Counterattack [Illustration]
A coastal city that was no different from ruins after having long been uninhabited.
Haemong-dong, 7th District of Academy City.
On this day, the Mystery Exploration Club—including myself and my friends—held a field trip here.
"You probably already know this, but if a Gate isn't cleared in time, the inner world pours out and affects reality. That phenomenon is called an Outbreak. It's also called Erosion. Haemong-dong is a place where the tragedy caused by that phenomenon has been preserved. The traces from decades ago remain perfectly intact."
"At the same time, Haemong-dong was also one of the areas where an all-out war between Hunters and Villains broke out over thirty years ago. See that sea with the lighthouse over there? They say that the heads of the Ten Great Houses and Lord Tugwi fought a life-and-death battle with Taecheon, the leader of the Main Society, right there. The reason they fought on the sea was to avoid causing damage to the surroundings...."
Kim Samo, who had been re-elected as club president by a unanimous vote of the club members.
He showed interest in the club and kindly explained things to the students who had come on the field trip.
Park Sagon, who had taken the vice president position, assisted him from the side.
'Sagon is really in his element.'
Park Sagon repeatedly flashed the lenses of his glasses as he reeled off everything he knew.
He looked as though he had found his calling in life.
I let out a snicker.
It seemed I had done well to appoint him vice president.
Not that I was listening closely enough to actually hear the explanations.
"Based on experience, I get the feeling Samo and Sagon are going to talk for a while. Want to look around nearby instead?"
"Yeah, sure."
I whispered softly to Yeon Haneul, who was standing beside me.
She readily agreed.
And so, we quietly slipped away from the group.
"You guys are going to ditch us like that? We're coming too."
"That's right. You two are too much."
Then my friends, including Gang Hanbyeol and Lisa, followed after us.
And with them....
"Gyeonu sunbae, Gyeonu sunbae. Where are you going right now? Let us come too. Just listening to explanations is boring."
"Yu Gaeul! We have to listen to the president's explanation. What are you doing? We're not supposed to act on our own!"
Yu Gaeul and Ham Minju were there too.
To be exact, Yu Gaeul had one-sidedly dragged Ham Minju along.
Ham Minju scolded her for that.
But she didn't seem to care at all.
"It's fine. Gyeonu sunbae and Hanbyeol sunbae are club members too, right? Since we're moving together with our sunbaes, there shouldn't be much of a problem. Right, Gyeonu sunbae?"
Yu Gaeul sought my permission with a smile that anyone would find likable.
But there was no way I couldn't see through her inner thoughts hidden beneath that smile.
'She's trying to keep an eye on us.'
According to the game's progression.
Yu Gaeul approaches Gang Hanbyeol's group under the family head's orders to investigate them.
The reason she joined the same Mystery Exploration Club as us, and later enlisted in Shield, could be understood within that context.
'After going through various incidents, she gradually opens her heart to Hanbyeol and ends up joining the party.'
Since I knew the flow of the story's progression, I didn't bother to refuse Yu Gaeul's request.
"Sure, follow along. Since you're with us, neither Samo nor Sagon will say anything. And if they do... I'll cover for you."
"Wow, really? Thank you so much for looking out for us!"
Yu Gaeul clapped her hands brightly.
And so we took her, Ham Minju, and the two wolf phantom beasts to explore the coastal city.
"Be careful since monsters might appear. Stay by my side."
"Okay, I'll stick close. But if a monster jumps out, will you protect me?"
"Couldn't you handle it with your own strength even if I didn't protect you?"
"What? So you're just going to stand there?"
"I'll be watching you do your pretty moves."
"Tch, whatever."
On the way down to the coast, vegetation ill-suited to the ruins could be seen here and there.
They were traces of the world that had poured out from within a Gate.
Yeon Haneul and I loitered around the city where ruins, coastline, and tropical rainforest were mixed together in that manner.
Behind us, Yu Gaeul seemed to be getting friendly with the others, showing her sociable side.
The sound of them laughing and chatting could be heard.
And further behind....
"I thought you'd be too busy with student council work to have time for club activities, but looks like you surprisingly do?"
"Whether I do club activities or not, is it any of your business, sunbae? Mind your own business."
Gang Hanbyeol and Ham Minju were butting heads and arguing.
I turned my head at the sound of their voices and sighed at the sight of the two walking side by side.
'I wonder when those two will get along.'
It would probably take some time.
Just as I was thinking that.
Yu Gaeul, who had approached me before I knew it, suddenly opened her mouth.
"Minju isn't a bad kid."
"..."
