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Episode 85: Lee Hye-ri and Lee Kang-san

‘So cheeky.’

Lee Kang-san could confidently say that his sister, Lee Hye-ri could become the number one tanker.
And she proved it by beating none other than Lee Kang-san himself.

Of course, it didn’t mean that Hye-ri had no skills.
If she worked as a dealer, she would be able to rise to a higher position than him in the future.
Even if she wasn’t as good as Choi Woo-sung, she could be an S-class dealer or even higher.
He was sure of it. After all, she was his younger sister.

But the tank was a different story.
If she succeeded as an evasion tank, she would surely become the hunter everyone wanted.
But how easy would that be?
It wasn’t enough to just block a few of her attacks.

“What evidence do you have to prove your words? Clear evidence other than the look in your eyes that you saw?”
“Evidence… haven’t she already shown it?”
“What?”
“Lee Hye-ri beat Kwon Jun-hyeok, the most talented dealer in her grade.”

Lee Kang-san heard about Kwon Jun-hyeok was severely punished for losing to Hye-ri at the academy.
He was happy for Lee Hye-ri’s growth, but at the same time, it strengthened his belief that she has the talent of a dealer.

“It doesn’t apply to dealer-to-dealer confrontations……”
“You must have been very busy recently. You don’t even know how the monthly evaluation went.”
“What?”

At Kim Si-woo’s words, Lee Kang-san looked at Lee Hye-ri. She nodded with a slightly disappointed expression on her face.

“This time, Lee Hye-ri faced Kwon Jun-hyeok as a tanker. It was a demonstration match, and a fight with certain conditions, but all the professors who were watching acknowledged it. It was her victory.”
“As a tanker?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh…….”

Because of the conflict with Daesung, Lee Kang-san was so focused on work that he couldn’t pay any attention to Hye-ri.

“Sorry.”

He couldn’t make excuses.
He thought his younger sister was the most precious thing, but he had missed news about her. Even though that news was important to Lee Hye-ri’s future as a tanker.

“It’s okay. That’s possible. You can’t always think of me. You’re a great hunter, an ironclad Lee Kang-san. You have to protect many people.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Because I know you can’t only care about me. I try not to rely on you too much.”
“…….”

Lee Kang-san looked at Lee Hye-ri, who was sitting next to him. She had her lips tightly shut, as if she had decided on something.

“I’m going to be a tank. To do that, I’ll take any class that teacher Si-woo gives me. I don’t care if you’re against it. I’ve made up my mind, and I’m going to run for it.”
“Hye-ri…….”
“Just like the teacher said, I beat Kwon Jun-hyeok this time. I beat the guy who couldn’t beat me as a dealer. Just like the teacher said, I think I have talent like you. So please support me.”

It was unfamiliar.
A bit sharper and stiffer than usual Hye-ri.
Lee Kang-san could feel her younger sister’s affection in her voice, but it didn’t feel like it used to.
‘What should I say?’
‘It was like looking at a child who had grown up.’
‘It was admirable, but at the same time, it was disappointing.’

“Ha…….”

Just as there is no parent who can beat his child, there is no older brother who can beat his younger sister.
The moment Lee Kan-san heard Hye-ri’s words, he felt it.
No matter how much he opposed it, Lee Hye-ri would learn from this man and grow into a tanker.

“Is that true?”
“What do you mean?”
“You mean Hye-ri can surpass me and become the number one tanker?”
“She can’t beat you in the traditional tanker way. But Hye-ri will become number one in her own way. She will be active in more diverse ways than the iron wall Lee Kang-san.”

Lee Kang-san quietly watched Kim Si-woo as he spoke calmly about his ambitions.

He wondered what kind of tricks Kim Si-woo used to make Hye-ri so captivated. Kang-san started to feel wary. He was worried that something might happen to someone who didn’t know anything about the world.
That’s why he forced Hye-ri to meet Si-woo and told her to overcome him.
Kang-san was worried that Si-woo might be a strange person.

“Hmm…….”

It didn’t seem like Kim Si-woo had done anything to her right away. But was he trustworthy?
‘Well, he wasn’t.’

