The Leftover Dog
Stop right there!!!
Mina sprinted with everything she had. And as if toying with her, the dachshund stayed just out of reach, running at a maddeningly close distance. Its short legs pumped furiously while its long tail wagged behind it, a sight that anyone else would have called adorable. To Mina, though, it looked like nothing but deliberate mockery.
"Go, sis!"
With Yaeun's cheer ringing from behind her, Mina dug her feet into the ground even harder. She wondered if she was overexerting herself just to catch a dog, but without going all out, there was no way she'd ever catch this dachshund.
Even as she ran like this, the moment Mina saw an opening and leaped to grab the dog—
"Sniff!"
"Ugh! What kind of dog is this!"
Watching it somehow sense her approach, kick off the ground, and change direction in an instant, she seriously began to question whether it was actually a dog. It moved so fast that even with her eyes it was hard to keep up. Now she understood why Yaeun hadn't managed to catch it until now.
Mina had no choice but to slap her hand against the ground and roll to kill her momentum before her face slammed into the dirt.
"You look like a gymnast!"
"Ahaha..."
Mina stood up again, swallowing her frustration, only to break into a cold sweat when she saw Yaeun already beside her, eyes sparkling with excitement. The girl had caught up in the blink of an eye despite how fast Mina had been running. It made her wonder if she was even needed here at all. But if she left the child alone, the entire walking path would probably get destroyed. The girl was far too strong to be called just a kid.
"Nngggghhh."
Just look at the man Yaeun was currently dragging around. He was much bigger than her and even wore full plate armor, yet she was hauling him like he was a stuffed doll.
"Um, maybe you should let that gentleman go now?"
Seeing his once-pristine full plate armor covered in dirt and hearing the groans leaking from his helmet, Mina felt a pang of sympathy and asked. Yaeun tilted her head.
"Huh? But Ice Bear said he's tough. He told me it's fine?"
It was true. No matter how you looked at the hunter-grade armor he wore, the fact that he was still alive after taking a direct hit from Yaeun proved he was indeed very sturdy. Mina pondered how to explain it, then remembered they were in the middle of catching a dog.
"We're trying to catch a dog. It's hard for me to do it alone. It would be nice if he could block the path for us."
Since Mina was an A-rank hunter, she could probably catch the dog if she used her full strength. The problem was controlling that power. If she used too much force, she might end up witnessing the horrifying sight of the dog exploding while still alive. As annoying as the creature was, darting around so nimbly, she couldn't bring herself to cause such a tragedy.
"If that's the case... okay!"
Yaeun seemed to accept her explanation and released the man's foot.
"Ugh... I was just about to drag Catsmom across the river..."
"Why Catsmom of all things? No, that's definitely a river you're not supposed to cross."
Mina brushed off his words and continued.
"Anyway, we need to catch that dog. Can you block the path for us?"
"Hmm."
He seemed to hesitate for a moment.
"Then play with me again!"
"I'll do it right away!"
At Yaeun's not-so-subtle threat, he nodded immediately. It was strange to see a grown man living under a child's thumb, but given her abilities, it couldn't be helped.
So that's why Seok-jun's office is taking care of her?
Awakening could strike anyone at any time, without warning. If a child like Yaeun gained such tremendous power, it would cause all sorts of problems. Considering that Seok-jun's magic leaned toward the nullification type, it was probably safest for him to look after her. Though Seok-jun himself wasn't here right now.
"By the way, where is Mr. Seok-jun?"
Since it had come to mind, she asked Yaeun in case the girl might know what he was up to.
"I don't know! He said he had work and left."
Seeing her answer so cheerfully, Mina shook her head, wondering what she'd even expected from a child.
And so Mina decided to team up with the man to catch the dog again.
"Why do you think that dog keeps circling around this stream?"
Not long after, they spotted it nearby, and the question popped into her head. Normally it should have fled the stream to avoid them, but this dachshund hadn't left the area around the water at all.
"Maybe because of the water?"
He pointed at the dog stretching its head down from the stone bridge crossing the stream, tongue out to drink.
"That could be it."
She said that, but Mina still had doubts. It was a holiday so there weren't many people around, but this place was usually quite busy. There was no point dwelling on it, so she decided to catch the dog first and think later.
"I'll cross at that bridge over there and come around from the other side. You block this side."
"Mm."
Taking advantage of the dog drinking water, they decided to corner it. Mina crossed the stream at a more distant bridge and circled around to the opposite walking path. By the time she arrived, the man was already standing on the other side, blocking the stone bridge.
Without a word between them, Mina and the man each crossed one side of the bridge, approaching the dog that had been drinking at the center. It must have sensed their presence because it lifted its head.
"Grrrr."
The area around the stone bridge was surrounded by water, leaving the dog with nowhere to run. And they were already close enough. Mina steeled herself for getting wet and charged at the dachshund.
"Got y—!"
But Mina was faced with an unexpected situation.
"Sniff!"
"What?!"
Realizing it had no escape route, the dog simply leaped straight into the stream. She managed to brace herself against the bridge in time to avoid falling between the stones and getting completely soaked, but—
"Ugh! So close!"
Just as she was lamenting that she'd lost it, a new sight made her eyes widen in shock.
"Not yet!"
The man who had been blocking the opposite side threw himself directly into the stream where the dog was swimming.
"Wait! Swimming is prohibited here!"
But he had already jumped, so there was no stopping him. With a loud splash, she caught a glimpse of him diving toward the swimming dog. For a moment the wall of water blocked her view—
"Got it!"
With a huge spray of water shooting upward, the man emerged from the stream.
