car.

"You head in first. I have my next schedule. Manager Park will give you detailed instructions on how to use the terminal tomorrow, so take a good rest today. Don't worry about canceling the contract."

Siwoo emphasized once again.

"F-Class is the lowest rank, but if you think positively, you can acquire a large amount of experience, even in small battles. It means that your growth can be limitless."

"According to the results, my potential is 4%." 

"Didn't I tell you? I don't believe in the measurement results."

Siwoo opened the car door. Just before getting into the car, he raised the corners of his lips one last time.

"No matter the outcome of the results, we can prove them wrong with action."

***

However, the opportunity to prove them wrong rarely came.

The license and terminal had been distributed, and originally, she was supposed to start her hunter activities right away, but it was not easy. It was all because of the stigma of her being an F-Class hunter.

But because of that, Eunha had enough time to encounter and learn modern culture.

Eunha scrolled the mouse wheel with a more familiar touch.

[Real-time news] ▽ Headline news ▽ Latest ▽ View order ▽ Recommended

<The rookie of the Wolf Guild, only thing that caused an uproar was their appearance>

<Korea's new S-Class? Association staff say it's 'just full of concept'>

<The Netizens' Cold Reaction to the Failure of 'Princess Dark Flare'…>

She could tell at a glance that she had no good articles.

But that didn't stop Eunha from scrolling down. She wasn't hurt by the pixels that popped up on her monitor. It's also because it was, to some extent, expected.

She appeared as a rookie hunter who stood out just by her outfit and had the famous Wolf Guild backing her. Moreover, there were many reporters around at the time of the measurement. When the F-Class measurement result came out, the laughing that could be heard through the window was still clear.

Eunha opened another window.

Click.

The sound of the mouse echoed through the still room.

[Title] the wolf guild is starting again lolol wolf is acting so strange o-o

[Writer] □□ (121.204) | 2031.5.29 PM 7:45 | [Views] 473,886 | [Recommended] 26,642

[Content] i can smell the fishiness again kekeke. was it princess of dark flare? my ears are cringing ;;

[Comments] 1,225.

└>□□: ye and how can they fight in such clothes in modern times ;;; she should step on her clothes and fall.

└>□□: http://hunterprofile.co.kr/main/1 2232643/?id=eFHSdc go here lol i heard she's f class?

└>□□: wolf is being weird hahahaha how many applicants do they have to hire an f class as a hunter hahahaha

└>□□: f class… LOLOLOLOLOL

└>□□: so, when is the 9th season of blade of XX coming out?

└> hahahahahahahahaha

-see more-

… 

… 

[Title] my grandfather told me something

[Writer]□□(121.233) | 2031.5.29 PM 10:33 | [Views] 251,322 | [Recommended] 3,218

[Content] my grandfather said that it was the princess of dark flare? I heard that's the name of a monster from an urban legend? It's said that it was quite famous among old-generation hunters o-o

he said that she would wear a black dress and hold a parasol

[Comments] 831

└>□□: if she got the concept from that monster, she looks like she's psychotic lol

└>□□: i've heard of it!! they say they seduce men and women and set them on fire hahahaha

└>└>□□: oh, that's right. i heard that she's in by the upper level of the wolf guild lol I heard it because an oppa i know is in the wolf guild personnel team

└>□□: weren't there hunters who cosplayed as the red mask in the past?

└>□□: oh, the kid who killed an ordinary person and was captured? isn't he in prison now? o-o

└>□□: hunters are popular these days and people know they make money, so they want to be one too hahaha they think they're qualified to be hunters so one day they wake up and go inside gates, and only once they get their arms chopped off do they come to their senses ;;;

Knock, knock.

The finger that was scrolling the mouse wheel stopped. It was the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"It's me, hunter."

It was Jehwi. When she opened the door, he bowed his head with two cups of coffee in both hands.

"It's coffee, can you drink it?"

"Yes."

"That's a relief. I bought an Americano, but let me know if you need syrup. Are you used to using your laptop?"

"I kept forgetting the Wi-Fi password, so I just put it there. Other than that, there were no problems."

A small post-it note was attached to the edge of the laptop monitor.

Wi-Fi: K_GiGA_10G_NQFidg

Password: 1tlstldn2CHLRH!

A strange question loomed in Jehwi's eyes as he stared at it. He'd been thinking about it since last time, but it was strange to think that such a young person was not familiar with modern culture.

Jehwi once asked Siwoo about it. The answer that came back was that her hometown was in a very rural area. And the reason why she knew little about modern culture was that she grew up under her great-grandfather.

'How rural is it that she doesn't even know how to use Wi-Fi?'

'Ilsuk-ri, Haeul-myeon, Manrye-eup, Gyeongsangnam-do.'

'What?'

'Sunbae's hometown.'

'…'

'Even if she's from such a rural area, wouldn't she know of it?' Jehwi thought, tilting his head.

Oh, and by the way.

"What were you looking at?"

Taking his eyes off the sticky note, he glanced at the monitor.

"… Ah, um."

And at the same time, his face hardened.

Countless comments were pouring down the screen. At first glance, he knew they did not have good intentions.

"You don't have to check things like this, you know. These days, netizens type things without thinking."

Oops. Mistake. Jehwi covered the laptop. Then, he looked away without saying a word.

"Ranks in the hunter world are quite absolute. This is a fact that applies not only to the hunter world but also to association officials and the general public."

Modern people tended to blindly trust the measuring instruments of the association. An A-Class was stronger than a B-Class, and an S-Class was stronger than an A-Class. Those ideas were simply accepted.

Many people would praise hunters who were measured with a high rank without questioning it. It was like how a student would blindly trust their university.

"The standards they set are not always absolute."

At least, that's what Jehwi thought.

If the unique abilities of an A-Class hunter were focused on healing, their ability to fight could've been weaker than that of a B-Class hunter who specialized in short-range combat. Wasn't that normal?

"But… As for the reason why you got into this kind of gossip, I don't think it's just a matter of rank."

Jehwi looked at her cautiously. Black hair and black eyes. It was a pure black that was rarely seen in modern times.

What's more, she wore a black dress that seemed like it was tailored to fit her and even a parasol with a design that didn't fit the times.

She was in a conspicuous outfit, enough to be mistaken for a cosplay.

"These are things I need."

Perhaps realizing the meaning of that gaze, Eunha said softly.

Eunha herself was aware of how conspicuous this outfit was and that the impact would not be good.

'But I can't help it.'

Eunha's 'Black Flame' was a set effect.

It could only be activated when the Elegant Parasol, Black Rose Pendant, Thorn Shoes, Obsidian Tiara, and Black Silk Dress were all equipped.

If any one of them were missing, the effect would be removed. In other words, the black flames could not be used.

The difference in destructive power between her flames and the black flames was not small. If she wanted to enter a gate where she didn't know if an accident would occur, it would be best to use the most efficient equipment.

"Hmm. I see."

Jehwi looked away from her dress. He couldn't force her if he didn't have the right to do anything.

"It'll be fine. Don't you have strong allies called Wolf and Silver Moon?"

He stirred the straw in his drink and smiled.

"The rank won't matter in front of Wolf's name."

"… Okay."

"Yes. You'll find out soon."

It was a very confident smile.