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Chapter 235

“Hm… hm…”

Kang Shin-hyuk felt dubious about the humming sound coming from beside him. The person beside him was none other than Shin Eunah.

“Did something good happen?”

“Yes.”

Shin Eunah looked around the inside of the car that held no one but the two of them.

“My junior is next to me.”

“We’re going to work together.”

“Humans work from birth to death, junior.”

Shin Eunah let go of the steering wheel and looked back at him with a very sincere face. Fortunately, the vehicle they were riding in right now was a magic tool with an automatic driving function, so even if she let go, it was still heading for their destination.

“It’s still unusual. When did you learn to drive?”

“Recently.”

She grabbed the steering wheel again and glanced over at Kang Shin-hyuk.

“I thought it would be better to learn… every time I moved using warp, I miss this kind of thing.”

Kang Shin-hyuk quietly digested her words and looked out the window. They were now moving around Seoul. Ever since the gates began to appear in Korea, the roads in Seoul had become very complicated. There were places where the natural environment had completely changed due to gate erosion that couldn’t be fully prevented, and there were places that

vehicles had to go around due to the existence of immovable gates.

“Can you get in the car and go around?”

“Maybe not someone else, but I can.”

“That’s right.”

What they were doing now was a regular patrol. It was a task to check whether or not there were any abnormalities in the areas around the gates with their own eyes. There was a possibility that monsters would appear in the already changed environment. As long as Korea’s sensing capabilities were too busy to take care of these surveillance tasks, regular patrols were essential.

But it’s a bit tough that the world’s No. 1 and 4 are doing it together.’

It wasn’t long ago that Shin Eunah had been busy enough to need three bodies. Fortunately, the gate incidence rate had begun to decrease noticeably in recent years despite the recent resurgence.

‘Rather, that makes me feel more anxious. Still, for now, humanity has been given time to breathe. At this time, I should rest properly… Eunah too.

Kang Shin-hyuk wanted to take a vacation and encourage her to take a break as well, but her work-addicted temperament made that unacceptable, so she resorted to doing such a simple task. He looked over at the side of Shin Eunah’s face as she drove. As a master of endless magic, her body was still full of strength, and she showed not a single sign of fatigue. There was a slight blush on her smooth, pure white skin. On the outside, she was the very image of health, but her mind had likely worn out from all the work she had done.

“Huh, huh, huh, huh.”

“… No, isn’t that also fine?” Seeing her, who seemed to be really happy, Kang Shin-hyuk wondered whether she really liked this job. However, if he thought about it calmly, he would realize that she only wanted to drive around with him. He soon realized it, thanks to the administrator.

– Really, the fox’s symptoms are growing worse every day…

‘What are you saying? It’s good to work hard every day, but thanks to this, she can relax.’

– Please don’t forget your girlfriend’s request, member.

Kang Shin-hyuk felt something hidden in the administrator’s message, but he decided to keep quiet as he couldn’t pursue it.

“Oh, when the patrol is over, I want to head to the association HQ.”

“Yes. I decided to work as Shin Eun-hyuk, so we should.”

Kang Shin-hyuk nodded in agreement. His external activities as Shin Eun-hyuk felt much like Bridget Poulsen, who also worked separately from her main job. Of course, she used her external activities as a plus factor for her job, but it was still true that she made time for it.

“And… there may be something a bit unpleasant.”

“What is it? Is there someone in the association who doesn’t like me?”

Of course, that was probably the case. Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t do much of the activities expected of a top-ranker. Although he was active as Masked Bacchus, it wasn’t comparable to the busy superhumans of the association, and, from the start, Masked Bacchus wasn’t a formal activity. It wouldn’t be strange even if people were asking why he was a part of the association.

‘This is all because the name of Shin Eun-hyuk has grown too large even though it was supposed to be used as a temporary alias.’

He just needed the identity to enter the gates easily. It had been so long since then that he forgot why he first acquired the identification card for Shin Eunhyuk.

“No, not the people of the association.”

Shin Eunah stopped his thoughts in their tracks.

“In fact, the association benefits just by having a top-ranker that belongs to them. Masked Bacchus is also in charge of many requests for them, so there is no problem with them. Rather, it is being said that Masked Bacchus should be recognized as an official team under the association.”

“That’s probably something Claire will hate. She wanted Masked Bacchus to remain a secret organization made up of unknown people… huh?”

He realized he had made a minor mistake. Otherwise, there was no way Shin Eunah would stop talking and make such a frozen expression. Of course, her face returned back to normal as if nothing had happened a second later, but Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t fooled.

“What did you fight with Claire?”

“No, we didn’t fight. We’re only getting closer.” Shin Eunah responded as if she were spitting out the words, and her lips were pouting. If Claire had done the same thing, they would’ve kissed right away.

