Chapter 41
I clutched my newly issued Hunter license with a swelling sense of anticipation.
[Baek Do-woon, B-class Hunter]
The fact that the letters in B-class looked bolder than the others had to be my imagination.
Yeah. It had to be.
I’d taken down a Cyclops on my own, so why wasn’t I an A-class Hunter?
A sigh slipped out of me before I could stop it.
“Haa... seriously, why?”
“Are you okay? Um, maybe you’re just a little short of B-grade. So, cheer up. Okay?”
Woo Chae-yeon, who had checked her own Hunter license beside me, offered her comfort.
It was clumsy comfort, but thanks to it, the disappointment in my chest eased away.
In its place, embarrassment bloomed.
She was only seventeen, and yet she was comforting a twenty-six-year-old like me with all the composure of an adult.
And she’d gotten a B-grade assessment herself.
Honestly, who was the kid here and who was the adult?
I shook my head hard to clear it.
“No, I’m fine. Thanks for worrying about me.”
“Hehe, okay... ”
I watched her smile, then fell into thought.
I was wondering why I’d been rated B-class.
The exam tower’s evaluation measured physical ability and combat power.
I’d defeated the Cyclops alone, so I should have gotten an A in combat.
And yet I’d come out B-class, which meant I hadn’t received an A in physical ability.
Probably because there was a difference between my physical performance with Arca in hand and without it.
They must have judged the boost I got from holding Arca as the effect of a buff skill.
Woo Chae-yeon’s B-class result must have been for the same reason.
Given the level of ice magic she’d displayed and still only received B-class, she probably hadn’t cleared the physical ability threshold for A-class either.
Of course, she’d get there soon enough.
She was going to grow at a terrifying pace and become an A-class Hunter.
With her talent and the financial power of the Ildae Group behind it, that was a given.
“Oh, right. Why were you picking up stones?”
“Huh? Ah, that?”
She’d arrived around the time I’d finished dealing with the Cyclops and was busy gathering stones.
When she asked what I was doing, I’d only explained that I was picking up pebbles.
That I’d ended up here because I kept picking up pebbles, more or less.
Ji Sang-wook had already tucked his tail between his legs and run.
He’d decided he couldn’t defeat the Cyclops and bolted.
Well, in any case, everything he’d done had been caught on camera, so he’d get his penalty all on his own.
“It’s just a hobby.”
“...Oh. I see.”
What hobby was that supposed to be?
Woo Chae-yeon knew it too, but she didn’t press the issue.
Like her brother had done, she let it go out of consideration for me.
Honestly, this girl kept making it impossible to tell who was the child and who was the adult.
I figured Woo Yeon-hoo could get away with it, since he was a guild master and the vice chairman of a conglomerate on top of that.
But she was only seventeen.
How could she be like this?
What was I doing when I was seventeen?
“……”
“What are you doing today?”
“Today?”
“Yes. You’re my benefactor, so I should at least get the chance to repay you.”
“Uh, I’ve already been paid enough, though?”
No, more than enough.
I’d been paid a huge sum of five billion won, I’d received the Seoljicho that had been used for testing, and I’d even gotten a luxury sedan.
Come to think of it, I’d completely forgotten about the Seoljicho I’d received as part of the test.
I’d have to check whether it suited me before deciding to take it.
If the compatibility was bad and I swallowed it anyway, something nasty could happen.
“I haven’t given you enough to put my mind at ease, so it’s still lacking.”
“……”
Hearing her say that, she really was a member of the Woo family.
How could she say the exact same things her father and brother would say?
I think the biggest thing I gained from this whole incident was getting acquainted with the people of the Woo family.
Just talking here, in front of all these people who were whispering and staring, was enough to make my stock go up.
Honestly, I wanted to run somewhere the eyes of the crowd couldn’t reach me.
It was a lot of pressure.
“I do have time, yes.”
“Perfect! I wanted to treat you to a meal.”
Woo Chae-yeon rose from her seat with a bright smile.
She looked exactly like a high school student when she smiled like that.
“Ah... ”
“......?”
