Chapter 145

Anyway, Madam Maiden seemed to have bought it. Now I had to play with Ripen in a fun way to raise her favorability.

“……”

Ripen was tilting his ears upward uneasily at the occasional off-key notes from Joo Hunter Yian’s playing.

He didn’t seem to realize they were intentional mistakes.

The child’s nerves were entirely focused upward. Probably scared that Madam Maiden would yell at him like she had before.

Maybe he was on edge thinking she might even chase him down.

He might think the maze was impassable for adults, but in a child’s world, adults wielded unknown powers.

“We’ll let you know right away if Madam Maiden comes.”

I reassured Ripen, and he froze for a moment.

“Really?”

I nodded at his question.

“Yeah.”

“Mom’s footsteps are quiet. What if we don’t hear her coming?”

With several S-rank hunters here, how could we not hear?

…But that wouldn’t fly with a kid, so I looked around.

Then, glancing at Shin Jae-heon, I said,

“That big brother has sharp ears.”

He’s an S-rank dealer, after all, so they should be.

Suddenly put on the spot, Shin Jae-heon chimed in immediately.

“Yeah. I’m tall, so I can hear far away.”

Joo Hunter Yian paused mid-score and turned toward us at the incredibly logical response.

Be quiet!

The child pondered Shin Jae-heon’s words for a moment.

Then, through some inexplicable thought process, he nodded in acceptance.

“Okay! Then you have to tell me, big brother!”

Shin Jae-heon nodded. Of course, he wouldn’t even need to listen closely.

So Yeri Hunter’s “Ears Everywhere” skill would suffice.

As So Yeri Hunter made an OK sign with her hand, we matched eye level with Ripen.

“Alright, then…”

We said we’d play, but… what should we do?

Noticing our dilemma, Ripen’s face fell.

“I forgot how to play. Mom said bad things about my fun friends and chased them all away.”

Poor kid. I furrowed my brow slightly.

“Hmm…”

No helping it. I stood up.

Playing on bare ground? That’s my specialty, right, Shin Yuri?

I grabbed some crayons nearby.

“How about hopscotch?”

Perfect for carefree running around!

Ripen’s eyes widened at my suggestion.

“Territory war?”

So Yeri Hunter started a laugh-holding challenge at my words.

Don’t take it that big!

“No, look.”

I began drawing a hopscotch grid on the floor.

—Hop!

Ripen was lighter on his feet than expected.

Especially since I’d drawn the squares smaller to fit the child, he practically flew across the board.

The problem was that for me, So Yeri Hunter, or Shin Jae-heon, the spaces were so cramped that any slip would land us on a line.

Of course, that was no issue for dealers like me or Shin Jae-heon.

We could just go on tiptoes.

But So Yeri Hunter, even as an S-rank, wasn’t a class that handled delicate movements, so she kept stepping on lines.

“Ugh! I stepped on the same spot again!”

So Yeri Hunter pouted as she sat down.

“Don’t lose on purpose!”

Ripen shouted every time So Yeri Hunter was out, clearly competitive.

But So Yeri Hunter looked genuinely aggrieved.

“I want to win too!”

But an S-rank support couldn’t match the nimble movements of an SS+ rank.

Of course, Shin Jae-heon and I conveniently stepped on lines as if by agreement.

Winning would just disappoint the kid, right?

After several dozen minutes,

With Joo Hunter Yian’s slightly off piano melody in the background, the game wrapped up.

Moved by our full efforts to entertain him, Ripen gradually started smiling.

By the end, he let out a cheer.

“Wow! I won!”

Ripen beamed innocently. Just then, a voice came from above.

That’s enough! I’m satisfied today. If only you’d done this well at the banquet hall…

We all froze at Countess Maiden’s voice.

Joo Hunter Yian quietly lifted his hands from the piano.

Then a system window popped up, followed by the favorability window.

Considering we’d started at -90 and 0, this was a huge achievement!

At this rate, Ripen de Maiden wouldn’t turn into a boss.

They said favorability over +50 prevents boss transformation.

As we caught our breath, Ripen’s face quickly turned gloomy.

“I have to go back to Mom soon. My etiquette teacher is coming.”

He drooped his shoulders.

Shin Jae-heon asked the child,

“Studying all day?”

Ripen nodded.

“Yes.”

“You wanna ditch it all and run, huh.”

Shin Jae-heon replied immediately, and the child nodded eagerly.

“Yes!”

His eyes sparkled, happy someone understood.

I felt a sudden bad vibe.

You… aren’t telling him to just bolt, are you?

