Chapter 82
Chapter 82
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Village's Desperate Plea
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Silva, who had shown them around the village, invited Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia to his home.
They could tell without being told that this wasn’t just for a simple meal.
Kang Jin-hyuk, sitting across from Silva at the table, waited for the other man to speak first.
“You must be hungry. Please, eat.”
Contrary to expectations that Silva would get right to the point, he said nothing unusual.
He simply served the prepared food and watched them with a meaningful gaze until they finished eating.
‘His karma level hasn’t changed, so he’s not trying to deceive us...’
As long as there was no danger of getting stabbed in the back, Kang Jin-hyuk had no intention of pressing him.
There had to be a good reason for dragging it out like this.
But Lucia was different.
After filling her stomach, she downed the goat’s milk Silva had offered in one go.
Then she slammed the cup down hard, deliberately drawing attention.
The moment their eyes met, Lucia spoke up.
“Stop beating around the bush and just tell us what you want.”
“Hmm...”
Silva’s hesitation and reluctance to speak didn’t sit well with Lucia’s temperament.
He had brought them here reeking of something to ask for, plain as day.
Now he was suddenly acting coy? It left Lucia utterly baffled.
If Kang Jin-hyuk hadn’t stopped her, she might have jumped up and grabbed Silva by the collar right then.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, we’re leaving.”
Only when Lucia stood up did Silva finally part his lips.
“Understood. I’ll tell you.”
“...About time.”
As Lucia sat back down, Silva threw a question at them before getting into his story.
“If I may ask, were the two of you sent by the dragon?”
“Huh? A dragon out of nowhere?”
Lucia tilted her head, utterly confused.
She couldn’t fathom what connection they could possibly have to a dragon.
“I asked because I sense an unusual aura on this gentleman.”
Silva’s pointed finger aimed straight at Kang Jin-hyuk.
Lucia frowned at the sight.
“You should’ve washed up more.”
“What nonsense! It’s not my smell—it’s the stench from dumping those yetis!”
As Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia bickered, Silva broke into a cold sweat and let out a sigh.
He inwardly wrestled with whether he should really tell these people the truth.
“I don’t mean that kind of smell.”
“Then what smell are you talking about?”
“It’s the kind of presence... the overwhelming dignity you’d only sense from a dragon or something comparable.”
“From him?”
Lucia started to retort that it was ridiculous but then remembered something.
“Oh, right.”
Kang Jin-hyuk had entered the dragon’s temple, passed its trial, and gained immense power there.
Now Lucia understood why Silva had asked if they were sent by the dragon.
“I get why you sensed that, but it’s not important, so don’t worry about it.”
“No, I can’t just let it go.”
Lucia tried to brush it off lazily, but Silva shook his head firmly.
Kang Jin-hyuk stepped in for the flustered Lucia.
“Why can’t you let it slide? Is there some connection?”
“Because what I want to ask you involves the dragon.”
At the word “dragon,” Lucia’s eyes went wide.
“You’re not asking us to go hunt it, are you?”
“Not to hunt it—I’d just like you to explain our situation to it.”
“If it’s just that, do it yourself. Why us?”
“We lack the strength to break through the monster hordes on that mountain and reach the dragon’s lair.”
The village’s able-bodied men were already stretched thin just holding off invading monsters.
In a situation where every person counted, sparing anyone to head to the dragon’s lair was impossible for the village.
“Why do you need to approach the dragon at all? Did it threaten you?”
“No threats. But ever since the dragon arrived, things around here have gone to hell.”
The area had originally been warm, with little snow even in winter.
The mountains becoming blanketed in snow and monsters appearing started only after the dragon settled in.
Silva explained it that way and made his plea to Lucia and Kang Jin-hyuk.
“Please, for the sake of our plight, convince the dragon to move its lair somewhere else.”
“What a joke. You think those things care about anyone else’s problems?”
Dragons had egos so massive they viewed all other races as inferior.
Even if they marched up and explained their hardships, they’d get nothing but a snort and a blast of breath.
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you all to just move?”
“We can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because this is the only place not under the influence of the ‘Gavin Empire.’”
Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t grasp what that meant, even after hearing it.
It was a natural reaction, given his near-total lack of knowledge about this world.
“The Gavin Empire is the largest and strongest nation on the Gordian Continent.”
Noticing Kang Jin-hyuk’s confusion, Lucia added the explanation.
“And they despise non-human races and use them as slaves.”
That was likely why Silva and the other beastkin couldn’t relocate.
Hearing Lucia’s explanation, Kang Jin-hyuk pieced it all together.
“I get your position. You can’t leave or you risk enslavement, but staying means brutal weather and too many monsters, right?”
“Exactly.”
They were caught between a rock and a hard place.
Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia’s arrival was a golden opportunity for them.
Silva had personally witnessed Kang Jin-hyuk deflect his son’s arrow barehanded—not to mention block a dagger with a single finger.
With skills like that, reaching the dragon’s lair seemed possible.
