The Weight of Unspoken Truths

There were six of us in the party, yet somehow No Hayun took the lead in the conversation. It seemed the others had decided her position as a hunter from the Bijeon Guild made her the most presentable face when dealing with the Ilseom Guild. The discussion itself was straightforward. From the moment we were chased by the Blue Eye cult until the very end, we told the truth—omitting only the parts we had no reason to reveal.

Hyeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I-hwan listened with serious attention, nodding gravely at key moments in No Hayun's story and even opening his mouth slightly in surprise when the red-haired man was mentioned. "So there really was an Orc Advanced Warrior... and you even defeated it. Hmm—"

It was an unbelievable tale, but Hyeon I-hwan had harbored his own doubts before hearing it. A force of orcs on that scale should have had a commander, yet none had been visible. 'They don't seem to be lying... and the timeline roughly matches. If I reconstruct it from their account...'

Hyeon I-hwan stroked his chin for a moment, then fell into thought as he assessed the mana signatures of No Hayun and Lee Yeonhee.

'A faction capable of opening gates at will? That can't be... But if it's true, this is no ordinary matter. I'll need to discuss that with Father later.'

He brought his loosely clenched fist to the tip of his nose and continued his internal analysis. 'Still, there's no way these people could have defeated an advanced warrior...' And they claimed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have killed three hundred orc warriors themselves. 'They must think anything that comes out of their mouths will be believed.'

Hyeon I-hwan felt irritated that they seemed to be underestimating him, but as always, he maintained his pleasant expression and continued listening to their information. When he sifted through the relatively short story, one key figure stood out: Lee Yeonhee's summoned beast.

'Is a summoned creature truly that powerful? And a skeleton soldier, at that? Ridiculous. Ha...'

A life devoted entirely to the sword. In other words, he had never paid attention to anything outside of it. For someone like Hyeon I-hwan, accurately gauging the abilities of the two hunters before him wasn't easy. Especially Lee Yeonhee—she gave off an entirely different impression from any hunter he'd encountered before, which made him even more curious.

'Father always said never to underestimate an opponent's strength. Both clearly possess talent, and that glasses-wearing mage isn't ordinary either... Maybe she gained some kind of enlightenment during battle.'

In the end, Hyeon I-hwan accepted the vague explanation and rose from his seat, straightening his clothes. He'd heard everything he needed to hear; there was no reason to linger.

"Ah, I'll handle the reporters up front. You all must be exhausted, so please head home right away."

At his words, spoken as if he were being considerate, No Hayun snorted. 'We did all the hard work, but he wants to play the hero? What kind of bullshit is this?'

No Hayun was not the type to sit quietly and watch. She had no way to prove anything right now, but she was already planning to make sure their achievements became known once they returned.

While No Hayun glared resentfully at his back, there was another person staring intently at Hyeon I-hwan.

'He's so handsome...'

Jin-gyeong had stopped paying attention to the serious conversation long ago. She was completely lost in her own fantasies about his face and had already walked down the aisle in her imagination. Hehe—

"Hey, Song Jin-gyeong! What are you doing?"

"Huh?! Oh, yeah..."

The conversation, which had lasted a rather long twenty minutes, finally ended. As Hyeon I-hwan turned to leave, he paused and addressed Lee Yeonhee once more.

"From what I've heard, it seems that skeleton soldier was the key figure. It's a shame you can't summon it right now. I truly hope I'll get to see it next time."

"......"

Yeonhee gave a small nod, her gaze fixed on the ground. Hyeon I-hwan let out a soft, dry chuckle at her reaction before returning to the scene.

"Hmph... No need to..."

Helen stared suspiciously at his retreating figure. Meanwhile, Jin-gyeong kept her hands neatly folded, trying to capture even one more glimpse of him.

"Aigoo! Seriously, you! Get a grip!"

Slap—!

"Ouch! Why'd you hit me!"

"Good grief. You're staring way too hard."

"What's wrong with that!"

The playful bickering between the two women, who acted like real sisters, briefly lightened the mood. But the atmosphere at the site remained heavy, so the party quietly moved to a corner and slipped away.

A dungeon break had occurred. More than a thousand E-grade hunters had been seriously injured or killed. When the missing were added in, the casualty count was so high it couldn't even be properly tallied yet. Most of the victims had been brutally slaughtered by orcs near the dungeon entrance, and the orcs that had escaped caused significant harm to civilians in the surrounding commercial areas.

The only reason the situation hadn't spiraled further was that a disaster alert had been issued, and numerous C-grade hunters from the Ilseom Guild, who had been moving through a nearby area, had rushed over immediately. Had they not arrived so quickly, the civilian casualties would have snowballed out of control.

The main issue had been resolved, but roughly a hundred orcs were still scattered in various directions. A considerable number of personnel had been mobilized to track them down.

"All hunter corpses inside the dungeon have been recovered. The orc corpses have been sent to the by-product processing facility."

"Thank you for your hard work, Elder."

A short man known as the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'Eraser' had just finished giving an interview to the reporters and was now delivering his final report to Hyeon I-hwan. He was the only hunter affiliated with the Ilseom Guild who did not wield a sword. However, because of his unique ability, Hyeon Jung-gil valued him highly.

Beside them stood three Hunter Management Agency officials, heads bowed in shame, unsure what to do with themselves.

"We are truly grateful. If not for you, I-hwan-nim, the damage could have been so much worse—"

"Not at all. The ones who deserve praise are the C-grade hunters from our guild who responded first. Please convey your thanks to them."

