097

A quiet clearing behind the Hunter Administration Bureau.

Since the instructor personally guaranteed there were no people around, I felt comfortable talking.

"…Ryu Jinju, that woman will be promoted to the new Hunter Administration Bureau Chief after the current Chief gets demoted."

Since Instructor Baek Seol-hee had decided to lend me her strength, I decided to tell her everything I knew. In the game, not long after completing the tutorial, a scandal about corruption involving the Hunter Administration Bureau Chief, Kim Jiwon, would erupt, leading to her immediate demotion. The woman who would then rise to the position of the new Bureau Chief was none other than Hunter Ryu Jinju.

At first, there was a lot of talk about this drastic appointment, but as the former chief's corruption was gradually revealed in the news, and it became known that it was Ryu Jinju who exposed it, her image skyrocketed.

'…Although she's quite strong, she's equally uncompromising and often clashes with the Velvet Academy.'

In the game, she served as a figure who provided a reason for the Academy and the Hunter Administration Bureau to be at odds, adding tension.

But now, this isn't a game—this is reality.

'Life in this hardcore mode reincarnation is already tough; I can't miss this opportunity.'

"…I see. So she was indeed a demon. Hmm, now that I think about it, there were no signs of training on her body…"

"Huh? No, I don't think she's a demon. She's just an oblivious wo— um, woman."

I was startled and quickly corrected her. Ryu Jinju herself isn't a demon. She's just a hot-headed, short-sighted person who constantly gets backstabbed by demons.

"No, it's nothing. Just talking to myself."

Baek Seol-hee shook her head.

'Hmm?'

I tilted my head in confusion, but Baek Seol-hee redirected the conversation with an "Anyway."

"Got it. With this information, things will get easier."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Let's scale it up a bit."

"Yes…?"

Baek Seol-hee calmly put her fingers to her lips.

Peeep—!

A sharp whistle sound came from her mouth.

After a brief wait,

Ssshh—

Ssshh—

A chilling wind blew around us.

"Yaaawn—. I was having a good nap…"

"Captain, what's the matter?"

"Huh? This is the Hunter Administration Bureau?"

"!"

Before I knew it, about ten people dressed in black had appeared behind us. If I hadn't been using detection, I might have missed their presence. They had minimal presence despite their appearance.

I widened my eyes as I took in their appearance.

From head to toe, they were clad in black, with no exposed skin. And they wore cute animal masks that didn't quite match their outfits.

'These people…'

I recognized them.

Or rather, I recognized their outfits.

'Ninjas?!'

Commonly known as ninjas.

Of course, they weren't the actual shinobi from Japanese content. Instead, their name originated from a meme within a community.

The adage that if the scene you're writing isn't more interesting than having ninjas suddenly appear and wipe out your characters, you should rewrite it.

In the game, some enemies are impossible to defeat

In the game, as you progress through the story, there are enemies that your current party is absolutely incapable of defeating due to the settings. At those times, out of nowhere, women wearing cute animal masks appear, swiftly taking down the enemies before leaving without a word.

─ Ninjas have appeared!

They appear suddenly, provide assistance, and leave without saying anything. Their appearance, reminiscent of ninjas from community memes, led to these black-clad individuals being called 'ninjas.'

'Could Instructor Baek Seol-hee also be a ninja…?'

I looked at Baek Seol-hee with newfound surprise.

Baek Seol-hee frowned, seemingly displeased with something.

"Ten members? Half are missing. Where are the rest?"

"…All collapsed. You pushed them hard yesterday, saying they were worse than first-year students from the Academy…"

The woman at the front took off her rabbit mask as she spoke. She had one eye covered by her hair, a pale complexion, and a gloomy atmosphere, making her seem unmotivated.

"…Hmph, I'll deal with them later."

At this, the ninjas began to murmur.

"…They were trained so hard they ended up like that, and now the punishment is more training? Will it ever end?"

"Are they going to spend all their time training without seeing any actual combat until they retire?"

"That's just hell…"

Seeing the ninjas, who had helped me multiple times in the game, in reality, sparked a sense of familiarity within me. I bowed my head and greeted them.

"Hello."

They then noticed me belatedly.

"Hm?"

"Wait, isn't that…?"

"Yeah, that's Jin Yuha!"

"What! Is he joining us already? He's still a first-year!"

"He's really handsome."

"So, he got recognized by the commander with that pretty face?"

They exclaimed in surprise at the sight of me, as if encountering a mythical creature they had only heard about.

It was a fascinating scene of mutual amazement.

"It's just a light observation."

