Chapter 35

Chapter 35

I immediately wrote my name on the parchment with the fountain pen I’d received from him. Honestly, in a situation like this, it would have been fitting to make a stylish signature, but unfortunately, I hadn’t bothered to come up with anything that could be called a signature.

Jeong Seojin glanced at the name I’d written, then took the fountain pen from me and wrote his own name this time.

…Whether he didn’t have a signature either, or he thought he should follow suit because I’d written my name in print, Jeong Seojin also wrote his name on the parchment in neat block letters.

The moment Jeong Seojin finished writing his name, the parchment floated up into the air and began to emit a white light. Then, with a flash, something like wings coiled around the parchment before vanishing.

“Good, that’s all the preparation done.”

Jeong Seojin carelessly tossed the parchment floating in the air and the fountain pen he’d been holding into his Inventory.

…Even at a glance, that fountain pen looked incredibly expensive. I guess when you’re rich enough, you’re not afraid of damaging expensive things.

“Then, may I ask first?”

“Go ahead.”

“How exactly did you figure out that Blackie was a monster?”

“I saw it and knew. …If I say it like that, you’d say that’s not enough of an answer, wouldn’t you.”

Why state the obvious?

I stared at Jeong Seojin with sharp eyes, as if to give him a hint. Fortunately, Jeong Seojin, a sensible person with basic common sense, began to offer a more proper explanation.

“I used my skill.”

“A skill?”

“My Awakened skill. It’s called Eye of Tamine.”

It was a name I’d never heard of anywhere. Of course, I didn’t know every skill that existed in the world, but I was certain that a skill name like “Tamina’s Eye” was far from common.

‘That means…’

It was highly likely that his skill, “Tamina’s Eye,” was also a unique skill exclusive to him, just like my “Ruler’s Garden.”

As if confirming my guess was correct, Jeong Seojin nodded once and continued his explanation.

“To put it simply… I can see through things I’ve laid my eyes on directly. The essence of a target, or information values like that.”

“…You mean you can see status windows?”

“I can see status windows ‘too.’ And more fundamental things, or… things on a larger scale. But the penalty is harsh, so I don’t use it often.”

I kept my mouth shut for a moment, slowly digesting what I’d heard from Jeong Seojin.

So, Jeong Seojin had a skill called Tamina’s Eye… and the effect of this skill was to “see through” the other party.

And what he could see through included various “fundamental” information, including the other party’s status window.

‘Honestly, it would be more unfair if there were no penalty for this.’

Just being able to freely see someone’s status window was already excessively overpowered, and if he could see even more than that… this was definitely a skill where having no penalty would be stranger.

“Did you use that skill to look at Blackie?”

“Right. I saw it—a creature that was clearly a monster… but in its status window, someone’s name was boldly written as ‘Master.’”

From Jeong Seojin’s perspective, it was definitely a situation that would spark both curiosity and suspicion at the same time.

After all, monsters were beings that had never once shown goodwill toward humans, yet in that monster’s status window, some human was listed as its master.

“…I understand everything. And I understand why you went out of your way to call me here to hear this. You couldn’t talk about your skill where other people were around.”

“I bet you hear a lot that you’re quick on the uptake.”

“At least in matters concerning people.”

I prided myself on having a good eye for people, if nothing else. Of course, I’d never said that out loud anywhere.

“Then I think it’s my turn to ask a question.”

“…….”

“That monster. How exactly did you tame it? At the very least, I’d like you to tell me as much as I told you.”

The moment I’d been waiting for had finally come. I pressed my lips tightly together at the fundamental question that had come out of Jeong Seojin’s mouth.

From the very first time I was strangely scouted by Jeong Seojin in the Dungeon until now, I’d been constantly agonizing over whether I should properly tell him about my skill.

‘Is Jeong Seojin someone I can trust?’

I remained silent for a moment, pondering my choice.

“And… if I choose to trust this person, is there a chance that someone other than me could get hurt?”

It was fine if I got hurt because of my own choice, but it was a problem if someone else got hurt.

After a deep but brief moment of thought, I judged that even if I blabbed a little to Jeong Seojin about the ‘Ruler’s Garden,’ it would hardly cause harm to anyone else.

