Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Illusory Breath
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I shook hands with Meari.
A sigh of relief escaped me naturally.
With her cooperation secured, I now had a solid foothold.
No matter how you sliced it, this was a very good thing.
- Slurp.
Meari crossed her legs on the sofa opposite me and leisurely sipped the coffee I'd handed her.
The knot of her bathrobe had loosened slightly, fully exposing the pale nape of her neck fresh from the shower.
"Can I just finish this and head out?"
Wrapped in her bathrobe, she sipped her coffee and asked in a drowsy voice.
"Take your time."
I tried my best not to stare at her outfit.
She'd probably change after finishing her coffee.
Meari savored her tea time for a bit, sipping away.
"I was surprised. I thought you were deliberately not contacting me because you were busy, Seonwoo."
"...Really?"
Her sudden confession caught me off guard, and I found myself asking back.
That wasn't the case at all.
If anything, I'd assumed she was the busy one. Daehae Guild was Korea's top guild, and once she joined, she'd have no time to spare.
Plus, I'm not the type to reach out first anyway.
"Yeah, since you joined Haetae too. You seemed super busy. I waited... but guess not."
Meari shrugged as she spoke.
I nodded.
We might have misunderstood each other.
Our contact had been limited to holiday greetings at best.
"So... we can keep in touch from now on?"
Meari asked.
There was no reason not to.
"Of course. Naturally."
She smiled at my words.
A moment later.
She savored the last drop of coffee before setting the mug down on the table.
"Hold on."
Meari stood and headed to the bedroom.
To change clothes.
Isolation rooms usually stocked comfortable outfits for occupants.
It wasn't long before the door opened.
"Ta-da~"
With an excited voice, Meari leaned against the doorframe and struck a playful pose.
She wore an ivory indoor dress.
The kind that blatantly highlighted every curve of the body... like the one Seol Yu-wol had tried on at the department store before.
"What do you think?"
Meari asked for my opinion with a confident expression.
I was momentarily at a loss for words, but then felt relieved.
Seeing Seol Yu-wol and now Meari both choose that style meant my prejudice was the issue.
It seemed that outfit was universally appealing to women's eyes.
Maybe thinking it was weird was the weird thing.
I cleared my mind of any ulterior motives and answered plainly.
"It suits you well."
My dry response made Meari's confident smile falter.
"...That's it?"
"Yeah. Lots of people wear that style these days."
"Huh...? Really?"
Meari looked puzzled by my answer but soon nodded.
"Alright, where to first?"
I hadn't set a specific order.
Hunters woke up at all different times anyway.
Best to tackle the ones already awake first.
I messaged the team leader.
[Team Leader]: Start with Room 301. He's been up for about 30 minutes. Hunter Kwon Geonwoo.
The team leader replied immediately, assigning me the currently awake hunter.
"Room 301, Hunter Kwon Geonwoo."
"Kwon Geonwoo..."
Meari nodded.
Room 301 was in the opposite building.
It'd take a bit to walk there.
I pondered as we walked.
Hunter Kwon Geonwoo...
His name wasn't one of those superstar hunters you heard about often.
But being in Daehae Guild meant he was highly skilled regardless.
During his consultation earlier, he'd just been sitting on the bed, clutching his head.
He wasn't unresponsive or anything.
According to him, his emotions felt amplified.
But he hesitated to specify what those amplified emotions were.
So I'd used the system to check his true feelings.
That was his state.
"Do you know Hunter Kwon Geonwoo?"
I asked Meari, a woman, before the consultation—just in case of any surprises.
"Yeah... I do."
"What's he like?"
"Normally... just a diligent guy with no issues. That's it. But..."
She hesitated, as if debating whether to say more.
I waited patiently without pressing.
Meari let out a small sigh and finally spoke.
"After getting cursed in the dungeon, he wasn't right even inside. He suddenly lunged at a female teammate."
"...I see."
"And once outside, he lunged at me too."
His condition was worse than I'd thought.
His sexual desires from the Main Stance had already manifested externally.
Direct contact might be risky.
Better to observe through the glass wall, assess precisely, and treat with limited interaction.
By now, control center staff should've called him to the isolation consultation room anyway.
We arrived at Room 301 and prepared to enter.
But then.
Meari's outfit caught my eye a bit.
It highlighted her curves so clearly.
"..."
- Swish.
Without hesitation, I removed my white doctor's coat and handed it to her.
"Want to wear this?"
"..."
Meari looked at the coat, let out a small "Ah," and nodded.
"Thanks."
She draped it on without protest.
The loose coat fully covered her body.
A faint lavender scent from her mixed with the subtle coffee aroma lingering on my coat.
"No problem. Just in case."
