Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Wanting to Do It in the Dungeon (5)
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"...Just rest here for a bit. I'll go check it out."
"U-uh.... B-be careful...."
I laid Cha Yu-ri down on the rock and pulled my greatsword from my subspace pocket before heading straight toward the ancient tree where the noise had come from.
'A monster? Or another hunter?'
If it was the former, I'd just cut it down. But if it was the latter, things could get a little messy.
We could get banned from dungeons for something like public indecency inside one. And if even one or two people who knew my face behind the mask joined the guild, it would only increase the chances of headaches down the line.
If someone had witnessed us having sex in the dungeon, my face would definitely have stuck in their mind. Especially since it was without my mysterious mask.
Rather than risk getting tangled in that kind of hassle, I hoped it was a monster as I took up a stance and peered behind the ancient tree. What appeared before my eyes was...
"......Meow, meow."
A single small cat buried in a pile of women's clothing.
"What the heck, it was you?"
"Meow, meow?!"
"I thought it was a monster or another hunter. You scared me."
"Meow, meooow."
A cat inside a dungeon, huh.
The ecosystem inside dungeons differed from the outside world. And naturally, it wasn't exactly suited for Earth's native creatures to thrive in.
Small bugs aside, a cat living in a dungeon felt out of place in every way, so it probably wasn't born here.
The most plausible guess was that it got swept up in another hunter's portable warp and ended up trapped inside. It must have wandered lost until it crawled into the warm pile of clothes that happened to be there.
"You're so cute. What's your name?"
"Mi... Minyaong...."
"Alright, Minyaong. Did you get lost and wander into the dungeon?"
"Meow.... Me, meooow...."
"...You're one articulate cat."
I'd never heard a cat meow so clearly and distinctly before.
Even so, with its glossy gray fur and sleek lines, it was adorable in every way. Before I knew it, my hand had already reached out to stroke the gray cat's head.
-Rub, rub.
"Me, meow?"
"There, there, Minyaong."
"Me, meow.... Meooow...."
At first, it seemed startled and tensed up at my touch. But the moment my palm met its head, it settled down, kneading away contentedly and letting me pet it quietly.
...Come to think of it, I'd heard cats love having the base of their tail stroked the most.
-Rub, rub.
"Me, meow...."
I slid my hand from its head down its neck and back, naturally passing its waist until my palm reached its rear.
-Rub.
"Eek, eeeek?!"
Suddenly, the gray cat jumped up from its kneading position and kicked my palm away with its hind legs.
-Thwack!
"Ow!"
"You...! Hya, hyaaaaah!!!"
Then it arched its back and tail, hissing furiously at me.
It looked like it was furious that I'd touched somewhere off-limits.
"O-okay, sorry. I guess that's a no-go spot for you."
Internet trivia is so unreliable, anyway.
Or maybe cats just have different personalities. Not every cat in the world loves having its butt touched, after all.
I didn't know much about cats anyway, so no way to tell.
"Get away from mine... Hya, hyaaak! Hyaaaaaah...!!"
The problem was Minyaong, perched defensively on the clothes, glaring at me warily. And beneath it were clothes that seemed to belong to Cha Yu-ri.
As bold as we were to have outdoor sex in a dungeon, I couldn't just drag a naked Cha Yu-ri out wrapped only in a cloak.
It'd be straight-up barbarian babe territory—or worse, since the cloak was thin. Way too provocative.
"...What are you doing there?"
"Just a sec, Cha Yu-ri. There's a cat squatting on your clothes and refusing to budge...."
"What are you talking about? I've got all my clothes on."
"Huh?"
Thinking it was a joke, I glanced back at her. Sure enough, she was already dressed under the cloak.
Confused, I looked back at Minyaong. Now I noticed the clothes under it had an oddly small fabric area.
And on closer inspection, it wasn't her navy dress—it was a short sports bra and hot pants. Definitely not Cha Yu-ri's style.
"Hmm...."
"Hyaaaaaah!!!"
"O-okay, sorry, sorry."
As I reached to pick up what seemed like lost property, Minyaong's hissing intensified.
And a lightning-fast swipe grazed my hand. If I'd gone all in, I'd have four or five gashes on my knuckles.
"Fine, fine. I won't touch it. When your owner comes back, go with them."
The clothes looked recently shed, so whoever owned them was probably Minyaong's owner too.
And in a dungeon, stripping down to underwear like this? Only one reason came to mind.
Best to bail before things got awkward. No interest in spectating another couple's fun.
"My mistake. Let's head back."
"Put your pants on already. Quit dawdling."
...Right, my lower half was still bare.
I grabbed my pants from beside the rock bed, slipped them on, collected all the monster cores Cha Yu-ri had hunted, and by then, the cat had vanished with the clothes.