"She's strict with others and herself, so she can be frustrating, but if you get to know her, she's kind and good. It's also because she doesn't know how to enjoy herself. That's why I coaxed her into joining the club."
"Come to think of it, you said she was your childhood friend."
"Yes, though not as close as you and Haneul sunbae. Still, I know what kind of kid Minju is. So please take good care of her too, sunbae."
"I planned on it. With Hanbyeol... it might be difficult right now. But time will sort it out."
"Haha, I suppose so. Thank you."
The sea breeze blew.
She brushed back her fluttering hair and smiled as if embarrassed.
Unlike the smile she had worn deliberately to hide her ulterior motives while breaking down others' wariness, it was deeply striking.
* * *
When does a person despair?
Precisely when something precious is taken away.
Gang Hanbyeol had no doubt in the teachings of his master, Seo Jeongjin.
'Shouldn't I make the one who interfered with my training pay the price properly? I was already waiting for a chance; who knew it would come like this.'
Staring at the back of Ham Minju, who was walking with the wolf phantom beasts.
Gang Hanbyeol pulled up the corners of his mouth and shrugged his shoulders.
Then he put his hand in his pocket and took out Seo Jeongjin's artifact, which he had obtained from the Hunter Bank the day before.
It was a glove that mainly served to tame beasts or phantom beasts, providing comfort to whatever it touched.
'If my Gift is added to this....'
He would be able to handle them with much greater skill.
Gang Hanbyeol put the gloves on both hands, closed his eyes, focused on his senses, and absorbed the flowing information.
'I see. I know how to tame wolves now.'
Do Gyeonu, who could easily seduce women and animals alike with just a touch, seemed amazing once again.
Anyway, having organized the information, Gang Hanbyeol moved toward Ham Minju.
"What now? What do you want?"
Ham Minju flinched, revealing her wariness at the approaching presence.
The wolves beside her stepped forward as if to protect her.
Gang Hanbyeol snorted at their attitude.
"It's not you I'm here for this time. I've got business with your wolves."
"What? What do you mean...?"
Hadn't the male wolf been called Solar and the female Luna?
Gang Hanbyeol immediately reached his hands toward the two wolves.
And stroked them just like that.
Ham Minju was shocked.
"Sunbae! What do you think you're doing?"
"What do you mean? I'm touching your wolves."
"You think I don't know that? They don't take kindly to being touched. What if they bite you... hurry and take your hands off!"
"They don't seem to be biting? Look."
"...Huh?"
Gang Hanbyeol shrugged.
The two wolves flinched slightly at his touch at first, but before long, they were entrusting their bodies to his hands with relaxed expressions.
Now they were even rubbing their bodies against him, demanding his touch.
There was no mistaking it—they looked like dogs, not wolves.
"This makes no sense... why on earth..."
"Why? Because Solar and Luna like me, obviously."
As if insistently begging for more pets, the wolves whined.
Then, unable to endure the pleasure from Gang Hanbyeol's touch any longer, they flopped onto the ground.
They completely rolled over to show their white-furred bellies, as if submitting to him entirely.
Ham Minju's eyes went wide.
"Solar! Luna! What are you doing! Get up right now!"
But the wolves, lost in ecstasy with their tongues lolling out, couldn't come to their senses.
Gang Hanbyeol couldn't help but snicker.
"Why are you shouting? You'll startle the kids."
"You're calling them kids, but they're my kids! And you shouldn't touch them without the owner's permission in the first place!"
"But Solar and Luna like me this much. And they're phantom beasts, not pets. Phantom beasts aren't objects to be owned. The contract with a phantom beast is formed from an equal relationship. Isn't the expression 'owner' a bit inappropriate?"
"Ugh... that's..."
Ham Minju's face scrunched up completely.
Having successfully stolen the precious wolves from her and achieved his revenge, Gang Hanbyeol was extremely satisfied.
He decided to keep tormenting her like this.
"Solar, Luna. Why not cut the link with her and come to me while we're at it? Let's make a contract. I'll treat you better than her. I can pamper you well too."
"Sunbae! Are you picking a fight right now!?"
"A fight? Great! How about we have a match with them on the line?"
"Solar and Luna are my friends, I said! How can you bet friends? You're really a bandit, a pillager, a barbarian. How can there be a sunbae like this!"
As Ham Minju screamed and argued with Gang Hanbyeol.
The two wolves enjoyed the sea breeze and sunbathing, falling into a deep sleep.
Grrr....
* * *
After lunch.
The Mystery Exploration Club decided to split into groups and move around freely.
Naturally, the second and third-year members took charge as group leaders.
"Still, don't go too far, and contact us if something seems off! Monster sightings happen occasionally, so hold on to the signal flares given out at the information center! Remember that you're allowed to use your Devices in emergencies!"
