The Bounty
He ran into Mu Beop-sa in front of the Trailer.
Mu Beop-sa was just stepping out of it.
"Delivered the goblin feed, I see."
"What was that?"
"Just saying what I figured you'd say."
"Not enjoying your vacation, hmm? You used to be the first one out the door. What's gotten into you these days? Not even visiting the bookstore?"
"I go to the bookstore."
"You used to live there, though. You've got a best friend there, don't you? What was her name again? The former Summoner. Wasn't there something going on between you two?"
"Nothing of the sort happened."
"You got dumped?"
"……"
"You did get dumped? Dumped, was it? Well, you should've just—"
"She's dead."
"Huh?"
"……"
"Really?"
"Really."
"How? A Summoner is high-value personnel—and wasn't she fairly skilled too? Who got her?"
"Starved to death, I heard."
Won-goo frowned at that.
"What kind of nonsense is that? A Summoner of that caliber, starving? She could've held out a solid week without eating, easy."
"It's true. She went on an expedition near Damseok Mountain and got cut off. Died there."
"Damseok Mountain? Isn't that far from here?"
"They say dozens of whirlwinds spawned on that mountain. She held out inside one for a while, but… that's what I heard happened."
"Whew… so that kind of thing still happens nowadays?"
"Whirlwinds tend to persist for a long time, do they not?"
"Well, still……"
A whirlwind was a phenomenon similar to a waterspout, smaller in both scale and danger, but in most cases far more of them spawned at once.
Whereas a waterspout was a natural disaster no survivor could possibly withstand, a whirlwind was something some survivors could endure.
An enhanced survivor of Ralph's caliber could punch straight through one and come out the other side.
But a magic-type survivor like a Summoner would have found it impossible to break out under her own power.
"My condolences. So that's why you haven't been going there much lately?"
"Well… there was no need to linger, I suppose."
"Let's head in for now."
*Whoosh! Clang!*
The Trainer's shop had been tidied up immaculately. The moment Dan-shin took over the place, he'd tossed out the cages that had taken up most of the interior.
Clearing those out had freed up a considerable amount of space.
Now there was plenty of room for the crew to spread out comfortably.
So Jeon Hye-ji had set up a target near the entrance.
And she was throwing daggers at it.
"Hye-ji, you need to find some other hobbies. You can't just throw these things all day."
"It's fine. I feel like I'm getting better, so I like it."
Jeon Hye-ji wasn't the type whose emotions swung wildly. Instead, her emotions tended to last longer than other people's.
"You'll burn yourself out that way."
"I started this late, remember? So I have to work harder."
With that, Jeon Hye-ji picked up her bow.
She currently carried a crossbow as her main weapon, but she'd been advised that she'd need to switch to a bow later on.
A bow, it seemed, was simply better suited to combining with a survivor's abilities than a crossbow.
"Fine. It's an admirable attitude, so I won't nag. Keep at it. Just don't get hurt."
"Yes. But, Director."
"What?"
"This Dr. Woo guy."
"……?"
"He switched to our side awfully suddenly, didn't he?"
A smile crept across Won-goo's lips.
"He's not on our side. Where'd you get that idea?"
"But… he was going to clean us out at first, wasn't he?"
"Depending on the situation, the cleanup target changes. I'll say it again—Dr. Woo is not on our side. We're cooperating, just for the moment."
"Ah……"
"I have a favorite saying."
"……?"
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. How could anyone trust that snake of a man, Dr. Woo?"
Jeon Hye-ji nodded.
"Anyway, where's Dan-shin?"
"He went to buy detergent."
"Detergent? Didn't he finish cleaning?"
"He said he's just getting started? On the spot where the cages used to be."
"The way I see it, the man lives a exhausting life… but I don't suppose it's bad for us, is it?"
"That part is correct. Very diligent, he is. Handing the shop over to him seems to have been a wise decision."
"His reputation holds up, I hear."
Just then, Hyun-sung and the rest of the crew hurried into the shop.
Mu Beop-sa and Hye-ji's eyes turned toward them.
"I summoned you."
"So there was a need to summon us, after all."
Among the shelter's provided services was the pager function. If you carried a pager, you could summon anyone at any time—but the cost was anything but trivial.
