Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Humanity is obsessed with competition anyway, aren’t you? In that spirit, I’ve taken the liberty of ranking the combat power of our dear hunters, who are busy fighting meaningless battles all over the world.”

Tch. Did a human’s struggle to survive look that meaningless to you?

Anyway, no matter what our insufferably irritating Administrator said, with those words, they organized the rankings of all hunters worldwide by country and immediately released them to the entire world.

And with such a ranking table made public, it was only natural that the person at the very top drew everyone’s attention—the S-Rank hunter ranked number one.

“There are various criteria, but the most important are combat power and contribution, followed by influence. Your Librarian is very fair, so there’s no need to be suspicious.”

On the first line of the ranking table, where the country category read “South Korea,” was the name and alias of someone no one had ever heard of before.

Current South Korea S-Rank Hunter #1, Sword Emperor Jeong Seojin.

Even now, five years after the Dungeon Parade, it was the name and alias of someone who had never once stepped down from the top of the rankings.

* * *

Not much is actually known about Jeong Seojin.

Of course, since he’s the nation’s number one ranked hunter, the very peak of all hunters in Korea, his appearance, name, and affiliated guild are known—but to put it another way, that’s about it.

Despite being so famous, nothing was known about where Jeong Seojin lived, who his family was, or which dungeon he planned to conquer next.

Some described it as a strategy of secrecy, while others speculated that the government was protecting the privacy and personal information of such a valuable asset.

Still others, considering the notoriously arrogant personalities of hunters, said that Jeong Seojin was probably just the same—too arrogant to associate with those weaker than himself.

Naturally, no one knew which version was true. Jeong Seojin never exposed himself to the outside world, and we couldn’t know the parts he kept hidden—neither in the past nor now.

So the stories about “the truth of Jeong Seojin” that spread among the public were mostly speculative rumors or baseless, arbitrary claims.

For example, the rumor that the current number one, the Sword Emperor, actually had a hobby of handicrafts—that was one of those rumors.

“Oh my god. No way, the Sword Emperor?”

Breaking the long, tense silence that had followed Jeong Seojin’s sudden appearance was Hunter Jeong Soyeon’s flustered question.

Hunter Jeong Soyeon seemed to have asked unconsciously; she looked startled herself and quickly covered her mouth.

Honestly, I could understand her reaction. After all, even an ordinary S-Rank hunter appearing would have been shocking, but this was *the* Sword Emperor.

Anyone else in this spot would have reacted the same way as Hunter Jeong Soyeon, or been too stunned to say anything, like me.

“Th-then, are you really the number one ranked Sword Emperor… Hunter Jeong Seojin?”

After Hunter Jeong Soyeon’s question, the awkward silence lingered, so this time Hunter Kim Seongmyeong spoke up.

But unfortunately, his question was nothing more than an empty echo. Because Jeong Seojin, who must have heard him with an S-Rank’s keen hearing, simply trudged toward us without any reaction at all.

As a result, the distance between Jeong Seojin and us shrank even more, and I could get a clearer look at him.

‘Wow, I guess that’s what being number one does. He’s handsome.’

It was a terribly shallow thought, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw Jeong Seojin’s face was that he was incredibly good-looking.

Honestly, I couldn’t help it. Jeong Seojin was… the kind of man that, if he walked down the street, every single person out of a hundred would turn to look at.

It wasn’t just that his face was handsome—it was like his whole aura was handsome too.

As I stared blankly at his ash-gray hair, his dark eyes with a faint golden glimmer, and his clearly muscular body, I suddenly noticed a black lump in his hand.

For a moment, I couldn’t think at all and just stared at his hand.

‘…Why are you there, Blackie…?’

I had no idea how, but in the hand of Jeong Seojin, who was approaching us right now, was none other than Blackie.

Blackie, its scruff caught in the Sword Emperor’s grip, was letting out a pitiful whine as if begging for mercy.

While I stood there, dazed and staring at Blackie, Jeong Seojin had already closed the distance with those long legs of his, standing right before us.

Given the sudden appearance of the Sword Emperor, it was only natural that Hunter Jeong Soyeon and Hunter Kim Seongmyeong wore tense expressions, and Mr. Yoon Juyeong was…

“……”

“……”

For some reason I couldn’t fathom, Mr. Yoon Juyeong stood directly in front of me, staring at Jeong Seojin as if locked in a staring contest.

What was this? Was this that ‘fierce battle of wits between S-Rank hunters’ I’d only ever read about in Hunter Daily articles?

