Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Dragon Knight (9)
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After dealing with the monster and wiping down her spear blade, Il-ho thought to herself.
"Blood... It shouldn't stick too much."
She recalled her mom-slash-sister waiting outside.
Lee Da-yoon was a shut-in who never stepped foot outdoors, but she was surprisingly particular about cleanliness.
Il-ho worried that Lee Da-yoon might get angry over the blood staining her items and body.
"These are precious things Mom made for me..."
In other words, she had three goals for this dungeon raid.
First, hunt as many monsters as possible to get stronger.
Second, finish the dungeon raid quickly to meet up with Mom.
Third, make sure not too much blood got on her items.
Thanks to her efforts, the raid on the newly designated B-Rank dungeon, "Vast Blood Plains," was progressing smoothly.
"Umm..."
Lee Da-yoon stared endlessly at the gate's location.
It had already been five hours since Il-ho and Miss So-jeong entered the dungeon. Her stomach had growled several times already.
The bodyguard in plain clothes approached her fidgeting anxiously.
"Um... You should probably eat something."
"No. I told you four times already that I'm not eating. I'm waiting to eat with Miss So-jeong and Il-ho."
"They've probably already had preserved rations by now. Please don't worry too much and..."
"I'm still not eating. What if they haven't?"
At the very least, after he practically begged her, she managed to eat things like a small sandwich and a banana shake, but even that was less than a third of her usual portion.
She was even avoiding her mana hearts out of consideration for onlookers, so the Management Bureau's dedicated "Baby Unit" team for Lee Da-yoon was burning up with more worry than she was.
Even after her phone battery died and she'd finished all the food she'd ordered, Lee Da-yoon kept staring at the gate.
Time passed endlessly.
Nod... nod.
Her head kept drooping downward. The sleepiness she'd been fighting with sheer willpower had finally reached its limit. Her wings sagged, and her tail dragged on the ground.
How long had she slept?
"Um... Miss?"
Someone gently shook her shoulder. Lee Da-yoon let out a sleepy "Mm..." and opened her eyes. Blinking away the drowsiness, she looked up to see a cafe employee gazing down at her with concern.
"Sorry, miss, but it's closing time."
Closing time?
Lee Da-yoon shot to her feet and looked around. It was pitch black outside the window, and the only people left in the cafe were the employee and the bodyguard.
"Wh-what time is it now?"
"It's past nine..."
The employee glanced at the wall clock. The hands pointed to 9:30 PM.
"Yeah, half past nine."
"S-sorry! I'll head out right now!"
Lee Da-yoon scrambled to grab her things and dashed out of the cafe. Then she looked around frantically for the bodyguard nearby. He came running up as if he'd been waiting.
"Mister! No one's come out yet?"
"No, not yet. It's a large-scale dungeon, so it's taking a while."
"Th-then... they're not in danger, right?"
The bodyguard dismissed her worry at her question.
"They should be fine. If there was danger, they'd use an escape stone to report out, but no one's exited, and there's no gate break either."
"Aha..."
Her anxiety eased somewhat from the reassurance, but she still felt an emptiness in her heart.
The weather was chilly, her stomach was empty... and I miss them.
Without realizing it, she wrapped her wings around herself, mimicking someone else's embrace.
Unable to get too close to the gate because of the promise she'd made, she paced back and forth from a distant bench, stomping her feet impatiently.
Passersby shot glances at the fidgety child dressed inappropriately for the weather.
And then, an hour and a half later, a low rumble began echoing from far away.
Lee Da-yoon perked up her ears immediately.
Wooong─
The low-frequency hum of mana stirring near the gate. That meant people were approaching from the other side.
The blue gate began rippling as if a stone had been thrown into it. Then, human silhouettes started emerging.
The first to appear was Vice Guild Master Lee Ji-young. Her armor was bloodied, but she bore no injuries.
Following her, weary hunters emerged one by one from the gate.
