Chapter 38

As soon as Si-hyun entered the open space, she immediately cast blessings on the men.

Starting with the necks of the men who had been bruised by the monster’s hands.

All the way to the ankles of the archer whose foot was crushed by its grip.

The wounds of the D-rank guild members healed in an instant.

Approaching the male archer, Si-hyun squatted down and said,

“That was amazing just now. Your archery skills were great.”

“Ah… T-thank you so much!”

Si-hyun’s compliment left the man deeply moved as he replied with shining eyes.

At that very moment…

“Keeheehee—!”

Suddenly, space warped to the right of Si-hyun and a monster’s head popped out.

“D-dangeroooous…!”

The startled man shouted loudly.

Wham!

“Huh…?”

Though it was brief…

With a single punch, Si-hyun shattered all the monster’s teeth before standing up.

Simultaneously, the giant’s head returned to its original position. The needle-sharp fangs that had been biting through everything fell apart and scattered.

“I’ll finish this.”

“Yes, yes sir!”

The shocked man widened his eyes as he responded. Who would’ve thought those fangs chewing on spears could be broken so easily? It was a sight hard to believe even when witnessed firsthand.

As Si-hyun turned around, the thoroughly enraged monster glared at her. The standoff didn’t last long.

Whoosh!

Si-hyun kicked off from the ground and charged forward. Startled by her incredible speed, the giant moved its hand.

Aiming for her leg just like it had done to the archer earlier.

But…

Crack!

Si-hyun easily stomped on the hand appearing in mid-air and kept running forward.

“Tch, how predictable.”

Smirking, Si-hyun mocked the monster. While it might’ve been a tough opponent for Wings Guild members, it was nothing to her.

Using spatial magic to send parts of its body over medium range – its mana flow was easy to predict, and its body wasn’t particularly durable either.

A weakling against the weak, but powerless against the strong – a typical type of monster.

‘Then I guess it’s just putting up some flimsy barriers.’

“KYAAAAH!”

As Si-hyun approached, the angry giant swung its intact fist.

But Si-hyun simply tilted her head to dodge the attack.

Continuing her charge, she channeled all her momentum into her right hand, grabbing the giant’s neck firmly.

For a moment, Si-hyun and the giant hovered in the air. Her long hair fluttered in the wind.

In that state…

BOOM!

She combined the force of her jump with her arm strength to slam the giant forcefully into the ground.

The monster, its neck tightly squeezed, couldn’t even let out a proper scream.

And Si-hyun wasn’t finished yet.

“What goes around comes around, right?”

Standing up first, Si-hyun quickly moved to grab both of the giant’s ankles. She tensed her muscles.

WHOOSH – CRASH!

In a move similar to a suplex, she flipped the giant over her head and slammed it onto the ground.

Giving back more than it received! The price for knocking over the archer was brutal.

Its head smashed into the ground first, then its whole body collided violently as the trembling giant lay there.

Si-hyun casually dusted off her hands and stood up.

Glancing at the giant…

“Anyone want to take revenge on this guy?”

She smiled lightly while gesturing toward the men.

There was a brief silence.

However, soon…

“We’re going!”

“Revenge time, revenge!”

“Hahaha!”

“Rwaaaah!”

The excited men rushed over.

The monster was barely alive and lying limp.

After poking it with their feet to check its condition, they gleefully began their revenge.

The spearman whose spear broke kicked the torso.

The swordsman whose neck was choked slammed his sword down on the giant’s neck.

The limp giant could only receive one-sided blows.

“Hehehe!”

“Haha!”

“Serves you right!”

The C-rank dungeon field trip for Wings Guild transformed back into a picnic. All traces of the earlier fear had vanished.

Si-hyun watched the scene with satisfaction.

Then, suddenly…

“…Did I go too far?”

Thinking about how the Wings Guild members she’d grown close to were in danger and Han-gyeol shouting beside her…

Her heart got anxious and she unleashed her full power.

Of course, she did have to act since she promised Da-young to ensure their safety. Breaking the B-rank monster’s magic wasn’t difficult at all.

But due to the urgent situation, it seemed she went overboard with flashy moves.

“…Can someone who does this really be called a D-rank Holy Knight? Not even close…”

Clearly not. What should she do…? Should she cover her eyes and pretend?

Every day enjoying sweet rest, doing only the work she wanted when needed… Si-hyun was currently living a very happy life.

Lost in thought about how to wrap things up…

Meanwhile, the men noticed Si-hyun’s serious expression while trying to collect the giant’s remains.

Assigning tasks to the junior member, they pretended to work while squatting and quietly conversed among themselves.

“Han-gyeol, Si-hyun must be at least B-rank or higher, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“Hiding ranks is usually something criminals do, isn’t it?”

“Si-hyun a criminal? That’s ridiculous. She’s even an Academy professor.”

The men subtly checked Si-hyun’s reaction.

Still deep in thought.

“Why is she hiding her rank?”

When one man asked…

“Maybe she’s the Hunter’s Association’s secret trump card?”

“Hiding is less effective than using, especially with so many dungeons around.”

