chapter 186

Chapter 186

It wasn’t a world where every single dungeon raid by hunters was made public, but perhaps because of the number and status of the participants, there were many people chattering about this raid.

“They say they cleared a rainforest-type dungeon this time.”

“A rainforest-type? What rank?”

“A-rank.”

“It’s been a while since anything above B-rank got cleared.”

“There were a lot of guilds participating, so the church will probably take the entry rights, yeah?”

Each time a plausible dungeon was cleared, citizens’ quality of life rose. It was because countless resources could be obtained from dungeons. Especially at the words that an A-rank dungeon had been cleared, many people were looking forward to it.

“If it’s rainforest-type, something will probably come out on the vegetation side.”

“Mm... I hope it’s crops. Like fruit.”

“Even if it is, the guilds will monopolize it all, so what.”

“Someday it’ll get released, I guess.”

Clearing a dungeon meant occupying a new dimension. At the chance to enjoy unknown benefits, citizens were excited, and because of this atmosphere, too, guilds worked hard to clear dungeons.

Because it was a chance to gain not only resources but also citizens’ praise and support.

That was why this raid became a cause for celebration for the Sun Church.

“We were greatly worried after the last initiation ceremony incident...”

“Now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The citizens’ mood isn’t bad.”

“We still need to check more, but the resources we can obtain from this dungeon are also high quality.”

“Since it’s under the sun’s name, it’s awkward to sell poison, so to turn it into medicine... mm... should we ask the Association for help?”

“It was a villa dungeon, but the scale is considerable, so it will be easy for us to pay a price as well.”

“In that respect, the Association’s research institute is certainly reliable.”

The Sun Church’s priests happily agonized over how to make use of the resources they had obtained this time. As the Sun Church, they had managed to save face. They had even been considering a long-term expedition, and yet they had achieved such results.

“To think we’d clear it in such an intact form.”

“Priest Kang Seodam’s contribution was great.”

“They say he also built a good relationship with Hunter Seo Gio?”

Listening to the elder priests’ words, Kang Seodam opened his mouth.

“...It’s not such a great relationship.”

“Enough with the humility—your merit is great, brother.”

“It’s thanks to the other hunters helping together.”

“Even so, what happened doesn’t simply vanish, does it?”

The priests’ concern wasn’t only the dungeon clear.

“Is it really, perhaps, that... ahem.”

“...There’s talk that Hunter Seo Gio is a vessel of sainthood.”

“They say he serves the sun of another dimension?”

Kang Seodam nearly clenched his eyes shut.

‘So it’s come.’

Kang Seodam also knew that subtle rumors had been spreading for days. That Hunter Seo Gio was actually a saint, that he was Visabel’s child. It seemed like the Collection Merchant had probably made a move.

‘They must have been trying to enlarge the scale and wrap him up as a human somehow before things grew too big and became hard to control.’

It was only that there still wasn’t a divinity in the world so skilled at imitating and shapeshifting like a human that people could even think of it. Through this raid, anyone who could know had been thinking something was strange.

‘So if it’s to protect Mr. Gio, it was a wise and quick decision.’

Only Kang Seodam was tired.

“...I don’t know if he truly is a saint, but it is true that he serves the sun of another dimension. He said as much with his own mouth.”

“No matter if it’s a sun of another dimension, the fact that he was granted an herb that can revive someone nearly dead is a tremendous grace. If it’s favoritism to that extent, isn’t he indeed the god’s family?”

As Kang Seodam spoke as ambiguously as possible, the priests, tiringly, each began chattering on.

“It isn’t enough to explain it as simply receiving grace.”

“That’s right—how could a hunter who hasn’t even awakened as a priest be loved so much?”

“In the first place, the fact that he received that herb and made it into medicine shows Hunter Seo Gio’s vessel.”

“If he were merely a human loved by a god, he wouldn’t have been able to do that much.”

“No matter how you think about it, it sounds like he can commune with divinity...”

As Kang Seodam made a sickened expression at the priests whispering in low voices, he saw, for some reason, an elder priest quietly smiling at him. A seasoned priest called the next bishop.

“Priest Kang Seodam.”

“...Yes.”

“Later, would you come to my room and speak with me?”

“I will.”

Answering readily, Kang Seodam thought,

‘A religious circle full of worm-like bastards.’

Just imagining how much and where he would have to talk was exhausting.

