Chapter 44

Chapter 44

When she put it that way, it actually made sense.

Sure, S-Ranks might have egos as towering as the peak of Mount Everest, but in the end, they were still human.

Naturally, they wouldn’t want to be insulted by others, and furthermore, they’d probably want to get along with people too.

‘…The problem is that Yoon Juyeong seems to have focused all his desire to socialize with others entirely on me.’

Even Jeong Seojin, who seemed to live his life completely alone, had some kind of relationship with the guild master and with Joo Minjeong right in front of me… but Yoon Juyeong showed none of that, and it worried me.

‘Considering the way he acts now, it seems like he didn’t have any deep relationships with anyone before he got tangled up with me either…’

Unlike before, when meeting a few times in dungeons was the extent of it, now that we were tied together more directly and closely, I could see Yoon Juyeong’s social circle much more clearly.

I didn’t know why, but Yoon Juyeong’s surroundings were far too clean.

‘Normally, someone in their early to mid-twenties would contact their parents pretty often, but he doesn’t even do that.’

And considering his financial situation, which I couldn’t understand at all even taking into account that a B-Rank hunter’s income was several times that of a C-Rank hunter’s, my suspicions about Yoon Juyeong’s human relationships only deepened.

I sighed inwardly, thinking of Yoon Juyeong, who was probably still staring this way with fervent eyes.

‘Still, if it weren’t for that skill, it’d be ridiculous for me to be worrying about someone else’s business like this…’

But worry was still worry.

While I was silently sighing to myself, worrying about Yoon Juyeong, Hunter Joo Minjeong continued her story with a bright, beaming smile.

“Anyway, I thought it was really weird that this newbie didn’t cause any trouble for once. I was like, could it be that he’s just as self-controlled as the guild master, so the scale of his trouble was too small? But then…”

Slurp.

The lemonade, which had been sitting untouched since she first received it because she’d been leaning on her arm, finally entered Hunter Joo Minjeong’s mouth.

“I got it when I saw it in person. Ah, so he’s got a permanent brake attached to him, I thought.”

“…And by that brake, do you mean me?”

“Ah, of course. Who else here besides Seohee would act as a control device for a guy like that?”

From the looks of it, she seemed to have a healthy dose of both distrust and disdain for humanity.

Hunter Joo Minjeong finished her sentence casually, as if tossing it out while drinking her lemonade, but the moment I heard her words, I couldn’t hide my troubled feelings.

‘So that’s how Yoon Juyeong looks in Hunter Joo Minjeong’s eyes.’

Honestly, I was already suspicious of his interpersonal relationships in various ways, so in the eyes of a fellow S-Rank hunter, she might have seen even more than I did.

I took a sip of the iced chocolate in front of me, trying to wash away the rising frustration.

…Mm. A bit too sweet.

After swallowing the iced chocolate in my mouth, I set down the glass I was holding and met Hunter Joo Minjeong’s eyes again.

Somehow, we’d ended up talking about Yoon Juyeong the whole time, but now it was time to hear why she’d brought me here.

‘She couldn’t have just brought me here to talk about me and Yoon Juyeong.’

She probably had something she wanted to ask me personally, or something she wanted to advise me about, and that’s why she brought me here.

Based on my guess, I opened my mouth to ask her why she’d brought me here.

“There you are.”

At least, that’s what would have happened if Jeong Seojin hadn’t suddenly appeared behind me. I flinched and shrank back at the tall man who’d popped up without a sound.

“Jeong Seojin, I told you to make some noise when you walk, didn’t I? Can’t you see you scared Seohee half to death?”

“Why is that Yoon Juyeong kid standing way over there staring this way?”

“Hey, are you ignoring me?”

Unfortunately, it seemed Jeong Seojin had decided to completely ignore Hunter Joo Minjeong’s words.

Despite Hunter Joo Minjeong constantly throwing insults at him, calling him ill-mannered and saying he had no humanity, he pulled out a chair and sat down with a completely unruffled expression.

“Joo Minjeong.”

“Hey, you ill-mannered bastard. When someone talks to you, you respond, huh?”

“Kang Mujin is calling for you.”

“You really don’t listen to a word people say, do you? Do you have some kind of hearing problem? Want me to recommend an ENT clinic?”

I’d only been listening to Hunter Joo Minjeong and Jeong Seojin’s conversation for maybe ten minutes at most, but one thing was crystal clear.

‘They’re kind of like siblings, these two.’

Back in school, whenever I saw friends who had siblings, they were either on bad terms or constantly hurling curses at each other… Hunter Joo Minjeong and Jeong Seojin were exactly like that.

