Chapter 30

Chapter 30

But Mr. Yoon Juyeong dodged the house-sized ice blocks hurtling toward me as if they were nothing, calmly advancing toward the wolf.

—Kwaaah!!

Was the wolf so terrified of the small human steadily approaching, no matter how many ice blocks it fired, how many times it swung its front paws to keep him at bay, or how many times it tried to bite him with its sharp fangs? The wolf let out another massive roar.

I stood pressed tightly behind Mr. Kim Seongmyeong, covering my ears with both hands again.

‘My ears, my ears hurt…!’

Just as I was gritting my teeth, making the fairly plausible guess that my eardrums might rupture from this, the wolf’s roar finally ended. I immediately realized what the sudden silence meant.

‘It’s over.’

As I expected, Mr. Yoon Juyeong, having calmly approached the wolf while evading the barrage of ice blocks, immediately conjured his usual black thorn in his hand.

But this time, the black thorn he created was different in size from the previous ones. The black thorn in Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s hand was as long as a person’s height and as thick as an arm.

By the time the wolf reacted to the sharp aura of death aimed at it and tried to bite Mr. Yoon Juyeong with its massive jaws, the battle was already decided.

The wolf’s sharp fangs never once grazed Mr. Yoon Juyeong. It was because the weapon he had launched using S-Rank strength and agility had pierced straight through the creature’s neck.

—…!

The creature thrashed its body, letting out a small, now utterly harmless roar as if making a last-ditch struggle until the very end.

But even that final struggle died out feebly the moment Mr. Yoon Juyeong casually threw another black thorn that pierced through its neck once more.

“Ah…”

It was a perfect victory.

A victory obtained without any loss whatsoever — truly a “perfect” victory.

The moment we achieved a perfect victory against the “Winter Forest Wolf King,” a chime signaling the dungeon clear rang out, and a blue window appeared before my eyes.

[Winter Forest Wolf King Dungeon Cleared]

[Calculating Rewards]

[Tutorial 1. Group Assignment — Personal Quest Cleared]

[Calculating Rewards]

“Whoa…”

“I think this is the first time in my life I’ve cleared a dungeon that falls within the A-Rank range this easily.”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who saw the blue window appear before my eyes, as Mr. Kim Seongmyeong’s voice came through, tinged with awe.

Only then did I stop marveling at the blue window and look at Mr. Kim Seongmyeong, Ms. Jeong Soyeon, and Mr. Yoon Juyeong, who was approaching us from where the wolf had been.

“Well, this is my first time in an A-Rank dungeon at all… but I can definitely tell this is abnormally fast. It really makes you realize an S-Rank Hunter is on a whole different level from us.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but it was thanks to the appropriate assistance from Hunter Kim Seongmyeong and Hunter Jeong Soyeon that we were able to clear it even more smoothly.”

Mr. Yoon Juyeong, who had already reached us, spoke with a clear smile. It was a remark befitting someone with “social skills,” just as he had claimed.

“Oh, come on, don’t say that. Honestly, hearing that from an S-Rank Hunter… it’s not like I’m not happy, but it’s still pretty embarrassing.”

“Th-that’s right. To be honest, this dungeon run was made smooth entirely thanks to Hunter Yoon Juyeong. I truly thank you once again, Hunter Yoon Juyeong.”

And the two of them, who were also quite socially adept for people with the profession of Hunter, replied with smiles as well.

Thinking I should probably say something too at this point, I opened my mouth to come up with a decent line.

“Um.”

And then I immediately shut my mouth. I felt a distinct presence behind me and turned around, breaking into a cold sweat. As expected, Jeong Seojin was staring at me with a persistent gaze that looked like it could pierce right through me at any moment.

“Take this.”

“Ah, yes! Th-thank you.”

What Jeong Seojin handed me was none other than Blackie.

Worried that its true form might be exposed during the battle, I had already ordered Blackie to wait outside the combat zone.

…And Jeong Seojin had deliberately picked up that Blackie with his own hands and was now returning it to me.

‘I can’t tell if he’s being nice or just persistent.’

I held Blackie, which I had received from Jeong Seojin, in my arms and glanced at him furtively.

By then, Jeong Soyeon and Kim Seongmyeong, who had stopped their own conversation, had come up behind me and were watching the situation unfold. As for Yoon Juyeong… needless to say, he was already standing right next to me.

“That… is that really your summon?”

“Ah… yes, of course it is! It’s my summon, no doubt about it!”

‘Damn, I cracked.’

