Chapter 155: I Escaped (1)
“A monster possessing a poison skill above grade C is classified as a special management target. However, Mister Han Yujin has been granted an exception due to his beast-taming skill and his poison resistance skill, which is strong enough to detoxify others.”
Chief Song Taewon said as he handed over the monster registration form.
“That said, you are still required to report to the Hunter Association whenever you transport it. Please refrain from bringing it outside breeding facilities or Hunter-related buildings whenever possible.”
Belare’s poison skill was an impressive grade A. While its other offensive skills were just as dangerous, poison skills were particularly alarming due to their persistence and transmissibility. A poison of this caliber could be fatal to non-awakened individuals with just a single drop spilled on the road.
Song Taewon’s personal visit was likely because of Belare’s poison skill, as it would help ensure the skill wasn’t used for malicious purposes.
— Sssiiiii.
Belare, still shaken from being thoroughly scolded by Chirp, hid behind a teacup, peeking its head out timidly. Its tail flicked against the table in irritation, producing flashes of light with each tap. The summer sunlight reflected so brilliantly off Belare that at times it was blinding to even look at it directly.
“You see, why did you mess with—well, maybe it’s a brother… or it could be an older sister, who knows.”
Neither Chirp’s nor Belare’s genders had been determined yet. Unconsciously, I had been assuming Chirp was male.
“By any chance, did Liette tell you Belare’s gender? Or mention any other specific precautions?”
I asked this as I signed the registration form and handed it back to Song Taewon.
“She did not say anything specific.”
“I see. In that case, would you be willing to help rescue me?”
“…What?”
Song Taewon gave me a confused look, so I tried to make my expression as earnest as possible.
“I’m currently being held captive. I want to go home, but they won’t let me. It’s a clear violation of my rights. Please help me, Chief Song.”
Two S-rank Hunters have conspired to detain a powerless F-rank Hunter like me. On top of that, they’ve confiscated my phone. At my words, Song Taewon glanced at the refreshments on the table.
“…You seem to be doing well, though. And I believe Mister Han Yujin requires a certain level of protective restriction.”
“Not being allowed to leave, watch TV, or even make a phone call is hardly ‘a certain level.’ On top of that, I have to spend all day with Seong Hyunjae. Chief Song, could you endure such a thing?”
Spending the whole day, every day, with that man. And it wasn’t just for a single day, either. A faint trace of conflict appeared on Song Taewon’s face. His gaze shifted to Seong Hyunjae, who had been observing us with mild amusement. Seong Hyunjae unfolded his loosely clasped hands and spoke.
“If you wish to rescue the princess, I’m more than willing to prepare a tall tower and a dragon. By the way, wasn’t your taste more aligned with underground dungeons and shackles?”
“I have no such preferences.”
…Wait, do they really have underground dungeons here? And what’s with the tower and dragon? Are they planning to rent Namsan Tower and cast Liette in the role of a dragon?
After some hesitation, Song Taewon turned back to me.
“Has the Sesung Guild Leader ever forced you to do anything inappropriate?”
“…He does treat me well, to be fair.”
“Then I ask you to endure a little longer.”
Tch. In the end, Song Taewon left without helping me.
That evening, I called Yuhyun and begged him to let me visit a dungeon for a while, but he rejected me outright. My little brother is ridiculously firm in his decisions. With no choice left, I resigned myself to spending yet another day hoping for a moment when Seong Hyunjae might step away.
And finally, the next evening arrived.
“The dungeon raid has been completed.”
Seong Hyunjae informed me, stating he needed to step out for a while. An S-rank dungeon raid had been carried out by another S-rank Hunter from Sesung in his place, and it had now been successfully cleared. Officially, however, it was recorded that he had participated in the raid, so he needed to make an appearance.
“Can I expect you to behave and wait here quietly?”
“Oh, come on, do you even need to ask? Of course I’ll be itching to make my escape.”
I answered honestly. There’s no way Seong Hyunjae would expect me to sit still.
“Still, since I’m just an F-rank with no strength, you won’t have much to worry about as long as you leave one or two A— or B-rank Hunters to keep an eye on me.”
So go on and leave already. After staring at me intently for a moment, Seong Hyunjae finally spoke.
