Chapter 146
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: SSS-grade Butler
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Hong Si-jun and Gyu Yeon-su were a fairly famous SSS-grade hunter couple among their peers.
They hadn't started out as a couple; they began dating and got married after both becoming SSS-grade hunters. There were even rumors that it was a political marriage, but no matter the truth, their relationship looked incredibly solid both publicly and privately. After a few years, no one questioned it anymore.
There was no reason to.
Even if it was a political marriage, in this day and age, everyone married based on conditions anyway.
It was perfectly natural for hunters to wed those whose abilities matched their own.
It was just jealous people trying to stir up trouble between them.
That led to some pretty hurtful stories popping up now and then.
Title: Isn't Gyu Yeon-su just a fake SSS-grade?
I heard her ability is only S-grade, but she got fast-tracked to SSS-grade because of her skills. Honestly, without Hong Si-jun as her set bonus, she wouldn't have made it.
Fr lol, she really sucked up to her husband proper.
Hong Si-jun's getting a win-win with a woman like that, right? Bet he's happy every night.
Happy my ass;; Just look at Gyu Yeon-su's face and body. She's from that side, super slutty vibes.
These weren't special malicious comments aimed only at Gyu Yeon-su.
Every SSS-grade hunter had their share of envy and inferiority complexes trailing them.
Gyu Yeon-su, in particular, had a beautiful face, a voluptuous figure, and top-tier abilities, which made the jealousy explode in that direction.
The problem was how it shook Gyu Yeon-su's mentality.
She used to be fine.
"It's okay, honey. They're just jealous of how strong our summons are."
Gyu Yeon-su, mature in a way that matched her looks, would brush off the hate comments with a laugh and ignore them.
And rightly so—most SSS-grade hunters brimmed with pride and confidence.
It wasn't just about raw power or skills; the Hunter Association didn't hand out SSS-grade ratings lightly, so maybe it was inevitable.
In truth, Gyu Yeon-su's ability was S-grade, her mana S-grade too. By SSS-grade standards, it was a bit iffy... but her three skills were all summoning skills rated SS, SSS, and S.
She had an oddly structured build.
She summoned beasts to fight, and those summons were SSS-, SS-, and S-grade. Combined with her S-grade summoning ability, it created explosive synergy.
Thanks to that, even without other skills and with her hunter prowess boiling down to summoning, she earned her place as an SSS-grade hunter.
So she had no reason to let inferior folks get under her skin.
Until now, anyway.
Until the battle on Mars.
"Yeon-su was shattered after dying once on Mars. She realized that the power she'd been content with all this time had even higher realms."
"..."
I glanced at Gyu Yeon-su, who was laughing and chatting away at Hong Si-jun's words.
Someone who looked so vibrant had been harboring those doubts?
I got it, though.
"So she got hooked on the resurrection high and started thinking her abilities suck?"
"...Exactly."
Gyu Yeon-su said that just recalling that miraculous moment drained her energy.
Fair enough. If your S-grade ability jumped to SSS-grade, anyone who knew the gap—like me—would nod along.
"That's why you came to me?"
"If possible. We're grasping at hope. She died once more in that recent incident, got tested for depression from the sheer helplessness. Ironically, she was thrilled during the actual revival."
"Hmm."
Who'd have thought resurrection's unexpected downside would show up like this?
I never imagined meeting a hunter who'd tasted those 300 seconds of miracle and now had her thresholds raised on everything she'd known before.
And Gyu Yeon-su was arguably the first hunter to receive resurrection twice.
Did I overdo it with that A-grade mana stone option, boosting ability and skill grades on top?
"Can you do it?"
Hong Si-jun watched me hopefully as we talked.
Probably because I'd listened intently and seemed relaxed, having a simple solution in mind.
It wouldn't be hard.
Just one thing to check.
"Do you two love each other?"
At my question, Gyu Yeon-su's gaze from the living room turned our way.
Their eyes met.
Hong Si-jun smiled tenderly at her confused what-are-you-saying expression.
"Of course."
Even to me, it didn't look fabricated.
Well...
If I were Hong Si-jun with a pretty, sexy wife like that, political marriage or not, I wouldn't let her rest at night.
