“Nice to meet you for the first time, Breaker Guild Master Moon Hyun-ah.”

Her Korean was fluent. Moon Hyun-ah rose from her office desk and moved toward the sofa, gesturing for Marisa to take a seat.

“For a moment I thought you’d used a translation item. What brings the British Hunter Association all the way here?”

“Isn’t this the country currently drawing the most attention in the hunter world? Associations from every nation are eager for active exchange.”

“To be frank, our beloved association simply sat back and watched. We thought not interfering was plenty.”

Had this been before the purge, they would have clung to Han Yujin’s attendance at the Chatterbox party a dozen times more. If results were good, they’d try to ride the coattails.

“Coffee? Or tea? I’m not sure which you’d prefer.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine.”

Moon Hyun-ah poured two glasses of water haphazardly and set them on the table, then sat opposite Marisa.

“Let’s drop the pretense of ignorance.”

Moon Hyun-ah’s mana stirred, a gentle breeze spiraling around them. The sound-dampening field had nearly doubled in size since her conversation with Han Yujin.

“I received a text from Director Han Yujin two days ago.”

“You mean about me.”

“Basically, that he knows almost everything.”

Although she’d said that, Moon Hyun-ah still hadn’t decided how to treat the woman before her. Han Yujin’s information had been vague. After Seong Hyunjae’s wedding was canceled, Han Yujin had briefly told Moon Hyun-ah about Mari and her mother, Marisa.

Mari had been the one to abduct Seong Hyunjae, and Marisa Moore, an employee of the British Hunter Association, was behind it. Marisa was connected to the Transcendent, and the wedding had been safely called off. The situation was explained, but the exact motives of Mari and Marisa in relation to the wedding were missing.

I jokingly replied, “Could that girl actually have wanted to marry Seong Hyunjae?” but Han Yujin brushed it off, saying that didn’t seem to be the case. He was clearly reluctant to go into detail.

“You’re not an ordinary hunter association employee, are you?”

At Moon Hyun-ah’s words, Marisa’s lips lifted ever so slightly.

“I perform the tasks assigned to me, then spend my salary on bread, butter, and some tea—refueling an old car, so to speak.”

“If you swap rice for bread and coffee for tea, our lives aren’t so different.”

“I hope you’ll soon be in the position of paying salaries.”

“And that your non-salary income might exceed it. The Seong camp sent information too.”

Marisa Moore: B-rank hunter of the British Hunter Association. Awakened at an advanced age, presumed rank drop from expected youthful level. Holds a special skill. Believed to have significantly influenced the formation of the European Hunter Union. Many high-rank hunters follow her. As a businessman rather than a hunter, presumed to have amassed considerable wealth since youth.

Although much was unconfirmed speculation, one thing was clear: Marisa was no ordinary person.

“Then let us get to the point.”

“My lifespan is four years from now.”

Marisa spoke evenly. One of Moon Hyun-ah’s eyebrows twitched.

“Before my regression I died. That was the point about four years ahead of now. At that time I’d contracted with a Transcendent and carried that contract into my current self.”

“...In other words, you share the fate of pre-regression Ms. Moore? You brought that contract back?”

“Yes. When you accept a person, you can’t pick and choose the favorable parts.”

With the Crescent Moon’s help, the current Marisa Moore had embraced the identical contract of her pre-regression self—and thus her body would die four years later.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring back all her memories. Same person, but also different.”

“Honestly, I don’t get it.”

Moon Hyun-ah cut in.

“You accepted knowing you’d live only four more years?”

“It actually hastened the timeline a bit.”

Moon Hyun-ah studied Marisa’s calm eyes under her white hair. She’d seen a similar gaze twice before—Seong Hyunjae’s, back when he occasionally looked so before meeting regression Han Yujin. The tired, bored eyes of an old man. But Seong Hyunjae would never have thrown himself away like that.

“At almost seventy in four years, it’s not that early.”

“You have remarkably youthful looks. So—surely you’re not here to invite me to your funeral?”

