Chapter 47
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Delivery into the Dungeon
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"......Yes?"
To my demand, they wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
Shin Ha-rang and Han Joo-oh stepped back a pace, silently signaling they took a different stance from the other hunters, but the rest openly vented their displeasure at me.
"Excuse me. Delivery Hunter. Even if you provided one delicious meal, this dungeon has been pre-empted through collaboration between our [Wing Guild] and <Mir>. In other words, the rights to life and death over the monsters inside belong to us as we near successful conquest."
"I know."
"You know, and yet how can you claim ownership of the boss monster itself?"
I could understand the hunter's remark laced with annoyance. Unpublished dungeons granted special first-clear rewards to the initial attackers, after all.
'This person's a <Mir> Guild executive, right?'
Ham Yun-ji, was it.
"You're not wrong, but regrettably, my intervention should have reshuffled the dungeon conquest contribution rankings."
"What did you say?"
"Shall we take a look?"
I pulled up the dungeon conquest contribution rankings.
<Harpyia's Tropical Rainforest> Contribution Rankings
1st. (Undecided)
2nd. Living Moving Cloud, Shin Ha-rang
3rd. Idle Fellow, Han Joo-oh
4th. Imoogi, Ham Yun-ji
...
"I'm aware the byproducts and drop items obtained vary based on dungeon contribution rankings."
"......Even so! This is tantamount to daylight robbery!"
Ham Yun-ji couldn't refute the dungeon's rules, yet she fumed, insisting I give up Iris at the very least.
"Say the egg's some glitch that demoted it from boss status—we'll concede that a hundred times over. But! Iris, who effectively ruled as the boss, is non-negotiable. That monster tried to slaughter us all. Plus, unauthorized export of a dungeon magical beast poses extreme public safety risks, so we can't spare Iris after it already attempted to kill humans."
Most of the hunters nodded at Ham Yun-ji's words.
"The [Wing Guild] Guild Master agrees, right?"
"......Yes, Ham Yun-ji is correct."
Even Shin Ha-rang sided with the hunters, causing Iris—who'd been clutching the egg—to bow her head.
-Why...... is 'That One' abandoning us.
Shedding black tears, Iris quietly handed me the egg.
"Just don't kill it. Still...... it's my egg, my offspring."
"......Not taking it as food stock, so relax."
Hearing my gruff reply, Iris wore a faint smile.
"Insolent human......"
As she turned away, every hunter save me bombarded Iris with attacks.
You have successfully conquered the dungeon <Harpyia's Tropical Rainforest>!
All hunters inside the dungeon, please rise and proceed outside.
With Iris slain, rare items burst forth in place of a monster corpse.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
'Rainbow Feather'
'Jewelry Set of the One Who Was a Goddess'
1x S-Rank Magic Stone
(Plus assorted items scattered around the harpy corpses Moon Chae-ryeon massacred.)
The conquest team hunters couldn't overlook Moon Chae-ryeon as top contributor, stealing glances at her.
Chae-ryeon coolly flicked her hand dismissively, signaling zero interest.
"I'm just taking this egg and heading out."
"R-Really?"
"No take-backs later, okay?"
"Y-Yeah. Oh, wait."
Gulp.
Chae-ryeon spoke up again, chilling the room. At minimum A-Rank estimated, had she reconsidered? Fair enough—fame from an unpublished dungeon conquest plus ranking updates wasn't easy to pass up. Easy to say one thing, harder to stick to it...
"You've collected all the bento boxes, right?"
"......Pardon?"
"Even in a dungeon, ditching disposables feels gross. That's why I stick to mostly recyclable ones. They're shop assets. Losing them hits my wallet."
"Ah......"
The hunters blanked out momentarily at the prosaically practical turn.
'What is this? Housewife level-9 survival smarts.'
'Mom fresh from the market.'
'Craving mom's kimchi jjigae.'
Psssh. Battle fervor deflated from hunters who'd fretted over her claiming most loot via contribution claim.
True to word, Chae-ryeon pocketed only Iris's egg and hopped on the bike with Manager Sol-chan.
"Oh, right. Everyone."
"Y-Yes?"
What now? Finally flipping her stance?
Ham Yun-ji—who'd clashed verbally with Chae-ryeon earlier—clutched her 'Rainbow Feather' tight.
'Need this to finish my dream gear.'
Ham Yun-ji had commissioned a weapon at Lee Seo-ro's alchemy forge. Most materials gathered, stalled solely on this rainbow feather.
'No materials, no commission.'
Lee Seo-ro's haughty command-tone lingered. Flaunting this feather at him would soothe her grudge.
Ham Yun-ji hunched in tension when Chae-ryeon dropped the unimaginable.
"If you enjoyed 'Mimi's Humble Bento Shop' menu, please leave a review by all means. And check repurchase intent if you can. Customer feedback like yours massively aids future orders."
"......"
Felt like a full ad blast to the face. Delivery nation vibes or whatever.
"Uh, how do we submit reviews......?"
"Notification windows will auto-pop in front of you all."
"......?"
[Wing Guild] and <Mir> members shot odd looks at Shin Ha-rang explaining in the delivery hunter's stead.
More bizarre: Delivery hunter quipped, 'Nice explanation. Later,' and peaced out.
Red bike roaring, slashing the incoming dungeon barrier same as entry.
'Post-conquest gate's right there—why the show......?'
Hunters as attention whores? Hiding power levels but craving spotlight?
Amid baffled hunters, [Wing Guild] quizzed Shin Ha-rang.
"Guild Master explaining for her, why......?"
"Way too smooth. Met before?"
"Ah...... that."
Under guildmates' scorching 'spill everything' stares, Shin Ha-rang spilled the truth.
"Truth is, that last SS-Rank mutation dungeon? Conquered thanks to that delivery hunter's aid—not mine."
"Whaaat?"
"Say what?"
"Th-Th-Th-Then she's at least S-Rank......?"
"Likely."
Ham Yun-ji paled deathly.
'S-Rank!'
Sweat slicked her feather grip. Retaliation incoming? Wait, bigger question: S-Rank doing food delivery why?
Anxiety overload trembling, Ham Yun-ji clocked the anomaly and lightning-queried Shin Ha-rang.
"W-Wait. Dungeons ban external food outright, right? How'd she pull it off?"
"Er...... good point?"
"Weird on reflection? We've busted our asses before, no dice on food entry....... She can."
"What method?"
"Guild Master, chase her now—er, scout her! World hunter news! Century's breakthrough!"
Hunters who'd devoured meals brain-off now keenly regretted letting Chae-ryeon slip away.
"Announce stat, hunt her down big-time."
[Wing Guild] heated up; <Mir> muted but eye-signaling accord.
"......Hmm."
Han Joo-oh—mere merc for this gig—arms crossed, neutral.
Shin Ha-rang eye-rubbed, mouth opening.
"Enough. Drop it. Don't even think."
"Why! Massive deal......!"
"Oh yeah, Guild Master—you hyped scouting some hotshot rookie must-have?"
"True, yeah. Must be that delivery hunter~! Didn't peg guy-girl duo."
"Duh? Solo female mover. Dude's bait; she's the real deal."
"Aha. Makes sense?"
Murmurs swelled; Shin Ha-rang yanked waist half-moon sword, slam ground.
Rumble—
Astonishingly, strike spot cratered like blunt maul hit.
Gulp.
Dead silence but swallows. Shin Ha-rang sighed into the hush.