The viewer’s lament about their adolescent child fills the broadcast, with an expert offering comforting solutions in response.
Somehow, I can’t help but feel that it’s not just someone else’s problem.
I know Karin’s parents personally.
And their deaths are not unrelated to me.
So I carry a sense of debt.
Karin might be upset if she ever finds out, though.
Karin is different from other kids.
All parents say that, but this girl really is different.
At a young age, she inherited her parents’ domain and ran it without trouble.
Even in the devastation of war, she grew up admirably as a proper lord.
And she’s brilliant, too.
I heard she only recently transferred to Raon Academy, but already all her grades are among the highest.
And someone like that would go astray just because she dated the wrong guy?
The thought makes me laugh.
When I try to imagine Karin going off the rails, the only thing I can picture is her eating a little more than usual.
She’s just that put together.
“Oh, right. I was supposed to buy new workout clothes today.”
Without even realizing it, I muttered to myself. Not that there’s anyone at home to hear.
I skipped a shower and just threw on my gym clothes before heading out.
Which way did Karin go earlier? Ah, toward that utility pole over there.
It’s not that I’m worried about Karin.
It just so happens that the shop I want to visit is in the same direction as where Karin went.
With brisk steps—well, just my usual pace—I set off and soon spotted Karin’s back in the distance.
Seeing Karin all dressed up in the city, she doesn’t look like the kid I know at all.
There’s no need to call out to her.
She’s here to run her errands, and I’m just here to shop for clothes.
Since we’re both headed our own way, there’s no need to stop each other.
“Hey, that girl’s cute, isn’t she?”
“Should I try talking to her?”
Two guys grinned as they turned to look back.
Hmm, this isn’t just my imagination. They’re definitely looking at Karin.
The two guys start to follow after Karin, but then they meet my gaze.
Without thinking, I smiled at them.
It’s like a reflex at this point.
After all, I’ve become something of a celebrity in the Hunter world, so I have to manage my image.
Call it corruption if you want.
It’s just the result of choosing money, fame, wealth, and honor.
The two look startled at the sight of me.
Did they recognize me because I’m famous? Should I give them an autograph or something?
Even if they were making moves on Karin, I can’t exactly glare at them in public. I do have a friendly-looking face, after all.
“Hey, let’s just go.”
“Yeah.”
The two of them exchanged glances, then slowly edged away from me. Soon, with pale faces, they broke into a run and fled.
As if something urgent had come up.
Well, good. Now that the nuisance has disappeared on its own.
I continued after Karin—no, I kept looking for the clothing store.
Which sportswear brands are good these days?
NaikX, Xra. I personally like Xdidas.
“Seoyeon, were you waiting long?”
Just then, a familiar voice sounded.
Seoyeon is Karin’s Korean name. Karin beamed as she greeted the boy approaching her.
“No, I just got here too.”
So my suspicions were right.
The usually diligent Karin acting strange about suddenly going on a date—it didn’t sit right with me.
You can always tell with guys, even from their voices.
Something about him feels unreliable.
Good thing I came along—well, good thing I came out for clothes. Let’s see his face.
Blond hair, rough-looking features, solid build. He looks oddly familiar.
‘Kim Taeyang?’
If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it’s Kim Taeyang. I mean, who else could look that much like a delinquent?
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yeah, oppa.”
Oppa?
Did I just hear Karin call him oppa? My inner ear feels like it’s about to leap out and ask if it really heard that.
Karin is dating Kim Taeyang?
It’s shocking, but possible. Kim Taeyang, despite his looks, is only twenty-one. That’s young for a Hunter.
Young people meet, fall for each other, go on dates—it happens. Sure, I can accept that. I’m not that conservative.
Yes, I can forgive this. But will he forgive you?
“Huff, huff.”
I barely managed to calm myself as I slipped the Tactical Knife back into my Inventory.
I could feel a few stares but ignored them. My plan to check out clothing stores had now vanished.
From this moment, I was on protection duty.
As a Hunter, Kim Taeyang is promising, but as a romantic partner—well, I have my doubts. Seems like the type to make girls cry.
Doesn’t look like he has any connection with studying, either.
The two went into a café. I watched them order coffee, collect the pager, and swap it for their drinks.
-Code of Conduct, Rule One.
-Has your daughter recently shown any changes?
-Yes/No
I glanced at the booklet that had somehow appeared in my hand, and selected ‘Yes’, flipping to the next page.
