“Ugh… Ah…”
Yu Parang woke up feeling refreshed at home.
After meeting with Silo, she had returned home directly through the warp gate.
And then a deep sleep ensued. When she woke up again, this was her state.
Looking at the clock, it was two in the afternoon.
She had gone to bed a bit late last night. Her mind was cluttered with thoughts to sort through.
The reasons for the world’s government’s incompetence, the Hawaii issue, the Slayers, and the monster fish…
Parang couldn’t resolve these thoughts in the end and fell asleep again, unable to endure her drowsiness.
It was only natural that those thoughts would come to her as soon as she woke up.
“Hmm…”
Did I sleep too long? My head is pounding, making it hard to concentrate.
No matter the time or place, if you want to focus alone, taking a shower is the best solution.
Parang stepped into the shower booth and turned on the water.
Swoosh—
As the water poured over her face, she pondered.
This is Silo Corporation, where the top intellects of the world gather.
If there was a conclusion to come from the information they gathered, they would have discovered it by now.
Therefore, she needed to utilize the knowledge and thought processes unique to her.
As an underwater hunter, and as a reincarnated person.
First, she tried to recall her knowledge as an underwater hunter.
The world government seems to be pushing people into the sea. At the same time, they have become ‘incompetent.’ According to Silo, it feels like their behavior has become rough.
Regarding that, a keyword comes to mind.
“Irrational.”
That was the closest answer among the keywords she could connect.
And whatever the case may be, considering that their goal is related to the sea…
“Perhaps.”
A certain existence popped into Parang’s mind.
But she quickly brushed it aside.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
There’s no way someone possessed by that could maintain a stable government body and lead people to the ocean, nor would it want people to go into the sea.
The chance of the world government having made contact with it is close to zero.
Once again, the conclusion leads to ‘I don’t know.’ No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out.
Next, the Slayers.
They had clearly stayed underwater for five hours and then attempted an ’emergency escape.’
Imagine a reasonable person suddenly being transported underwater.
Naturally, they would try to ‘rise above the water.’
And that applies to the Slayers too. If they acted rationally, they should have tried to get to the surface.
If that were the case, they would have undoubtedly risen to the surface and shown themselves.
Because they had the capability to do so.
But they stayed underwater for five hours.
This means they were in a situation where they couldn’t rise to the surface.
In Parang’s opinion, that ‘situation’ could only mean combat.
So what were they fighting against?
What did they fall victim to?
For now, they possessed the bodies of gods. They certainly wouldn’t be crushed to death by pressure or have breathing issues.
And she adds a bit of knowledge as a reincarnator. If she thinks about the Slayers’ combat abilities based on the ending…
“I still don’t know.”
There have only been ten underwater battles throughout the entire original work.
All were battles triggered by Olivia’s ‘Set Sail.’
And, as she said, ‘Set Sail’ is a wide-area debuff. Its goal isn’t to ‘enter the water’ but to ‘put others into the water.’
It just so happens that it’s been used for a very different purpose in Parang’s hands, but that’s how it is originally.
So the underwater battles in the story are primarily Olivia’s solo acts, with Han Siwoo Hunter barely tagging along.
Even those battles only involved sweeping away minor enemies that were like “Grrrr…” or “Damn… the movements…!” on the way to confront the main villain.
In other words, Parang has no idea how strong the Slayers are underwater.
To find that out, she would need to put the Slayers in the water, but that hasn’t happened.
Still, she can make a rough guess. Considering the last battle they conducted before ascending.
“Well…”
At the very least, monsters like Rassius or Gorgon wouldn’t even reach the Slayers, even if thousands were to swarm.
Oh, of course, that applies to Parang too.
Parang recalled several powerful monsters she knew of.
“Ghost Ship, Kyronex, Mobula, Brachium…”
Each one makes Gorgon seem like a mere trifle.
But none of them seem capable of holding the Slayers underwater for five hours or making them use an emergency escape device.
That ‘thing’ isn’t even in Hawaii, let alone the Pacific Ocean, so let’s skip that.
Then the final candidate remains.
“The Kraken.”
She’s never seen the Kraken’s true form, but, strictly speaking, she doesn’t even know if the Kraken has a true form.
Even so, if it does exist, and if the Slayers encountered it…
No, that doesn’t make sense.
There’s no way they could have lasted five hours against it.
Once again, the conclusion circles back to ‘I don’t know.’
Nothing seems to clear up.
Parang let out a deep sigh.
Looking at the waterproof clock stuck to the wall, it was now three o’clock.
“Three o’clock?!”
Parang was startled.
She had been standing there for an hour since entering the shower.
Swoosh—
She hurriedly finished showering and stepped out.
Just then, her stomach growled.
She opened the fridge to find it empty. Parang decided to head to the convenience store.
A somewhat strange feeling washed over her. It felt like she was finally going to a place she should have visited ages ago.
It might be too late, but now, she felt compelled to go there.
It was like following the unstoppable laws of nature.
Anyway, Parang headed to the convenience store in front of her house.
