LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 94
“Hmm…”
What should I do?
It seems he’s gentler than I imagined, so he doesn’t seem like the type to cause a scene. At least not so far.
But ignoring him still feels off.
Sure, his level of intrusion is low right now, but will he show up on my lecture day later?
That would honestly be a pain.
‘…But why is he interested in me?’
On the surface, I’m only a C-rank Hunter.
I’m hardly a target for a fight junkie.
I don’t think any info has leaked from the Management Bureau.
If it had, not only Jason Turner but others would be in chaos too. It can’t possibly be this quiet around here.
…I just don’t know how well Jason has assessed me.
It might not even be an individual interest.
“Should I search for more info…?”
I sat quietly and started looking up Jason on my smartphone.
The information I found reflected what Ah-reum had told me about his activities.
…But as expected.
Even a famous S-rank Hunter has limited information online.
Everything I found was just publicly available facts and news articles.
I set my smartphone on the table and took a moment to breathe.
Just then, Si-yoon opened the door and stepped into the living room.
She looked incredibly bored.
“Sis, what’s with that serious face?”
“Uh, I think I might have a strange stalker.”
“Eh, a stalker?!”
Si-yoon scrunched up her face in disbelief.
After a moment, she stared at my face and said,
“Well, you do have the looks for it.”
“Come on, no way… right? Is he really that weird? That’s strange.”
“What kind of person is he? Do you know anything?”
Si-yoon flopped beside me.
I showed her the information I’d gathered about Jason Turner.
“He’s a battle junkie, a total battle junkie.”
“Wow, really? ‘Saint’ lady, did you happen to get into any trouble while you were out?”
“…Could you not emphasize those words?”
“Hehe.”
When I answered with a straight face, Si-yoon smiled mischievously.
She always acted like that when she was bored.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Well, that’s what I’ve been pondering.”
“Ah, I see. How did you usually handle stuff like this?”
“Usually? Hmm…”
How did I handle things before?
Since returning to Earth, I’d been living quietly without any big incidents.
Of course, when boundaries were crossed, I’d throw a punch… but…? Oh, I see.
“Ah, I don’t have to overthink this, do I?”
“Have you decided? Do well!”
“Yeah, thanks!”
Si-yoon waved her hands and dashed to the bathroom before heading back to her room.
With my decision made, I immediately worked on my smartphone.
I saved the photo Ah-reum had uploaded, took note of the stalker’s number, and prepared to call him.
The phone connected quickly.
– Yes, this is Jason Turner.
“Hello, I’m Jeong Si-hyun. I heard you’ve been looking for me.”
– Oh! I can’t believe I actually got in touch with you today! This is amazing!
“…So, I’d like to know what this is about.”
I cut straight to the chase.
I didn’t want to exchange nonsense with a creep.
– Let’s have a match!
“….”
Wait, seriously? Is he really like this?
What on Earth possesses him to say that to me? Does he have some kind of instinct for this?
I clearly need more information before I can make a judgment.
Looks like we’ll need to chat a bit more.
“I’m a C-rank Hunter, you know.”
– Hahaha! Officially, anyway.
“…Why is that official?”
– Well then, let’s officially fight as an S-rank against a C-rank!
…This isn’t making any sense.
We’re speaking the same language, yet somehow, it’s not connecting.
Well, honestly, having a normal conversation with a creepy battle maniac wasn’t likely.
I don’t know how, but from the way he’s talking, he seems to think I’m high-ranked.
If that’s the case, there isn’t much I need to clarify.
For now, I just have to confirm one thing.
“Has anything happened with Ji-a?”
– Are you talking about Kim Ji-a Hunter? There hasn’t been anything yet. If you hadn’t existed, I’d have asked her about it. Hahaha!
That’s confirmation then. It seems this guy needs a wake-up call.
I can check why and how he’s latched onto me later.
“…I’ll send you a location via message, so come there at the arranged time.”
– Oh! What a cool personality! You’re the best Hunter I’ve met!
Unnecessary compliments followed.
Receiving such praise from a creep only serves to annoy me.
