Upon entering the clearing, Si-hyun immediately cast blessings on the men.

From the bruised necks of the men caught in the monster's grip to the ankles of the archer that had been torn by its claws, the wounds of the D-rank guild members healed in an instant.

Si-hyun approached the archer and squatted down, saying,

“You did wonderfully just now. Your archery skills were fantastic.”  
“Oh… th-thank you!”

The archer responded with an impressed tone, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at Si-hyun.

At that moment.

“Kiihih—!”

Suddenly, space warped to Si-hyun’s right, and the monster’s head popped out.

“D-danger…!”

Startled, the archer shouted loudly.

Thwack!

“W-what the…?”

He quickly fell silent.

Si-hyun stood up, having smashed the monster’s teeth with her fist.

Simultaneously, the clown’s head returned to its original position. The once sharp teeth shattered and fell away like rain.

“I’ll finish this off.”  
“Yes, yes!”

The surprised archer replied with wide eyes.  
He couldn’t believe how easily Si-hyun had broken the teeth that had been gnawing on the spear.

As Si-hyun turned around, the enraged monster glared at her. The standoff didn’t last long.

Thud!

Si-hyun kicked off the ground and dashed forward. The clown, taken aback by her fierce charge, moved its hands to intercept her.

Just like it had grabbed the archer’s ankles, it aimed for Si-hyun’s legs.

But.

Wham!

Si-hyun lightly stomped on the hand that appeared from the air and dashed forward.

“Predictable.”

She chuckled, mocking the monster.  
While it might have been a tough opponent for the Wing Guild members, it was no challenge for her.

At most, it was a monster that utilized space magic to send a part of its body at mid-range.  
Feeling the flow of mana made it easy to predict, and the monster’s physique wasn’t particularly sturdy.

Strong against the weak and weak against the strong.  
It was a classic type of monster.

‘So, it’s just throwing around flimsy barriers, huh?’

“Kyahhh!”

As Si-hyun closed in, the furious clown threw a punch with its intact arm.  
But Si-hyun merely tilted her head slightly and evaded the attack.

With that momentum, she transferred her strength and tightly gripped the clown’s neck with her right hand.

For a brief moment, both Si-hyun and the clown hung in the air.  
Si-hyun’s long hair flowed in the wind as she swung it.

Then, in that state.

Boom!

Combining the force of her momentum with her arm strength, she slammed the clown down to the ground.

The monster, its breath cut off by Si-hyun’s grip, couldn’t even let out a proper scream.

But Si-hyun didn’t stop there.

“What you did, you should also receive in kind.”

After getting to her feet, Si-hyun quickly moved to grab both of the clown’s ankles.  
She tensed her body.

Whoosh—, bang!

In a position similar to a suplex, she flipped the clown head over heels and slammed it down.

Giving back more than she received!  
The price for knocking down the archer was horrendous.

The clown’s head hit the ground first, followed by the rest of its body, causing it to tremble violently.

Si-hyun lightly brushed off her hands and stood up.

After glancing at the clown, she asked,  
“Anyone here for some revenge?”

She smiled lightly and gestured to the men.

A brief silence followed.  
But soon.

“I’m going in!”  
“Revenge, revenge!”  
“Bwahahaha!”  
“Charge!”

The excited men rushed forward.  
The monster was barely clinging to life, its body limp.

They poked at it with their feet, testing it, and then began their revenge in earnest.

The spear-wielder, whose spear had been broken, kicked at the clown’s torso.  
The swordsman, who had been choked, plunged his sword into the clown’s neck.  
The drooping clown could only be hit relentlessly.

“Hehehe!”  
“Hahaha!”  
“Serves it right!”

The Wing Guild’s C-rank dungeon visit turned back into a joyful outing.  
The fearful expressions they had worn just moments ago vanished completely.

Si-hyun watched their antics with satisfaction.

Then suddenly.

‘…Did I overdo it?’

Seeing the familiar Wing Guild members in danger, and Han-gyeol’s cries beside her, she had hastily gone all out.  

Of course, she had promised Da-young to ensure their safety, which was why she had stepped up.  
It wasn’t difficult to dismantle the magic of a monster that wasn’t even B-rank.

However, in the urgency of the situation, she might have overdone it spectacularly.

‘...Can this really be considered as being a Paladin? Even a D-rank one?’

Now, this was clearly not the case. What should she do…?  
Should she just pretend to be clueless?

Living comfortably every day, only doing what she wanted when needed.  
Si-hyun was immensely happy in her current life.

Now she found herself troubled about how to wrap things up.

Meanwhile, the men.  
As they were recovering the loot from the clown’s body, they noticed Si-hyun’s serious expression.

After leaving the task to the youngest, they crouched down and whispered to each other about Si-hyun.

“Han-gyeol, do you think Si-hyun is at least B-rank?”  
“Yeah…?”  
“Isn’t hiding your rank usually something criminals do?”  
“Si-hyun as a criminal? That’s absurd. She’s even a professor at the academy.”  

The men stole glances at Si-hyun.  
She was still deep in thought.

“Why would she hide her rank?”  

When one man questioned, another responded,  
“Maybe it’s a hidden card the association is keeping under wraps? Something like that?”  
“Isn’t it better to use it than to hide it? There are more than just a few dungeons.”  

The conspiracy theorist's opinion was quickly dismissed.

