Chapter 61: Confession

As soon as I stepped out of the guild building, flashes erupted all around me.

“Please look this way!”

“How did you discover the new returnee?”

“Is it the Credit Guild again—”

The A-rank Hunters, led by Lee Hyun-su, pushed through the swarming reporters, clearing a path.

Most were ordinary citizens, at best low-rank Hunters, and they were shoved back en masse.

Some tried to protest the rough treatment, but Sagyeol’s glare instantly silenced them.

The car door closed, and the vehicle began to move.

Our destination was the Hunter Association, located right next door.

It was almost laughable to drive to a place merely five minutes away on foot, yet walking was clearly not an option.

Even inside the car, the situation remained largely unchanged.

The bodyguards outside continued to clear the way.

The vehicle slowly advanced through the narrow gaps.

Through the darkly tinted window, I stared blankly outside, reminiscing about yesterday.

It was on the way back, after signing the contract and finishing our shopping.

I had inquired about Dongjun’s whereabouts.

Sagyeol, who had been all smiles moments before, grew visibly displeased, though he didn’t evade the question.

‘I truly didn’t do anything to him. He’s probably home resting by now.’

When I stared silently, clearly unconvinced, Sagyeol merely shrugged.

‘I might have threatened him not to contact anyone for a few days, but that’s all.’

I immediately tried to call Dongjun.

Before the phone could ring twice, an urgent voice answered from the other end of the line.

The voice, brimming with worry and concern for me, vanished abruptly as Sagyeol’s hand suddenly reached out from beside me.

He had disconnected the call.

‘You’ve confirmed he’s safe, so that’s enough, isn’t it?’

‘…I have something to tell you.’

‘What is it?’

‘The cafe.’

‘What about the cafe—’

Sagyeol, likely recalling the same chaotic scene, fell silent.

The cafe had been a complete mess, and the door was left unlocked.

Dongjun would undoubtedly be shocked when he arrived for work tomorrow and saw it.

‘I’ll send someone to clean it up. Are you satisfied now?’

Sagyeol gritted his teeth as he spoke.

I was far from satisfied, but I knew I had to compromise here.

I nodded.

Lee Hyun-su spoke.

‘First and foremost, we need to accurately measure Yeowon’s rank.’

This meant I needed to formally register as a Hunter at Grisha’s Hunter Association and begin official activities.

Sagyeol glared at my wrist.

‘Before that, we’ll extract your current ID and insert a new one.’

‘Is that really necessary?’

Was there truly a need?

‘There’s no longer a reason to hide, so it’s only natural to use your real name, isn’t it?’

My real name.

Hearing it now, a strange feeling washed over me.

My father, a scoundrel of a man, never called me by my name, and in the Demon Realm, I was ‘A-one Yenis.’

After risking my life to return to the mortal realm, I used the alias ‘Kim Cheol-su.’

Upon arriving in Grisha, I changed my alias again.

For the past two years, I had been Yu Jin, the taciturn cafe employee.

Ironically, ‘Seo Yeowon’ felt incredibly unfamiliar to me.

It was almost as if this man held more affection for the name than I, its true owner, did.

‘It can also be confusing. If you make a mistake in a public setting, everyone will find it odd.’

He subtly whispered, shifting his body slightly closer to me, narrowing the distance between us.

I simply stared at Sagyeol.

I had no idea why he was acting this way.

‘Do you have something to say?’

‘No. It’s nothing.’

I let out a small sigh.

‘I’ll do as you say.’

Sitting beside me, he grinned, subtly inching even closer.

Our bodies would touch with even the slightest shift in posture.

‘We’ll search for a competent specialist.’

Lee Hyun-su continued his explanation, his expression conveying a sense of resignation.

The main points were consistent with what Sagyeol had explained.

I would handle the parts where demonic energy was condensed, while Grisha’s Hunters, led by Sagyeol, would take care of the rest.

‘First, we must widely publicize Yeowon’s existence.’

‘This will make it easier to transfer Black Mists under other guilds’ jurisdiction in the future.’

‘More importantly, this will deter anyone who might dare to challenge us, just as the Guild Master wishes.’

‘Whether it’s in Grisha or other cities.’

I slowly raised my hand.

Lee Hyun-su nodded.

‘I understand that returnees are rare, but is it worth provoking the Credit Guild to this extent?’

‘Hmm, as you are the returnee yourself, you might not fully grasp it. But to put it simply, yes, it is.’

‘Grisha is less of a concern. It’s the people from other cities I’m worried about.’

Sagyeol growled.

‘Especially those mafia bastards like Cheongwang.’

Lee Hyun-su nodded, adding to the explanation.

‘In Hestia’s case, they adopted a strategy entirely opposite to ours.’

‘They attempted to conceal every single detail, down to a strand of hair.’

Come to think of it, I had heard about that.

Grisha had once been abuzz when rumors spread that Hestia had recruited a returnee.

