Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Beginning (2)

A few days passed after that.

Ah-yeon's training to learn magic power went more smoothly than I had expected.

Of course, part of it was due to her outstanding talent, but it was mostly because her determination to learn was greater than I thought.

"What do you mean, 'more than you thought'?"

Ah-yeon spoke up, her tone laced with dissatisfaction, perhaps having overheard my muttering to myself.

'Well...'

If anyone saw the ultra-premium water-cooled gaming computer in her house, they would think the same. By the way, since Ah-yeon started learning magic anew, she hadn't missed a single weekly raid.

'... I never imagined it would be to this extent.'

I had somewhat guessed given how Ah-yeon's way of speaking was curiously full of gaming lingo.

But Ah-yeon was even more dedicated to games than I had imagined.

"After all, Ah-yeon-ssi, learning something new isn't easy, right?"

"I feel like there was a different reason."

Anyway, it seemed true she valued magic dearly.

Yesterday, she only played games for three hours or so.

'At least according to what I saw on her SNS.'

I kept track of Shin Ah-yeon's casual SNS account.

Managing a hunter's SNS was one of a manager's main duties, after all.

Of course, I kept this a secret from Ah-yeon.

If she found out I was watching, she might deactivate her account.

"Ah, now that I can sense magic power, does this mean I should get right back into hunter activities? It feels like the ring is stabilized now."

Ah-yeon spoke cautiously, watching my reaction.

That look on her face struck me as a little curious.

'How did the charismatic Great Mage turn into this?'

Judging by the water-cooled gaming computer she bought after losing her magic power, I didn't think it was due to some serious mental shock or excessive stress.

'She's become gloomier than she was three years ago...'

When I think about it, considering she lost the foundation of her existence, the change compared to before is 'just' that much.

Was this her original personality all along? Was the charismatic Shin Ah-yeon actually an act...?

'Anyway, at this rate, I think she can move ahead a bit more quickly.'

Just as she said, the ring formed in Ah-yeon's heart was now stable.

'How many days has it been since she became 1st-circle?'

By my memory, about three days.

Already her ring was mature and its intensity and form were perfect.

In other words, she was ready to challenge 2nd-circle.

To emphasize how absurd this speed was—in that other world, people didn't really get to call themselves "mages" with confidence until the 2nd-circle.

What's more, reaching even the 2nd-circle usually took three to five years.

But Ah-yeon did it in just three days.

Even for someone who once reached the heights of a great mage, this was abnormal speed.

Circle magic, after all, was something she had to practically learn from scratch.

"I was thinking, we should start preparing for your return to hunter activities."

When I nodded lightly and gave my answer, Ah-yeon, for some reason, shrank her shoulders a bit nervously.

"But I'm not sure if it'll be okay."

"Why?"

"Because... people remember Shin Ah-yeon, the Great Mage."

At those words, I understood what she was worried about.

She could now gather magic power again, but compared to her great mage days, it was just a drop in the bucket.

"Well, it would be prime fodder for the press, that's for sure."

As I nodded in agreement, Ah-yeon's face fell further.

"So... that's really how it is?"

"But regardless, that's a road you'll have to cross eventually, whether now or later."

No matter how deeply the name Shin Ah-yeon had sunk beneath the surface, it'd be easy to bring it back to everyone's attention—a title only seven in the world had ever received: 'Great Mage'.

'Great Mage of Stars' Shin Ah-yeon was one of Korea's most popular hunters.

If such a Shin Ah-yeon reappeared in the hunter industry, it was certain many would pay attention.

'Of course, it won't all be good attention.'

Anyway, Shin Ah-yeon had disappeared while still an S-rank.

Once she resumed activities, if her performance didn't match her rank, she might be asked to renew her license.

In that case, since Ah-yeon had not yet fully regained her abilities, she'd very likely be evaluated at a much lower rank than before.

No matter how much she was recovering her strength, the world wouldn't wait for her.

"I wonder what people will think of me now that I'm no longer S-rank..."

That must have been what made her so uneasy.

But honestly, I wasn't much worried about that.

"They don't even have to suspect a thing."

"... What?"

"As long as we do a convincing job, it won't be an issue. Besides, you'll get your true abilities back soon enough."

"W-wait a minute!"

When I replied resolutely, a flustered Ah-yeon came closer and grabbed my arm.

