Chapter 21 – I Protect My Own

-Olivier: When you come to work today, please come to the 8th floor first.

The top floor of the building, which Hanul Guild had leased in its entirety, was the executive floor, used only by the top brass.

It was a scene straight out of a drama, with a magnificent view of the urban jungle below.

Enjoying it, I sat face-to-face with Im Jae-joon, who was perched on a so-called “chairman’s chair.”

“How’s guild life?”

“It’s bearable.”

“There’s a rumor you’re being ostracized.”

Olivier, dressed in office attire, handed me a cup of tea with a sarcastic remark.

“Me, ostracized? Huh, this tea is good.”

“I saw you eating alone yesterday. Any tea I make is delicious.”

“I work alone, so I eat alone. Running around in a pack like some back-alley gang leader is something those horned bastards would do. How much is this tea?”

“Indeed, those horned ones are useless. They stink. And they’re so stubborn. It’s expensive. Think of it as drinking your salary.”

I stared at Olivier with a stunned expression.

A single cup costs a fortune? Why drink this crap? Is this how rich folks amuse themselves?

“Why have you been talking about horned ones? And drop the useless chatter about tea.”

The horned bastard.

No, the one who *used* to have horns.

Im Jae-joon showed a hint of discomfort. This guy can’t take a joke.

“Anyway, why’d you call me here today?”

“It’s time to prepare for an intermediate-level dungeon.”

“Intermediate? Don’t you need a team to enter one of those?”

The lowest-level dungeons allowed for solo play. They were, quite literally, places where things like lesser goblins or insects from the other world appeared.

But from low-level dungeons onward, you moved as a party. That was because of the boss monsters.

Low-level and intermediate-level were in different leagues, so the party composition had to be solid.

For that reason, entering alone was forbidden.

Unless, of course, you were a powerful hunter of S-rank or higher.

“What’s your current level?”

“I hit level 10.”

“That’s borderline.”

Right now, the person with the highest level in the world was said to be America’s Mr. Cowboy Bob, at level 75.

The world’s strongest at level 75, huh. I hit level 100 in the other world.

Of course, my level never went any higher than that. Not even after beating down a dragon.

I didn’t like the idea of someone being above me.

“That’s why I told you to form your own team. How’s that going?”

“If you want to decorate a room, you have to clean it first.”

“Anyone in mind?”

“Not yet.”

The mention of needing people brought Katrinne and Kim Tae-yang to mind.

Kim Tae-yang, the one I’d trained recently. The kid sent me texts every now and then, and his ego had clearly inflated again.

I’d seen news articles calling him the rising star of the Hwarang Guild. He had good specs, but the problem was that he got cocky the moment you let him off the leash.

As long as he didn’t get himself killed in one fell swoop, he had a lot of potential for growth.

“Why not put that little lady of a lord on your team?”

“The kid wants to go to school, why force her? Better to just let her study.”

“It’s like burying a pearl in the mud.”

“I agree. In the other world, Miss Katrinne would have been hailed as the greatest healer.”

“We came to a peaceful place. Living peacefully is the best.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t know the truth.

She could revive those on the brink of death, restore the sick, and cure the ailing.

She wasn’t like the healers here, who simply provided buffs and acted as shield batteries.

If Katrinne’s power became public knowledge, it would cause a huge stir.

She was just a kid, but in the previous world, she’d fought in wars day after day.

At an age when she should have been playing with other children, she witnessed people hovering between life and death and saw mountains of corpses.

Thinking of Katrinne, who had managed a large domain with such a heavy burden on her small shoulders, made me hesitate to turn her into a hunter.

“Well, it seems that young lady has other ideas.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If you don’t know, never mind.”

Im Jae-joon smiled cryptically, as if he knew something I didn’t.

Beside him, Olivier sipped her tea and nodded in agreement.

“You’re dense.”

“Dense? Me?”

I scoffed in disbelief.

Did you lose every war to some dense idiot? Don’t you remember your past?