On his way back to Korea from the US, Lee Kang-san did some research on Kim Si-woo.

‘There wasn’t a single one.’

There was no special information.
The only information was that he entered and graduated from the academy. In addition, there were no records of which guild he joined or participated in.
Perhaps he did not join a guild that was large enough to be recorded separately.

‘Or if he hadn’t joined a guild since graduation.’

‘Why?’
‘Why would someone with the ability to help Lee Hye-ri grow like this?’
‘At least the academy professors would have wanted to hire him as an assistant, and he would have caught their eye, right?’

‘The record was so clean that it was suspicious. It was as if someone had deliberately manipulated the record.’

‘If there’s one flaw, it’s the code number. No. 2-2554.’
Although, he heard from Marcus, that it was a false accusation, but Lee Kang-san couldn’t find anything about it.
Didn’t Marcus say he didn’t hear anything about what he was involved in?

‘He is a person whose inner thoughts are impossible to read.’

But Lee Kang-san couldn’t bring himself to say those words.
The reason was simple.
Lee Hye-ri was next to him. She had deep faith in Kim Si-woo now.
It was as if Lee Kang-san was seeing the way she used to follow him.

‘I understand.’
‘Because he was the one who made possible what everyone said was impossible.’

‘He looks familiar.’

Lee Kang-san looked at Kim Si-woo. No matter how much he looked at him, he seemed familiar. He seemed to have seen him somewhere.

The eyes that seemed to pierce through people’s hearts, the tightly shut lips, and even that confident attitude that never wavers even when looking at him.
It reminded me of a person.

‘Shadow Mask.’

A man who was kicked out of the hunter world after becoming entangled with Daesung and Shin Seo-ah.

‘Similar, but different.’

At that time, that man seemed a little rougher and more like a wild beast.

“Have we met somewhere before?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Is that so? What guild were you a member of?”
“I’ve been to a few small guilds whose names I don’t know.”
“Is that so…? Someone as skilled as you?”
“I’m only good at teaching.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”

Lee Kang-san didn’t ask any more questions. It was because of Lee Hye-ri, who was giving him a hint while holding onto the hem of his clothes.

‘Whew, since you’re following him like that, I guess there’s no other way.’

Lee Kang-san swallowed a sigh and opened his mouth.

“I’ll give you just one warning.”
“Go ahead.”
“If something happens to Hye-ri because of you, or if I hear that you’re touching Hye-ri…….”

The oppressing aura of the Iron Wall rose fiercely.

Ddddddd.

The dishes in the house were shaking.

“I won’t come to you so politely then. Keep that in mind.”
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

Lee Kang-san got up from his seat.

“I’ve finished what I had to say, so I’ll get up now. Please take good care of my younger brother. I hope we won’t meet like this again.”
“Of course. Next time, I hope to see you as the guardian of a student who has successfully graduated from the academy.”

Following Lee Kang-san, Lee Hye-ri and Marcus also rose.

“Then I’ll see you next class.”
“Okay. Be careful on your way back.”

They left Kim Si-woo’s house.

***

“Phew.”

Kim Si-woo heart was pounding so hard he thought he was going to die. As expected of a S-class hunter.
Just seeing him made Kim Si-woo’s body tremble from the pressure.
It had been a long time.

Kim Si-woo felt a similar sensation when he first encountered the Sword Saint.

‘Marcus didn’t feel like this, you know.’

Lee Kang-san was definitely at least one, if not two, levels stronger than Marcus. It’s not for nothing that they say that even within the same S-class, there is a difference in class.

At the end, when he asked me if he had ever seen him, Si-woo’s heart almost dropped.

Kim Si-woo managed to safely overcome the crisis where his identity was almost revealed. He didn’t think he’d completely let down his guard yet.

‘I’ll do some background checks.’

Kim Si-woo thinks, he needed to prepare for the next time he met Lee Kang-san. He might not be able to see Lee Kang-san smiling like this then.

If Kang-san found out that Shadow Mask is Kim Si-woo…

Because he will definitely rush at you with the intent to kill you.

“Not a bad start.”

This visit to Lee Kang-san as parents was a time of great gain in many ways.
For e.g. Lee Kang-san’s love for Lee Hye-ri. He made connections with the executives of the Saint Guild, a huge guild that can compete with Daesung worldwide.