“Fragments of my pre-regression memories included some about Breaker Guild Master Moon Hyun-ah. And I did my own research.”

Moon Hyun-ah sank deeply into the sofa. She hadn’t asked Han Yujin about her pre-regression self in detail. She and her pre-regression self were different people destined to walk different paths—there was no need to know everything, though curiosity remained.

“Hunter Moon Hyun-ah.”

Marisa continued slowly.

“If sacrificing one person could save the world, what would you do?”

Moon Hyun-ah’s brow knitted. The urge to snap back “What nonsense!” rose in her throat, but instead she sighed softly. She sensed it wasn’t a trivial question.

“I don’t know. I’d have to wait and see—I’m impulsive. But.”

Another long sigh escaped.

“I’d save the world. There’s too much to protect. But I wouldn’t act like you.”

The incident in China, Ha-yul Park’s sister—she’d heard about them. Moon Hyun-ah met Marisa’s gaze. Their eyes, each holding different power, locked.

“There must be a price. If you gain, you must lose. You can’t blame me for taking one person for the sake of many.”

“Even if the one were a brilliant talent deserving of legal punishment?”

“...Talent or not, criminal is criminal. And, it’s a bit odd for me to say—but.”

Moon Hyun-ah scratched her head lightly, then spoke low and firm.

“The world spins fine without brilliant people.”

They say a handful of extraordinary individuals lead the world. But even if every one of them vanished—

“It might be messier, slower, but it winds down on its own. I’m grateful for their help, but acting like the world can’t function without you—that’s pathetic.”

“But Hunter Moon Hyun-ah, you bear a great burden yourself.”

“I can drop it anytime, you know? I just want the people I care about to be safer and freer. Nothing grandiose. I’ve lived how I wanted and ended up here. So.”

Moon Hyun-ah grabbed the water glass and drained it in one gulp. Empty cup thumped the table.

“If I had to kill one person, I would. Then I’d turn myself in. I’m not so innocent as to shout ‘No sacrifices!’”

If it must be done, she’d do it—and bear the consequences. There was no clever trick. She could make mistakes, regret it, perhaps choose wrong.

“I’m not saying I’m always right. Just that I won’t shirk responsibility.”

That was her best. Her path wasn’t perfect or lofty. She would do what she could, what she had to, what she wanted, and accept responsibility. In some ways, simple and ordinary.

“I see.”

Marisa’s lips—lined with fine wrinkles—curved into a gentle smile.

“I think the bravest are those who don’t flee their own lives but embrace them.”

“Well, I’m not always like that. Me sitting here is partly the result of avoidance too.”

Freshly awakened, she’d accepted a contract seeing her unfavorably. She’d done unwanted things or avoided them, both large and small.

“And you’ll break free again. At the last moment you won’t run—you’ll do what must be done.”

“...I don’t know what you expect, so I can’t promise.”

“Shall we talk business, then?”

With that, Marisa set her bag on the table.

“Business?”

“Since the world will endure four more years, we must organize matters before I die. For starters, I own a small winery in France and have ties with one of the five major châteaux.”

Moon Hyun-ah blinked at the sudden shift, glancing at Marisa.

“There’s a separate department for wine business.”

“Since Hunter Moon Hyun-ah started the wine business, I’d like to coordinate from there and eventually merge.”

“...Merge? But—even with limited time—don’t you have a daughter?”

“That child is a bit complicated to explain. She didn’t exist before regression.”

Moon Hyun-ah’s eyes narrowed. A daughter not existing before regression—an adopted daughter? Or something else entirely?

“And surely you have others. Chloe, for instance.”

“I have three conditions. One: someone who’s had significant contact with the outside world. Two: knows exactly their duties. Three: believes in themselves.”

Moon Hyun-ah fell silent. Silence swayed like a breeze. Marisa’s hands extracted documents and a laptop from her bag, placing them calmly on the table. Her hands bore the few marks of time for her age—and signs of hardship.

