“Still, Han Eul-min isn’t exactly a person you can just ignore.”
“Of all people, he had to run into Noh Ha-yoon, of all things, tsk tsk.”
“Oh, I remember now. Is that the one? The person from earlier.”
Baek Ah-rin said as she held up her phone screen showing the Hunter Association website.
“Right. The Guardian Guild… So his dad is the vice-guild leader? Guess he had enough clout to puff out his chest.”
“But he was pretty extreme about it. I remember hearing that there’s a brain-dead kid who acts tough just because his dad is in the Guardian Guild.”
“… Just looking at his Hunter evaluation, it says he’s gone even more insane since losing an arm. That’s something.”
“Why did he lose his arm?”
“From what I found out… it seems he lost it during a Dungeon Break? There was an interview.”
The article Baek Ah-rin searched stated that Han Eul-min lost an arm while bravely fighting against a ‘Tooth.’
“Looks like a paid article to me.”
“Oh dear… Why live like this?”
Their companions clicked their tongues in disbelief as they filled their cups again.
What could have been a traumatic experience for ordinary folks seemed like just a minor event that passed for them.
Soon, the gathering broke up, and Helen began to block the store from the outside, claiming bad luck today.
“Wait, I’m the owner here! Who decides to close the shop without my say?”
Helen’s younger sister questioned her in disbelief, while Noh Ha-yoon quietly observed the scene before speaking up.
“I’ll rent the shop for today. Would ten million won be enough? Of course, the drinks will be on you.”
With that, Helen’s sister immediately locked the shop door and gave a cheerful smile.
“Sis! Let me handle it. Join us for drinks!”
“O-Okay.”
Thanks to that, Helen fully settled into her seat, and the atmosphere heated back up.
With the addition of Han Eul-min as a topic of conversation, the drinks kept flowing.
However, Han Eul-min was just a lousy conversation starter, so he quickly drifted out of interest.
Of course, that was for everyone else; I was keeping an eye on Han Eul-min, who was shouting at some guys from a distant rooftop.
His stats are just above average, but he’s a unique sorcerer with considerable backing and a filthy attitude.
Just looking at the conditions makes me not want to get involved, but the biggest issue is his obsessive nature.
Right now, he was on the rooftop, throwing out various insults at Noh Ha-yoon’s escort, but the guards appeared to be too stunned to retaliate.
They seemed to be waiting for something.
A moment later, after receiving a phone call, Han Eul-min’s demeanor shifted as he started kneeling and begging the guys.
It was likely a call from his dad after the Vision Guild contacted the Guardian Guild.
“He sure knows how to beg convincingly. What a strange guy.”
Not wanting to witness any more of his pathetic antics, I dismissed my senses.
“Hmm… It’d be nice to have a function like that.”
If I could mark annoying people like him so that an alarm would go off when they approached, that would be great.
As I pondered, Yeon-hee was asking Helen to gather information. This was something I had requested from her earlier.
“Investigate Heo Min-sol’s relationships. Okay.”
Of course, I’d pay for it. Helen isn’t a volunteer, after all; I should cover her expenses.
“But it’s so disappointing that I can’t hear about the Hidden Dungeon because of the Pact!”
“Right? There were really fun things happening.”
Helen, who was usually listening quietly to the children’s conversation, expressed her disappointment, and Ah-rin chimed in before suddenly glancing at me.
‘… Don’t tell me she’s thinking about the tent incident?’
I noticed Ah-rin’s ears slightly perk up.
“I’m going to take the promotion test tomorrow.”
Just then, Noh Ha-yoon shifted the conversation.
Baek Joo-ah casually responded while rummaging through the snacks, “Of course, you’d pass without breaking a sweat.”
“Noh Ha-yoon will be the first to rank up to C. She hasn’t taken the test yet, but it’s basically a given.”
Noh Ha-yoon’s combat power should place her in the upper-middle tier even among C-rankers. This assumes she’s still wearing that ring, of course.
The early feast wrapped up surprisingly quickly, and as we stepped outside to bid farewell, Helen remarked.
“Come by often! I’ll be free until I get married.”
She scratched her face bashfully.
“Aren’t you the busiest before your wedding?”
“No, we already live together, so there’s not much to prepare. The wedding will be simple.”
“Wow—cohabitation.”
Yeon-hee nodded, watching Helen with keen interest.
It seems Yeon-hee had asked Helen quite a few questions about the wedding preparations.
‘Seems like she has some fantasy about married life… Hmm…’
I felt a prick in my heart.
After a short and sweet gathering, we were on our way home.
As we took a taxi, Yeon-hee suddenly suggested getting out, and we ended up walking down a quiet alley.
Yeon-hee fidgeted her lips a couple of times before speaking up.
“Can you do mimicry right now?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“Okay… so… can’t you try it now?”
‘Now…? Hmm… But if I do it now, I won’t be able to conduct tonight’s test.’
But since it was what Yeon-hee wanted, I couldn’t refuse.
After confirming no one was around, I transformed into human form. Yeon-hee smiled brightly, tightly holding my hand as we continued down the street.
“Wait, did some bad guys get caught? If they did, let’s go right now!”
“No. There aren’t any.”
“Oh, really? Hehe-”
I only said there weren’t any because it seemed she wanted to walk with me, but the system was showing over a hundred suspicious individuals nearby.