Lying in front of the Sword Emperor, the number one ranked hunter, must have made me nervous without me realizing it. I pretended not to notice the cold sweat trickling down the back of my neck and forced a smile onto my face.

“As you can see… it’s just cute, that’s all.”

“…Is that so?”

Jeong Seojin stared at me with that characteristic expressionless face of his, making it impossible to tell whether he believed me or not.

Thinking that strange expression was actually kind of scary, I unconsciously pressed myself closer to Yoon Juyeong. Jeong Seojin tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth.

“Looks like you don’t plan on talking.”

Ah, so he doesn’t believe me.

My smile froze on my face as I hugged Blackie tightly in my arms.

“That’s fine. I can see you have no intention of saying anything until the end, and I don’t feel like wasting time on pointless matters.”

That was a relief, at least. I’d thought he was going to keep me pinned down and force the truth out of me.

“So, here.”

“……?”

Jeong Seojin suddenly pulled something square from the inner pocket of his coat and held it out to me. I froze for a moment, then checked what he was offering.

“A business card…?”

“It’s the card for the guild I belong to.”

“Ah, yes, I see….”

But why was he giving it to me?

Even as I took his card with that reflexive response unique to working adults, I still sent him a look caught somewhere between suspicion and bewilderment.

“Come find me there.”

And then Jeong Seojin dropped a bombshell on me. What is this guy even saying right now?

“…Sorry, but is there a reason I should come find you there?”

“Because I’m going to recruit you.”

“Huh-ah?”

This time, a completely uncontrolled, cracked sound burst out of me automatically.

Even though Jeong Seojin must have clearly noticed my blatant fluster, he still kept that utterly emotionless expression on his face as he glanced at me and Yoon Juyeong in turn.

“A woman who tames monsters, and a guy who was just a B-Rank until recently but became an S-Rank hunter. I think that’s plenty worth recruiting.”

“W-well, I mean, it’s not a monster, it’s my summon—”

“It is a monster, isn’t it?”

The gaze that had lingered on Yoon Juyeong for just a moment immediately shifted to me, and then to Blackie in my arms.

It was a truly cold stare.

“I have a rough idea why you’re hiding it, but you’d better come find me, including for that reason. A C-Rank hunter who can tame monsters—sooner or later, word will get out anyway.”

“Uh, w-wait….”

“Come find me within at least a week. After that, I’ll be busy and away.”

“No, wait, hold on! How did you know that reason?! And how—”

Just as I was about to ask how he’d figured out that Blackie was a monster, a flashy sound like a fanfare erupted, and a blue Gate activated behind us. I flinched at the sudden loud noise and turned around.

I spotted Jeong Seojin, who had somehow already moved right in front of the Gate.

“Sorry, but I’m busy and don’t have time right now. We’ll talk later.”

As if my curiosity and fluster were of no concern to him, Jeong Seojin silently said his piece, then walked straight toward the Gate. It was a truly self-centered attitude that perfectly suited the phrase “the only one under heaven.”

After Jeong Seojin crossed through the Gate like that, all that was left for us was an awkward and bizarre silence.

I hugged Blackie tightly in my arms and gave an awkward smile toward Hunter Kim Seongmyeong and Hunter Jeong Soyeon, who were looking at me with expressions I couldn’t quite describe.

“…Well, for now… how about we get out of the dungeon first and then talk?”

Thankfully, the two of them agreed with my suggestion. It was a truly grateful, sensible response.

* * *

‘So Seohee wasn’t just an ordinary C-Rank hunter either.’

Right after we left the dungeon, Hunter Jeong Soyeon spoke to me in a calm tone, as if nothing had happened. Startled by the subtle edge in her words, I flinched and looked at her.

“Don’t be so surprised. It’s not like I’m trying to scold you or anything. Honestly, it’d be weirder to scold someone I’ve only known for a day over something like this.”

“Y-yes, that’s right. To be honest, I had a feeling about it from around the middle. Mm… seeing how naturally you moved with Hunter Yoon Juyeong, I wondered if you two had been close from the start.”

The gazes of the two of them were fixed on Yoon Juyeong, who was standing beside me with an unaffected smile on his face.

Yoon Juyeong neither confirmed nor denied their words. But Kim Seongmyeong and Jeong Soyeon were perceptive enough to realize that his subtle silence was as good as an affirmation.

“I don’t know what kind of special thing Seohee has… but I don’t have much to say about it. Just be careful. A special quality in someone without power doesn’t always bring good things.”

“Still, it’s a relief that Seohee has an S-Rank Hunter like Yoon Juyeong to protect her.”