Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 28
Thud! Thump, boom, crash! The hulking body ricocheted off the floor and walls indiscriminately before abruptly grinding to a halt.
"Uh...?"
Stunned by the sudden turn of events, she stood there in a daze when a soft message floated down before her eyes, as gentle as a caressing hand.
But the content was anything but gentle.
"L-Liza-nim?"
The barrage of messages felt like the Administrator's roaring fury, sending chills down her spine. He was furious enough to affect the system itself, all because the guy had tried to kill her.
Se-ra stared blankly, alternating between the half-dead Park Jin-yong and the messages.
'He's so angry it's shaking the system...'
She was grateful that he seemed to cherish her that much, but it was also a little scary...
The blessing that had hurled Park Jin-yong away with triple the force vanished. Se-ra absently rubbed her arms as she gazed at the bloodied mess that was Park Jin-yong.
"What now? Should I hit him somewhere else?"
He hadn't even put up a defense, it seemedor maybe he was completely out cold. Not that she felt sorry for him. What worried her more was the Administrator, whose rage was strong enough to rattle the system.
"I'm fine, so calm down, Liza-nim."
Unlike usual, no emoticon appeared in response. Without those playful signature messages, a chill of fear gripped her.
He really seems pissed. What do I do?
Park Jin-yong, passed out on the ground, wasn't the issue right now. Her top priority was calming the Administrator, who seemed to have gone into a spin from caring too much about her.
"My dear Liza-nim, thank you so much for caring about me. And thank you for beating him up on my behalf. Oh, you're so pretty. Oh, you're so lovely. Oh, you're so sweet. So let's calm down now. There, there."
Se-ra stroked the messages proclaiming the Administrator's anger over and over. But perhaps because she was too focused on soothing him while stomping on the writhing Park Jin-yong with her foot...
"...What are you doing?"
She completely failed to notice Kang Se-jun approaching right up to her. She jolted when she heard his voice, having been murmuring "pretty" and "sweet" while petting the air.
"Ah, again! Again! Make some noise when you walk!"
"There was a commotion nearby, so of course I muffled my presence. You think I'd come clomping loudly so everyone hears? More importantly, Liza? Who's that? Why are you talking to thin air like that?"
"..."
Oh no. He'd heard everything. Se-ra dropped the messages she'd been stroking and cleared her throat awkwardly.
"My... god..."
"Is Liza the name of your holy entity?"
"No, not that. I just, uh, heh, hem, named it Elizabeth on my own."
Se-ra squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out the lie. In response, she got Se-jun's pitiful lookand finally, the Administrator's long-awaited emoticon.
Not exactly a great expression.
'Sorry, sorry. But I can't just say "Administrator." Elizabeth is a classy name, so let's compromise on Liza.'
Se-ra tried her best to ignore his message.
"Anyway, why are you here? We weren't supposed to meet here."
"You were making such a racket out in the open. How could I not come?"
Kang Se-jun's gaze shifted to Park Jin-yong, who was being crushed underfoot.
"You're too money-grubbing to pick a fight with some random person and turn them into this. Did he start something? What did he do to end up half-dead?"
"It wasn't... forget it. He deserves it. This guy's the one who threw me into the Werewolf Dungeon."
"Why'd he come looking for you?"
"He says it's my fault he became a criminal."
"What an idiot. Who was it that tried to commit murder first in the first place?"
Kang Se-jun let out a cold chuckle.
"That stunt let you raise your rank and even contract with a top-tier holy entity... But that's that, and this is this. Are you going to kill him?"
Kill him? Se-ra looked down at the completely unconscious Park Jin-yong.
Yes, she wanted to kill him. She had those feelings. The terror she'd felt in that Rank 3 dungeon still haunted her from time to time.
She probably wouldn't forget it for the rest of her life.
"He already paid for throwing me in the dungeon. Cheongrang Guild abandoned him, and he's facing legal punishment. That chapter's closed."
"It's closed, and...?"
A cold smile crept across Se-ra's face as she looked down at Park Jin-yong.
"Trying to kill me now has nothing to do with that. This is a separate crime, so he needs to pay the appropriate price for this one too, right?"
"Then kill him."
