Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“But still, it’s not like there’s no way at all. I mean, if the chance of dying were high, that’d be one thing, but I think that possibility is extremely low. After all, an S-Rank and an A-Rank hunter are coming along.”

Not just any rank — S-Rank. The kind of being that ordinary people and lower-ranked hunters see as practically inhuman.

And the likelihood of a major crisis in an A-Rank Dungeon with someone like that was pretty low. No, honestly, you could say it was basically nonexistent. S-Ranks were fundamentally different from lower-ranked hunters in every way.

“…I understand everything you’re saying, Seohee. But can I ask one more thing?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Why are you going this far?”

“……?”

For a second, I tilted my head, wondering what he was asking, but after thinking for a moment, I realized what he meant.

So… Mr. Yoon Juyeong seemed to be asking if I had a reason to go that far for Yujin, a child who wasn’t even related to me by blood.

‘I guess it wouldn’t make sense to other people.’

A child I wasn’t related to at all — if you really got technical, our connection ended at just living together in the orphanage. Going somewhere that could risk my life, even if the chance was low, for that kid… yeah, I could see how it might seem strange to others. Even Mr. Yoon Juyeong right now seemed unable to understand my actions.

But in my mind, I had plenty of reason.

“Yujin is a twelve-year-old child.”

I let go of Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s hand, which I’d still been holding, and instead rested one elbow on the table, propping my chin on my hand.

“Yujin… loves origami. She’s really good with her hands. She used to fold me paper cranes all the time.”

“…Seohee?”

“And she’s also very kind. There’s a friend at our orphanage with an intellectual disability, you know? That friend loves flowers, so she picks a flower from the roadside every day and gives it to her.”

I closed my eyes quietly, picturing Yujin.

Her round features — still a little soft with baby fat, though she was on the thin side — her clear, bell-like voice when she called me “older sister,” her black eyes that sparkled like they held a galaxy you’d never see in the city, and the way she’d give her own snacks to the cats living in the orphanage’s backyard. I savored each memory like I was chewing it over.

“She’s too precious a child to spend her whole life in pain and hardship over just a bit of money.”

I thought about her worth.

“Honestly, isn’t that true? No one in this world isn’t precious. And Yujin is the same. I just… don’t want her to struggle. I don’t want her to suffer either.”

“…….”

“I just want her to live like any other kid her age. Play well with friends, eat well, grow up healthy… find something she wants to do, maybe meet a boyfriend. I just want her to grow up that way.”

There were other reasons too. That the kids at the orphanage, including Yujin, were no different from my own family. And that I was worried about the Director, who’d told me about Yujin’s situation and said they’d take out a loan to cover the needed amount.

I opened my eyes and met Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s gaze again.

“It’s just… those things are more valuable to me than the not-very-high risk to my life. That’s why.”

It wasn’t that I had no survival instinct or that I didn’t value my own life. It was just that when I compared the value of things, that’s how it came out.

If I were definitely going to die, that’d be one thing, but in a situation like this, I didn’t want to leave that child to suffer or force someone else’s money on her.

“…Seohee, I…”

“Even if you don’t understand, just let it be. Think of it as, ‘That’s just how Yoon Seohee is.’”

“…….”

Mr. Yoon Juyeong didn’t add anything more, but he didn’t seem to understand what I meant either. He just lowered his gaze, lost in thought, absorbed in his own worries, and fell silent.

I gave him a bitter smile and slowly stood up from my seat. However it turned out, since I’d decided to go into this Dungeon, I had to go through the procedures to use the priority I’d been given.

“I’ll get up first—”

“Seohee.”

Uncharacteristically, Mr. Yoon Juyeong cut me off mid-sentence, his gaze already fixed straight on me. I forgot about standing up and met his eyes in an awkward half-risen posture.

“If that’s how you feel, Seohee, I won’t deny it.”

“Ah, thank—”

“But if that’s the case, Seohee, you can’t order me to prioritize my own life above all else either.”

“…Huh?”

What kind of nonsense was this now? I opened my mouth to point out how ridiculous Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s words were, but before I could get a word out, he continued.

