Hidden Benefits

“Waaam!”

Han Suyeon took a huge bite out of the potato.

A wave of happiness filled her mouth.

Even though she’d eaten so many potatoes yesterday, she wasn’t tired of them in the slightest.

She ate enthusiastically and quickly finished the potato in her hand.

“Is it good?”

Realizing how she must have looked, Han Suyeon’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

What am I, a dog? How did I completely lose myself over food?

Fortunately, she’d sent the siblings inside first, so her embarrassment was somewhat lessened.

After taking a moment to regain her composure, she straightened herself up.

“So, what was the favor you wanted to ask me?”

“See those fields stretching all the way up behind my house? I want you to put up a barrier that prevents people from approaching.”

“A barrier… here?”

“Yeah. If possible, I wanted a barrier that had been made by someone at your level.”

Han Suyeon was one of the world’s foremost barrier specialists.

It was also a field in which her unique constitution could truly shine.

More than anything, however, her innate talent was simply extraordinary.

Even though barrier magic wasn’t her primary specialty, she had still reached an overwhelming level in the field.

“I understand what you mean. It’s because you’re worried about people noticing what you’re doing, right?”

“Exactly. It wouldn’t matter if I only had the small vegetable garden in the yard.

But once I start expanding the fields outside, it could cause all sorts of trouble.”

Oh Hyeonseong’s farming was fundamentally different from ordinary farming.

If an outsider happened to witness what was happening, they couldn’t help but find it strange.

Crops could change dramatically in the span of a single day.

Fruit could grow abundantly despite being completely out of season.

A field that had been planted with potatoes yesterday could suddenly become a wheat field.

Anyone who saw such things would naturally become suspicious.

Of course, this place was extremely remote, even within this rural village.

It wasn’t somewhere people could easily observe.

But when you lived somewhere long enough, coincidences happened more often than you’d expect.

Just recently, neighbors and unexpected visitors had begun dropping by from time to time.

“Well… sure. I should at least earn my potatoes.”

Han Suyeon readily nodded.

She didn’t show it outwardly, and she wasn’t even aware of it herself, but after having enjoyed those delicious potatoes, she was in an exceptionally good mood.

Zzzzzzt!

Mana gathered above her lightly outstretched left hand.

For an ordinary Hunter to create a barrier, they had to inject their own mana throughout the entire area according to a structure they had designed.

But Han Suyeon, as a Mana Resonator, didn’t need to do that.

Instead, she drew out her mana like pure-white threads and spread them throughout the surrounding area.

The atmosphere around them began to tremble ever so slightly.

Her scale really hasn’t changed.

An ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed the faint trembling.

But a high-level Hunter capable of sensing such subtle changes would have been able to tell that mana was being deployed with breathtaking delicacy and density.

The threads of mana formed the framework of the barrier and settled into position.

Of course, this alone was nothing more than a half-finished barrier riddled with gaps.

Mana resonating with Han Suyeon flowed in and completed the structure.

Vooooom!

The space around them rippled violently.

Oh Hyeonseong’s vision twisted dramatically before returning to normal.

“To think you can create a barrier this large all at once. I wonder how unfair it must feel to Hunters who have to construct their formulas dozens of times just to cover a single building.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Flash!

Han Suyeon simply withdrew her mana.

The fluctuations of the resonating mana disappeared, and the strange sensation permeating the surroundings vanished with it.

“Done. Is this enough?”

Oh Hyeonseong nodded.

A massive barrier completely covered the entire stretch of private land behind his house.

It surrounded precisely the area he’d requested.

“The security should be strong enough, right? I’d rather not have even Hunters notice anything.”

“Don’t worry. Even if National Security Service agents came here with the intention of searching the place, they wouldn’t discover anything inside.”

“Thanks.”

If Han Suyeon said it was enough, he had nothing to worry about.

There was no questioning her ability.

Once they stepped outside the barrier’s range, all that could be seen was the original empty field and clear sky.

There was no trace of the distortion that had been visible from inside the barrier.

It was completely seamless.

“I used a textbook double-layered distortion field. Anyone other than you who enters the barrier will see exactly the same scenery as they would from outside. We used this technique countless times during operations back then… but I never imagined I’d end up using it for something like this.”

“Yeah. I never imagined I’d end up becoming a farmer either.”

Oh Hyeonseong let out a hollow laugh.

He’d always felt this way, but life really was unpredictable.

In any case, once they’d finished setting up the barrier, the two returned to the house.

“Oh, you’re back!”

“Did you finish the work?”

“No. We’re calling it a day here.”

Oh Hyeonseong put down his hoe.

He hadn’t completed as much of the field as he’d originally intended, but he hadn’t expected to finish everything in a single day anyway.

Besides, even the area he’d planned to prepare was less than a tenth of the entire stretch of land protected by the barrier, and it was already quite large.

There was no reason to hurry, especially since it would take time to obtain seeds and seedlings.

As the group gathered on the wooden veranda and chatted together—

Ding!

“Huh?”

Yoo Seungsu suddenly stood up in surprise, his phone in hand.

“What is it? Something wrong?”

“There’s a problem with the temperature control system at our facility.

I think I need to go check it out right now.”

“No, wait! Stay a little longer!”

Yoo Eunha hurriedly shook her head.

She’d just been in the middle of talking with Han Suyeon.

This was an opportunity that might never come again in her lifetime.

There was no way she wanted it to end already.

“Looking at this, it isn’t some minor malfunction. We need to get there before the system shuts down completely.”

“If you’re going, go by yourself!”

“You idiot, are you kidding? You’re in charge of the software. How can I go alone? Do you want to lose everything we own?”