Kang Se-jun said it casually, so Se-ra emotionlessly raised her gun.
He'd paid once. So for the second time, he had to pay the fitting price.
She aimed the muzzle of Heat, transformed into a Colt, at the unconscious Park Jin-yong's head.
"What a ridiculous guy. Feeling wronged? He gets to kill me, but I can't do the same? Because he's A-rank and I'm just a pathetic F-rank?"
She heard Kang Se-jun scoffing beside her.
Yeah, it was truly pathetic. What was so great about ranks anyway? Even fancy S-ranks could die in an instant, and pathetic F-ranks could survive by sheer luck. That's how this world worked.
Click. Her finger pulled the trigger. Two bullets erupted from the silencer-equipped muzzle.
"Argh, aaaack!"
Park Jin-yong, who had been out cold, snapped awake from the pain and started screaming again. Se-ra indifferently tossed the gun into her inventory. Kang Se-jun gave her an odd look.
"Not killing him, huh."
"I'm a good person."
"Your eyes aren't smiling."
Come on. He should know how to play along a little. Se-ra wrinkled her nose.
"In case you forgot, I'm a civil servant. I don't go around killing people out of personal grudges. Of course I'm pissed, but I haven't forgotten my duty."
She might after quitting, but as long as she was still officially a civil servant, she had to watch her actions. The Associationand Song Han-nahad plenty of enemies. Se-ra didn't want to cause her trouble.
"And above all, there's a witness, right?"
Se-ra gave Kang Se-jun a sly smile, and he looked flustered.
"Sorry about that."
"Kidding. But since you're a witness now, you'll have to help me out a bit. That."
She nodded toward Park Jin-yong's kneethe one she'd shot. He was clutching it, screaming, and it was completely shattered. He would never walk properly again.
"Didn't you say civil servants don't do personal revenge?"
"Self-defense is allowed, even for civil servants."
Kang Se-jun, who'd been staring blankly at her bold retort, let out a hollow laugh. She heard him mutter that he really couldn't handle her.
"Well, honestly, I wasn't that mad anyway. My Liza-nim got super pissed on my behalf."
Se-ra looked into the empty air. The Administrator was probably watching her too.
His unexpected fury had strangely lifted her spirits, blowing away any lingering anger toward Park Jin-yong. This guy who would never show up in front of her again was less important than the Administrator.
But the Administrator, upon hearing the ridiculous nickname, couldn't hide his bewilderment. Se-ra shrugged.
'Let's compromise. If someone overhears like this time, Liza won't raise flags. From now on, outside the house, I'll call you Liza.'
'Protest all you want. I've made up my mind. Our Lizasuch a pretty name. If you don't like it, I can do Liz or Lizi. Haha. Elizabeth has so many cute nicknames.'
"...Pfft."
His usual reaction made Se-ra burst out laughing too.
Ah, now everything feels back to normal. She much preferred laughing together like this over an angry Administrator.
At that moment, the Administrator pointed angrily at one spot while fuming. Se-ra whipped her head that way.
"Someone's coming."
"Good senses."
"I didn't notice until our Liza told me."
They weren't far, but she'd only just sensed it nowthat meant the other party was no pushover.
"S-rank?"
"It's Han Su-eon and Manager Do. With those two, even if we dodge, they'll track us down quick."
Of all people. The magic world's emperor, Han Su-eon, paired with Do Jun-young and his vast detection range. Se-ra stared pointedly at Park Jin-yong's bleeding knee.
Oh, if they got caught, they'd be in deep shit.
"Mr. Mage, lend me a hand."
"...What now?"
Se-jun's face paled in an instantor maybe it was her imagination.
No time to explainSe-ra quickly reached into her inventory and pulled out Heat, transforming its form before shoving it firmly into his hand.
"What are you doing?"
"From now on, L-rank mage shot Park Jin-yong. I'm the fragile F-rank who barely survived thanks to Mr. Mage. Nice doing business with you."
"No, this crazy woman really"
But he couldn't finish. Do Jun-young and Han Su-eon appeared around the alley corner.
And with that, Se-ra's award-winning acting began anew. Her whole body trembled as she collapsed to the ground like her strength had given out.