Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Tomboy Childhood Friend's [Sex Partner] Invitation
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The first thing I asked about was my old friend, the Saint Song Seong-yeon—how she'd become a hunter and the feats she'd accomplished along the way.
Right in the middle of the story, she neatly sliced up the drained pork belly and even wrapped a ssam for me before feeding it straight into my mouth.
"Ahh~."
"Oh my god, are you actually gay??"
"I'm just taking care of you since it's been so long. Why get all serious about it? Wait, seeing you freak out like this... are you...?"
"You asshole. Are you insane?"
"Hehe~ Look at you freaking out. Hey, hey, do you have a thing for me or what?"
"Jesus, just give it here. I'm eating it even though it's gross now."
"Aw, don't be mad~!"
I knew she'd back off if I reacted strongly, so I just took it and ate.
Damn. It was delicious.
"Where were we up to?"
"Munch munch... After you awakened your talent and became a hunter, you formed a guild and conquered the Brass Tower?"
"Right, right~. While conquering the Brass Tower, I picked up a ton of techniques and skills. I handed the techniques over to the Hunter General Headquarters... you know, the government side. And whenever I had free time, I traveled around various countries, using my skills to help places struggling with food shortages as volunteer work."
"I heard a lot about that on TV. People said you saved tons of lives because they wouldn't call you by your epithet?"
"Yeah. I saved a lot. A ton? It's my brag-worthy moment. Conquering towers, doing volunteer work—I was insanely busy, but it was all worth it."
On the other hand, there were occasionally people on TV criticizing Seong-yeon's actions.
Why was she spreading such abilities abroad? With every country racing in technological competition thanks to the towers, this kind of backlash existed everywhere.
"Next, she went after the military. Do you know what she did?"
So Seong-yeon pulled off something huge. Something that would shut up those critics and earn applause from every Korean guy out there.
"Of course I know. I'm one of the direct beneficiaries. After hunters and towers appeared and the Kim regime collapsed, just as things were turning friendly between North and South Korea with the new government, food shortages nearly sparked a war. You fixed that. Thanks to you, the North-South peace treaty was signed."
The risk of war between North and South vanished completely.
Because of that, people like me with even a sliver of aura talent were all shifted to reserves. Aspiring hunters even got exemptions from reserve duty through new laws.
The regime at the time desperately wanted more hunters to climb the towers, so they seized the chance to massively boost their numbers.
The internet went wild with joy. Everyone was thrilled.
Me too.
"Did you finish your service?"
"Around 23...? Right when I was about to get my corporal stripes, an official notice came down to the unit. I was like, 'Am I really going home just like that?' Walking back without even a discharge certificate, I kept thinking, 'Is this a dream?' But then I saw the letter that arrived at home and the online celebrations, and that's when it finally hit me that it was real."
"With three towers popping up in our country, the government folks were desperate for hunters too. They were worried about monster overflows like in North Korea."
"Dude, I still sometimes suspect this is all a dream and I'm actually dozing off in the barracks. No way this is real. Otherwise, there's no way the lunatic who pulled that off is my childhood friend."
"Good news—it's reality. No need to worry."
"I'm not gonna get dragged back suddenly, right?"
"It's all volunteer now, so no. You're 100% civilian, Chang-gi."
"Really? Good. Yeah? Whew, even the active-duty soldiers were happy about the pay raises. Things worked out great."
These days, hunters heading to North Korea on expeditions aren't uncommon. Over there, monsters overflow from the towers, so per the treaty we signed back then, they periodically call in hunters. It's fostering North-South cooperation. The Kim regime hasn't been gone long, and they're busy with internal reforms—they keep announcing that—so there's zero reason for tensions.
"North-South Hunter Treaty. Improving food shortages in poor countries. And now conquering the Brass Tower..."
"Pretty badass, right?"
"Totally. How the hell did someone as tiny as you pull off all that? It makes me puff up with pride!"
"Hehe~! I worked my ass off! Hurry up and praise me!"
She brushed her nose with a beaming smile, and it was so cute I ruffled her hair wildly before knocking back some booze.
It wasn't jealousy toward my childhood friend—it was genuine pride—so this time, I wrapped a ssam for her.
"Ehehe. Ahh~ Eat up, you amazing one. Thanks for protecting my youth. This is a tiny token of my gratitude."
"The childhood friend's sincerity! I'll dig in~!"
Nom nom!
As I held the ssam to her mouth, she didn't just swallow it—she lightly nipped the tip of my finger too.
"-Nibble♪"
Her thin tongue clearly licked my fingertip.
"Hey, dude!"
"You had ssamjang on it~!"
"What's with you since earlier? Seriously?"