#
Ding.
With a cheerful sound, the convenience store’s door opened.
The brown-haired, bob-haired part-timer sitting at the counter looked up from her phone and was about to greet her… but stopped.
If anyone—especially the manager—saw it, it would be shocking, but she couldn’t care less about that.
“You, you, you…!!”
The idol she had long dreamed of had walked into the convenience store.
“Aren’t you Yu Parang Hunter?!!!”
“Uh, y-yeah? Ah, yes.”
Parang’s face clearly displayed her unease.
A fan, huh.
“I’m a fan!!”
She was indeed a fan.
Parang has always been weak to those who stick around saying they like her. Moreover, now that she was out of the water, the relentless monster fish-slayer Yu Parang was currently sleeping within her heart.
Right now, she was just Yu Parang.
And just Yu Parang is weak against what they call the Energizer type.
Thus, her encounter with the woman named Lee Siah before her was the worst for Parang. It could be likened to the relationship between a snake and a frog.
“Yu Parang Hunter, I’ve wanted to meet you so badly!! Actually, I’m a huge fan of your work, and I often take snapshots of your broadcasts, print them out, and carry them around in my notebook, sometimes taking notes and drawing pictures! If you see this, this is Galecus, this is Tubuka, and this is Rassius. Oh, by the way, I loved Rassius’s ASMR. I recorded it, and when I play it while I sleep, it’s really nice. If you ever do it again, could you please include some bubbling sounds as well? Oh, right. I’m overflowing with excitement! I’m sorry. I’m usually not this scattered. It’s just because I’m so excited to meet you, Yu Parang Hunter! If you could just grab the items you need from over there, oh, oh, oh, wait. Could I get an autograph in this notebook? Here, use this pen. Please write, ‘Yu Parang Hunter came by. To Lee Siah.’ Wow, thank you so much! Now this notebook must be for display only! Is that okay? I have two identical notebooks at home, you see? One for appreciation, one for display, one for business, and now I have to make this one for display! I’m really a fan!! I always enjoy your broadcasts!!!”
Lee Siah’s eyes sparkled with immense brightness.
For a moment, the perspective shifts back to Parang’s mind.
“Save… me…”
Among the many fallen Yu Parangs, the last remaining mini Yu Parang trembled and tirelessly wrote in its character notebook.
Lee Siah, part-timer at the convenience store. Monster fish fanatic.
With that finished, the last mini Yu Parang also fainted.
Rolling its eyes back and sticking its tongue out, it resembled a certain large-chested warrior practicing martial arts somewhere.
The scene shifted again to the big Yu Parang.
She fixed her face and kept repeating the same response.
“Oh, yes. I see. Really? Amazing! Oh, yes. I see. Really? Amazing!”
Surprisingly, a conversation was indeed taking place.
And thirty minutes passed. Parang managed to give eight autographs, five handshakes, three hugs, and thirteen commemorative photos before she could buy two triangular rice balls and a cup of ramen and finally came out.
This was just the beginning of a later story, where she confidently sat down for an interview with [Subganet] and ended up facing her worst reunion with Lee Siah.
#
Back at Parang’s house.
She polished off the triangular rice balls and cup ramen.
Filling her belly brought some clarity back to her mind. It felt like her thoughts were finally organizing a bit.
After careful consideration, she concluded that it wasn’t good to dwell on this problem alone.
After all, they say it’s easier with a partner.
Parang relayed the conversation she’d had with Silo to Oceanos and Shin Yuna Hunter.
To Oceanos, she passed it along without any editing; for Shin Yuna Hunter, she was a bit vague.
She didn’t need to meet personally; she just sent a message through SiloTalk.
In the past, she had been cautious about basic encryption to prevent information leaks to Silo and proceeded with discussions underwater, but now it was no longer necessary.
In fact, there was a desire to share some information with Silo.
She withheld some information from Shin Yuna Hunter.
She omitted discussions about Hawaii or the deaths of the Slayers, sticking to more general content related to collaboration with Silo. It was for Shin Yuna’s sake, given how monumental the event was. Moreover, Parang wished to avoid dragging Shin Yuna into this mess if possible.
After doing that, Parang fell into another layer of contemplation.
It was due to the calendar that caught her eye.
Today is July 31st. The meeting with the Silo executives who infiltrated the Hunter Association is on August 4th.
The collaboration conversation with Shin Yuna Hunter was roughly finished, and it looked like it would be better to avoid the orphanage.
Although Silo was keeping an eye on it, worst-case scenarios must be planned.
It seemed like the fish would need to be shipped by courier.
That leaves two tasks to be completed by August 4th.
First, hunting the statue in the East Sea. She plans to gather Oceanos for a day to do this.
Second, exploring the East Sea Hive. Finding the artifact and corpse of Alexandra Carmen, a member of the Slayers.
This plan would be broadcasted as well. Of course, the goals and outcomes would be kept secret, displaying only the process of exploring the Hive.
Which one should she tackle first?
After some deep pondering with her chin in her hand, Parang reached a conclusion.
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