-Good job, member. Appealing to your girlfriend is a surefire way to protect yourself from foxes! 500,000HP bonus from an admin that admires your nice guard!

‘Oh, because of that.

In the midst of being embarrassed, Shin Eunah pushed on.

“Talking about Claire these days… you just use her name.”

“Oh, because it’s comfortable.”

“But, you still speak formally with me.”

“Because you’re my senior…”

Kang Shin-hyuk witnessed the miracle of the century as Shin Eunah’s cheeks swelled with dissatisfaction. How many of those who knew her had seen such a rare sight? Cute, how could it be so cute? She was a pretty, lovely, and honest child. Kang Shin-hyuk spoke up, refraining from the desire to press the air out of her cheeks.

“If there is anything you want, say it.”

“I want you to know it without me saying the words.”

“But, you’ll say that.”

Was it his own illusion that she seemed a little different from before?

-Fox! Fox! Fox!

No, given the administrator’s reaction, it wasn’t. Kang Shin-hyuk sighed and thought for a long time about whether this violated his promise with Claire, but eventually spoke cautiously with a heart that couldn’t hide his worry and love for Eunah that only grew with the synchronization’s progression.

“Is it alright?”

“…Hhh, hee.”

Was it so good? A real smile appeared on her lips. Even though he had seen a lot of really rare things today, this might have taken the cake.

“But I can’t call you by name. Because the age difference is too much.”

“You can; you call Claire by her name.”

“Claire is American.”

“I don’t care about that either.”

Shin Eunah talked like she was complaining but quickly caught herself.

“Since Shin Eun-hyuk hasn’t disclosed his age, there is no problem.”

“There was an official announcement that he was younger than you.”

“Ah…”

It must’ve been thanks to the government’s efforts and the association’s to somehow make him the youngest top-ranker. Shin Eunah, who had failed to take that into account, lamented and resented them.

“Besides, if I call you by your name, I’m worried you will call me grandpa by accident.”

“I won’t.”

“You might get confused.”

“I’m not confused.”

“No.”

Shin Eunah turned her gaze back to the front, but her cheeks were still puffed.

“I know now.”

Kang Shin-hyuk pretended not to hear her and sighed only internally. The two kept silent during the patrol, but the administrator’s endless messages made the silence tolerable.

-I thought a day like this would come. We will give a special lecture that prepares administrators to notice and stop foxes in advance, especially for you. First of all, the first lecture, the definition of a fox…

No, that didn’t help either.

The two went straight to the association HQ after their patrol was concluded. The people there began to fuss about as soon as they saw Shin Eunhyuk enter the building next to Shin Eunah.

“That is Shin Eun-hyuk.”

“Then, was Shin Eun-hyuk also on this expedition?”

“With that, the 1st and 4th rankings are secured, and maybe even the 7th. Hopefully, it’s really possible.”

“It looks like they’re going to attend a meeting.”

“They are members of the association.”

Expedition? Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyebrows slightly rose behind his mask. What expedition were they talking about? Besides, 7th place? If they were referring to Bridget Poulsen, it was most likely that Shin Eunah had directly asked her.

-Why didn’t you tell me in advance?

Using the whisper function, he silently communicated to Shin Eunah, who was right beside him.

-Eunah’s whisper: It’s because I don’t like it.

-So tell me more.

-Eunah’s whisper: Your participation hasn’t been confirmed. You have to tell them what they want at this meeting.

-Tell me about the expedition.

Instead of responding, Shin Eunah let out a slow sigh next to him. Kang Shinhyuk felt worried about her at the sound.

– You really look like a grandfather now, so stop, member.

‘The higher the synchronization rate, the more instinctive it becomes. It’s okay, though, because I’m not showing it off.’

– The problem is with your gaze that seems like someone looking at their older granddaughter. It could be easily misunderstood.

It was then a man in a suit approached them near the elevator heading up to the conference room.

“It’s been a long time, young lady.”

He was seeing a lot of incredible things today. He had never imagined that there would be people who actually spoke that way! The man greeted Shin Eunah politely and glanced at Kang Shin-hyuk. He had been surprised by his greeting, but fortunately, he was wearing a mask.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Death Puppeteer. I know your reputation well.”

“I am Shin Eun-hyuk. Please call me by name.”

“I am Kang-yul Lee. I am the submaster of the mercenary guild Zeus and the head of the planning department.”

Oh, Zeus. Kang Shin-hyuk lightly shook the man’s hand and thought of Eunah. Now he knew why her face had stiffened. Zeus, the mercenary guild, was the dominant power in the mercenary industry, the guild founded by her parents.