abcnovels
Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Chapter 57
“… It’s not something that Hunter Han Yi-jin should apologize for.”
“Uh…”
“It’s a nuisance that we all have a problem with courtship in animals.”
“…?”
I tilted my head at Song Yul’s incomprehensible words. By nuisance, does she mean bringing two servings when one person only gets one, but courtship in animals? As I stood there, unable to comprehend her strange words, I noticed Guseul fidgeting, looking pale with the chicken wing fried rice I handed her in both hands.
“Well, then what I gave to Hunter Guseul…”
“…”
When Song Yul’s gaze shifted to Guseul after hearing my words, Guseul’s face turned even paler.
“…Well, then Hunter Guseul can have it.”
“What? Is that okay?”
“She needs to eat a lot because she’s growing.”
“…”
Song Yul, who said something similar to me, turned around coldly. Just as she was about to walk away, only then did Guseul who came to her senses bow to her.
“Th-thank you! Vicemaster-nim!”
“…”
Song Yul, who glanced at the Guseul without saying anything, nodded slightly and walked quickly to another place.
Does this blunt woman care about Guseul in her own way? I felt a little at ease thinking that way.
“I–I’ll eat with the other healers.”
“Eat well, Hunter Guseul.”
“Thank you, Hunter Han Yi Jin-nim.”
Guseul, who bowed her head to me, walked away, holding chicken wing fried rice in both hands. Her tall staff dangled from her back. I sighed and turned around.
“Hey, you guys.”
“…”
“What are you guys doing? Why are you all causing trouble again?”
“…”
These guys started evading my question and feigning ignorance. Yong-sik, who was lying at my feet, looked up with a pitiful expression and made a whimpering sound. He’s the only quiet and well-behaved one here. Damn those guys.
I clicked my tongue in frustration and shook my head. Then, Kang Soo-hyun approached me with a beaming smile on his face.
“Hyung, do you want to sleep in the same sleeping bag as me?”
“What? A sleeping bag?”
I was puzzled by his words. Isn’t the sleeping bag for one person to use? Why did he say that?
“Isn’t that a sleeping bag for one person?”
“No, it’s for two people.”
“Why?”
I was dumbfounded. Don’t they usually give you a sleeping bag for one person? Why did they give him a double sleeping bag that was rarely used for one person?
“I think it’s because we are paired up in pairs, and take turns on guard duty here. Since the Freya guild is only made up of women, except for those with mercenary contracts, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Hoo…”
That’s a bit troublesome… When I looked at Kang Soo-hyun with doubtful eyes, his eyes sparkled.
“So, sleep with me, hyung.”
“No, I need some time to think…”
“Yi Jin-ah! Are you going to abandon me?”
“…”
I’m going crazy, really. What’s up with these schoolgirl cosplayers again? I was immediately at a crossroads of choice. It was because even Kang Yoo-hyun was glaring at me fiercely.
A cold sweat trickled down my back. I knew I had to make a good choice. There’s no telling what these lunatics will do if I make the wrong choice.
In the first place, how many people were here on mercenary contracts? Of course, we wouldn’t be able to sleep with the Freya guild member, so it was only natural that we would share sleeping bags.
Me, Eden, Kang Yoo-hyun, Kang Soo-hyun, and Hae Song-ha… Isn’t that five of us? Aren’t we already screwed at the odd number?
“Kkyaau!”
“…!”
At that time, Yong-sik, who was lying at his feet, spread his wings and let out a long cry. As soon as I saw Yongsik, I shouted “Eureka!” inside and hugged him.
“I’m sleeping with Yong-sik!”
“…!”
“Kkyau!”
Yong-sik’s loud cry echoed around us. Awww, sweetie. I stroked Yong-sik and smiled happily.
“No, why would you give a sleeping bag to a summon..”
“Then, Yong-sik sleeps on the ground? I can’t do that.”
“But, still…”
I saw someone from the support team walking over Eden’s flustered shoulder. I called her and she came closer.
“Excuse me!”
“What can I help you with?”
“About the sleeping bag. Can I sleep with my summon?”
Then her gaze reached Yong-sik, who was in my arms. She nodded as she glanced at Yong-sik.
“Of course. We’ll provide plenty of sleeping bags, so feel free to use them.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The support team member, with a smile on her face, bowed her head as if she was busy and walked somewhere. I turned my head with a smug look on my face.
