Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Chapter 20
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"Hey, take off your helmet."
"You, you're Kim Yongchan, right?"
"......"
"Hey, take that helmet off first."
Rustle, rustle.
My head...
So, my helmet—Lee Seolgi grabbed it and started shaking it every which way.
Hmm, she definitely called it 'crotch stink,' didn't she.
Just hearing such a crude word come out of a girl's mouth was chilling enough, but what was even more unsettling was the atmosphere on site.
"I'll bet my hand and my virginity that Kim Yongchan's inside there."
Don't make bets like that.
I wouldn't take it even if you offered, damn it.
Her ruby-red eyes, which always looked so pretty before, now seemed splattered with blood—just raw red.
I'd felt this gaze somewhere before.
It was in the dungeon.
Monsters that spotted me, went into heat on the spot, drooling as they charged with thudding steps.
Seolgi's eyes right now were just like those monsters...
Ziiing.
...No, maybe even more intensely sticky, glaring at me like she could see right through me.
For some reason, my gut feeling that I'd get raped by my childhood friend if my identity came out right here wasn't off base at all.
"Ugh... why won't this thing come off?"
"P-Princess. This person is a 'male hunter'—one of the rarest even worldwide. No matter that you're from a hunter clan, this kind of behavior is hardly appropriate..."
"Ugh, shut it! And I told you he's my childhood friend?!"
"Childhood..."
"friend?"
Seolgi ground her teeth at my suit's stubborn performance but refused to give up.
"More than that, what?! A male hunter...? Hey, Kim Yongchan. If you awakened as a hunter, you should've told me!"
"...I'm not Kim Yongchan."
"Bullshit. After hanging off you for over ten years, you think I'd forget your crotch stink?"
You damn well shouldn't remember, you psycho.
Even with the voice modulator on, she smacked my taut suit butt like I was spouting nonsense.
"Ugh...! Anyway, what kind of hunter did you awaken as to wear crap like this?"
If I said Female Submission Hunter, Seolgi would devour me on the spot.
No, with a job name this provocative just to hear, there was no guarantee the two people watching us vacantly from behind her—
Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon and Instructor Kwon Sora—would stay put.
In the worst case, I'd be facing off against three pro hunters who'd lost all reason to lust.
"Ha, this is weird. Trying to manipulate it, but no iron content? Won't budge... and it's not brittle like plastic either..."
Then I overheard something unexpected.
'No iron?'
Of course. It had that sci-fi design straight out of a comic.
I'd assumed it was forged from some iron-heavy mineral.
But zero iron?
'What the hell am I even wearing?'
Bought it as a cheap 10-point skill without a second thought, but on reflection—what was this Armament?
For a measly 10 points, the performance was insanely good.
It concealed my identity to a degree, customized other skills to fit me perfectly, and even evolved them.
'Gotta ask the status window later if I get the chance.'
Thoughts raced through my mind.
But right now, priority one was dealing with Seolgi, who'd glued herself to me like sticky rice taffy.
"Instructor Kwon Sora..."
"Y-Yes... ah, yes?!"
"Please... help me out..."
Kwon Sora had been standing there blankly, watching our overly chummy(?) tangle.
But seeing a delicate guy like me beg for help against an out-of-control woman, she sprang into action like the upstanding hunter she was.
"That's enough! Princess Lee Seolgi."
"Uwah?! L-Let go!"
"Wah wah... No, don't, stop it."
Ever since kindergarten, every man in this world learns the three sacred defense lines.
No.
Don't.
Stop.
Any time I ran into a dangerous woman, I'd belt out those three lines—drilled into me like reserve army training, right up to now.
The effect was explosive.
Even Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon, who'd been content to observe, stepped up and seized Seolgi's other arm.
"Yes, Seolgi. That's quite enough."
"Grandma too?! Ah, seriously, just wait! My childhood friend's face is definitely in that helmet!"
"Even if it is, he's saying no. When a lady hears that, she gracefully lets go—that's womanly virtue."
As expected of the branch chief.
Those centuries weren't wasted.
I could feel the elder's wisdom.
Probably the one who got my inner turmoil best was the branch chief—twenty-something body notwithstanding.
