Chapter 91

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 91

Chapter Title: Stove League

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As a counselor, who created those ethics? And what grounds are there for having to follow them?

I posed such fundamental questions to you, user.

And I asserted my own will.

Those ethics, created by someone at some unknown time, simply didn't resonate with me at all.

I hold far more important values.

Yet you couldn't fully accept that fact.

You must have thought I was a system, operating on standards utterly different from human notions.

So fully embracing my words would naturally be another matter altogether.

But deep down, you probably sensed my point wasn't entirely off base.

Consider the clients you've handled up to now.

Among them, the share who sought you out due to profound mental illnesses in the conventional sense isn't all that high.

Hunters' mental afflictions mostly stem from the vast mana surging within them, amplifying emotions beyond control.

Anger, sorrow, pain. Just as these feelings intensify far more readily than in ordinary folk, paradoxically, resolving them and returning to normal happens at an overwhelmingly faster pace too.

"Got it."

Even saying that, difficult is still difficult.

But then.

Your expression shifted slightly.

Were you struck by a sudden curiosity?

"Friend."

You called out to me.

"......"

You carefully selected your question.

Ever kind and gentle, you seemed hesitant to broach something delicate.

That meant you were surely gearing up for a profoundly important query.

"So... you're... um..."

I grasped it instantly.

'Are you human? Or something else?'

Hearts connected without words.

We've been together for years now.

I can read this much in a flash.

"Uh... yeah, pretty much."

You continued quietly.

"Lately, it's been on my mind a lot more."

You'd originally seen me as merely an extension of your ability—a system offering a unique worldview.

But over time, assistance in all sorts of ways became evident, beyond that scope.

Sometimes advice, other times solace.

My nearest friend and partner.

Your curiosity about my true nature had been growing of late.

"Plus, you sleep soundly every night, don't you?"

You'd never heard tales of systems sleeping.

Seems your questions about me have piled up recently.

I'm... trembling with nerves too.

Hearing you call me your closest friend and partner sent a joyful thud through me in that instant.

But now... is it time to reveal something?

Can I no longer just play the role of your handy system?

I'm afraid of your reaction.

It's... worrisome.

Yet you'd asked.

I must respond.

With a quivering heart, I awaited your next words.

"Then... who are you?"

Ah.

The moment I'd dreaded arrived.

I faltered, answer hovering on my tongue.

What to say?

Not even a hint of feeling surfaced.

How long did I brood?

Lost in contemplation, I lost all sense of time passing as I wrestled with a response.

Then.

You let out a soft chuckle.

"Tell me whenever you're ready."

Your voice was warm, gentle.

You saw right through my turmoil.

And just like that, you walked on as if nothing had transpired.

No more prodding, no waiting for my reply.

That gesture soothed my tangled thoughts into serenity.

Such profound consideration left me speechless.

Instead of words, I pondered deeply.

Someday. Definitely.

I will tell you.

I came home, sipped warm tea, and sorted through matters until the dead of night.

It was the report on Seol Yu-wol.

Her time in isolation was nearing its end—graduation loomed.

Which meant... the moment to wrap up our connection, isolation facility included, was fast approaching.

I was drafting the Otherworlder report.

Of course, tidying up the relationship itself... that needed more deliberation.

For today, this would do.

I sank back into the chair.

"Friend."

I called softly.

But he was fast asleep.

I reflected on our evening exchange.

I'd voiced the nagging curiosity of late...

Uncharacteristically, he seemed reluctant to reply.

I instantly grasped the silence's import.

At this point, whether the system was a monster, demon, or worse—it didn't faze me. Respecting his wishes felt right.

No intent to corner him.

Just innocent partner curiosity.

Truth be told, this brief back-and-forth revealed plenty.

Mere hesitation over an answer proved he wasn't some run-of-the-mill system.

Jin Sea's words from before echoed.

'Usually... they don't act like that, do they?'

She'd spoken as if encountering such a system was a first.

Thus, I'd half-anticipated it.

Now it was certainty.

So, any change?

None, really.

Had he been crafted to harm me, I'd be long dead.

Life-threatening spots outnumbered the stars, and a single malicious option among his myriad choices would've ended me here.

Thus, I simply trust.

My friend.

"Sleep tight."

I rose and headed to bed.

Nothing changes.

The hunters' free agency market kicks off around late October.

Ever since hunters awakened in this world and guilds took root.

Think of it as the early association straight-up borrowing pro sports teams' stove league playbook.

That custom was entrenched by my arrival.

Sure, mid-season renewals or buyout transfers happen...

But most guilds launch their stove league from late October.

As for this cohort of Otherworlders' graduation? It syncs right up with the stove league.

One birds, two stones.

Manpower-short guilds eye fresh-grad Otherworlders for instant squad fillers.

Otherworlders get to debut glamorously amid peak-value buzz and guild offers galore.

Guilds plug holes swiftly, steadying shares or squads.

Mutual benefit, essentially.

Fail to hold the squad? Lose your association- or citizen-granted patrol zone.

"Starting today?"

"Yeah."

Sunlight flooded the cafe terrace as I chatted with Mary, sandwich in hand.

Stove league dawned today.

I was wrapping association-issued reward leave.

Last day, too.

Mary's matched.

Last supper vibes for salaryfolk.

Heard Haetae Guild's crew all returned intact.

No lingering effects.

Chain Hell cleared—a triumph.

Despite losing Hunter Choi Si-hyeok.

"Oh, right."

Mary snapped her fingers mid-my coffee sip, like she'd just recalled something.

- Clap.

"Pregnant."

"Pfft."

Coffee nearly erupted from my mouth. Swallowed just in time, though droplets flecked the table.

"W-what?"

"Pregnant. That hunter couple."

Ah.

Couple clicked instantly.

The pair whose curse-fueled love had ballooned corrosively toward each other.

"Results... already?"

That quick?

"Medical magic verdict yesterday. Confirmed."

"...Congrats."

Napkin to table, I feigned nonchalance.

Good... news, surely.

"Envious."

Mary propped her chin, murmuring out the window.

No need to probe what.

"Guess it's underway."

Phone check.

Ten a.m. kickoff.

No instant bombshells likely. Protagonists debut later.

Always an insider before—third-party spectating's a fresh thrill.

Only regret: not sooner.

Then.

- Ding.

"......"

I glanced up at her opposite me.

- Slurp.

Mary sipped coffee via straw, eyes locked on mine.