“So, did you call me here just to talk about that crap?”

“Of course not. I called you to begin fulfilling our contract in earnest.”

“Contract?”

“Yes. Secretary Kim, bring it.”

As if she’d been waiting, Olivier produced a black leather briefcase. She turned the combination dial and opened it.

“These are pieces of equipment made in the Hanul Guild’s workshop.”

Inside the case lay a set of throwing knives.

“They’re a set with the belt. After being thrown, they reload back onto the belt after a certain amount of time.”

“So they’re unlimited.”

There were four daggers on the belt.

The system was that after you threw one and it hit its target, it would vanish after a set time and reappear on the belt.

“We’ve prepared Sword No. 2, made from the same material as Sword No. 1 that you received before.”

This was insane.

A two-handed sword, looking like it came straight out of a comic book, was right before my eyes.

“The way you used to wield a two-handed sword was quite impressive.”

I lifted the greatsword. The sensation was weighty in my grip. If my strength stat had been low, it would have been impossible to even lift. I swung it a few times. It was massive. Truly enough to slice the head off a large monster.

*CRACK!*

I accidentally hit the table while swinging it.

“Uh, sorry.”

“It’s fine. We’ll just deduct it from your salary.”

“What if I ‘accidentally’ make another mistake after hearing you say that?”

I pointed the greatsword toward Olivier. Was she smiling?

“We’ll provide more support as it’s produced in the workshop. Please let us know if there are any other weapons you need.”

“What about armor?”

“The power suit you’re currently wearing is the latest model. They’re not mass-produced like instant food.”

I guess that made sense, since they were developed by combining mana stones with weapons.

“We’ve prepared another product instead.”

“Oh? What is it?”

After seeing the impressive Sword No. 2, my expectations for the other product were high.

“We considered durable materials and breathability.”

“…”

“Director Im was concerned that as Team Leader Lee grows stronger, you’ll attract more scrutiny from others. So, we’ve prepared a suit that allows you to hide your identity and operate as needed. It’s codenamed the Justice Armor.”

What Olivier pulled out was a very familiar-looking helmet and spandex tights.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t this a Power Rangers suit?”

“It was indeed inspired by them.”

Olivier’s expression was quite serious as she replied.

An embarrassingly tight suit with a ridiculously sleek, anachronistic helmet.

You want me to wear this? Are you trying to make me die of shame?

No, even if it could block bullets and deflect swords, I would never wear something like this.

It might block physical attacks, but something precious inside me might shatter.

“Don’t invest in making crap like this.”

“Why not?”

“Who would wear something like this?”

“The Hero, of course.”

“I’m not wearing it.”

At my firm refusal, Olivier’s face showed a flicker of surprise.

“Power Rangers? And red, of all things. If you mass-produce them, I bet you’ll make blue, green, and pink versions too.”

Olivier’s pupils wavered.

Don’t tell me that was the actual plan.

“If you make crap like this, the Mawang will fire you. Old ties or not.”

“Oh, don’t worry.”

Olivier replied matter-of-factly.

“It was the Mawang who proposed and designed it.”

“…”

I looked over at the Mawang.

He was holding his teacup, nervously averting his gaze.

***

We decided to raid the intermediate-level dungeon in three days. The spandex power suit was completely useless, but I quite liked the knife and two-handed sword they gave me.

I could tell just from the grip. They were clearly expensive items.

I could only imagine how many costly mana stones they had to melt down to make something like this.

Besides this, it was decided that Olivier would act as my operator during future dungeon raids.

Just like me with the Hero’s power, and Katrinne with her priestess abilities.

Olivier had also inherited her powers from the other world.

She was an Elder Succubus.

A dream demon, she possessed an outstanding ability to connect with human consciousness.

With Olivier’s excellent detection abilities providing sensory support, she would be a tremendous help.

There were no dungeons to enter today, so I came home early.

Lazing around the house after so long, I started to feel bored.

Why did the empty house feel so desolate?

