Chapter 9 

He’s Way Too Powerful for Someone Who Only Makes Coffee

Beast Master

Whoooosh!

Something was off about the morning outside the window.

Dark clouds rolling in from beyond the distant horizon quickly swallowed up the sea to the west of Jeju.

Before long, accompanied by thunder that seemed to rip apart the eardrums, torrents of rain began pouring down.

“What terrible weather.”

I stopped the hand that had been selecting coffee beans for menu development and looked outside.

Rain and wind were pounding violently against the café’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

Because of the weather, I couldn’t even go jogging that morning, and Grandma Bu-gyejang hadn’t come by either.

Well… there was still some spring water I’d brought over.

But still, I felt a little down.

“Speaking of which… With the weather like this, I wonder if the animals are okay.”

The stray cats that always came to the café courtyard for food and the neighborhood mutts were nowhere to be seen.

Then, a familiar black silhouette appeared in front of the café door and scratched at it with its front paw.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Oh dear, you’re completely soaked.”

It was the little black one that had been showing up at the café for the past few days.

As soon as I opened the café door, the creature shook itself vigorously to get rid of the water, then rubbed its head against my pant leg while whining.

I quickly grabbed a towel, dried its body, and gave it the Energy-Packed Nutritional Balls I had made last time along with some warm lactose-free milk.

“You sure eat well.”

Thankfully, over the past few days, its once-emaciated body had started filling out… and the wounds all over its body had disappeared as well.

Once we got a little closer, I was planning to take it to a veterinary clinic, too.

Just as it finished eating its snack—

“Whiiine! Whiiine!”

“Oh, you like it? Is it so tasty that you’re happy?”

The creature rubbed its head against my hand and acted all cute.

Heh… This is healing me.

Cute really was the best.

Just as I smiled and continued drying its body with the towel—

KRAAACK!

A massive bolt of lightning struck the sea right in front of the café, bright enough to turn my entire field of vision white.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I sucked in a breath at the strange sensation that made every hair on my body stand on end.

What the hell was that?

Just as an unpleasant feeling began to envelop my entire body—

“Woof! Woof!”

The little black one barked toward the sea.

Every hair on its body stood on end, and its tail was held straight up. Anyone could tell that it was angry.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. As long as you stay here, nothing—absolutely nothing—is going to happen.”

Just as I reached out to pat its back—

“Woof! Woof! Wooooof!”

“Hey! Blackie! Where are you going?”

BANG!

It shoved the café door open and bolted outside.

I hurried after it in surprise, but within only a few seconds, it had vanished as if it had disappeared into thin air.

“Blackie! Blackie!”

I searched every inch of the surrounding area through the pouring rain, but I couldn’t find even a trace of it.

Eventually, I returned to the café… but somehow, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

…He’s going to be okay, right?

How much time had passed while I worried about him?

A familiar luxury SUV stopped in front of the café.

It was Song Ra-yoon’s car.

Seung-hee got out of the passenger seat and ran into the café with Hunter Song Ra-yoon, both of them screaming over the rain.

“Wow, Oppa! The rain is seriously insane!”

“Come on in. You must be exhausted.”

Seung-hee was currently working as one of Ra-yoon Hunter’s managers.

So… these days, they sometimes stopped by the café together on their way home from work.

“Here. Today’s new menu, prepared for the two of you.”

“Wooooow.”

I quickly brought over two trays and placed them in front of them.

I had hand-dripped some rich and warm Guatemalan Antigua coffee and paired it with freshly baked cinnamon apple crumble pie.

The two of them lit up as they tasted it.

“Wow, this is amazing. They go so well together, Oppa!”

“I like it too… The smoky aroma goes incredibly well with the spicy scent of the cinnamon. And I like how the warmth feels like it washes away all the dampness of a rainy day.”

The two of them continued eating enthusiastically, almost like a pair of hamsters, all while exclaiming in admiration.

“Let me know if that isn’t enough. I’ll give you more.”

“Yes!”

A satisfied smile naturally spread across my face.

Watching them enjoy the coffee I had made seemed to wash away all the gloominess of the rainy day.

While doing the dishes, I casually asked,

“Seung-hee, how’s work? Think you can stick with it?”

“Don’t even ask! Hunter Ra-yoon takes such good care of me that I’m basically being treated like a princess! The work is a perfect fit for me, and everyone’s so nice! It’s the best!”

Seung-hee gave a thumbs-up while taking another bite of pie.

“That’s good to hear. Work hard so you don’t bring shame to the Hunter.”

“You don’t have to worry about Ms. Seung-hee. She’s doing very well on her own.”

“Then that’s a relief. Haha. I should give you a little bribe to thank you for taking good care of her.”

I brought out some other desserts I had prepared, along with decaf coffee.

Then—

“Ah, about a week from now… How are you planning to attend the conference for S-Rank Hunters, Hunter?”

“Ughhh… I suppose I have to go. But I don’t really have anything to say…”

“How about leaving that to me? I’ll draft the presentation, and you can give me feedback.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes! I’m actually pretty good at that kind of thing.”

The two of them began chatting excitedly among themselves.

She seems to be settling in well.

I didn’t say it out loud, but I breathed a sigh of relief inside.

I knew very well how diligent and capable Seung-hee was… so I had always known she would do well if she was only given the opportunity.

She had spent her twenties differently from everyone else because she had been taking care of our mother.

I hoped that, in some small way, this opportunity could make up for some of what she had missed.

After finishing the dishes, I slowly walked toward the door and looked around.

“Hmm? Why are you doing that, Boss?”

“Oh, it’s just… That black puppy that’s been coming around for the past few days was staying inside the café because of the heavy rain. But when the lightning struck earlier, it suddenly ran outside. The rain’s still coming down, so I’m a little worried… Haha.”