"Of course, of course. But the decision to dispatch so many personnel was made by you, I-hwan-nim. We are deeply ashamed. Our own gate management staff were completely overwhelmed..."

Hyeon I-hwan gave a light bow, then closed his eyes and focused his hearing, relaying the locations of the wandering orcs to his guild members.

'What a waste of time... This isn't what I should be doing right now. Father, do you truly believe activities like this will help my future?'

He looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh.

After parting with Hyeon I-hwan, Yeonhee's party was once again detained by officials and forced to repeat the same story. The civil servants, who had meticulously recorded their account into data, looked at the group with clear disbelief. But when No Hayun glared at them, they quickly backed down.

Afterward, they sorted through the loot, and Yeonhee earned roughly 3.5 million won. That figure didn't include the four low-grade runes. It was certainly a large sum, yet somehow it felt small compared to everything they'd been through.

"We can't just part ways like this. It feels way too unsatisfying."

"That's right! We need to wash away the bad luck!"

"Let's have a proper drink today! And eat some beef! Everyone, we're all heading to my little brother's restaurant!"

"Hear, hear!!"

Both No Hayun and Bae Jua shot Helen questioning looks, but when Lee Yeonhee nodded in agreement, No Hayun cleared her throat a few times and silently followed along.

* * *

"Kyaah—"

Clack!

The sound of a soju glass being slammed roughly onto the table snapped Lee Yeonhee out of her thoughts.

"Ugh, they want me to come out again."

Jin-gyeong, her tongue slightly slurred, checked her messages and grumbled loudly.

"Where is it this time?"

"Where else? The Association."

"I don't know what those guys even do with the membership fees they collect. All they do is call people out for no reason."

"Ah, damn. I'm here too. Must be because of what happened today."

"Yeonhee didn't come?"

"I-I'm here too..."

While everyone was reading their messages, Lee Jiu threw out a new topic.

"Huu... By the way, did you all see how Jin-gyeong unnie completely lost it when she saw Hyeon I-hwan earlier?"

Lee Jiu's eyes curved into crescents as she jerked her chin toward Jin-gyeong. When everyone turned to stare at her with wide eyes, Jin-gyeong huffed and declared, "I've already had his kid."

"Pfft, here we go again. Didn't I tell you to stop with that delusional crap?"

When Helen scolded her, Jin-gyeong immediately shot back.

"It's not just that he's handsome, okay? He's the second son of the Sword Star Hyeon Jung-gil, and he's already a B-grade hunter at that age. And from what I saw today, he's polite too. There's literally nothing to dislike... ha..."

Jin-gyeong lifted her soju glass with her fingertips, her expression dreamy as she recalled his face. Helen, who had been shaking her head at her, turned to Yeonhee.

"Does our Yeonhee have a boyfriend?"

"Y-yes? Um... No, I don't."

Yeonhee, who had been belatedly focused on grilling meat, suddenly looked as if she'd been hit by a bolt from the blue.

"What? You're so pretty, how is that possible— Do you not have anyone you like either?"

"Hehe- No. I don't..."

"Have you ever dated anyone?"

"I haven't..."

"...You don't have some kind of hatred toward men, do you?"

"It's not that... Um..."

As she spoke, Yeonhee suddenly wondered if she actually did hate men. Starting with her father, who had been violent every single day, every unpleasant face that came to mind was male. 'Was that it...?'

Seeing Yeonhee frozen with her chopsticks against her lips, lost in thought, Helen sensed there was more to it and quickly changed the subject.

"Then what about Hayun-ssi and Jua-ssi?"

"I don't have one either. Hng... I'm such trash, sob..."

It seemed the alcohol had brought out Bae Jua's pent-up emotions. She'd been sniffling nonstop, and surprisingly, No Hayun had taken on the role of comforting her by patting her shoulder. Then again, her face was still swollen from being hit by an orc warrior, so it made sense she'd be depressed.

"I wanna do all kinds of things with Hyeon I-hwan, heheung..."

"Jua-ssi, I'm sorry but I-hwan has already promised to marry me—"

The topic of Hyeon I-hwan had created quite a lively after-party atmosphere, but Lee Yeonhee was completely preoccupied with the remaining time until her summon could be resummoned. The moment they'd arrived at the restaurant, the resummon timer had been cut in half. There was no doubt that Ilwol had undergone a class change. His status still hadn't been updated, so all she could do was anxiously wait for time to pass.

"Seriously, you all look perfectly fine. What have you been doing on your days off? Just sleeping at home?"

Helen and Lee Jiu, who both had people they were seeing, tilted their heads in genuine confusion.

"Then what's Yeonhee's ideal type?"

"Oh, I'm curious about this too."

"It can't be Hyeon I-hwan..."

Yeonhee gave Jin-gyeong a gentle smile before staring into space for a moment at Helen's question.

"Just... someone who stays by my side... and listens well to what I say—"

"Aha! So someone warm and affectionate?"

"Like a nice guy from church?"

"Is that it? Want me to look for someone like that for you?"

"No... I don't really have any thoughts about that right now..."

"Yeonhee, dating isn't something you overthink. You meet someone first! Then things naturally flow from there."

"Mmm..."

"Ugh! Another bottle of soju!"

The early after-party that had begun at four o'clock continued well into the evening. Before long, the time for Ilwol's resummon was almost upon them.