Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: No Room for Guilt
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After finishing the meal, So-yun approached me.
"Oppa, I saw everything."
It was obviously meant for her to see, but I put on a deliberately surprised expression.
"Even if you two are in love, how could you do that in front of her boyfriend?"
"...In love with each other?"
"Still, I can't say I don't understand at all..."
So-yun nodded at me as if confirming it.
In love with each other.
Me and Su-a?
Did it look that way from the outside?
What happened at the table earlier was basically me unilaterally tormenting her.
At least So-yun didn't seem to think that way.
Me and Su-a were in love, but Su-a hadn't sorted things out with Min-hyuk yet.
That was how So-yun was interpreting it.
Of course, reality was different.
In truth, Su-a was unilaterally accepting my unreasonable demands to protect So-yun.
I wondered what kind of face So-yun would make if she learned that fact.
And what would Su-a think if she knew that So-yun—the one she was doing her utmost to protect—was trying to take me away from her?
"Remember when you said you'd do anything?"
"Y-Yeah, I remember..."
"Come back safely today. Because I thought of something I want."
With a playful smile unlike her usual self, So-yun grinned at me.
I had no idea how she'd turn out.
I'd only ever tried conquering others before.
Being on the receiving end was a first.
So-yun seemed to be slowly starting to understand her own fetish.
I returned to my room and continued working on the ladder.
Min-hyuk's ladder had taken a long time because tools and materials were limited.
But in this house with a drill, hammer, and saw, I could cut the work time down significantly.
As a result, I quickly finished the ladder I'd started the evening before.
"How are you gonna carry this?"
Min-hyuk, realizing I planned to use it to take down those guys, asked.
I picked up the ladder and stored it directly in my inventory.
"Whoa?!"
Min-hyuk flailed his hand at the empty air where the ladder had vanished, stunned.
"This is..."
"It's a skill too."
"...No wonder we need to buy skills..."
Min-hyuk nodded as if it made sense.
I hadn't originally planned to show him the inventory skill.
But now that trust had built up with him and the other two, it felt okay to reveal this much.
"Alright, I'm heading out."
"...Hyung."
"Yeah?"
"They're bad guys. Don't feel guilty."
Min-hyuk had watched me fight up close, so he wasn't worried about me losing or getting hurt.
Instead, he was concerned I'd hesitate during the fight or drown in guilt after killing them.
"Got it."
There was no need to worry.
For an A-Rank Hero, taking out bad guys and Villains was just par for the course.
I geared up properly for the first time in a while.
Stab-proof suit and helmet.
And now the jungle knife that felt like an extension of my hand.
As I opened the front door, Su-a was there beside it.
"You've been out here?"
"...Come out for a sec."
The door closed, and Su-a, who'd followed me out, lightly punched my stomach.
"You went too far at dinner."
"...Sorry."
I admitted it.
It had been a bit mischievous.
"Still, come back safe..."
Su-a slowly came around behind me and timidly hugged me.
It was called a back hug.
Then she hurriedly opened the door and slipped inside.
It wasn't a big deal, but the fact that Su-a did it on her own without me ordering her made it special.
"...Damn."
The one downside was that wearing the stab-proof suit meant I couldn't really feel the sensation of the back hug.
It surely would've felt great.
"...I'll have her do it once more when I get back."
Despite it being such a small thing, I got an overly generous send-off.
I steadied my breathing and headed toward the bustling district.
The outskirts of the bustling district.
I cleared the zombies inside the building in seconds and climbed up.
My zombie-killing technique was practically professional level now.
I approached slowly and silently, then severed the neck in one clean stroke.
I caught the falling body with my hand and gently laid it on the floor.
I stored the severed head in my inventory, then pulled it out and softly placed it on the ground.
It was a way to silently assassinate only the zombies blocking my path without making a sound.
"...This actually works."
It was a method I'd come up with since I couldn't clear every zombie along the way, but I hadn't expected it to work so well.
I gazed at the academy building from afar.
Two men on the rooftop were looking down below.
They seemed to be admiring the zombies they'd gathered.
Since they weren't watching above, it was easy to move across rooftops with the ladder and close in.
I pulled the ladder from my inventory and hopped between buildings, rapidly narrowing the distance.