"Are you serious? That I can return to being S-rank—no matter what, that's..."

"Do you really think you can't?"

"...."

When I threw the question back in disbelief, Ah-yeon's expression went blank.

"Really?"

"Of course. More than anything, I'm by your side, aren't I?"

The person beside her now was not the irresponsible manager from three years ago, who left everything in Ah-yeon's hands.

I had met countless heroes.

Helped them.

Guided them.

In the end, even saved a world facing its own apocalypse.

"The one and only returnee."

That was me.

***

"Boss."

"Yeah."

In a quiet room, two men sat facing each other.

Their dark circles and unshaven faces made it clear that things weren't going well for them.

"Don't you think we're in some real trouble?"

"If by 'some trouble' you mean 'totally screwed', then yes."

Looking at the financial statements in his hand, he couldn't help but laugh.

Not from joy, but from disbelief.

"How are we supposed to fill this deficit now...?"

"I actually thought of a way."

"A way?"

"Have you heard of the coin Melon Musk mentioned on Twitter recently?"

"Director Song."

"Yes."

"Are you into crypto?"

Scowling, the man opposite, director Song, hesitated and then nodded.

"You didn't, by chance, invest the company's money in coins, did you?"

"Come on, I'm not that stupid."

"Right?"

"I just pooled together what little we had, from the guys and me."

"Are you insane?!"

Smack!

Even though his hand moved on its own, he didn't regret it.

"We lost most of our A-rank hunters, and there are hardly any left—do you want to ruin the rest, too?"

"S-still, this is sure to go up..."

"Damn. Just shut your mouth for now."

President Choi Sung-hwan leaned back and scratched his head.

'How many people do we even have left?'

As he'd just said, all A-rank hunters were gone, and at best, a few B-ranks remained—with the majority being C~F-rank hunters.

There weren't even any new rookie hunters to train.

"Don't worry so much, boss! The kids we have left are still good ones, right?"

"And you coaxed those 'good' kids into crypto?"

At Sung-hwan's sharp retort, director Song immediately shrank back.

Staring him down for a moment, Sung-hwan let out a sigh and shook his head.

Still, director Song had been with him since he'd first started the management agency.

"Well... it's already screwed, what does it matter? We can't even form a proper party right now."

Normally, clearing a dungeon required a party of five.

If you were a management agency of any size, you'd form and run fixed five-member parties, but Unique Management, under Choi Sung-hwan, had lost so many hunters that was now difficult.

For a party of C-rank or higher—which were where the real profits began—a B-rank hunter had to act as party leader, but as most B-ranks had left, only a tiny handful were still able to lead.

"Director Song, how many parties can we run in a day now?"

"If we push them non-stop, maybe three..."

"But will that Seong-yun guy listen?"

"That... probably won't be easy."

Seong-yun was one of the few remaining B-rank hunters in Unique.

Now that all the A-rankers were gone, he was basically in charge.

The remaining B-rankers were all there thanks to his connections.

"A management agency being bossed around by a B-rank hunter..."

He couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

It was practically a death sentence for the agency.

'Just last year, things weren't this bad.'

There was no need to think hard about why it turned out this way.

It was all because, early this year, a minor dispute broke out with Grand Nova over a few dungeons.

Yeah, it was really a small matter.

Those were dungeons they'd barely managed to secure, and they even had priority.

But apparently, Grand Nova, the top agency in the industry, really had it in for them.

Grand Nova started making huge offers to the hunters from Unique and poached them en masse.

Normally, that would be considered a breach of industry etiquette, but who would stand up against the top agency?

Especially when it came to crushing a small company like theirs.

This was the result.

A doomed agency where even a B-rank hunter had become the big boss.

"Damn."

Thinking about those naive hunters who were probably still training diligently, despite not knowing any of this, made his stomach churn.

He'd always done his best to work honestly, but everything ended up ruined like this.

Today, more than ever before, the nameplate reading 'President Choi Sung-hwan' on his desk felt vain and hollow.

"Uh, boss?"

"What now?"

"There are some people outside who want to see you."

Was anyone supposed to visit today?

Glancing at the building entrance's CCTV, he saw a man and a woman about to ring the intercom.

The man was tall, dressed in a black suit, with a rather fierce look.

He looked like the number two in a gangster movie or something.

"Director Song."

