Today's To-Do List
***
"...So that's what happened."
Lee Yeonhee nodded along as she summoned me after returning home and completing my recovery. She then gave me a detailed account of everything I'd missed while I was gone.
'Maeng Seong-yong, was it? He's got a sharp eye on the White Knight Guild.'
After listening to her story, my opinion of the Hunter Association actually improved slightly. The White Knight Guild maintained an incredibly positive public image. They valued honor over money and avoided meaningless conflicts with other factions unless there was a clear justification. They didn't even participate in the Guild Wars, which were basically a contest to see who could rake in the most cash. Instead, they protected and supported the weak, spending a significant portion of their dungeon earnings on charitable causes. They were the most beloved guild in Korea by a wide margin.
Yet that man already seemed to know about the guild's darker side. It meant he had information-gathering networks planted in each major guild.
'Is there any way I could use the Association...?'
While I was lost in thought, Yeonhee scooted closer and spoke again.
"So— the only things left now are... meeting Jua's friend and finding one more new member."
She had written "Today's To-Do List" in her cute, tiny handwriting inside a small notebook. Underneath the title, completed tasks were neatly underlined. I also spotted the words "Bad Red Hood Person!" written in red ink.
I reflexively reached out and stroked her head. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in even closer and asked,
"What do you think? In Ilwol's opinion, how is Bae Jua?"
I didn't need to think deeply about what she was asking and answered immediately.
"Clack clack clack!!"
'She's good! At first it wasn't obvious, but her combat sense is solid, her stats look decent, and her judgment is excellent.'
"Hehe, Ilwol likes her too?"
I kept nodding, and she suddenly put on a serious expression.
"...But aren't you being a little too positive? Why... Ilwol, do you have a thing for girls with glasses?"
"Clack—"
"Hehet— Ilwol got flustered! So cute!"
'Huh? How did she know?'
It was true that I liked women who wore glasses. More precisely, I liked pretty women who wore glasses.
'What a surprise...'
Whenever Yeonhee made that scary face while teasing me, it felt like my nonexistent heart would drop to the floor.
"Alright— shall we look together?"
Yeonhee lay on her stomach using Wangwang as a pillow and placed her phone screen on the floor.
"The Jua that Ilwol really likes seems to be quite diligent. She's already sent me several candidates?"
"...Clack..."
'Someone save me...'
"Puhuhu— Okay, I won't tease you anymore."
The party recruitment post currently up on the site had apparently been written by Bae Jua's friend who was about to join us. Since that person had been active a bit longer than us at D-rank, it would probably be easier for them to recruit. Plus, that person was apparently quite well-known within D-rank circles.
She'd said I'd understand once I saw it, and the moment she said that, I had a pretty good idea what she meant.
Together with Yeonhee, I looked over the profiles of the people Bae Jua had selected from those who applied to our recruitment post.
'As expected— everyone thinks alike.'
She'd picked five people, and all but one were support types. It was probably a pick that took into account the composition of the summons Yeonhee used.
Yeonhee carefully read through all five introductions, then pointed at the profile of the only female applicant and said,
"I'm most curious about this person. The fact that she sings during battle is so fascinating. I can't even imagine it."
'She's a Bard type. Normally those are in such high demand that people would be scrambling to recruit them. Why is she wandering around as a free agent? Anyway, this is exactly the type I wanted.'
It was a very unique class that provided buffs to allies and debuffs to enemies by singing or playing instruments directly.
"Her main specialties are Peace of Mind and a very minor sustained heal. She's honest, this person. She didn't need to specifically write 'very minor.'"
I nodded.
'Hmm... Maybe there's some kind of story behind it? Like she can only heal tiny scratches and got cursed out by party members for not meeting their expectations?'
Anyway, it was a shame she didn't have Mental Protection, but it wasn't bad. The healing probably shouldn't be counted on as written, though.
"What do you think? There are Cleric and Paladin types too. If we're thinking about healing, wouldn't it be better to go with them?"
'It's true that having even one healer gives the party a sense of stability. Since we'll probably have more battles that drag on from now on, it seems like she's preparing for that...'
But healing could be covered with potions and the holy water from Irmana's lake that we'd just obtained. Of course it couldn't compare to the skills of Clerics and Paladins, but against monsters that used mental magic, this Bard seemed like the most useful choice.
"Oh, Jua added an extra comment under this person. 'This individual is mentally unstable. Please take into account that there is a chance her skill may fail.' Hmm..."
'A mentally unstable Bard-type supporter... Hmm?'
The registered keyword pulled up a small fragment of memory I'd forgotten.
The person I'd seen when fighting the Orc Legion Commander came to mind. The one who kept popping pills into her mouth even during battle, climbed onto a rock, and sang at the top of her lungs toward the battlefield. She'd been such an out-of-place existence even in that fierce battlefield that the memory had stuck with me despite only sharing the same space for a short time.
'Just the fact that she was there is enough to pass. It means she can at least reach B-rank or higher.'
"I want to meet this singing person once. What do you think?"
I nodded repeatedly.
She was full of curiosity despite barely being able to speak properly when she actually met people. In the end, Yeonhee chose the Bard hunter named Ham Eun-yeong, and shortly after, a message came from Bae Jua.
"Huh? Um... Yes, yes..."
Yeonhee seemed flustered, clearly not expecting to meet them so soon.
"Uwaa... What should I do, Ilwol? An evening meetup with people my age... I don't even have anything to wear..."
"......"
Yeonhee had finally realized she was short on clothes. I wondered what she would wear.
'She could just buy something on the way.'
Yeonhee usually bought most things online. I wasn't sure if she could handle the awkward stares from store employees in person.
Contrary to my small expectations, she only panicked and couldn't come up with any solutions. Time passed, and she eventually showed up at the café in her padded jacket. Of course, I accompanied her in stealth.
