EFME 134

The next day.

Sunyul visited Yoo Sunghyun’s house, carrying the large box in order to return the gift to him.

The door opened, and Sunyul stepped into Yoo Sunghyun’s house. In the spacious house stood Yoo Sunghyun, dressed in comfortable attire. Seeing him like that, Sunyul blinked his eyes a couple of times.

“Mr. Sunyul.”

Strangely, for a split second, Yoo Sunghyun appeared to be two people. What was that? Since it was just an absolute flash, it felt like it might have been an illusion, but….

“Mr. Sunyul?”

“Yes?”

“Come in for a moment. I’ll bring out some tea or something.”

“….”

Sunyul got a peculiar feeling. Something… felt incredibly strange, but it was difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was.

“Excuse me….”

“Yes?”

“…It’s nothing. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Is there something in this house? With that thought, Sunyul readily moved his steps inside. Stepping inward, Sunyul examined the interior of the house.

A certain sense of incongruity could be felt. It was as if someone had taken out a few pieces of a well-fitted puzzle and forced other puzzle pieces into them. However, he couldn’t be certain exactly where that sense of incongruity was coming from.

“Have a seat, Mr. Sunyul.”

“Yes.”

“What would you like to drink? There’s coffee, green tea, black tea, and juice too.”

“…Juice?”

“Sure, I’ll give you juice.”

A faint trace of laughter was laced within Yoo Sunghyun’s voice. Sunyul awkwardly met eyes with Yoo Sunghyun, before rolling his eyes all around again upon seeing him enter the kitchen.

It was a normal… luxurious and quite nice, but anyway, unexceptional scenery inside the house.

Looking at it this way, it seemed fine too.

…He didn’t really know. It wasn’t like he possessed a skill in the observation or perception lines either.

Before long, Yoo Sunghyun came out from the kitchen. For the time being, Sunyul used the skill he had, [Insight], as a makeshift measure.

[Yoo Sunghyun / Glass Mask]

Rank: A

Stamina: B–

Strength: C

Agility: C–

Mana: A

Trait: Open the Door of Your Heart (A), Listen to Me (B), Immersion (B)

Skill: Puppet Making (A), Hypnotist (B), Dress Right (B), Fatigue Reliever (C)

There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly strange…. There really isn’t, right? Sunyul closed the status window, still feeling uncomfortable. He couldn’t find the cause of the sense of incongruity he had felt moments ago at all.

…Was it really just his imagination?

Looking at him again, he seemed fine too. Sunyul tilted his head to the side.

Because he was doubting him too much, he must have looked strange for a moment. Sunyul decided to accept it that way. Though he would have to mention this sense of incongruity to Yoonjae.

Sunyul drank the juice. Perhaps because he had been quite tense, the orange juice passing down his throat felt immensely refreshing.

Yoo Sunghyun, who had poured juice for himself just like Sunyul, asked after easily emptying half his glass.

“By the way, the reaction to Mr. Sunyul appearing on the broadcast was amazing. Do you have any intention of going on talk shows properly or anything like that?”

“Not at all. I am not good at speaking.”

He heard that a lot of offers come in. Though they say there are hunters who appear on broadcasting programs a lot, Sunyul didn’t want that kind of attention. They said the Sunyul from before he lost his memories didn’t appear in such places either.

Then again, if he had been interested in broadcasting or the entertainment industry, he wouldn’t have become an ability user.

“Even if you are not good at speaking, the MCs will probably cover all of it, you know? And for Mr. Sunyul, people would be satisfied just by you sitting there without speaking.”

“…There’s no way that’s true.”

“It’s true. Do you know how curious everyone is about you, Mr. Sunyul.”

Yoo Sunghyun smiled.

“Me too.”

“There’s nothing special about me.”

“I’m telling you, there are a ton of people thirsting for every single minor anecdote of yours, Mr. Sunyul. Um, looking at it last time, you seemed to be close with Cheongyeon’s Guildmaster.”

“Ah… of course we are close. Since he is my savior.”

Sunyul answered proudly. While trying his best to fix his gaze on the orange juice, away from the ring. Yoo Sunghyun nodded his head.

“Then again, he is the person who supported you since the time you were called I–21.”

“…Um, that’s right. The Guildmaster has been on my side since then.”

Though it was a matter of the past by now, thinking about that time still made him a little distressed. Yoo Sunghyun wore a worried expression as he looked at Sunyul.

“Is it still hard when you think about that time?”

“…Uh, a little? But it’s fine.”

“That’s a relief. It must be thanks to the Guildmaster, right?”

“There’s the Guildmaster too… and there are other good people too.”

Answering, Sunyul let out a chuckle at the sudden thought that this felt like a talk show.

“It feels like I am being interviewed right now.”

“Did it? I ended up doing that because I am curious about you, Mr. Sunyul.”