The biggest harvest among them was Lee Hye-ri’s attitude toward him.

‘I can see that Lee Hye-ri’s dependence on her brother has decreased a lot.’

Not only is Lee Hye-ri independent, but she often makes remarks that make it seem like she is dependent on Si-woo, not Lee Kang-san. If this continues…
She will soon be able to break away from her brother and grow even bigger. If that happens, she will become the best force in our guild.
Just like Kim Si-woo wanted.

Knock knock!

Kim Si-woo heard knocked on the door.
When he went outside, Lee Hye-ri was standing in front of the door.

“Haa, haa, teacher, I came to say I’m sorry.”
She was out of breath, as if she had been running in a hurry.

“What are you sorry about?”
“It’s what my brother said today. Oppa doesn’t know much about teacher’s skills, so…”
“I understand.”
“Yes?”
“He has such a pretty younger sister, so I understand why he worry so much.”
“Ah…”

Lee Hye-ri avoided my eyes and flinched.

“Oh, and there’s something I want to ask……”
“What is it?”

Lee Hye-ri, who had been smiling awkwardly with a worried expression, opened her mouth with difficulty.

“You’re not going to stop the corporal punishment you’ve been giving because of this incident, are you?”
“Corporal punishment? Why?”
“Well, my brother said that if the teacher messes with me, he’ll come find me……”
“Corporal punishment is corporal punishment. It’s part of class. What does that have to do with this issue?”
“Well, that’s true.”

Kim Si-woo continued speaking to Lee Hye-ri, who nodded.

“If you do well, I’ll reward you, and if you do poorly, I’ll punish you. That won’t change no matter who comes.”
“I see…….”

The rewards and punishments that Lee Hye-ri receives are the driving force for her to become stronger, and at the same time, they are the best tools that can make her depend on Kim Si-woo.
He can’t just throw them away.

If there were no corporal punishment or rewards, Lee Hye-ri would not be able to show the rapid growth she has shown now.
In the end, she was a vital force for our guild. Stronger she is, more beneficial she would be for his guild.
Her expression brightened belatedly when she heard those words.

“So, just focus hard in class. Don’t think about anything else.”
“Yes, I understand! Teacher!”
“Go now. Your brother will be waiting.”
“Yes, I understand. Oh, and Teacher!”

Lee Hye-ri, who was about to leave in a hurry, looked back at Si-woo and said, “Thank you. For telling me, even if it was just empty words, that I could be the best.”
“I wasn’t just saying that.”
“Huh?”
“You have the talent to be the best tanker. And…….”

Looking at Lee Hye-ri like that, he continued speaking, “you promised yourself. You’ll be the best.”
“Ah.”
“Keep that promise. I kept my promise to you that I’ll make you tank.”
“Yes, I understand!”

Lee Hye-ri left with a bright smile.

***

“Now that work is over, are we going back to America?” Lee Kang-san shook his head at Marcus’s question.

“You go to America alone. I still have some unfinished business in Korea.”
“Is it because of that guy?”

Marcus pointed to Kim Si-woo, who was seeing Lee Hye-ri off. Lee Kang-san’s eyes followed his finger and looked at Kim Si-woo.
Lee Hye-ri smiling brightly, Kim Si-woo smiling gently at her. On the outside, they looked exactly like a student and a teacher. However, Lee Kang-san could not shake off the string of suspicion that still lingered in his heart.

“Yeah. I need to do some more research. I feel uneasy about leaving my younger sister alone in Korea with that guy by her side.”

Lee Kang-san needed to uncover the truth behind that smiling face, for assurance.

“Diana wouldn’t like it?”
“Because the Ace of the Saint Guild has been away for a long time?”
“No, that’s not it… Ugh, stop it. What am I talking about with you?”

Marcus sighed deeply.

“Poor Diana. How did you end up with such a stone and wood……”
“You explain it to Diana well. I’ll be staying in Korea for about a month.”

Lee Kang-san, who spoke to Marcus in a cold voice, smiled warmly as he saw Lee Hye-ri running towards him.

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