“Thank you! Truly, thank you!”

The man bowed over and over, clutching his child tightly in his arms.

“Because of you, my son and I survived. I’ll never forget this grace for as long as I live!”

My cheek itched under the weight of a gaze.

Lumina was staring at me with sparkling eyes.

And it wasn’t just her.

The remaining customers in the department store were watching me as well—some of them even holding up their smartphones, recording.

“Please, lift your head.”

I lowered myself to his level and said softly.

“I only did what I could. I’m just relieved you weren’t hurt.”

The man’s face grew even more emotional at my words, and he bowed several more times in succession.

“Cadet Nam Yein. Cadet Lumina.”

We turned toward the voice.

It was Lee Sun, the Security Force Hunter who had investigated the dungeon’s transfer incident.

He looked just as weary as before, the same patchy stubble still rough on his chin.

“Follow me for a moment. There are questions about what happened here.”

“Understood. Let’s go, Lumina.”

“Ah, y-yes. B-but wait, just a second…”

Seeing her glance toward the restaurant, I nodded.

A moment later, she returned with the shopping bag I’d bought her earlier.

Lee Sun led us outside the department store, down to the roadside where vehicles were parked, and opened the door of one.

“Get in.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, hand on the door.

“Nowhere. Just away from prying eyes. There’s still too much left to handle here for me to leave.”

His tone was heavy, his face carrying a subtle shadow.

“…Got it.”

Lumina and I slid into the car, with Lee Sun following after.

Inside, the AC hummed. The seats were arranged to face each other.

Lee Sun sat across, switched on a recorder, set it to the side, then rested a tablet on his lap. His eyes turned to us.

“Alright. Tell me what you saw. In order.”

I nodded, and began. I explained most of the situation while Lumina stiffly straightened her back, sometimes adding a stammering confirmation.

When I finished, silence lingered. Lee Sun stared at the tablet a moment before raising his eyes to her.

“You fought Margaret Yeon, level 66, a former pro Hunter. Witnesses say she bled from your daggers, Lumina. Even though she wore demon-leather armor beneath her clothes.”

“Y-yes!” Her shoulders jerked.

“Which makes no sense. Can you explain?”

“Uh… I… well…”

“Stealth Strike.”

Lee Sun’s gaze shifted to me.

“When Lumina attacks from invisibility, it always lands a critical. That’s why she was able to wound the terrorist despite her defenses. And the weapons she used were crafted by my craftsman friend.”

“…I see. Understood.”

Just then—

Knock knock.

A rap on the window.

“Still investigating, Captain Lee?”

“Ah—!”

Lumina gasped.

Mayor Cheon Ji-won was leaning into the glass, smiling.

Lee Sun hurriedly opened the door.

“Yes, sir. Do you need something?”

“Not you. Them.”

“Shall I step aside, then?”

“Please.”

Lee Sun switched off the recorder, packed up his tablet, and slipped out of the car.

“Careful there.”

Cheon Ji-won ducked his head, entering the car, then turned toward us.

“U-uh…”

Lumina trembled like a leaf.

“You don’t have to be afraid. I’m not here to scold or interrogate. I’m here to commend you.”

The mayor’s smile deepened.

“Especially you, Nam Yein. My thanks. You did exactly what I asked—no, more than that.”

“…Sir?”

Lumina blinked in bewilderment.

“If you hadn’t warned me that Cosmos was moving inside Porter Department Store, our response would’ve been too late. And if you hadn’t stalled them until I arrived, many lives would’ve been lost. Thanks to you and your friend, not a single hostage died today.”

“Y-Yein… w-what’s he saying?” she whispered.

“The truth is, when I said I was going to the bathroom earlier—I was actually calling the mayor.”

“Wh-what?!”

Today’s Cosmos attack on Porter Department Store was an event straight out of the game’s main scenario.

Cosmos, the fanatics worshiping awakened supremacy, formed one of the main axes of Latessai’s storyline.

And this incident marked the beginning of their arc.

In the game, if the protagonist succeeded in resolving this crisis, they unlocked a chain of future events—and priceless rewards.

But failure meant collapse. The fragile world plunged headlong into dystopia.

Mayor Cheon Ji-won was ousted, Cosmos grew bolder, and corporations aligned with them ruled society with tyranny.

They enforced a brutal caste system among awakened, treating all who defied them as less than human.

The scenario ended before Chapter 2 could even begin.

That was why stopping Cosmos here was non-negotiable.

“I had the call open the whole time,” I admitted. “The mayor heard everything while we faced them.”

“I-I see… But Yein, how did you even know they were here?”

“Pure chance. I overheard Cosmos members talking.”

“R-really? I didn’t notice at all…”

Of course, that was a lie.

Cosmos grunts might’ve been weak, their gear pathetic, but they weren’t dumb enough to discuss terrorism in public.

No, the truth was simpler: I remembered the exact date of this event from the game.

“To be frank, I suspected you.”

The mayor’s sudden words caught me off guard.

“After the transfer incident, you spoke to the press, led demonstrations. You gave me the Weight of Phase Fixation recipe in exchange for my protection. I thought you might be using me for your own gain.”