“As expected, even if it means incurring slight losses—”
“Just go, will you? The contract doesn’t say the Sesung Guild Leader himself has to personally guard me. Yuhyun knows how busy guild leaders are, so don’t worry about it. Honestly, the amount of time you’ve spent here is already more than enough.”
Even considering that he couldn’t leave the guild premises due to pretending to be in the dungeon, the fact that the Sesung Guild Leader had been sticking so closely to me was overkill. Now that the raid was over, he wouldn’t be able to keep monitoring me forever.
In the end, Seong Hyunjae left. But, of course, he didn’t leave without assigning an A-rank Hunter to watch over me.
“I apologize for the trouble.”
The response, “It’s no trouble,” came back, though the Hunter’s gaze was anything but welcoming. Over the past few days at the Sesung Guild, some people had started treating me more warmly, but there were still plenty of cold, wary looks.
Even though I had useful skills, the only publicly known one was beast taming. Naturally, compared to the Sesung Guild Leader, I was nowhere near as capable. To see such an outstanding guild leader paying so much attention to someone like me would understandably bother some people.
S-rank Hunters are admired figures, so it’s natural for jealousy to arise. Thoughts like, “I’ve been dedicated to Sesung and will remain affiliated with the guild, but this guy—who’s just here to raise some mounts—is getting better treatment than me!” would certainly cross people’s minds.
‘I bet they deliberately assigned someone who dislikes me.’
A guard with a negative attitude would be stricter and more meticulous in their vigilance than someone who sympathized with me. Even if I tried to charm them into letting their guard down, they’d probably reject me outright.
I gave a smile to Hwang Ikyeong, the combat-type Hunter assigned to watch over me. If he disliked me, that would make it easier for me to escape without guilt.
“I can’t stand living with the door shut,” I said to him, opening the door to my newly assigned bedroom wide.
“So, could you move back just a little? Maybe set up a chair over there?”
I pointed to a spot about three or four steps away from the door.
“Please don’t suddenly peek in or anything. You know, for the sake of privacy.”
“As long as you remain quiet, I won’t need to.”
Hwang Ikyeong nodded obediently and moved to the suggested spot. The bedroom was spacious, and since it was attached to a small sitting room, the bed wouldn’t be visible unless someone entered the room entirely.
After placing Chirp on the bed, I patted his head gently.
“Stay quiet, okay?”
— Chirp.
He let out a soft chirp, barely audible. I then scattered some toys designed for children under five on the bed. As long as Chirp made noise while playing, the guard would assume I was staying put.
Belare, on the other hand, was trickier to leave behind due to her poison. I couldn’t entrust the Mark of Ownership to the outside guard, and I couldn’t risk her wandering off and causing an incident. So, I decided to bring her with me. If she left a trace of poison in some corner of the house and someone cleaning up got poisoned, it would be a disaster.
I wrapped the jeweled snake around my wrist and entered the bathroom attached to the bedroom. I set the bathtub to fill with hot water in an hour and left the light on before closing the door. Even if someone peeked into the bedroom, they’d think I was in the bathroom. With the sound of running water, it’d be even harder for them to suspect I’d disappeared.
‘I need to sneak out and return quietly.’
The goal was to go unnoticed. If I got caught, the bedroom door could very well be replaced with a locked iron gate.
I grabbed my wallet and activated the concealment skill, Hidden Picture. Moving as carefully and silently as possible, I slipped through the wide-open door. The Hunter, Hwang Ikyeong, sitting in the chair didn’t notice me. As I passed right in front of him, he seemed to sense something, glancing around, but that was all.
Descending the stairs, I made my way toward the exit where the mini-portal was located. The sound of the front door opening was unavoidable, but it was far enough away that no one would hear it. It was a blessing that the mansion was so large.
Using the mini-portal to go from inside to outside didn’t require a key. Of course, this depended on the portal’s settings, but typically, that’s how it was configured. Guild members, as well as household staff, used the portal frequently, and stationing guards on both sides was too cumbersome.
Outside the portal stood an A-rank Hunter serving as a guard. Since I had already arranged for a late-night snack delivery at 10 p.m., the guard would have to enter the mansion with the chef at that time.
‘I still have about two hours left.’
