Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Suspicious Request (7)
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Eventually, we accepted the request. I figured that with Yun Yeon participating directly, we could clear the dungeon with close to a 100% success rate.
I had no idea what this Bahn guy was all about, but even if he went head-to-head with Charis, Yun Yeon would smash his skull in. There was no way some weakling like Bahn could handle her and the Myth Clan members on his own.
Seo Yu-ju seemed to think the same as me, because the moment Yun Yeon's name came up from the young lady's mouth, she accepted the request right away.
"... I can't believe the Myth Clan Master is coming personally."
I was the one who spoke up, but Seo Yu-ju looked distracted by something. She was muttering softly to herself.
"No... no way. Even so... coming because of Yun-seong..."
"...?"
"... What the hell? No, that girl just now too... What is she, some kind of succubus...?"
"Yu-ju?"
"Ah... Yes, yes. Yun-seong."
"... Are you okay?"
"Haha... Yeah. Just lost in thought for a second..."
"Worried about the dungeon?"
"No. With the Myth Clan Master joining us... honestly, the raid itself should be pretty straightforward."
'... Yeah, it will be.'
I could guarantee it—Bahn or whoever, they'd get pulverized by Yun Yeon's fists. Her stats were on another level entirely.
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, Yun-seong..."
"Yes, go ahead."
Seo Yu-ju's expression darkened as she asked me,
"... By any chance, do you like Lady Tierra?"
"Cough! Cough...!"
I never saw that question coming, so I choked in surprise.
"Wh-what... cough... what do you mean?"
I asked Seo Yu-ju, but Kang I-seo answered from the side with a glare that said she wasn't pleased.
"Obviously, 'cause you're fuckin' all over that girl."
"Wh-what?"
"Hey, weren't you spilling sugar everywhere? Want me to imitate you?"
Kang I-seo suddenly put on an annoying expression and started mimicking my voice.
"Lady Tierra. You're as beautiful as ever today. That outfit suits you perfectly."
"......"
"Your hands... they're so cold. You'll catch a cold like this. Warm hands mean a healthy body, you know."
'... Fuck.'
"Ah, such a delicate personality. Thank you for your consideration, miss."
"S-stop..."
"... Fuck, get it now? How much it made us wanna puke?"
The really shitty part was that hearing Kang I-seo's impression made me feel a pang of self-loathing myself.
I'd rushed to sweet-talk Lady Tierra because we were short on time, and it ended up pissing off my party members.
"Man... my eyes never lie. I said from the first meeting she looked like the flirty type, and damn if I wasn't right..."
Looking at the others' reactions, I didn't have anyone on my side.
'Damn it, this is bullshit.'
She came onto me first. I... just gave her the reaction she wanted. Sure, there was some calculating on my part, but I still felt wronged.
"What's ridiculous is... that girl acts totally different when we talk to her versus when you do. If she wasn't some noble lady, I'd have flipped the table by now."
"... Yeah, gotta admit that."
Honestly, her attitude was enough to piss off our party. When it wasn't about the request, there was a clear difference in warmth between how she talked to me and how she talked to the others.
It was especially bad with Seo Yu-ju and Kang I-seo. I didn't know why, but when the young lady spoke to them, her tone felt ice-cold.
"... Yun-seong. You still haven't answered my question."
'Ah...'
I wasn't dumb enough not to know what to say in this situation.
"... It's a misunderstanding. Lady Tierra isn't my type. I was just playing to her whims."
"... Really?"
"The more I talked to her, the more I realized you and I-seo were right. She doesn't seem like a good person."
They say you can curse the king behind his back. Not in front of that woman, but now, I could trash her all I wanted.
"She just seemed really flighty. Honestly, talking to her was a chore."
"... Is that so? Hmm, hmm... So what is your type, Yun-seong?"
"... Pardon?"
'My type...'
Honestly, I didn't know. Back on Earth... I was always swamped. No, not just busy—thrashing around just to survive—so I still didn't know my own ideal type.
"... I don't really know."
"Come on, everyone's got a type."
"Fuck, saying you don't know is straight-up bullshit, right?"
"Hmm... Probably the same as anyone else. Pretty and nice personality—that's good enough."
Judging by their reactions, they weren't thrilled with my answer.
'Fuck... What do you want from me? I don't know.'
As we bantered pointlessly, Ha-eun spoke up from the side.
"Um, so when do we head out for the raid?"
"Probably within three days. The Myth Clan folks said they'd arrive in two."
"I see..."
Two days later, the Myth Clan members arrived at the mansion. Judging by the numbers, it looked like Yun Yeon and one full party.
