Chapter 250: The Trap (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 250: The Trap (1)
By the time we emerged from the dungeon, it was deep in the night, the moon hanging bright in the sky.
The sea was calm.
The Kraken's colossal body floated silently on the water, its movements ceased, and the newly hatched Kraken Jrs. stayed close to their mother.
However, not everywhere was quiet.
“Waaaaaah—!”
As we stepped onto the shore, a fervent cheer pierced my ears.
“The Big One! The Big One!”
Kim Tae-yang raised a clenched fist at the outrageous nickname, one too vulgar to even say aloud.
“Noona, I'm dying—!”
Han Ju-hee glared, her eyes seriously contemplating whether to actually kill him.
“Namgung Hyeok, the hope of the Orthodox Murim!”
Even Namgung Hyeok, the face of Korea's Murim, was there.
“So passionate, so intense.”
Everyone was awake, despite it being the dead of night.
It didn't take long to figure out how that was possible.
The death of the Kraken.
The tremendous sound of its massive body collapsing onto the water's surface must have assaulted their ears, and the resulting tidal wave must have shaken the defensive barriers.
It was only natural for the Hunters, with their already heightened senses, to be woken by the noise.
They had all gathered here to offer their praise to those who had brought the Kraken to its end.
At the very front, Manager Kim Seong-tae was the first to greet us.
“You've all worked hard. You must be exhausted, so please get a good rest for today.”
Just from the wide smile on his face, I could tell how pleased he was.
Even though the plan had gone slightly awry, the Kraken raid was an operation carried out under his leadership.
He had every reason to be, since they had succeeded in taking down the Kraken with virtually no casualties, aside from some minor wounds from the clash between the Kraken Jrs. and the B-rank Hunters.
Of course, that was thanks to the S-rank Hunters. What credit could Kim Seong-tae possibly take?
But it's the trickle-down effect. Even a few drops of water from above can fill your stomach.
“Hunter Han Ju-yeon and Hunter Kim Do-jin, you two should also rest here for the night.”
Ju-yeon and I, who had explored the inside of the Kraken with the S-rank Hunters, were also given new accommodations.
A place completely different in size and amenities from where we were staying before.
“Well then, rest well, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After personally guiding us to our rooms, Kim Seong-tae leisurely departed, leaving Ju-yeon and me alone in the narrow hallway.
“……”
“……”
Suddenly being alone together, a tremendous awkwardness hung in the air between us.
Every time I looked at her face, I remembered the kiss we shared in that isolated space.
It had certainly been the only way for us to survive.
But… the kiss we shared in that moment wasn't driven solely by the will to survive.
A brief, but intense moment.
Both Ju-yeon and I had genuinely desired each other.
So much so that we completely forgot about the crisis closing in on us with every passing second.
If we could have just written it off as a one-time mistake, it wouldn't be this awkward now.
They say the first time is always the hardest, and it gets easier after that.
Once a feeling takes root in your heart, it only tries to grow wilder, showing no signs of fading.
Still, we couldn't stay like this forever.
“Um… Teacher.”
As I forced myself past the awkwardness and broke the heavy silence, Ju-yeon finally looked at me.
Her cheeks were puffed out.
That was a habit she had whenever she was displeased about something…
“Noona.”
“…Yes?”
“‘Teacher’ sounds too distant. So… just call me No-Noona instead.”
“Ah, um.”
Her words, that she didn't like it because it felt distant, struck me in the chest.
It felt like she was clearly declaring her intention not to remain so distant anymore.
“Teacher. That, um…”
I was about to ask her straight out if she liked me, but I quickly shut my mouth.
“You want to ask, don't you? If I like you.”
But she beat me to the punch, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking.
As I stared at her blankly with a dumbfounded expression, she gave a shy smile and nodded.
“It's true that I like you. No, to be precise…”
Ju-yeon tucked a strand of hair that had fallen over her slightly bowed face behind her ear and continued.
“It’s become so that I can only love you.”
My heart went cold at her cryptic words.
“What does that…”
“Do you remember? When we ki-kissed.”
“Of course, I do.”
How could I not?
A memory that intense was rare even in my entire life as Son Si-woo.
Ju-yeon held out the wand in her hand toward me.
“This wand… I received it as a gift from my brother-in-law when I became a Hunter.”
“…Yes.”
I know it well.
I remember it even more clearly because of the sheer amount of materials that went into it.
One of the executives in charge of the guild's finances at the time was furious, saying that if we had used those materials sparingly, we could have made ten greatswords. He argued that if we were giving her that much, we should at least have her join the guild.
Thanks to that, I think I spent a whole week running dungeons nonstop without even going home properly, just to cover that deficit.
“The main material used in this is a unicorn's horn. Do you happen to know the most well-known characteristic of a unicorn?”
“…That they go crazy for virgins?”
“Ahaha… that's right. Because of the unicorn horn used in this wand… it has a slightly embarrassing wearing restriction.”
“That, um.”
Ju-yeon… don't tell me you're about to say what I think you're about to say.
“The condition is… that only a virgin can use it.”
“……”
The moment I heard that, a thought crossed my mind.
She's really dead serious about this.
She continued.
“After about ten years of using it, something strange happened.”
“A strange… event?”
“Yeah. They said it was because I had maintained my virginity while being filled with the unicorn's energy, and I gained a sub-trait.”
“…And that’s the ‘Sacrifice of Purity’ I experienced?”
“That's right.”
Unicorns and virginity.
I think I can roughly guess how the Sacrifice of Purity works.
It must be a skill where someone who has maintained their virginity sacrifices their purity to grant an incredibly powerful buff to another person.
And the target… would naturally be the person who took that purity.
I get the gist of it.
But how does that become a reason why she can only love me?
Just as I was wondering, she continued with a bitter smile.
