Chapter 141
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: In the Rabbit Hole
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- Ring ring...
"......"
- Ring ring ring...
"...... Ah."
Annoying.
The phone kept ringing nonstop.
The relentless bell tone scratched at her eardrums without tiring.
As a beastkin, her ears were reacting with extreme sensitivity.
Luna irritably shot up from her seat.
Why the hell keeps it coming?
She checked the caller.
Guild staffer.
"Ugh..."
She pulled the blanket over her head all the way.
"I'll be there soon, I said..."
She was right, actually. Ever since starting work, neither sister had taken a single day off—they'd just kept grinding away.
They had hundreds of unused vacation days piled up.
It was also a beastkin trait, their diligence.
And now that they finally wanted to cash some in, the guild was freaking out like the world was ending.
Sure, going radio silent was an issue, but it wasn't their problem right now.
- Thud!
- Roooar!!
A violent noise came from the next room.
Elise. Either she'd thrown something or kicked the wall.
A frustrated roar echoed over. Her exasperation was palpable even here. She must be at her limit.
Luna smiled. She felt a kinship.
At the same time, she felt sorry.
It seemed like she'd awakened her little sister's instincts.
She'd seemed totally oblivious... but in the end, she'd opened her eyes to it.
She'll be fine.
They're sisters, after all. Elise had been thrilled too.
"...... I'm hungry."
Her smile had suddenly turned into ravenous hunger. Her stomach felt like it was glued to her back.
For the record, Luna had scarfed down ten bowls of rice just an hour ago.
There was nothing to be done about it.
Maybe because of the timing, her basal metabolic rate was exploding.
Even lying still, her body burned through energy like wildfire.
She was making something big, apparently.
Eat, sleep, groan. Eat, sleep, groan.
An endless cycle, going on a week now.
Luna got out of bed.
She didn't want to eat alone. Better grab Elise from next door and have a meal together.
She opened her door and stepped into the living room.
- Whoosh!
Maybe because it was winter, the temperature difference between her room and the living room was brutal.
Cool air rushed into her room.
Just one door away, and it felt like two seasons.
Luna's room was a steam bath. Humidity and heat off the charts.
The living room was a freezer.
They used to keep the door wide open, filling the living room with pheromones and heat too... but a few days ago, a guild staffer had visited. The moment she opened the door, the blast of heat made her yelp and backpedal.
That's when they realized: gotta keep the door shut.
Goosebumps prickled across her steaming-hot skin.
"Hoo..."
Hot breath steamed from between her lips.
"?"
That's when she noticed something.
The blackout curtains made the living room dim and murky. Rustling came from the kitchen area.
The fridge door was wide open.
In front of it, a gray tail and sleek legs dangled limply.
"......"
It was Elise.
She had her head shoved into the freezer compartment.
Just in her underwear, cooling off, it seemed.
She must be really hot.
"You okay?"
As Luna approached, Elise's unfocused eyes shifted toward her.
"Not okay..."
Elise slumped to the floor like jelly.
She looked utterly drained of strength.
"Listen to your sister. You'll catch a cold like this."
Luna grabbed a loose T-shirt.
"Arms up."
An S-rank hunter catching a cold? Ridiculous. But Elise obediently raised her hands.
She was back to her babyish, listen-to-big-sis Elise mode.
Luna dressed her fully, then brushed back her sweat-matted bangs.
"Let's eat. You're hungry, right?"
"Yeah..."
The two of them, deep in the peak of their heat cycles.
They looked like total wrecks, but they weren't.
They were eating everything in sight.
Luna gently seated Elise in a chair and opened the rice cooker.
It was one of those massive 100-serving models, like from a military mess or school cafeteria.
She plunked the giant cooker in the middle of the table, and they picked up their spoons.
"Let's eat wel—"
- Ring ring!
The bell rang again.
The grating mechanical tone killed her appetite.
"Sigh."
Luna let out an irritated sigh and stood.
She was about to hang up when—
- Zap.
"......!!"
Luna's instincts fired.
Lightning shot down her spine.
Every cell screamed for her to freeze. Pure primal sense.
The kind her body sent to dodge a monster's attack on the battlefield.
Beastkin... instincts.