I watched Hunter Joo Minjeong grumble a string of insults under her breath while slowly getting up from her chair, a look of pity in my eyes.

‘Hunter Joo Minjeong must have just as hard a time being pushed around by that guy as I do…’

“Ugh, sorry for dragging you here and then leaving first. Looks like the guild master has something to say about that Yoon Juyeong guy’s party composition over there. If he’s calling me in after Jeong Seojin, he probably wants us to share party members for a bit.”

“Ah… that could be it.”

Come to think of it, now that Hunter Yoon Juyeong had officially received his title as an S-Rank, he’d need to start preparing for proper dungeon raids.

And for dungeon raids, all sorts of advance preparations were necessary, but the most important thing was still people. In other words, party members.

‘He can’t just bring in a rookie hunter right away, so for a while, he’ll probably tag along with party members from Jeong Seojin or Hunter Joo Minjeong’s teams.’

He’d likely work with people who used to be in their parties, recruit one or two decent members at a time, and eventually fill up his own party with his own people.

I nodded, recalling the method S-Rank hunters often used when forming parties.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry and go ahead. I enjoyed meeting you today, Hunter Joo Minjeong.”

“I really enjoyed it too, Seohee. Talking to the guild master, who has zero sense of fun, and that brat Jeong Seojin, who’s boring in a different way and a total pain, all day… talking to you was so nice…”

“Aren’t you going?”

“Hey, you son of a bitch who’d make soup out of that ugly face…”

Hunter Joo Minjeong kept hurling insults and complaints at Jeong Seojin until the very end, but she still prioritized the guild master’s summons.

I watched her small figure leave the cafeteria with a pitying look, then turned my gaze back to Jeong Seojin. Just then, Yoon Juyeong, who had been sitting far away, cautiously approached our table and took a seat.

“So why did you chase Hunter Joo Minjeong out so suddenly?”

“You noticed?”

“You think I wouldn’t? Before you kicked her out, you chased away all the other guild members in the cafe. Then you kept telling her to leave and whatnot—how could I not pick up on that?”

“…I’ll admit it was too obvious. Anyway… there’s something I want to ask you.”

He’d been making a huge fuss trying to get rid of Hunter Joo Minjeong from start to finish, and he thought I wouldn’t notice?

I sighed at Jeong Seojin’s ridiculous attitude, but my eyes shifted to the worn-out sword he pulled from his inventory.

“What is it?”

“It’s my gear. That’s not the important part… Can you use your skill on this sword?”

“Huh? …On what?”

“Ju…”

“If you call me that outside, I’ll really get mad.”

“…Your skill.”

Luckily, Jeong Seojin was quick to go along with what I wanted in this regard. I smiled, satisfied with his choice of address, and took the sword he held out.

“But you want me to use my skill… on this? Not on a person or an animal?”

“Yeah. There’s something I want to test.”

“What test?”

“……”

Jeong Seojin was silent for a moment, just staring at the sword in my hand. It seemed like he was picking out the words he wanted to say to me in his mind, so instead of rushing him, I waited quietly.

“Lady Seohee.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“That sword… it looks like the weapon Jeong Seojin usually uses.”

“Huh?”

The weapon Jeong Seojin usually uses?

I flinched and stared at the sword in my hand. It must have once boasted a gleaming, icy-blue blade, but now it was all worn and battered, with nicks missing here and there—a rusty old sword held in my grasp.

‘…This is the sword Jeong Seojin usually uses?’

No way. I’d only caught a glimpse of it on TV, but the weapon Jeong Seojin used was a well-polished silver sword.

I looked back and forth between the sword in my hand and Hunter Yoon Juyeong with suspicious eyes. But the answer to my doubt came not from Hunter Yoon Juyeong, but from Jeong Seojin.

“That’s right.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. ‘The Rusty Sword of the Second Tarik.’ It’s the equipment I usually use.”

…This was Jeong Seojin’s weapon?

It was a story I could hardly believe. I stared at the worn-out sword in my hand with a somewhat dazed expression.

According to what Jeong Seojin revealed, this sword, named ‘The Rusty Sword of the Second Tarik,’ was so old and battered that even a C-Rank hunter like me could snap the blade if I put my mind to it.

“You look like you don’t believe it.”

“Well… if the weapon used by the nation’s strongest hunter looked like this, anyone would find it hard to believe.”

The sword of Jeong Seojin that I’d definitely seen through the TV screen wasn’t in this shape at all.