Chapter 94

“Hmm….”

Wonder what to do about this.

Given how gentle he’s been so far, doesn’t seem like he’s looking to cause any trouble—at least not yet.

But ignoring it still feels… off.

Right now, he’s at this level, but what if he shows up on my lecture days later?

That’d honestly be a bother.

“……But why me?”

All they know about me is that I’m a C-rank Hunter.

I’m not exactly someone who’d attract the attention of a battle maniac.

It’s not like any info leaked from Management HQ either.

If it had, there’d be chaos everywhere, not just with Jason Turner. Things would’ve exploded by now.

…How much does Jason even know about me?

And for all I know, it might not even be him acting alone.

“Maybe I should look into this…”

Sitting there, I pulled out my smartphone and started searching up Jason.

Stuff Ah-reum told me before plus some other tidbits about his movements pop up.

…Still, even being an S-rank celebrity has its limits when it comes to what you can find online.

Mostly just public facts and media reports.

I set the phone down on the table, took a deep breath, and that’s when Si-yoon walked in, looking bored out of her mind.

“Hey sis, why the long face?”

“Mm, seems like I’ve got a stalker.”

“E-EH?! A STALKER?!”

Si-yoon’s expression immediately twisted into shock.

Then after a moment, she gave me this deadpan look.

“Well, I guess you’re pretty enough to get one.”

“Wh-what?! No way… Right? Is it really that kind of thing? Weird.”

“What about him? Do you know anything?”

She plopped down next to me.

I showed her the info I found on Jason.

“A battle maniac, huh? Wow, really? Miss ‘Holy Maiden,’ did you crash land here from somewhere else or something?”

“…Don’t put so much emphasis on those words, will ya?”

“Hehe~”

She grinned mischievously as I shot her a serious look.

She always gets like this when she’s bored.

“So, what’re you gonna do?”

“Not sure yet, that’s what I’m thinking about.”

“Oh, how’d you usually handle these things?”

“Uh…”

Now that I think about it, how *did* I usually deal with them?

Since coming back to Earth, I mostly kept to myself without causing too much trouble…

Unless they crossed a line, then I’d beat them up…

“Ah, so no need to overthink this, huh?”

“You decided? Good luck!”

“Thanks!”

With that, Si-yoon waved goodbye, went to the bathroom, then returned to her room.

Decision made, I immediately got back to my phone.

I saved a picture Ah-reum posted, zoomed in on the number, memorized the stalker’s digits, and called him right away.

The call connected almost instantly.

– “Yes, this is Jason Turner speaking.”

“Hi, my name is Jeong Si-hyun. I heard you were looking for me.”

– “Whoa! Didn’t expect to hear from you today! This is incredible!”

“Alright, what do you want?”

Straight to the point.

No time for nonsense with weirdos.

– “Let’s fight!”

“…What.”

Is he serious?

What gives him the idea he can just challenge me like this? Does he have some kind of stalker radar?

Looks like I need more info to judge this guy properly.

Guess we’ll have to keep talking.

“I’m only a C-rank Hunter.”

– “Heh heh heh! Officially, sure.”

“But why is official ‘official’?”

– “Then let’s go officially—S-rank vs. C-rank!”

…This guy’s impossible.

We’re speaking the same language, but it’s like we’re worlds apart.

Should’ve guessed normal conversation wouldn’t work with a psycho stalker battle freak.

Judging by his tone, he seems to think I’m higher-ranked than I am.

If that’s the case, there’s not much left to confirm.

Just one thing needs checking.

“How about Ji-a? Any issues there?”

– “Kim Ji-a? Not yet. If you didn’t exist, I might’ve approached her first. Haha!”

There we go. Definitely needs reformation.

We’ll figure out why and how later.

“…I’ll send you my location via message soon. Be there on time.”

– “Wow! What a cool attitude! You’re better than any hunter I’ve ever met!”

More useless compliments.

Anything nice coming from a creeper just makes me feel worse.

Still, gotta prep.

If internet info is correct, this guy’s no match for me anyway.

—

Somewhere in America, inside an office.

Evan Harper, one of the Returners, was busy shuffling through piles of documents and coffee cups scattered across his desk.

“So it’s Jason, huh.”

Reliable as ever.

He already found the target.

Knowing his personality, he’s probably gearing up to fight the subject by now.

That’s why Evan entrusted the mission to him—to gather as much intel as possible before making direct contact.

“Everything’s going according to plan.”

Evan leaned back in his chair, mentally mapping out how the mission would unfold.

Jason may be a battle maniac, but he’s no fool.

In fact, he’s cunning and calculating.

Problem is, his smarts often go toward weird pursuits.

Still, he won’t do anything drastically against Evan’s interests.

The rest is gathering as much info on the target as possible.

Which Jason will likely enjoy doing himself.

All Evan has to do is wait for the data.

“…Time to wrap up the remaining tasks.”

To meet the target personally.

Whether they come to America or he goes to Korea, it’ll happen.

Back upright in his seat, Evan resumed working.

—

…I booked an E-rank Dungeon.

Safe place where random people won’t interfere.

Close to home, and rarely crowded.

Just in case beating up the creep causes problems, I sent a detailed message to the supervisor explaining the situation.

Preparations complete.

“Geez…”

Only downside is missing MomoBin Live today because of this jerk.

I tease Si-yoon on her streams; now it’s time she sees me in action.

He’ll pay for this irritation in person.

“…He’s already here.”

As I walked closer, I spotted a tall man standing alone in the distance.

Definitely our stalker friend.

Even though I arrived early, he’s here earlier.

Talk about dedication… for a creepy stalker.

With few people around, he quickly noticed me and strode over with a friendly grin, cap pulled low and sunglasses hiding his eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Si-hyun! I’m thrilled you agreed to this!”

“…You’d just annoy me otherwise.”

“Heh, fair point. Hahaha!”

His shameless attitude earned another sigh from me.

Time to relieve some stress.

“…Follow me.”

“Yes, let’s go!”

At the gate, I hid the stalker in a secluded spot, confirmed my reservation with the staff using the Hunter app, then used magic to sneak the stalker into the dungeon unseen.

After putting the unconscious staff member down gently, I followed suit into the dungeon.

Sorry about this, but it’s the best option.

“Shall we talk?”

“Hmm? After coming this far, is conversation really necessary?”

The stalker flexed his fists excitedly.

I stared at him blankly for a moment before responding.

“…You’re right.”

“Exactly!”

“Dead right.”

“Heheh! Great sense of humor!”

The stalker burst into laughter, then suddenly backed away.

Confused, I watched silently.

“Is this distance good?”

“…What are you doing?”

“Isn’t this proper fighting etiquette for a magical hunter?”

“You really do everything, don’t you.”

Thinking too much about this guy’s logic is pointless.

Can’t understand a pervert’s psyche with normal reasoning.

I clenched my fist.

Despite being famous, Jason Turner’s awakened trait is physical enhancement.

He must have several undisclosed combat skills, which explains his confidence in personal battles…

“…Won’t stand a chance against a tanker though.”

WHOOSH!

I suddenly launched myself forward.

Caught off guard, the stalker’s eyes widened in surprise.