Sihyun hurried forward, realizing she needed to address the situation unfolding before her.

A large, muscular man was intimidating Ms. Dayoung, whose body was trembling ever so slightly.

Usually, Sihyun would first take the time to understand their relationship. 

However, due to the alcohol she had recently consumed—her first time processing it physically—she acted without much thought.

*Tap, tap.*

Ignoring the familiar-looking woman glaring at her, she tapped the man on the back.

"Huh? What is it?"

The man turned around, his eyes widening as he took in Sihyun's appearance.

"Whoa! What's a pretty girl like you want with me?"

The man whistled lightly, sizing up Sihyun from head to toe. Impressive.

In response, Sihyun merely extended her arm.

At that moment, Dayoung, startled, shouted out.

"Si… Sihyun! This person is… kind of dangerous…!"

Dayoung’s warning was cut off when Sihyun suddenly took matters into her own hands.

With one swift move, she grabbed the collar of the arrogant man standing before her. He gave a dismissive chuckle, as if amused.

But then—

*Bam!*

The large man flew through the air and landed head-first on the roadside.

“…Huh?”

Dayoung's eyes grew wide in shock, her mouth dropping open.

Not only was this man massive, but he was also a hunter. Back when she left the major guild, he was just about to reach B-rank. On top of that, his close-combat skills matched his intimidating appearance.

Simply put, he was incredibly strong. Despite Sihyun’s abilities, Dayoung had thought this was too risky.

"Ms. Dayoung, are you okay?" Sihyun asked.

"Uh… yeah."

Dayoung replied absentmindedly, glancing between Sihyun and the man. Just how strong was her friend?

"You crazy bitch!" the older woman watching the scene screeched, then began casting a spell.

A fireball, the size of a human head, materialized and shot toward Sihyun.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Sihyun asked.

"Beside you! Look beside you!" Dayoung cried, watching as the fire spell bore down on Sihyun.

She should have dodged, but Sihyun didn’t even flinch or turn her head.

‘Maybe she didn’t notice it!’ Dayoung thought, preparing to move in and shield her.

But at that moment, Sihyun held Dayoung back with one hand and casually flicked her other hand.

With the back of her hand, she swatted the fireball aside. With a faint 'pop,' the fireball extinguished.

The effortless gesture, like swatting away a fly, nullified the spell.

"You… you…!" The magic-using hunter woman stumbled back, a sense of dread filling her.

Even when she'd fought that white-haired woman in the cave last time, she'd thought her opponent was strong for an E-rank. But to handle her skill so easily, despite nearly reaching D-rank?

It was like a towering wall had suddenly risen before her, so high it seemed to stretch endlessly.

“Sh…shit…”

The large man, still lying on the ground, regained consciousness and slowly rose to his feet.

Sihyun glanced at him before speaking to Dayoung.

“This guy’s a jerk, right? Should I teach him a lesson?”

“Huh…?”

Dayoung, who’d also been drinking, nodded absentmindedly, unable to fully grasp what was happening.

“He dared to mess with my friend. He needs to repent,” Sihyun murmured to herself, preparing a spell she hadn’t used in a while.

She hadn’t needed it recently, and back in her world, the enemies had grown resistant to it. But this guy seemed like the type it would work on.

*Snap!*

With a flourish, Sihyun snapped her fingers. Black smoke billowed and began to engulf the man.

“What the hell is this?” the man shouted, flailing and struggling, but he was soon swallowed by the smoke.

“S-Sihyun, what on earth is that?” Dayoung asked.

“It’s a skill, a paladin skill.”

“Oh… I see…”

It definitely didn’t look like something a holy knight would use. Dayoung decided to just accept it. Strangely, she felt more at peace that way.

The ominous black smoke gradually dissipated, revealing the man with red veins bulging in his eyes, his expression twisted with madness.

His eyes darted around until he locked onto his target. Eyes blazing, he let out a furious roar.

"You crazy bitch!"

He charged, his large frame barreling forward, his huge hand raised in the air. His target couldn’t even respond in time.

“I’ll teach you a lesson!” he shouted.

"Ahhh!"

He slapped the woman hard, sending her to the ground, but he didn’t stop there. He climbed on top of her, unleashing a merciless barrage of blows.

“How dare you hit me?!”

“Baby, stop it!” the woman screamed in pain, but the man didn’t relent.

They were on a relatively quiet street, but people began to gather, drawn by the commotion.

Dayoung, beads of sweat on her brow, leaned toward Sihyun and whispered.

“W-Why is he acting like that?”

“Have you ever played a game? Think of it as a debuff—he’s under a status effect.”

“A status effect?”

“Yes, right now he thinks that woman is me.”

“….”

Dayoung closed her mouth. At first, she thought she should intervene, but after hearing Sihyun’s explanation, she changed her mind.

If Sihyun had been weaker than him, it could have been her lying there. Or even herself.

Dayoung watched the scene with a cold gaze.

In truth, all Sihyun had done was defend herself. The assault was entirely on the man. They hadn’t done anything wrong.

With that perspective, she even felt a sense of satisfaction. That woman’s obnoxious glare had been irritating anyway, with her smug grin.

It was justice served.