I snapped at her like she was a perv, but she just giggled like it was hilarious.
What a rascal.
If she were a regular guy, I'd have decked her already, but somehow her antics felt like flirting.
Isn't this a dangerous sign?
'Am I seriously gay?'
I couldn't believe I was finding this cute, so I chugged my drink in disbelief.
"Auntie! Two more bottles here~!"
-Coming right up! Soju for table 7, two bottles!
-On my way!
We'd barely eaten anything, but the bottle was already empty.
Damn it, at this rate, I'll black out. Gotta pace myself, but this girl makes it impossible.
"Anyway, that's the whole story on me. Nothing much different from what's on TV. Everyone probably knows everything except that I'm recently moving my base to tackle the Golden Tower."
"Isn't the government clamping down on internal info about that?"
"Yeah. Brass, Silver, and Golden... It's the highest difficulty tower, and the one with the most issues."
"What's the situation?"
"Not something to talk about here. I'm not drinking with you to discuss that, Chang-gi."
Instead, she poured me another shot, demanding I share my story.
This seductive vixen. She's trying to get me wasted.
"Me? Nothing special. Right after becoming an adult, my parents nagged that if I wasn't going to college, I should at least get a job or certification. So I said I'd become a hunter."
"They didn't try to stop you?"
"They did, of course. They were like, 'A burned-up looking kid like you, where do you think you're going?' Told me to shut up and prep for civil service. That sparked some rebellion, so on a whim, I stormed into a tower, body-slammed my way to the 2nd floor barehanded, luckily learned aura, and here I am."
"You did it all solo?"
"Obviously. Learned aura from books and HuntTube. The world's great—top hunters share that stuff for free."
Then I got drafted, did my service, came right back out thanks to Seong-yeon, and resumed hunting.
"Parents are still super against it. They heard low-rank hunters get paid crap somewhere and nagged me nonstop about it. Went home for last Chuseok, and they've always been stubborn as hell—said I never listen even if it kills them, even cursing me in front of the ancestors."
"Exactly. You're the stubborn one. Thanks to that, I survived."
She slyly stroked my hand again.
Gay-ass bastard.
Was I imagining the ulterior motive in her touch?
"You're embarrassing me. Quit touching."
"Heh heh hew~♪"
It was a foxy grin.
No boy should make that face.
"D-rank with an epithet, huh? Heard the rumors weren't great. What happened?"
"It just... happened."
"'Just happened' how? There must be a reason. Don't turn away—spill it all to me."
Staring at me so blatantly just made it worse.
It wasn't some false accusation—it was genuinely my fault.
"Whatever you're expecting, it's exactly like the rumors. I scavenged corpses while roaming the lower floors. Corpses with IDs fetch rewards from the Hunter Association, and the payouts were pretty good, so over the last year, I went overboard collecting them. Boom—suddenly slapped with that epithet."
"Everyone was on edge about you today. Wondering if you'd hurt someone or messed with corpses. I know you wouldn't..."
"They're not wrong. I didn't kill anyone, but yeah, I took stuff from them sometimes. Figured better me use it than let it rot with a dead guy."
"........."
"Relax. I didn't touch your guild's stuff."
"Never doubted that. As you know, stuff going back to families from tower deaths is rare. Everyone abandons it, but you're actively recovering it—even if it's for money, some people must see it positively."
That wasn't wrong either.
The Hunter Association and families were always grateful to me.
That's how I hold my head high.
"Got a corpse-scavenging skill or something?"
"Is it a skill? Kinda unique... Honestly, not something to show off..."
"What is it?"
"Sigh."
I hesitated on whether to tell her.
My shameful skill. Some tower asshole's gift.
Damn it.
"Another shot?"
"Pour."
I downed two shots she poured. She wrapped another ssam, and by now, I naturally accepted it.
We're not lovers—why's she treating me so well?
Gay seducer.
"Feeling like spilling now?"
"Don't tell anyone."
"I'll see it and judge for myself."
"I'm serious! This isn't for showing off!"
"It's fine. What's there to be shy about between us?"
"Between us what? We're awkwardly reunited after decades."
"Aw, Chang-gi ya. I'm a ranker, you know. I might even be able to help."
"...You sneaky jerk."
Only pulls the ranker card now. Another shot. I stealthily ate the ssam she made.
...Sweet.
"Screw it. Hey, bring your face closer."
"Like this?"
A transparent, sci-fi-style interface appeared above my raised palm, displaying the familiar description beyond it.
An inexplicable E-rank skill.
A grand name for something utterly useless.
"What the hell is this...?"
Even Song Seong-yeon, the seasoned ranker who'd seen it all, couldn't hide her bewilderment at my skill.