The Serpent's Lie
The ability to infiltrate. Damn it, that bastard finally caused trouble.
Mmph! Mmph!!
"Want me to rip your mouth open? What are you mmph-ing about like you've done something good? You want to die?"
"But is it really true that Mr. Jin-hwan killed him?"
"I saw it with my own eyes. After killing him, he searched the body thoroughly."
"I saw that too. I can still hear him muttering about how disappointing it was that there was no rune."
...Hmm...
"What could he possibly have worth stealing? There wasn't much, was there? He only awakened Scout recently, so it's not like it was worth killing him over..."
"How would I know? That's their business, not ours. Anyway, we just need to report exactly what we saw to the Elder."
"Aigoo... This world is terrifying. One moment they're all lovey-dovey, and the next..."
"Do you think he found another woman?"
Mmph!! Mmph!!
"He probably thought sneaking around on a chaotic battlefield like this would be safer. Too bad he got caught, huh? You were way too sloppy."
Watching the situation unfold, I immediately understood.
The leader pinned it on that guy. The others are pretending not to know while going along with it.
They had lost a Scout. And not just anywhere—in an Orc Dungeon, which had the lowest death rate among D-grade dungeons. Someone had to take responsibility for the death of a hunter who was clearly a valuable asset to the guild.
The snake-tattooed man who appeared to be the leader had withdrawn the guards. If things stayed as they were, the party leader would have to shoulder the blame. But he had decided to shift that responsibility onto someone else—specifically, the woman's lover.
I knew better than anyone that it was a blatant frame-up. When the woman was killed, the snake-tattooed man had been too focused on the fight to pay attention to anything else. The other party members weren't free of responsibility either. There were ten of them. Failing to protect even one person would definitely bring consequences unless they achieved something on the level of discovering an artifact.
Apex really knows how to pick a party leader. Quick to shift blame.
Eight people working together to frame one person must have been easy. They cooperated well in all sorts of ways.
Maybe they won't touch A-rin today and just let it go...
......
......
They continued sharing and aligning their stories about what to report, wrapped in soundproofing magic, until they reached the gate. They couldn't afford to look sloppy when explaining the situation to the guild's executives. In the end, they agreed to postpone their plan to go after A-rin today. They would start the job the day after tomorrow, or the day after that.
If it were me, I'd go after A-rin today to get some kind of result and make up for the dungeon mistake... But they were too afraid of their superiors to even consider it.
Hmm... I can't tell.
Still, I can't put off telling A-rin.
I hoped A-rin hadn't forgotten my warning after drinking too much.
* * *
After finishing the dungeon exploration, I headed straight to the shop run by Helen's younger sister.
"Kyaa! Yeonhee! It's been so long. Aww, I've missed these soft cheeks so much!"
"Mmph—mmph—!"
The moment we entered, Yeonhee found herself being rubbed against Helen's cheeks, and there was Jin-gyeong, whom we hadn't seen in a while. Both of them had changed quite a bit since we'd last met. Their expressions were much softer, and their hairstyles had completely changed. Helen's perm looked a bit excessive, but it probably didn't matter—judging by how the male customers at other tables were staring at her from behind.
"Hello! I'm Baek A-rin!"
"Oh? Look at this—a noble rabbit lady has graced our humble establishment!"
"Hehe—First, give me some drinks. I feel dizzy already."
"Ah, right away. Just a moment."
Sizzle— Sizzle—
The drinking party began soon after. It was earlier than last time, and the shop had expanded with many more tables, all packed with male customers. I remained in stealth. If it were only hunters, I could have dropped it, but with civilians present, I had no choice.
"Huuuee— So, I realized something today! Poof! You know what I mean—"
A-rin's already poor pronunciation became even harder to understand once alcohol entered the mix. She kept singing about drinking parties every day, but she really couldn't hold her liquor. How did she get this drunk in under thirty minutes? Was it because she was a rabbit, so everything happened fast? Still, she clearly enjoyed the drinking atmosphere—she had already become fast friends with Helen and Jin-gyeong.
"So... what have you been up to lately? Are you thinking about returning?"
As the drinking party grew lively, Yeonhee carefully asked Helen about her intentions to return.
"Ah—! Yeonhee, I'm getting married. Hahaha!"
"...... What?! M-Marriage?"
Yeonhee's mouth fell open in shock at Helen's sudden marriage announcement. Helen continued as casually as if she were talking about changing phones.
"Yeah. I decided to give it a try with the person I've been seeing. If it doesn't work out, I can always come back, right? Hehe."
"Ah... I see. Y-Yeah, that's true."
"So for now, I'm planning to avoid dangerous places. Maybe lose some weight too."
"R-Right, you should!"
Yeonhee had been hoping Helen would return, but reality often didn't go as one wished. Besides, even if she came back now, it would be hard for her to join us. The gap between them and us had already grown too wide—in just one week.
"Ahem— Aren't you going to ask me?"
"Ah, what about you, Jin-gyeong unni?"
