“Excuse me then.”
Yerin Jeong bowed slightly and entered the house.
The guild members who came with her waited outside.
Awkward.
This was the first time a visitor had come to my house since returning to Earth.
And not just any guest, but a guild member of the Fire Bird Guild.
‘What’s their angle?’
At first, I thought they might have come looking for information about the disappeared dungeon.
But judging by Yerin Jeong’s actions and expression, it didn’t seem like it.
As I carelessly thought, I watched Yerin Jeong take off her shoes.
An encounter I met at a cafe once.
No, can this be called an encounter?
If I think about it, she approached without any warning, handed me a business card, and disappeared.
It was still an incomprehensible action.
She’s a really strange woman.
But I couldn’t just kick her out.
Considering the Fire Bird Guild she belonged to, I couldn’t treat her carelessly.
On the contrary, it was an opportunity to resolve my curiosity.
Of course, I had to find out why she came to me. In addition, I needed to know if the reason for her visit was her solo action or a guild-level matter.
“Um…”
As I remained silent, Yerin Jeong cautiously opened her mouth.
“Ah, I apologize for this.”
Whatever her purpose, she was a guest who had come to my house.
It would be rude to make a guest stand the entire time.
I quickly led her to the living room.
A suitable place in the living room…
Ah, I put a Gargoyle in the living room, didn’t I?
The Gargoyle is a monster, but it usually remained still like a statue, so I placed it in the living room.
As expected, Yerin Jeong couldn’t take her eyes off the Gargoyle placed in the living room.
It would be bothersome to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings here.
“That… is just a sculpture. You know, just my hobby?”
“Ah… I see.”
As I spat out a flimsy excuse, I sighed inwardly.
A Gargoyle is about the size of a human torso and resembles a demon.
Would anyone put such a sculpture in their living room?
Looking at Yerin Jeong’s bewildered expression, she definitely thought I was strange.
“It must be tiring to stand continuously, so please sit here.”
I tried to act nonchalant, moved the Gargoyle, and offered her a seat.
The Gargoyle was heavy, but Coco came out and helped me move it.
“Oh…”
At that sight, Yerin Jeong nodded as if she understood something.
“Mr. Kanghyeon Lee, you use your Necromancer abilities well?”
And with her statement, I knew for sure.
‘She really did her research thoroughly.’
I had never introduced myself as a Necromancer.
Also, Yerin Jeong wasn’t surprised by Coco’s appearance. She looked at it as if she already knew it was natural.
But it didn’t matter.
In the first place, I was registered as a Necromancer at the Awakened Center.
For a guild like the Fire Bird Guild, it would be easy to find out through the Awakened Center.
Of course, since it wasn’t my actual ability, there was no need to correct her misunderstanding.
Also, according to current laws, it was acceptable to bring summons as long as they didn’t harm others, so having skeletons in the house was a natural sight.
After moving the Gargoyle, we sat facing each other at the table in the living room.
Now it was time for the real discussion.
“So, I’m curious as to why you came to find me.”
“You must have been surprised by my sudden visit. First, I would like to apologize.”
As she bowed her head with an apology.
*Clack-*
Maru placed cups of tea on the table.
After all, a guest had come, and it would be a bit rude not to offer anything.
This was definitely something Maru did well.
“Huh?”
But another skeleton appeared, and Yerin Jeong’s surprised expression returned.
“T-That’s amazing? I’ve never seen anyone wield Necromancer abilities this freely!”
I smiled slightly at her words and offered her tea.
“Please drink first. Let me know if you need anything else.”
She hesitated for a moment and then started drinking the tea.
“……”
After taking a sip of tea, she was surprised again.
What is it?
Perhaps the taste is a bit strange?
The tea Maru just brought was no ordinary tea.
It was tea that Celia offered as a sacrifice after finishing a special mission.
‘Was its name Breath of Moonlight…?’
At Yerin Jeong’s silent demeanor, I also took a sip of tea.
“!”
And I was surprised too.
This taste was undeniably surprising.
Wow, can it have such a deep flavor?
It even felt like it was refreshing my fatigue.
I admit this.
‘If the taste is this good, it would sell for quite a lot…’.
I should ask Celia if I can get more.
However, I snapped out of my wandering thoughts.
I wasn’t here to have tea with Yerin Jeong alone.
“I’m curious why someone as knowledgeable as you came to see me.”
“Actually…”
Yerin Jeong fumbled for a moment, perhaps still dazed by the tea’s taste or organizing her thoughts.
And just as she was about to say something.
