Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Is the Ultimate Goal a Marriage Registration Form?

The first-come-first-served reservations for the stat restorative soup were filled in an instant.

The gourmet scarred mercenary — looking at his written name, it was Choi Seok-ho.

Then guild master Kim Cheol-yeong.

Hunter Han Se-a, and the Rift Management Bureau Director.

And two A+-Rank Hunters.

After all business was concluded and everything tidied up—

I gathered with the S-Rank trio in the large tent to discuss the days ahead.

Near the end, the Sword Saint made a suggestion.

"How about bringing Ria here tomorrow?"

"Ria?"

"Yes. The Rift Management Bureau Director is here. He is a man who values talented individuals very highly. If we show him Ria's prowess, her naturalization might go through quite easily."

The Rift Management Bureau was an agency fully independent from the Ministry of National Defense, and the Director received treatment nearly equivalent to a cabinet minister.

Going through him could indeed make Ria's naturalization very straightforward, just as the Sword Saint said.

The problem was that if Ria left the house, there would be no one to protect Rin and the home.

Half a day's absence would probably not cause any serious harm, but just in case.

When I raised the concern, Eriksson spoke up.

"Santos and I will watch the house. Take Bell along."

With the two of them plus Bell, one day should pose no major issues.

"Then just half a day, please."

"Got it."

I opened a Gate portal right there inside the tent and headed to the Rift house.

***

The next day.

When Eriksson and Santos arrived at the house with Bell, Ria and I walked to the bedrock zone.

Ria asked me.

"All I need to do is help with the cooking, right?"

"That is right."

"I will do my best."

"Thank you."

The real reason I was bringing her was something else, but I had not told her yet.

We were nearly at the bedrock zone.

The follow-up expedition grew noisy upon spotting us.

Probably because a new face had appeared.

"Seon-u, things seem a bit rowdy."

"Yeah. I wonder why."

Why else? Because Ria was too beautiful.

Of the 39 members in the follow-up expedition, 30 were men.

The Sword Saint came out to meet us.

When Ria used the Sigil of Wisdom on the Sword Saint, he spoke.

"Ria, welcome. It feels like it has been a while."

"It does. We saw each other every day, and then you left for reconnaissance."

"Indeed. I miss Rin very much."

"Actually, Rin sometimes asks, 'Where is Grandpa?' "

"Really? Ha ha! That child."

The Sword Saint was delighted.

Rin must be very dear to him.

After arriving at the bedrock zone with the Sword Saint—

I overheard snippets of conversation.

'Unbelievable......'

'She is really beautiful.'

'Which country's Hunter is she?'

'Pale skin and silver hair — probably Northern European.'

'She is my type.'

I subtly positioned myself in front of Ria.

The Hunters grumbled with sour expressions.

Then Han Se-a and Director Jeong Jae-yong approached.

Han Se-a looked at Ria and asked.

"Sir, who is she?"

The Sword Saint glanced at me once.

I nodded.

"Her name is Emeria. She is Seon-u's companion, and she is remarkably strong."

Upon hearing the Sword Saint's words, Director Jeong showed even more interest in Ria than Han Se-a did.

"How strong is Emeria, exactly?"

"Strong enough that even two of me attacking together would not be able to defeat her."

"Excuse me......? That is absurd."

"Ha ha! It is the truth."

Han Se-a and the Director wore expressions of disbelief.

"Judging by the sword at her waist, she seems to be a swordswoman. And you are saying the Sword Saint himself cannot defeat her?"

The Sword Saint nodded at Han Se-a's question.

"It is true, Se-a."

"......Sword against sword, and you cannot win? I cannot believe that."

Han Se-a's trust in the Sword Saint ran very deep.

Her expression truly conveyed disbelief.

Ria, having listened to the exchange via the Sigil of Wisdom, remained silent.

The Sword Saint bowed his head slightly to Ria.

"Ria, would you be willing to spar with me? I want to prove to these people how strong you are."

He was openly stating his desire to showcase Ria's strength.

"It is not a difficult request, but......"

The blunt honesty of the request caught Ria slightly off guard.

She had come to help with cooking, and suddenly she was being asked to spar.

I gave her a verbal push.

"The Sword Saint is requesting this spar for your sake, Ria."

"For my sake? Why?"

"There are reasons."

"Another secret?"

"Sorry."

"Hmm, fine. I will do it."

Ria reluctantly agreed.

A short distance from the bedrock zone, the two drew their swords and faced each other.

The entire follow-up expedition gathered to watch.

Ria spoke to the Sword Saint.

"Please strike first."

"Very well."

The spar began.

The Sword Saint launched the first attack, unleashing a fierce barrage.

A cleaving strike resembling a kendo overhead slash — his Earth-Splitting Single Stroke skill.

Followed by aggressive use of his thrusting skill, the Single Point Pierce, pressuring Ria relentlessly.

But Ria dodged everything as fluidly as water.

"That is impossible......"

The Director, watching from the sidelines, was stunned by Ria's movements.

But the real shock was just beginning — Ria's counterattack started.

A storm of swordsmanship.

The Sword Saint could not even think about countering; he was barely managing to block.

"The Sword Saint is being pushed back in a sword duel......"

In truth, Ria was still going easy.

When she sparred against the Sword Saint, Eriksson, and Santos all at once, she displayed truly fearsome divine prowess.

Ria swept her sword upward, launching the Sword Saint's blade high into the air.

Then, before he could recover, she charged Aura heavily into the blade she had just swung up and brought it slashing down, releasing the Aura in a wave—

KABOOM—!

The Aura grazed past the Sword Saint's side and carved a long scar into the earth.

A gash easily over 30 meters long.

"I yield......!"