"......"
"What're you thinking so hard about?"
"...Nothing."
Even as Cha Yu-ri and I exited the dungeon, tallied our monster materials, and naturally headed to that same hotel from last time, one nagging question lingered in my mind.
'For a second there at the end, I swear I saw a pink heart....'
...Nah, must've been my imagination.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Silver and Jade Corporation, Gangdong District Branch. Just past noon, the company guild buzzed with hunters coming and going, gathering in droves.
Hunters wrapping up morning shifts and clocking out, those starting afternoon shifts for evening raids, and even ones popping out for a quick lunch before full-day grinds—it was peak hours, naturally the noisiest time too.
Lines even formed for the warp gates to dungeons. Hunters streamed in and out of the gates, with morning stragglers teleporting back to the guild one by one.
-Fwoosh!
"Hah, haa, somehow...."
Han Min-ah stumbled out of the warp, looking like she'd fled in a panic. It was enough to draw every eye.
Her ragged breaths betraying excitement, flushed face like blood had rushed to it, disheveled top and bottoms. No one knew exactly what she'd seen beyond, but one thought crossed everyone's mind.
She must've run into something dangerous enough to flee the dungeon.
"Min-ah, what happened in there?"
One guild staffer approached to check on her.
She worked non-stop, barely taking a week's vacation in a year—famous among the guides. When someone you knew looked distressed, you couldn't help but check.
Plus, if it was a new threat in the dungeon, they needed to respond fast. Standard protocol. But Han Min-ah's response wasn't what the staffer expected.
"Th-this...!"
"Yes, Min-ah? Was there a dangerous monster in the dungeon or..."
"Please tally this as my earnings!"
Just a routine material settlement from a dungeon run.
"...Pardon?"
No talk of monster overpopulation or A-rank beasts in a C-rank. Just settlement.
As the guide blinked in confusion, Han Min-ah shook her monster material pouch urgently again.
"Q-quickly! Take it, please!"
"Ah, sure!"
Sensing something off but taking the pouch anyway. Normally, settlements happened on the third-floor reporting room, not warp-front. But her frantic expression...
Tris cores and C-rank monster cores were easy for any guild staff to appraise.
"31 cores from C-rank Tris.... And these are Woodrellos..."
"......Haa, haaa...."
Meanwhile, Han Min-ah leaned on the counter, squirming uncomfortably the whole time. Thinking of the man who'd aroused her—her old classmate she hadn't seen in ages.
Sung Tae-kyung was still as magnetically attractive as the last time she'd seen him. The same pull from back when she'd distanced herself for her social circle's sake.
It hadn't helped that she'd bumped into him fully transformed into cat form to hide her identity, unleashing 100% of her ability. Full animal form meant vulnerability to her heat cycle instincts.
She'd always used suppressants, never properly riding out a heat. His scent—that of her first love, essentially—was overwhelming stimulus. Her body heating up was inevitable.
'He touched my bare butt.... E-even if it was as a cat....'
'A-and that thing.... Swinging that impossible monster right in front of me....'
Even as the guide tallied, the sights and sensations from the end wouldn't fade.
His huge, beautiful cock—clearly beyond normal at a glance. The rough, hot hands stroking her, symbols of strong masculinity. And the thick, musky male scent shoved right under her nose post-climax.
She'd nearly thrown shame and pride aside, shifted back naked, and flung herself at him. Suppressing that instinct was a miracle.
That iron will was how she'd cared for her two little sisters without faltering since their parents fled three years ago.
'If I'd shifted back there.... It would've been over for real....'
No guarantee he'd embrace her anyway. To him, she was just an old high school friend he'd gradually drifted from since sophomore year.
And that situation? Cha Yu-ri—her acquaintance—was right there with him. He was her best friend Kang Hye-eun's boyfriend, to boot.
If instinct drove her to rape him and she ended up fined or jailed, she couldn't support her sisters. Even if he was screwing in a dungeon and disrupting public morals, no court would buy "couldn't control my instincts after seeing it."
'At least I never pulled anything weird on him like the others....'
She was probably his closest classmate after Hye-eun, but that closeness could make unwanted sex breed even more contempt.
She didn't want her sisters dropping school for work. Especially with graduation from hunter high in just half a year.
Their faces flashing in her mind snapped her back, letting her flee from Sung Tae-kyung. Barely, though—a razor-thin margin.
"Settlement's done. It'll roll into next month's pay."
"Th-thank you."
"Heading out this afternoon too? Need a reservation for another dungeon?"
"N-no! Wrapping up here and heading home! Need rest, I'm beat!"
"Ah, got it!"
She snatched the pouch from the guide and bolted out of the guild.
If she didn't crash in bed and force sleep now, these feelings might never cool.