"Sis!"
Elise, nose-deep in the rice cooker, whipped her head around.
Rice stuck to her mouth, eyes wide.
The sisters' instincts resonated in sync.
If they were linked like this, it was certain.
Luna snatched the phone.
"Hello?"
- Ah...! Luna Hunter...
It was the female staffer who'd visited last time.
A few days ago, she'd gotten a call from a male hunter and puked fifty times.
The raspy voice over the line reeked of rotten fish to her.
Exclusive instincts making every male but her chosen one repulsive.
So after that, she'd demanded only female staffers call.
Luna pressed the phone tight to her ear.
"What's up?"
- Um... well... Counselor Yoo Seon-woo...
- Clatter!
The spoon rolled across the floor.
Elise, who'd been shoveling rice while listening, lunged forward.
"Yes."
Luna's red eyes contracted.
- He's... heading to your place right now...
"Kyaahooo!!"
Elise beside her let out a screech and leaped into the air.
Luna hurriedly muted the mic to block the "kyaahoo."
But her heart was already pounding like it might burst.
"What's going on?"
She forced herself to sound calm and asked again.
- Sorry... We're just so worried about you hunters... Grasping at straws, we... contacted him...
Nice.
Perfect. Dopamine surged, making Luna's vision spin.
Never thought she'd be this grateful for guild busybodies.
But Luna kept her cool on the surface.
She gripped her trembling voice and spoke as dryly as possible.
"We're just using our accrued vacation days."
- Yes... Sorry...
"I'll talk to the counselor. Hanging up."
- Click.
- Thud...
The second she hung up, Luna collapsed to the floor.
Her legs gave out.
Luna turned to look at Elise.
She was already overflowing with energy, dancing around giddily.
The joy was short-lived.
The two rabbits dove straight into serious strategy mode.
Elise muttered with bloodshot red eyes.
"Why come here... Teacher's life is over..."
"......"
Luna agreed completely. Totally, utterly.
The sisters had zero intention of letting this self-delivered prey slip away.
Think about it: locked in the house for a week, starving.
Then the one food you crave most shows up at the door.
This wasn't fresh-from-the-farm delivery—it beat rocket shipping.
If he walked into them like this, leaving with all limbs intact was impossible.
"...... How many kids would be good? Saw him volunteering at the orphanage... He seems to like kids... One, ten...?"
Elise gulped, counting on her fingers. Planning a soccer team, apparently.
"Not a bad—"
Luna nearly nodded like she was hypnotized...
Then snapped out of it.
- Shake shake.
She vigorously shook her head to dispel the delusion.
"Elise. Listen to me."
Truth was, if they'd given in to their desires, Yoo Seon-woo would've been kidnapped ages ago.
Snatched on the street.
Grabbed mid-meal.
Kidnapped during counseling.
Something like that.
Endless options.
For S-rank hunters like them, it was child's play.
But they hadn't. Because they'd chosen restraint.
To respect their teacher's wishes.
That's why they'd suffered like mad for a week, holding back.
Could they really hold out?
Therefore.
"This is the final test."
If they could have him right there and not pounce, they'd pass.
Only then would they qualify to stand by his side.
But reality was far too pathetic for such noble resolve.
Elise stared at Luna like she was insane.
Her unfocused eyes and flushed cheeks, spouting nonsense—big sis was ridiculous.
"...... Huh?"
Pretending to be rational now?
She tilted her head.
Elise knew her own state all too well.
If that door opened and he walked in now... it was over.
Teacher's life over too.
Marriage, and all that.
"Sorry, I don't think I can hold back. We're doomed."
"......"
The truth was.
Luna felt the same.
"Sis, we've held back enough."
Elise stood.
And started changing clothes.
"Can't be helped..."
Then she jerked her head up.
- Step... step...
Faint footsteps at the entryway.
"He's here."
Elise slowly walked toward the front door.
Luna just watched her go.
Watching her little sister head to the door in just underwear... her feelings were complicated.
- Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
In the end, Luna steeled herself too.
"Teacher."
Luna muttered.
"I didn't do anything wrong."
This was really.
Truly.
Not my fault.
- Spring!
Luna shot to her feet too.