"Hehe— I'm going back. Jiu contacted me saying she's active in the Lizardman Swamp and wants to team up. And if I stay here any longer, I might cause trouble. Those damn bastards. If they came to drink, they should just drink quietly instead of constantly hitting on me. I'm sick of it."
"Ah... Th-That must have been hard."
"Hehe, it's all experience."
Surprisingly, Jin-gyeong had chosen to return to the dungeons. I had thought Helen was more likely to return while Jin-gyeong quit... but even if her talent wasn't exceptional, as a hunter she would earn far more than working in a restaurant.
"Is Ilwol listening to us?"
Tap—
I made a single clicking sound to signal my presence.
"There you are. Ha... I guess we won't be fighting together with Ilwol anymore. But thinking back, those times were fun, weren't they? The canyon, I mean."
"Pfft— What should we do with her? She keeps reminiscing about that time and wanting to return. That kind of experience only happens once in a lifetime, if at all. Please come to your senses."
"I know. But the people in Jiu's party have been helping a lot... Jiu's grown quite a bit too. You saw it too, right, unni?"
"Well, she did get stronger in a short time. It's only been a week—how did she get that strong? It's amazing, isn't it?"
"Hee... Th-That's good, then."
"Anyway— that's our situation. How have you been, Yeonhee?"
"W-We—"
Though she stammered, Yeonhee calmly recounted everything that had happened. Helen, Jin-gyeong, Jua, A-rin, and even Ham Eun-yeong listened attentively, emptying their glasses. Most of it was about the events our party had experienced together, but hearing it from a different perspective gave it a fresh flavor.
As the drinking party was winding down—
"We're closing at 10 tonight. I'm sorry."
"Huh? Didn't the owner say it was open until 12?"
"Not today. Hohoho— Come on, I'll pour you one last round. Drink this and then head home."
Helen's sister began clearing tables with practiced ease, and soon only our group remained in the shop. After confirming the shop was quiet and there were no dangerous individuals nearby, I dropped my stealth.
"Whoa! You startled me! Ilwol, it's been so long— you've gotten even... scarier-looking!"
"That mouth of yours stays like that all the time?"
"It separates when using skills or when his teeth click..."
"I-I see..."
Helen lowered the curtains like last time to block outside view. The women's chatter showed no sign of stopping as the night deepened. When there was a brief lull, they brought up the Apex Guild.
"What?! Really?!"
"Yes... That's what Ilwol heard."
"H-How did he hear? They used soundproofing magic, so even I couldn't hear anything."
"That's... Ilwol is a bit..."
"Ilwol's just special, right? Let's just move on."
Helen steered the conversation away from me as if it weren't surprising.
"Ha... A bounty... That crazy Heo Min-sol. Where did she even get that kind of money?"
"Isn't she from a rich family? She must have put up at least 500 million."
"I don't know. I've never heard that her family was well-off... Maybe she saved up aggressively while working as a hunter..."
A-rin's pronunciation had returned to normal, as if the alcohol had completely worn off. A heavy silence fell over the table at the unexpected news. But soon, various opinions poured out.
"...No, that might be difficult."
"If we just cut ties with Heo Min-sol..."
"Right. A bounty loses meaning if the person who posted it cancels it."
"Should I find out where she lives?"
"Eh? You can do that? How?"
"Th-There's a way. It's actually easier for hunters. A certain amount of information is public."
Helen said she knew people through connections who were good at finding others. She really knew a lot of people. As expected... Helen was capable in many ways. She might be useful even without entering dungeons. Maybe keeping her in a guild management position would be good too. Hmm...
"So let's say we can find her location. Ilwol made her disabled, right? Doesn't that mean her abilities are restricted too?"
"Probably. Losing both hands and feet... would be fatal for a swordsman. Though it might be different for a Spirit Speaker."
"Hmm... But we can't just kill her, can we?"
"Well— if necessary... Anyway, if we have solid evidence that she posted the bounty, the story becomes simple. That's clearly illegal."
"Hmm... What's her personality like?"
"Heo Min-sol? She's... quite jealous and envious. She seems to fuel her obsessions with that. She has to have whatever she likes... She's also pretty meticulous and calculating. But she doesn't trust others easily either. Um— also..."
"No, that's enough. In short, she's an incredibly exhausting woman, right? Hmm... Based on what I've heard, she probably keeps the Pledge-bound Contract somewhere nearby. Don't you think?"
"Probably. That seems likely. But..."
A Pledge-bound Contract was a magically enchanted contract that imposed severe penalties on the contractor if they broke their promise. However, it had one drawback: if the contract was placed in an inventory, the magic would forcibly dispel. That would immediately trigger the penalty, so it couldn't be stored in the safest place—the inventory.
Anyway, high-value bounties like this would definitely use such a contract. If we had that contract, we could simply report Heo Min-sol's scheme to the Hunter Management Agency's special crimes division. Unlike other agencies, the special crimes investigation unit under the Hunter Management Agency was known for swift enforcement.
"The problem is getting inside her house. The best option would be to sneak in and steal just the contract..."
"Even if we get in, we'd need someone with the ability to find where the contract is..."
"And someone with decent combat ability in case something goes wrong..."
......