If he kept sitting like this, he felt like he would say everything without distinguishing what to say and what not to say. Sunyul checked his watch. Since he had come out almost exactly on time, he didn’t have time to talk at length.

“I am sorry, but I think I should get going now. I have an appointment right after.”

“Goodbye.”

Yoo Sunghyun saw Sunyul off right up to the front door. As soon as he put on his shoes, Sunyul straight away warped and moved near the meeting place.

The gathering of the Church of Doom took place in a clean, hunter-exclusive training room where numerous Awakened come and go.

Going inside, seven people including Choi Seongha were sitting. Because he had spent more time at Yoo Sunghyun’s house than expected, it seemed he was the latest.

“Hello. I am sorry for being late.”

“Mr. Lee Sunwoo?”

“That’s right, it’s Mr. Lee Sunwoo.”

“Hello, Mr. Sunwoo.”

“Hello.”

Everyone welcomes him with bright smiles. That appearance looked so very ordinary. Sunyul had imagined a terribly strange gathering, but it looked like a more normal gathering than expected.

‘Then again, if it were strange from the start, everyone would run away.’

“First, take a seat! Since a new person came ahead of the gathering, let’s start with self-introductions.”

Each person introduced themselves. There was a person who gave an extremely witty introduction, and there was a person who introduced themselves simply while being embarrassed.

“I am Lee Sunwoo. I am a B-rank hunter, and I came through Mr. Mesha’s introduction. Please treat me well.”

Sunyul was the latter. Even when he tried to think of witty words, since he was hiding his identity, he had nothing to say. At that simple introduction, everyone responded enthusiastically and clapped their hands.

“How long has it been since you awakened, Mr. Sunwoo?”

Someone raised their hand high and asked. Sunyul answered while recalling the profile he had set up in advance.

“Three years.”

“Oh, three years. Did you start living as a hunter right away?”

“Yes. Though I don’t think I am good at it.”

“What do you mean not good at it, looking at you last time, you were immensely good at disarming traps.”

Choi Seongha boosted him up. Really, he had done nothing that day. Sunyul lowered his head out of genuine embarrassment.

“I heard you have a flight skill?”

“That’s really good.”

“The versatility is killer.”

“It is convenient. Even normally.”

“Right. If it’s a red light at the crosswalk, you can just use it.”

After praising Sunyul to their heart’s content, the gathering members told him to try using the homunculus skill.

Originally, changing the homunculus into various shapes was not an easy thing, so Sunyul had summoned it in the exact same fixed form every time since last time.

The gathering members found it fascinating upon seeing the homunculus that looked like a bipedal mannequin.

“It doesn’t have eyes, a nose, or a mouth, so how does it perceive the target?”

“These guys probably react with mana anyway. If it’s to the extent of making even internal organs, it’s an immensely high-rank homunculus.”

I see. It was a problem he hadn’t even thought about.

The gathering members held heated discussions regarding problems Sunyul hadn’t particularly thought about, and asked for Sunyul’s opinion too. Everyone continued the discussion seriously, and that enthusiasm was grand.

Not only Sunyul’s skill, but they also shared stories and tests of other hunters. They divided into enthusiastic discussions regarding the hunters gathered in this place, the skills or traits of recently famous hunters, the recent trends of dungeon raids, and the like.

Even the story of ‘Lim Sunyul’ came up. While words of almost a praise level came out in a row, Sunyul felt like running away from his seat.

“Are you a fan of Lim Sunyul too, Mr. Sunwoo?”

“Ah, no?! I’m not….”

“Come to think of it, Lim Sunyul and Lee Sunwoo. The consonants are ieung, siot, ieung. They are the same?”

Even though they didn’t say the identity was the same, Sunyul’s eyes went wide in surprise on his own. Everyone cackled, finding what was so funny about that. Sunyul resolved never to use the fake name Lee Sunwoo ever again from next time.

Even if the actual substance was a cult gathering, the enthusiasm of this place was real. If Sunyul had been a B-rank hunter who knew nothing, he would have been completely influenced by this gathering with no way out.

Around the time the rental time of the training room was finishing, Choi Seongha approached Sunyul.

“We are going to go have dinner among ourselves now, do you want to go together?”

“If it’s okay for me to go along.”

“Of course you can go.”

During dinner time, several hunters talked with Sunyul, making friendly conversation.

Though it was a situation where a person who came for the first time might feel territorial behavior or awkwardness in a new gathering, there was none of that at all. The skill of a professional could be felt in coaxing someone.

Around the time they finished the meal, Sunyul set up the next gathering appointment with them, and came to be invited to the same chat room. Truly, it was progress natural as flowing water.

The one Sunyul was targeting was Choi Seongha, but targeting the Church of Doom wasn’t bad either. Though it seemed like the Ability Bureau would already be attempting the method of approaching while pretending to assimilate with the cult.

There was no definitive evidence yet, but because he got the conviction that the things they are chasing right now are pointing toward the right direction.