Chapter 39

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Wjin

Chapter: 39

Chapter Title: Long-Awaited Reunion

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Shin Ha-rang spun through dungeon raids like a top, eagerly anticipating his next encounter with the delivery hunter Moon Chae-ryeon, but he couldn't even catch a glimpse of her shadow.

One day. Two days. Three days.

'...What's going on?'

He just wanted to place another delivery order for a delicious bento and repay the favor of her saving his life.

Ha-rang was flustered by Chae-ryeon's complete absence.

Thanks to that, the Wing Guild's dungeon raid team members could clear the dungeons at a leisurely pace. Some guildmates were extremely grateful to him. Shortening the raid time meant fewer meals in the hellish dungeons, after all.

"Guildmaster, what's up with you? You've been volunteering for the raid team way more lately."

"...Shut it."

"Did something piss you off?"

"No way it's a breakup..."

"Keep yapping like that, and I won't hold back, Vice Guildmaster. You know how nasty I get when I'm pissed."

"I'll shut up."

With no results to show for it, Ha-rang had essentially volunteered to eat horrific garbage for days on end.

'Is she sick or something, Delivery Hunter?'

He'd thought he'd see her again soon. He was even ready to pick a menu at lightning speed and pay upfront the moment the order notification rang.

But with no sign of Chae-ryeon despite his preparedness as a customer, Ha-rang grew increasingly anxious.

'Could she... have been kidnapped by someone who figured out her delivery hunter abilities?'

Like a duckling imprinted on the first human it sees, wandering in search of its mother.

He wasn't the impatient type, but just imagining something wrong with Chae-ryeon made the hairs on his body stand on end.

'Where could the delivery hunter go... Maybe the Hunter Market?'

As all sorts of misfortune scenarios played in his mind, Ha-rang suddenly thought of the Hunter Market.

If she'd cleared other dungeons and was selling monster meat and byproducts from them, that would explain her absence.

In that case, the Hunter Market seemed the most likely spot.

Ha-rang's deduction was off-base, but it ended up hitting the mark anyway.

'There!'

The hunter community was buzzing about a monster meat vendor, so he'd equipped an item that pierced stealth just in case—and sure enough...

Holy crap. The real delivery hunter Moon Chae-ryeon was at the Hunter Market!

'Maybe the agricultural tribute(?) I prepared as an offering worked some kind of charm.'

Now that he was face-to-face with her, he felt a pang of guilt for searching so obsessively. Relieved she was safe, Ha-rang used repaying the favor as an excuse to ask her to tour the market with him.

"...Well, I was planning to shop anyway, so if we're after the same thing, sure."

"Great."

Ha-rang had no idea he was grinning like the incarnation of spring. He thought he'd played it cool and curt, just like usual.

'If I'm repaying a favor, might as well do it right.'

Losing his life was worth far more, but Ha-rang stuck to stalls run by honest folks who didn't rip people off with inflated prices.

He focused mostly on kitchen artifact tools—perfectly tailored to the delivery hunter's needs.

Luckily, Chae-ryeon didn't seem to notice.

"Whoa, this for that price? Other places charge two or three times as much..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"You've got a good eye, miss! You found our stall. Best quality here, no gouging, and discounts for multiples."

"Then ring all these up for me."

'Buying a variety.'

Ha-rang pretended to browse while keeping an eye on her. Her eyes sparkled at novel items, staring intently. She wrapped up after picking up baking tools, cooking gadgets, and mini subspatial pouches that kept things fresh for ages.

In the meantime, Chae-ryeon's stealth elixir had worn off, so she donned stealth earrings. Her grotesque disguise faded, revealing her neat, true face to Ha-rang's eyes.

Oblivious that her real appearance was fully exposed, she treated him with surprising ease.

"Thanks for today. Scored some great stuff thanks to you, and blew right through my budget."

"Glad to hear it. So, shall we call it? Looks like you're done."

Ha-rang was the one running out of excuses to stick around.

'As guildmaster, wasting time out here like this would look suspicious.'

He tried to bow out without raising her suspicions.

But she grabbed his sleeve.

"Hey."

"...Yeah?"

"You helped me out, so let me buy you ice cream."

The spot she pointed to was a street cart selling assorted snacks—common in hunter markets or regular ones alike.

"You get them, though. I'm in stealth mode right now."

"...Sure."

They bought vanilla and chocolate cones, split them, and parted ways.

Ha-rang crunched into his vanilla one while activating his teleport skill, landing straight in his guildmaster office. He found this ice cream unusually delicious.

"Why's that? It's just regular ice cream..."

"Gah! Guildmaster! Where the hell have you been? The raid team's been moping, asking where you were!"

"Felt like I'd been raiding too much lately. Gotta give the others a shot at EXP and levels. Taking the day off."

"Ugh, lucky bastard..."

Ha-rang chuckled, teasing the Wing Guild's scowling vice guildmaster with his crumpled face.

He never figured out why this ice cream alone tasted so special.

After the Hunter Market, Chae-ryeon hit up a mart and more stores for groceries. She selected fresh ingredients like a hunter on the prowl, then neatly organized her haul in the portable shop with Mimi and Sol-chan.

'Fully prepared.'

She'd even splurged on artifact kitchen tools to cut cooking time—nothing to fear now.

"Let's do our best starting tomorrow!"

"Your loyal Mimi pledges this body to aid the master's safe scenario conquest!"

"Same here!"

Ah, no. Guys. I won't need to grind you into the food... You're already working too hard.

She bit her tongue, not wanting to douse their rare enthusiasm.

"Yeah. Let's give it our all!"

Good vibes were good vibes.

The next day.

Chae-ryeon and her two summons rose early, sitting cross-legged in the middle of her studio apartment, deep-breathing. All preparations complete.

"Deep breath. Where Are You, Customer?"

A weekday, so droves of hunters swarmed dungeons like salarymen heading to the office.

Mimi and Sol-chan huddled with Chae-ryeon over the delivery map, debating priorities.

"I believe we should hit the dungeon with the most people first."

"Additionally, I think we should prioritize hunters tackling dungeons harder than their current rank allows. Higher difficulty means longer stays inside."

"Both make sense. By that logic... we should check with the hunters in this dungeon first."

She'd love to take orders like a regular restaurant delivery, but reality—and the life-or-death stakes of dungeons—made that impossible. Even with her summons and skills, she was just one person.

'If only I could level up faster and deliver to more places quicker.'

Then fewer hunters would suffer bland dungeon meals.

"R-Really?"

"Got it. I know."

Buoyed by the system admin's cheer, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Chae-ryeon set the chosen dungeon as her delivery zone.

Ding. Ding-a-ling.

The simultaneous chimes totaled fifteen.

Fifteen hungry hunters!

Chae-ryeon's first group order.

'C-Can I... pull this off?'