The conspiracy theorist’s opinion was immediately dismissed.

“Perhaps it’s because of love?”

“Love? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“If someone’s too strong, no one can get close. So she hides her rank to blend in with people around her.”

“Oh, that sounds somewhat plausible. Then who’s she in love with?”

The men’s gazes turned toward Han-gyeol.

“You need to make sense.”

“That’s true.”

“This doesn’t seem right.”

“Excuse me…”

Han-gyeol, who had been listening attentively, made a face like he swallowed something unpleasant. The romanticist guild member’s theory was also dismissed.

“She looks foreign. Maybe she had some circumstances, washed her identity, and became Korean?”

“Sounds convincing?”

“Has secrets she can’t reveal to others?”

The identity washing theory also popped up.

Like this, the men exchanged various opinions.

Then one man raised a question.

“But do we really need to know why?”

“…Is that so?”

“It’s ultimately about wanting to hide, whether it’s identity washing or anything else.”

“True.”

The men’s gazes turned toward Si-hyun then back again.

“Everyone has their reasons, right? Someone so pretty and kind probably has a story too.”

“Besides, she’s our savior. Shouldn’t we just go along with Si-hyun’s intentions?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The Wings Guild members reached a consensus.

Just as they decided their course, the junior finished cleaning up and stood up. Realizing it was time to leave the dungeon, Si-hyun lifted her bowed head.

“Everyone, about today…”

“Si-hyun, you were truly amazing!”

“Is this what a talented D-rank hunter looks like?!”

“Wow, you’re an Academy professor after all! Hahaha!”

“You inspired us to practice harder! Hehehe!”

The men joked around while praising Si-hyun.

Caught off guard by the unexpected reactions, Si-hyun’s mouth slightly opened.

‘Am I getting away with this?’

Still unsure, Si-hyun’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

The men sharply picked up on the subtle change in expression.

“Are you C-rank but haven’t taken the promotion exam yet?”

“We should throw a congratulatory party soon!”

“Let us know when you promote!”

“…Um, yes.”

Before she knew it, Si-hyun nodded.

In an instant, she transformed from a “talented D-rank” to “talented C-rank but hasn’t promoted.”

Is this right? Can it really pass like this?

While tilting her head in confusion, Si-hyun followed the men walking toward the exit.

‘So everyone probably decided to pretend not to notice even though they know, huh?’

The men were so shameless she almost bought it, but Si-hyun wasn’t stupid. Since she destroyed the barrier, they definitely noticed something was off.

Si-hyun looked at the men walking ahead with a strange expression.

Why are they doing this without her even asking? Honestly, she didn’t know the reason but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

‘Maybe I should trust them once?’

Even if rumors spread, it wouldn’t cause any major issues in her life – just inconvenience. If rumors don’t spread, then she could build deeper trust with Wings Guild.

Seems not too bad.

Just before reaching the exit, Si-hyun stopped the men.

“Everyone.”

The men all stopped and turned around. They looked completely different from when they were trapped by the barrier earlier.

Si-hyun shyly smiled and said,

“Thank you.”

It was a short sentence.

But that was enough.

“We should be thanking you!”

“Thanks to Si-hyun, we survived!”

The group exchanged heartfelt thanks with heightened emotions.

* * *

The Wings Guild members dropped Si-hyun off at home before heading back to the guild building. They had scheduled the dungeon run considering this natural route from the start.

“How about we just observe and then all go to a bar together?”

“That sounds good!”

“I agree.”

Their next plan flowed naturally as well.

After the men returned to the guild building…

Da-young greeted the returning members and said,

“How was everyone’s day? Wasn’t Si-hyun trustworthy like I said?”

“Man, she was really impressive!”

“I never realized when I only saw her occasionally visiting the guild building, but her personality is super cool!”

Satisfied with Da-young’s recommendation, everyone enthusiastically praised Si-hyun.

At that moment, one man hesitated before asking Da-young,

“Master, you’re close to Si-hyun, right? Her appearance is extremely exotic. Do you know where she’s from?”

“Ahh, that?”

Da-young casually replied as if it was no big deal.

“She’s from a country so far away, you probably wouldn’t recognize the name even if I told you.”

“Oh ho ra.”

“I see!”

“So that’s it.”

Da-young had merely conveniently concealed the fact that Si-hyun was a returnee.

However, the men’s belief solidified on the “identity washing theory” among the stories they discussed earlier.

‘She must be royalty or nobility from some distant country!’

Her appearance alone makes perfect sense. Definitely not an ordinary person’s beauty.

The men finally understood the dignified aura she normally displayed.

Yet she also showed a down-to-earth side.

The men instantly fell for Si-hyun’s charm.

“The way she looked when saying goodbye at the end was so beautiful…”

“Ah, that moment! She was so cute.”

“Every time she smiled and complimented us, I found it hard to maintain my composure, really.”

“Right, right!”

The men grinned widely as they chatted.

Han-gyeol also nodded vigorously while being part of the conversation.

Watching the guild members, Da-young smiled wryly and shook her head.