Chapter 25

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 25

Chapter Title: The Secret Stash

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At that moment, back at the association, Jin Mi-seon and Han Seung-woo were continuing their conversation with cold expressions.

"Is Ru-ri really okay?"

"Yes, she is."

With Han Ho gathering every scrap of information related to Lee Ru-ri, it seemed best to take the initiative first.

That was why Han Seung-woo had risked calling Jin Mi-seon to the association.

Han Seung-woo, lost in thought for a moment, asked her,

"What are your plans from here?"

"I'm thinking of making a comeback. It seems like the only way to stay by Ru-ri's side."

Han Seung-woo opened her status window to check Jin Mi-seon's info.

Jin Mi-seon smirked and said,

"It's all fake anyway, so no need to look so grave."

"Then your current state is..."

Knock knock.

"Come in."

Yang Jeong-hyun poked her head through the half-open door.

The moment Jin Mi-seon spotted Lee Ru-ri peeking curiously from behind her, she shot to her feet and rushed over, pulling the girl into a tight hug.

"B-Boss?"

"Ru-ri, do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

"Why are you here, Boss? You said you'd call after the Busan auction..."

"That wrapped up ages ago. But Director Han told me not to contact you through the system if possible."

Lee Ru-ri turned to Han Seung-woo.

"Why?"

Han Seung-woo eyed her status as he replied,

"Because Chairman Han is on the warpath. Anyway, those wounds look pretty serious. What have you been up to?"

"Oh, that..."

Yang Jeong-hyun answered for her.

"Don't blame Ru-ri. I shoved her into a D-rank gate."

"A D-rank? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"If anything was dangerous, it was the monsters."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know how long it took Ru-ri to clear that D-rank gate?"

"No idea."

"Forty minutes. Solo."

Han Seung-woo and Jin Mi-seon's eyes widened at Yang Jeong-hyun's words.

"Ru-ri, is that true? All those years of effort weren't wasted after all?"

"H-Haha..."

In truth, it had been even shorter without the time wasted bickering with ghouls due to affinity, but she didn't mention that.

"Anyway, why'd you call Boss to the association, Director Han?"

"Ah, since you're here too, Ru-ri, I'll explain."

Everyone waited for Han Seung-woo's words.

After hesitating for a moment, he spoke up.

"I'd like to recruit the hunters working with Jin Mi-seon into the Light Guild."

Lee Ru-ri jumped in surprise.

"Recruit the boss into a guild?"

Jin Mi-seon smiled and gently stroked her bangs.

After a brief pause, Jin Mi-seon replied to Han Seung-woo.

"You've already assessed the roster, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"The only high-rank hunters fit for real action are me, and Kim and Ham from the provinces. But they both have their own circumstances, so I doubt they'll jump in rashly. We got lucky this time—I tracked down Kim in Busan just in time. I filled him in on the details, so if he decides yes, he'll show up in Seoul on his own."

"I see."

Listening in, Lee Ru-ri took Jin Mi-seon's hand and asked,

"Boss, you're really going back to hunting?"

"Wouldn't that help you more, Ru-ri?"

"You don't have to do it for my sake."

"Business was starting to wear thin anyway. I'll leave the shop to Young-man."

"Ah..."

"And it's about time I tasted real money."

"Money?"

At Lee Ru-ri's question, Jin Mi-seon glanced at Han Seung-woo.

"Ah, to recruit high-rank hunters operating off the association's radar, we're offering signup bonuses for a set period."

"Won't that cost a fortune?"

"No choice if we want to maintain even a fraction of Han's strength."

Han Seung-woo's face darkened slightly.

Lee Ru-ri pondered for a moment.

'Among what I've hoarded, swap the higher-value Sion items for cash and use the rest for guild funds. I kept them low-key to avoid attention, but handling it through the guild should be fine.'

With her thoughts sorted, Lee Ru-ri spoke to everyone.

"Could the guild handle liquidating some things I have?"

Han Seung-woo asked back,

"What kind of things?"

"Well..."

Jin Mi-seon turned to her.

"You're planning to cash it all in?"

"Might as well let the guild benefit."

Han Seung-woo and Yang Jeong-hyun eyed them curiously.

Jin Mi-seon let out a small sigh and said,

"This kid's got about ten Goblin Tears on her."

"What?"

"Whoa!"

"Goblin Tears are a jackpot for low-rank hunters. The association fixes the price, and since they're used in final-grade gear, trading isn't super active, but..."

As Han Seung-woo listened to her explanation, he asked Lee Ru-ri,

"But judging by your face, Ru-ri, that's not all, is it?"

"Truth is, Boss only knows a tiny fraction..."

"What?!"

Now even Jin Mi-seon gaped.

"If you're not too busy, want to come see?"

Han Seung-woo relayed the address Lee Ru-ri gave him to Choi Si-jin and instructed him to bring a vehicle big enough for loot transport.

Then they all followed her lead.

While Yang Jeong-hyun waited at a light, she whispered to Lee Ru-ri,

"Just how much have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you stashed away?"

"Hmm..."

"Enough that it's impossible to guess?"

"If I liquidate it all... I could probably buy three houses."

"Huh?!"

Utterly unable to fathom the scale, they headed to the address.

They drove out from central Seoul for quite a while, then veered into the mountains.

Deep into the winding paths, they finally spotted a small house.

