“Acting so frivolously in broad daylight.”

The moment I stepped inside, a chiding remark flew from within the meeting room. At the sound of the schoolmaster-like voice, I snickered. The man sitting in the chair clicked his tongue in disapproval. It was Dongju, dressed impeccably in a gray suit.

“Do not act rashly. This is Noah’s first activity.”

“Hmm. Looks like you were appointed team leader without my knowledge. Nagging with such a long tongue.”

“…Kwon Sa-yoon.”

The man frowned, calling my name as a warning, but as always, I paid it no mind. Without even glancing his way, I found a seat with a conspicuously jaunty walk and pulled out the only empty chair next to me. Judging by the number of people in the meeting room and the single remaining chair, it seemed we were the last to arrive.

“Come here.”

“…Hah.”

I patted the chair, beckoning Geon-joo. The man, who had frozen for a moment, glanced at the expressions of the other hunters in the room and let out a sigh.

“It’s the only chair left anyway, why are you even calling me over?”

I ignored his small complaint, just as I had ignored Dongju’s words. Only after seeing Geon-joo safely seated did I turn my head. Since we were the last to arrive, all eyes were on me. I met each of their gazes one by one, looking back indifferently at the faces that hadn’t changed much since our first meeting.

Everyone still has such boring faces. The only one who looked interesting was Taeseok, who was twitching as if he wanted to grab me by the collar at any second.

Is he going to lunge at me?

If he did, it would be a fun way to warm up before the Gate clear. But contrary to my expectations, Taeseok just chewed on his poor lip, his fists clenched as he held onto his reason. The veins on his forehead were bulging with anger, yet he was holding it in. That was some impressive patience. In any case, we were gathered today as Noah to clear an unconquered Gate, so it seemed he was trying his best not to make the same mistake as last time.

Looks like he got a warning before I arrived.

I easily guessed what had happened before I got there and leaned back in my chair with a look of disappointment.

So much for that.

Judging by the atmosphere from the other hunters and Taeseok, it seemed a fight today was out of the question. I raised both hands as if to say I wouldn’t do anything, but for some reason, the hunters’ gazes wouldn’t leave me. They looked back and forth between me and the man sitting next to me, showing a variety of reactions. They raised their eyebrows, tilted their heads, frowned, and shook their heads.

“…It seems the issue has been resolved.”

Amidst the silence, it was Dongju who first voiced a guess about the state of my relationship with Geon-joo. His voice was low as usual, but it was laced with a subtle suspicion. Only then did I realize what the hunters were curious about and let out a small laugh.

They seemed to find it strange that I had arrived together with the person I had looked ready to kill at our last meeting.

Well, some of them probably guessed that Han Geon-joo wouldn’t even be able to show up here today. Seeing someone staring at the masked Han Geon-joo with a look that screamed, ‘Why is he still alive?’ it seemed my guess wasn’t too far off. It was a reaction befitting those who knew my personality and my deeds. I turned to look at Geon-joo. The man met my gaze and responded with a tilt of his head.

“Well…”

“…?”

He started to say something but then swallowed his words, leaving the other man looking puzzled. I ignored him and turned back to the front, tapping the table.

If the opponent hadn’t been Han Geon-joo, if the one who had arrogantly run away and come back hadn’t been Han Geon-joo, I would have personally buried him with my own hands, just as they had expected. But since it was Han Geon-joo, I had no choice but to cut him some slack.

He even cried.

There was a reason I had arrived with him, but I had no obligation to explain it to them. Amidst the questioning gazes, I casually shrugged.

“Well, we’ve more or less resolved it.”

“‘More or less’?”

The moment I answered, a dissatisfied voice came from beside me. I looked at Geon-joo, who was now closer than the distance between our chairs, with a surprised expression.

Though he tried to hide it, I knew that Han Geon-joo was subconsciously, no, actually, quite openly embarrassed to be seen with me. To be precise, whenever I did something a little… interesting, he would watch with a dismal face and try to act like he didn’t know me.

So I thought he would try not to appear close to me in a place like this, where I was bound to pull some psycho stunt. I never expected him to be the one to lean in and make it obvious. And in an Association meeting room, of all places.

Seven S-rank hunters were gathered here. Five of the biggest names in Korea were right in front of him, yet he paid them no mind and grumbled at me. It was so very Han Geon-joo that a smile naturally formed on my lips.

Then again, he stood his ground in front of me, so why would he be intimidated by others’ gazes?

“Hmm.”

“…What is it now?”

“I was just thinking how unusually commendable you’re being.”

