Hero Hunter is on Parental Leave C21

Chapter 21

Even Eleven Convenience Store.

Beep—

“Your total is 4,500 won.”

“Hey, sweetheart. What are you doing after work today?”

“You’ve… mistaken me. I’m—I’m not that kind of woman.”

“Oh? Then you’re an Omega. No wonder you looked so damn delicious.”

The customer grabbed the wrist of the part-timer, Minseong, who was ringing up his cigarettes.

Minseong struggled desperately to pull his arm free.

Ignoring his resistance, the man’s fingers slithered along his skin, the molestation making Minseong’s delicate body tremble.

“Playing hard to get, huh? Heh.”

From the back storage room, Yeongung narrowed his eyes as he monitored the scene through the CCTV.

Appearance was like a fingerprint—most Omegas had delicate figures and pretty faces that made it impossible to hide their secondary gender.

Their appearance practically screamed, I’m an Omega.

Only a fool wouldn’t notice.

Outside, the customer—no, the trash—continued his harassment.

“Hehe… such a sweet smell. Damn, intoxicating.”

Thanks to his appearance, which differed from the typical Omega look, Yeongung had grown up without major incidents, but Omegas as pretty as Minseong attracted pests like that with ease.

He recalled his own son, who strongly resembled the beautiful Won Iheun like a carbon copy.

Jaehee was still young, and no one knew whether he would manifest as Alpha or Omega—but if he became Omega, wouldn’t filth like that try to swarm him?

Yeongung glared murderously at the harasser on the monitor.

“Creatures like that should be wiped out to the last.”

His patience snapped.

He kicked open the storage door and twisted the man’s arm sharply.

Even without mana, Yeongung had countless techniques to replace it—methods to subdue a target with minimal strength.

He couldn’t use mana anymore, and his basic stamina was pathetic, but when danger arose, he had to be able to protect his child.

He had learned self-defense as an ordinary father wherever he could.

The man screamed as his bone snapped for real.

“Aaaagh—!”

“Damn, wondered where the stink was coming from—turns out it was you, you little runt.”

“What… what!?”

When pressured by Yeongung, who stood in the 180-centimeter range, the small man—barely Minseong’s height—stammered.

Then, noticing Minseong watching, he began puffing himself up again.

“Shit, you’re tall like a damn lamppost. An ordinary guy dares go against a hunter? Huh!?”

These days, even garbage like this strutted around with power just because they were awakened.

Yeongung lowered his cap further and pointed toward the entrance.

“Leave. Don’t pollute the awakened community.”

The tiny man, not even reaching Yeongung’s chest, now spat everywhere as he shouted.

“Where’s the manager!? Get the manager out here right now! Damn civilians daring to disrespect a hunter!”

Since becoming a father, Yeongung had tried to suppress his temper—but now, for the first time in a long while, his aggression spiked.

What kind of era was this, and yet trash like him still existed?

The days when hunters could lord over civilians had long ended.

“Ha. I’m getting pissed.”

“You little—!”

The self-proclaimed hunter’s face turned red and blue at Yeongung’s unyielding attitude.

“A convenience store part-timer humiliates me in front of an Omega?”

Enraged, the hunter grabbed for the sword at his thick waist.

“Hyung…!”

Minseong, wringing his hands and panicking, rushed out from behind the counter to stop the fight.

Ding—

At that moment, the entrance chime rang.

A man wearing wide pants and an oversized T-shirt walked in.

Afraid the bystander might get caught in the fight, Minseong quickly tried to warn him off.

“Sir, I’m sorry. We’re not able to serve customers right now. Could you please come back later?”

“…”

But the man didn’t hear him—he had headphones on.

With a lazy, rhythmic gait, the blond man took a lap around the store.

He grabbed a bag of chips and placed it on the counter.

“Checkout.”

From his hand to his exposed forearm under the sleeves of his shirt, his skin was covered entirely in tattoos.

Minseong flinched when he made accidental eye contact with the koi fish tattooed on the back of the man’s hand.

“Y-yes… yes, sir!”

His flashy style was part of it, but the man had an undeniable presence.

Even the harasser stopped mid-rant, staring blankly at the blond man.

But soon he snapped back to himself and started provoking again.

“What the hell is this My-Way idiot.”

Despite the loud music in his headphones, the blond man must have sensed he was being addressed.

