Chapter 38
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Delivery Into the Dungeon
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Before Moon Chae-ryeon could get a word out, the bald hunter pulled an item from his inventory.
The system administrator recognized it right away and started fidgeting in panic.
[ Σ( Д )ﻌﻌﻌﻌ⊙ ⊙ ]
[Ah, no!]
[system: Warning—the bald hunter is about to use ‘Purification Water,’ an anti-stealth item.]
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
‘I know that already!’
But bolting out of here recklessly would be as good as admitting, “Yep, I’m that rumored vendor.” Pulling out the Vroom Vroom Delivery Bike to flee would make things even worse.
‘What do I do? What do I do?’
Her mind went blank. She was just resigning herself to using S-Rank power to escape when—
Splash—the Purification Water was sprayed.
‘No!’
But not a drop touched Chae-ryeon’s face.
“Huh...?”
She blinked, and the situation had flipped 180 degrees.
All because one person had taken the Purification Water for her.
“Wh-what?”
“No way...”
“That’s [Wing Guild] Master Shin Ha-rang, right?”
Amid the crowd’s murmurs, the newcomer was none other than Shin Ha-rang—Chae-ryeon’s customer.
‘Customer...?’
“Been looking all over for you, ma’am. You left this behind.”
What he held out wasn’t some priceless, rare artifact. It was a plain old grocery basket from the mart, stuffed with fresh veggies, fruits, and meat straight off the farm.
“Uh-uh...”
As the stunned Chae-ryeon stammered, Ha-rang activated the private chat function just for her.
‘Living Moving Dark Cloud’, Hunter Shin Ha-rang has sent a message.
[View / Ignore]
[View]
[Shin Ha-rang: You looked like you were in a bind, so I came to help. If it’s okay, mind playing along like we know each other? Couldn’t just walk by.]
“I’m with this lady here. Got a problem?”
His smiling face and clothes were drenched.
Chae-ryeon instantly understood why he’d lit up like she was his savior back in that SS-Rank Dungeon.
Thanks to Shin Ha-rang’s timely intervention, everything smoothed over easily.
The bald hunter’s face turned ashen the moment he heard the tall young man before him was the famous Shin Ha-rang.
“S-sorry! Sir Shin Ha-rang!”
“You should be apologizing to my companion, not me. I was just showing my acquaintance around the Hunter Market, and this is the thanks we get—a sudden downpour.”
Ha-rang unleashed his killing intent with a fierce glare, and the [Moss Guild] members wilted under his overwhelming presence, slinking back.
They’d only heard the bald hunter’s side and rushed to ambush Chae-ryeon, but now that things had escalated, they were content to let him take the fall. It was all about the power gap. Shin Ha-rang was an S-Rank Hunter, while <Moss> was just a ragtag bunch of low-quality B- and C-Rankers.
An offensive S-Rank Hunter could take on several B- and C-Rankers with a single finger. The bald hunter, who’d pinned his hopes on numbers, tucked tail as his comrades fled, cursing them out.
“C-cowards...!”
‘Says the pot calling the kettle black.’
Shin Ha-rang loomed before the lone bald hunter, whose face flushed red with rage.
“So, I asked if you’d apologize to the lady. Was my question amusing?”
“N-no! Not at all! Of course not!”
“Then why keep dodging?”
“I-I’ll do it! Sorry!”
‘...Pathetic.’
He’d seemed so scary when he’d grabbed Chae-ryeon’s shoulder roughly. But with the tall Shin Ha-rang standing there, smiling pleasantly, the bald hunter looked utterly lame—her fear now seemed ridiculous.
“...Sorry, ma’am. I misjudged you. I sincerely apologize...”
His apology rang hollow now that someone stronger had shown up. The strong bully the weak. It was exactly the type Chae-ryeon despised.
“Forget it, kid. Don’t upset my niece anymore and get lost. Tsk tsk.”
“Ma’am, want me to rough him up more?”
“Nah, no need. Look at his face—he’s doomed to ruin on his own! No sense dirtying your hands.”
“Still, Mother told me to look after you specially, and now you’re upset...”
As he said it, Shin Ha-rang shot the bald hunter a predatory glare, like pondering how to cook him. Chilled to the bone, the bald hunter bolted.
“S-sorry! I’ll never show my face again!”
With their act syncing perfectly, Chae-ryeon could finally breathe easy.
“What? False alarm, huh?”
“Thought we’d caught the rumored monster meat vendor for a sec.”
The hunters who’d swarmed like clouds to watch the spectacle dispersed like the tide.
