Chapter 60
To cut to the chase, I passed the C-rank Hunter promotion exam without a hitch.
It was a trickier exam than I'd expected, but it wasn't difficult for someone like me, who had already moved beyond the D-rank Hunter level.
That special dungeon said to appear only once in a blue moon? Thanks to Observation, it wasn't difficult at all.
A one-on-one sparring match with an instructor? A mere C-rank Hunter's attacks couldn't break through my fully leveled Heal.
The other Hunters complained that it was the toughest exam in history, but I couldn't relate at all,
and I passed the exam with flying colors, setting the highest record in the process.
“Heh… I was an F-rank Hunter just last month, and now I'm already a C-rank Hunter!”
‘Ever since awakening ‘Heroine Netori,’ everything has gone smoothly.’
You really never know what life has in store for you.
-Bzzz!
[Hello, Hunter Gam Deokbae. This is Jin Myeong-un from Twosome Guild. The reason I'm contacting you is…]
[We're Angel Guild, where the atmosphere is heavenly! Hello? We recently heard about Hunter Gam Deokbae's…]
[Hello. This is Hasam Guild. We heard about your promotion exam and wanted to contact you…]
Who would've thought that offers would come pouring in for someone who used to be an unemployed shut-in like me?
It was something I never could have imagined.
But here's the thing.
What am I supposed to do?
I have no intention of joining a guild.
I don't know how they found my personal number, but they kept contacting me. Honestly, I was happy at first,
but once it became enough of a nuisance to interfere with me, all I felt was irritation.
-Bzzz!
-Bzzzz!
Agh, seriously! Give it a rest already.
Isn't this illegal? Isn't there some Personal Information Protection Act or something?
[Sender: Lee Hyun-ah]
Oh, it was Hyun-ah.
***
It's not that I dislike guilds.
Joining a guild would give me companions, make it easier to obtain information, and offer plenty of other advantages.
But would it really be right for me to join a guild now? The answer is no.
‘Heroine Netori’ lets me grow as much as I want, making me an anomaly.
My growth rate will differ from that of other Hunters, and skills that would normally be difficult to acquire will continue piling up without pause.
Under these circumstances, joining an organization wouldn't be right.
People would suspect that I was hiding something, and that suspicion would soon turn into jealousy and envy, making my life miserable.
So why would I join a guild? No way.
For me, joining a guild would bring more disadvantages than advantages.
-Bzzz
[Hello? Mister. Where are you?]
[I'm almost there. I'm not running away, so stop hurrying me along.]
[Ehehe… Okay! I'll wait for youuu!]
Anyway, forget all that!
Let's just enjoy today. I've been going nonstop for ten days, so I deserve at least one day off.
To celebrate my promotion, we decided to hold a small party at Hyun-ah's place.
I'd taken Hyun-ah home every time she got drunk, so this time we decided to drink at her place from the beginning.
For the record, I wasn't the one who suggested it. Hyun-ah invited me. She said she'd cook to repay me.
Her cooking probably wouldn't compare to my chef-level skills, but I was still looking forward to a meal made by a woman.
-Ding-dong!
“The door's unlocked! Come on in!”
This girl is seriously worrying. How can she be so defenseless?
Of course, I was happy knowing she trusted me that much, but I was worried too, since Hyun-ah now almost regarded me like a younger brother.
What if she fell in with a bad man and was sexually assaulted in her sleep?
Sigh… I guess I have to look after her myself.
“Excuse me~”
“Pfft! What's with that? Come on in~”
Oh… This is my first time seeing her in an apron.
No matter how many times I saw her, it still packed quite a punch. With a figure like that, she wouldn't have to worry about anything spilling onto the floor.
***
“Cheers!”
“Cheers…”
“Yay!”
-Clink!
As the empty soju bottles multiplied, Hyun-ah's voice gradually grew louder.
I was getting worried… Was she going to get completely plastered again?
“Tell me about the sparring match now!”
“Sigh… You know this is already the third time you've asked, right?”
“Ehehe… But it's fun to hear it every time!”
“…That's true. Even I have to admit, it was pretty incredible. So, anyway…”
Still, at least this time I didn't tell any of the depressing stories from before, so the mood was good.
Stories about fights with her boyfriend, him cheating on her, and so on—what painful times those had been!