That should be enough time to meet those ungrateful troublemakers and return.
I walked quietly, making my way down the long corridor and out of the building. Since an A-rank Hunter was stationed at the mini-portal as security, the other defensive measures around the mansion were minimal. After all, who could possibly break in and overpower the mansion’s owner?
Once I safely exited the building, I headed to the nearest ATM. I withdrew twenty 50,000-won bills, folded them, and wrote a note.
[My apologies, but I need to borrow your phone for a moment. This is the rental fee. I’ll place the phone in storage locker ○○○ at Sadang Station after 11 p.m. tonight. I’ll also leave a post-it note on the locker for identification.]
The note included a password for the locker, along with instructions to leave the phone at the lost-and-found office if the lockers were full.
I slipped the note and cash into the bundle before scanning the pedestrians around me. It was summer, so everyone was dressed lightly. Among them, I spotted someone who pulled a phone out of the inner pocket of their tote bag without much caution. They unlocked the screen, checked a message, and typed a quick reply before slipping the phone back into the bag.
As the person stood at the bus stop, distracted by the information display, I switched their phone with the bundle of cash. The bag jostled slightly, but they didn’t seem to notice.
‘Now, let’s find a nearby low-level dungeon.’
Using the phone, I searched for publicly auctioned low-level dungeons. Since the names of the raiding guilds or teams were disclosed for these, anyone could look them up.
Conveniently, there was an E-rank dungeon not far from here that had been auctioned off and was scheduled to be raided the next day. Dungeon raids couldn’t be delayed due to break risks, but advancing the schedule was perfectly fine. The dungeon had been claimed by a team led by a D-rank Hunter, and the team leader’s contact information was listed.
I stepped into a discreet alley and called the team leader. A man in his thirties answered the phone.
“I’d like to purchase the raid rights to the E-rank dungeon you’ve won.”
I wasn’t planning to clear the dungeon. I just needed to meet those brats, then exit the gate before it closed. If I forfeited the raid and handed the rights back to the team, it’d be fine.
When he mentioned winning the auction for 5.5 million won, I offered 10 million. What’s the ATM withdrawal limit again? If I exceeded the limit, I could offer a high-grade potion as collateral. Potions were easy to liquidate, after all.
“Yes, I’ll see you in front of the dungeon building.”
After ending the call, I stopped by a nearby store, left a ten-thousand-won bill, and picked up a mask. If there was time left after visiting the dungeon, I’d check on what my little brother was up to as well.
Kim Minui’s phone rang again. A cheerful ringtone played as the caller ID app displayed the name of a certain mid-tier guild. Han Yuhyun checked the screen and promptly blocked the call.
Rumors about Kim Minui had spread, and soon calls started flooding in from all over. Most of them were from parties of little value. However, there was one exception—MKC. Han Yuhyun accepted their contact.
‘Choi Seokwon needs to be dealt with too.’
Like the late Yun Kyungsu, Choi Seokwon was an S-rank Hunter contracted with the Filial Duty Addicts. After the lake dungeon incident, he had gone into hiding and was under protection, making it difficult to approach him.
As the Haeyeon Guild Leader, Han Yuhyun couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him. However, as Kim Minui—a promising recruit with presumed near-S-rank potential—he could meet him face-to-face.
Discreet communications had already taken place, and a secret meeting had been arranged. Whether Choi Seokwon would show up in person was uncertain, but if he requested to meet the guild leader before making a guild transfer, there was a good chance they’d comply.
Before heading out to the meeting location, Han Yuhyun dialed a call using Han Yujin’s phone. Seong Hyunjae answered first, and then his brother’s voice came on the line.
[You never even come visit. What’s keeping you so busy?]
The sulky tone in Han Yujin’s voice brought a faint smile to Han Yuhyun’s lips.
“Just wait a little longer. I’ll wrap everything up as quickly as I can.”
[What is it you’re wrapping up, anyway? It’s not like you’re the one stuck and unable to move. At least tell me something.]
“Have you eaten dinner?”
[I’m about to. Where are you? Are you home?]
Their conversation continued for a short while, with Han Yujin grumbling about wanting to go home himself. Soon, the call ended, and Han Yuhyun rose to his feet.
–TL Notes–
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