Chapter 51 : Rachel Bonaparte (2)

Right after the terrorist attack, Rachel returned to the hotel where she was staying.

She first took care of the task her ancestors had entrusted to her.

She instructed her retainers to subtly spread the idea that the two people who suddenly appeared at the hall were from the Bonaparte family.

The retainers who received the instructions were puzzled, but Rachel did not explain the reason.

“Master, the elders will start talking.”

“They are the type of people who will find something to nitpick about no matter what.”

She had no intention of informing the family elders about the truth.

After all, they were the kind of people who even looked down on Rachel, the head of the family, as being too young.

Even if Napoleon himself had reincarnated, they would only see him as a threat rather than welcome him.

It was better to leave them in the dark.

After finishing her discussion, Rachel headed to the gym in the hotel.

Doing strength training after meetings was part of her daily routine.

She stretched to loosen up her body and then began with a light 100kg squat.

“Huff.”

Rachel repeated her squats, increasing the weight with each set.

What she valued most was lower body training.

After all, the essence of all swordsmanship started with a solid lower body.

A strong lower body meant stability.

‘This weight is too light.’

The hotel’s gym did not have a wide variety of weight plates or machines.

She would have to visit a professional center in Korea soon.

After finishing her workout with a run, Rachel returned to her room, drenched in sweat.

Swoosh…

She carefully washed herself in the shower, dried her wet body and hair, and put on a dress shirt.

Her fingers stopped at the upper part of her chest while buttoning the shirt.

Since it was uncomfortable to fasten due to the resistance, she left the top buttons undone whenever she was alone.

Rachel walked over and collapsed onto the bed in that state.

Her thick thighs were fully exposed beneath the white shirt.

Rachel never wore bottoms when sleeping.

Despite being scolded by her butler every time, it was a habit she couldn’t change.

“…Hoo.”

Staring at the ceiling, Rachel let out a quiet sigh.

Today had been an eventful day.

She had appeared before the hunters at the festival, dealt with swarming reporters, and even greeted famous Korean figures.

But the most chaotic part was the unexpected terrorist attack.

Out of nowhere, a barrier had been placed around the central hall where the hunters were gathered.

Since she was the only one capable of breaking the barrier, Rachel had to take action personally.

Breaking the barrier, subduing the terrorists, and rescuing the hunters…

Rachel had been moving tirelessly all day.

As she recalled the day’s events, a smile suddenly formed on Rachel’s lips.

‘Finally, I met him.’

Choi Seo-jun.

The man she was convinced was the reincarnation of Napoleon.

Ever since he disappeared right after the Toulon Gate conquest, Rachel had been eagerly awaiting their reunion.

She had even studied Korean just to have a direct conversation with him.

(And she was still learning.)

Because she had anticipated this meeting so much, Rachel had made an uncharacteristic mistake the moment she saw Choi Seo-jun.

She spoke to him directly without considering the surrounding gazes.

She even forgot that her ancestor was secretly active as the anonymous hunter “Connector.”

On top of that, she spoke more than usual.

Rachel couldn’t help but worry—had she overwhelmed Choi Seo-jun with her excessive talking?

“Sigh, idiot.”

But what could she do? The words had already been spoken.

She needed to be more cautious with her words from now on.

As a sign of self-reflection, Rachel lightly tapped her own lips.

Then, she suddenly smiled.

She recalled how Choi Seo-jun had denied being “Connector.”

The way her ancestor feigned ignorance in front of her was oddly endearing.

Startled by her own blasphemous thoughts, Rachel shook her head.

‘What a ridiculous thought.’

Maybe she was just tired.

Her mind kept drifting into nonsense.

Helping her ancestor was nothing more than her duty.

It was definitely not anything else.

…

In Rachel’s eyes, her ancestor was strong, but still incomplete.

He relied more on relics than his own abilities.

Because of that, his physical capabilities were generally lacking.

His mana control and body movements were also subpar.

At this rate, he would struggle to survive the upcoming gate incidents.

Surviving an “S-rank gate” that humanity had yet to conquer would be impossible.

That was why Rachel decided to personally assist her ancestor.

It was her duty as the 5th head of the Bonaparte family.

Napoleon was not just a figure of respect—he was Bonaparte’s very history.

And that history was not just symbolic.

All of Bonaparte’s relics originated from Napoleon himself.

Choi Seo-jun was the only person capable of awakening those scattered relics.

Such a person must not be put in danger.

She had come to Korea to fulfill her responsibility and duty as the family head.

Steeling herself, Rachel erased the improper thoughts that had momentarily surfaced.

At the same time, she smiled in anticipation of her next meeting with her ancestor.

Then, she suddenly realized she wasn’t wearing any bottoms.

She considered getting up but ultimately just lay back down.

‘Too much effort…’

As always, Rachel fell asleep wearing just a shirt.

Magu Festival Terror Attack.

People were shocked by the terrorist attack in the middle of Seoul.

A festival was supposed to be fun—how could there be a terrorist attack?