He lowered the headset around his neck, then pulled his mask down to his chin.

And from his lips came clear, precise commands:

“Leave the store immediately. Leave this island. Erase everything that happened today from your mind.”

It was one of the rare abilities—mind control.

The harasser’s pupils unfocused instantly.

Like a cheap humanoid robot, he turned stiffly toward the exit.

Minseong’s eyes widened like sugar candies at witnessing the ability for the first time.

He watched the harasser shuffle away and disappear.

“Amazing…! Hyung! I’ve never seen that before!”

The man gave Minseong one more command.

“Forget the last hour.”

“Yes….”

Minseong, too, fell into a daze and collapsed onto the counter chair.

Yeongung, who had been wearing an increasingly annoyed expression the entire time since the man entered, finally spoke.

“Unbelievable. I’ve never seen an Eraser so desperate to stand out as you.”

Despite the harsh words, Sayeong only grinned happily.

Even the sight of him smiling felt excessive to Yeongung.

“What? This is trendy nowadays.”

Shrugging, Sayeong lifted his mask back over his lips.

Sayeong was a hunter with the exact opposite ability of a Tracker—

An Eraser.

Mind control was just one of his skills; his greatest ability was erasing mana traces.

Yeongung himself had relied on Sayeong’s abilities to remain hidden all this time.

Of course… it wasn’t free.

Thinking about the astronomical amount he had paid this guy made that mischievous face even more irritating.

Still, Sayeong was the only Eraser capable of completely erasing his unique mana.

Without him, going into hiding would’ve been nearly impossible.

Carrying Minseong into the storage room, Yeongung asked:

“When will he wake up?”

“About thirty minutes?”

Yeongung set his coworker onto a folding chair and had him lean over the desk.

With no ability to support himself unconscious, this was the safest setup in the cramped storage room.

“Let’s go.”

Leaving the storage room, Yeongung handed Sayeong his treasured chocolate milk.

“Hey—hyung, this is expired stock! I’m not falling for that trick twice!”

He’d saved it to drink after work, but kids these days had no respect for food.

Yeongung snatched it back.

“Young man. Learn to be frugal.”

It was pointless advice for someone who’d never have to worry about money a day in his life.

But no one knew the future—not until they were in a coffin.

No one would’ve imagined that the Absolute Yeongung would end up living this kind of impoverished life.

“You see the news?”

“What news?”

“Master Won Iheun’s press conference.”

“Oh… I saw a bit while dealing with Jaehee. Something about a new Rift? The system works too hard. If it were me, I’d slack off.”

At his nonchalant tone, Sayeong slammed the counter.

“That’s not it—!”

“Damn! Don’t scare me!”

“He said he found you.”

“…Found what.”

“Master Won Iheun publicly declared he found you!”

He found me…?

The surprise lasted only a moment.

Yeongung quickly regained calm and lifted his cap, covering more of his face.

“Let’s say he did. Would he even recognize this face?”

Sayeong looked at the fake face created by the drug he had given Yeongung.

Right now, Yeongung’s appearance was nothing like the Absolute known nationwide.

It was a face formed from data blended from ten thousand adult men—

A perfectly average, forgettable look.

“Then why are you nervous?”

“M-me? Nervous?”

“If Won Iheun really tracks me here—to Muhaedo—

you’ll be the one coughing up every last won you’ve taken from me.

You, more than anyone, know how much went into your precious pockets.”

Sayeong stumbled back under the murderous stare.

“Haha… Hyung, I’m the genius Sayeong! Even the mighty Won Iheun can’t find this place!”

Although he usually looked sloppy, Sayeong knew full well that if Yeongung decided to, wiping out an Eraser like him would be trivial.

He quickly changed the subject.

“Don’t worry about it. I just thought you should know. Anyway—shouldn’t it be around Jaehee’s pickup time?”

Checking the time, Yeongung removed his uniform and prepared to clock out.

“Watch the store until Minseong wakes up.”

After the doting father left to pick up his beloved son, Sayeong was left alone, pacing anxiously with an unexplained dread.

“Master Won isn’t the type to bluff… But still, it’s impossible, right? Restoring erased mana traces? That’s nonsense. Ugh… I don’t know.”

Ding—

“Welcome to Even Eleven.”

But Sayeong’s unease would soon become reality.