Today, by contrast, was nothing but stories about my exploits, which put me at ease.
There had never been another day in my life when I'd been this impressive, so I did feel a little like bragging…
Whether she knew it or not, Hyun-ah kept pestering me to tell her more, which allowed me to brag to my heart's content.
“Wow! As expected, you're amazing, Mister!”
“R-right? Even I have to admit, I was kind of…”
“It's amazing how you can brag about yourself without even changing your expression!”
“……”
Maybe it was the alcohol, but she'd become a little too honest.
“Pfft! What's with that expression? Heehee. I'm joking, I'm joking. Here, eat this and cheer up.”
“Don't use this as an excuse to get rid of a failed dish.”
“Failed dish? Please consider it an innovative attempt…”
Unfortunately, Hyun-ah's cooking was worse than I'd expected. She'd lived on her own for quite a while, so I'd assumed she could at least handle the basics, but apparently not.
So I had to cook another meal. My food disappeared in no time, while the food Hyun-ah had made continued taking up space on the table.
“…When are you going to tell me…?”
“Hmm? Tell you what?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? You said you had something to tell me if you passed the exam…”
“Oh, that?”
“Yes, that!”
Now that she mentioned it, there was that. I hadn't forgotten; I'd just planned to tell her after letting a few days pass, but since she was pressing me this much, I might as well tell her right now.
The thing I wanted to tell Hyun-ah—for her sake and mine—was…
====
Ever since he came to her house, Lee Hyun-ah had been on edge.
What he'd said to her that day kept bothering her.
‘If I pass this promotion exam, I have something to tell you.’
‘It's something very important to both you and me.’
She had no idea what he was planning to say, but it must have been something serious for him to speak so solemnly.
She could think of a few possibilities, though.
‘Could it be that he's going to ask me to date him? Did I finally succeed?’
But that possibility seemed unlikely.
Even when she pursued him aggressively, he had always kept her at arm's length.
Now, of all times, it didn't seem likely that he'd suddenly change his mind and ask her to date him.
It was the thing she wanted to hear most, but it was also the least realistic possibility.
‘Or… is he going to tell me we should break up? That he can't keep going around with me anymore…?’
That possibility seemed much more likely.
For ten days, all she'd done was ride along. After suddenly growing stronger, he had cleared a D-rank dungeon on his own, despite being a Healer, without any help from her.
Now that he had been promoted to C-rank, there was no reason for him to continue hunting with her.
So although it was the answer she wanted least, it was also the most realistic one.
But it hurt too much to accept that.
He was her only salvation now that she was alone.
By now, he had become too precious for her to part with.
She really didn't want to lose him like this.
So today was her last chance.
A chance to make him give her the answer she wanted, whatever conclusion he had reached.
That was why she'd forced herself to invite him to her home, dressed more boldly than usual, and even cooked despite never doing so before.
But…
She had failed.
He was just as he had always been, and nothing between them had changed.
She was smiling, but her heart ached.
She was having fun, but it was agonizing.
She was happy, yet despairing.
‘In the end… this is as far as we go.’
She wanted to cry, but she forced herself to hold back her tears.
She wanted him to remember her with a smile on her face.
So she asked him with as bright a smile as she could manage.
“…When are you going to tell me…?”
“Hmm? Tell you what?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? You said you had something to tell me if you passed the exam…”
“Oh, that?”
“Yes, that!”
She resented him for bringing it up as though it were nothing important.
She couldn't tell what sort of thing it was that he would bring up so casually.
But from his attitude, she began to think it might be something more trivial than she'd expected.
Hope suddenly sprang up.
‘That's right! Mister relies on me so much! Of course he does. He was just teasing me.’
No matter how she thought about it, that had to be it.
Her tension left her, and she let out a hollow laugh.
She felt like an idiot for having been so tense all this time.
‘I was worried for nothing, like an idiot! Mister was mean too. How can you toy with a woman's feelings?’
She was annoyed, but she couldn't help feeling happy.
The mere fact that the worst-case scenario she'd imagined wasn't happening made her happy.
She hated him, yet liked him just as much.
Now she felt she could accept anything he said.
As she waited for his answer with a beaming smile, he began speaking as if it were nothing special.
“Hyun-ah, quit being a Hunter.”