'Gotta have a kid or two to keep the fake marriage from leaking to outsiders, right?' Then bam, straight into a porn comic episode.
So I sighed and answered.
"I'll check for now."
"I've got the mana stone ready."
"No, no. Skip the stone. Just checking doesn't need one."
"Yeon-su!"
Hong Si-jun, his face brightening, called to Gyu Yeon-su.
"Suuuuup."
I sat facing Gyu Yeon-su in casual clothes, inhaling deeply with a serious expression.
Her voluptuous body and petite face that drew admiration every time.
The epitome of the bagel-girl trend from our generation—mouthwatering... no, stunningly beautiful.
But I knew where this challenge led.
"May I have your hand?"
Like a doctor taking a pulse, I grasped her right wrist, pressed my fingers, closed my eyes, and savored it.
"Suuuuup..."
As if injecting mana to sense it.
Slowly scanning from her head to her toes.
I peeked at Gyu Yeon-su's status window while killing time.
'Her ability isn't SSS-grade after all.'
Why'd I think it was on Mars?
Looking back, I'd only checked Hong Si-jun's back then.
Anyway, as Hong Si-jun said, it was an unusual status for an SSS-grade hunter.
Im Hye-ji was similar—S-grade ability with SSS-grade skills, barely scraping SS-grade due to skill uniqueness.
Summons must be sneakily strong.
Plus, all three skills were summons influenced by her ability, covering the low-grade ability's weaknesses.
"Hmmm."
I released her hand, gave her a bold once-over from head to toe with my eyes, and ended the check.
"Nothing."
"...Pardon?"
"Doesn't show. No probability of additional awakening."
It does show, actually.
46% pregnancy chance—stuff it full, and she could be cheating on her husband tonight, easy.
"...Please try once more. Even with a mana stone..."
"Honey... I'm fine. So this is what you were talking about... Sorry, Mr. Kang. My husband worries too much..."
"No, it's okay. If you're that uneasy, bring a stone and I'll check once more..."
But I couldn't.
"Here."
"...You brought an A-grade mana stone."
That's why I didn't want the stone.
It was a burden.
Warning screams in my head that absorbing it would fuck me over—backing out now would raise suspicions, so I had to play it natural.
Vmmm.
I absorbed the stone right there for dramatic effect.
"Ooh!"
Gyu Yeon-su and Hong Si-jun, seeing it for the first time, gasped in awe.
Trust level probably shot up.
Then I checked again.
Nothing changed, obviously.
It was just mana stone absorption theater.
"Ha... Too bad. Don't take it too hard. Not everyone gets this stuff. Since it came up, I'll tell you—they're all talents I scouted from here and there. Just gathered in one spot. They each had their own roles before."
"...Thank you."
They couldn't hide their disappointment, but Hong Si-jun figured pushing more would be rude and stopped.
"Sorry. I soured the drinking vibe with this nonsense."
"Nah, no worries. We're getting closer now, right? More ties ahead. I said it 'cause I like you guys—keep it secret."
"Of course. No worries."
A bit of awkwardness lingered, but their good natures let us shift topics, finish up fun, and head home smoothly.
The moment I got home, I lay on the bed, closed my eyes, and swallowed my regret.
"Ha... What a shame."
Honestly, the conditions were too tempting.
Early thirties, my age peer, but with that late-twenties prime still hanging on—a total milf vibe like Gyu Yeon-su.
Plus ambition for better abilities.
She fit perfectly: no need for a teaser pregnancy; she'd taste it herself and crave more solo.
A vine rolling right to me.
But crossing that river? The realistic conditions were brutal.
Knocking her up? Easy.
Wing it somehow, and aftermath's the issue—but methods? Plenty came to mind.
Problem was, doing it would flip my life genre.
From standard pregnancy harem to niche netorare kingdom-building.
"Si-jun hyung's suddenly assassination material."
Of course, I was bummed.
Drooling over Gyu Yeon-su? True.
But following dick instincts alone? Too risky.
Especially since Hong Si-jun asked without knowing it'd mean pregnancy.
No telling his reaction if he found out.
"I did the right thing."
I kept repeating it to soothe the regret.