‘It’s worse than in our neighborhood. What’s going on?’
It was a neighboring area I had never been to, and it looked serious.
‘Sigh… As disappointing as it is, I can’t take that risk.’
I couldn’t risk taking a drunken Yeon-hee into danger.
I cleared my mind and made a note of the enemies’ locations in my head.
Step—step—
‘Feels like we’re on a date.’
I couldn’t be the only one thinking this.
Looking at Yeon-hee’s flushed face, anyone else would see a handsome couple out on a date, walking someone home.
Yeon-hee fiddled with my hand, before boldly linking her arms with mine.
‘Whoa… This is quite…’
I felt a squishy sensation on my arm, and my body suddenly felt warm.
“It takes about 20 minutes to get home, so let’s walk a bit slower.”
“Okay.”
“What about talking? Your pronunciation seems much better now.”
“It’s still… a little… strange.”
“Hehe— but you’ve improved a lot.”
There was still some awkwardness, but her pronunciation had notably sharpened.
Even if she conversed with someone else, they’d probably think she was just like this originally.
Step—step—
In the deserted alley, as the clock approached eleven at night, Yeon-hee suddenly pulled my arm and pressed it close to her chest.
‘Whoa… this is dangerous.’
“Uheung~ heung~”
While I was troubled, Yeon-hee seemed to be in a fantastic mood.
‘But this intense arm linking… is she signaling something? Ugh… I don’t know.’
Maybe she was just drunk and couldn’t hold her strength.
As we walked a bit further, I suddenly had a thought.
‘There’s really no need to go home to do it…’
The rewards I received from helping Yeon-hee grow in the tent.
There’s no reason to limit ourselves to that place, right?
I didn’t feel the shadowy presence I had sensed yesterday, and with several incidents occurring at night lately, there were only the occasional cat meows in the alley.
Since the suspicious group was over a kilometer away, there was no need to worry.
‘Hmm…’
Yeon-hee kept sneaking glances at me.
She had a desperate look in her eyes.
‘Sigh… How do I hold back…’
Gradually slowing my pace,
To get to our house we could just go straight, but when we came across a small alley branching off the main road, I pulled Yeon-hee towards it.
“Eh? Um… we just need to go straight-”
That was a fact I, as the guide, knew better than anyone.
The small alley we stepped into was less than two meters wide, with only the soft glow of streetlights illuminating our path.
‘The atmosphere isn’t bad.’
They had recently renovated the streets, so the alley was nicely decorated.
This was the result of some desk-pushing administrative decision to change its name and attract people, but even if they did this, it wouldn’t bring in crowds; it would help us tonight.
Given the time and the nature of the alley, there was certainly no creepy vibe; rather, it felt like a place meant for lovers to do just that.
“Whoa… um, over there—”
Yeon-hee, her intoxication wearing off, looked up at me, trying to say something.
“You’re cute…”
I couldn’t help but say it, glancing naturally at her luscious, attractive neck.
Chuu—
“Ahh… no way! Ahn, don’t! This is too—”
“It’s okay…”
“What do you mean it’s okay? What if someone sees us—”
Yeon-hee seemed genuinely flustered, her eyebrows arching slightly.
But there was no strength in her hands pushing me away. In fact, she was gripping my collar tightly, and it felt like we were striking quite the pose.
‘How sly.’
While it’s still tough to focus on sensations while doing this, there was another taste to Yeon-hee’s warm skin tinged by the alcohol.
‘I want to bite her…’
After gaining the ability of [Feeding on Essence], my understanding of taste had subtly shifted, and I scolded myself while cautiously starting my actions.
“Haa— Ah— don’t do this…”
Yeon-hee still seemed flustered, shaking her head, worried about who might see us.
But her moans gradually rose in intensity.
I didn’t care about her flustered reactions and slowly leaned in towards her chest.
With my left hand, I embraced her thin waist, indulging in her sweet flavor. The shuddering vibrations from her were intensely stimulating my lower body.
‘Getting more intense…’
Feeling my lower half swell, I realized I was about to lose control.
It wasn’t completely firm like a balloon, but I could definitely feel a sensation slowly pressing against my pants.
Although it wasn’t fully drawn yet, I could clearly sense that it would soon become achievable.
With the unusual sense of achievement, Yeon-hee trembled as I kissed along her collarbone, wrapping her arms around my neck while letting out a heated moan.
“Haa…! Uhh… Yeon-hee—”
Chuu—
Yeon-hee timidly pressed her lips against my neck, returning my affection in kind.
‘I had planned to go to a pretty spot and enjoy the scenery for our first kiss…’
That was the plan I had made a few days ago.
But Yeon-hee’s unexpected whims of getting out of the taxi suddenly and her gesturing for me made it impossible to hold back.
[Calmness] activated—
No matter how much the trait activates, the continuous actions made me feel like the effect was getting diluted.
Once again, I climbed back up to her neck, and not long after, our eyes locked as she gazed at me with burning intensity.
“Haa— Haa—”
“Fuu…”
With each breath she released and her intense gaze pleading for something left me with no choice.
‘This won’t do…’
Though I wasn’t ready to enter yet, I figured if I could at least capture her lips, that might calm my almost bursting heart.
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