The Sword Saint, blown back by the shockwave of the Aura release, drove his sword into the ground to brace himself and conceded defeat.

To me, the outcome was obvious, but the follow-up expedition members could never have imagined the Sword Saint would lose.

And so overwhelmingly at that.

Everyone fell silent.

The Director and Han Se-a in particular looked deeply shaken.

'The Sword Saint, a top candidate for Korea's strongest, was effortlessly outmatched and defeated. Of course they are in shock.'

The Sword Saint — a title earned from the conviction that in matters of the sword, he yielded to no one.

A pillar of national pride had just crumbled.

'The Sword Saint sacrificed his own honor to make Ria shine.'

What a truly admirable man.

The Director turned to me and asked.

"Just who is that woman?"

"A Lady Knight from another world."

"Another world......?"

According to what the Sword Saint had told me after yesterday's business—

The Rift Management Bureau Director had joined the expedition to personally investigate the newly discovered Fourth Floor.

More than half of the Bureau's staff were Awakened.

He could have sent a subordinate, but the Director had come himself.

'Then again, the Director is A+-Rank — the highest Hunter rank in the Bureau.'

In that case, perhaps it was time to release some information.

"This Rift floor is a nexus connected to another world."

"......"

Director Jeong could not easily accept it.

The Sword Saint, having recovered from the spar, approached and spoke.

"It is the truth, Director. Ria is a person from another world."

Building on the Sword Saint's words, I added.

"She did come from another world, but she currently has no citizenship anywhere. She was absolutely not exiled for committing a crime. On the contrary, she made enormous contributions to her nation and came here after retiring."

None of that was a lie.

Ria had committed no offense.

She had spent years hunting down the remnants of the Demon Kings and contributing to her nation — that was fact.

She had been pursued by political enemies who had assassinated her father, but since that was not the official position of the Imperial Court, her knighthood had never been formally revoked.

In practical terms, Ria had retired of her own volition when she gave up on revenge.

"So she is from another world, currently a stateless retired knight."

"Correct."

The Director's eyes burned with intensity.

In the post-Rift era, the number of S-Rank Hunters a country possessed had become one of the global indicators of national power.

This had created a serious social problem: the brain drain.

When an S-Rank Hunter emerged in a smaller nation, the world's major powers often offered immense wealth to lure them into naturalizing, and this had become a serious issue.

'Each S-Rank Hunter is that precious — and here was someone demonstrating combat prowess that overwhelmed an S-Rank.'

If Ria could be naturalized as Korean, the nation would gain an extraordinary asset.

The Sword Saint added one more point.

"Emeria is Hunter An Seon-u's significant other."

"Oh, is that so?"

The Director turned to watch Ria approaching, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

I took Ria's hand as she reached us and answered.

"That is correct."

Ria, finally catching on to our plan, gave me a peculiar look.

It was a gaze mixed with many emotions.

She closed her eyes, gave me a slight nod, then spoke to the Director.

"Everything they said is true."

"I see. But how is it that you speak Korean......?"

Ria answered.

"It is an ancient communication magic. In the world I come from, we use a type of magic that is entirely different from Hunter skills. The power I wield is also not based on Hunter stats, but on mana cultivation techniques."

"Oh, is that so? Fascinating. Miss Emeria, I would very much like to discuss this in more detail. Would you have time?"

The Sword Saint intervened with perfect timing.

"Director, please have that detailed conversation with me. These two need to prepare the food."

"Understood."

The Director and the Sword Saint headed toward the S-Rank trio's large tent.

Han Se-a followed them.

Ria then gave me that peculiar look again.

"Seon-u, is this what I think it is?"

"Probably. I am sorry I did not tell you beforehand. I was not sure if naturalization would even be possible. I was going to check first and then ask for your thoughts. So you would not be disappointed later if it fell through."

"I see. But is there a special reason you want me to belong to your country?"

"Well...... I want you to be able to come and go freely in the world I live in."

I kept the more detailed reasons to myself.

Ria picked up on that.

"It feels like you are hiding something more......"

"Hiding something? I have no idea what you mean."

I went with the playing-dumb strategy.

There were several reasons I was pushing for Ria's naturalization.

But the ultimate goal was to someday submit a marriage registration form and officially become husband and wife.

'If we do end up marrying, it would give me peace of mind, and Ria would not have to worry either.'

I avoided Ria's searching gaze.

"Honestly, Seon-u, you keep too many secrets from me. I do not keep any from you."

"Sorry. I will tell you later."

"Fine."

"Then let us go prepare the food."

"Okay."

***

The stat dish — Glace Mushroom Horn Rabbit Restorative Soup — had been fully cooked the night before and stored in Acresia, pressure cookers and all.

All I needed to do was take them out and serve.

Beyond the buff dish, I also prepared regular meals.

Yesterday's kimchi stew had cleared their palates with heat, so today I went classic: steaks and pasta, which I cooked and began selling.

Beside me, Ria was manning the counter and assisting with cooking.

"One serving of vongole pasta, please."

"I will add one steak as well. Medium, please."

Male customers who had already finished their first serving were placing second orders.

The food being delicious was part of it.

But the bigger reason was surely to get a closer look at Ria.

"One vongole pasta, one steak medium. Correct?"

"Y-yes......"

"Ahem! That is right."

The Hunters stared at Ria, lost in a daze.

Close your mouths before a fly gets in, gentlemen.

I felt a petty irritation bubbling up.

"Ria, are you not tired?"

I removed my cooking gloves and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ria smiled radiantly at me.

"Not at all. I am happy I get to help you, Seon-u."

The Hunters watched with a mixture of envy and frustration in their eyes.

What could they do? Ria already had someone.