“Actually, Mr. Kanghyeon Lee is-”
*Clack-*
Maru brought out ramen.
Come to think of it, I asked for food earlier, didn’t I?
“……”
The flow was interrupted once again, and silence ensued.
However, the atmosphere wasn’t right for talking with food in front of us.
“If it’s okay, please eat the ramen first…”
I was hungry too, so I offered the ramen.
And the moment I put a bite of ramen in my mouth.
‘Huh?’
What is this taste?
The ramen tasted strange.
Not bad, but so delicious it was strange.
‘What is this?’
The rich broth spread throughout my mouth.
A savory yet deep flavor wrapped around my tongue.
The perfectly cooked meat and vegetables completed the flavor.
Seriously, what is this?
This taste surpasses the ramen with Maru’s past cooking skills.
As I mindlessly slurped the noodles, I suddenly came to my senses.
‘This is definitely not Earth’s taste!’
A strong warning alarm sounded in my head.
“Excuse me for a moment…”
I asked Yerin Jeong for permission and left my seat.
The place I headed to was the kitchen.
Ciel and Maru were in the kitchen.
“What did you put in the ramen?”
I asked Maru in the lowest voice possible.
“Click-clack-clack.”
Huh? Ciel made it, not Maru?
At Maru’s words, I turned my gaze to Ciel.
“Ah… well, you see…”
Ciel stammered and explained one by one.
“Ice place… there was meat…”
In short, she put meat in the freezer.
But there was meat?
That’s strange. I don’t remember putting any meat in the freezer separately…
As I pondered, Maru opened his mouth.
“Click-clack!”
Ah, Celia gave me meat before?
By the way, what kind of meat was it?
“Click.”
Hand? Does that mean something like a pig’s front leg?
“Click!”
Nol…?
“……”
Hearing Maru’s fragmented words, I finally realized.
It was the hand of a monster Nol.
Celia had sacrificed it as a sacrifice once, but I had forgotten.
At that time, Celia also sacrificed Paladins, so I must have passed out.
In other words, while I was unconscious, Maru froze the Nol hands.
“Oh no!”
I quickly went back to the living room.
There, I saw Yerin Jeong who had finished eating the ramen.
“Wow, this is really delicious?”
“Ah…”
I’m losing it.
* * *
A few hours before visiting Kanghyeon Lee’s house.
Yerin Jeong finally found information about Kanghyeon Lee.
In fact, it would have been easy to find if she had just requested it from the Awakened Center or the Hunter Association.
No matter how strict the personal information protection law was, it was nothing with the backing of the Fire Bird Guild.
However, Yerin Jeong did not choose that method.
‘Taeyoung Jeong…’
If she did, her first older brother and vice guild leader, Taeyoung Jeong, would have noticed.
Then he would suspect why she was investigating a hunter named Kanghyeon Lee, and might even contact him directly.
‘I absolutely cannot do that.’
Yerin Jeong gritted her teeth.
Let’s say it’s because her mother is different.
But Taeyoung Jeong was a vicious bastard who even abandoned his younger brother Woojin Jeong, who was from the same mother.
He ruthlessly abandoned Woojin Jeong, who was severely harmed in the Incubus Dungeon, and when the dungeon disappeared due to the Monster Wave incident, he took all the responsibility.
So, Yerin Jeong spent time and money gathering information secretly.
Currently, she needed a force that could operate independently within the guild, rather than the Fire Bird Guild itself. And she was convinced that Kanghyeon Lee was the card that could flip the guild’s internal dynamics.
‘He knew the strategy for conquering the Goblin Lord.’
Thanks to that information, which was not yet known to the world, Yerin Jeong was able to safely clear the Goblin Lord dungeon.
“I must recruit him unconditionally…”
He was someone who already knew the strategy for the Goblin Lord.
She had no doubt that he also knew about various other monsters.
That alone sent his value soaring.
‘I’m still the only one who knows his true worth.’
Yerin Jeong decided to recruit Kanghyeon Lee into the Fire Bird Guild.
More precisely, as an advisor to the team she led.
Fortunately, Kanghyeon Lee was not currently affiliated with any guild, and his rank was only F-Rank on the surface.
Although it seemed strange, there was a high possibility that he was a hidden master who had ceased his activities.
“Let’s hurry and depart.”
Yerin Jeong quietly departed with some of her team members.
It would have been polite to contact him in advance, but driven by a sense of urgency, she headed straight to Kanghyeon Lee’s house.
* * *
Yerin Jeong was surprised the moment she entered Kanghyeon Lee’s house.