“Maybe it’s for love?”  
“Love? What kind of nonsense is that?”  
“If she’s too strong, no one would be able to get close to her. So she hides her true rank and mingles with people around her.”  
“Oh, that’s somewhat plausible. So, who is she in love with?”  

The men’s gazes turned to Han-gyeol.

“Let’s speak sensibly.”  
“True.”  
“This doesn’t seem right.”  
“…Excuse me.”  

Han-gyeol, who had been quietly listening, suddenly had a grim expression.

The opinion of the romantic guild member was dismissed.

“She looks like she’s from a foreign country. Maybe she had a situation and cleaned her identity to become Korean?”  
“That’s convincing.”  
“Does she have a story she can’t reveal to others?”  

The theory of identity cleaning emerged.

In this manner, the men exchanged various opinions.  
Then, one man raised a question.

“But do we really need to know the reason?”  
“…That’s true?”  
“Whether it’s identity cleaning or whatever, she clearly wants to keep it hidden, right?”  
“Right.”  

The men’s gazes shifted from Si-hyun and then back.

“She must have her reasons. She’s such a beautiful and kind person, after all. Isn’t it possible she has some story behind her?”  
“Plus, she’s our lifesaver. Shouldn’t we just follow Si-hyun’s lead?”  

Everyone nodded in agreement.  
The opinions of the Wing Guild members began to converge.

When they decided on their course of action, the youngest stood up after finishing the loot collection.  
Realizing they were about to exit the dungeon, Si-hyun raised her head.

“Everyone, today’s events…”

“Si-hyun, you were amazing!”  
“Is this what a talented D-rank hunter looks like?!”  
“Indeed, she’s a professor at the academy! Hahaha!”  
“We’ll need to work harder too! Hahaha!”  

The men praised Si-hyun, jesting with one another.  
Surprised by their unexpected reactions, Si-hyun’s mouth opened slightly.

‘They’re not noticing anything?’

With skepticism still lingering, Si-hyun furrowed her brow slightly.  
The men sharply noticed the change in her expression.

“Wait, you’re C-rank, but haven’t taken the promotion exam yet?”  
“We should throw a celebration party soon!”  
“Let us know when you get promoted!”  

“…Um, yes.”

Unintentionally, Si-hyun nodded.  
In an instant, she transformed from a talented D-rank to ‘a talented C-rank who hasn’t taken the promotion exam.’

Is this really okay? How did this just pass by?  
Si-hyun tilted her head as she walked behind the men heading for the exit.

‘It seems like everyone is pretending not to know, huh?’

Though the men’s boldness nearly caught her off guard, Si-hyun wasn’t foolish.  
If they were taking down the boss, it might be one thing, but since she had shattered the barrier, they would surely have noticed something odd.

Si-hyun looked at the advancing men with a peculiar expression.

What could be the reason they were helping her out like this without her asking?  
Honestly, she didn’t know the reason,

 but it didn’t feel bad.

‘Should I trust them a bit more?’

Even if rumors spread, it wouldn’t drastically affect her life. It would only be a nuisance.  
What if the rumors didn’t spread? She could build stronger relationships with the Wing Guild and trust them more.

That didn’t seem bad.

Just before reaching the exit, Si-hyun called out to the men.

“Everyone.”

The men stopped and turned around.  
The difference was stark compared to their earlier faces when they were trapped by the barrier.

With a shy smile, Si-hyun said,

“Thank you.”

It was a short phrase.  
But that was enough.

“It’s us who should be thanking you!”  
“We survived because of you, Si-hyun!”  

The emotions rose among the group as they exchanged expressions of gratitude.

After dropping Si-hyun off at home, the members of the Wing Guild headed towards the guild building. They had booked the dungeon with this in mind from the start, making it a natural course of action.

“How about we just check in and then go to a pub for a drink?”
“That sounds great!”
“I’m on board with that.”

The following plans felt natural as well.

As the men returned to the guild building, Da-young welcomed them.

“How was everyone today? Wasn’t Si-hyun trustworthy, just as I said?”
“Wow, she was really amazing!”
“I never realized how cool she was just from seeing her around the guild building!”

Everyone was excitedly praising Si-hyun in response to Da-young's words.
Satisfied with their reactions, Da-young smiled and nodded.

At that moment, one man hesitated slightly and asked Da-young,

“Master, you’re close with Si-hyun, right? She has such an exotic appearance. Do you know where she’s from?”
“Oh, that?”

Da-young spoke as if it were no big deal.

“She’s from a country that’s so far away that you wouldn’t even recognize the name if I told you.”
“Oh, really?”
“I see!”
“Guess that’s how it is.”

Though Da-young only lightly concealed the fact that Si-hyun was a Returnee, the men grew more convinced of the theory they had previously discussed about her ‘identity laundering.’

‘She must be royalty or nobility from some distant land!’

Just looking at her appearance, it made sense. She was definitely not a typical person’s beauty.
Now it was understandable why she always exuded an elegant and dignified aura.

Yet, she also showed a down-to-earth side.
The men quickly found themselves captivated by Si-hyun's charm.

“She looked so beautiful when she said goodbye at the end…”
“Oh, that moment! She was really cute.”
“It was hard to keep a straight face whenever she complimented me with a smile, seriously.”
“Exactly, exactly!”

The men chatted happily, grinning widely.
Han-gyeol eagerly nodded along with them.

Watching the guild members, Da-young couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head.