Baek Seol-hee cut off their chatter.

"…Wow, she's really training him properly."

"Early assassin squad training for a first-year? Usually it's done after almost six years of military service."

"…Poor thing."

Their voices quickly turned to one of sympathy, filled with deep pity as if lamenting my fate under such a strict mentor.

"Quiet. Anyway, I'll explain just once, so listen carefully."

.

.

.

"We're attacking the Hunter Administration Bureau?"

The one-eyed woman asked, shocked by Baek Seol-hee's words.

"Not directly. We'll start by securing Ryu Jinju."

"…Isn't that the same thing? We're still recovering from overturning the demon surveillance team last time. If we mess this up, it'll backfire on us. You know that, right, commander?"

She spoke in a worried tone, to which Baek Seol-hee smirked.

"Since when did I care about such things? Also, release all the information we've gathered on the Hunter Administration Bureau. Speed is crucial. Number 1 and 3, handle it. The rest, follow me."

Thus, the demon assassination squad members and one observing cadet began to move.

.

.

.

Gulp.

"…Is this for real?"

A massive arm, like a boulder.

The tall woman with dark auburn hair, Ryu Jinju, head of the Gate Field Management Department, checked the package that had been delivered to her. It was an anonymous and suspicious-looking box.

Inside were records detailing various corrupt acts allegedly committed by the current Hunter Administration Bureau Chief. The documents seemed to have been meticulously investigated and compiled over a long period.

Flap— Flap—

Ryu Jinju's eyes scanned the documents faster and faster.

"…This woman, that woman, and even that old hag were involved? And the Velvet Hunter Academy too…!?"

The documents revealed deep connections.

She crumpled the paper in her hand.

'This is unacceptable.'

A surge of righteousness welled up inside her.

If left unchecked, the Hunter Administration Bureau might truly fall apart.

Had she been a more cautious person, she would have verified the source of the information and cross-checked its validity. However,

"…Surely, this is from someone who has been watching for an opportunity from the shadows. Someone who could no longer stand it and is desperately pleading with me, Ryu Jinju, to set things right."

Being naturally hot-tempered, she had already concluded that the current Bureau Chief, Kim Jiwon, was a villain of the century.

"Fine, I'll do it."

She abruptly stood up.

She needed to report this to the media and bring down Kim Jiwon immediately. There was no time to lose.

"You all!"

Ryu Jinju turned her head quickly, looking around.

Huh?

She was stunned.

"Where did everyone go?"

All the employees of the Gate Field Management Department had disappeared.

Only an eerie silence filled the office.

Blink Blink

Suddenly, the ceiling lights started flickering.

The heavy atmosphere grew denser.

Out of nowhere, voices began to be heard.

─ Commander, shouldn't we test our youngest's skills once?

─ He's not the youngest. And why did you swing your sword like that earlier? Didn't I tell you to follow through once you start?

─ Th-that's…

─ Instructor, I'd like to spar with her.

─ …Hmm, is that so. Then do it.

─ Oh! The commander changed the order!

"…What's going on?"

Tap.

In front of the bewildered Ryu Jinju, a person wearing a cute puppy mask appeared.

"Puppy…?"

"Uh, yeah… I do have a personal grudge, but…"

Scratching the cheek of the mask, he spoke.

"This has nothing to do with that."

Shing—

Suddenly, the person in the puppy mask drew a blue sword from his waist.

Ryu Jinju prepared herself while asking in a puzzled voice,

"…A man?"

.

.

.

Meanwhile, back at the assassination squad's hideout

Elsewhere, Number 1 and Number 3 had returned to the assassination squad's hideout and were compiling the Hunter Administration Bureau-related materials they had gathered to prepare for a big reveal.

Tap Tap—

"This is such a waste. This isn't something to be used like this."

"Just do what you're told…"

Number 3 grumbled, but Number 1, with an uninterested expression, continued typing.

Ding—

At that moment, a new directive appeared on Number 1's communicator.

"Hmm…? The commander gave us another personal request…"

"What is it?"

"…We need to find the whereabouts of the demon Elkros's follower…?"

"Isn't that the guy who disappeared 10 years ago? Why now, when there hasn't been any activity?"

"Yeah… She said to take it slow but be quick."

"That guy is extremely dangerous! He can trap people in a mental space for years!"

"Hmm? Apparently, Jin Yuha might be one of his victims…?"

"How does that even make sense? Everyone who got caught by him went crazy or lost their minds!"

"I don't know… We just have to do what we're told…"

Tap Tap—

The sound of typing echoed through the quiet hideout once again.

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