Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Bread for Sale~!!
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After seeing Park A-jun come out of Lee Ji-hyun's room completely naked, Cha Yu-rin fell deep into thought for a while.
'Is it really okay to keep living like this?'
Objectively speaking, she was weak. Too weak to be of any help in combat.
Skills: Baking (D), Mana Infusion (E), Buff Infusion (F), Freshness Control (E), Appraisal (F), Calorie Control (E)
In reality, her stats were near the bottom of the barrel. Worse than Park A-jun's back when he was racking up negative experience points.
And she didn't even have a single combat-related skill. Not even Toughness to reduce incoming damage. The fact that she lacked even the basic Toughness skill that anyone naturally picked up after getting hit a few times showed she hadn't done any combat training whatsoever.
Because of that, the moment they entered a gate, she was reduced to nothing more than a pack mule.
All she could do was hand out mana-restoring bread after fights or buff bread that helped in combat.
"Don't worry about it. Cooking jobs always grow slowly at first. So what if you don't have combat skills? You'll get stronger once you rack up enough experience."
Lee Ji-hyun and the other team members tried to reassure her, but Cha Yu-rin didn't feel okay at all.
The self-loathing of standing there like a decorative screen, just watching every time they entered a gate... She already had low self-esteem from a lifetime of poverty, so even though she never voiced it to her teammates, she was suffering inside.
"Yeah... I need to be useful to the team too...!"
But that didn't mean she resented or envied her teammates. Her mental fortitude, forged from stubbornly enduring a poor life, was too strong for that.
Yeah.
Lee Ji-hyun was getting stronger by absorbing Park A-jun's semen, so Cha Yu-rin couldn't just sit idly by. She decided to give it her all.
Selling bread made by a Baker-class Hunter~!!
As you can see, I'm Cha Yu-rin, one of the members who cleared an E-Rank gate recently! I have bread that restores mana and boosts various resistances for a set time, plus other buff breads~! If you're interested, contact me here~!! Feel free to inquire even if you're just browsing~!!
And so, Cha Yu-rin started selling her bread online.
Of course, she wasn't doing this alone. Naturally, she had gotten permission from Lee Ji-hyun first.
It was only natural. All the ingredients were bought with Lee Ji-hyun's money.
"Yeah. If we're selling, let's do it right. I'll get you cheap herbs and elixirs. Sell as much as you can."
Even better, when she shared her idea, Lee Ji-hyun backed her up big time.
With that support, Cha Yu-rin managed to sell quite a lot of bread. Consumables like these were always in demand for Hunters, and even though the ingredients were cheap, the bread that came out of her hands offered great value for the price.
Is today's bread sold out?
Yes! Sorry!
Can I reserve for tomorrow?
Yes! How much do you need?
As much as the sky and earth
?!
Do you sell bread that's been eaten by you, like in the photo?
Huh? No, I don't sell bread that's been eaten by someone else!
Kawaii~
Of course, there were plenty of weird customers too.
But Cha Yu-rin, who had been picking through trash and working part-time jobs since she was young, handled those troublesome types with ease.
Yeah... She was a pro at dealing with jerks.
Can I buy bread?
Sorry! It's all sold out for today!
Then I'll reserve for tomorrow. Can you do nights too? I'll pay triple.
'Triple... triple?'
But even she couldn't resist the temptation of money. Selling bread late at night for triple the price...!
This is me.
Of course, Cha Yu-rin wasn't without suspicion. But seeing the other party's A-Rank Hunter license eased her worries.
Having lived a hard life since childhood, she was quick to spot overt malice like from troublesome customers. But precisely because of that, she was weak to displays of authority or power.
She figured someone of such high status wouldn't bother tarnishing their reputation by messing with a lowly commoner like her.
It was the kind of shallow thinking only someone with rock-bottom self-esteem would have.
And so far, it had worked out for her.
But there are always people who don't care about their status or power.
"Heh heh heh... My Yu-rin, you're even prettier in person?"
The most dangerous man in Cha Yu-rin's life upended every common sense she'd ever learned, putting her on the brink of being forced into something horrific.
Just as the repulsive man's lips were about to touch her cheek.
Cha Yu-rin heard a voice like a miracle.
"Hey, you there, mister! Stop-!!"
Park A-jun appeared right on time.
He showed up like a prince on a white horse, but the outcome was anything but.
It was only natural. His opponent was an A-Rank Hunter; attacks from Park A-jun, who was merely E-Rank, wouldn't even scratch him.
"Yu-rin! Run-!!"
"B-but...!"
Maybe because of that.
Cha Yu-rin couldn't bring herself to abandon Park A-jun, who had gotten dragged into this because of her.
But staying wouldn't let her do anything either. She could only watch helplessly...!
"Ahh... Not even a tickle. This is how you use a fist."
'No...!'
Cha Yu-rin gasped in horror as the man, mocking Park A-jun's attack, reared back his fist.
Mighty mana gathered in his fist, warping the space around it like he meant to kill.
