LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 110
“Hey, you know…?”
Si-hyun looked at Ji-a and Si-yoon, both still wearing playful expressions.
“You know, it’s one thing for Si-yoon, but Ji-a, are you okay with this?”
“Huh? Why wouldn’t I be? It’s just us girls.”
“Still…”
“Come on, it’s fine, it’s fine!”
Ji-a shot Si-hyun a charming smile, her eyes crinkling.
Si-hyun stared blankly at her face and quickly turned away, feeling a bit flustered.
‘…Is it strange that I’m the most embarrassed here?’
…Eh, whatever. If she says it’s fine, I shouldn’t overthink it.
Si-hyun quickly rationalized her thoughts.
After all, it was a situation that couldn’t be reversed now.
Ji-a looked at Si-hyun with an amused expression.
‘Looks like she’s reacting just like Si-yoon said.’
It was actually Si-yoon who first noticed the lodging arrangements.
She had received a private message about it.
Clearly, her older sister didn’t know, so they decided to go ahead with it.
It sounded fun, so Si-hyun joined in on the plan.
And guess what?
The reaction was just too cute.
From her flushed cheeks to her fidgeting movements.
Honestly, Si-hyun was a mess from her looks to her actions.
Heart racing and all.
“You said you wanted to eat what you chose from the convenience store for dinner, right?”
“…Yeah! I heard there are a lot of things different from Korea. I want to try everything!”
“Hehe, I can’t wait! Shall we go on a proper exploration?”
“They said even cup noodles are different from Korea! Let’s try a bunch of them!”
Si-hyun shouted excitedly as she began organizing her luggage.
Ji-a followed suit, packing her things as well.
A little later, the first one done packing, Si-yoon was wandering around the lodging.
“Wow! There’s a sink above the toilet! How cool is that!”
She was checking out the restroom.
“Ah, so this is what the broadcasting looks like!”
Watching a local variety show after turning on the TV.
From the get-go, Si-yoon was enjoying herself more than anyone else.
“Sis, sis! You have to see this!”
“What is it again?”
Si-hyun watched with a warm smile as her enthusiastic sister beamed.
Seeing her happy gave her a sense of fulfillment.
* * *
On a certain road in Japan.
Sato Ichiro, an S-rank magic-type Hunter, sat inside a van, sighing deeply.
His tired eyes were marked by dark circles.
“I don’t care how busy things are, but this schedule is just too packed.”
“Yeah, tell me about it…”
As Sato grumbled, another man in the group nodded in agreement.
He too was slumped over from fatigue.
“We’re already swamped with our designated dungeons. Asking us to handle dungeons near Tokyo is just too much.”
“We know it’s due to the failure to conquer the SS-rank dungeon, but… sigh…”
Right now, not just him but all of Japan was in chaos.
Dealing with all the S-rank dungeons popping up left and right.
The countdown to the dungeon eruption at the SS-rank dungeon was drawing closer.
Sato knew that, even if he was tired, there was no time to rest.
But still, it was hard to shake off the exhaustion.
Sato rubbed his temples with his fingers.
“Where are the next gates again?”
“Yes, first…”
The man in the group began listing out regions and dungeon ranks.
At least one or two a day.
For relatively lower-ranked dungeons, three.
Just the backlog of dungeons was piling up like this.
Some of them were nearing eruption in just a few days, making urgent actions necessary.
He felt like his body couldn’t take it anymore.
‘…I hope there aren’t any delays in our responses.’
Sato Ichiro closed his eyes and spoke.
“Please check again if there are any missing or delayed documents. I’m going to catch some sleep.”
“Yes, understood…”
In a situation like this, if they fell behind on urgent dungeon responses even once,
it would be a complete uproar.
As Sato Ichiro drifted into a light sleep, the man who had been given orders also began to doze off from overwork.
* * *
“…Sis, is that guy really okay?”
“Hahaha! You don’t need to worry about me! Just enjoy your trip!”
“See? Just think of him as a big dog.”
“Uh…”
Si-yoon nodded awkwardly.
There was a tall Western man who tagged along with them, praised for his height while being reviewed.
They were separated in terms of lodging but would be touring together.
It felt a bit strange, being with a stranger.
Plus, he was the guy her sister had shown her photos of, calling him a pervert.
Honestly, she felt a bit uneasy.
Noticing Si-yoon’s discomfort, Ji-a chuckled lightly.
“Si-yoon, you don’t have to worry too much. Right now, that guy’s head is probably filled with only thoughts of Si-hyun.”
“Um, that’s not great too…?”
After hearing Ji-a’s explanation, Si-yoon shot an annoyed look at Jason.
But Jason just laughed heartily, completely unbothered.
As they began to explore the tourist attractions,
Si-yoon slowly started to see Jason’s usefulness.
She began to understand why her sisters allowed him to accompany them.
“From here to there, we switch trains, and we go like this.”
“Ah-ha! They said you have a good memory, but wow, you nail it.”
“Hahaha!”
He had been to Japan several times and was expertly guiding them through the subway.
“Mr., what does this mean?”
“It means it used to be the site of an old shrine. They used to hold rituals here.”
“Ah, I see!”
His fluent Japanese made the journey pleasant.
“I already prepared the rentals! Haha!”
“Good, well done.”
He even offered to drive tomorrow.
“Miss, I’ll carry the luggage!”
“Uh, uh…”
He also quickly volunteered to play the porter role.
A true jack-of-all-trades.
