Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest - Chapter 1046 247.4 - Brother

Layla crossed her arms, still wearing that half-smirk of amused disbelief. “So your brother’s a scout. Huh. Then wouldn’t it be nice if he, I don’t know… scouted us too?”

Jasmine leaned in with mock offense. “Right? Maybe we didn’t catch his eye. You’d think after all the back-breaking, face-blasting, monster-slaying we’ve done, we’d get some praise.”

Irina didn’t say anything, but the slight glance she gave Sylvie was enough to say well?

Sylvie blinked, then shook her head quickly. “He only called me yesterday,” she said. “Apparently, he hadn’t watched any of our dungeon runs until today.”

Layla raised an eyebrow. “So this was the first one he saw?”

Sylvie nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t even know he was watching until the communicator buzzed.”

Jasmine let out a dramatic sigh. “Unbelievable. We’ve been putting on our best performances all week and the man missed them?”

Sylvie smiled slightly, then looked at them—serious this time. “He’s waiting for my call. Can he come?”

There was a pause.

Astron, who had been silent and half a step behind as usual, finally spoke.

“There’s a place,” he said simply. “Not far from the western edge of the ring district.”

The others turned toward him.

“It’s a restaurant,” he continued. “Mana-screened. Private booths with partition sigils. No open tables, no scout access unless registered to a table in advance.”

Irina’s eyes narrowed slightly, intrigued. “One of the blackout-licensed ones?”

Astron gave a slight nod. “Yes. It’s used by guild executives when they don’t want to be seen.”

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “You know a lot of shady things for someone so quiet.”

He ignored that.

“I’ll book one,” he said. “We’ll go first. Sylvie, you can call him once we’re inside. Have him meet us at the front. Once he’s listed, no one else will be able to follow.”

Sylvie blinked, then exhaled. “Thank you.”

“Smart,” Irina said, folding her arms. “Keeps us off the radar while still giving you time with him.”

Layla clapped her hands together. “Look at us, planning covert ops just to have dinner.”

Jasmine grinned. “Team Fourteen: tactical strikes and emotional support logistics.”

Sylvie smiled, the warmth creeping back into her chest. “You’re all ridiculous.”

“Maybe,” Irina said. “But we’re yours.”

****

Sylvie walked a half-step behind the others, her boots brushing softly against the evening-dappled stone of the Academy’s ring road. The quiet laughter of Layla and Jasmine echoed ahead, their casual banter bouncing from shadowed storefronts and flickering lamplight, but Sylvie wasn’t listening.

Not fully.

Her thoughts had shifted into a quieter rhythm—anxiety threading behind each step. She couldn’t shake the strange weight building in her chest, and the closer they got to the restaurant Astron had mentioned, the heavier it felt.

Was this really a good idea?

She had said yes before she thought it through. The words had come out like instinct—of course her friends could meet her brother, right? Of course Leonard should see the people she’d grown close to. The team she fought beside. Trusted.

But now…

Now it just felt awkward.

Strange.

What was he going to say? What would they say? Would he start teasing her? Would he act like the overprotective older brother? Would they joke about it? Would Astron—

Her thoughts paused.

Almost involuntarily, her eyes slid sideways—toward him.

Astron walked with the same calm as always. Hands in his pockets. Head slightly down. His posture was as unassuming as it was deliberate, as if being invisible was part of the armor he wore. His sharp eyes didn’t scan them—didn’t flinch—but she could tell he was listening. Tracking. Always aware.

And yet, in just a few minutes…

He was going to meet Leonard.

Sylvie’s heart did a weird twist.

Because she had mentioned someone to her brother once.

Not in detail. Not by name.

Just a quiet, accidental murmur in one of those rare late-night calls. A slip of a sentence when she had been tired and a little too honest.

There’s someone I admire.

Someone who’s always calm, always one step ahead. Someone I want to catch up to.

She hadn’t said more. Had brushed it off when Leonard had asked.

But he hadn’t forgotten.

And now they’d be in the same room.

Sylvie bit the inside of her cheek and looked forward again, trying to hide the flush creeping up her neck.

She really hoped Leonard wouldn’t say anything.

And more than that… she hoped Astron wouldn’t notice anything.

*****

The smartwatch pulsed once in Leonard’s arm—subtle, but unmistakable.

He was already standing outside the western district checkpoint, coat lightly catching in the breeze that swept through the plaza’s upper walkway.

He tapped the sigil rune and brought the call up to his ear.

“Sylvie?”

Her voice came through a second later—gentle, a little awkward.

“We’re inside. The restaurant Astron mentioned—it’s called Lune’s Edge. You’ll see a lantern hanging above the door. Dark blue flame.”

“…Interesting choice.”

He could hear her smile faintly through the line. “Well, we’re tired of being stared at. You coming?”

Leonard glanced up. The address had just synced to his projection map.

Lune’s Edge.

He hadn’t known it was still operational. It was an older node from the scouting guild database, flagged for private meetings between nobles and silent-tier operatives.

“I’ll be there shortly,” Leonard said.

He ended the call and took one last glance across the street.

From this angle, the restaurant was barely noticeable. It was nestled in the side of an old walkbridge corridor—low-lit, walled with mana-treated wood and charmed glass. A wrought iron lantern hung above the door, the blue flame inside flickering with a steady, unchanging pulse.

Subtle mana veil.

Suppression-grade partitioning.

Entry by registration only.

No scout-class sigils allowed to activate without an invitation code.

Someone had done their homework.

Leonard exhaled slowly, stepping off the curb.

He reached the door and tapped the glyph panel.

A soft chime.

Then—

The soft chime from the glyph panel faded, replaced by a quiet voice.

[Authorization confirmed. Please enter key phrase.]

Leonard didn’t hesitate.

“…Beneath the watch of hollow stars.”

There was a pause—just long enough to remind him this place didn’t open easily.

Then—

[Access granted.]

The mana veil shimmered.

A smooth ripple passed across the door as the lock disengaged with an almost ceremonial hiss. Leonard stepped inside, the threshold closing behind him like a whisper being sealed.

The interior was muted and warm. No ambient music. No chatter. The lighting was set to low amber, designed to flatter without revealing. Partition screens floated like hanging scrolls, their glyphs soft and undisturbed. A host didn’t approach. There wasn’t one. You were either expected—or you weren’t here at all.

Leonard adjusted the collar of his coat and walked.

Third booth, right-hand wall.

He saw them before they saw him.

Sylvie’s posture, poised but relaxed.

Layla laughing softly, halfway through a story.

Jasmine gesturing with her hands like she was reenacting something ridiculous.

Irina listening in silence—watchful, poised.

And across from them—at the far end—

Astron.

Unmoving.

Sharp.

Expression unreadable.

Leonard’s footsteps were soundless against the floor, but Sylvie still turned a heartbeat before he arrived. Their eyes met. She offered a small smile—measured, but real.

He inclined his head slightly. “I believe this is your table.”

Jasmine was already turning with curious interest, and Layla straightened instinctively.

Irina’s gaze sharpened slightly—just enough to mark him, assess him, catalog him.

Astron didn’t move.

Leonard took one step forward.

Then it hit him.

A pressure.

Faint. Subtle. Nearly imperceptible—but unmistakably wrong.

His lungs paused mid-breath.

‘Huh?’

Something strange happened.

———–A/N———–

Finally my exams are over….Last exam was so strong that I caught a flu, it appears.