I met Jeong Seojin’s eyes again. Instead of rushing or pressing the C-Rank hunter who was silently staring back at him without answering his own question, he simply held my gaze in silence as well.

The golden-tinged eyes I met were simply straight. There was no wavering or hesitation in them.

They looked like the eyes of some proud beast that had never once been broken, and at the same time, like the eyes of someone who had weathered every storm in the world and stubbornly refused to bend.

The time for deliberation was long, but the decision didn’t take very long. With my eyes locked on his, I gathered the scattered threads of my unsettled heart into a single strand and tied them together. Jeong Seojin waited patiently for my answer, still without a word.

“…First, I think I should explain my skill.”

In exchange for the valuable secret he had told me, explaining my initial awakening skill—the ‘Ruler’s Garden,’ which was the root cause of this whole situation—didn’t take very long.

That was entirely thanks to Jeong Seojin being a fairly good listener. Honestly, even I thought my explanation was a bit all over the place, but Jeong Seojin nodded as if he understood it all and then opened his mouth.

“It really does seem like a skill I’ve never heard of before. A skill that can not only completely dominate a person but also interfere with their physical domain.”

Jeong Seojin set the mug he was still holding down on the table and spoke in his usual calm voice.

“I’ve heard of and even seen quite a few mind-control-type skills… but your skill isn’t that, no matter how I think about it. There’s no way a mere mind-control skill could heal a target’s fatal wounds or raise their rank… And honestly, I’ve never seen a semi-permanent mind-control skill, and I don’t think one could even exist.”

“…I think so too. But looking at the current state of things… even if it’s not exactly a mind-control skill, something similar is happening…”

“Well, that’s true… but I think there’s a possibility you’re missing something on your end.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Jeong Seojin tapped the mug on the table with his index finger and stared into space for a moment. He seemed to be deep in thought, so I didn’t rush him and waited quietly.

“This is just my hypothesis, but first. Your skill actually is a mind-control type, and accordingly, its duration is short. The target you’re currently dominating… you didn’t tell me directly, but I’m assuming it’s Yoon Juyeong. Anyway, Yoon Juyeong is pretending to be dominated for some reason.”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

I opened my status window and looked at the very bottom of the skill description, at the skill’s target. As expected, Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s name was listed as the target of my skill.

I met Jeong Seojin’s eyes and deliberately avoided saying the name ‘Yoon Juyeong’ out loud as I gave my answer.

Even though it seemed like Jeong Seojin had already guessed from our last meeting that the target of my skill was Mr. Yoon Juyeong, I still didn’t want to confirm it.

“The name of the person I’m dominating is still listed as my skill’s target. And more than anything, there’s no reason for him to do that.”

“Then, second. You just haven’t realized it yourself, but a penalty commensurate with that effect is actually being applied.”

“…I think important things like penalties would usually be written in the skill description.”

“I think so too. But you never know how things work in this world.”

Especially when the system administrator is such a mess, it wouldn’t be strange if an exception popped up.

At his words, laced with a hint of irritation, I nodded as well. Considering the usual state of the administrator, it was understandable to have that kind of suspicion.

“Still, since nothing like that has happened yet, I think it’s better to put the second hypothesis on hold. Is there a third hypothesis?”

“…To figure out the third hypothesis, I’ll need a bit of your cooperation.”

“Yes?”

“Can you use that skill on me?”

“…Have you lost your mind?”

I was so flustered for a moment that my voice cracked. After clearing my throat once with a loud *ahem*, I spoke to Jeong Seojin again.

“Let me ask again. Have you lost your mind?”

“There’s no need to ask that twice, is there? To give you an answer first, no, I haven’t.”

Jeong Seojin replied with a perfectly sane expression, not at all like someone spouting nonsense.

Well, looking at his face, he certainly didn’t seem crazy, but the moment the words coming out of his mouth were insane, that was already a dealbreaker. I stared at Jeong Seojin, my gaze filled with worry and concern.

“I’m not crazy, so don’t look at me like that. I’m asking because I actually have a reason.”

“What kind of reason makes you want to be dominated by a C-Rank hunter right in front of you? Do you happen to have that kind of inclination? You know, one that enjoys being dominated…”