It wasn't Kwon Geonwoo's fault, but better safe.
- Sniff. Sniff.
I ignored Meari subtly inhaling the coffee scent and opened the consultation room door.
Inside sat Hunter Kwon Geonwoo, looking haggard.
His gaze flicked to me briefly...
Then locked onto Meari following behind.
I turned on the mic and spoke softly.
"Hunter Kwon Geonwoo. Did you sleep well?"
"..."
He ignored me.
Just stared piercingly at Meari.
Good call on the coat.
"..."
Meari met his gaze and stepped aside.
"Hunter Kwon Geonwoo?"
I called again to redirect his attention.
But he remained silent.
[...Target's aggression is rising!]
The system window flashed red with a warning. Nothing done, yet things were heading south fast.
No options left for me.
Right then, Meari boldly approached the reinforced glass wall.
Kwon Geonwoo shot up from his chair.
[!!! Danger! Target's aggression is about to explode!]
"Wait, Meari...!"
I called urgently. Stimulating the patient wasn't good.
But Meari ignored it, extended her hand, and fired a rainbow orb.
That instant.
- Crack!
From behind Kwon Geonwoo beyond the glass, something tore in the air.
Meari's rainbow sphere trapped a black, smoky entity.
"Got it."
Meari murmured.
The black form shrieked and thrashed wildly, but Meari tightened her grip, refusing to let go.
Kwon Geonwoo's eyes gradually lost focus, and he collapsed to the floor.
"What is that?"
I narrowed my eyes, trying to identify the shadowy form wriggling inside the light sphere.
"Looks like a demon."
Meari replied calmly.
Then.
Correct! It is a demon!
Hunter Kwon Geonwoo's desires were exploding, and the demon was about to fully dominate him—that split-second when it was temporarily exposed externally! Hunter Meari captured its true body!
...Does that even make sense?
"Saw something squirming weirdly, so I grabbed it. Seems I caught it good."
Meari shrugged.
What luck!
✨( • ̀ - •́ )✧✨
- Kieeeek!!!
It thrashed madly to escape.
Just then, the control room speaker blared the team leader's urgent shout.
- Counselor! It's a demon!
"Yeah. Seems so."
I already knew.
"What to do?"
Meari asked me, hand still extended.
- Hunter Meari!! Incinerate it immediately!!
The team leader shouted again, but Meari glanced at the speaker and asked me once more.
"What should we do, Doctor?"
Only one answer.
The demon looked incomplete—not a full entity.
A lesser one.
Lesser demons lose all reason outside.
Interrogation pointless.
No reason to keep it.
"Crush it."
A bright smile bloomed on Meari's face.
"Yup."
- Crunch!
She clenched her fist lightly, and the rainbow sphere turned blood-red, contracting fiercely inward.
- Kieeek!!
That was the demon's final screech.
"...Success."
The first consultation ended just like that.
My synergy with Meari was incredibly smooth.
She ignored my request to return the doctor's coat and proceeded to handle hunter after hunter.
Most saw their internal demons torn apart at her touch.
Just as we'd finished the fifth one.
I watched Meari saunter out in my coat and couldn't hold back.
"Time to change clothes..."
"Noooope."
Before I finished, she childishly clutched the collar and replied.
She admired her reflection in a window mirror and murmured contentedly.
"Looks good."
No intention of returning it whatsoever.
As I sighed, my phone buzzed with a message from the team leader.
Info on the next patient.
[Team Leader]: Next are the couple in Room 407, Lee Joon-hyuk and Jang Na-hyun.
- Flinch.
My body stiffened instantly.
Of all people.
It was that couple.
The ones who ignored me completely and kept doing their thing under the covers no matter what I said.
Meari tilted her head at my expression.
"What's wrong? Who's next?"
"...Hunter Lee Joon-hyuk... and Hunter Jang Na-hyun."
"Gasp."
She covered her mouth in shock.
We'd arrived at Room 407. With trembling hands, I cautiously opened the door.
Why was I shaking like this?
It was a tension totally unlike facing a dangerous foe.
The observation room was dark, and the consultation room beyond the glass was empty.
Maybe they're behaving today...?
A fleeting vain hope crossed my mind.
"...Where are they..."
But.
Peering through the glass, I spotted it.
A large bed in the room's center.
A massive blanket mound atop it.
And it was rhythmically undulating up and down.
- ... ...Ugh ...Mm.
Muffled sounds—laughter? Or something else?—leaked from under the blanket.
"Oh my. Already in the morning?"
Meari chuckled in admiration beside me.
What to do with that?
Last time, they at least poked their heads out like turtles.
Now, not even that.
Seemed worse.
And now Meari was here too.
Embarrassing for her to see.
"Ah..."
I already felt exhausted.