Minerva (2)

'It's probably because Ah-yeon got insulted.'

I could more or less guess why Yeon-ji was this furious.

For Yeon-ji, Ah-yeon was a figure of love and hate.

The one whose overwhelming talent rendered 'Ji Yeon-hwa' insignificant.

The very mage Shin Ah-yeon dreamed of becoming was her ideal.

In other words, her goal.

That hadn't changed even after she became Yeon-ji, so she was easily swayed by Ah-yeon's words.

Even if she said she hated and resented her, she never took Ah-yeon's advice lightly and always considered it seriously.

'But then, someone just trashed Ah-yeon as some overhyped figure.'

It was obvious from Yeon-ji's perspective that she wouldn't see Eugene kindly.

However, that aside, with Yeon-ji's current skills, she couldn't defeat Eugene.

'Infinitely close to S-rank, but not there yet.'

As her body changed, Yeon-ji's talents had become incomparable to before.

On top of that, she was smoothly picking up dark magic that only a demon could wield, so her potential was limitless.

But then, all the magic she had mastered as 'Ji Yeon-hwa' was now unusable, so she was once again 'close to S-rank but not quite there', stuck at a bottleneck just like before.

But Eugene was an S-rank hunter recognized even in America.

Naturally, Yeon-ji had no way of winning.

'Below Baek Hojun.'

About the same level as Baek Hojun before his fight with Soo-ah.

Thinking this way really made me realize just how strong Baek Hojun was as a hunter.

The fact that Soo-ah managed a draw was nothing short of a miracle created by her talent.

Still, even Baek Hojun before the fight with Soo-ah was a master of the sword, skilled enough to participate in the 'Demonic Zone' subjugation.

Eugene, estimated to be on his level, definitely wasn't an easy opponent.

Of course, that was only if Eugene fought Yeon-ji with all his might.

"What are you going to do?"

As Eugene frowned and glanced over this way, I whispered softly to Yeon-ji.

"I just got a little pissed off. What am I supposed to be if they drag Shin Ah-yeon down like that?"

"Are you planning to fight?"

"I'd love to, but realistically, I can't win right now."

It seemed Yeon-ji just wanted to have a few words and leave it at that.

But.

'That's kind of a letdown.'

Since things had come to this, I wanted to spice things up, even just a little.

I whispered my idea of 'spicing things up' to Yeon-ji.

I couldn't explain it in detail due to time, but I was certain Yeon-ji got the gist.

"... Is it really okay if I do that?"

"We were the ones blindsided first, so it doesn't matter."

So, we had to show that we weren't going to take things lying down either.

"Well, why is the little miss so upset?"

Grinning, Eugene stood up from where he'd been conducting the interview and strode over to us.

I could see KDC's PD Heo Seong-man fidgeting nervously at Eugene's sudden action.

I clicked my tongue at his behavior.

'Pathetic bastard.'

PD Heo Seong-man was someone I knew.

We had bumped into each other by chance a few times when I went to KDC to say hello.

Recalling what had been said in the interview earlier, it was clear that Eugene was about to board Minerva, and all of this had been planned by PD Heo.

"You really think people can just sit still when rumors are spread about Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah being overhyped figures?"

"You talk like you actually know them."

"Well, of course—I'm in the same agency, so of course I know them?"

"... What?"

He frowned at Yeon-ji's reply.

He probably hadn't thought she was anyone connected to Korea, judging by her appearance.

Yeon-ji was also extremely fluent in English.

No one would guess she came from Korea.

"I guess you really don't know me, Mr. Eugene."

"I've been off for a while, you see. Are you someone famous in Korea, then, miss?"

"Of course."

Yeon-ji gave a provocative smile.

It was not the smile a teenage girl should be able to make.

"I may look like this, but I'm an A-rank awakener. Of course, I don't have a hunter's license yet because of my age."

"...?"

Upon hearing the word 'A-rank hunter',

Eugene's expression changed.

The others nearby were the same.

Even the reporters, who had until now just regarded her as a child throwing a tantrum after her idol had been insulted, opened their eyes wide in surprise.

"A-rank? Does anyone know anything about Korea's awakeners?"

"A kid that young is an A-rank awakener? Stop lying!"

Most people naturally thought Yeon-ji was lying.

According to her official documents, Yeon-ji was seventeen, but to Westerners, she might have looked like a young teen.

Though her looks had taken on a somewhat Western quality after becoming a half-demon, her overall features were still clearly Asian.

"... Honestly, I can sense the magic power."

"Oh my, you don't seem to believe me."

"Well, you can't expect people to believe that easily."

"Then how about this?"

Yeon-ji, eyeing the now subdued Eugene, raised her right arm.

"Something simple, like arm wrestling."

"Arm wrestling?"

"Yes, as an S-rank awakener, Mr. Eugene, shouldn't you be able to get a sense of my level from something like that?"

What Yeon-ji suggested wasn't anything big.

Just a simple arm wrestle.

But because it was a pure battle of strength, there was nothing to fake.

"Alright."

"Mi-Mr. Eugene!"

As Eugene agreed readily, PD Heo shouted in surprise, but Eugene completely ignored him. Right now, his only interest was the audacious girl before him.

"Rules are the same as normal arm wrestling; whoever pins the other's arm first wins."

Saying this, Eugene cleared away the table he'd just been using for interviews and gestured to Yeon-ji.