The smile vanished from her face in an instant.
Wondering what had happened, I looked over and found the reason at the end of her gaze: Ji Sang-wook, looking completely crushed.
People recognized him and whispered among themselves, but unlike before he’d entered the Exam Tower, he wasn’t puffing himself up anymore.
His shoulders were hunched as he slipped quietly out of the licensing office.
And he kept darting glances at me, as though trying not to draw my attention.
Too late for that.
Woo Chae-yeon asked in a cold voice, “Should I go tell him off?”
“It’s fine.”
Watching him flee in such a defeated state made me feel better.
It was almost like there was no need to rub salt into the wound anymore.
All I really wanted was for him to take this as a lesson and come to his senses.
If he didn’t, he’d run into someone worse and end up dead.
Someone like seventeen-year-old Baek Do-woon.
“Forget the ugly stuff. Let’s go eat something good.”
“Yes, let’s!”
Woo Chae-yeon and I left the licensing office.
The moment we stepped outside, I saw the crowd buzzing in a swarm of voices.
Had Ji Sang-wook already caused some trouble?
That was what I thought, but the reason for the gathering had nothing to do with him.
Two cars were parked there.
Even someone like me, who knew almost nothing about cars, could tell they were top-of-the-line luxury sedans.
When she saw them, Woo Chae-yeon lowered her head in apparent embarrassment.
“This is seriously humiliating...”
“Ahaha.”
I could understand why she’d feel that way.
Kim Min-ju and O Joo-han were standing beside the cars.
The two vehicles had been sent by the Ildae Group.
Even I, who had no connection to them, felt awkward enough; she was actually close to them, so it had to be worse for her.
Just then, the two of them noticed us leaving the office and came over.
The crowd’s eyes followed them, then shifted to Woo Chae-yeon and me.
“How did the evaluation go?”
“Did Dad send you?”
“No, your brother did.”
“My brother?”
“Yes.”
Woo Chae-yeon asked sharply, and O Joo-han answered with complete ease.
He was dressed in plain clothes, without a mask.
Without the mask, his sharp, cutting impression had softened into something more relaxed.
When he noticed me staring, he held out a hand.
“Long time no see, Ji-on.”
“How did you know?”
“Huh? Well, the ponytail gave you away. And the hair tie.”
“……”
I really ought to cut off this damn ponytail someday.
Having nothing to say, I just took O Joo-han’s hand and shook it.
Watching us, Woo Chae-yeon said, “Anyway, glad you both came. We were about to go eat, so come with us.”
“Should we call Lee Da-ri too?”
I asked, glancing at Kim Min-ju.
Her eyes widened slightly, and Woo Chae-yeon tilted her head.
“Lee Da-ri? Who’s that?”
“Someone who exists. A guy who loves money like his life depends on it.”
“Why would you call someone like that?”
As she asked, Woo Chae-yeon tilted her head in confusion.
Right. Normally, you wouldn’t call him, or even associate with him at all.
I grinned and looked at Kim Min-ju.
O Joo-han seemed to understand too, because he gave a sly smile.
“...That won’t be possible.”
“......?”
Hm? What?
Kim Min-ju’s cheeks were a little red, but her expression remained oddly serious.
It was so different from her usual self that I instinctively tilted my head.
She pointed at the cars behind her and said, “The young lady needs to go home, and Do-woon-nim needs to go to Jae-i's Blacksmith.”
So that was why there were two cars.
One was for me, and one was for Woo Chae-yeon.
That made sense for her, but why was one here for me?
Did something happen?
Nothing huge, surely.
If it had been serious, we wouldn’t be chatting so casually like this.
“Why do I need to go home... Do-woon?”
“Do-woon?”
Woo Chae-yeon and O Joo-han both repeated my name.
What, neither of them knew I was Baek Do-woon?
No wonder they’d been calling me Ji-on. So that was the reason.
“Why are you calling her young lady? Is something going on?”
“……”
“Honestly, you never tell me anything!”
Woo Chae-yeon pouted at Kim Min-ju, who simply looked at her without saying a word.