-Is the change triggered by a friend?
-Yes/No
‘Yes.’
Flip to the next page.
-Is the friend a boy?
-Yes/No
‘Yes… Yes….’
Next page.
-Your daughter is in danger. Your daughter is being replaced by another.
Crrk.
The “Textbook for Fathers: Princess Maker. You Can Do It Too!” booklet in my hand crumpled.
This book is famous for being right on the mark.
Even the band around it says it’s expected to sell fifty million copies.
That’s the entire population of the Republic of Korea.
If everyone bought one, it would really be an amazing book. There’s no way a book like that would contain meaningless nonsense.
I could see Karin laughing and chatting with Kim Taeyang.
I’ve watched Karin since she was seven.
In all that time, she never had anything like a proper boyfriend, so she’s almost entirely immune to men.
In the other world, sure, she was busy as a lord. But here, she’s just another student living off her allowance.
It looks like the two of them are having a fun conversation, but I can’t hear what they’re saying.
If I get closer, I’ll get caught, so I can’t move any closer.
Kim Taeyang’s gaze toward Karin seems dangerous. This is bad. Very bad.
Suddenly, Kim Taeyang looked startled, stood up, and glanced around.
I pressed myself against a column, afraid he’d spot me.
“Team Leader?”
Just then, a familiar voice called out.
I turned my head to see a man with a short, sporty haircut.
“Kim Inho, Hunter?”
“Team Leader, what are you doing here? Even carrying a weapon…”
Ah, I must have unconsciously pulled out my Tactical Knife again.
I said I could forgive him, didn’t I? But this thing keeps wanting to jump out and get angry against its master’s wishes.
Hey, back in you go.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, training was canceled today, so I just came out for a bit. But now that I’m out, there’s nothing to do. When you work out your muscles every day and suddenly stop, it feels like something’s missing…”
See? How diligent is that?
If it were Kim Inho, Hunter, I’d give him my approval.
With this level of dedication to training every day, Kim Inho looks like an upstanding guy.
But Kim Taeyang, Hunter, is a friend I raised, so I want to think well of him, but somehow I just get a bad feeling about his relationships with women.
“Oh, isn’t that Taeyang over there?”
Kim Inho raised his hand, about to greet Kim Taeyang.
Is Kim Inho greeting Kim Taeyang? -> Is Kim Taeyang looking at Kim Inho? -> Is Karin also looking where Kim Taeyang is? -> Will the two of them end up seeing me?
Yes. Oh, yes indeed.
Finishing my mental calculations, I struck Kim Inho in the abdomen.
“Gah!”
Kim Inho gasped, staring at me.
“T-Team Leader, why…!”
“You’ve come in too deep, Kim Inho, Hunter.”
“It can’t be…!”
I carefully sat the fallen Kim Inho in a chair. Out of guilt, I ordered him an iced Americano.
He’ll probably drink the coffee and head home once he wakes up.
He said he had nothing else to do, after all.
Enjoying a lazy afternoon nap in the city isn’t bad, either.
This won’t do.
This area is close to my old workplace, so there’s a chance I might run into someone by accident.
Now that I think of it, I’ve appeared on TV a few times, so there could be people who recognize me.
Those punks earlier recognized me, after all.
Even now, people are sneaking glances at me.
This won’t do. I need some kind of disguise—maybe a hat or a mask for tailing.
A mask?
Oh, come to think of it, I have something good.
I took out the Justice Armor from my Inventory.
Justice Armor.
This embarrassingly tight spandex suit is made from cutting-edge materials.
Wearing the mask means no one can see my face, and my voice is automatically modulated.
But Karin knows about the Justice Armor.
However, this Justice Armor comes with a new feature.
Camouflage.
Like a chameleon, it blends in with the surroundings to hide the wearer.
Olivier once mentioned the suit had a new feature, and I got curious enough to check it out.
Ah, of course, it was just curiosity.
Not because I wanted to try it on alone at home or anything.
I activated the Camouflage function.
-Camouflage activated.
Everything around me turned ashen.
Oh, this is the real deal.
Now I can tail the two without getting caught.
The two finished their coffee and stepped outside. They headed to a clothing store.
Karin picked out a few outfits and held them up to Kim Taeyang’s body.
They looked just like a dating couple.
I watched as Karin bought a men’s Cashmere Coat.
