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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Circus Elephant
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The circus elephant.
A thin rope was tied around the thick ankle of the elephant, a creature many times larger than a human body.
It seemed plainly obvious that with just one step, the rope would snap, and the stake it was connected to would pull out like a rotten tooth.
Yet, the elephant did not try to break the rope, nor did it try to pull out the stake.
No, it couldn't.
Since childhood, the elephant had struggled relentlessly to break free from the rope tied to its ankle.
But back then, it was truly weak, and the young elephant couldn't escape the rope.
Failure repeated.
Frustration became ingrained.
Despair became a habit.
And time flowed on.
Even when the elephant grew into an adult, its body massive, capable of breaking free whenever it wished—
To him, the rope tied to his ankle still seemed impossibly strong.
*
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The sound of something pounding somewhere rang in her ears like a phantom sound.
Shin Se-hee stared at the unfolding scene, unable to even blink.
'What on earth is happening...?'
Even when Jin Yu-ha first stepped forward,
she desperately racked her brain, wondering how she could resolve the current situation.
Should she run out now and say she'd go home?
Should she prostrate herself on the floor, crying and begging?
Should she cling to his ankle and plead, saying she'd do anything, just please don't lay a hand on Jin Yu-ha?
Those were the only thoughts she could muster against Shin Su-yeon.
Her mind, agonizing over these thoughts, went utterly blank the moment Jin Yu-ha abruptly slapped her sister across the face.
Smack—!!!
"Ah."
The instant she heard that sound, Shin Se-hee's mouth fell open, and she wore a vacant expression.
She believed something truly irreversible had happened.
She hadn't just angered her sister; she'd incurred her deep resentment.
Imagining the future that lay ahead, Shin Se-hee—
despaired.
She had certainly despaired.
'But... what is this...?'
Shin Se-hee wondered if she was dreaming.
But even after rubbing her eyes, the scene unfolding before her was reality.
Wham—!
Her sister.
Was being beaten.
And it was completely one-sided.
'What in the world...'
Shin Su-yeon was clearly an S-rank Hunter.
Of course, even if there were dozens of hunters above her, the title of S-rank was not a light one.
Her nature disliked bothersome things, so she rarely stepped forward, but once she did, wielding her sword, a storm of magic would erupt, shaking the entire area, and enemies would be swept away in an instant.
That overwhelming scene was burned into Shin Se-hee's mind like a brand.
Her sister was a wall.
A genius possessing a mana capacity incomparable to her own.
A sheer cliff face, utterly insurmountable, one she couldn't even dare to look up at.
When such a woman set her mind to trapping her, Shin Se-hee couldn't even conceive of any other way than to simply endure it or hide to avoid being noticed.
'But why?'
Why was such a sister being beaten like a dog by a mere cadet?
To Shin Se-hee, this entire scene felt like a cruel joke.
To the point where she wanted to scold her sister for playing a trick.
Wham—!
"Guhuk!"
When Jin Yu-ha kicked her, Shin Su-yeon was sent flying with a sickening thud.
The very first possibility that came to her mind, for her to accept the current situation, was that Jin Yu-ha had perhaps been hiding immense skill.
However, Shin Se-hee's eyes immediately rejected that notion.
'Jin Yu-ha's movements are certainly amazing, but...'
Indeed, they were amazing.
Enough for a man to keep pace with Kang Do-hee.
Considering his future, it was impossible to even guess how strong he could become.
'...But that's ultimately a story for the future. Right now, Kang Do-hee is faster.'
Jin Yu-ha had instructed her to analyze the party members' specs.
Shin Se-hee had recorded their movements, analyzed them frame by frame, and quantified them.
And now, Jin Yu-ha's movements seemed even slower than his usual speed.
'Then there's no reason Shin Su-yeon couldn't avoid it.'
Next, she considered a second possibility.
'Could it be that Shin Su-yeon had some kind of accident and can't properly use her body right now...?'
At that moment, Jin Yu-ha spoke.
"If you were that strong, you would have appeared as a villain in the main story, not a personal story, you pathetic bitch."
"...Wait—!"
"A personal story villain means you're someone Shin Se-hee alone can sufficiently handle."
Wham!
'...Main story? Personal story?'
Incomprehensible words burst from Jin Yu-ha's mouth.
But those words were quickly erased from her mind.
Because what he said last bothered her more.
'What does he mean? Me, my sister? There's no way I could ever beat Shin Su-yeon!'
Her mind refused to comprehend it, as if she had just been told the Earth was flat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
But once again, the sound of something pounding rang in her ears like a phantom sound.
"Hey, did you think I'd be intimidated if you unleashed all the mana you've diligently accumulated and acted all high and mighty just because you're from the Shin family? You're just a half-baked S-rank Hunter."
'My sister, a half-baked S-rank Hunter? Her magic sword? It makes no sense.'
Shin Se-hee shook her head again, instinctively denying Jin Yu-ha's words.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"You've been sucking mana dry from your cousins, blood relatives, and even your sister, and spending it lavishly, acting like an S-rank. Do you actually think you're a real S-rank?"