Reporters could be seen chuckling as Eugene and Yeon-ji sat across from each other.

They looked on as if wondering how long the lie would last from this little girl who claimed she'd come from the East.

"Well then..."

Their eyes met.

There was no typical 'three-two-one' countdown.

They locked eyes.

Grasped each other's hands, took a deep breath, and—

Neither can say who acted first, but they both erupted with strength in their clasped hands.

KWAANG!!!

One of their bodies was slammed into the ground.

The table shattered to pieces, and the concrete floor split like a spider web as a body crashed into it.

"Huh?"

Only then did people realize something was wrong.

Because the person slammed into the ground wasn't the petite girl from the East—

"Mr. Eugene?"

It was Eugene, staring at Yeon-ji with shaking eyes.

***

"... Manager Park, you really are always at the center of things. I never thought something like that would happen in just a short while."

PD Jung gave a hollow laugh and shook his head.

That made sense, since our hotel's TV was constantly broadcasting today's news.

The gist of the news was this:

S-rank hunter Eugene Garland humiliated, slammed into the ground by a little girl!

"I knew Yeon-ji was impressive, but I didn't expect she could slam Eugene Garland into the ground. Is Yeon-ji also an S-rank hunter?"

"What do you mean, 'also'?"

"Well, there's a rumor that every hunter chosen by Manager Park turns out to be S-rank."

PD Jung said this with a smile, but it didn't sound like a joke to me.

"No way, it's not like that. Yeon-ji certainly has amazing talent, but she's not S-rank, yet."

"Really? Then how did she manage to..."

"There are a few reasons for that."

It was I who suggested to Yeon-ji that she arm wrestle Eugene.

I figured that, if nothing else, it could at least put her on equal footing with him.

First, as a half-demon, Yeon-ji's physical strength vastly exceeded that of a typical awakened.

Not just that—being a mage, she had a vast amount of magic power, and when that immense magic power enhanced her strength, even to an S-rank, it would be nothing to scoff at.

'Shim Chun-hoo, who was already strong, got enhanced and still couldn't do anything against Yeon-ji's strength.'

Frankly, Yeon-ji's strength was best described as monstrous.

In pure strength alone, she was probably on par with that S-rank hunter, Albert, who was said to possess the greatest physical strength in the world.

Of course, being S-rank required more than just raw strength, but for arm wrestling, wasn't that all that mattered?

'Especially since Eugene Garland was the type who fought more with speed than raw power.'

In truth, as soon as Eugene accepted the arm wrestling, the result was a foregone conclusion.

If it'd been a normal A-rank hunter, Eugene would have won easily, but Yeon-ji was not your 'normal' A-rank hunter.

"In any case, that was quite satisfying. I heard Eugene Garland is supposed to appear on KDC's program soon, right? And on a show almost identical to ours."

"Yes, I saw PD Heo Seong-man there."

"Ha, really... Even so, there's a code of conduct in this industry."

He shook his head as he spoke.

It was common for popular variety shows to be copied, but rarely did someone challenge you this blatantly.

"Thanks to this, we netted the first big scoop. I really can't say how glad I am that we got to work with Manager Park and Yeon-ji."

"No, not at all. But you know, right?"

Today's events in America would surely be reported in Korea as well.

The publicity effects would pay off, and it would be very beneficial for the show.

"Of course, of course. Yeon-ji will get plenty of screen time. If you want, so will Manager Park..."

"No, I'm good. Just an appropriate amount of face time is fine."

"I thought you'd say that."

PD Jung, having already figured out my usual behavior to some extent, nodded with a smile.

'This is a promising start.'

There were some unexpected incidents, but thanks to that, we were able to fill our airtime plenty, so it was all good.

Now the important thing was to finish the shoot in Los Angeles safely and get there.

That way, I'd be able to meet James Walker and check out Mexico.

***

"Who would have thought Eugene Garland would be humiliated like that."

A man smiled quietly as he watched the news.

He knew Eugene's skills well.

Even if he'd had a long break, he was still one of America's leading hunters.

Hwang Yeon-ji, who introduced herself as an A-rank awakener.

Her strength far surpassed that of your average A-rank awakener.

There probably wasn't anyone in his organization with more physical strength than her, either.

What was curious was that, in spite of such strength, her ability still fell short of S-rank.

That imbalance piqued the man's interest.

It seemed as if that strength didn't come from effort or sheer talent, but from a fundamental 'difference in species'.

【So, there's no issue with the plan, right? I heard Eugene Garland, and the girl who beat him, are both boarding Minerva.】

"At any rate, our job isn't 'combat' but 'delivery', right?"

【That's true, I suppose.】

Smiling at the voice from the other end of his smartphone, the man laughed.

Who'd have thought there would be this much fun in a boring delivery mission?

"Come to think of it, his name was Park Jung-woo, right?"

Everyone was so focused on Eugene and Yeon-ji that they probably didn't notice, but he was there, too.

Seeing him whispering something to Yeon-ji as she provoked Eugene, it was possible that the arm wrestling had been his idea.

"Shin Ah-yeon's manager, that was definitely him."

S-rank hunter Shin Ah-yeon, who had become the trigger for today's clash.

Her name was quite special to the man, too.

"Last person Ivan Hunt ever met."

Ivan Hunt, the mage known as the world's worst.

After meeting Shin Ah-yeon, he had disappeared without a trace.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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