"That's it."

"You hid it real good."

"It was from the Ghost Crew, so I couldn't just sell it off..."

Lee Ru-ri trailed off and entered first.

The interior looked like any ordinary home. No sign of loot.

Yang Jeong-hyun glanced around.

"Am I the only one who can't see it?"

Lee Ru-ri went to where the sofa sat, shoved it aside with effort, yanked up the carpet beneath, and opened the trapdoor revealed.

Stairs led underground.

"Th-this way..."

She descended first. The three followed slowly.

Click.

Lights flickered on, and their jaws dropped.

"How big is this place?"

"Roughly 600 pyeong...?"

"And it's packed to the brim, no room to step?"

"Y-Yes."

Han Seung-woo, surveying the space, continued,

"You're saying we can use all this for guild funds?"

"Yes. I've hit my solo limit, and I'm not greedy for the cash anyway."

"Then what should we do for you in return, Ru-ri?"

"Huh?"

Yang Jeong-hyun chimed in.

"Right, exactly. You need something out of it too, for the math to add up."

Jin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mi-seon nodded.

"Same here. Seeing it myself, I get why you couldn't ask me, but dumping it like charity feels like too big a loss."

Stunned by their words, Lee Ru-ri blankly stared at Han Seung-woo.

"Sorting this will take our side some time too. Why not think about what you want while we tally the final amount?"

"Ah... Okay."

Choi Si-jin's voice called from outside.

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

Back in the living room, Han Seung-woo issued orders to him.

Meanwhile, Jin Mi-seon and Yang Jeong-hyun bombarded Lee Ru-ri with questions.

"You own the whole mountain?"

"No, the landowner's separate."

"Then they don't know about the basement?"

"She's an elderly lady with no kids. She rented it to me and said before passing she'd hand it over, so I use it freely..."

"Nice lady."

As they chatted, Choi Si-jin returned from inspecting the basement, pale as a ghost, and approached Lee Ru-ri.

"Ru-ri, did I do something wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Hitting me with something this massive..."

"Ah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sorry."

"Sigh... For now, let's load what fits in the car and schedule proper transport."

Yang Jeong-hyun and Jin Mi-seon chuckled at his lament.

On the way back to the association,

Jin Mi-seon whispered to Lee Ru-ri,

"Remember the day An Young-hoon came to me bleeding buckets for a regen potion?"

"Yeah."

"This tiny girl, all skin and bones like she hadn't eaten properly, white as a sheet, begging me to save her—it broke my heart."

Yang Jeong-hyun and Han Seung-woo listened quietly.

"And that was five years ago already. You're doing great on your own now... Makes me feel all proud for no reason. Good job, kiddo."

"Boss..."

"Your complexion's improved a lot too. Getting good sleep lately?"

Suddenly, she realized the lifelong tinnitus that had plagued her hadn't sounded in a while.

"Huh?"

"What, Ru-ri?"

"Boss."

"Yeah?"

"I can't hear the ringing anymore."

"What?"

"Since when...?"

"You could never sleep because of it. Is it gone now?"

"Dunno. But..."

Yang Jeong-hyun, listening while driving, asked,

"Was that collapse before your exam from the tinnitus? The day your brainwaves were all over the place."

"Oh! Yeah! Haven't heard it once since then. Why...?"

"If it was psychological, something resolved it. If physical pain manifesting, then it's been treated?"

"Maybe..."

She quietly reviewed recent events.

'What am I missing?'

A familiar yet strange voice pleading for her to stay hidden and live quietly.

As she mulled it over, they arrived at association HQ.

"Ru-ri."

"Yes, Boss."

"I'll wrap things up quick on my end. Take care."

"Yes."

"Director, Researcher—please look after Ru-ri till I'm ready."

Jin Mi-seon bowed deeply. Han Seung-woo and Yang Jeong-hyun returned the courtesy.

"No worries."

"Oh, about that Im Ju-yang you asked me to track."

"Yes."

"Still in Seoul, hasn't fled to the provinces."

"So Ru-ri's still in danger."

"Exactly. Be careful, Ru-ri. She's bad news."

"Yes, Boss."

Han Seung-woo watched her go, then told Lee Ru-ri,

"You heard. No going out alone yet."

"Sigh, got it."

"Rest today. Tomorrow's packed."

Han Seung-woo and Yang Jeong-hyun escorted her to the guest room, then headed back to prepare for tomorrow's S-rank gate raid.

"Ru-ri, time to head out!"

Yang Jeong-hyun arrived early morning to take her to the gate raid site.

Today's S-rank gate had spawned near Olympic Park and had already repelled two high-rank hunter teams.

A-rank tanker Kwon Dong-nyeon, A-rank melee dealer Han Seung-woo, D-rank ranged dealer Lee Ru-ri, A-rank healer Kim Heung-min.

They were the core four.

Total: three A-ranks, eight B-ranks, one D-rank—twelve in all.

With prior failures and a D-rank in the mix, tensions ran high.

"Shall we?"

Kwon Dong-nyeon slammed his massive shield on the ground.

"Um..."

As they approached the gate entrance, a woman in a black mask quietly called to Han Seung-woo.

"Yes?"

"I'm a B-rank melee dealer, but I lack experience. Mind if I hang back and support?"

Han Seung-woo briefly checked her status window.