'Makes sense. With Yun Yeon there, one party is plenty. Anything more would be overkill.'
One puzzling thing: how did Lady Tierra manage to hire a major clan's master?
'... Must be money rotting away in this mansion.'
Calling in a major clan's master wouldn't come cheap. It had to cost a fortune.
As Yun Yeon and her subordinates entered the mansion, our party ran into them.
"... Lee Yun-seong, trainee... no, you're not a trainee anymore, right? And Seo Yu-ju? Anyway, long time no see, everyone."
"... Good to see you, Myth Clan Master."
I greeted her. I hadn't expected to see her again so soon, but meeting outside the Training Facility definitely felt different.
"I heard the story. You're the talk of the town these days, huh? Cleared a rare-grade dungeon right after leaving the Training Facility. And not just tagging along—you apparently shone."
"... It's probably all exaggerated."
"Pfft... Still as cautious as ever. Why not own it a bit more? Padding your achievements is bad, but excessive humility has its downsides too."
"... I'll keep that in mind."
Meeting her outside the Training Facility really drove home her presence and the fact that she led a whole clan. My body trembled just a bit.
"You're too stiff. Relax a little. We're raiding a dungeon together, after all."
"... Easier said than done. It just feels different from seeing you at the Training Facility..."
"Heh... I get it. Anyway, how've you been, Seo Yu-ju? Word's spreading about your exploits. Impressive stuff right out of the gate."
"Thank you for the praise, Myth Clan Master."
"Anyway... I need to talk to the client, so I'll head out."
"Yes, Myth Clan Master. See you..."
It felt like a storm had blown through.
"Whew..."
"Shall we head to our rooms and rest? Since the Myth Clan arrived today, we'll probably head to the dungeon tomorrow."
"Yes, Yu-ju. That sounds good."
The next day, with preparations complete, everyone gathered in front of the mansion as we set out with the Myth Clan for the dungeon raid.
Seo Yu-ju spoke to Yun Yeon.
"Shall we head out, then? We know the dungeon's location, so we'll lead the way."
"Sure, Seo Yu-ju. We'll follow from behind."
Yun Yeon was a clan master, but we weren't her clan members, so we had no obligation to follow her orders. We were operating as an independent party on this request.
Of course, that was just semantics—with her experience, it was wise to respect her input.
Yun Yeon seemed to respect our party too, not bossing us around.
If I had to guess her thinking, it felt like she wanted to test how well we'd adapted—like chicks testing their wings.
With our exploits in the logs, she probably wanted to see how we led the raid.
Checking her clan members' status windows, everyone except one looked like first-year rookies. Their stats matched the Incarnation Clan's first-years.
She'd probably taken the request to give her rookies some experience.
On the way to the dungeon, we ran into a few undead, but the Myth Clan held back. Yun Yeon must have told them beforehand.
'... Handing us the experience?'
They were first-years, so low-level undead like these wouldn't help much. We were zeroth-years, so they were yielding to us.
"Ho-won! Take the two on the left!"
"Got it...!"
One odd thing: there were more undead than last time.
Kang I-seo sensed it too, speaking up as she loosed an arrow.
"Hey, what's up? More than last time, right? Or am I imagining it?"
"No, you're right. They're just ghouls, though..."
After the fight ended and we were regrouping, Yun Yeon approached.
"Hmm... This doesn't match what I heard. Were there always this many undead? I was told only two or three showed up in the forest."
Seo Yu-ju answered her doubt.
"No, it's unusual. Normally, there were way fewer."
"Really? Hmm..."
"We'll keep guiding."
As we continued, more ghouls appeared. Definitely more frequent than before.
This time, with more numbers, the Myth Clan started joining in.
Sslash—
"Kieeeek—!"
Boom!
Sounds of blades cutting and magic activating echoed around, and the fight wrapped up.
'... Almost no difference from Incarnation Clan's first-years.'
Even compared to the top three clans' Incarnation Clan, the gap was negligible. These guys even seemed sharper.
'... Myth Clan isn't one of the top three, but they look every bit as good.'
A rookie's eyes can only see so much, but to me, there was no real difference between the top three and Myth Clan.
I couldn't say for sure without seeing their veterans, but clear waters don't flow from muddy sources.
'They've been hiding their strength.'
A plausible guess.
My impression of Myth Clan: no shortcomings compared to the other top three, yet their reputation wasn't sky-high.
People saw them as just average major clan level.
'Ridiculous.'
Seeing them fight now and Yun Yeon's stats, no one could think that simply.
Lost in thought as we moved, we arrived at that cave entrance from before.
The difference from last time... more of those ominous decorations around it.
"... This is the place."