Three Years?

"Are you for real? Divorce?" I was flabbergasted. "You do know I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you, don't you?"

"I'm sorry…" she replied in a small, diminished voice. "But it's not like you've been on your best behavior recently."

"And you have? You started it! Running off like that with your hunter powers…"

"Well, I didn't know you were a hunter too!"

I went silent.

Technically, I wasn't a hunter when everything happened. Even now, I wasn't really a hunter. Leora was probably losing her mind when the assassination attempt on our lives set everything in motion.

I felt bad for lying to my wife, but I couldn't exactly tell her the truth.

There was no point in arguing any further. I needed to focus on my priorities. "Can I have Stefan's contact number?"

"Huh? Sure…"

That was surprisingly easy. "No questions?" Like how I even knew the name of her contacts or anything?

"Of course, I trust you, because you're my husband. But I don't trust your lower half as much—because in the end, you're just a man. Instinct is instinct. Food is food. Consider this your warning: if I catch you cheating, I will cut it off."

I gulped.

Leora asked, "Also, how in the hell does our son have aura?"

Oh shit… I must've screwed up somewhere. "Uuh… it showed up when he was two months old, the day of the attack." I forgot to tell her.

"And you didn't think to mention that to me when you basically dropped him on me, declaring you'd handle the hunting instead. What's your progress, anyway?"

I could feel her anger seething through the phone. I remembered her flashback in the story about how she slaughtered the mercenaries who had tried to assassinate us—a corporate-style group called Oval, filled with hunters and heavily armed mundanes. She'd made a public warning to the hunter world, swearing to slaughter anyone who took a job hunting her or our family. That bought me and baby Leon some time.

I cleared my throat, faking a cough. "Well, I at least have the name of their group, and I've also identified a key target. Once they're out of the equation, things will be so much easier for us."

"That's better than nothing, and it's only been barely over a month…" she commented.

I would've preferred to take down the Prophet where he was based, but he was a powerful Reader with ridiculously strong clairvoyance—and a bodyguard with danger sense. Not to mention… elite guards. If only I could just drop a nuke on him. Even if I called in every favor owed to me and sent every ally at him, I'd still fall short.

To ensure his demise, I'd need the Hunter Association at my back. After getting my Hunter's license, I planned to start climbing the Association's ranks. Once high enough, I should be able to issue a Hunt Order.

I told my wife, "It'll take me over three years to start hunting those after our son. My declaration of war a few days ago should be enough to make me a target. If they send more after me and try to kill me, it means the Prophet has likely foreseen I'll succeed. If they back off, then I'll regroup with you, and we'll come up with another plan."

"Three years is a long time," Leora lamented. "I've only been gone for two years, and look how much he's grown…"

My heart twisted. I knew my future—I'd die within the next eight years. But screw the canon event. I'd fight fate head-on, and I intended to win. The Elsewhere Cult wasn't some small-time group; that's why I needed the Hunter's Association backing me.

Even the cult couldn't infiltrate the Association with hostile intentions; that was just the kind of place it was. The Association's chairman wasn't just one of the top aura users but a fair and formidable man.

"How's Leon?" I asked.

"You won't believe it. I'm teaching him the aura methods… and it's insane… this kid's a genius. He's already grasped four out of the seven methods, and he hasn't even learned to walk yet. And get this, he's a Caster, right? He made this giant fireball the size of a basketball and completely incinerated my bike," she said, sounding equal parts proud and heartbroken.

I gave a wry smile. "I hope no one was hurt."

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Selena, still trapped in her diminutive form, was punching me on the knees. Her aura had always been on the weaker side, and now, with her shrunken body, she couldn't use any of her techniques to cause me real trouble. "Don't ignore me! Give me back my beautiful body!"

"Leora, what am I supposed to do with Selena? Honestly, I'd rather not have her around…" I had a feeling I understood why Leora sent her to me.

"She might be a bit of a vixen, but we'll need as many allies as we can get. I sent Selena to be your bodyguard. She's a trusted friend, though she's a bit off in the head… but her skills are real."

Thought so…

Leora continued, "I don't trust that Jacob guy to watch your back, nor any of those mercenaries who might owe you favors. But I trust her… well, as long as she's not trying to get you in bed…"

"Don't worry, no one's getting me in bed."

I knew Selena's personality. She had an obsession bordering on the insane when it came to finding her soulmate. Her actions might seem frivolous, naughty, and a bit untrustworthy, but she was a woman of her word, driven by dreams of romance.

Leora added, "If you have her by your side, I'll feel a lot better about you doing the hunting. Selena's like a sister to me."

