Aren replied first—calmly, shamelessly, and with the kind of deadpan delivery that suggested he had truly given up on caring. After all, what was the point of anxiety when you weren't even truly alive?
He wasn't a native to this world. He wasn't some average hunter scraping by for fame or money.
He was the embodiment of death itself, stuffed into a borrowed body.
So what harm was there in having a little fun while he was here?
"We may have gone a tad overboard with the flirting after we killed the boss…" he said, nonchalantly scratching the back of his head with one hand—while the other remained wrapped firmly around Raven's waist, as if they were posing for an underground dating sim cover.
The streamer's jaw practically unhinged. That was not the kind of response she was fishing for. She had been hoping for a vague, coy denial. Maybe an evasive joke or a teasing smirk—something that sparked fan theories, not confirmed them.
But no. Aren had given her something far worse.
Or better.
A full-blown admission.
An explosive confession that would ignite internet firestorms, trigger shipping wars across every major social platform, and drive Raven's fanboys into tragic, frothing despair.
"WHAT!?" she screeched, eyes bulging. "Is this true, Hunter Raven?!"
She immediately zoomed her phone camera into Raven's face, closing in like a digital sniper.
Raven turned toward Aren, her expression completely betraying her emotional defenses. Her entire face lit up like a malfunctioning alarm system—flushed scarlet, cheeks puffed, brows twitching in disbelief. From her hairline to her neck, she was the very picture of someone caught in the act.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" she screamed, grabbing Aren by the shoulders with both hands and shaking him violently like a vending machine that had eaten her change.
But her reaction only made things worse.
Phones clicked. Video streams multiplied. Viewers online howled. Their chaotic energy was so potent, it practically warped reality.
The streamer, now cackling with genuine, unholy joy, turned back to her phone's camera like she had just discovered a diamond mine.
"Looks like we're witnessing a lover's quarrel right in the middle of the sidewalk, folks…"
She winked—actually winked—at her live chat. The gesture alone launched another wave of shrieking emotes and exploding hearts.
"You heard it here first! Hunter Raven's secret boyfriend finally revealed!"
Raven froze, trembling as the weight of the moment slammed into her. Her body temperature skyrocketed. Her thoughts blurred into white noise. Every nerve ending screamed in synchronized embarrassment.
"You IDIOT!!" she howled, her voice breaking with mortified frustration as she buried her face into Aren's shirt—muffling her voice in his chest like a scorched-earth method of denial. Her fists clutched his jacket, but instead of pushing him away, she ended up… nuzzling him.
The world tilted.
The streamer zoomed in further.
Social media servers strained under the incoming tidal wave of clips, memes, and theories.
Meanwhile—across the city, in the 'pristine' marble halls of Rising Gold Guild Headquarters, chaos of an entirely different kind was erupting.
The guild had finally calmed down after the earlier dungeon breach. Hunters were lounging around, sipping coffee, finishing up post-clear reports, and waiting to see who would win the guild rights to raid the dungeon.
Until—
"You guys GOTTA see this!" Vick shouted, bolting upright from his desk and waving his phone like it contained nuclear launch codes.
Heads turned.
"Aren's got a girlfriend!"
He hadn't even finished the sentence before the entire office exploded.
"WHAT!?"
Coffee was spit. Naps were abandoned. One hunter tripped over a random soda can and went sprawling across the tile, while another dropped their gear with a loud clang.
The words alone had ignited chaos.
"That bastard got a girlfriend!?" a chorus of voices shouted in unison, as if their pride had been collectively wounded.
They swarmed around Vick's phone like moths to a flaming scandal. The stream was still live—and it showed exactly what he'd said. Aren. Holding Raven. The Raven. Midnight Death incarnate. The ice queen of the battlefield herself.
"Wait… Isn't that the S-Rank Hunter—Raven!?" Steph gasped, clutching her healing staff like it might help her process what she was seeing.
"Is that why Aren hasn't shown up for work the past few days?!" another hunter blurted, eyes wide with realization.
Suddenly, everything made a twisted kind of sense.
The office descended into madness. Speculation exploded like fireworks. Bets were being made in real-time. Someone started recording a reaction video. Another began composing a love ballad to "The Hidden Romance of the Weakest Hunter."
In mere minutes, the Rising Gold Guild—a small E rank guild—had been reduced to a shrieking, gossip-fueled riot.
And all because the quiet guy with dead eyes apparently had the most scandalous, unexpected girlfriend imaginable.