When I was crammed into that tiny rented room with Katrinne, I never felt this kind of emptiness.

A glance at the time told me it was about when she should be coming home from school.

-Me: Yo, when u comin?

-Karin: On my way

-Me: What u want?

-Karin: Two extra-large jjajangmyeon, one large tangsuyuk, shrimp fried rice, and fried dumplings.

-Me: I’m not having jjajangmyeon.

-Karin: Wut? That’s just for me.

Right, what was I even surprised about?

I was more or less used to it by now.

My income had improved quite a bit, so it was probably fine for her to eat like a glutton. The only silver lining was that her palate wasn’t incredibly refined.

If she had demanded steak every day, I might have disowned her.

I added a spicy brisket jjambbong to the cart for myself and placed the delivery order. A message popped up saying the food would arrive in 55 minutes, and soon after, I heard the sound of the keypad, and Katrinne walked in.

“Ajeossi, did you order? You did, right?”

“Nope.”

“Huh? Wanna die?”

Katrinne’s eyes, which had been sparkling like stars at the thought of Chinese food, instantly became dead.

“I ordered it, so go wash up.”

“Yep, I knew I could trust you.”

Chuckling, Katrinne took off her shoes at the entrance and came inside. But something about her felt off.

“What’s with the black stockings?”

“What about them?”

It was the first time I’d seen her wear black stockings.

“You hate wearing stockings.”

“No, I don’t. I wear them sometimes.”

“Uh, right.”

Katrinne went into her room to wash up.

The delivery food arrived earlier than expected. I opened the door, set up the food, and Katrinne came out with her hair still damp, smiling brightly.

“Wow, looks delicious! How many coupons have we collected? Is the next one a freebie?”

“You’re wearing long pants?”

“Why?”

“You sweat a lot, you don’t like long clothes.”

“Whatever.”

Something was definitely strange.

She usually walked around with her bare legs out. But now, she seemed to be trying to cover them up. Her walk was also subtly off.

“Did you hurt your leg?”

“What are you talking about? Ajeossi, why do you keep staring at my legs?”

As she nonchalantly replied and unwrapped her chopsticks, Katrinne’s pupils suddenly wavered.

“So, it’s finally happened.”

The kid let out a deep sigh.

“I knew you’d see me as a woman one day.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Let’s start with a shared diary, Ajeossi.”

“Hahaha. How about I exchange your life instead?”

“Aish. Just kidding. Hey, Ajeossi! Who snatches someone’s chopsticks while they’re eating?”

I quickly snatched Katrinne’s wooden chopsticks. Then I grabbed her by the shoulders.

Ignoring her surprise, I rolled up her pant leg.

Just as I expected, her shin was covered in a bluish bruise.

Katrinne’s expression hardened slightly.

“You’re hurt.”

“Yeah, just a little.”

It wasn’t just a little bruise. It was swollen.

Katrinne ate like a glutton, but thanks to her constitution, she never gained any weight, so there wasn’t much to hit in the first place.

“Who did it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“This isn’t from bumping into something. It looks like someone kicked you.”

The technical term for it is a shin-kicking.

“Don’t worry about it. Who kicked me? Do I look like someone who gets beaten up?”

She wasn’t the type to get pushed around, I knew that. But in a world rife with school violence and bullying, I was worried.

Katrinne was smart, but she was from another world, so I had my doubts about how well she had adapted to life in a Korean school.

Come to think of it, I had no idea what her school life was like.

Could she be caught up in school violence and unable to tell me?

Katrinne paid me no mind, inhaling the food laid out on the table.

The next morning.

“I’m off to school.”

Katrinne, dressed in her uniform, left for school.

I saw her off, scratching my stomach with a long yawn.

The perfect image of an unemployed slob.

Watching Katrinne walk off into the distance, I quickly changed into a sweatsuit. I pulled on a cap, put on a mask, and drew my hood down low.

‘If she won’t tell me, I’ll just find out for myself.’

Let’s see the face of the bastard who touched my family.