“Oh no… I wonder if it’s okay.”

Seung-hee looked concerned.

But Song Ra-yoon…

Her eyes shook violently—not from worry, but from something else entirely.

The Ultra Beast is roaming around after escaping control? Is Senior really allowing that calamity to wander freely around Jeju Island?

Was it intentional?

Or… a mistake?

Ra-yoon carefully opened her mouth.

“Should I go look for it? It might be dangerous…”

“No, it should be fine. Animals usually know what they need to do.”

I was worried too, but I couldn’t send a customer outside into this rain, so I gave an awkward smile.

At that moment—

KRA-KOOOOM!

Lightning crashed down violently outside the window, casting a deep shadow across Seung-gyun’s face.

Seeing that expression, Song Ra-yoon froze.

That expression… He isn’t saying that simply because he’s worried about an animal. Does Senior have… some kind of intention behind this?

Ra-yoon nodded, indicating that she understood, when—

BZZZT! BZZZT!

Her phone began ringing loudly.

The moment Ra-yoon answered, an urgent voice rang out.

《Hunter Song Ra-yoon, where are you right now?!》

“I finished work… I’m at a café nearby. Why?”

《It’s an emergency deployment! An A+-Rank Gate has opened in western Jeju Island! The mana readings have already exceeded the critical threshold! Get there immediately! Team 7 is heading that way too!》

Song Ra-yoon shot to her feet.

“I’m sorry. Something urgent has come up.”

“Ah, go ahead. You should hurry.”

“H-Hunter! I’ll get everything ready right away!”

Seung-hee quickly grabbed the keys and ran to the SUV, rummaging through the trunk for something.

Meanwhile, Song Ra-yoon checked the GPS coordinates sent by the branch director.

It’s not far from this village.

Less than two kilometers away at most.

If a Gate had opened here, then…

It was obvious that Simgok Village would suffer enormous damage.

“Here you go, Hunter!”

“Thank you.”

Ra-yoon immediately took the combat suit and basic equipment from the box Seung-hee had brought and put them on.

Then she…

Bolted outside.

How far had she run toward the target?

KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KOOM!

Beside a sheer rocky cliff, a blood-red vortex churned violently as lightning struck the surrounding area.

That was an A+-Rank Gate.

Ra-yoon frowned as she stared at it.

Damn it… It’s right on the verge of a Gate Break.

Unstable waves of mana.

And an aura powerful enough to make even an S-Rank Hunter’s every hair stand on end.

At this rate, it was obvious that monsters would pour out within a matter of minutes.

Should I enter alone? Or should I wait for the team…?

Her thoughts became complicated.

She had to make an immediate decision: whether to accept a certain amount of risk and enter alone, or wait for the monsters to emerge and deal with them together with her team.

She had to choose whichever option would minimize the damage.

Let’s go. It’ll be a disaster if that thing makes it to the village.

Song Ra-yoon bit her lip and was just about to enter the Gate when—

BOOOOOOM!

Suddenly, the Gate let out a tremendous roar and exploded.

“W-What?!”

Ra-yoon blinked in surprise.

Then, from the exact spot where the Gate had been…

A wet black ball of fur shot upward and appeared right in front of her.

“Ultra… Beast?”

Ra-yoon looked back and forth between the creature and the place where the Gate had been.

Did this thing… defeat the Gate?

Goosebumps spread across her back.

And in that instant, she remembered something Kang Seung-gyun had said.

—Animals usually know what they need to do.

As expected… Senior had a plan all along.

Embarrassment filled her heart, while her admiration for him grew even stronger.

She had never imagined that someone who had only recently tamed a magical beast could control it so freely.

“Woof! Woof!”

The Ultra Beast—

No…

Blackie wagged its tail and barked at Song Ra-yoon.

As if it were asking her to take it home.

Jingle.

The café door opened, and cold wind carrying the scent of wet earth blew inside.

Soaked from the rain, Song Ra-yoon entered while carefully holding something precious in her arms.

“Huh? Hunter Ra-yoon? Y-You’re already back? What happened with the Gate…?”

Surprised, Seung-hee stood up and asked.

It was far too soon for her to have returned after clearing the Gate.

And on top of that…

She was holding Blackie in her arms.

“Ah… Well, the Gate suddenly dissipated on its own. It’s not something that happens often, so I suppose we were lucky. And this puppy… I found him on the way back, so I brought him along.”

Song Ra-yoon stared intently at Seung-gyun.

With an extremely serious and solemn expression.

Senior… I’m sorry I failed to understand your grand plan.

Why was she looking at him like that?

Seung-gyun gave an awkward smile before quickly saying,

“Seung-hee, bring the Hunter some dry clothes. And here, Hunter, take this towel. If you want to wash up, you can go upstairs and use the bathroom.”

“Ah, yes… Then I’ll excuse myself.”

The two women headed upstairs together, and Seung-gyun let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness everything ended without any problems. And Blackie came back safely too.”

He immediately took out a towel and began drying Blackie’s fur.

“Hey, don’t suddenly run off like that again. It’s dangerous.”

“Woof! Woof!”

Blackie happily wagged its tail and repeatedly licked Seung-gyun’s palm.

At that moment, blue notification windows began flashing incessantly around him.

【Kang Seung-gyun’s pet has successfully conquered an A+-Rank Gate alone!】

【You have acquired a large amount of experience.】

【Your level has increased!】

【Your level has increased!】

【Your level has increased!】

【You have reached Level 5, unlocking a new function: ‘○○ ○○○’!】

Seung-gyun…

Was far too distracted by Blackie to notice any of it.