I stopped on the building right in front of the academy.
If my guess was right, they'd be moving out soon to farm points.
Surviving without electricity or water was tough, so hunting was essential.
Unless they'd diligently hunted early that morning, they'd want to do it before nightfall.
I hoped they weren't dumb enough to fight zombies at night, when sound was how they located prey.
Being close enough now, I could faintly hear their voices.
"Ah, fuck, I wanna wash up."
"Hang in there. They said it'll be sorted after today."
"But that asshole has tons of points—why doesn't he buy it?"
"He's probably saving for his own skill... Fuck, if skills didn't exist, I'd have..."
The two guys on the rooftop were grumbling and badmouthing someone.
'Someone with a skill?'
This was unexpected.
A guy who'd hunted enough to already have a skill.
Maybe he'd gotten lucky with a bunch of variant zombies.
Depending on the skill, but since skill effects were reliable, I needed to be cautious.
"Remember those women?"
"The ones who fought like maniacs?"
"Their faces were hot as hell. We should've captured them, but that crazy fuck threw a flowerpot..."
"Idiot, didn't you see them fight? Capture my ass..."
"Worst case, sacrifice one or two, and we'd score two decent chicks. That guy at the back didn't even seem like he could fight."
Hearing them talk brought Min-hyuk's farewell words back to mind.
They're bad guys—no guilt.
What could I say.
He was spot on.
I bided my time.
Until they headed out to hunt and the building emptied of people.
And that moment arrived.
"Looks like they're going hunting?"
"Back door's open? Yeah."
The two looked toward the back door, their watch on the front loosening.
Seizing the chance, I pulled the ladder from my inventory and climbed onto the academy rooftop.
Clack clack.
One turned at the sound of me quickly crossing the ladder.
Our eyes met, and he flinched in surprise, his shoulders hunching despite his burly build.
"You fuck—"
His words cut off.
I closed in fast and sliced his neck with the practiced motion I'd honed on zombies.
It was frightening.
I hesitated for a split second before striking, but the instinct from killing zombies took over, cleanly severing his head.
The other guy's eyes went wide; he stumbled back, tripped, and fell flat on his ass with a thud.
"The guy you said was at the back."
"...Gasp..."
He clamped his hand over his mouth, his face twisted in despair as if cursing his earlier self.
No need to threaten him to stay quiet.
Seeing his buddy—who'd tried to shout—collapse with a severed neck had him lowering his voice on his own.
"How many in the building?"
"J-Just us... N-No, just me outside."
He started to say "us" but glanced at his fallen comrade and corrected himself.
"The ones out hunting?"
"S-Six of them..."
"Follow me."
I took him down to the first floor.
Whether he was quick on the uptake or just compliant, he led the way down without resistance.
The back door was closed but unlocked.
Cracking it open, I saw about six guys hunting as quietly as they could.
With numbers on their side, they were pairing up in twos to take down the sparse zombies in the rear.
Strength in numbers, huh.
Seemed accurate.
In front of the back door, the guy glanced at me nervously.
"Wh-What do I do?"
"You're a flowerpot now."
"Huh?"
I shoved him through the open door.
And swung the jungle knife.
"Gaaahhh!"
The blade sliced cleanly through the air, severing his right arm.
After cutting off his arm, I swiftly shut and locked the door.
The armless guy screamed louder than ever, clawing at the door.
The locked door, of course, didn't budge.
I braced it further with the ladder just in case.
"That crazy bastard!"
"What the hell's that guy?! His arm... Fuck, open the door quick!"
The hunting group turned pale at the scream and rushed to the door.
I ignored the armless one's agonized wails, naturally.
Quite the opposite.
They threatened to kill him themselves if he screamed again, hurling abuse at the fallen man.
But holding back the screams now changed nothing.
The horde of rotting-skinned zombies at the front gate began scattering like black mist.
The mist crept slowly toward the back door.
The guys were out of luck.
If killing people gave points or skills, I might've ended them painlessly myself.
But since nothing came from it, turning them into zombies was the only way to squeeze out some points.
I guarded the back door, slowly watching them clash with the zombies.
Thanks to Min-hyuk's advice, perhaps.
I felt no guilt.