“To me, your life is more precious than my own. You might say it’s just the effect of being subjugated to you, but at least right now, that’s how I feel.”

“No, I mean… if you’re aware it’s the skill’s influence, can’t you be a little more rational…”

“So for this dungeon raid, I want to go with you, Lady Seohee.”

“Huh?”

“Do whatever you want, as much as you like. I’ll protect your life no matter what happens.”

“……”

…Why did I feel like something had gone horribly wrong? No, something had definitely gone wrong. And for good reason.

“Because the only thing that matters to me is you, Lady Seohee.”

He was saying something like that with a carefree smile. I stared blankly at Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s bright grin and felt the same sensation I’d had on the very first day I used my skill, hitting me all over again.

‘Ah, I think I’m totally screwed…’

I’d made up my mind to join this dungeon raid, but just deciding to go didn’t mean I could charge in right away.

Like countless dangerous things in life, the most important thing for a dungeon raid was, first, preparation; second, preparation; and third, the time and money to prepare.

So after my conversation with Mr. Juyeong, the first thing I did after firmly deciding to go was look into how to exercise my “priority right to participate in the dungeon raid.”

Fortunately, finding out about it wasn’t that hard. Like most government-led policies or support programs, the relevant information was easily available online.

Thanks to that, I learned that the application period for using the priority right started tomorrow and lasted four days, and that I could apply either by submitting documents in person or online.

Along with filling out and submitting the application online, another kind of preparation naturally took place. The thing that all hunters attempting a dungeon raid considered most important and spent the most time thinking about and preparing for. Namely, equipment.

Honestly, for me, preparing equipment was the trickiest part of all. How could I, who had lived most of my hunter life as a typical C-Rank hunter, skillfully evaluate a pile of gear, saying things like, “This one’s no good because of this option,” or “This one’s fine because of that option”?

In fact, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have been making such a fuss about what equipment to wear. Before my house collapsed, the only piece of gear I owned was a 500,000-won ring that boosted physical abilities.

But now, I wasn’t like that.

…Actually, saying “I wasn’t like that now” pricked my conscience, since the equipment I had wasn’t bought with my own money. All the gear in my possession right now had been provided by Mr. Yoon Juyeong with his own funds.

But no matter how guilty I felt, throwing away equipment that could be a lifeline was incredibly stupid, and besides, Mr. Yoon Juyeong had already threatened to do everything in his power to stop me from going on this dungeon raid if I didn’t wear the gear he’d given me.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell who was the master and who was the servant here. Seeing how Mr. Yoon Juyeong gave the orders and I followed along nervously, maybe he was the real master after all.

Of course, I never said that in front of Mr. Juyeong. If I did, he’d make a huge fuss, asking how I could say such a thing or insisting there couldn’t be two masters under the sky (?) or something.

Anyway, after finishing everything from applying for the priority right to preparing equipment and all the other preparations I could make, a text message from the government arrived with information about the participants for this dungeon raid.

Naturally, I checked the message without delay. It contained what I’d more or less expected, written in formal language.

‘As expected, Mr. Yoon Juyeong is coming along.’

I’d heard that B-Rank and C-Rank hunters participating in this dungeon raid couldn’t choose their own parties, but S-Ranks could pick whoever they wanted.

It made sense, since you couldn’t exactly boss around high-level personnel like S-Ranks and tell them what to do.

“The party leader is Mr. Yoon Juyeong, and… the deputy leader is A-Rank hunter Kim Seongmyeong… B-Rank hunter is Jeong Soyeon, and the C-Rank hunter is obviously me.”

I didn’t know the others, but I had a vague memory of hearing Kim Seongmyeong’s name before. I think I saw it during the Hunter Tournament… I’ll probably remember if I look it up online later.

And as for the B-Rank hunter Jeong Soyeon, of course I’d never heard that name. I figure they’re probably just an average-level B-Rank hunter.

‘Well… I just hope I don’t make myself a target.’

Honestly, even just looking at the name of the quest they gave us as a tutorial, it was obvious — the Librarian didn’t genuinely want us to clear the dungeon through cheerful cooperation and teamwork.