However, the most surprising news was revealed shortly after.

[0 Deaths]

[Injuries]

Despite the attack, there were no casualties.

The only ones who had died were the terrorists themselves.

Even among the people, excluding the terrorists, not a single person was injured.

└They even put up an isolation barrier. But does it make sense that there are no injured at all?

ᄂEven if I staged a terror attack, I’d do a better job than this;;

ᄂSeriously, what is this??

People were baffled by the fact that, in a premeditated attack with an isolation barrier in place, no one had been injured or killed.

At first, everyone assumed that Rachel had broken the barrier quickly, preventing any casualties.

Since the footage of Rachel breaking through the barrier was being spread in real-time on YouTube and various online communities.

└Wow, as expected of Rachel noona.

ᄂCrazy. She just shattered something even a high-ranking hunter couldn’t.

But it took some time, didn’t it? Does it really make sense that there were zero casualties?

ᄂMaybe the terrorists were taking a nap.

Of course, it was unreasonable to explain zero casualties solely by Rachel’s efforts.

It was around that time that videos taken from inside the hall were released.

Only then did people realize why there were no casualties at all.

ᄂWhat is that?

ᄂ…Is that light magic?

└Could light magic really be that powerful?

ᄂWow, at that level, it must be S-rank, but I’ve never seen her before. Who is she? A newly awakened hunter?

What shocked people was a blonde girl.

Every time a white light burst from her, the wounds of the hunters fighting were healed as if time was rewinding.

The moment anyone got even slightly injured, the light magic seeped in and made the wounds disappear, so it was impossible to get hurt.

So, of course, there were no fatalities, not even injuries.

And that wasn’t all.

ᄂWow, this is insane.

└How is she doing that?

ᄂIs that also an awakening ability?

The online communities went wild after seeing a mysterious woman ambushing the terrorists.

Since only a few seconds of shaky footage had been spread as short clips, there was little to be discerned.

All that could be seen was a black shadow moving swiftly—whoosh, whoosh—and then it was over.

It was impossible to make out anything other than the black shadow, as if she had some kind of perception-disrupting ability.

The only thing people could guess was that it was a woman.

But even that was enough to astonish people.

The assassin in the footage single-handedly drove the terrorists out of the auditorium.

While the blonde girl played a role in preventing casualties, the major reason was that the mysterious woman had driven the terrorists out of the building.

└Who is she??

ᄂI’ve never seen an ability like this before.

└One thing’s for sure, she’s not an awakened hunter from our country.

ᄂProbably from the Cunningham Marquis family.

ᄂᄂᄂIt could be from the French side. Didn’t you see Rachel breaking through the barrier? It was insane.

L-Link, please.

Speculation posts flooded the community about the identities of the two mysterious women.

And as if to quench people’s curiosity, related news articles started pouring in.

[Are the mysterious hunters from the Bonaparte family?!]

[Rachel Bonaparte broke the barrier quickly because her family members were trapped inside…]

[They revealed that it was difficult to disclose who exactly was inside…]

The Bonaparte family’s official statement had been released.

However, inside the hall, no one was identified as a known member of the Bonaparte family.

But people naturally linked the mysterious hunters to the Bonaparte family.

└No wonder that girl looked exactly like a typical Frenchwoman.

ᄂᄅᄋShe seriously looked like a doll.

Maybe she’s Rachel’s younger sister?

└No way. Their hair colors are different.

└Witnesses said the assassin noona had red hair, too.

‘Thankfully, they didn’t mention me.’

I felt relieved as I scrolled through the internet articles.

Thanks to Rachel following my request properly, people mistakenly believed that Jeanne and Vanessa were from the Bonaparte family.

When I summoned the two of them, it wasn’t a situation where anyone could record a video, so my face never even appeared.

Everyone had to stay still, or else they would’ve been suppressed by the terrorists.

There weren’t any reckless hunters who dared to film with their phones in that situation.

The only videos that spread were a few short, blurry clips taken after the situation had already been settled.

Even those were overshadowed by Rachel’s barrier-breaking video, which was trending in real-time.

Meanwhile, the mass media was focusing on identifying the terrorists.

With Ambassador Wang Wei captured, it was almost certain that China was behind the attack.

Though, of course, China was denying everything.

“It looks like things are settling down well.”

“If they hadn’t, I would’ve gone to China myself.”

Vanessa’s joke was unsettlingly serious.

The fact that she wasn’t smiling made it even scarier—was she actually serious…?

“Alright, let’s take care of this first.”

I picked up a transparent glass bottle.

Inside, a shimmering liquid of five radiant colors swirled.

It was a high-grade essence I had received from the Cunningham Marquis.

I opened the bottle and poured the essence directly onto the Snowflake Stone.

As the stone absorbed the essence, it began to glow.

And then—

Ding!

• A summoning slot has been added.

[Summon 4/5]

The summoning slots had increased.

‘Now a new transcendent being will arrive.’

I wondered who it would be this time.

A slight sense of anticipation welled up within me.