If their older sister said a word, he was fiercely loyal.
Yet he didn’t stick too closely, keeping a polite distance.
Thanks to this, Si-yoon began to lower her guard against Jason.
Looking back, her sisters were something else too.
Her older sister, the best spear master in Korea, Ji-a, and the former saintess, her own sister.
Having an S-rank American among them didn’t seem too strange after all.
‘…Am I the safest average person in the world right now?’
Si-yoon realized her situation anew.
A sense of relaxation began to fill her heart.
“Ji-a, let’s eat this next.”
“Huh? What is it?”
When they arrived near the subway station to move to the next area,
Si-yoon clung to Ji-a and showed her the screen of her smartphone.
She shared the reviews she had searched in advance.
At a slight distance, Si-hyun watched with a faint smile.
Just then…
“Hey, move!”
Suddenly, a thug-like Japanese guy approached from behind.
He pushed Ji-a and Si-yoon aside with both hands.
Si-yoon was shoved back with force, and Ji-a didn’t even grasp what just happened.
“Hehe.”
The man grinned slyly as he deliberately walked between the two girls.
Two other guys followed behind, snickering away.
“Dude, what’s with that?”
Si-yoon muttered, feeling annoyed.
This wasn’t a busily trafficked area.
They were standing at a proper distance not to impede the crowd.
‘That guy…?’
In other words, it was a deliberate act of provocation.
Si-hyun furrowed her brows.
How dare they mess with their group?
She stepped forward to confront the thugs.
Well, at least she intended to.
“You guys, what do you think you’re doing?”
Jason was a step quicker.
The one leading their group realized the situation and turned back.
He blocked the thugs’ path.
Speaking in fluent Japanese, he pressed the thugs for an explanation.
“…Eh? Who are you?”
“I asked what you thought you were doing without knowing your place.”
The thugs were taller than Ji-a and Si-yoon, but compared to the towering Jason, they seemed just average height.
In terms of size, strength, and toughness,
Jason didn’t fall short in any way.
Seeing someone who looked out of the ordinary, the thugs began to falter.
Their leader couldn’t let go of his pride and shouted.
“Who do you think you are?!”
“I’m with them. If you have a problem, we can settle it. Are you up for it?”
Jason glared at the thugs with a fierce gaze.
Even in casual attire, his muscles flexed under the fabric.
A silent warning that he was ready to explode at any moment.
“Back off, you trash!”
“Not happening. Bring it on.”
A brief standoff ensued.
The thug leader continued to hurl insults at Jason in Japanese.
But compared to Korean curses, those felt weaker. The volume was just higher.
Jason smirked and met their gazes with disdain.
Eventually, the two thugs flanking the thug leader quickly pulled him away.
Indicating they should retreat.
After all, this guy was no ordinary person.
The intense gaze made it feel like a real threat loomed over them.
The aura surrounding him gave off a prickling sense that made their spines tingle.
A primal warning rang in Si-hyun’s head.
If they exchanged blows, there was a palpable sense they wouldn’t even be able to throw out the bones.
“Let go of me! You don’t know who I am?!”
Even as he was dragged away by his group, the thug leader shrieked in defiance.
But his footsteps spoke the truth.
While on the surface, he put up a fight, his legs were smartly retreating.
This was the classic behavior of the weak towards the strong.
At least when considering appearances. Ultimately, the thugs withdrew.
After a moment of staring at them, Si-hyun turned to look at Jason.
Jason was still staring down the thugs.
“Jason.”
“Yes, Mistress?”
That title again.
At this rate, it might actually become a habit.
Si-hyun gave him a wry smile and complimented him.
“Good job. Keep it up.”
“Hahaha! That should be no problem at all!”
Jason responded cheerfully.
Si-hyun nodded with satisfaction.
Of course, she could have handled things personally.
But doing it right here where eyes were abound was cumbersome.
Finding a secluded spot to handle their grievances would take time too.
She didn’t want her first overseas trip to be spent on such matters.
‘…I didn’t expect him to be useful in ways I hadn’t thought of.’
Watching the helpless thugs scramble in fear,
she began to realize she didn’t always have to step in herself.
There was a certain satisfaction in that too.
After all, Jason proved his usefulness today.
Si-hyun’s internal evaluation of Jason was happily on the rise.
She lightly snapped her fingers.
Snap!
“Ugh!”
“Hooooh!”
The thugs clutched their mouths and dashed toward the nearby convenience store.
That was the fate of those who had chosen the wrong targets.
There was no reason for her to take it out on them personally either.
Si-hyun tormented them with enough power.
“What the heck was that…?”
“Gahhh…”
Even after chugging their drinks, the thugs couldn’t escape their pain.
For as long as the mana Si-hyun had set was active,
they’d suffer all day long.
“Wow, Mr. you were so cool!”
“Hahaha! No, if I hadn’t stepped in, it would have been a bigger deal.”
Jason glanced at Si-hyun and then turned again to Si-yoon, offering a friendly smile.
Si-yoon tilted her head in confusion but moved on without further thought.
“Let’s get moving quickly! We might run out of time for shopping!”
“Huh? Is there really anything that’ll take that long?”
At her sister’s words, Si-hyun raised a brow in question.
Si-yoon grinned mischievously and responded.
“We need to buy swimsuits! We decided to go to the beach!”
“Oh, right…”
Si-hyun quietly fell silent.
A significantly larger matter awaited them compared to any punks.