"No, wait—why the hell are you hitting me with the guy's three defense lines?! It just turns me on more and makes me wanna rape you for real!"
Even in that moment, Seolgi's word choice was off.
Was her reason eroding further into desire as time ticked by?
Right before slipping into the branch chief's office—complete with secret passage—while gratefully waving back at her go-away gesture...
"Lick lick! Lick lick!"
"?!"
"Ughhh..."
"Princess, we've popped your caved-in skull back into shape. Please rest now."
Meanwhile, the second heir of the Supreme Lee Clan—who'd been found collapsed alongside Seolgi.
Lee Miran had returned to the clan hanok, her split scalp wrapped tight in bandages as she recuperated.
'Damn it, even so—that chicken bitch went too far!'
What if her skull had pierced her brain!
Well, at least she wouldn't die.
It wasn't just fury over losing to Kwon Sora.
To a hunter, defeat was merely a 'lesson.'
Surviving a clash with someone stronger? That deserved a toast.
So why was Miran this pissed?
Simple: the 'man.'
"Kuh...! Should've at least gotten his name!"
Face completely obscured by that bizarre armor, naturally.
By the time she got close, he was already out cold—no real talk, no name exchanged.
But who was she?
Lee Mi... no.
A Hunter Academy graduate!
There were a dozen ways to dig that up without asking straight-out.
Like deploying the 'spy' she'd planted in the Hunter Association.
"...So, what'd you learn about the male hunter?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Not just any mark—a male hunter.
A man who was a hunter.
A walking miracle, defying all logic.
A truth too massive to bury.
Even mid-surgery in the clan operating room—skull getting patched—Miran had tasked her people with intel gathering.
And true to form for the Supreme Lee Clan's hunter-disguised elites, the so-called 'spy team' delivered flawlessly.
"Right, then. Recite what you've got."
"Yes, ma'am."
The spy team encircled the ondol room like bodyguards and began reporting one by one at their princess's command.
"Name's Kim Hyunjun."
"Hyunjun... Hyunjun... Hehe, just the sound makes my womb quiver."
"Awakened as a hunter about ten days ago. Rank's the obvious bottom-tier E-grade."
"E-grade? That power level?"
Miran scowled midway through.
Alligator Warrior slayer, and only E-grade?
Ridiculous.
How the hell did the Hunter Association vet talent?
"Tch tch, figures. No real prospect stuck in a dump like that."
By her side, he'd get S-grade treatment—no, national-level perks.
Whatever. They'd cross paths again soon enough.
Hunters ran in parties of five or six for dungeon crawls as standard.
Meaning he'd dive again.
Then, as a reputable senior offering a casual 'bus ride,' Miran planned to slide right in.
"Uhuhu... Plus he looks like a kid, so low guard. This body's got its moments!"
Come on, brat—drop your defenses.
I'll 'transform' and show you real womanly charm.
She cackled lecherously, lost in fantasies of bliss—for a moment.
"Anything else?"
"Else... you mean?"
"Three sizes, cock length, that sort of thing. ...Or is this all you've got?"
"Yes... regrettably."
Odd.
A male hunter? He'd stick out like a sore thumb.
Yet this was it? Name and rank?
From her handpicked intel operatives—NIS-agent caliber?
"Wanted more, but his tracks are ghostly. Pops up, vanishes..."
"No—body stats? One of you poses as a doc."
"That's... we tried."
The current medical head at the Korean Hunter Association branch.
She was the generation right under Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon—face of Korea's hunter world.
"Ah... yeah, that old bat's off-limits."
Lived through hellish times...
Better leave legends be. Miran dropped it there.
Then.
"Oh, right—yesterday evening."
"Hm?"
One spy wavered. Vague intel—worth telling the lady?
But her vibe screamed more, anything.
"Princess Lee Seolgi headed to the Hunter Association's top floor to meet Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon."
"Her? Outta nowhere why?"
The spy recalled the chatter and relayed the surprise nugget.
"There, she crossed paths with that male hunter, Kim Hyunjun. Witnesses said they acted like they knew each other."
"......What?"