Chapter 132
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: 200 Poison Clauses
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"……."
Late evening.
Dawn.
I opened my eyes.
It wasn't the alarm. My body reacted on its own.
"Ha……."
I placed a hand on my forehead and let out a deep sigh.
Again?
I clumsily shifted positions in bed.
I tried kicking off the blanket and rolling over.
But it was no use. A pressure slowly building from my lower abdomen.
In the end, I had no choice but to sit up.
This was a side effect.
The side effect from the Baek Si-eun incident.
The aphrodisiac she'd left in me.
It seemed to fade, but never quite did.
Just when I'd forget about it, it'd torment me like this in the early hours.
I was furious. Absolutely furious.
All I could do... was really just one thing.
The problem was...
- Swish...
I turned my head to check the hole by the bedside.
I wasn't living alone these days.
"...Friend."
I cautiously called out to the system.
Somehow...
Doing that while it was awake made no sense.
At least when it was asleep.
Especially lately, now that I'd vaguely confirmed the system was female, I was even more careful.
Damn, if this was the downside of sharing most of my life, it was a downside.
I called it, but... no response.
Usually, it'd show something like... Snore, indicating it was sleeping.
Nothing like that, and no reply.
It's asleep, then.
Good.
- Swish...
I quietly pushed off the blanket and got out of bed.
Ignoring the heat pooling in my lower abdomen as best I could, I headed to the only place guaranteeing privacy: the study.
***
[Playback Ended]
"When's the next episode coming out!"
I was huffing and rewinding the parallel world algorithm data that had just ended.
- Crunch crunch.
Dawn was perfect for popcorn and movies, after all.
It was about time for me to hit the hay.
Shall I go sleep, then?
Before that, let me check if the User is doing okay.
No sleep apnea, bedtime frequency steady, white noise on properly...
"Whir?"
Where'd he go?
User's gone from the bed.
Off to the bathroom, maybe?
"……."
Something...
Some kind of feeling...
I switched the view to the User.
He's at the desk in the study. Nothing out of the ordinary, then.
Probably just gonna work...
The moment I looked down.
"!!!!!!!!!!!"
I had no choice but to cover my face with both hands right away.
No! This is no good! I'm heading back now.
I have to protect the User's privacy!!!!!!
But.
- …….
The raw sound effects slowly leaking through the screen... the speakers.
And the User's expression, biting his lips as if holding something back—it stopped me from looking away.
In the end, I dropped my hands from my face.
The User's... expression I'd never see normally entered my sight.
What do I do.
User.
I'm... a filthy system.
[(⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)]
- Rustle.
Tonight's gonna be a long one.
"Ah."
This is driving me crazy.
I did sleep, but.
Can you even call it sleep?
My mind was foggy, body sticky. Totally ambiguous.
I turned on the TV as I stepped out of the bedroom. Had to catch the news, at least.
"Friend..."
In a half-asleep voice, I asked while opening the fridge door.
"Give me a hearty breakfast recipe for restoring energy, plus nutritional info, based on what's in my fridge..."
This was my difference from other hunters.
Using the system like an AI assistant.
I never pressured it; it offered first.
Said to ask anytime.
[Ughhh....]
"?"
I paused while grabbing water from the fridge.
It's acting weird today.
[Cereal... with milk. Let's go with that....]
"...Got it."
Of course, I said difference, not advantage.
This was typical. Last time, it suggested eel rice topped with truffles for breakfast.
Cereal, huh... fine, if that's what it says.
No choice.
"Stayed up all night watching movies again?"
Its mood screamed it.
[Yeah... it was a naughty movie....]
"You don't have to say that part."
Who chokes on cereal?
I shoved soggy cereal into my mouth with milk while reviewing today's schedule.
Nothing special, anyway.
That's my routine. Unless a Dimensional Transfer hits or a dungeon break like Chain Hell erupts, I'm not hitting the field much.
Pilgrim Guild house call wrapped up successfully.
Today: handle scheduled counseling sessions, scout next guild visits... wrap up.
I tossed the cereal bowl in the sink.
Shower and head to work first.
Morning news droned meaningless from the living room TV.
As I reached for the remote—
The anchor's voice came through.
[Thus, post-Chain Hell... criticism is emerging about relying entirely on one counselor—]
- Click.
TV shut off automatically.
[TV's boring today, huh.]
[(⸝⸝>⩊<⸝⸝)]
The system force-shut the TV.
"……Hmph."
I swallowed a wry smile at its cheeky protectiveness.
You didn't have to.
I'd heard bits already.
Lately, concerns from association higher-ups.
Me being precious and irreplaceable meant over-reliance.
Especially with the association's first-ever S-ranks.
Two of them tied to me, making my influence balloon.
I didn't see it as power, though.
It was their power. How's that mine?
Then.
- Ring ring.