*Phew….*

“Hic, hic…”

The man finally stopped when the woman’s face had swollen beyond recognition. He stood up with a relieved expression.

Sihyun watched him, unmoved. Sure, she was glad to be rid of that awful woman, but seeing the man who’d done the beating looking pleased didn’t sit well with her.

She turned and walked toward a dark alley.

“Hey, babe? Where are you going?”

The man hurried to follow her.

Dayoung debated whether to intervene, then decided not to. It was Sihyun, after all.

A few minutes passed.

The man emerged first, looking pale as a ghost, as if the life had drained from his eyes.

He staggered over to Dayoung and dropped to his knees.

“I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I won’t come near you again!”

The man’s voice was filled with such sincerity that Dayoung found herself nodding.

“Should I give him some more instruction?”

“No, that’s enough,” Dayoung said, shaking her head as Sihyun rejoined her.

A sense of satisfaction washed over her, as refreshing as a cold beer.

This man was just another pawn in a major guild. But it was something. Thanks to Sihyun, she’d finally felt a sense of justice.

Though spending any more time on these jerks would be a waste.

“Sihyun.”

“Yes?”

“You called me your friend just now. Can I hear that again?”

“…I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No.”

“Aw…”

Dayoung pouted, puffing her cheeks adorably.

Watching her expression, Sihyun finally spoke.

“Shall we head somewhere for round two?”

“Let’s go!”

Dayoung answered enthusiastically. She hadn’t had nearly enough yet, anyway.

Even though they still had snacks left, the place felt tainted. The two of them gulped down the remaining drinks. Dayoung paid the bill and returned to Sihyun, whose cheeks were slightly flushed from the alcohol.

She looked at Sihyun, who was smiling warmly at her, with a hint of drunken cuteness.

It was such an endearing and charming sight—irresistibly cute. She suddenly had a new goal in life: to get Sihyun to call her *friend* more often.

* * *

The next morning, as usual, Hangyeol headed to the guild, arriving diligently.

After his routine, he entered Dayoung’s office and greeted her. He casually slumped over the table.

“Master, you reek of alcohol.”

“Oh, really?”

“Seems like you drank quite a bit. Who’d you drink with?”

With a smug grin, Dayoung answered Hangyeol’s question.

“Just Sihyun and I.”

“What? With Sihyun?!”

Hangyeol sat up in surprise.

“Yep. Jealous?”

“You could have invited me…”

“Why would I?”

Hangyeol looked at her with a longing gaze, sparking Dayoung’s playful side.

Should she tease him a little more?

“Girls bond faster, right? It’s easier than with guys.”

“Well, yes, but… you know?”

“You mean because you’re just a horny dude?”

“No, that’s not it!”

Hangyeol protested, but Dayoung chuckled, thinking, *Sihyun really is going to make some guys cry.*

Honestly, it would be odd not to fall for her after seeing her.

Of course, whether Sihyun cared

 about romance was another issue. Dayoung had noticed that Sihyun seemed indifferent to that kind of thing.

Then again, her expressionless face was just her usual look.

“Last night was incredible! She threw a guy who was nearly two meters tall with one hand.”

“What? Two meters?”

“Yep! Remember that guy from our old guild?”

“Oh… that jerk? That’s dangerous… His temper is awful.”

“Our Sihyun protected me—” 

“Ugh…”

Dayoung grinned mischievously while Hangyeol held his head in disbelief.

“That’s not even all. She deflected a spell from a mage hunter with the back of her hand.”

“What?”

Hangyeol blinked, still processing what she’d said. Deflect what with what?

“She didn’t even look at it. Just flicked her hand like this, and the fire spell disappeared!”

Dayoung mimicked Sihyun’s movement. Hangyeol was still baffled.

“That’s… possible?”

“Well, she’s sturdy enough to handle it, I suppose. She’s a paladin.”

“But she didn’t even look. How does that work?”

“She did it, didn’t she?”

“That’s true.”

Since his master wasn’t one to lie, Hangyeol slowly accepted it.

“Ugh, I’m so jealous. Please invite me next time.”

“Why don’t you get her number first? You don’t even have her number.”

“….”

“Let me guess—you’re repeating ‘grapes are sour’ in your head right now?”

“…You know me too well.”

Hangyeol muttered dejectedly, and Dayoung responded with an amused smirk.

Just then, Dayoung’s phone vibrated.

“Hello? Oh, Jihan! You’re done already? I’ll see you soon then. Travel safely, alright.”

After a brief call, Dayoung slipped her phone back into her pocket.

“So, Jihan’s dungeon raid is over already?” Hangyeol asked.

“Yep, he’s quite talented.”

“He might really reach B-rank soon.”

“You should hurry up and get promoted to C-rank too, you know?”

“Yes, ma’am…”

Hangyeol sighed, considering whether to head out. His hand drifted to his phone, where he saw a new profile photo on his messaging app.

It was a picture of Master and Sihyun together.

Without realizing, he pressed the power and volume buttons to take a screenshot.

“You… you just screenshotted my profile to look at Sihyun, didn’t you?”

“...Your intuition is scary.” 

Caught red-handed, Hangyeol scratched his cheek awkwardly.