Thankfully, Shin Jae-heon didn’t say more. Meanwhile, Ripen’s voice grew teary.

“It was fun.”

The child realized it was time to end his ‘escapade’ and return. He muttered softly,

“If I hide longer, Mom will get mad. She lets me have just about an hour…”

Just one hour of acting spoiled.

Knowing that made the child seem far too mature. It was heartbreaking.

This special dungeon’s setup is too harsh…

As I scratched my cheek,

Ripen wiped his tears and said brightly,

“You have to come see me!”

We four exchanged glances.

Joo Hunter Yian, tidying the piano, knelt to eye level and asked,

“How do we get there?”

The child thought, then pointed upward.

It was an impossibly high, pitch-black void, but we could tell it was beyond the mansion’s 4th floor.

“Meet me at the top.”

The child grinned.

“Real friends… can come, right?”

The dungeon goal was the ‘Master’s Study’ anyway.

Unlikely the child would be there, so we needed to find another space at the top.

Ripen, looking reluctant to part, said brightly,

“If you don’t come, I’ll get mad.”

…Isn’t all our favorability grinding for nothing?

This is like some training camp recreation score battle!

Handing out 5 or 10 points early, then dumping at the end?

The problem was we started in the negatives.

At least rec games are fun! I had to force a straight face.

“Yeah, see you again.”

Or you might kill us… a strong premonition hit me.

—Fade.

After bidding farewell, Ripen’s figure slowly blurred.

We naturally exited his space too.

“It’s that hallway from before?”

We’d emerged into the hallway before entering Ripen’s space.

A system window popped up abruptly.

“Oh, 4th floor?”

So Yeri Hunter’s eyes widened. We were on the 3rd floor.

Heading straight to the 4th?

After the 4th was the master’s study.

This dungeon gave no respite.

How amazing must the rewards be to grind us like this?

I grew ever more curious about the end of this L-rank difficulty special dungeon disguised as SS-rank.

…If we clear it safely, that is.

The mansion was ridiculously vast.

And a grand staircase had appeared in the hallway that was empty when we passed earlier.

As expected, stairs to the next floor only appeared after meeting certain conditions in the dungeon.

—Click.

Maybe our treatment had improved; unlike before, the guided room wasn’t in a corner.

Wow! Impressive!

Plus, all four of us were assigned to the same room.

Spacious and nice, but weren’t we supposed to be noble heirs and ladies? Is cramming us like this okay?

Dignity… can you maintain it?

Two seconds after worrying about the house’s dignity, I had to forget it.

“Please prepare a gift for the master of the mansion.”

“?”

Didn’t they take it already? Feeling hollow, I checked my inventory.

Of course, my missing wooden sword and Shin Jae-heon’s Plated Necklace (C) weren’t back.

—Thud!

Whether she read our cursing stares or not, the maid shut the door and left briskly.

Of course, not forgetting a parting line.

“The master is looking forward to it.”

We exchanged looks.

With Surveillance debuff active again, we couldn’t curse.

Okay, think calmly.

They took gifts before, but now another?

Is this how a noble house treats guests?

Maybe the Maidens’ secret is they’re actually thieves or bandits?

As I furrowed my brow,

So Yeri Hunter suggested,

“The previous one was probably for Ripen, so this might be a gift for Madam Maiden?”

Is that it? I turned to So Yeri Hunter.

True, until they took our gifts(?), we were basically intruders to Madam Maiden.

But now, with her favorability up a whopping 60!

Still -30, but anyway!

We’d shown our faces at the banquet too, so she must have us in mind.

…So she takes gifts?

This is totally two-faced! For dignity, I clamped my mouth.

“What gift to give?”

So Yeri Hunter pouted. Then Joo Hunter Yian spoke.

“They’ll definitely want something aristocratic and cultured.”

A true dealer’s culture is burst DPS… but Madam Maiden probably wouldn’t appreciate that.

“Instrument performance, maybe?”

Shin Jae-heon suggested. He handled as many instruments as weapons.

But I shook my head.

“We’d have to perform up there ourselves. Given they took the last gifts, it seems they want something tangible.”

Couldn’t package Shin Jae-heon in a gift box with an instrument… wait.

My eyes sparkled.

“Ah, I got it!”

A gift Madam Maiden would love!

The three turned to me.

Shin Jae-heon said gravely,

“No gift box big enough for me.”

Did he read my mind? Creepy guy.

I brushed it off without thinking.

“That’s not cultured.”

Something else!

Shin Jae-heon briefly showed his palm in disbelief.

But his face brightened at my continued idea. The other two hunters too.