Yoo Ga-eun, who had entered the motel, surveyed the room with a slightly nervous expression.
Though she tried to act casual, she knew what it meant to enter a motel with a man alone.
Even if she knew that he had no such intentions, she couldn’t be entirely calm.
“Phew, I thought motels only had cheap places, but this one’s actually nicer than I expected?”
“The cheap motels you think of have naturally been phased out. At this price, it’s actually better to add a little more money and go to a hotel.”
“That’s true.”
Si-woo, who had taken off his soaked coat, shook his hair lightly.
Though he wasn’t drenched like he’d thought, it was still uncomfortable to stay like this.
“Do you want to shower first?”
“You go ahead. You probably got hassled by people more than I did.”
Yoo Ga-eun’s words made him nod.
He would have usually let her go first, but he felt too uncomfortable right now.
Especially since his socks were stuck to his feet, it was unbearable, so he grabbed a shower gown provided by the motel and headed to the bathroom.
The room grew quiet.
Yoo Ga-eun, sitting in a chair, let out a small sigh and started to channel her magic.
Though it had been a while since she used magic, she hadn’t lost her touch.
With practiced ease, she completed the spell, then spoke to the empty space.
“Come out quickly.”
No response came.
But Yoo Ga-eun paid it no mind and declared again.
“If you don’t come out now, I’ll pretend you’re not here.”
She began to unbutton her blouse, revealing a hint of black lingerie.
As soon as it became visible, figures started to appear in the previously empty room.
“That’s enough with the provocation.”
The five people, clearly drawn in by the obvious provocation, gave glares that reached their peak of hostility.
In an attempt to mediate, Kang Hong-yeon appeared, looking surprised as she glanced over the faces of the Hunters who had been hiding in the motel.
“Well, well, only big names here.”
Two S-rank Hunters, one semi-S rank, and two promising candidates from the Academy.
Though impressed by the rare gathering, she couldn’t help but feel a little dumbfounded.
She had thought Si-woo was handsome, but never imagined he would be this popular.
“I thought being enchanted was limited to peers with similar abilities.”
Even the active Hunters had been captivated by his skills, which left her in awe.
“Alright, it looks like a fight might break out, so I came to mediate, but I didn’t seriously provoke anyone.”
“Of course. We all know very well that no one here would fall for something like this.”
The fact that they couldn’t deny this was honestly a little depressing.
The method Yoo Ga-eun had been trying to use had already been attempted by half of the people present.
All of Si-woo’s VIPs from his host days had tried this before.
The three of them, whose appearances and bodies were flawless, had done just about everything, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they hadn’t tried anything.
Especially the first member among the three VIPs.
Kitsunezawa, who had been with Si-woo even before he fell into misogyny, knew better than anyone that this kind of approach wouldn’t work on Si-woo.
In fact, after trying it a few times, she had seen a woman’s pride shattered into pieces.
“Then why did you call us here?”
Baek Eun-seol asked, and Yoo Ga-eun spoke with a bitter expression.
“I thought I might need someone to stop me if I lost control.”
Each passing day made her emotions more intense.
Especially as Si-woo grew stronger as a Hunter, her body allowed the love she had never accepted before.
But if it had stopped at just that, she wouldn’t have asked for their help.
“The fundamental part hasn’t changed.”
Her nature was like that of a dragon.
Arrogant, always thinking of herself as the center of the world, like those damn dragons.
Unlike Yoo Ga-eun’s desires, this transformation was something she couldn’t stop.
At least after she stopped training as a Hunter, she tried to suppress the growing dragon-like nature in her as much as possible, trying to remain human.
But by the time she graduated from the Academy, the transformation had almost fully occurred.
If she didn’t think she had to live as a human, she could change overnight.
If she released all the suppressed desires, she could live a life like that of a dragon, abandoning everything she had as a human.
“If that happens, kill me to stop it.”
But Yoo Ga-eun didn’t want that.
She wanted to live as a human, and if she were to die, she wanted to die as a human.
The words spoken by the red dragon came to her mind. If she hadn’t been arrogant, she could have become a hero.
‘It probably wouldn’t have been wrong.’
But if Yoo Ga-eun awakened the nature of a dragon, she couldn’t become a hero.
She would become arrogant, prioritizing herself above others.
Over time, that attitude would shift from simply valuing herself more to only valuing herself.
She wouldn’t be able to empathize with others’ feelings and would become a sociopath, living only for herself.
A few years ago, Yoo Ga-eun was exactly like that.
She thought only of herself, putting herself in situations where others would suffer, unable to accept common sense as common sense.
She didn’t think it was necessary to do things for others, believing that as long as she could satisfy herself, it didn’t matter what she did.
“One mistake is enough.”
Yoo Ga-eun’s gaze turned to Kang Hong-yeon as she spoke.
Even if others couldn’t understand, Kang Hong-yeon could.
She understood Yoo Ga-eun’s heart, the part of her that was still trying to stay human.
Just as Kang Hong-yeon was about to nod and say she understood…
“Hah, seriously, are you sure you’re not related by blood?”
Jung Se-ah chuckled as she brushed her hair back.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I never imagined I’d be asked for something like this twice.”
Twice?
Yoo Ga-eun’s eyes widened in surprise.
Her expression clearly said she didn’t expect to be hit with such a response.
The others also leaned in to listen to Jung Se-ah’s words.
If she was saying that, then the person who made such a request could only be one person.
“The day I agreed to take you as my disciple, our disciple made a request.”
In case she ever felt like she was going down the wrong path…
“Please stop me, even if you have to kill me.”
Jung Se-ah and Si-woo’s first meeting was a little more special compared to the other VIPs.
“Huff… huff…!!”
On a day when there were no gate raids and it was a quiet day, Jung Se-ah woke up early, as usual, out of habit.
With nothing to do, she decided to take a walk up the nearby mountain.
It was during this walk that she spotted him.
“Ugh!!”
Despite having a proper training ground, he was practicing in the forest.
Was it rare because of that?
Or was it because he was just bored?
Normally, she would have ignored him, but for some reason, Jung Se-ah stopped and watched the man wielding his sword from a distance.
Whoosh!!
A faint slash imbued with mana.
But his swordsmanship was sloppy.
The way he moved his body was inefficient, and every time he moved, new openings appeared as if he had never properly fought before.
‘Well, at least he’s trying, I guess?’
What stood out was the fact that he had some form of swordsmanship.
But he wasn’t someone who had learned swordsmanship.
If he had, he would have known how to control his body properly.
Yet, despite that, the fact that there was some form to his swordplay showed he had a natural sense for it.
Innate talent and an inborn sense.
It was a talent that other Hunters would have wanted, but couldn’t possess.
“Looks like there’s potential.”
Like most geniuses, he wouldn’t be able to understand 10 things from just 1 lesson.
But his talent was more than enough to soar.
If luck was on his side and he worked hard, he could make it to B-rank.
No, it seemed like he could even reach A-rank.
Should I offer some advice?
Without thinking much, Jung Se-ah stood up and approached the man, who was now gasping for breath.
And the man, sensing her presence, noticed her.
Whoosh—!!!
“!!”
Without a second of hesitation, the wooden sword flew toward Jung Se-ah.
The trajectory of the sword was far more beautiful than the feeble strike he had shown just moments before.
Thud—!
“Phew.”
The power behind it was stronger than she expected.
In just one second, the person in front of her had completely changed.
With a look of disbelief, Jung Se-ah faced the man who had swung the sword at her and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“That’s exactly what I want to ask! Who do you think you are?!!”
The first meeting between the master and disciple turned out to be much more violent than expected.