I stayed silent, waiting.

“But today, when you called… you didn’t beg me to save you. Instead, you said, ‘If there’s anything I can do, tell me. I want to stop innocent people from dying.’”

Lumina’s jaw dropped as she stared at me.

“Truly admirable.”

Cheon Ji-won straightened, his large hands landing firmly on my shoulders.

“Valhall, Persilla, and now this. Again and again, you’ve stood against our enemies. I doubted your intentions, but no longer. Forget our old agreement. From now on, if danger comes to you—if you ever need my strength—call on me without hesitation. I will always stand by you.”

“Are you certain you can trust me?” I asked, meeting his eyes.

“Of course. I am a man who keeps every word I give.”

“…Then thank you, sir. I’ll remember that.”

I forced the corners of my lips down and bowed my head.

“And you, Miss Lumina.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“The courage to face down an adult Hunter of higher level—an evildoer at that—and protect your friend is truly admirable. Knowing there are promising cadets like you fills me with pride. Hahaha!”

Cheon Ji-won’s booming laughter rang out. He looked genuinely delighted.

“Well then, both of you have done enough for today. I’ll have Captain Lee arrange transport. Stay put in the car until then. It’d be impossible to catch a bus or taxi here right now, not with the press sniffing around.”

“Ah…”

Lumina gasped, realizing too late the situation outside.

“Thank you for the thoughtfulness, Mayor.”

“This is nothing. Rest well when you return.”

With that, Cheon Ji-won stepped out of the car.

The silence afterward felt heavy.

“Hhhhuuuhhh…”

Lumina slumped against the seat with a strange groan.

“Everything today… it was too much.”

“Sorry.”

“Eh?”

She jerked upright, wide-eyed.

“Why are you apologizing, Yein?”

“If I hadn’t asked you to come out with me, none of this would’ve happened.”

“N-no, no, that’s not what I meant at all!”

She waved both hands so frantically her fingers blurred.

“I-I was actually glad! Because I got to spend the day with you, just the two of—mmph!!”

She clapped her own mouth shut.

I smiled at the sight.

“Good. I’m glad. And… thank you for helping me back there, Lumina.”

“Ah… y-yeah.” Her cheeks flushed as she slowly lowered her hand.

“But don’t you ever do something like that again.”

“Wh-what?”

“When Margaret charged with those claws, you threw yourself in front of me.”

“Ah… r-right.”

“If you’d died protecting me, I’d curse myself for the rest of my life. Don’t sacrifice yourself like that again. Promise me.”

“…Okay.”

She nodded, subdued.

“Good. That’s enough.”

After all, I had a Substitute Doll in my inventory. Even if Margaret had struck me, I would’ve endured.

But if Lumina had taken the blow instead, and died for it… I would’ve been left maimed, in more ways than one.

Knock knock!

A cheerful tapping on the window.

“Hellooo!”

It was Jang Ha-yun—the same woman who had come to the Academy with Lee Sun before.

She skipped around the front, hopped into the driver’s seat, and craned back with a grin.

“Long time no see! I heard you two were incredible today! Everyone’s talking about it—such heroes! If I’d been your age, I would’ve just secretly called the police and frozen up. But you? You’re the cadets who saved your squad during the transfer incident—true heroes!”

Her high, chattering voice never stopped, each word a needle to my eardrums.

“So! Where am I dropping you off?”

…Of course. They’d sent her for this. Useless in the field, so they put her on errand duty.

“…Please take us to Gwangcheon Academy. We both stay in the dorms.”

“Got it! Buckle up, you two! Off we gooo~!”

The car rolled out.

Ha-yun kept talking the entire drive, sometimes even glancing back to demand our replies. I spent the whole ride praying she wouldn’t crash us into a pole.

By some miracle, we arrived at Gwangcheon in one piece.

“Careful.”

I got out first and offered Lumina my hand.

“Ah, u-uhh…”

She staggered out, legs trembling.

Not even the fight with Margaret had shaken her this badly. Clearly, Jang Ha-yun’s driving was terror itself.

“See ya! Byyyyye~!”

Ha-yun leaned half out the window, waved, and sped off.

Please, don’t text and drive.

I sighed and looked at Lumina.

“Let’s go.”

“Y-yeah.”

We entered through the school gates and stopped at the fork where the male and female dorms split.

“Well, see you tomorrow.”

“Y-yeah. Ah, Yein!”

“What is it?”

“Th-thank you. For the gift. I really wanted to say that again.”

“Don’t mention it. I gave it because I was the one grateful.”

I glanced at her wrist.

The rare bracelet gleamed faintly red—it had the effect of blocking mental interference. I’d crafted it yesterday, anticipating Margaret’s Lion’s Roar.

“…”

I watched her retreating figure toward the girls’ dorm.

“Since we spent the whole day together, I shouldn’t need to worry about her dark evolution for a while.”

Stretching my arms overhead, I yawned.

“Aaah… exhausted.”

Tonight, I wasn’t leaving my room again.

With that thought, I turned toward the boys’ dorm.

A week later.

Summer break ended, and the second semester began.

(End of Chapter)

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