So unless it was urgent, Won-goo usually went around looking for his crew himself.
Failing that, sending someone was the standard approach.
"Boss. You called for us?"
"Yeah. Sorry for the sudden call. But I heard something that smells a bit off."
"Not at all, Boss. We had a nice long vacation."
"Good to hear. Everyone, have a seat. Any of you happen to hear that some new faces showed up while we were on break?"
At that, they all just glanced at one another.
"You bastards… I told you to keep your ears pricked even while playing, didn't I? It all becomes blood and flesh for us later, I said."
"Sorry, Boss."
"Sorry, huh… I'm disappointed in you all. Genuinely disappointed."
"But what's actually going on? Things were going so well……"
"Apparently someone's been going around asking about the dungeon. And the only dungeon that's popped up around here is that place we cleared, right?"
"Right."
"So we stay sharp. What if they're in league with Ralph?"
"Ah……"
Only then did they understand.
"Even if we don't worry too much because it's inside the shelter, there's always an exception to everything."
"The Trainer died inside the shelter too, after all."
Mu Beop-sa chimed in.
"Right. But there's a good chance it's not that either. It could be someone with a grudge against Ralph."
"That actually seems more likely, Boss."
"True. Someone like Ralph would've made plenty of enemies—that type always does. But what we can't overlook is Sde. We let that bastard slip away."
"So you're saying he may have come back with other comrades."
"Bullseye. But I think there's a case even more annoying than either of those two."
"What case?"
"We never actually cleared that dungeon. If someone has business there, all sorts of other complications could arise."
Just then, Dan-shin returned to the shop. Spotting the whole crew sitting there, he looked visibly startled.
"Dan-shin, perfect timing. You know the shop Sapiens manages, right?"
A nod.
"Go tell Sapiens to come to Sanghae's shop."
"……?"
"What are you doing? Aren't you going?"
"Should I just… go?"
"Everyone knows your face. They all know you work for me. The photos have already made the rounds."
"……?"
"Honestly… you've been around the shops nearby, haven't you? You didn't notice? The way the merchants treat you changed?"
Dan-shin rolled his eyes upward, thinking.
Now that he thought about it, the merchants' treatment did seem different.
"Go. Think about it on the way."
When Won-goo waved him off, Dan-shin shot out the door in a flash.
"You might all think I'm making a fuss over nothing, but in this business, the wise move is to leave anything suspicious alone. But if you've been dragged into it anyway, the next best thing is to clean it up fast. Since someone's out there asking about the dungeon, let's strip these bastards down to what they're really after before they get away."
* * *
The one with the most shops in Shelter Sabbath was Sapiens.
That was why Sapiens served as the representative of the shelter's merchants—and him being the representative meant he knew better than anyone what went on inside the shelter.
And the man who knew the shelter's workings almost as well was Sanghae.
The difference was that while Sapiens focused on affairs inside the shelter, Sanghae kept a keen eye on what happened outside it as well.
*Slurp!*
Won-goo, Sapiens, and Sanghae.
The three sat at one table, eating jjambbong.
"This is good."
"Pretty decent, right?"
"But when's the market getting its chunjang update? I'm serious—I want real jjajangmyeon, not that jjajang-flavored ramen junk. Is everyone writing it on the update request list?"
"Why not do the updates by random draw from the requests? It'll happen eventually, won't it?"
"Sapiens."
"Yes, sir."
"Shouldn't we be running some kind of campaign on this—getting together with the merchants who have market access and pushing through the most important requests first?"
"You know better. Touch anything involving the market and you've got a full-blown war on your hands. Merchants more than anyone—the market is sacred ground to them."
"That's right, what Sanghae says. And everything we truly need has already been updated anyway. So now it's just everyone writing in what they want."
"Son of a… still, that mint chocolate ramen crossed the line. What kind of lunatic requests that……"
"Everyone's taste is different, isn't it?"
"Right, as if yours isn't peculiar enough, Sapiens."
"What's that supposed to mean now? And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Sapiens? *Boss*."
"Want me to call you Homoo, then?"
"Ah… honestly……"
"It's a term of endearment, you punk. You guys call me Sabani and Physical Therapist behind my back, and you've got the nerve to……"
"Fine, I get it. Just tone it down in front of the kids, at least."