“I was right, wasn’t I?”
“…”
Then, Eden and Kang Soo-hyun made an upset expression. Kang Yoo-hyun… He’s always expressionless and I don’t know what he’s thinking. I just ignored the tense atmosphere.
Ah, I don’t know. They weren’t even teenage girls. Why come to me when they can sleep with anyone? Am I that easy?
I held Yong-sik and quickly walked to the support team to get a sleeping bag.
“…”
Inside the makeshift base made out of tents, Song Yul had a serious expression on her face. Her eyes fell on a slip of paper on which she wrote down the revised strategy order. Next to it, an item displaying a dungeon map flashed.
“Yul.”
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“…Unnie.”
Song Cha-hyun approached and sat beside Song Yul. She opened her mouth, looking at Song Yul’s troubled face.
“Are you very worried?”
“…”
Song Yul simply nodded her head without answering. It was something she wouldn’t do to another guild member. Song Cha-hyun smiled as if she had anticipated that.
“The rating anomaly is causing quite a bigger problem than we expected. No wonder you’re so worried.”
“…”
Song Yul, who had been silent for a while, murmured quietly.
“I keep feeling like this is just the beginning.”
“…”
“Do you think we can handle it?”
As Song Cha-hyun looked at the worried Song Yul, she suddenly recalled the past.
Surprisingly, the first guild Song Cha-hyun joined after her S rank awakening was the Laufey Guild, and she didn’t even realize it was a Villain Guild at the time.
There she received extraordinary treatment. It was only natural since she was an uncommon S-rank Hunter at the time. Without knowing what kind of person Raisu, the guild leader, Song Cha-hyun secretly carried out the task he gave her.
Then, she felt something was wrong when she almost killed other hunters inside a dungeon under his command. At that time, she was naive and unaware of dungeon bidding or the rivalry between guilds. She didn’t know that all of the dungeons she had cleared were either owned by other guilds or had not been bid on. She just cleaned it as instructed by Raisu, without questioning anything.
At that time, she believed it was necessary to act that way. After the Gate Incident, she had also lost many precious people and believed that the world would only be stable if the dungeons were cleared quickly. In the process, she nearly injured another guild member who had legally entered a dungeon.
Upon learning the truth, she immediately confronted Raisu. But she had already written a contract with her skills at stake. Her S-level contract could not be destroyed recklessly, even by her.
In the end, she had no choice but to give up her highest-ranked skill and terminate the contract. After giving up her skill, she was left with no one by her side. Even the other guilds didn’t reach out to her, as she was from the Laufey Guild.
– Unnie, please help us.
– …
At that time, it was Song Yul and some of the current guild members who reached out to her. They had awakened at a young age and were struggling day by day under the control of unscrupulous brokers, and they were just young girls who couldn’t even rebel.
Even though she had lost her top-tier skill, Song Cha-hyun was still an S-class hunter. She wiped out the broker’s headquarters and rescued the children. It was then that she first realised the meaning of her existence.
As such, she created a guild with the children she saved from the brokers. That was the current Freya Guild. At first, she accidentally created a guild with only girls, but some of the girls were traumatized by meeting boys. As a result, the guild had no choice but to continue recruiting only female members.
Song Yul was the calmest and smartest of them all. She constantly worked hard for the guild while the other girls suffered with their trauma. However, Song Cha-hyun did not think that Song Yul was completely unaffected by what they had been through.
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She simply didn’t show it for the sake of the guild and the other members. Song Yul, like the other girls, suffered from trauma. And perhaps even now, her wounds don’t heal so easily.
“We don’t need to be perfect, Yul.”
“…”
“We’ll get through this, just like we always do.”
The current Freya guild would not collapse so easily. Song Cha-hyun said that confidently. Her hand stroked Song Yul’s hair.
“So let’s keep doing what we always do. Okay?”
“…Yes, Unnie.”
Nodding her head, Song Yul’s eyes turned to the dungeon map again. The map section in Area 2 has countless blue dots in the middle.
“This is where Kang Soo-hyun, who received the auxiliary skill, sensed it, right?”
“Yes, it was close.”
An auxiliary skill with an hour limit. If they didn’t find a neutral area by that time limit, a huge disaster would occur. Song Yul, who was horrified just thinking about it, was relieved.