Grateful for the fading attention, Chae-ryeon stole glances at Shin Ha-rang.
‘Shin Ha-rang’s supposed to have a cold public image, right?’
The common view was that he was aloof and flawless to everyone. Jokes even floated that his moniker should be “Perpetual Snow” instead of a cloud.
‘...He’s totally different in person.’
Unlike HunterNet or articles, he was incredibly kind to Chae-ryeon. Despite her stealth elixir making her face hideous—something others avoided—he spoke to her without hesitation.
The moment the bald hunter fled, he’d asked if she was hurt, which touched her. He was the one soaked, yet he worried about a near-stranger. It sparked genuine fondness.
“...Thanks for the help.”
“No big deal. It wasn’t much.”
“Still... If you hadn’t lied to save me, I’d have been in real trouble.”
“So that means you are using stealth or disguise items? And given how much you hate folks hunting delivery hunters, you must be the one.”
‘Gah.’
Damn! She’d thought she’d shaken off her rookie clumsiness this time. Nope. Her honest mouth had given it away—she was a disguised hunter.
She’d escaped the bald hunter, but what if Ha-rang knew all along and “saved” her? What if it was a pincer move with the bald guy?
Her nerves on edge, Chae-ryeon stepped back warily. Shin Ha-rang panicked instead, raising his hands in surrender.
“...?”
“I-I mean you no harm. Really.”
“It wasn’t a setup with that bald hunter from the start?”
Asking that proved she already suspected him.
But Shin Ha-rang shook his head desperately, protesting his innocence.
“I swear on my entire [Wing Guild], absolutely not.”
His vice-guild master would’ve wept hearing that.
“...For real?”
“Stake my fortune on it? Would that convince you?”
“...”
[system: Hmm...]
[system: Doesn’t seem like he’s lying.]
[system: User, Shin Ha-rang is innocent.]
[......This time, he did something pretty decent.]
Without a truth-detection skill, Chae-ryeon trusted the administrator’s ramblings to confirm Ha-rang’s words.
“...I’ll believe you.”
“Phew. Thanks.”
“But why save me? How’d you even spot me...?”
“Spotting you was easy. If there are items that enable stealth, there are always ones that pierce it.”
“Ah.”
She hadn’t considered that. Chae-ryeon eyed the thin ring he pointed to.
“This let me know you were hiding your identity. The Hunter Market’s crawling with dangerous types, so spotting them is essential.”
His kind demeanor. The corners of his mouth twitching up to stress his harmlessness.
Shin Ha-rang had a friendly face, but Chae-ryeon couldn’t drop her guard.
“...What makes you trust me enough to cover for me? I could be the bad guy.”
She hissed like a wary cat, and he scratched his cheek awkwardly before replying.
“You saved me. No strings attached.”
“That was just a delivery...”
She started to say it was obvious, but her mouth shut.
Because of his earnest words.
“But you only deliver to hunters in dire straits, right? Not exactly.”
“...”
“If you were some shady hunter with ulterior motives, you’d target top-rankers for trades, not mass deliveries at cheap prices. You could’ve gone high-end with course meals or omakase for bigger profits.”
That would’ve netted more anyway.
His quiet addition left Chae-ryeon speechless.
It was all true.
“Good deeds deserve good in return, don’t you think?”
His blue eyes sparkled like gems.
No system prompt needed—she knew.
He was just a man repaying a favor.
“...Yeah.”
Chae-ryeon’s ears flushed faintly.
‘...I suspected the wrong person.’
She couldn’t afford to be naive and get played, but doubting pure goodwill was wrong too.
A mix of relief and guilt washed over her as she apologized to Ha-rang.
“...Sorry for assuming you were some creep without thinking. You even got soaked helping me.”
“It’s fine. This’ll dry on its own anyway.”
His breezy dismissal only made her feel worse.
“I’d feel better repaying you somehow.”
Maybe cash? She cringed, thinking the same as Yi-seo.
“Really, no need...”
“I don’t like leaving debts of gratitude hanging.”
Faced with her firm stance, Ha-rang pondered before suggesting.
“Hmm... How about joining me to browse the Hunter Market? It’s lonely solo.”
‘Lonely...?’
Admirers gazed at him from everywhere—plenty of young, pretty women among them. She figured he’d have no shortage of company if he wanted.
‘So why me...?’
“Would that square us?”
What? He was just brushing it off casually?
“No, let’s go. Sightseeing.”
Chae-ryeon truly had no idea.
That she was the very reason Shin Ha-rang had shown up at the Hunter Market...