Every customer who came to the cafe spoke of it.

However, Hestia merely announced the discovery of a returnee and then maintained absolute silence.

Later, whispers of it being a lie emerged, only to die down eventually.

With no further information, public interest waned, and the rumors faded.

To be precise, Hestia’s discovery of a returnee was indeed true.

The returnee’s existence was only discreetly known among the top executives of major guilds within the industry.

‘It was to keep Cheongwang and Credit in check.’

‘If Bae Gil-su had been a little wiser, he would have concealed the discovery altogether.’

‘But then, the chance to screw me over must have been too tempting to pass up.’

Sagyeol, openly sneering, then revealed a new piece of information.

Immediately after the second Black Mist was discovered, Hestia stepped forward, offering to resolve it themselves.

The outcome was a failure.

The team withdrew after suffering one fatality and three injuries.

This fact was kept from the public through strict media suppression.

After that, Hestia remained silent.

Of course, no secret lasts forever, and rumors had begun to spread subtly beneath the surface.

‘They only suffered such a fate because they put their faith in a mere D-rank returnee.’

Finally, he pressed even closer, wrapping an arm around my waist.

He seemed to think it was a perfectly natural gesture.

I tried to subtly push him away, but he didn’t budge.

It was as if he had suction cups.

When I looked at him, he brazenly met my gaze.

‘What?’

‘…Nothing.’

Giving up, I turned to Lee Hyun-su and spoke.

‘Then why can’t we simply conceal it as well?’

‘That would be difficult, as the announcement has already been ordered.’

Already?

‘It’s better this way for several reasons.’

‘Besides Cheongwang, it seems Hestia has misunderstood, believing we stole their returnee.’

‘As if they’d ever use a D-rank for anything significant.’

Sagyeol clicked his tongue again.

I hesitated before speaking.

‘I believe there’s a misunderstanding.’

Two pairs of eyes simultaneously fixed on me.

‘…I am F-rank.’

Lee Hyun-su froze stiff, and Sagyeol looked flustered.

He asked, his voice laced with disbelief, ‘No, surely not…’

‘Really?’

I nodded.

Sagyeol spoke urgently.

‘What does rank matter? What’s important is that you’re a returnee!’

This statement perfectly contradicted his earlier remark about ‘a mere D-rank returnee.’

Lee Hyun-su, equally flustered, stammered.

‘F-for now, let’s have an accurate measurement at the Association tomorrow, and then we can continue this discussion!’

And so, here we were now.

We exited the car and entered the Association building.

The interior was conspicuously quiet.

It was evident that the place had been deliberately cleared for our arrival.

Sagyeol strode across the hall, making no attempt to conceal his intimidating presence.

Association employees scrambled, quickly falling in behind him.

Though they were clearly meant to guide us, Sagyeol already knew exactly where to go, moving with unhesitating confidence.

It is standard procedure for Hunters to report to the Association upon awakening.

Most adhere to this rule, unless they intend to become Outers.

Then, an employee is dispatched.

They conduct a provisional assessment with a specialized device, and if a person is determined to be a Hunter, the Association then performs a precise measurement.

This was a special room, typically reserved for those who tested as A-rank or higher in their provisional assessment.

“Please come this way.”

People in white coats and others in suits moved busily about.

At the center of the vast room stood a colossal cylindrical device, open on one side.

It was designed for a person to enter.

‘Is that the measurement device?’

As I marveled at the unfamiliar, massive machine, an employee called me over, announcing that preparations were complete.

I stepped inside and faced forward.

Lee Hyun-su, more nervous than I was, fidgeted restlessly.

His expression suggested he’d heard about my F-rank but still thought, ‘Surely it can’t be true.’

Yet, even he must have known by then.

I don’t make empty boasts.

Just as the realization belatedly dawned on him, blanching his face, the machine began to operate.

The measurement itself didn’t take long.

A murmur spread among the group standing before a panel on one side.

A small dispute broke out within the group.

Then, one person, looking utterly dejected, was practically pushed forward, approaching Sagyeol and Lee Hyun-su.

“Ah, it seems there’s an error with the machine…”

“What’s the rank?”

The employee couldn’t answer immediately, stammering before finally mumbling, ‘F…’

“It’s not an error.”

“Pardon?”

“Announce it as is. We’ll be taking our leave now.”

As I stepped out of the machine, I looked in his direction.

Our eyes met.

Come to think of it, he had always believed I was hiding my true rank.

At the time, I was too busy concealing my identity as a returnee to correct his misunderstanding.

Or rather, even if I had denied it, Sagyeol wouldn’t have believed me.

Now, however, the definitive results were in.

Sagyeol approached me.

I stood still, watching him.

Yesterday, he had spoken as if a D-rank wouldn’t matter, but seeing it quantified like this was different.

His obsession with the flood damage was evident enough from the glimpses of his fervent desire.

So, what would his reaction be?

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