“It couldn’t have been easy to rise to that position.”

Perhaps she, like Seong Hyunjae or Riete or Han Yuhyun, was born S-rank. Even if her nature differed from ordinary humans, much of what Marisa had accomplished was the result of her pre-regression life. At Moon Hyun-ah’s comment, Marisa’s eyes crinkled in a quiet laugh.

“It’s been mundane.”

Rather than fluster, Moon Hyun-ah shrugged. After encounters with born S-ranks and Transcendents, such peculiarities were no longer unfamiliar.

“I don’t intend to flatly refuse your offer, nor to accept it unilaterally. Frankly, it’s suspicious.”

“Neither do I expect immediate agreement. Above all.”

Marisa raised her head—previously bowed as she organized papers—and met Moon Hyun-ah’s gaze.

“There remains unfinished business.”

A tiny white crown rose above the snowy-white stag’s head. Though nearly ghostly in size, it still carried a slender grace as the young stag trotted across the snow-covered training ground. A small, round black lamb scampered along beside it.

“Sorok, Song-i.”

– “Baaaar.”

At Moon Hyun-ah’s call, Song-i the lamb bounded over, while Sorok, full-grown, sauntered as if older. After receiving treats from Moon Hyun-ah, the lamb returned to the stag and spun around.

“Sorok will soon need to move to the Gyeonggi breeding center.”

The breeding center’s hunter, cradling a baby fox, spoke. The tiger flicked its ears and swished its tail in complaint—disappointed at no visitor to admire.

“The adult snowfield stag is quite # Nоvеlight # large. Still, I’ll find space near Breaker Guild if possible. Thanks to Blue, the flying mount’s reputation has improved.”

When monsters exploded out due to Pae-ya’s intervention in the Japanese dungeon, the aerial mounts quickly hunted them down, minimizing damage. As a result, citizens’ unease over Blue shuttling between Gyeonggi and Seoul breeding centers almost vanished. Many now regarded S-rank mounts like S-rank hunters.

“Chief Han should be returning soon.”

Moon Hyun-ah murmured as she left the breeding center, having briefly tussled roughly with Sorok. She’d received word to join them in the U.S. to raid the Chatterbox vault with the prophet gang—if time permitted, they wanted her in New York. Riete would depart to assist too. She hoped for their safe return.

[Moon Hyun-ah!]

A message popped before her eyes.

[(??ヮ?)?Please help Seong Hyunjae!!＼(°▽°＼)]

“...Huh? Seong Hyunjae?”

Moon Hyun-ah laughed softly. What trouble was he stirring up now?

“Maybe if it was my brother, but why Seong Hyunjae?”

[Your fellow neighbor hunter wishes to join your guild♡]

“Not a neighbor, a colleague—hmm? I can’t reach him to ask.”

Moon Hyun-ah stared at the message, then accepted the guild invitation. “Thank you!” blinked on screen, but nothing else changed. She shrugged, stopped by a cafe in the building, then returned to her guild.

A little later, a teleport request message arrived. Moon Hyun-ah tidied things up and accepted. The world dimmed briefly, then brightened. Splash she stepped into shallow water, seeing fish darting below.

“Welcome, Hunter Moon Hyun-ah. Or should I say, Guild Master.”

Seong Hyunjae turned to her.

“.......”

In the ruined indoor garden, soaked through, Song Taewon also turned to her. His garment was torn long along one shoulder. Rapidly assessing the situation, Moon Hyun-ah swept her hair back and frowned.

“We’re screwed. He’s with the other side, right?”

“Correct.”

“So we’re the villains, then.”

“The public official is refusing.”

“...That’s not what I meant.”

Song Taewon struggled upright. His dark eyes, around his golden irises, curved in what looked like pleasure.

“State your exact purpose, Seong Hyunjae.”

“Shall I write ‘world destruction’?”

“And what became of you, Hunter Seong Hyunjae?”

Moon Hyunjae glanced between them, as if to say, “What on earth is this?”