That’s expensive.
She gets her allowance from me—what money does she have?
Kim Taeyang opened his wallet, but Karin waved her hands in refusal.
You should buy it.
Even if she refuses, you should insist. What money does she have, huh?
Next, they went to a restaurant.
Looks like they’re having Steak, but for some reason, I want to cut up something else.
Grrr.
Following them around has made me hungry, too.
I looked around and ducked into a convenience store for a red bean bun and milk.
You’ve got to eat this kind of food for this kind of mood.
There’s another new feature in this Justice Armor: the Meal System Support.
When eating, the helmet’s mouth area opens up.
That means you can eat normally without taking off the Justice Armor.
It’s a little embarrassing, but honestly, it’s probably a great feature in combat.
Now that I think about it, the Demon King isn’t an idiot—there’s no way he’d design something like this without thought.
Just then, someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned to find it was the Police.
“Excuse me, sir. Sorry, but we’ve had multiple reports.”
Are they talking to me? But I’m in Camouflage mode right now.
“Could I see your ID, please?”
Now that I think about it, how did I pay at the convenience store?
I’m pretty sure I paid for the bread and milk with my card like normal.
That’s when I noticed a tiny message at the bottom of my display.
-This is still in development mode.
Seriously, if Camouflage isn’t fully functional, don’t even claim you’re using it! It’s not even working yet!
Why bother making this kind of useless outfit? Do something productive instead.
“Sir? May I see your ID?”
When I didn’t answer, the Police asked again, suspicion in his eyes.
But I hadn’t brought my ID. I left the house in a hurry.
Even if I had it, I can’t just hand it over here.
They’d definitely think something was off if they saw me following a girl around in this ridiculous spandex suit.
I’d be socially finished.
“Sir?”
The Police slowly moved his hands behind his back.
Not a good sign.
I ran for it.
I could hear the Police chasing me.
The sound of whistles, urgent radio chatter, and squad cars roaming the city.
As I was being chased, I saw a crowd gathered around people screaming.
A burning building.
Inside, a little kid clutching a teddy bear cries out for her mom.
The mother, belatedly spotting her child, is trembling in fear.
My body moved before I knew it.
It’s only a three-story building, but with my hands’ Spider Adhesive, I can climb this easily.
I rescued the child in an instant, greeted by cheers from the crowd. Then I spotted the Police, still panting, still chasing after me.
Persistent guy.
I took off running again.
I blocked a falling signboard from hitting people, subdued a knife-wielding drunk.
Before I knew it, the Police who’d been chasing me was giving me a thumbs-up and taking a commemorative photo with me.
After getting a commendation and returning home, it was already late evening.
“Coach, you’re late.”
“Yeah.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“I thought so, so I made kimchi fried rice.”
Karin brought over kimchi fried rice with a suspicious green smoke rising from it. What did she make it with to get green smoke?
“Did you have fun on your date?”
“What date? Ah. It was alright, I guess.”
Karin replied and sat across from me as I ate, placing something on her lap.
“Coach, here.”
She set something on the table, as if she’d waited for me to finish eating.
“What is it?”
“A present.”
“A present?”
A present, out of nowhere?
I looked inside the shopping bag—it was a Cashmere Coat. The same one she bought with Kim Taeyang earlier. Why is it here?
“Coach, it’s your birthday today.”
“My birthday?”
Is it? I’d lost track of the days. I’ve never had good memories on my birthday.
“What money do you have to buy something like this? It must have been expensive.”
“Actually, Taeyang oppa said he owed you a lot and wanted to buy it for you, but I wanted to. Ah, I met Taeyang oppa today. You two have similar builds, so it helped. He was a big help today.”
So she’s not dating Kim Taeyang after all.
She’s not dating him.
Thank goodness.
Finally, I took a good look at the coat Karin bought for me.
Hmm, it’s a nice coat. Whoever picked it has good taste.
I’ll have to wear it often.
Suddenly, I felt sorry for Kim Taeyang. I hope he forgives me for judging him by appearances alone.
“But he kept insisting on being my boyfriend, so I had to scold him.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Yeah. He said I was his ideal type. Heheh, guess I’m kind of popular.”
Maybe I should beat up Kim Taeyang after all.
That’s what I thought, but I didn’t actually go after him.
My phone vibrated, asserting its presence.
-Found the Office Worker’s whereabouts.
It was a call from the Demon King.