"Over here!"
I saw Bae Jua's raised arm. When we approached, the rest of the group had already arrived.
'Whoa... It's really gloomy.'
"......"
The woman sitting next to Bae Jua was dressed entirely in black, heavily armed in darkness. She sat motionless like a corpse, staring only at a hand mirror. The heavy dark circles under her eyes intensified the damp atmosphere, while her deeply sunken cheeks and fingers that seemed to be nothing but bones looked like they might snap at any moment.
"Hellooo!!"
"Hello."
And the person sitting across from Bae Jua was an extremely pretty... beastman with light brown hair. To be precise, a hunter who had gained beastman traits and had part of her appearance transformed to resemble an animal.
'I was right.'
My guess based on the "you'll know when you see it" comment had been correct. She had long white ears stretching from the sides of her head, red eyes, and soft white fur neatly settled on the backs of her hands. Just from that, I could guess which animal she'd been influenced by.
Fortunately there were almost no other people on the second floor of the café, but if she went out to a slightly busier area, her appearance would definitely draw everyone's attention.
'Rabbit beastman trait... That's really rare. With looks like this and coming from the Ilseom Guild, there's no way I wouldn't remember her?'
Since nothing came to mind, she was probably either a hunter who hadn't made a big name for herself in my previous life, or someone who had already died or gone underground by the time I was active.
'Her movement speed must be incredible. With those ears, she could serve as a scout too. And she's from Ilseom...'
Her conditions were so good that it was strange Bae Jua hadn't mentioned her earlier.
"Hello."
Yeonhee greeted Bae Jua and the others warmly and sat down next to the woman with rabbit ears.
The hunter sitting beside Yeonhee, true to her beastman nature, immediately began sniffing the moment Yeonhee sat down.
"Ah! Don't mind it. It just comes out instinctively, hahaha—"
Her bright smile that revealed her pure and cheerful personality, along with the nasal tone unique to beastmen, made her even more distinctive.
'Good thing she's the complete opposite of that gloomy one.'
The supporter Ham Eun-yeong still hadn't said a word and kept staring at her hand mirror. What a unique character. She actually drew more attention than the rabbit beastman.
After they seemed to have gotten somewhat familiar with each other's faces, Bae Jua began the formal introductions starting with her friend.
"This friend's name is Baek A-rin. Just like her name, she's my one and only friend with an incredibly pretty face. We went to the same academy, and she's so talented that even though we started together, she reached D-rank before me... Um... Anyway, she's a really capable hunter!"
"Ah— Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Yeonhee. Please take care of me."
"Hehe— I've heard a lot about you from Jua~ Wow— You're so pretty."
"Ah, no. A-rin, you're much prettier."
"No, you're seriously the prettiest person I've ever seen!"
"Ah, but A-rin, you're more—"
'What are you two doing...?'
They suddenly started a mutual appearance compliment battle. Were women born with that repertoire as a passive skill? Of course, they both had faces worthy of such compliments.
"Ah, and the person next to me is Ham Eun-yeong. As you heard, she's a supporter, so it looks like we'll be relying on her a lot!"
It didn't seem like my imagination. Bae Jua clearly found Ham Eun-yeong difficult to approach as well.
"I'll introduce Eun-yeong unnie. We went into a dungeon together a few weeks ago."
"Ah, I see..."
Yeonhee's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between them.
"She can quickly dispel simple mental magic. Things like Ghost's Lethargy, Night Hag's Sleep, or Grey Mold's Slow!"
"Wow... Understood."
"Her ability is solid, but... she has some ups and downs. Unnie has apparently suffered from severe depression since she was young."
"Ah..."
She didn't need to explain it. It was obvious just looking at her.
At that moment, the supporter Ham Eun-yeong put away her hand mirror and spoke in an extremely faint voice.
"I'll... try... not to... cause any trouble..."
She seemed to mumble something afterward in a voice as quiet as an ant's footsteps, but I couldn't hear it at all. She was probably saying she'd do her best.
'At this level, shouldn't she just go to the hospital?'
As if reading my inner thoughts, Ham Eun-yeong cleared her throat once and said,
"If I... take my medicine... on time... I'll be... fine."
'Ugh— This is killing me.'
Yeonhee stuttered a bit, but this woman had such long pauses between words that listening to her made my insides feel completely clogged up.
'I'll get a feel for it once we go out together once. Let's just try it.'
"Yeonhee also got promoted today. Shall we head out starting tomorrow? With the minimum number of people, right?"
"Yeah. Four should be enough, right? Since we have Yeonhee."
"Yes, yes. I'm fine with it. What about Eun-yeong...?"
"......"
"If Eun-yeong unnie doesn't say anything, it means okay. Then since everyone agrees, shall we try the Orc Warrior right away?"
The 'Plain of the Blue Moon,' a dungeon where Orc Warriors were the main monsters, was considered mid-difficulty for D-rank. Since we'd obtained an excellent achievement, we should be able to handle it more easily than other hunters.
"There you go exaggerating again, Bunny. You're telling us to go to a place you've never even been to yourself."
"I'm saying let's go because I haven't been! And didn't you get the Orc achievement too? What's the problem?"
"No, there's also the matter of mental preparation."
"Ugh, I don't know. I don't want to see Lesser Dire Wolves anymore. I hear howling in my dreams now?"
"That's not the real reason. It's because of those people—"
"It's not."
Baek A-rin seemed to want to skip the lowest-level dungeons at D-rank. At that moment, Yeonhee glanced in my direction before hurriedly expressing her opinion.
"U-um, for now... I'd like to experience the lowest dungeon at least once."
"Oh, really? Well... Experiencing each one at least once for practice... Hmm."
'Yes, we can't skip it. I need to steal that skill.'