"You really caught it?"
At the sound of his voice, Mina thought she could finally relax. But the moment she saw what he was holding, she realized it wasn't over.
"A turtle?"
What the man proudly lifted up wasn't the dachshund at all. It was a smooth green-skinned turtle with a faint shell. Startled by the sudden situation, the turtle flailed its four legs—complete with sharp claws and webbing—and stretched its long neck to bite down on his gauntlet.
"It was circling near the stone bridge."
"Weren't we trying to catch a dog?!"
"Turtles are more expensive than dogs. Obviously, if you can only catch one or the other, you should catch the turtle."
Mina shouted in disbelief at his answer.
"Fishing is prohibited here!!"
"This isn't fishing! It's hunting!"
"That's also not allowed, it's common sense!"
Of course, entering the water to catch living creatures was illegal unless they were invasive species.
"Anyway, let the turtle go right now!"
"Can't be helped."
The man turned around as if to release the turtle at her words, but—
"Don't try to sneak it away. Release it where I can see, right in front of me."
"Tsk."
She had suspected as much when he tried to hide his front from her. Sure enough, he was attempting to open some inexplicable door on the front of his armor to hide the turtle. She stopped him immediately.
"Ugh, what is with this guy..."
Mina pressed a hand to her forehead at the sight of him who seemed to have completely forgotten their original purpose. They needed to catch the dog quickly and calm Yaeun down, yet here they were.
When she looked to see where the dog had gone, it had swum quite far—apparently unbothered by the cold water—and was climbing onto a patch of ground created by dead reeds. She was sighing, thinking it would take forever to catch it again, when—
"Yelp!"
"Gotcha!"
"Huh?"
At the dog's sudden cry and another person's voice, she looked back to see someone scooping up the dog with a net.
Mina focused on the familiar-sounding voice and looked at the person who had caught the dog. At first the cowboy hat made her wonder, but it was brown instead of black, which reminded her of one of the B-grade hunters she'd met in the Southern Plains. The name had been quite unique too.
"Mr. Cheok-jeong?"
"Oh, isn't that you, ma'am?"
It was indeed Cheok-jeong. She stared blankly, unable to understand why he had caught the dog, when another familiar voice rang out.
"What the. Why are you two together?"
"You're Ms. Min-jeong, right?"
She was another hunter Mina remembered from the Southern Plains. Especially impressive was how she had charged ahead swinging that long-handled hammer.
Min-jeong was glaring at them with a look of utter confusion.
"Do you know each other?"
Since they were Seok-jun's colleagues, it wouldn't be strange if they knew each other, but just to check, she asked the man. He nodded.
"We just happened to run into each other."
Even when asked why they were together, it really had been a coincidence, so there was nothing more to say. But Min-jeong crossed her arms, looking even more suspicious.
"A coincidence? Then what's with you two trying to catch that dog together?"
"That kid over there said she wanted to catch it."
Mina pointed at Yaeun, who was standing by the bridge, smiling and waving at them. Min-jeong flinched for a moment, but it passed quickly.
"Whoa, this little guy's got a ton of energy, huh?"
"Grrrr! Bark!"
Cheok-jeong had walked over with the net containing the dachshund. The dog was thrashing inside, but its short legs made the struggling pointless. It really was easier to catch with a tool like that.
"But why were you two trying to catch that dog?"
She couldn't understand why these hunters had gone to such lengths to prepare for catching a dog. Min-jeong watched the man trudging out of the water and draining it from his armor, then abruptly turned her head away.
"What's it to you?"
Her sullen tone only made Mina more curious about what was bothering her so much.
"Don't be like that. We came because we saw this."
"Hey! You! Seriously!"
"Ow! We caught it anyway, so it's fine, right?"
As Cheok-jeong shook his head and unfolded the paper he'd brought, Min-jeong hit him in annoyance. But Mina was able to read the contents of that paper.
A substantial reward will be paid for the live capture of the dachshund pictured below. The animal is highly agile and elusive. Approach with caution.
"Eh, a bounty?"
The paper had a photo of the exact dachshund they had been chasing, along with some faded text that looked like it had gotten wet. It clearly stated that capturing it would earn a reward. And the amount was—
"O-one hundred and eighty million won?!"
It was an absurd sum for a single dog. As Mina stood there stunned, Min-jeong snorted.
"Even if you just found out, we're not sharing. So scram."
Before that, she was curious why such an enormous price had been placed on one dog, but since they had already caught it, it didn't matter anymore.
"Sis? Aren't you catching the dog?"
"S-sorry, but someone else caught it first, so I don't think we can."
"Hmph."
Yaeun came over and spoke, but since they had caught it, the dog now belonged to them. Mina was about to comfort her when—
"Huh? But the dog's over there?"
"What?"
Following Yaeun's pointing finger, they turned their heads.
"Bark!"
"What the hell?!"
Sure enough, the dog was barking at them from far away, as if mocking them.
"Kim Cheok-jeong!! I told you to hold it properly!"
"Huh? I was holding it..."
They soon discovered the reason. Several parts of the net that had held the dog were torn, leaving holes.
"Ugh, seriously! Why did you bring something like this?!"
"No way! It was perfectly fine! I just bought it recently!"
Watching Min-jeong scold Cheok-jeong, Mina felt a presence sidle up beside her. When she turned, there was the man, puffing out his chest proudly for some reason.
"Oh my god."
Mina immediately knew who the culprit was. In the palm of his hand was a pair of nippers with a sharp blade and a red rubber-coated handle that he had pulled out from who-knows-where.