She knows (3)

-Eunah’s whisper: Zeus is actually… It’s a mercenary guild made by my parents. That’s why he called me that way.

Kang Shin-hyuk, having heard the story already from Claire, had to work hard to act like he was hearing it for the first time.

-Your parents? That’s shocking.

He had replied with a very common response, but Shin Eunah slightly glared at him as if there was something she didn’t like about his message. Then, she gestured for Zeus’s submaster, Kang-yul Lee, to step back.

“I’ve nothing to do with Zeus, so you don’t have to come and say hello every time.”

“The master and the madam are forever waiting for the young lady to return.”

“Not a chance.”

Shin Eunah dismissed his words and climbed into the elevator after grabbing Kang Shin-hyuk’s hand. Perhaps because of the mood, Kang-yul Lee’s eyes gleamed as he watched.

“You two have a good relationship.”

“Have you already gone to the meeting?”

“Oops, it looks like I held you up. Then, we will see you at the meeting in a minute.”

The man withdrew, and the two climbed into the elevator. When the door closed, Shin Eunah let out a sigh of relief.

“I really hate it.”

“…I roughly guessed.”

“I don’t know what kind of trick they’ll pull.”

“I’m fourth in the world ranking.” He said so in the hope of relieving her, and Shin Eunah smiled a little. However, she hadn’t let go of his hand yet.

“Did you hear why I have two traits?”

“Yes, when we did the dimensional quest together.”

“Yes… inside Zeus, that project is still ongoing.”

Why? He had heard that her parents were leading the artificial superhuman project because they wanted their child to be the best superhuman in the world. Did it mean anything to make someone other than their child superhuman?

“To those people, I wonder if they can’t protect themselves anymore. I’m already the strongest, and I don’t represent them.

It sounded as if they were trying to cut off their relationship with their child just because they couldn’t control her. She smiled bitterly at Kang Shin-hyuk.

“Instead, they started obsessing over strengthening themselves. The mercenaries belonging to Zeus… those mercenaries with remodeled bodies are just used for their data.”

“Because they can’t trust anyone else, they’ll make themselves the strongest.”

“Yes. It would be impossible as long as I was there.”

Kang Shin-hyuk nodded at Shin Eunah’s frantic explanation. People still didn’t know her true ability; only Kang Shin-hyuk and Claire did. Her remarkable trait, [Master of Mana]. Controlling and realizing the magic of all kinds, she was gradually growing stronger at every moment, breaking through the limits of her potential.

“Huh? But why did that person come and say hello then? If you give up on my senior, wouldn’t ignoring them make more sense?”

“Well, isn’t it because they noticed I’m looking for a chance to catch them?”

Kang Shin-hyuk exclaimed, oh. In modern times, human testing was naturally prohibited, and the terrible task of experimenting with things that were dangerous enough to lead to death couldn’t be tolerated. Perhaps one of the reasons Shin Eunah joined the association; it suddenly occurred to him, was for the power to manage the superhumans in Korea and imprison them. He couldn’t guess at the deep feelings she held towards her parents, but nor could he bear the sight of her suffering, so he impulsively grabbed her hand.

“If I can help you, tell me. I’ll help you with anything I can.”

The elevator reached their floor. However, Shin Eunah pressed the close button to stop the door from opening and looked back at him.

“To help me… as my grandpa?”

It would’ve been comfortable if she could nod, but for her independence, she had to deny it even if Kang Shin-hyuk’s heart agreed with her.

“I told you not to use the word ‘grandpa’. I mean, because you’re a precious person to me, I will help. Just don’t misunderstand that part.”

“… Yeah, I understand.”

It must’ve not been the expected answer, as Shin Eunah nodded with a bitter expression and looked away. He had certainly chosen the right answer. Kang Shin-hyuk chose to believe in that and held her hand gently.

“I said, I know.”

Her murmur was too small to be heard by him.

***

“Thank you, everyone, for gathering in the midst of this hectic time.”

Han Soo-yeon, the head of the Korean Superhuman Association, bowed her head to those gathered around the table. It felt odd for Kang Shin-hyuk to see the face of the woman he had seen on TV occasionally, but it was the same for the other people who were watching him. He had never appeared on official business, and his exposure was extremely limited. Some people, in particular, were thrilled to see him with the Thunder Empress, but it wasn’t something he knew about.

“I think everyone knows the reason we are gathered here… that’s right. It is to discuss the expedition project to the African continent.”

I’m hearing it for the first time. I just heard it for the first time! Africa? Which fell into the monsters’ grasp in the early days of the gates? Are you crazy?’

No matter how much humanity had grown, Africa was a different place altogether. Monsters had been multiplying there, left unattended all this time. They had even devoured other species to grow further. And, after decades of neglect, the gates generated were innumerable. It was a literal hell that had been turned into the ideal environment for the monsters there.

-You’ve never been there, but you know a lot, member.

‘That’s because there was a picture of it from a satellite. It was terrifying. A monster noticed the satellite was pointing at it with a camera and shot it down with a beam.’