Anyway, it looks like I need to get ready.
If the info online is right, then I shouldn’t be the one to lose this match.
* * *
In an office somewhere in the U.S.,
The individual known as Evan Harper, a Returned, was busily handling paperwork.
The desk was cluttered with various documents and coffee cups.
‘So it’s Jason after all.’
His work was thorough.
He’d already received contact about locating the target.
Given his personality, he was probably already gearing up for a fight with the target.
Evan had even sent Jason his request based on that fact.
Before encountering the target directly, he must secure as much information as possible.
‘Everything is going as expected.’
Evan leaned back in his chair for a moment, imagining how the request would unfold.
Although Jason was a fight junkie, he wasn’t a fool.
If anything, he was calculating, almost cunningly smart.
The real problem was that he used that intelligence in all the wrong ways.
However, he wouldn’t engage in anything significantly contrary to what Evan wanted.
Now, all that was left was to gather as much information on the target as possible.
Jason would figure that out while having fun.
Evan just needed to receive the information.
‘…I should wrap up the remaining tasks quickly.’
So he could meet the target face to face.
Whether that be the target coming to the U.S. or him heading to Korea.
With that, Evan pushed himself back into his work.
* * *
…I reserved an E-rank dungeon.
It’s a safe spot where an annoying person shouldn’t matter.
I picked a location not too far from home and somewhat secluded.
Just in case a creep comes after me, I’ve carefully messaged my supervisor with details about the situation. The preparations were perfect.
“Ugh…”
The biggest problem is that it’s such a hassle.
Even more frustrating is that I can’t watch the MoMoBin live today because of this guy.
Si-yoon was supposed to join me for the fun, and that just adds to my frustration.
This annoyance has to be taken out on him.
“…He’s already here.”
As I walked, I spotted a tall man standing alone in the distance.
He looked just like a creepy stalker.
I had arrived a bit earlier than our arranged time, but just how eager was he to meet me… this is definitely stalker behavior.
Since it was such a sparse area, he quickly noticed me and strode over.
As Ah-reum said, he wore a hat pulled down low and sunglasses.
With a sociable grin on his creepy face, he approached with a loud voice.
“Good to see you, Si-hyun! I can’t express how glad I am that you accepted so willingly!”
“…If I hadn’t, you would have just bugged me, right?”
“Oh dear. I won’t deny that. Hahaha!”
“Ugh…”
His shamelessness made me sigh involuntarily.
I need to relieve my stress quickly.
“…Follow me.”
“Yes, let’s go!”
I steered the stalker to a suitably secluded spot near the gate, approached the staff guarding the dungeon, and confirmed my reservation via the Hunter app.
Clunk!
“Wait… what?!”
Thud—
I swiftly caught the staff member’s body before it fell into the void.
Carefully laying them down to avoid injury, I turned back to the stalker.
Using magic to quietly grant him access to the dungeon, I woke the staff member and then entered the dungeon myself.
I felt bad for the bewildered staff, but this is the best course of action…
“Shall we have a little chat?”
“Hmm? Now that we’re here, is talking really necessary?”
With a look of excitement, the stalker was flexing his fists.
I watched his antics for a moment before responding.
“…You’re right about that.”
“See?”
“By ‘talking,’ I mean talking about getting hit.”
“Hahaha! You have a good sense of humor!”
As he burst into a huge laugh, he suddenly distanced himself from me.
What on earth is he doing? I watched in confusion.
“Alright! Is this enough distance?”
“…What are you doing?”
“Aren’t you a magic Hunter? I’m just giving you a fair distance!”
“I’m seriously not thinking too hard about this.”
There’s no way I can understand the psyche and behavior of a creep with rational thinking.
I clenched my fists tightly.
Since he’s a well-known S-rank Hunter, Jason Turner’s awakened trait is body enhancement.
He probably has various unpublished combat skills, which is why he’s confident in direct confrontations…
“…I can’t lose to a tank.”
With that, I dashed forward, kicking off the ground first.
It seems my sudden movement caught the stalker by surprise, his eyes widening.