"Alright, alright. They're not here right now, are they?"
"Yes, sir."
At Won-goo's glare, Sapiens folded immediately.
"So why did you call me? Can't have been just to eat jjambbong. Weren't we staying away from each other for a while?"
"I see you know exactly how much of a thug you were. Predicting I wouldn't come around for a while—impressive foresight."
"Ah… so that's why I wasn't getting the proper treatment. I do get a little blinded by money sometimes. Can't help that."
"It's always blinded."
"……"
"Whatever. The reason I wanted to see you—word is strangers have been roaming the shelter?"
"I heard."
That was all Sanghae said, with a nod.
"They seem to be stirring up trouble, too? What's the story?"
"Trouble? Nobody's said anything about actual incidents. When outsiders cause a stir, everyone gets touchy about it. But Potion's crew has a good reputation. They spend well, too. Am I wrong?"
"You're right. Their reputation's not bad."
"They used force, didn't they? Inside the shelter?"
"That's an entirely understandable situation. Potion—that young lady is a beauty."
"I heard the same thing from Sanghae here. A few of them got too handsy and got themselves restrained. And from what I hear, they held back a lot more than their pestering deserved."
At those words, Won-goo thought of Il-chul. This was exactly why you couldn't rush to judgment in this business.
'That little bastard Il-chul……'
"Really? There's a rumor they've been gathering information, too."
"That's right. I was going to tell you anyway, Boss. Word is they've been asking around about the dungeon."
"Did they mention me?"
"You know the answer, so why ask? Our people keep their mouths shut. Especially anything about the Director—that doesn't come out easily."
"So why exactly are they asking about the dungeon?"
"That, I can probably answer. The word is that's her line of work—bounty hunting."
"So they were asking about the dungeon because of a bounty?"
"Right. Say, Director Gong—any chance there's a bounty out on you?"
"Have I ever done anything bounty-worthy? I work precisely, within the terms of a contract. I'm cut from a different cloth than thugs like Poke or Respect. You think anyone can just slap a bounty on me?"
"Fair point… you can't exactly put a bounty out on someone just for having a rotten personality……"
"……"
"But the fact that your personality is rotten is a fact."
"And the fact that you're half con man is also a fact."
"……"
"That's enough, you two. Boss. This is about the dungeon business, right? Set me up a meeting?"
"Sure. From the brief I got, there shouldn't be any need to trade punches face to face."
"Then let's arrange it right away. Where's good?"
"Call them here."
"Why here again?"
Sanghae bristled.
"This place has room. And you're not busy either. You can't even lend me this much?"
"Fine. But no more griping about the Buri Island matter after this. I already admitted I screwed up."
"Deal. In exchange, eat a little more modestly from now on. Your greed's going to reach the moon, I swear."
*Tap.*
The two of them clasped hands at the same time.
* * *
"You wanted to see me?"
He came face to face with Potion. Montage stood beside her. There were fewer people than when they'd entered the dungeon together, but a fair number still stood behind Potion.
"You people are……"
"**Won-goo's Labor Services**. Director. Judging by the look of you, you're investigating the dungeon because of Ralph—that bastard?"
Montage and Potion exchanged a slightly startled look.
Then Potion answered.
"That's right. Ralph. That……"
"Forget it. How long's it been?"
"……?"
"I was certain, you see. A violent criminal of Ralph's caliber had to have a bounty on his head. And my prediction was dead on."
"Does that mean you dealt with Ralph personally?"
"Why play dumb? You checked what needed checking inside the dungeon before coming over here, didn't you? That's right. I dealt with Ralph myself."
"Can ye prove it, then?"
Montage cut in.
"Who's this? Your bodyguard? Or your old man? The directors are talking here. Not talking over each other—that's basic manners, no?"
"He's a colleague working this case with me."
"Oh, is that so? Then the lady is Potion. And you are?"
"……"
Montage stared at Won-goo with piercing eyes.
"You really did get him?"
"Get who?"
"Ralph."
"Hyun-sung. Bring Ralph out, would you?"
"……?"
"……?"
Ralph's head popped out of the Subspace Backpack.
"Ralph. Say hello."
"……!"
"……!"