Lee Da-yoon jumped to her feet, searching the crowd for the two of them.
"Where's Miss So-jeong? Il-ho?"
But even as the line dragged on, the two didn't appear. Anxiety welled up in Lee Da-yoon's heart.
Just as her face crumpled into a teary mess, the gate's blue glow churned, and two figures stepped out side by side.
Their clothes and armor were soaked in blood. It was Yu So-jeong and Il-ho.
I barely stopped myself from flying straight toward the gate.
"...No good. Drawing attention like that would get Il-ho and Miss So-jeong in trouble."
Instead, I waved quietly from afar. Yu So-jeong turned, nodded slowly in greeting, and Il-ho mimicked her.
Far off, I saw Il-ho talking with Guild Master Seol Yu-hee. It was too noisy to discern what they were saying.
Once the two vanished from sight, I stomped my feet and waited a while longer.
How much longer? Finally, a familiar black sedan pulled up smoothly in front of me. Miss So-jeong must have been tired too, as another Management Bureau employee was behind the wheel.
I immediately opened the back door and hopped in.
"Miss So-jeong! Il-ho!"
Inside sat Il-ho in her armor and Miss So-jeong in her torn suit. Whether from a skill or item, not a drop of blood stained them.
Unable to hold back the surge of joy, I threw myself at armored Il-ho.
"I missed you!"
Swish─
But Il-ho, who should have fallen into my arms, simply sidestepped toward the window. My arms sliced through empty air.
I stared at Il-ho in a daze. Her helmet hid her expression, but it felt like she was avoiding me.
"Wh-what's wrong, Il-ho...?"
Had I done something wrong? Was she upset about something? My mind raced.
"Did I do something bad?"
Il-ho shook her head vigorously at my question. Then she pulled out a small whiteboard and scribbled messily before showing it to me.
- Smells like blood
Only then did I notice the smell of blood and dirt filling the car.
Dungeons were full of all sorts of messes. It was natural for bad odors to linger.
Wiping off the visible blood didn't eliminate the smell.
But,
"It's fine!"
What did that matter?
I reached out again and hugged the cold armor tight. Il-ho finally removed her helmet, revealing her bare face to me.
Only after a long embrace did I let her go.
"Il-ho, how was the dungeon? Wasn't it scary?"
- It was fun
"Really? That's a relief!"
There were legends of Dragon Fang Soldiers fighting from birth. Seemed Il-ho had that kind of temperament. Was that a good thing?
Well, if Il-ho enjoyed it, then great. Pride shone clearly on her face.
Il-ho seemed unhurt for now. Time to check on Miss So-jeong.
I leaned forward to look at her. Her clothes were shredded, but her body was unscratched.
"Miss So-jeong, you're not hurt?"
"Result-wise, no."
"...Huh?"
Either you were hurt or not—what did "result-wise" even mean?
"Um... so you're okay, right?"
"Yes. That's correct."
So she wasn't hurt. Good.
Then, a mighty growl erupted from my stomach.
Grrrrumble...
Yu So-jeong broke the awkward silence.
"Have you eaten?"
"No, not yet..."
As I mumbled, she fell quiet for a moment.
"...You were waiting?"
I scratched my cheek awkwardly and grinned.
"Hehe..."
But no response came for a while.
"...Huh?"
Why was the mood like this? Was she mad I waited without eating? Or... after fighting hard in the dungeon all day, did she feel burdened thinking she'd have to cook again?
That made sense. If I'd rolled around in a dungeon all day, coming home to cook would make my vision go dark.
Of course, I'd planned on delivery for dinner tonight.
"Ah! Let's get delivery tonight! You're tired too, right, Miss So-jeong? What do you want? Il-ho?"
Il-ho glanced at me, then at Yu So-jeong, leaving the choice to her.
She pondered, staring out the window, before speaking.
"How about pineapple pizza?"
"...Huh?"