Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Inspection (3)
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Weekdays were spent wandering the streets all day.
Using the Taming App, I tried my best to get stronger somehow.
I'd invested quite a bit of time, but nothing had changed much.
My stats hadn't gone up much either.
And so the weekend arrived.
The day I'd agreed to meet Han A-ra.
Han A-ra had called me to a hotel restaurant.
A fancy restaurant I wouldn't dare enter alone.
The atmosphere felt like somewhere you'd bring family or a lover, making me feel needlessly intimidated.
Mind control.
No need to show how nervous I was here.
Time to partially adopt a cocky, overconfident stance.
I could afford to be shameless.
Why?
Because I'd come to be treated by Han A-ra.
Why?
As her lifesaver.
Get treated to a 'meal' and befriend Han A-ra.
Then get introduced to her sister, Han So-ra.
Today's purpose and ultimate goal.
Han So-ra was an S-Rank Hunter whose name and face everyone in Korea knew.
Just getting acquainted would be a huge win—nothing to lose, really. Even if it fell through, it'd still be a gain.
For an F-Rank Hunter like Park Sun-woo, it was a no-risk deal.
So I put everything into it.
I dug out my meager fashion sense and dressed up as best I could.
My shield was half-broken, so I needed a new one...
But spending that precious money on clothes said it all.
Waste it on useless fabric with zero defense?
"Hoo."
I'd clearly given Han A-ra's name and been shown to the seat.
So why was there one extra person sitting there?
"Hehe, Sun-woo."
Han A-ra gave an awkward laugh and glanced at the person.
I followed her gaze.
The woman sitting confidently beside her had an all-too-familiar face.
"Uh, um..."
I had no idea what to say.
I'd agreed to meet Han A-ra, but no one mentioned an extra companion.
"I'm a fan, Han So-ra, S-Rank Hunter."
I knew, of course.
That Han A-ra's sister was Han So-ra.
Who in Korea didn't know?
'If you don't, you're a spy.'
I was a proud son of Korea too.
Korea's S-Rank Hunters were more famous than top celebrities.
I had all their names and faces memorized.
Even so, I hadn't expected her to pop up here.
I figured it'd take time to get close enough to Han A-ra for family introductions.
At least half a year, I'd thought.
"Let me start with my thanks."
Han So-ra stood from her seat and bowed.
Her natural movement carried an air of elegance.
Her soft brown hair cascaded down.
Her black shirt looked tightly buttoned, but it couldn't fully hide the contours of her chest.
Han So-ra's bust was... enormous.
Han So-ra had sharp features too.
But her cold beauty was completely different from Choi Da-eun's.
If you lined them up and asked who seemed more likely to snap first?
...In a hypothetical poll.
A hundred out of a hundred would vote Choi Da-eun.
Both had intimidating vibes, but there was a clear difference.
'Choi Da-eun feels like a battle-hardened mad mercenary, while Han So-ra is...'
Like a noble knight captain who'd walked only elite paths.
If Choi Da-eun was a hyena, Han So-ra was a puma.
Even Han A-ra, who seemed mature for her age, looked like a kid next to her sister.
The aura she gave off felt comparatively childish.
Han So-ra expressed her gratitude to me.
"Thank you so much for saving A-ra."
"No, I just did what anyone would..."
There was no falsehood in Han So-ra's eyes.
She was thankful as Han A-ra's sister, not as an S-Rank Hunter.
'...I'm the one who should be thankful.'
Thanks to Han A-ra staying a virgin, I'd survived.
Thanks to her keeping herself proper and not messing around, I'd learned how dangerous complacency could be.
Still, I couldn't add any messy details.
I hadn't helped her purely out of the goodness of my heart, after all.
I wanted to keep the thanks short and sweet.
"Why don't you sit first?"
"Sure."
Han So-ra pointed to the seat across from her.
I pulled out the chair and sat down quickly.
I could feel the stares around us.
Me, sitting across from an S-Rank Hunter.
It made me feel successful for no reason.
'My heart's pounding like crazy!'
I'm a fan of Han So-ra.
The S-Rank Hunter version was great, but the regular person version was fine too.
Hunter Han So-ra was insanely strong—that's why I was a fan.
Civilian Han So-ra was insanely pretty—that's why I was a fan.
"I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I ordered what I thought was the tastiest from my experience. That okay?"
"Yeah, I eat anything."
I do have a shellfish allergy.
If it comes out, I'll just eat it and die. Whatever.
My mouth kept twitching upward.
Hot breath steamed from my nostrils.
It was chaos.
"C-Can I ask one favor?"