-There were such monsters on Earth as well. If it can shoot down a satellite at that altitude, it would be SSS+ rank.

‘Right. I can shoot a beam now too, but maybe that’s…

– It might be possible if Phoibos were refined with the brazier.

‘Really? Really!’

-700,000HP bonus!

He didn’t understand the bonus at that timing, but that was fine. The problem right now wasn’t a space beam, but these insane humans daring to enter Africa.

“Someday, they will cross over to other continents. In fact, the Middle Eastern countries adjacent to Africa are on the verge of collapse. When they fall, Europe is next, then Asia. It won’t be too long now.”

“The massive occurrence of gates that took place half a year ago… if it happened on the same scale in Africa, it will be really dangerous.”

Kang Shin-hyuk nodded along with the conversation. How many gates had appeared in Korea alone over the last half-year? They were also high-level gates of B-rank or higher. If such a thing had been happening in Africa, it would’ve led to a consolidation of power, which meant the already terrible situation there had somehow only grown worse.

“More than anywhere else, they are in Africa.”

Baekyang’s submaster, Lee Jin-young, spoke up. Vanguard’s new submaster, Lim Hoon, calmy nodded.

“Jormungand.”

“It might be a bit rough to the Vanguard submaster, but…”

“Not at all.”

Someone at the meeting spoke up to jab at Vanguard’s representative, but Lim Hoon responded firmly.

“Vanguard is ready to do anything to kill Jormungand. We cannot be forgiven for the former master’s negligence, but at least we will make up for the damage he inflicted on humanity. No, even more than that.”

“Vanguard’s ability is always dependable.”

“That’s right. It has been confirmed that Jormungand’s main force interacts and even communicates with the monsters in Africa.”

The chair proceeded with the meeting.

“Now that we have successfully overcome the crisis of the mass outbreak of gates, we can say that we have attained the minimum qualification needed for a successful expedition to Africa. Not only the Korean Superhuman Association, but also the United States, the UK, the European Union, China, and Russia will be alongside us.”

“It’s an absurdly large operation.”

“The Korean troops will be accompanied by a representative Danish superhuman, Bridget Poulsen.”

“Doesn’t Denmark belong to the European Union?”

“There are no high-rankers in Denmark other than Miss Poulsen. Therefore, Miss Poulsen has decided to act as an elite with our high-rankers and transfer some of the achievements to the Danish side.”

“Well.”

“It’s a benefit.”

“She could’ve joined the elite unit of the European Union. Huh.”

If they successfully conquered Africa, the rewards would be enormous. The environment that had been eroded and changed to that of a different world would have resources buried within it. Furthermore, by-products and even artifacts could be obtained from the monsters there. Most of those who were participating held that hope, but even so, the most important thing was safety. The sense of security that could be obtained by bringing Bridget Poulsen, the world’s ranked seven, was something they wanted to gain, even if it meant giving up a portion of the profits.

“Miss Poulsen must have had many choices other than us, but how did you get her?”

“Is there any backlash from the European Union?”

“Denmark is still trying to withdraw from the Union, which is why they have done little to help Denmark’s defenses. It seems there was such a conflict again. By the way, Miss Poulsen has a close relationship with the Empress…“

“Huh.”

“Between the world’s rank 1 and 7?”

“Even the 4th place, death puppeteer…”

For this expedition, having three top-rankers grouped together in the same team was reassuring, but for the competitive spirit of the top-rankers in other guilds, it was an unpleasant sight. However, they couldn’t show any discomfort here, so everyone just groaned inside and clapped.

“Korea will certainly lead.”

“If we leave a meaningful mark on Africa, we can bring Korea’s status back

up.”

“Our guild, Zeus, wants to walk that glorious path with you.”

“Baekyang, too, of course.”

“Then, I would like to move onto a more concrete discussion…”

The chairman tried to follow up, but suddenly Shin Eunah jabbed Kang Shinhyuk’s thigh. He hadn’t said much yet, but it meant that he should speak up as the others were already confirming his participation. Kang Shin-hyuk knew well that it was pointless. In fact, when she brought him here, she must’ve been thinking they couldn’t fail if they were together.

Only

‘I can’t back out. From a social standpoint, as well as for my personal beliefs, it’s not possible.’

The African continent, and Jormungand. Kang Shin-hyuk resolved his heart just by repeating those two things in his head. So, instead of opening his mouth and saying something, he quietly held Shin Eunah’s hand under the table. She flinched briefly but immediately became calm and leaned toward him very slightly.

-Member, mistake! This is a mistake!

The administrator was noisy, but it couldn’t be helped. The first thing he needed to do was calm his granddaughter’s heart. He knew it wasn’t good, but still, it couldn’t be helped.

“Well, I know it’s really ridiculous…”

Meanwhile, Baekyang’s submaster, Lee Jin-young, his eyes gleamed as he watched them. Apparently, he had noticed the two holding hands under the table. It was his mistake in overlooking the fact that only excellent superhumans had gathered here.

“So, who the hell are you dating, Shin Eun-hyuk?”

The conference hall froze.