* * *

No matter how much Haeryeong was rumored to be a brainless guild—and even if it was true—there were always at least some people doing the bare minimum of work for a guild to keep running.

“Narae.”

“Whose name is that...”

“Yeah, right, Sanarae.”

“Yeah, why’d you call me?”

“Did you lose your mind on the report?”

Usually, the ones doing that work were the team leader, the section chief, the branch chief, and the guild master. The section chief in charge of Hunter Sanarae, the team leader, thrust a pathetic report sheet forward and asked.

“Got something to complain about? Then say it out loud—don’t do this to a precious report.”

“I even drew pretty flower pictures and turned it in, but you only scold me... it’s so sad I’m tearing up.”

“This is a guild where insubordination happens like eating meals, but it’s my first time seeing a guy rebel through a report.”

“Is it really the first time? Put your hand on your heart and think—do you really think it’s the first time, Section Chief?”

“If I’m being honest, it’s not the first.”

And it wasn’t the first time Sanarae submitted a report like this either.

“Damn it.”

Riiip.

As he tore up the report, the section chief asked.

“Any intention of writing it properly again?”

“After you’ve already torn it up, asking that makes me really scared.”

“Saying that with a face that’s not scared at all doesn’t work.”

“Ah, for my soul-and-body report to be treated like this...”

“So when are you turning in the new one? Just tell me that. Want to go write it with me?”

“I love you all, but wouldn’t that be too gross?”

“Before you cling grossly, submit a normal report.”

A report with only one line, ‘Returned safely,’ couldn’t be called a report.

“If you’re going to rebel, do it with your fists.”

“You usually don’t say much—why are you like this today?”

“It’s not like you don’t know why.”

The section chief said.

“You saw Hunter Seo Gio this time too, didn’t you?”

Recently, Hunter Seo Gio was quite a hot topic.

Skills related to souls were few. There was almost no opportunity to learn them, and even if you learned them, they were hard to use. There was the representative necromancer class among mages, but it was a different kind of thing.

“A tamer, a healer, and I hear there are even rumors he’s a saint.”

“Mmm...”

“They say he rampaged in the dungeon like a wild boar.”

“Wouldn’t it be closer to a demon than a wild boar...”

“What are you talking about? Anyway, write down all that info.”

The section chief clicked his tongue.

“In the first place, you were the one who joined this raid actively because you said you were interested in him, right? Did you see him in person and realize he’s an overwhelming young master, so your interest cooled off? What the hell is it?”

“No, it was hard to call him a young master.”

“Yeah... I heard the guys who participated said similar things. They said the Collection Merchant took such good care of him that they thought he was a young master who’d never gotten a drop of water on his hands, but he was a better person than expected.”

Saying that, the section chief sat on the sofa opposite Sanarae. Sanarae, who had been sprawled out in his usual spot, grinned.

“Waaah, are you going to play with me? You won’t nag me to write the report?”

“Rather than expecting you to write it yourself, it’s better I hear everything here and write it.”

“This is why I don’t get promoted to section chief.”

“You shouldn’t get promoted, you bastard. You’re a sloth—where do you get off aiming for it.”

Click, the section chief opened his pen.

“Alright, spit out the story.”

“What do you want to hear?”

“First, Hunter Seo Gio’s personality?”

“He cooked tasty food...”

“A good person, then.”

Nodding, the section chief asked.

“What did he make?”

“Cream stew on the first day.”

“Is that even possible in a dungeon?”

“It was. He even brought a pot as big as his own body.”

“He doesn’t look like he would, but he’s a hell of a guy.”

“And he gave snacks too. Like dried fruit...”

“It must’ve been good.”

“For some reason, digestion got better.”

“I know how to eat too.”

“I ate it all.”

“I know.”

Sanarae wasn’t exactly an exemplary personality.

“If he cooks himself, he doesn’t seem like the type to be overly prideful. I heard he’s pretty diligent—did you ever see him get angry or irritated?”

Sanarae shook his head.

“No.”

“Then there’s a high chance he’s not sane.”

If he never once got irritated in that steam cooker, he wasn’t human.

“There are rumors he’s a saint—was he really in that line?”

“It did feel similar...?”

“His main skills?”

“Food...”

“Not food.”

“Mmm, probably taming?”

“A tamer tames, you idiot. Why are you answering with a question after seeing it yourself?”

“How would I know someone else’s skill window...”

“That’s true, but still.”

The section chief groaned.

“Total number of contracts is two?”