"Of course, anything. Since you're the hunter who saved A-ra."
"H-Hunter...?"
My mind went blank.
S-Rank Hunter Han So-ra had called me 'Hunter'.
When you called my name...
I approached you and became a flower...
Subject reversed, but whatever!
"The favor... can we take a photo together?"
"......"
I wanted a picture with just Han So-ra.
A proof shot.
"...That's surprisingly light. I thought you'd ask for something big."
She'd tensed up at my request for a favor, then let out a breath.
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
Okay, decided.
The second entry in my Female Bestiary will be you, Han So-ra!
I jumped up and went to her side.
Pulled out my smartphone and snapped a photo.
Silent mode.
Han So-ra shyly smiled at the lens.
Even threw up a V-sign with her index and middle fingers.
"Uh."
I let out a dumb noise without thinking.
My face in the shot was a total mess.
"...Not my best."
"We can retake it. As many as you want."
She glanced at the photo and cheered me on.
Hand to her cheek, V-sign again.
Managed a handsome expression and got a clean shot.
Pocketed the phone and returned to my seat.
"Thanks."
"No problem at all."
As we exchanged small talk, the server started bringing out the food.
To me, who'd been gnawing on pre-meal bread, it was like rain in a drought.
"You're an F-Rank Hunter, right, Hunter Sun-woo?"
Han So-ra tossed the question without even picking up her fork or knife.
I answered awkwardly while cutting.
"Yes, my stats are a bit higher than typical F-Rank... but I haven't updated my rank yet."
Nice bite of steak.
Mmm, delicious.
Is it because it's a pricey hotel sky lounge?
It's freaking amazing.
"A-ra's decided to form her own guild. Did she tell you anything else?"
"No?"
First I'd heard of it.
Han A-ra forming a guild?
'An F-Rank as master?'
Perfect recipe for disaster.
Like the Mirage Guild, total wipeout with no one the wiser.
The world was full of guilds that vanished like that.
'If I were A-ra's big bro or dad, I'd stop her cold.'
My little sister, my daughter, an F-Rank nobody trying to run a guild?
I'd smack her and show her what voluntary disbandment means.
I chewed my meat and looked at Han So-ra.
The smile from before was gone.
Her expression and eyes from entering the Tower.
Beyond serious—positively menacing.
"Kuh, kuh."
Eating with Han So-ra right now? Instant choking hazard.
Even after barely eating.
I gulped down water hurriedly.
Swallowed the chewed meat with it.
Han A-ra sat beside Han So-ra.
She kept glancing at her sister nervously, peeking at me.
Han So-ra spoke.
"A-ra wants to form a guild. And she wants to recruit you, Hunter Sun-woo."
"...Me?"
No real issue there.
I was with the Milky Way Guild, but not officially, so no legal ties...
'If another guild wants me, go for it.'
Even when raising a mutt in the front yard, you leash it in case it runs.
Or dog traders might snatch it, so you protect your beloved pet.
But bottom-feeder F-Rank Hunters? No such thing.
They'd have to have somewhere to take you first.
If they accept you, you're in anytime.
Chance to hunt with a pretty girl? Only an idiot would say no.
As long as Han A-ra keeps her hymen intact...
'No risks.'
This was a jackpot angle?
Of course, Han So-ra didn't seem keen on approving it.
Now I got it.
Why she'd come all this way.
"Hunter Sun-woo, I heard from A-ra that you took down a Dark Knight in the Skeleton Labyrinth. A Dark Knight requires at least a C-Rank Hunter over level 100 to even challenge..."
"Y-Yeah..."
I did tango with it.
Thanks to Unicorn's Blessing.
One-on-one without that? No chance.
I'd get cleaved in half by its greatsword in one clash and die.
'No way she's asking me to fight one to prove it?'
If she wants to check my skills by entering the Tower together...
Total disaster.
I can't prove my abilities.
That'd require putting Han A-ra in danger on purpose, and Han So-ra wouldn't stand for it.
"I'm not that great... I just had this burning desire to save Han A-ra, and strength welled up..."
"You're saying the exact same thing as A-ra."
I tried explaining somehow.
But it backfired.
"No, sis, it's true. Sun-woo has a skill like that."
"...Then why didn't you say so? Tell me what skill it is..."
Han A-ra jumped in late to defend me, but Han So-ra's gaze had already turned icy.
Looking at me like a con artist.
"Are you free tomorrow morning?"
"...Why?"
"I want to verify your skills, Hunter Sun-woo."
"......"
If we're talking this...
Couldn't we finish eating first...
This is too much...