Then she turned back to me, bowed slightly, and greeted me before adding, “I’ll make it up to you properly next time.” After that, she walked to the back seat and got in.
O Joo-han followed her and took the passenger seat, and the car pulled away soon after.
Kim Min-ju led me to the other car waiting behind them.
I got into the back seat, and Kim Min-ju got into the passenger seat.
“Young master said he found a box buried under the rubble in Mu-gap Mountain, and asked me to tell you that he’s currently on his way to Jae-i's Blacksmith.”
“He found it already?”
“Yes. He said he suspects that’s what’s inside the box, and that even if it isn’t, the fact that someone had hidden it in there makes it seem important.”
That thing.
From the way she said it, she didn’t seem to know what it actually was either.
Even if they were close, work and personal matters still had to be kept separate, I supposed.
The reason Kim Min-ju kept saying “young master” and “young lady” was probably because of that distinction.
“Huh. I see.”
“……”
“By the way, how did you know where I was?”
I looked at Kim Min-ju through the rearview mirror.
Meeting my eyes, she quietly looked away.
“Did you have someone tail me?”
“I don’t know anything. I was only told to come fetch you.”
As she answered, she smiled at me.
A warm smile.
But I knew that smile was an act.
Come to think of it, Woo Yeon-hoo hadn’t even told her I was at Jae-i's Blacksmith, and yet she’d still found me.
He’d probably assigned someone to watch me.
Lee Da-ri, you’d better start being careful from now on.
Min-ju is a very frightening woman.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I opened the sliding door of the blacksmith shop, where a sign read Closed, and stepped inside.
Kim Min-ju said she would wait outside, so I went in alone.
Inside were Yu Jae-i, Woo Yeon-hoo, Kim Ji-yeon, and Shim Yun-jin.
Yu Jae-i was sitting at the counter by herself, while the other three stood around a black box in the middle, frowning hard at it.
Something must have gone wrong.
When Woo Yeon-hoo noticed me, he raised a hand in greeting.
“You’re here?”
“Ah, hello.”
Kim Ji-yeon and Shim Yun-jin greeted me too, and I exchanged a brief hello with them before looking at Yu Jae-i.
She had a single leaf pressed to the back of her neck and had her head tilted back.
“Ugh... you’re here?”
She greeted me with a strange little sound.
I had no idea why she was using the leaf I’d given her for protection like it was some kind of neck massager.
“What are you doing?”
“What, you can’t tell? I’m getting a massage.”
“No, I get that. I mean why are you doing that with it?”
“Because it feels good. Want to try it too?”
With that, Yu Jae-i flicked a leaf toward me.
I watched the leaf land gently in my hand, then wrapped it around the back of my neck like she had.
Huh. This really was refreshing.
“...There’s magic on the box.”
Woo Yeon-hoo cut in.
“It was what allowed it to survive even after the building collapsed, but—”
“That’s why you can’t open it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I looked down at the black box.
It sat there tightly shut, as if it had no intention of opening for anyone.
“I don’t know much about magic, but isn’t a lock spell supposed to be simple?”
“It is.”
Shim Yun-jin nodded as she answered.
Her expression made it clear she’d expected me to ask that.
“If it were only a lock spell, we’d have broken it with an unlocking spell. But there’s also a key spell on here.”
“A key spell?”
“Yes. You need a key to open this box.”
“And that key...”
I looked at Woo Yeon-hoo, and he shook his head.
That meant they’d found the box, but not the key.
“What if I cut the box open with Sword Qi?”
“That would work.”
“Oh, then—”
“But the things inside would all be destroyed by the key spell’s effect.”
“……”
That was a lovely little dead end.
If Sword Qi wouldn’t work, then breaking it with magic was out too.
Hmm. So we were just supposed to wait until they found the key in the rubble?
That thought had barely crossed my mind when Saessak sent me a message.
Saessak advises Manager Baek Do-woon to smash the box lock with a pebble.
...?
Smash what with what?
Saessak advises you to erase the magic filled with disgusting energy using a pebble!