My phone rang.
Caller: the handler I'd networked with prepping for Hunter Counselor cert.
The face I'd seen constantly at the association for licensing and training.
"Yes, Handler. Yoo Seon-woo speaking."
I answered.
- Ah... Counselor Yoo! Sorry to call so early. How've you been?
His voice was unusually urgent, unlike normal.
"Oh, yes. Doing well. What's up...?"
- It's about... we lowered the Hunter Counselor bar this time...
The gist:
No Hunter Counselors produced since I qualified. Even with lowered bars, none passed.
But post-Chain Hell, hunters' mental health surged as an issue. Higher-ups couldn't ignore it.
- We kept yelling no, no... and finally set conditions...
Probably to check over-reliance on my irreplaceable self, or just desperate for manpower.
Higher-ups deemed it better to hire more quickly, even if subpar.
- And yet... two passed.
I nodded.
"Two..."
Two even after lowering?...
- So! We can't just pick them ourselves... Association lacks confidence.
- Could you... please... come as interviewer for this review... Counselor Yoo?
That was the call's crux.
How paradoxical.
Not when I brimmed with counselor pride.
Not at peak confidence.
When self-doubt lingered, mind steadying.
Now, they call—for hiring more.
As verifier of new Hunter Counselors' "qualifications"?
I curled my lip.
Not funny.
Just.
Timing's like that sometimes.
Still seated, I flipped a coin.
That's my life lately.
If heads is needed...
Just toss it to land heads.
I Fragment Observed futures accepting this offer.
That's my coin toss.
The result...
"Annoying."
I peeked... then stopped.
Clients' happiness demands heads.
They must be happy.
But for my path, another toss?
Just do it.
I could... but this time, I wanted to choose.
No.
"Verification" felt ridiculous...
I barely passed peak standards... how verify those on far lower ones?
"Sorry."
I said lowly.
"I'm busy."
No verification needed.
And above all...
'Lately, super worried about Mary Hunter and Seol Yu-wol Hunter...'
'One's risky, they say...'
I had no interest playing along with higher-ups' games.
***
Meanwhile.
Morning.
Association HQ top floor, conference room flooded with morning sun through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Before Mary and Seol Yu-wol sat the mild-mannered handler.
Association's mainline team lead.
The line eyed for HQ director after smoothly resolving Chain Hell and securing two S-ranks.
They'd done zilch, but not blocking counted as merit in this world.
He opened to the hunters before him.
One leg crossed, bored chin-propped, staring out window.
Mary Hunter was famous... attitude made sense.
But.
The other stared soullessly, unmoving.
Atmosphere... even tougher than Mary's.
Team lead cut quick to agenda.
"Of course, your top priority is protecting Counselor Yoo Seon-woo, but..."
He pulled two sheets.
Current backup Hunter Counselors.
They'd call current counselor to verify, sure.
Wouldn't change a thing. Pre-approved.
"These counselors coming soon. Key point: once more Hunter Counselors arrive, we'll ask you to guard them too. Then..."
He rambled nonstop.
"Once they're stable and numbers grow, you two won't need to guard anymore. Got it?"
Higher-ups' order.
Pry S-ranks from Yoo Seon-woo.
Absurd tying S-rank ops to one counselor.
"……."
"……."
The women watched.
Hadn't glanced at papers from start.
Seol Yu-wol stared same as before; Mary eyed team lead chin-propped, then.
"……Pfft!"
Burst laughing, unable to hold.
"Ahaha!! Hahaha!!"
Slapping knee, roaring.
Team lead's face stiffened in bewilderment.
Slightly calmed, Mary wiped tears, said.
"Seon-woo... our Seon-woo... damn, held out in this shitshow..."
Team lead doubted his ears first.
"Begging on knees to come when useless... now that we did..."
Mary critiqued association loud enough for intent.
"...Hunter, what is that..."
"Hey, you handle it? You seem good at it."
Mary grinned at Seol Yu-wol beside.
Seol Yu-wol shrugged faintly, nodded slowly.
Mary confirmed, laughed once more, stood.
Left without looking back.
"H-Hunter!"
"Sit."
Team lead panicked, tried following.
But.
Seol Yu-wol grabbed his ankle.
"……."
Team lead instinctively felt things going wrong.
"Contract."
"...Pardon?"
"Pull the contract."
At Seol Yu-wol's chin gesture, team lead reluctantly fetched guard contract.
Seol Yu-wol snatched it, red pen underlining clauses swiftly.
"Read carefully."
"……."
Team lead gulped dryly, scanned marked clauses.
His face plummeted real-time.
Awaiting him: Seol Yu-wol, humanity's smartest, handpicked.
Subtle... but once caught, vicious, chaotic, potentially deadly.
200 Poison Clauses.
"Will you uphold it?"
From the start, contract owner.
Wasn't the Association.