“If you already investigated everything, can I just sleep?”

“Can you? Answer properly with your eyes open—what are the traits of the contracts?”

“One is a water bird, one is a cat.”

“Abilities.”

“Uh... I don’t know.”

“What do you know, then.”

“Nothing.”

“What a thing to boast about, you lunatic.”

The section chief decided to ask more specifically.

“What did the water bird do in the dungeon?”

“It flew around diligently and brought information. It drank water and ate heat too...”

“And what did the cat do?”

“It meowed and called dead people.”

“Even hearing it again, it’s insane.”

As he scribbled information onto the paperwork, the section chief said.

“Then back to him himself. We talked personality, we talked taming skills, and they say he’s a healer who can both deal and tank—explain what kind of bullshit that is.”

“He’s a healer who can both deal and tank.”

“Are you deaf? I said explain it.”

“You were calling what’s true bullshit, so I corrected you...”

The section chief asked, dumbfounded.

“Then what is this guy? Did the collector finally succeed at a live experiment? Is Hunter Seo Gio some lefty fireballer dragged out of hell? There’s nothing he can’t do?”

“There probably is something...?”

“What can’t he do?”

“Why are you asking me that.”

“You bastard—who else? You went with him.”

“Why are you getting mad.”

“Damn it, how did a bastard like you end up under me.”

“Mmm, but I didn’t beat up a reporter.”

“You’re boasting about that? Is this the time to bring up other guys, Sanarae?”

Snapping at him lightly, the section chief let out a sigh.

“I want to run dungeons too.”

“Then go.”

“I can’t because of bastards like you.”

“How pitiful. Want me to rub your shoulders, Section Chief?”

“Get lost.”

Organizing the paperwork, the section chief said.

“This is too absurd a rumor, so I’m planning to report it privately, but what’s this nonsense that Hunter Seo Gio might be Guild Master Visabel’s bloodline? You know anything?”

“Sometimes his color changes, and he had red hair and yellow eyes.”

“Damn it—well, dye jobs are pretty good these days. If he really is blood-related, then I can understand why a hunter this big popped up out of nowhere without any record.”

It was common for famous hunters to hide their family background.

“Even so, this one’s kind of creepy...”

Doesn’t it mean he hid a talent like that until he was twenty-nine? If he stuffed a kid away that hard, it wouldn’t be strange if he wasn’t sane.

“Either way, since it’s the collector’s work, I get it.”

“You get it?”

“What are you going to do if you don’t? This is the situation we’re in.”

“That’s true...”

“Anything else to tell me? Something unusual, for example.”

“Mmm...”

Sanarae waved his hand.

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Bullshit—if something comes to mind, report it later too.”

“Okay.”

“...”

After a beat, the section chief asked.

“...Why did you pick a fight with Hunter Seo Gio?”

“He looked fun, so I did.”

“And then they say you looked pretty close when you came out, for you.”

“Hunter-nim’s personality was really good.”

His eyes curved as he smiled like a crescent moon.

“That’s a relief, right?”

* * *

Meanwhile, the staff who had gone on the raid with Gio testified.

“He seemed more like a person than I expected.”

It was a generous evaluation for a “work,” but the other staff let it pass.

“Seeing as there aren’t any rumors about him being a monster, I guess that’s true.”

“The snacks he shared were tasty too.”

“His behavior is so identical to the Black Cloak—how is it that he isn’t getting exposed as the same being?”

“Isn’t that why those rumors started? We made a move on our side, right?”

“When I heard he was the guild master’s son, I sobbed.”

“Why are you crying.”

More than they had thought, “Mr. Seo Gio” showed a human appearance without much sense of dissonance.

“He did show an overly capable side, but...”

“Still, that’s not so bad.”

“Anyway, it was within a range we can handle.”

This became a kind of indicator.

“He seems to be doing well even without an assigned curator.”

That “Mr. Seo Gio” could smoothly blend in even among unfamiliar humans.

“Anyway, he’s not someone we can control, so it’s good.”

“Even just getting confirmation like this, my heart feels so much more at ease.”

They had spent quite some time with “Mr. Seo Gio,” but there had never been any big problems. Even if the counterpart was a ghost story, it was a situation where they could feel a kind of stability.

And Yoo Seongun, who escaped overtime and finally secured vacation, said,

“Let’s go on a trip.”

“What?”

“Oh.”

And so, a trip to the sea was decided.

(To be continued in the next episode)