She thought it was an ordinary house, but a statue shaped like a Gargoyle stood in the middle of the living room.
‘Surely it’s not a real Gargoyle?’
Gargoyles were generally known as monsters that guarded dungeons.
They had the characteristic of remaining still like statues and attacking when hunters appeared.
Yerin Jeong gazed at the statue with curious eyes.
The intricate details made it believable to mistake it for a real Gargoyle.
The only difference was that it wasn’t a real Gargoyle.
‘Of course, it wouldn’t be a real monster.’
As she stared too intently at the statue, Kanghyeon Lee spoke first.
“That… is just a sculpture. You know, just my hobby?”
Although it was a peculiar taste, she decided not to be curious any further.
But the scene that unfolded shortly after surprised her again.
A skeleton popped out from somewhere and moved the Gargoyle statue.
Not only that.
Another skeleton brought out tea on a tray.
“……”
She was so surprised that she couldn’t speak.
And she had to admit it.
‘Mr. Kanghyeon Lee is definitely a Necromancer.’
Watching him control the skeletons freely, Yerin Jeong couldn’t help but admire him.
This meant he possessed enough mana to maintain the summoned skeletons.
‘How high are his stats?’
And the surprises didn’t end there.
She took a sip of the tea brought by the skeleton and was startled.
‘Could this be Breath of Moonlight…?’
This rare tea was an authentic product, difficult to obtain even on the El Dorado Continent.
Although Yerin Jeong herself had never been to the El Dorado Continent, she had tasted it once at the Divine Guild.
And that was in a small sake cup.
Thanks to that, she was able to recognize that the tea she was drinking was Breath of Moonlight.
‘Even Kim Suho cherished drinking that tea…’
Only a very small minority of randomly selected hunters are summoned to the El Dorado Continent.
And Kim Suho of the Divine Guild had also traveled to the El Dorado Continent. The story of him actively working as a Paladin of the White Church on the El Dorado Continent was too famous.
How active was he that he received various items along with a supplementary Holy Sword before returning to Earth?
And this Breath of Moonlight was also one of the items Kim Suho brought back when he returned to Earth.
At that time, Kim Suho appeared on broadcast and praised Breath of Moonlight.
Kanghyeon Lee, an ace like that, served the tea that Kim Suho only drank in a sake cup, generously poured into a cup.
What was more shocking was that he told her to ask if she needed more.
Her curiosity about his identity grew.
If there’s one thing she learned from this event.
‘He must have gone to the El Dorado Continent.’
She had expected a hunter of this caliber to have visited the El Dorado Continent.
But the current events confirmed it.
‘He must have abilities comparable to Kim Suho?’
Perhaps even greater.
‘What on earth is his identity?’
At this point, he must have gained immense fame on the El Dorado Continent.
Then why is such a great being living in seclusion?
Yerin Jeong fell into a swamp of thought.
Soon after, the ramen arrived.
After taking a bite, Yerin Jeong was amazed once again.
‘I’ve never tasted anything like this…!’
It was a deep flavor on a different level from regular ramen. The broth, as well as the meat in the ramen, was truly a delicacy.
‘Could this also be from the El Dorado Continent?’
It was that amazing a taste.
“Wow, this is really delicious?”
Yerin Jeong, who had already finished the broth, praised it without restraint.
Her desire grew.
How wonderful would it be if such a great person became her ally?
Perhaps she was thinking too hastily based on just these things.
But she had already seen Kanghyeon Lee’s true value.
Kanghyeon Lee knew about the Goblin Lord and had also visited the El Dorado Continent.
There must be more abilities he wasn’t showing.
However, she also felt regret.
Despite his great abilities, she wondered if she could truly handle him.
Why would someone like this join a guild for something like this?
Even for an advisor position, it was the same.
These types of people couldn’t be appeased with money or items.
If he lacked nothing, why would he bother to be tied down to a guild?
Yerin Jeong’s expression turned slightly glum.
As she finished the ramen and stayed silent, Kanghyeon Lee spoke first.
“Now that you’ve finished eating, let’s get to the main point. Why did you come to see me?”
Yerin Jeong pondered.
Was this really the right thing to do?
At first, she was confident that she could bring that man on board.
She thought the Fire Bird Guild would be enough.
But reality was different.
‘At this level, he’s talent that even the Divine Guild would struggle to recruit…’
After a moment of thought, Yerin Jeong made a decision.
After all, life is all or nothing.
Yerin Jeong took a deep breath.
“It may sound strange… but I want to invite Mr. Kanghyeon Lee as an advisor to the Fire Bird Guild!”
And she did it.