As I recalled a phrase I’d seen in Hunter Daily and wondered if I should get out of the way immediately to avoid becoming the shrimp whose back gets broken in a whale fight, Mr. Yoon Juyeong finally spoke first.

“Would it be alright if I asked what business brings you all the way here? Since you’re no ordinary person but the number one ranked hunter himself, I can’t help but be on edge.”

As he said that, he subtly grabbed my arm, which had been trying to peek at Hunter Jeong Seojin from beside his back, and pulled me close behind him.

…No, I understood the intention to protect me, but still. Would someone who was the number one ranked hunter really suddenly attack a C-Rank hunter who was nothing special?

“……”

“Ah, if you happened to come because of an external support request, there’s no need to worry. Fortunately, the issue was resolved safely.”

“……”

Despite Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s seemingly gentle words, Jeong Seojin remained utterly silent.

Finally, unable to bear the frustration, I lightly tapped the hand of Mr. Yoon Juyeong, who was still gripping my arm. It was a gesture meant to convey that I was fine and to let go.

Fortunately, my intention seemed to get through; he flinched and trembled, but eventually released my hand. Thanks to that, I was able to escape from the massive barrier of Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s back and see Jeong Seojin with my own eyes.

‘Huh?’

The Jeong Seojin I saw like that… was looking at me, for some reason. This wasn’t a delusion or anything. He was truly looking at me, not at Mr. Yoon Juyeong, nor even at Mr. Kim Seongmyeong or Ms. Jeong Soyeon.

‘Why on earth?’

With a hunter of his own rank standing right in front of him, what reason could he possibly have to pay attention to a C-Rank hunter who had nothing?

Greatly flustered by the blatant gaze that never once left me, I repeatedly clenched and unclenched my hands.

…I didn’t know why he was acting like this toward me, but one thing was certain: nothing would be solved by just having a staring contest like this.

Finally, I gathered every ounce of courage in my heart and barely managed to squeeze out a single question.

“U-um. Do you, by any chance, have some business with me…?”

“……”

“…If, if you do have business, could you please tell me?”

I was sure I hadn’t done anything wrong to this person, so why was my heart pounding for no reason?

Was it that, after all? The aura of the strongest? Or was it intimidation?

Either way, it was plausible enough that my throat felt even drier. If I had my way, I felt like I wanted to escape this place and run away right now.

“U-um…”

“This.”

Just as I was about to speak again, unable to bear it any longer, Jeong Seojin abruptly thrust the black lump of fur in his hand—Blackie—toward me.

“Is this yours?”

“Huh? Uh, yes? No, well…”

“It’s yours, isn’t it?”

“Uhm… Yes. It is… but…”

But how did you know that?

As I took Blackie from Jeong Seojin and held it in my arms, I looked at him with a mix of displeasure and embarrassment I couldn’t quite hide.

Naturally, I had never told anyone except Mr. Yoon Juyeong about Blackie.

Right now, Blackie was small and cute enough to look like an ordinary puppy, let alone a monster, but even so, suddenly bringing an unfamiliar animal into a dungeon was obviously strange behavior no matter how you looked at it.

Every living creature inhabiting a dungeon, no matter how cute and lovable, was a monster and a creature hostile to humans. That was common knowledge among all hunters, and I was no exception.

And in that situation, I suddenly bring an animal? And by someone who had just been kidnapped by a black wolf, bringing an animal with black fur, no less?

Any person with common sense would find this situation suspicious, and I wanted to avoid drawing unnecessary suspicion from my party members.

So I had already ordered Blackie to stay a bit far away and follow carefully so the party members wouldn’t notice, but…

‘But how did he figure out I was the owner just by seeing Blackie?’

Right after abruptly handing Blackie over to me, Jeong Seojin looked over the other party members with an expressionless face, as if nothing had happened.

Jeong Seojin’s gaze first passed over Hunter Kim Seongmyeong, then Hunter Jeong Soyeon, and soon fixed on Mr. Yoon Juyeong.

“I’d like an explanation.”

“…Huh? An explanation of what?”

“About that black thing, and about you, its owner.”

The gaze that had been fixed straight and clearly on Mr. Yoon Juyeong briefly brushed past me and Blackie, who was in my arms, for just a moment.

I flinched like someone struck by lightning and, before I knew it, I had hidden myself behind Mr. Yoon Juyeong.

…It was a truly unavoidable reflexive reaction. Jeong Seojin was the kind of person who, just by meeting someone’s eyes, made them tense up with a subtle sense of pressure.

“I want to hear a proper explanation.”