“Last time, they say this place with a view of the river is better than over there?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
Now that I have some extra cash, my options for a new nest have widened.
If I move to a spacious house with a garden, it’ll be easier to train my summoned creatures and manage everything.
When I start Irmana’s quest, I won’t have to summon them one by one anymore.
“Yeon-su unnie contacted me and said she would recommend a few places directly. Is that okay?”
“Tap…”
“I think I understand what Kang Yeon-su is thinking… Well, there’s probably no harm in it, right?”
“It was totally not a vibe where I could refuse. If I don’t follow, it feels… something, you get it?”
Noddle, noddle—
Since we’ve already tuned into Yeon-su’s line, it’s best to go along for now.
I mentioned to Yeon-hee what I needed from Helen, and she nodded without any doubt.
Inside Helen’s store, the party members, including Ha-yoon, had already taken their seats.
Had we arrived an hour early? Empty bottles were already lined up on the floor.
“Is she trying to secure a spot… What about your party members?”
Ha-yoon had naturally blended into the group, bringing a sense of harmony despite her somewhat prickly personality.
Thanks to Bae Joo-ah, who was effectively connecting everyone, it didn’t seem to be a problem.
Yeon-hee still looked awkward, but she understood that her joining Ha-yoon was beneficial due to this dungeon thing, so she didn’t show it anymore.
“Yeon-hee~!”
“Unnie~”
Helen dashed to the entrance, eagerly pinching Yeon-hee’s cheeks with both hands while checking if she was hurt anywhere.
“I don’t see Jin-kyeong.”
“Oh, she’s doing quite well lately.”
From what I heard, Song Jin-kyeong had indeed resumed her hunter life.
In fact.
“She already graduated from the Wolf’s Den?”
Having returned not long ago, she had successfully leveled up to D-rank and even cleared the Wolf’s Den a few times.
It’s understandable for Bae Joo-ah to be surprised; she had shared a dungeon experience with Jin-kyeong and surely knew her level well.
It had been less than two weeks since Jin-kyeong joined Ji-woo’s party and resumed her hunter career.
I thought she would have graduated E-rank, but she’s already moving on to “Neos Harpy’s Nest.” Impressive indeed.
“It’s… strange. Too fast.”
Considering how quickly we cleared dungeons, it seems slow, but taking into account Song Jin-kyeong and Ji-woo’s stats, at least a month should have passed.
“Sounds like she got into a good party? It doesn’t seem too hard, and they give good conditions. Inside the dungeon, the others handle everything, so it’s almost boring—”
Still, seeing Helen, who is well-experienced among low-rank hunters, not saying much indicates I don’t have to worry too much… but I should check it out just in case.
“However, it feels a bit uncomfortable, so I’ve put in a request just in case.”
“Oh, that’s just like Helen unnie.”
Fortunately, Helen had already put in a request through her contacts to get information about the party members Jin-kyeong was with.
I can rely on her.
“Nothing major should happen over the next few days.”
Jin-kyeong isn’t a child; she can manage her own affairs. I thought it’d be enough to help her when the news comes. Our relationship is just about that.
The momentary discomfort quickly faded, and everyone began drinking to cleanse their dungeon-weary bodies.
Yeon-hee seemed keen on drinking today, gulping down quite a bit right from the start.
“It looks like her tolerance is increasing.”
Seeing a freshly 20-year-old girl blending into society felt a bit strange.
“Wooah──!”
“Kya-ha-ha!”
“Because I used Ice Field, all the ghouls—”
“Thousands of bones followed me! I hit the wall with a rock, blocking them all!”
With no restrictions on sharing stories after the hidden dungeon, tales of various heroics from then poured out. A bit exaggerated, yet nearly facts-worthy movie-like stories.
“Everyone looks so happy.”
Just seeing Yeon-hee and her companions smiling brightly healed my heart, and I felt uplifted.
About two hours had passed when I was blankly gazing at Yeon-hee’s flushed cheeks, when one of the groups of men passing by suddenly stopped and approached us.
“…Eh? Why is that guy here?”
Of course, it didn’t matter who came to the food alley, but it was unfortunate that it had to be that guy.
Ding—
Ultimately, he barged into the store.
That man’s name is Han Eul-min.
He was a complete fool I had briefly partied with in my past life and bumped into during the dungeon break at Gu-chang-ro in this life.
His father was the vice-guild master of the Guardian Guild, so he lived arrogantly, lost an arm somewhere along the line, and wandered dungeons searching for a legendary elixir to restore it—what a ridiculous story.
“When did you lose your arm again? Last time I saw you, you had a good arm, even if you were taken down by snail spores.”
I wondered if he got wrecked during the dungeon break by “That Guy”? Who knows? Not that I cared.
“Welcome! You can pick any table…”
“Lady, do I look like someone who would eat at such a low-class place?”
“Then why the hell are you here? What a funny guy.”
Helen greeted him, and Han Eul-min replied with a face and tone that couldn’t be more annoying, and Helen’s expression soured immediately.
Ignoring her reaction, Han Eul-min came straight to our table and addressed Yeon-hee.
“You, right? The girl who gave me the antidote back then?”
“… Huh? Me?”
“Yeah, you. When we were all down at the Gu-chang-ro dungeon break—”
“Uh… yeah. I did share the antidote with the hunters back then, but…”
“Oh, come on… You should say you don’t know her, Yeon-hee.”