Yoo Eunha’s expression turned miserable at his scolding.

But there was nothing she could do.

If something went seriously wrong with the temperature control, all the crops growing throughout their facility would be ruined.

And they cultivated premium varieties, meaning even the seedlings were expensive.

The resulting loss would be enormous.

Reluctantly dragging her feet, Yoo Eunha eventually managed to get just one photograph with Han Suyeon before returning home with her brother.

“She left.”

“I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“Apparently, even though she looks like that, she hasn’t had a single accident in the two years she’s been running the facility. Don’t worry.”

Han Suyeon nodded at Oh Hyeonseong’s words.

With two people gone, the house became much quieter.

But once the siblings disappeared, the spirits that had been hiding began appearing one after another, filling the empty spaces around the yard.

In particular, Han Suyeon couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh when she saw the Spirit of Life sprawled beside her.

“It’s nice and quiet.”

Following the spirit’s example, Han Suyeon flopped down onto the wooden veranda.

It was something she would never normally do.

She stretched out her arms and legs and lay flat on her back.

The rough wooden floor pressed against her back.

Yet somehow, it was much more comfortable than the several-million-won leather chair in her office.

“I don’t want to go back up to Seoul today.”

The chirping of birds.

Clouds drifting across a clear sky.

No blaring car horns.

No camera flashes from reporters.

At least for now, she could forget all the worries and distracting thoughts she’d left behind in the city.

“Get plenty of rest before you go. Don’t think about anything while you’re here.”

“Thank you. I’ll just… stay like this for a little while.”

Han Suyeon gently closed her eyes.

It felt as though she could remain in this moment forever.

But perhaps because she’d wanted it so badly, time passed all too quickly.

“Are you leaving now?”

Oh Hyeonseong asked as Han Suyeon put on her shoes.

“Yeah. I got a call. I think I need to head back immediately.”

“They should’ve just let you rest for another day.”

“No. I rested plenty thanks to you. More than I thought was possible.”

Han Suyeon smiled lightly.

It wasn’t a polite or obligatory smile.

There was genuine emotion in it.

Hyeonseong accompanied her outside to see her off.

“It’s a shame, though. I wanted to try the other crops you’re growing.”

“If I have any extra, I’ll send some to you. Or come visit again sometime. I’ll cook you a proper meal next time.”

“I’d like to, but… I probably won’t be able to come for a while. I think I’ll be even busier soon.”

“Really? Then take this with you.”

“Oh. This is…”

“Payment for the whiskey we drank yesterday. Steam one whenever you’re busy.”

Oh Hyeonseong loaded a box of potatoes into the back of her car.

Han Suyeon raised her eyes in surprise and stared at him for a moment before speaking.

“…Thank you. For everything.”

Bang!

Han Suyeon got out of the vehicle and closed the door.

Then she approached a scene surrounded by police tape.

As soon as she appeared, the nearby citizens erupted into cheers, while reporters frantically snapped photographs.

The police bowed their heads and stepped aside without being asked.

“Welcome, Deputy Director.”

After walking deeper into the restricted area, a Hunter dressed in a black coat appeared.

His clothes were stained with blood, and the surrounding roads had already been thoroughly destroyed.

“Looks like you’ve already had a fight.”

“Yes. We dealt with all the small fry that appeared during the preliminary wave.”

“Can I see the information?”

“Here you go.”

Han Suyeon took the report and began reading it as she walked.

The man following behind her continued.

“As you heard, this is a Gate that cannot be entered in advance.

So we have to intercept the monsters as they emerge. The problem is the final boss. It’s classified as an A-Rank Gate, but the monster itself is extremely troublesome.”

“If it’s a Drawler… wasn’t that the one that caused a huge disturbance in India a while back?”

“That’s right. It has an absurd amount of vitality. If you don’t kill it in a single attack, the difficulty of subjugating it increases dramatically. We can assemble a team specifically suited to deal with it, but the real problem is that the Gate appeared right in the middle of a major urban area.”

A Gate that couldn’t be cleared in advance.

If the boss monster emerged into the city and began rampaging, the resulting damage could quickly spiral out of control.

There were also important facilities nearby, including a data center, so they had to minimize the potential casualties and destruction.

“I understand. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Let’s finish this quickly and go home.”

Han Suyeon smiled as she spoke.

The man slightly turned his head at her unusually lively demeanor.

Normally, she always seemed frighteningly composed.

But today, there was noticeably more vitality in both her expression and voice.

I wonder if something good happened to her.

No.

Asking something like that would be overstepping my bounds.

The man shook his head and said nothing.

Zzzzzzt!

At the scheduled time, the Gate began to react.

A massive monster forced its way through the cracks in space and emerged.

Its grotesque body, shrouded in pitch-black darkness, landed heavily enough to make the ground sink beneath its weight.

The creature immediately revealed its hostility toward the two humans standing in its path—

BOOOOOOM!

A blinding flash consumed the entire area.

A tremendous explosion erupted, and the monster caught in its path was torn apart within it.

There wasn’t even a piece of flesh left to fall to the ground.

The creature had simply evaporated on the spot.

Rumble, rumble!

“W-What… what was that…?!”

The man barely managed to keep his balance as he shielded his face with both arms.

The shockwave alone from that single attack was enough to make his consciousness fade.

He was well aware of the Deputy Director’s strength.

But this attack had been completely beyond conventional standards.

As expected… she truly is a living legend of the Hunter world.

The man looked at her with awe.

But standing there was Han Suyeon herself, wearing an expression more bewildered than anyone.

“…Huh?”