Like a sister, huh? That was news to me…

Leora's voice softened just before hanging up. "I'll give you Stefan's contact info."

"Thanks," I replied, grateful she was backing me up despite everything Selena had stirred up.

"Stay safe," she added, a hint of worry slipping through.

"Same goes for you. Give Leon extra kisses from me," I told her, thinking of our son and how much I missed him.

There was a brief pause. "I love you."

"I love you too," I replied, meaning every word.

"Bye."

"Yeah, until then."

The line clicked off, and I was left with the quiet hum of the empty room.

As the effect of my technique finally wore off, Selena snapped back into her original form with a faint puff of smoke. She scowled, annoyance radiating off her. "Damn it! Finally! What kind of freaky technique is that?" She shot me a pointed glare, sticking out her tongue. "All that 'I love this, I love you that,' ugh! Couples are overrated!"

"You're such a riot," I replied dryly, grabbing my briefcase, already packed and waiting. "Pack up; we're moving."

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Where to?"

"The Hunter's Examination venue."

I stood outside the hotel, trying to hail a cab, but no luck so far. That was the Capital City for you. At some point, Selena just vanished. Suddenly, a bright yellow sports car screeched to a stop in front of me, and the window slid down.

"Hop in, handsome," Selena's voice drifted out.

I raised an eyebrow. "It's ugly," I deadpanned, gesturing to the car. "I hate yellow."

Her face twisted in mock outrage. "It is a damn stylish sports car—take it back!"

I smirked. "I mean, it's just a little bit better than a taxi."

"Damn it! Just get in!" she snapped.

I chuckled and opened the door. "Alright, fine. But only because you insisted."

The drive was rather quiet until Selena finally broke the silence, her tone shifting to something unexpectedly serious. "So, you're an unofficial hunter," she stated, glancing at me sideways.

I studied her, weighing her words and her gaze. I remembered Selena Fair from the novel—an unpredictable character, joining organizations in her endless search for her soulmate, only to betray them when her interests changed. She even wound up in the Undead Troupe, though she eventually turned on them too. It made me wonder if she'd eventually betray me. But then, there was that unfinished backstory I'd written for her—a sister she cared about deeply, though I'd never expanded on who that sister was. Maybe, in this world, fate had corrected that oversight, making her my wife's sister.

Well, not blood sister.

"Yeah," I said finally. "I'm unofficial. But then, so are you."

The hunter community was loose in hierarchy and structure, so being unlicensed didn't have significant disadvantages. I could still access the Hunter Association's resources if I leveraged the right clout and connections behind the scenes. The licensure exam mainly served to connect mundanes with the hunter world. My reason for going through with it was simple—I needed to infiltrate the Association and turn it to my advantage.

Leora was right—three years was a long time, and our enemies wouldn't idle in that span. They'd likely grow weary of me eventually, but as long as Leora stayed alert, she'd be safe. My phone buzzed, and I saw Leora's message: Stefan's number, with a note that she'd let him know I'd be in touch. I texted back, 'Okay, got it.'

Meanwhile, Selena's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I don't trust the Association," she said, her tone sharper. "I hate the idea of affiliating with them or their way of sharing knowledge about aura to whoever. The mundane and hunter worlds should stay separate. What's next—militarizing hunters?"

"The government already tried and failed at that," I replied. "That's why the Association exists: to manage relations between hunters and mundanes." I glanced over. "If you're so against it, you don't have to come along."

"Nah, your wife's orders," she said, grinning. "She wants me to babysit you. Not that I doubt you can handle yourself, but the exam lasts about a week—long enough for something to go wrong. You could get killed in that time."

She wasn't wrong. The Elsewhere Cult could easily use this event to send in assassins masked as other candidates. Having backup wouldn't hurt.

I had three months of intense aura training and barely a month of on-the-ground experience using it in something close to combat situations. Despite all the theories I'd mastered, there was only so much theory could do. This licensure exam wasn't just a ticket into the Association—it was a real shot at leveling up my skills.

In this world, strength wasn't defined by clean-cut power levels, so I couldn't gauge exactly how strong I was.

"Hey, Selena, any chance you can train me in combat whenever we've got downtime?"

She flashed a mischievous smirk. "Oh, I can do so much more than that~!"

I sighed. Trust her to twist my words like that. But then she shifted gears, taking on a more serious tone.

"So, you're not much on the practical combat side? Guess that makes sense if you're usually the type hiding behind the scenes. You look like someone used to giving orders... maybe a Reader? No… your technique's different. Trickster, maybe… or Dealer?"

I knew she had the wrong idea, but I let it slide. I was too tired to deal with her usual antics.