He’d hesitated to ask because he suspected they might be from the Gavin Empire or sent by the dragon.
But even with doubts, Silva decided he had to trust them now.
Better to bet on this stroke of luck than slowly perish in the cold or get captured as slaves.
“If you grant our request, we’ll hand over a heirloom treasure we’ve guarded for generations.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a secret. It’s far too precious to show casually.”
“You’re not lying?”
Lucia prodded Silva verbally while sneaking a glance at Kang Jin-hyuk.
He gave a slight shake of his head, signaling it wasn’t a lie.
Silva’s karma hadn’t budged even a point, confirming his words about the treasure were true.
“I can’t help if you doubt me, but it’s genuinely valuable—no need to worry about the reward.”
“Hmm~ Sounds like you’re pretty confident.”
“Of course.”
It was a treasured heirloom passed down through ancestors, but Silva wouldn’t hesitate if it meant survival.
Impressed by his sincerity, Lucia decided to accept the request.
Kang Jin-hyuk’s opinion wasn’t part of her decision.
* * *
The Pantheon guild master’s office was gradually turning into Seo Sang-ho’s domain.
With Kang Jin-hyuk vanished to who-knows-where, Seo Sang-ho was once again drowning in murderous workloads without even time for rest.
Every additional pile of beer cans on the desk brought another sigh from him.
In his own guild, he’d have slacked off and delegated to underlings.
But this was a guild founded by the man whose life he owed—he couldn’t cut corners.
“I’m seriously gonna die at this rate...”
Seo Sang-ho checked the last approval document on his desk, then leaned back in his chair and stretched.
Someone knocked on the guild master’s office door, and he quickly straightened up.
“A guest is here.”
“Tell them to come in.”
The person who entered through the door Lee Hye-na held open was far from who Seo Sang-ho expected.
Seeing the man’s face, Seo Sang-ho nearly shot up from his seat on reflex.
“Well, well. Did the Association send you?”
“I’m not here on the Association’s orders.”
Cheon Sang-ho, declaring he’d come of his own volition, scanned the room as if searching for something.
“Where’s the guild master?”
“No clue. He said he was off training, but didn’t say where.”
“Training... Then I shouldn’t disturb him.”
Cheon Sang-ho turned to leave without a second thought.
“Hey, hold on.”
Seo Sang-ho hurriedly called him back before he could exit.
“You gotta at least say why you’re here. For someone like you to come all this way? That’s no small matter.”
“It’s pointless telling you.”
Stung by the jab to his pride, Seo Sang-ho swallowed his rising irritation with forced patience.
Objectively, his skills were indeed far below Cheon Sang-ho’s.
“We both have ‘Sang-ho’ in our names—fate, right? How about being a little friendlier?”
“The characters are different.”
Seo Sang-ho’s was the sang (商) for commerce and ho (浩) for vast. Cheon Sang-ho’s was chang (常) for constant and ho (好) for good.
Same pronunciation, different meanings.
“That’s exactly why I’ve always been annoyed—our names are so similar.”
Especially since the one other Sang-ho out there—with just one letter difference in the surname—was the industry’s number-one hunter boasting insane status and power.
Seo Sang-ho unwillingly became the subject of comparisons.
“So you want me to take responsibility?”
“Not that. Just saying, be a bit nicer. When the guild master gets back, I can pass on your message.”
“Fair point.”
Convinced by Seo Sang-ho, Cheon Sang-ho pulled a USB from his pocket and set it on the desk.
“This is info on the new strain of monsters appearing in the Middle East.”
Seo Sang-ho’s expression hardened at Cheon Sang-ho’s words.
“That monster even all your S-rank Hunters couldn’t handle?”
“Yeah. We need to provide support, but I’d prefer to borrow Kang Jin-hyuk’s strength while we’re at it.”
“You said you weren’t sent by the Association.”
“Right. I came because I want to go. Nothing to do with them.”
“You’re saying you want to form a team and take it down yourself?”
If it hadn’t come straight from the man’s mouth, Seo Sang-ho would’ve dismissed it as nonsense.
“You, who voluntarily joined the Association because you prefer solo work—now this?”
“Is it that surprising?”
“It’s beyond surprising—it’s front-page news. Tell the press, and it’d dominate headlines tomorrow.”
Cheon Sang-ho grimaced at the mention of reporters.
“Don’t tell the press. I hate the noise.”
“Of course. No plans to blab something this big.”
The emergence of this new monster strain in the Middle East was such a major incident that the World Alliance was suppressing info on it.
Seo Sang-ho had zero intention of sharing with other guilds.
“Just show Kang Jin-hyuk this data when he returns?”
“Yeah. I’d appreciate a reply within two weeks. Can’t wait longer.”
“If he comes back sooner.”
Kang Jin-hyuk hadn’t even taken his phone, so contact was impossible.
He wasn’t the type to get himself killed wherever he was—no worries there—but it sucked not being able to reach him even in situations like this.