The Lie Detector's Doubt

We had unsealed the Gyeolbaek Dungeon, but the sheer number of officials gathered near the entrance made it clear the investigation was still underway. It wouldn't be long before the heightened senses of the investigators uncovered the bodies—and with them, the hidden chamber the Blue Eye cult had carved out below.

Sticking around will only invite trouble... Should we just leave now? No, slipping away would look even more suspicious.

If the bodies inside the Blue Eye's chamber were discovered, the cause of death would be scrutinized, and every hunter who had entered today would fall under suspicion. We continued hunting while wrestling with the dilemma, and after three hours of clearing monsters near the entrance, we finally learned we no longer had anything to worry about.

The hunters clustered by the entrance were gossiping loudly, as if the information wasn't worth hiding.

"When did that happen?"

"About two hours ago? They found bodies with their heads cut clean off."

"Then why are the investigators injured? I heard some of them were in pretty bad shape."

"Apparently there was a hidden space underground near the bodies. The moment they stepped inside, something exploded."

"Was it a terrorist attack targeting the investigators?"

"Who knows? Not many people like those unlucky bastards anyway. You think someone deliberately set a trap for them? That sounds a bit much."

"But if it wasn't that, then..."

"Shh! They're coming."

When a large group of Hunter Administration officials appeared inside the dungeon, the chattering hunters fell silent. Half fearful, half curious, they watched the new investigators. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The officials' sharp, scrutinizing gazes as they entered only heightened the tension—perhaps because their colleagues had been seriously injured and replacements had been sent in. Yet their arrogant posture, chins raised and shoulders squared, was no different from the Hunter Administration officials I remembered.

All that posturing, and they're still just E-rank like the rest of us.

If the explosion had been powerful enough to injure investigators, the bodies inside must have been heavily damaged.

The robed guy we met in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the tomb had his head blown off too. Not quite an explosion, but...

Recalling that moment, it wasn't hard to suspect the explosion had also been arranged by the Blue Eye. Perhaps the high priest's body or cloak had contained such a function.

We need to be careful... An explosion, of all things...

Yeonhee felt the same relief I did.

(Phew... We almost got caught up in something big, didn't we?)

I nodded.

The new investigators began questioning the hunters one by one at the entrance. Yeonhee had already dismissed her other summons, keeping only me beside her as she waited her turn.

"Huh? What's with this skeleton?"

The investigator looked slightly flustered at the sight of me, then glanced at the document containing Yeonhee's profile and nodded.

"Lee Yeonhee-ssi. Please tell me your movements today. From the moment you entered until now, in detail."

The way he talks makes me want to punch him.

His stiff tone, as if addressing a potential criminal, rubbed me the wrong way, and I found myself folding my arms. Yeonhee, however, answered calmly without seeming particularly bothered.

"...Yes, that's right. I saw a lot of posts on the community saying people were only hunting near the entrance, so we stayed in this area the whole time. There were only goblins, so we were planning to leave anyway."

"Hmm. I heard you took a slightly different direction from the official route when you departed?"

"I wanted to avoid the places other people were going. Since it was near the entrance, I was confident I could handle the monsters on my own. I didn't want to share the rewards for no reason."

"What if you ran into a pack of Fire Monkeys by yourself? Are you saying you have that level of ability?"

Unlike with the other hunters, they spent far more time questioning us. If the official had been male, I might have assumed he had ulterior motives toward Yeonhee, but this one was a woman. She kept pressing questions with a deeply suspicious gaze, looking almost displeased.

Yeonhee seemed to be getting annoyed as well. She closed her eyes and began chanting. Five portals rippled into existence around us, and five Lizardmen emerged one by one, glaring at the official in unison.

"Eek—! W-what are you doing?! Are you trying to start something?!"

"You doubted my abilities, so I'm showing you. I have other summons as well—would you like to see more?"

The surrounding officials and hunters, startled, had already drawn weapons from their inventories. Just then, a man approached with a sigh and spoke to the investigator.

"Hey, Investigator Cha. We don't have much time. The sun's already starting to set—how long are you going to keep the hunters here? Go check the scene quickly. I'll handle things here."

"Pardon? Ah, yes, Team Leader!! Th-then—"

The female investigator handed her documents to the man who had approached from behind, bowed hurriedly, and rushed toward the investigation team. Even as she left, she shot Yeonhee one last glare. I couldn't quite figure out what had annoyed her so much.

She's pretty, young, and talented, so maybe she's jealous? I don't know... Women, tsk.

"We meet again, Yeonhee-ssi. We saw each other once before, didn't we?"

Of all the rotten luck... This bastard's still E-rank?

It was Jeong Hyochan, the man who had investigated the deaths of the three hunters who had approached Yeonhee with ill intentions two weeks ago. He smiled faintly as he flipped through the documents.

"Ah, hello..."

"Yes. Last time and this time both, we end up with fatalities, don't we? Let's see..."

Damn it... Of all people, it had to be this guy... If he uses his lie-detection ability, we'll be caught for sure.

Jeong Hyochan's gaze traveled down the documents for a long moment before he closed the file. Looking at Yeonhee, he began drawing up his mana.

"Lee Yeonhee-ssi, have you ever been to the underground chamber in this dungeon?"

It was essentially the same as asking whether she had harmed the investigators. If the question had been phrased that directly, there would have been nothing to fear, but the way he asked made it clear he hadn't become the team leader of investigators in a low-grade dungeon for nothing. The moment he spoke, the mana he had gathered materialized and spread outward, creeping toward Yeonhee.

I can see it flying straight at her. That scale-shaped mana is writhing... Damn it, can't we block it?

No matter how negligent Jeong Hyochan usually was, this was different—his colleagues had been injured. His eyes alone showed clear determination.

...Should I kill him?

The thought flashed through my mind and was immediately discarded. Killing a government official wasn't something even Jo Giman could clean up. All I could think about was protecting her. Or perhaps I simply couldn't stand the idea of another person's mana seeping into her body.

Shhhhhk—

Please... Ugh...!!

Jeong Hyochan's mana was almost upon Yeonhee's head. She sensed something and squeezed her eyes shut—when suddenly, messages appeared.

—!! Protection had an effect like this?! Whatever it is, nice!

"Eh?!"

Yeonhee, also sensing the effect, jolted and looked at me. I nodded. Jeong Hyochan clutched his forehead in confusion.

"Huh? Huh? Why... W-wait a moment. This shouldn't be happening..."

His face twisted in frustration, and he began to panic in a way that was completely unlike him. A message must have appeared in his mind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠informing him that his target had resisted the magic. His mana, visible through my senses, had also been significantly depleted.

Of course an ability like that would consume a lot of mana. Judging by how flustered he is, the cooldown must be quite long when used on the same person... We're safe, then?

Jeong Hyochan's scale-shaped mana could no longer approach Yeonhee. I finally let out a sigh of relief.

Since it was a passive that remained constantly active, I hadn't paid it much attention, but I was reminded once again that the trait [Composure] was an extremely high-grade ability.

And then—

With more summons, Yeonhee was rarely attacked directly, so the trait [Protection] hadn't activated often lately. I hadn't expected it to have such a hidden effect. Just like the hidden ability of [Stealth] that turned items invisible, perhaps ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠every trait and skill possessed one concealed effect.

"Ahem— W-well... The investigation is complete, so you may go now."

"Yes. Thank you for your work."

Yeonhee gave Jeong Hyochan a light bow, dismissed the five Lizardmen, and headed toward the entrance.

Haa...

Her thin, trembling sigh matched exactly how I felt. Without thinking, my hand almost reached for her head.

"Ilwol, see you later."

"Clack clack clack!!"