An A-Rank Hunter's punch.
Even if he got lucky and didn't die, he'd be knocking on death's door...!
Bang-!!
But his fist seemed blocked by something invisible, failing to land any damage on Park A-jun.
'Ah! Bianca's here...!'
She often forgot about Bianca, who did nothing but hang around Park A-jun and make sex jokes, but she was an SS-Rank monster.
And Park A-jun was her master.
There was no way he hadn't prepared some safeguard for when they were apart.
'I have to run...!'
The moment she was sure Park A-jun would be fine, Cha Yu-rin planned to bolt and call the authorities. Or explain the situation to Lee Ji-hyun and bring her over.
[Paralyzed.]
'!!!'
But her body wouldn't move properly. When the man had grabbed her hand earlier, he'd slipped her a paralysis poison.
As expected of an experienced A-Rank Hunter, he knew how to keep his prey from escaping.
"Kyaaah-!! D-don't do this!!"
Cha Yu-rin screamed as the man ignored Park A-jun's attacks and tore into her T-shirt without hesitation, but nothing stopped him.
Just as the A-Rank Hunter couldn't hurt Park A-jun, Park A-jun couldn't block his strength or deal damage either.
"Female Slave mode change-!! Change mode... Bianca-!"
Female Slave (Change Mode: Bianca)
"You've watched too much anime, you otaku bastard. Keh heh heh, wouldn't you rather have me than some 2D waifu? Right, my Yu-rin?"
At the disgusting man's words, Cha Yu-rin felt human disgust for the first time. Whether anyone was watching or not, his silent intent to rape her was pure beast.
'Please... save me...'
Cha Yu-rin gazed back at Park A-jun with longing eyes.
If only she'd gotten stronger faster, this wouldn't have happened.
If she weren't weaker than Park A-jun, with all his penalties... Would she have ended up like this?
With that regret, as the man's hand reached for her bra, Cha Yu-rin wanted to squeeze her eyes shut.
But she didn't, because Park A-jun was staring at her and the man with terrifying eyes.
A sword formed in a bizarre black shape.
The A-Rank Hunter's fist gathering mana had warped space around it.
Then how powerful was this black sword that was tearing space apart...?
The sword slashed.
The man's body sliced apart like tofu.
Maybe because it severed space itself. No blood came from his body.
At the sight, Cha Yu-rin stared at Park A-jun, speechless.
'Ah...'
She finally understood why Lee Ji-hyun and Park A-young liked him.
"Let's go, Yu-rin."
It must be because of moments like this—offering his pale, mana-drained hand like it was nothing.
Whoosh...
And silently handing over his T-shirt too.
Of course, since he was wearing a white tank top underneath, his upper body wasn't fully exposed.
'What a shame... N-no, snap out of it...! Yu-rin, get a grip...!'
Cha Yu-rin thought that after what just happened, she might like Park A-jun a little more.
"M-Master-! S-sorry! Y-you pulled so hard suddenly...?"
"B-Baek Hwa? W-what's with that getup... A collar too...? Calling A-jun 'Master'?"
If she hadn't seen Baek Hwa—barely covered by a coat, wearing a dog collar, and calling Park A-jun "Master"—she might have truly fallen for him...
For Park A-jun, it was quite the pity.
"Guhhh-!! I-is this just severing space itself?"
The A-Rank Hunter sliced by Park A-jun's Dark Sword was still alive even after a long time. Crawling on his elbows, grabbing his severed leg, he soon vented his rage.
"To dare inflict this humiliation on me, an A-Rank Hunter...!"
He was confident.
As an A-Rank Hunter, he had solid connections with mages and healers. It'd cost him, but they could fix this.
But no such convenience came his way.
"As expected of my master. Right, human?"
"W-what are you...?"
"Me? Well... Dark Sword."
Bianca had rushed over at her master's call.
She'd been watching the fight from the start.
She was an excellent bitch. She didn't miss the chance to boost Cha Yu-rin's favor toward her master. So she'd helped from afar to make Park A-jun's imperfect Dark Sword land properly once.
"Bye then."
Slash-! Slash-!
"M-my arm-!! W-what...!!"
Bianca summoned Dark Swords and diced his body into dozens of pieces. Since it severed space rather than just cutting, he was still alive even in chunks.
But that didn't mean hope. He couldn't move his hands or arms. Well, technically they did move.
But what could individual severed fingers do besides wriggle like worms?
He'd live on, fully conscious, until starvation took him.
"I didn't kill him, okay?"
Bianca grinned at the air.
The Hunter Association monitor dispatched there nodded. The guy was an A-Rank Hunter with the worst social reputation, and he'd overstepped his bounds, causing an incident.
The Association had no choice but to approve Bianca's actions.
Between an SS-Rank monster and an A-Rank Hunter, they'd side with the SS-Rank every time...
Meanwhile...
"Thank you... Now I can have sex with Master..."
Baek Hwa was buying a box of extra-large condoms at the convenience store as punishment, embarrassing herself in front of the clerk.