But was he still searching for Yeon-hee all this time?
Seems quite foolish… or lazy.
“Haha, found you. I knew I’d run into you someday! What’s your name? Let’s go outside and talk.”
“… Why would I?”
“What? Why not? I’m just asking to talk.”
Yeon-hee tilted her head, seemingly utterly confused by the situation, while the rest of us slowly began to heighten our tension for any unforeseen circumstances.
In response to Yeon-hee’s confusion, Han Eul-min seemed frustrated, smacked his chest, and suddenly reached out to Yeon-hee.
“What is he doing?”
Clap-!
Naturally, I grabbed his arm, and he looked at me in shock as if he had finally understood my presence.
“Mr. Manager. Do you know this person?”
At that moment, about seven men followed Han Eul-min inside the store.
Unable to shake off my grip, Han Eul-min flailed pathetically, and when I let go of his arm, he almost stumbled but thanks to the men behind him, he barely avoided humiliation.
“What the hell! Who the fuck is that ugly bastard?”
“… What did you just say…?”
Han Eul-min’s words sent Yeon-hee’s expression into a sharp decline.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the store turned dramatically awkward.
“Oh dear, even in this messed-up world, you’re still walking your same path, you pathetic fool, Han Eul-min.”
“No, what’s the situation here? Who is that guy?”
Bae Joo-ah asked succinctly for a summary of what’s going on, and after hearing the story, she made an even more perplexed expression.
“Is that it? You haven’t contacted each other since?”
“No.”
“So, he’s just a stranger? That guy’s totally a weirdo.”
“What? Weirdo? Look at this trash! Do you even know who you’re talking to?”
Han Eul-min kicked the table next to him in fury.
That shock sent the water bottle perched on the table flying, splashing water onto Ha-yoon’s surprised face.
“… I suppose I don’t have to do anything.”
What bad luck for him.
Creating a mess he couldn’t even manage if he wanted to.
Wiping the water off her face, Ha-yoon grabbed the beer bottle upside down, slowly stood up, and suddenly smashed Han Eul-min’s head with it.
Crash-!
“Ugh! You punk?!”
Naturally, a mere hit wouldn’t deal significant damage to a hunter who had transcended human abilities, but the beer that exploded from the broken bottle drenched Han Eul-min’s head, and at that moment, all reason left his mind.
Whizzz–
A magic missile swiftly began to cast in Han Eul-min’s palm, and he approached Ha-yoon with a sinister grin.
That orb of energy, known as the easiest magic to manifest, surprisingly has no growth limitations and has low mana consumption, often used by high-rank hunters.
The ominous mana signified severe intent to attack.
“Oh dear. Please don’t cross that river, dear god.”
Did he seriously come from another world? How could he act like this even after looking at Ha-yoon’s face? Do the other hunters just live in a bubble?
I pressed my forehead with my hand, shaking my head.
Just when I thought that magic missile would turn the store into a disaster.
Swish—!
Thud-!
“Ahh!”
Han Eul-min’s wrist, which had cast the magic missile, fell helplessly to the floor.
From the clean cut, one could tell it was the work of a formidable master.
“tsk tsk- You’re dead.”
“Ugh! What the hell! Who did this?!”
Han Eul-min, now clutching his only remaining wrist, collapsed to the floor, rolling around and howling, while his companions recoiled in horror.
But robust men already had their hands firmly on their shoulders while retreating.
“How dare you threaten the lady. Even if it’s the lowest-level magic, you’ve gone too far.”
That relatively smaller man among the robust physique shook his head, roughly grasped Han Eul-min’s hair, and lifted his head.
Crack—!
“Hmm? How dare you? Scum like you?”
Crack—! Crack—!
The man slapped Han Eul-min’s face three times, causing his cheeks to swell significantly. Han Eul-min fainted almost immediately.
Yet, as the man slammed Han Eul-min’s head onto the ground a few more times, he regained consciousness, and that idiot began to ramble about who his father was and which representative his mother was.
“Can’t you even comprehend the situation…?”
Seeing him make such noises in front of Ha-yoon’s level of protection was, in a sense, respectable.
The massive man chose not to engage further with Han Eul-min’s incoherent babbling, realizing the juvenile nature of it.
“Miss. I’ll take care of these trash. There should be a few left around, so you don’t need to worry about your safety.”
*Sigh*, even without the special task force, I told you it’s fine, don’t keep ruining the mood.
“I’m sorry. It’s our duty, so we can’t help it. Kim, take care of the wrist.”
“Yes, Team Leader!”
Once they all exited, the store transformed, leaving behind a pool of blood as the only indicator of what had occurred.
“Ugh, what the hell just happened?”
Helen exclaimed, startled, but proficiently mopped up the blood on the floor as if she was used to it.
The others still looked dazed, unable to put down their drinks.
“But when you said you’d take care of things, you didn’t mean…?”
Bae Joo-ah asked, gesturing that this wasn’t right, and Yeon-hee waved her hands, assuring her it wouldn’t happen.
“This isn’t a dungeon, and if things happen outside, even our guild has to deal with it.”
“I suppose it’s true.”
Well, given that our guild, the top three guilds in the country, is several times bigger than the Ilseom Guild, even the presence of a top-tier hunter wouldn’t be overshadowed by the Vision Guild.
Erasing some pathetic trash without a sound wouldn’t be a big deal at all.
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