"Yes."

"Be honest. Did you take out a private loan under the company's name?"

"Are you crazy?!"

Sung-hwan figured investing in crypto with the others was plenty crazy, but decided not to say so.

What caught his attention was that the man on the screen looked oddly familiar.

'Wait a minute.'

Those sharp eyes, and that face.

He looked a lot like someone Sung-hwan knew quite well.

Just tucked away in a corner of his memory.

For good reason...

"Hey, that's Jung-woo, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"I'm talking about Park Jung-woo! The guy who went missing during the rift incident three years ago!!"

"Oh, you mean that acquaintance of yours? But why would he suddenly...?"

"That guy at the entrance—that's Park Jung-woo!"

"... Huh?"

Director Song knew what the rift incident was.

Zero survival rate.

Once you were sucked in, nobody knew what happened next.

But the man on CCTV right now was, by any measure, Park Jung-woo.

However, compared to three years ago, he looked subtly different.

He used to radiate a gentle air even with a rough look, but now it was as if he'd been forged sharp as a blade.

But no way could Sung-hwan, who was very close to him, mistake his face.

'Don't tell me getting sucked into the rift was a lie...?'

Maybe Park Jung-woo had been tangled up in something strange and only pretended to be missing?

Such conspiracy theories flashed through his mind, but he shook his head.

'No way. Shin Ah-yeon herself testified that Jung-woo was sucked into the rift.'

Although she was laying low now, at one time she'd been Korea's most famous S-rank hunter and had spoken on her honor.

And Park Jung-woo wasn't so important as to warrant such a conspiracy.

He was affiliated with Grand Nova, sure, but he was just a mere manager.

"B-Boss. Then what is that? Is it... is it a ghost?"

"Wait a sec, there's a woman with him."

If it was just Park Jung-woo, maybe, but there was a woman with him.

A woman with untidy long hair, simply dressed.

'But she also looks strangely familiar.'

Her shaggy bangs mostly covered her face, but her jawline felt somehow familiar.

Sung-hwan thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Director Song."

"Yes, boss?"

"Go get them."

"M-me?"

"Should I go instead?"

"...."

Just to be sure, it was necessary to check.

It wasn't because he was chickening out or anything like that.

Really.

***

"Long time no see, hyung."

"...."

Choi Sung-hwan, president of Unique Management.

He and I had been senior and junior since high school.

He was a couple of years older, his family pretty well off, so he started this management business at a young age.

'He even asked me to work with him.'

But as luck had it, I just passed an interview with Grand Nova then, so I couldn't join him.

Still, we kept in touch—we were close.

"... How did you survive?"

Sung-hwan's first words, after some silence.

"I was just lucky."

"Just how lucky do you have to be to survive getting sucked into a rift?"

"Well, what can I say, it's true."

"So where were you for three years? You wouldn't have just played dead after getting sucked into a rift."

"I was inside the rift. By the time I came out, three years had passed."

I replied matter-of-factly, and Sung-hwan looked at me with disbelief.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"If you can't, the person next to me can testify."

Only then did his gaze turn to Ah-yeon, sitting beside me.

Ah-yeon, evidently uncomfortable, was gripping a Budion can tightly, glaring at him.

But why Budion, of all things?

Wasn't there any other drink?

"And who is this lady?"

"Shin Ah-yeon."

"Shin Ah-yeon? What a coincidence, that's just like the Great Mage Shin Ah-yeon's name."

"Well, of course."

Seemingly not grasping the meaning behind my words, Sung-hwan frowned.

"There are only three—no, five now? Anyway, one of the only five S-rank hunters in Korea, the so-called 'Great Mage of Stars,' Shin Ah-yeon. This is her."

I had spoken only the truth, but Sung-hwan, thinking I was joking, chuckled softly.

"Haha, you really know how to joke. No way this girl is Shin Ah-yeon—"

But the laughter didn't last.

Because Shin Ah-yeon, holding her Budion, looked up and fixed him with a direct gaze.

As she brushed aside her untamed bangs, revealing her face.

"... It's really her?"

A strange silence settled over the president's office.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Management agency found.
Also, budion is a compound word of Buddy and Onion, claiming to be "onion drink like a friend," but it is ironic to think of the notorious notoriousness to be described later.
And as the name suggests, it's a drink that contains onion concentrate.
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