“When the Sacrifice of Purity is activated… I fall under a curse.”
“A… curse?”
A curse?
What on earth does that mean?
She gave an awkward laugh and waved her hands dismissively.
“Ah… to be precise, it could be a curse, or it might not be. It all depends on who I activated the trait on.”
Suddenly, an ominous thought flashed through my mind.
‘Purity’ and ‘Sacrifice’.
“Teacher, don't tell me…?”
Her face turned beet red as if it were about to explode, and she cautiously nodded.
“Y-Yeah. Once the Sacrifice of Purity is activated… I can only offer it to that one target.”
No, no way.
“My… p-purity.”
…I'm fucked.
* * *
I stood blankly under the pouring shower.
I chewed and swallowed the luxurious late-night meal prepared for me without tasting a thing.
I fell into a light sleep, clutching my pounding heart like someone having an angina attack.
After spending his entire break in a daze, Kim Do-jin headed to none other than the press conference hall.
Click! Click!
The incessant sound of camera shutters was so grating it made me frown involuntarily.
But Kim Do-jin was a pro.
A pro among pros, who could handle press conferences far more important and crowded than this one with ease.
He knew all too well that a frowning face was a delicious meal for the hyenas desperate to write a more sensational article.
“Uh… we will now begin the press conference.”
The topic of this press conference was singular: the Kraken raid.
A reporter who was given the floor asked a question.
“We heard that you successfully completed the raid with minimal losses by attacking the Kraken from the inside. We also heard that this operation was carried out based on Hunter Son Si-woo's advice… is that correct?”
The one who took the microphone to answer was Kim Seong-tae.
“Yes, that is correct. Thanks to Hunter Son Si-woo's detailed advice, we were able to undertake such a bold operation. Although he was unable to join the raid due to circumstances, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Hunter Son Si-woo for guiding us down the right path.”
A portion of the credit earned from the Kraken raid ended up going to Son Si-woo, who wasn't even present.
Feeling sorry about this, Han Ju-yeon reached a hand under the table and gently placed it on top of Kim Do-jin's, who was sitting beside her.
Instead of saying he was fine, Kim Do-jin just shook his head to show it didn't bother him.
In truth, it really didn't matter.
Just as she had said before, if it weren't for Son Si-woo's reputation, this operation would never have gotten the S-rank Hunters' approval.
Another reporter raised their hand.
“We heard there was a dungeon inside the Kraken. Could you briefly describe the situation at the time?”
The one who confidently took the microphone to answer the rather lengthy question was Kim Tae-yang.
“Eh, so what happened was…”
Kim Tae-yang, who loved to step up and enjoyed the spotlight, began his dazzling tale.
“Back then, with this fist, I just…!”
Of course, he didn't hesitate to embellish and edit the story to focus on himself.
However, this story wasn't one where he alone could take all the credit.
Because the one who defeated the boss, the Kraken's avatar, wasn't him, but someone else.
“So after I took care of the named monsters… Hunter Han Ju-hee defeated the boss and secured our victory, is what happened.”
After Kim Tae-yang's long-winded explanation, Han Ju-hee's subtle gaze rested on Kim Do-jin.
After the Kraken raid, Kim Do-jin had approached Han Ju-hee with a strange request.
The request was none other than to say that Han Ju-hee, not Kim Do-jin, was the one who defeated the Kraken's avatar.
When she asked why, he had replied that he didn't want to get caught up in needless gossip.
She understood.
Regardless of his abilities, Kim Do-jin was just a B-rank Hunter.
Just the fact that he had entered the Kraken with S-rank Hunters was enough to cause controversy; what would happen if word got out that he had defeated the boss?
‘People who can't believe it will start tearing him down.’
The human heart is a truly fickle thing.
People envy those who are moderately successful, but for those who soar to unreachable heights, they wish for their downfall, whether by mistake or not.
It was obvious what would happen the moment even more intense attention was focused on Kim Do-jin, who was already enjoying popularity as the Hunter industry's most promising talent.
That was why she had accepted Kim Do-jin's request.
After that, questions about the Kraken raid continued to pour in, and the S-rank Hunters took turns answering them.
Finally, as the press conference was nearing its end.
“The name of Kim Do-jin, a rookie B-rank Hunter, is on the list of Kraken raid members, which has sparked a controversy over whether it was preferential treatment. Could you please comment on this?”
It had finally come.
This was something I had fully expected.
A B-rank Hunter tagging along on a disaster-class monster raid? Isn't this the perfect fodder for gossip and criticism?
‘I can't let that happen.’
Getting torn apart by reporters is the last thing I want.
As I was about to grab the microphone to give the answer I had prepared to prevent that, a pale white hand reached out from my side and took it first.
“It wasn't preferential treatment. I personally requested his escort.”
At the defense from the owner of the pale hand, Han Ju-yeon, the reporter who asked the question looked bewildered.
“Hunter Han Ju-yeon, you personally…?”
“Yes.”
At her short reply, the reporter sank back into his seat with a crestfallen expression.
Through this operation, she was already slated for a promotion to S-rank.
Furthermore, her older sister is Han Ju-hee, and her brother-in-law is Son Si-woo.
When someone like that gives such a firm answer, what more could anyone ask?
Having completely shut down one reporter, Han Ju-yeon put down the microphone and looked at Kim Do-jin.
Looking at Kim Do-jin's dumbfounded face, her bright smile seemed to say:
‘I did well, right?’
Should I be happy or not?
Kim Do-jin, filled with confused emotions, and Han Ju-yeon, smiling brightly.
The scene of the two of them looking at each other was captured perfectly in the reporters' cameras.
And the next day.
【S-rank and B-rank, a Love of the Century that Transcends Tiers?】
Dating rumors about the two of them set the world ablaze.