'...Sucking mana dry? Acting like an S-rank?'
Crack—!
"You, an S-rank, getting beaten by a cadet like me when your mana runs out?"
Crack, crack—!
"Shin Se-hee went to the academy, so you must have been extremely anxious, huh? Why, was there no mana as good as Shin Se-hee's? Is that why you came rushing out in such a hurry the moment you heard Shin Se-hee was outside, you pathetic bitch!?"
Crack, crack, crack—!
The world that enveloped Shin Se-hee.
That incredibly solid world was now riddled with precarious cracks, looking as if it would crumble at a mere touch.
And then, for the very first time, her eyes—
saw an unfamiliar side of her sister.
The woman who relentlessly pushed her mind without a moment's rest.
The woman who choked her with an expressionless face, showing no trace of emotion.
The woman who looked down on her as if she were insignificant.
The woman who always took whatever she held in her hands and tried to control everything about her.
Such a woman.
That Shin Su-yeon.
"You, you, don't you know who I am!?"
"Yes! Damn it! I'm Shin Su-yeon! Shin Su-yeon of the Shin family!!!!"
"My family won't leave you alone!!!"
Crawling on the floor like a bug in a pathetic state,
she was screaming and flailing.
Invoking her name, invoking her family's name.
This was, truly...
A terribly pathetic sight.
"Ha?"
Shin Se-hee's mouth fell open, and she let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
Crack, crack, crack, crack—!
Then Jin Yu-ha whispered something to Shin Su-yeon.
And suddenly, Shin Su-yeon's head snapped around, and her eyes met hers.
Shatter—
Along with the sound of something completely shattering.
The solid world that had enveloped Shin Se-hee's mind shattered into pieces.
'My sister, afraid of me...?'
* * *
"No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. No."
Shin Su-yeon couldn't accept that the mana-absorbing artifact was broken, and she trembled, hunched over.
'Hm, should I call this good luck...?'
I had only stepped forward to deal with Shin Su-yeon here after calculating that I could definitely do this.
'She's at her weakest when she first appears.'
Shin Se-hee's personal story, "The Circus Elephant," begins with Shin Su-yeon's debut scene.
Shin Su-yeon had originally been active as an S-rank Hunter abroad, greedily devouring the mana sent from the Shin family.
However, at some point, the quality of mana sent from the family had sharply declined.
The cause was none other than Shin Se-hee enrolling in the academy, a misfortune that arose because Shin Su-yeon could no longer receive high-quality mana.
That's why Shin Su-yeon had appeared, targeting Shin Se-hee's day out, to take her mana.
'Even on the community forums, people wondered if you could just skip the entire personal story by catching Shin Su-yeon when she first appeared. I guess I'm the one who gets to try it.'
Of course, I don't regret stepping forward.
Originally, Shin Se-hee was destined to return to her family at this very spot.
And a frustrating and drawn-out ten-chapter storyline awaited Shin Se-hee once she returned home.
'She'd despair that she couldn't escape the family even after fleeing to the academy, become mentally and physically exhausted by her family's and sister's gaslighting... And her mana, well, that would be completely drained too...'
Yes, my intervention was absolutely the right decision.
However, the ambiguous feeling I had was whether this was truly okay.
Because this process was supposed to unfold slowly.
Shin Se-hee, whose discernment had sharpened after attending Velvet Academy and meeting true powerhouses, would return to her family and feel a sense of incongruity.
While enduring the frustrating storyline, that incongruity would deepen, and eventually, she would realize that she didn't need to endure such treatment.
Shin Se-hee, breaking out of her shell, would then enact a satisfying revenge on the family that had oppressed her—that was the overall plot.
'Hm, I wonder how Shin Se-hee will react.'
I glanced at Shin Se-hee.
She stared at Shin Su-yeon with vacant eyes, then—
She shuffled forward, dragging her feet.
"...Jin Yu-ha."
Shin Se-hee called my name with a trembling voice.
"...I, first, I just have one question. Just one."
"Go ahead. Ask."
Shin Se-hee looked at Shin Su-yeon, then turned her head.
"...Is Shin Su-yeon, weaker...?"
Her eyes, as she asked, were full of desperation, as if desperately hoping I would say yes.
But I shook my head.
"No."
"...Then, was she always, weak from the start?"
"Yes."
"More than me...?"
I nodded, affirming her question.
Shin Se-hee bit her lip.
"Jin Yu-ha..."
It seemed as though something was welling up inside her.
She closed her eyes.
It seemed as though everything she had endured until now was flashing through her mind.
"I actually have so much else I want to say right now..."
She slowly opened her eyes.
"But more than that,"
Suddenly, Shin Se-hee ran towards me.
Whoosh—
She wrapped her arms around me.
"Just for a moment, just for a moment, let me stay like this... Please."
'Huh. Her mind must be completely shattered.'
I slowly patted Shin Se-hee's trembling back as she buried her face in my shoulder.