I said, my eyes crinkling slightly. The black eyes, barely visible behind the mask, showed a hint of confusion. He had a look that said he didn’t know what I was talking about. I had no intention of explaining it to him, so I turned back to the front. The other hunters were observing me and Geon-joo with strange expressions.

They’re going to wear us out with all that staring.

Our previous meeting had been brief, under ten minutes, and seeing my reaction then, they all assumed Geon-joo would die by my hand, so they hadn’t paid him much attention. But now that he hadn’t died and, on top of that, we appeared quite close, they were finally starting to observe us frantically. It was almost pitiful, how they were trying so hard to search for and pick out any suspicious detail.

Except for one person.

“Interesting.”

Mijeong, ever the head of a merchant guild, said as she sized up Geon-joo with an eye that seemed to be measuring a product’s value. Han Geon-joo, who had endured the other stares quite well, seemed uncomfortable with her appraising gaze and shifted slightly in his seat.

“You’ve brought something interesting.”

Mijeong’s gaze shifted to me. To offer a second compliment after the first meant she had taken a liking to Geon-joo. I knew the meaning behind her gaze was a request to speak with him sometime, so I just smiled with my eyes.

There was no need for a separate conversation; his value would be proven in the upcoming Gate clear.

Considering he had cleared an L-rank Gate and had grown so much that his status window had changed beyond recognition in just one year, his skills were quite good. He wasn’t yet at the level where he could fully compete with the people in this room, but it wouldn’t be long before he surpassed some of them.

He was that much of a diamond in the rough.

“Why are you looking at me like that again?”

Ah, was I staring strangely again?

At the sudden pointed remark, I blinked twice and turned my head. The hunters, who held the top ranks in the country, were still looking at Geon-joo with deeply suspicious eyes.

A corner of my mouth quirked upwards. In my opinion, the attitude they should be taking wasn’t one of caution or scrutiny, but of goodwill. Connections are something you have to make in advance, aren’t they? Unlike me, Han Geon-joo wasn’t the head of a criminal guild, nor was his personality rotten, so there was no harm in forming a bond with him.

But judging by their current reactions, that seemed unlikely.

Han Geon-joo held a long grudge.

That petty bastard wasn’t going to accept people who were looking at him with disapproval now, only to turn around and act all polite later. If anything, he would probably act even more arrogantly, as if to say, ‘Regret it now, why don’t you.’

It wasn’t fun when it was happening to me, but the thought of him doing it to someone else was quite exhilarating. I let out a few soft chuckles. Geon-joo, who had been maintaining a relaxed posture in the face of their wary gazes, looked at me with a clueless expression. Just as I was about to say something to him, the meeting room door opened, and an Association employee came in.

“Sorry I’m late!”

He seemed like a new recruit, his demeanor sharp and efficient. After setting up the presentation by turning on a laptop, he stood in the corner. Soon after, a big shot from the Association entered the room.

Screeeak.

The sound of everyone getting up from their chairs was heard. I watched Geon-joo, who was still sitting obediently, likely planning to stand up when I did, before leisurely rising to look at the person who had entered.

Bae Min-cheol, the President of the Korean Hunter Association.

The middle-aged man, now fifty-two, was Korea’s first hunter and was still treated as a hero for saving countless lives during the first Gate explosion. He had come in person to assign Noah its first mission.

All the hunters belonging to Noah bowed their heads slightly. It wasn’t a matter of a superior-subordinate relationship, but a show of respect for the first hunter, a hero who had run through fields of carnage. I also gave a perfunctory bow, straightened up with the other hunters, and sat back down. I plopped down with a thud, and the Association President glanced my way. The straight-laced Bae Dongju was frowning deeply.

“You’re the same as ever, I see.”

“You knew that when you called me, didn’t you?”

“That, I did.”

The man readily admitted it, gave a silent nod to the hunters, and gestured for them to be seated. Soon, he stood in front of a screen, and the employee who had been by the wall ran over and turned on the display. The laptop screen appeared on the monitor that had seemed purely decorative.

“Then, I will now explain about the unconquered Gate we will be tackling.”

The Association President, using formal speech, turned his body so it was easier to see the screen.

“The first unconquered Gate, an S-rank Gate that has yet to be successfully cleared. ‘Adelia’s Tomb.’ Clearing that Gate is Noah’s first objective.”

We will clear this Gate and gain fame from overseas.

This was just the first step for Noah, and they were already talking about overseas this and that. I laughed at the Association President’s grand ambition, thinking this was getting interesting.