At the announcement from club president Kim Samo.
The students nodded and dispersed into their respective groups.
Yeon Haneul also led her group on a tour of Haemong-dong.
Then she spotted Do Gyeonu.
'Ah, it's Gyeonu.'
A bright look spread across Yeon Haneul's face.
Feeling delighted, she tried to greet him right away.
But then.
"Gyeonu, hey...."
Her words got stuck halfway.
Yeon Haneul's eyes turned cold.
Of course....
"He looks popular."
"..."
Because Do Gyeonu was getting along amiably with first-year female students.
Some were even casting flirtatious glances at him or acting cutesy.
At least, that's how it looked to Yeon Haneul.
But he seemed oblivious, simply dismissing it as junior students expressing their fondness.
"Those little..."
"..."
Grit.
Yeon Haneul ground her teeth in displeasure.
The students in her group quietly held their breath, reading the mood.
Meanwhile, she fixed her gaze on a certain female student.
'Her, she's getting on my nerves.'
In the morning, she had followed Do Gyeonu around persistently, and after getting into the same group, she stuck completely by his side—the Night Butterfly of the Jamyeong Yu Family, Yu Gaeul.
Watching her smile at him with her eyes or subtly touch his hand, shadows fell across Yeon Haneul's face.
'I don't know why, but since Gyeonu seemed to think well of her, I was planning to be nice to her too... but I can't do that now.'
I should warn her not to cling to Gyeonu.
Just then, Yu Gaeul left him and disappeared toward the bathroom.
Yeon Haneul quickly followed her.
"Huh? Haneul, you're also... going this way...?"
"Must be nice being so popular with the juniors. I'm dying of jealousy."
"...Huh? What's gotten into you... Haneul?"
Do Gyeonu lending his ear to other girls, responding to them, and smiling at them—it annoyed her for no reason.
Regardless of whatever reaction he showed, Yeon Haneul let out a "hmph" and walked right past him.
Then she entered the bathroom.
In front of the sink mirror, Yu Gaeul and Go Eunbi were fixing their makeup.
"Ah, Haneul sunbae."
"Haneul, did you come to use the mirror too? I'm almost done, so come over here!"
Yu Gaeul and Go Eunbi greeted Yeon Haneul via the mirror.
Without replying, she strode right up to Yu Gaeul.
"Gaeul."
"Yes, sunbae."
"...Haneul?"
Yeon Haneul called Yu Gaeul in a low, heavy voice.
At that moment, Go Eunbi, who normally got along with Yeon Haneul, could intuit that she was in a bad mood.
'Why is Haneul acting like that...'
She didn't know the situation, but something felt off.
Go Eunbi decided to stay put, if only to mediate.
Then Yeon Haneul opened her mouth.
"Don't get too close to Gyeonu. You might cause unnecessary misunderstandings. For both your sakes."
"Huh? Ah... I didn't mean to, but I'll be careful from now on."
"Good, thanks."
Fortunately, Yu Gaeul conceded easily.
Both Yeon Haneul, who had been trying to maintain the atmosphere, and Go Eunbi, who had been watching quietly, breathed a sigh of relief internally.
Right at that moment.
"By the way, sunbae, did you know?"
"Hmm?"
Yu Gaeul's eyes flashed with strange colors for a moment as she playfully asked.
She spoke as she passed by Yeon Haneul.
"In the old days, maybe not, but these days they say childhood friends are the icon of defeat."
"...What do you mean?"
"They say childhood friends never end up together."
"..."
"Apparently it's because they've known each other since childhood, so it's hard to see each other as members of the opposite sex. So cheer up, Haneul sunbae! I'll be rooting for you."
Yu Gaeul let out a snicker.
Struck as if she had been hit on the head, Yeon Haneul could only watch Yu Gaeul leave.
She barely maintained her composure.
Her lips moved.
"Eunbi."
"Y-yeah... what is it, Haneul?"
"Is it... true?"
"Huh? What?"
"Childhood friends... the icon of defeat... that...."
Yeon Haneul's voice trembled.
Go Eunbi couldn't help but feel troubled.
She agonized over it.
'What should I do? Should I tell her the truth that these days that's the trend, like Gaeul said? No, no way.'
Sometimes it's necessary to tell a lie.
After several moments of deliberation, Go Eunbi settled on a conclusion and put a lie in her mouth to comfort Yeon Haneul.
"Come on, it's just a joke. It's a groundless, absurd statement. Don't worry about it! Don't believe it!"
*Sniff*, really?"
"Yeah, really! Absolutely!"
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss