Chapter 39 – I Followed Them

A viewer sobbing as they complained about their teenage child. And an expert offering solutions as if to console them.

For some reason, it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

I knew Katrinne’s parents. And their deaths were not unrelated to me.

That’s why I feel indebted. Though Katrinne might be upset if she knew.

Katrinne is different from other kids.

Every parent says that, but this kid is truly different.

At a young age, she inherited her parents’ domain and ran it without any problems.

Even in the tragic circumstances of war, she grew up to be a respectable lord.

Plus, she’s incredibly smart. I took a quick look, and even though she just transferred to Raon Academy, all her grades are in the top tier.

A kid like that is going to go astray just because she got one bad boyfriend?

A laugh escaped me.

The only way I can imagine Katrinne going astray is by eating a bit more. She’s just that sharp.

“Ah, right. I was supposed to buy new workout clothes today.”

I muttered to myself without realizing it. It’s not like anyone else was home.

I threw on some workout clothes without even bothering to shower and went out.

Which way did Katrinne go earlier? Ah, toward that telephone pole.

I’m not necessarily worried about her. It’s just that the clothing store I want to go to happens to be in the same direction she went.

Walking quickly—no, just at my usual pace—I saw Katrinne’s back in the distance.

Seeing Katrinne all dressed up in the city, she somehow didn’t look like the kid I knew.

There was no need to call out to her.

She’s here on her own business, and I’m just looking for a clothing store.

Our paths are different, so there’s no reason to call her over just to say hi.

“Hey, that girl’s cute, isn’t she?”

“Should we go talk to her?”

Two guys were smirking as they looked back.

Hmm, this isn’t my imagination. They’re definitely looking at Katrinne.

The two were about to follow Katrinne when their eyes met mine.

I smiled at them without thinking.

It’s like a conditioned reflex.

Since I’ve become something of a celebrity in the hunter world, I have to manage my public image.

You can call me corrupt. This is all the result of choosing money, popularity, wealth, and honor.

The two of them look at me, surprised.

Did they recognize me because I’m famous? Should I give them an autograph on the street?

Even if they were hitting on Katrinne, I can’t just scowl at them openly. I have a naturally smiling face, after all.

“Hey, let’s just go.”

“Yeah.”

The two exchanged glances and slowly backed away from me. Then, their faces pale, they started to run.

Like they suddenly had somewhere urgent to be.

It’s a relief that the brief disturbance took care of itself.

I continued to tail Katrinne—no, to look for the clothing store.

What’s a good workout brand these days?

NikX, Xila. I really like AdidaX.

“Seo-yeon, have you been waiting?”

Just then, I heard a familiar voice.

Seo-yeon is Katrinne’s Korean name. Katrinne greeted the approaching man with a bashful smile.

“No, I just got here too.”

My prediction was right. Something was off when the ever-so-diligent Katrinne suddenly said she was going on a date.

It takes a man to know a man, and I can tell he’s insincere just from his voice. I’m glad I followed her.

No, I’m glad I came out to buy clothes. Let’s get a look at his face.

Blond hair, a delinquent-like impression. A solid build. He looks somehow familiar.

‘Kim Tae-yang?’

Unless my eyes are deceiving me, that’s Kim Tae-yang. I mean, who else looks that much like a delinquent?

“Well then, let’s go.”

“Okay, Oppa.”

Oppa?

The word “Oppa” came out of Katrinne’s mouth. My cochlea feels like it’s about to jump out of my ear and ask if what it just heard was real.

Katrinne is on a date with Kim Tae-yang?

It’s baffling, but it’s possible. Despite his looks, Kim Tae-yang is twenty-one. He’s very young for a hunter.

Young kids can meet, fall for each other, and go on dates. Yes, that can happen. I’m not that conservative.

Yes, I can forgive you. But will *this* forgive you?

*Hoo, hoo.*

I barely managed to calm down and put the tactical knife back in my inventory.

I felt people’s stares for a moment but ignored them. My goal of stopping by the clothing store was now gone.

From now on, I’m on protection duty.

As a hunter, Kim Tae-yang is a decent talent, but as a potential partner? I don’t know. He seems like the type to make a girl cry. And, uh, he doesn’t seem to have much of a relationship with studying either.

The two of them went into a cafe. I can see them ordering coffee, waiting, and exchanging the vibrating pager for their drinks.

-Code of Conduct: One.

-Has your daughter undergone any recent changes?

-Yes / No

Looking at the booklet that had somehow appeared in my hand, I selected yes and turned the page.

-Did the change begin with a friend?

-Yes / No

‘Yesss.’

I turn to the next page.

-Is the friend a boy?

-Yes / No

‘Ye… yesss…’

Next page.

-Your daughter is in danger. Your daughter has been replaced by an impostor.

*Crumple.*

The booklet in my hand, ‘A Textbook for Fathers, Princess Maker. You Can Do It Too,’ crumpled.

This book is rumored to be incredibly accurate.

The book band even says it’s projected to sell fifty million copies.

The population of South Korea is fifty million.

If every single person bought it, wouldn’t it be an incredible book? A book like that couldn’t possibly be filled with meaningless words.

I can see Katrinne laughing and chatting with Kim Tae-yang.

I’ve watched over Katrinne since she was seven. Considering she’s never had a proper boyfriend, her immunity to boys is practically nonexistent.

In the other world, she was busy as a lord, but here, she’s just a freeloader who goes to school.

It looks like they’re having a pleasant conversation, but I can’t hear them.

I can’t get any closer because I’m afraid I’ll be spotted.

The way Kim Tae-yang is looking at Katrinne is unusual. Dangerous. Very dangerous.

Suddenly, Kim Tae-yang jumped up in surprise and looked around.

Afraid of being caught, I hid my body behind a pillar.

“Team Leader?”

Just then, I heard a familiar voice.

I turned my head to see a man with a short, athletic haircut.

“Hunter Kim In-ho?”

“Team Leader, what are you doing here? And with a weapon…”

Ah, I must have taken out the tactical knife again without realizing.

I said I’d forgive him. This thing keeps trying to get angry, ignoring its master’s command.

Shoo, get back in. Stay in there.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah, they said training was off today, so I came out for a bit. But there’s nothing to do. I work my muscles every day, so when I don’t, my body feels all empty…”

Look at this. How diligent.

If it were Hunter Kim In-ho instead, I might have even approved.

Kim In-ho, who trains so diligently every day, is clearly an upstanding guy.

But as for Hunter Kim Tae-yang, even though I raised the kid and see him favorably, my intuition about his relationships with women is not good.

“Oh, isn’t that Tae-yang over there?”

Kim In-ho saw Kim Tae-yang and was about to raise his hand to greet him.

Kim In-ho greets Kim Tae-yang? -> Kim Tae-yang sees Kim In-ho? -> Katrinne looks in the same direction as Kim Tae-yang? -> The two of them see me?

Yesss. Yeah, yesss.

Having finished running the algorithm, I struck Kim In-ho in the abdomen.

“Gak!”

Kim In-ho gasped and looked at me.

“T-Team Leader, why…!”

“You’ve come in too deep, Hunter Kim In-ho.”

“It can’t be…!”

I gently sat the collapsed Hunter Kim In-ho down in a chair. Feeling bad, I ordered an iced Americano and left it for him.

He’ll probably drink the coffee and go home when he wakes up. He said he had nothing to do anyway. It’s nice to enjoy the leisure of a nap in the middle of the city.

This isn’t going to work.

This area is near my old workplace, so I might run into someone by chance.

Come to think of it, I’ve been on TV a few times, so people might recognize me.

As proof, even those delinquent-looking guys from before recognized me.

Even now, people are glancing at me.

This is bad. I think I need some kind of disguise. Should I buy a hat or a mask for tailing?

A mask?

Oh, come to think of it, I have just the thing.

I took the Justice Armor out of my inventory.

The Justice Armor. This embarrassing and shameful suit of tights is made of state-of-the-art material.

With the mask on, not only is my face hidden from others, but my voice is also automatically modulated.

But Katrinne knows about the Justice Armor. However, this Justice Armor has one new feature.

Camouflage.

A function that lets me blend in with my surroundings like a chameleon.

I remembered Olivier mentioning the suit had a new feature, so I’d checked it out once because it was bothering me.

Ah, of course, I only looked because I was curious. It’s definitely not because I wanted to try it on when I was home alone.

I turned on the camouflage function.

-Activating Camouflage.

Everything around me turned gray. Oh, this feels professional. Now I can tail the two of them without getting caught.

After finishing their coffee, the two went outside. They went to a clothing store.

Katrinne picked out a few clothes and held them up to Kim Tae-yang’s body. They looked exactly like a couple on a date.

I see Katrinne buying a men’s cashmere coat. That stuff is expensive. Where would a kid who gets an allowance from me get that kind of money?

Kim Tae-yang opens his wallet. But I saw Katrinne wave her hands, refusing.

You should be the one paying. Even if she refuses, you should pay. What money does a kid have, huh?

Next, they went to a restaurant. It looks like they went to slice some steak, but I feel like slicing something else.

*Growl.*

As I kept following them, I got hungry too. I looked around, went into a convenience store, and bought a red bean bun and some milk.

This is the kind of food you’re supposed to eat in a situation like this.

This Justice Armor has another new feature. It’s a meal system support.

When eating, the mouth part of the helmet opens. Meaning, smooth consumption of meals is possible without taking off the Justice Armor.

The only problem is that it’s a little embarrassing, but it might actually be quite useful in battle. Come to think of it, the Demon King isn’t that stupid; there’s no way he would have designed something like this carelessly, right?

Just then, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned to see who it was, and it was a police officer.

“Excuse me, sir. We’ve been getting repeated reports.”

Is he talking to me? I’m in camouflage mode right now.

“I’ll need to see some identification.”

Come to think of it, how did I pay at the convenience store?

I think I just paid with my card like usual when I bought the bun and milk.

Only then did I see the very small text floating at the bottom of my vision.

-Mode still in development.

Seriously, they shouldn’t have even written that camouflage was in use. It doesn’t even work yet!

Of course. Instead of developing this garbage suit, they should do something productive.

“Excuse me? I need to see your ID.”

When I didn’t answer, the officer asked again. With a suspicious look in his eyes.

But I didn’t bring my ID. I left in a hurry.

No, even if I had my ID, it would be problematic to show it here.

People would definitely give me strange looks for wearing this ridiculous tights-suit while following the kid I live with.

I’ll be socially ostracized.

“Sir?”

The officer looked at me and slowly reached for something behind his back.

I have a bad feeling about this.

I immediately fled.

I can hear the police chasing me. The sound of a whistle. And then the urgent chatter of a radio as a police car zips through the city.

While being pursued by the police, I see a place where people are gathered and screaming.

A building on fire. Inside, a small child is hugging a teddy bear and crying for their mom. The mother has just spotted the child and is trembling.

My body moves reflexively. It’s a three-story building, but with the spider-sticky function in my palms, I can scale a building like this in no time.

After rescuing the child in an instant, I was met with cheers from the crowd. Just then, I see the panting police officer who’s still chasing me.

Persistent guy.

I started running again. A falling sign blocked the path in the middle of a crowd, and I subdued a drunkard brandishing a knife.

Before I knew it, the officer who had been chasing me was standing next to me, giving a thumbs-up for a commemorative photo.

By the time I received a commendation and returned home, it was already late evening.

“Ajeossi, you’re late?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

“I thought so. I made some kimchi fried rice.”

Katrinne brought over kimchi fried rice from which green smoke was rising. No, what did she make this with to get green smoke?

“Did you have fun on your date?”

“What date? Oh. It was okay, I guess?”

After saying that, Katrinne sat down in front of me as I ate. With something on her lap.

“Ajeossi, this is for you.”

Katrinne places something on the table. As if she’d been waiting for me to finish my meal.

“What is it?”

“A present.”

“A present?”

Why a present all of a sudden?

I look inside the shopping bag and see a cashmere coat. It’s the one she bought with Kim Tae-yang earlier. Why is it here?

“Ajeossi, it’s your birthday today.”

“Birthday?”

Was it? I’d lost track of the date. It’s not like I have any good memories of my birthday.

“Where’d you get the money to buy something like this? This must’ve been expensive.”

“Actually, Tae-yang Oppa said he owed you and offered to buy it, but I wanted to buy it myself. Ah, I met up with Tae-yang Oppa, you see. You two have a similar build. I got some help from him today.”

So it wasn’t a development where she was suddenly dating Kim Tae-yang.

She wasn’t dating Kim Tae-yang.

What a relief.

Only then did the coat Katrinne bought for me really catch my eye.

Hmm, it’s a really nice coat. Whoever picked it has good taste. I should wear it often.

I suddenly felt sorry toward Kim Tae-yang. I hope he can forgive me for judging him just by his appearance.

“But, he kept asking to be my boyfriend, so I told him off.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Yeah. He said I’m his ideal type. Hehe, I’m pretty popular.”

I guess I have to crush Kim Tae-yang after all.

I’d made up my mind, but I couldn’t go crush Kim Tae-yang.

The vibration of my phone announced its presence.

-We’ve found the Company Man’s whereabouts.

It was a call from the Demon King.