Chapter 1071: Side Story – Sung Chae-eun of Extreme Heat (1)

Destruction Trio.

It’s the party name from the time when Sung Chae-eun and Min Hyunyoung were active Hunters, along with Jung No-eul, making the three of them work together as Hunters.

‘Magic Swordsman Jung No-eul’, ‘Sung Chae-eun of Scorching Heat’, and ‘Blue Bullet Min Hyunyoung’. A slightly unusual party composition in that all three party members were firepower specialists, without any combat support or scouts.

Although comments often came up questioning if it was a problem balance-wise, that ultimately held little significance for them, as all three party members were S-class. In the first place, they were versatile enough that they didn’t need a support position.

Jung No-eul, the sword user, could fully perform the frontline role using sword energy that released magic power, Sung Chae-eun, the fire mage, could perform wide-range attacks with various fire magic or delay enemy movements. And Min Hyunyoung, the sniper, apparently doubled as a scout due to her outstanding intuition and dexterity.

Not only was each individual strong, but the fact that they could perform multiple roles made them truly treasure-like resources. Even the fact that one of them, Jung No-eul, is in our guild is actually something like a miracle.

…So, if possible, bringing both of them, or if not, at least one of them to our guild…

…if we could just get them to form a party with Jung No-eul, it would probably help alleviate the current slightly precarious financial situation of the Hope City Guild.

‘If you’re going to have a meal with Chae-eun, please choose something meat-focused if possible…. She’s a carnivore, so she doesn’t even touch vegetables, kkhhht?!’

‘Thank you for the advice. Perhaps, would it be okay to have a conversation in a quiet cafe after the meal with Hunter Sung Chae-eun?’

‘Ah, nooooo!! Chae-eun dislikes coffee and sweet foods, you know?! R-rather, taking her to a bar would be much better, buh-buh-buhuhuuu!’

‘Thank you, No-eul-ssi. And it seems like it’s about to come out again soon.’

‘Heeu, hee, heugeueeung?’

I briefly recalled the advice I heard from Jung No-eul yesterday in my mind.

Just looking at Sung Chae-eun’s appearance, whom I occasionally saw when running into her at the company, she seemed quite well-maintained, but unexpectedly, she liked alcohol and meat, and disliked coffee or sweet food.

Hoping her information would be helpful, I was waiting for her at the plaza near the shopping district, the agreed meeting place, when a person approached, their noticeable vermilion hair fluttering.

-Click, click, click.

Long hair reaching down to her calves. Dressed in casual-feeling business attire. Heeled high heels and black sunglasses hiding her eyes.

Although I couldn’t be sure of the details, I could easily infer that she had put considerable effort into her outfit. The outward vibe was glamorous, as if she were a celebrity.

…Well, in this world, a former S-class Hunter is practically a celebrity anyway.

‘I heard she retired from active duty, so I thought she had no intention of returning.’

Seeing her show up dressed so formally, perhaps she might not be entirely without thoughts of returning. Because she would easily be able to infer the purpose of my invitation if I, the Hunter Guild Master, asked to meet her.

“Hello, Hunter Sung Chae-eun-nim.”

“It’s been a while. Aside from the few times I saw you in the company’s treatment room, this is our first time meeting like this, isn’t it? Hunter Sung Taekyung, or rather, would it be better to call you Guild Master Sung Taekyung-nim?”

“You can call me however you are comfortable, Hunter Sung Chae-eun.”

“…Hmm, then I’ll call you Guild Master-ssi. We aren’t close enough yet to call each other by name.”

“Yes, Hunter Sung Chae-eun.”

“You can just call me Sung Chae-eun. It must be tedious to add ‘Hunter-bun’ every time.”

“Understood, Sung Chae-eun-ssi.”

The reaction during the initial greeting was surprisingly not bad.

If I had to say whether it was favorable or unfavorable, perhaps it was a reaction closer to favorable. At least, it also seemed like she was looking forward to meeting me today.

She maintained a certain distance but seemed unwilling to have a relationship that was too stiff, adjusting the pace appropriately. With that in mind, I inwardly smiled, thinking she might be much easier to persuade than expected.

Actually, even when recruiting Jung No-eul to our guild, it was less about me actively persuading her and more like she suddenly rolled into our guild. I held onto the hope that something similar might happen with Sung Chae-eun, a member of the same party.

“Let’s eat first, Guild Master-nim. You’re treating me, right?”

“Yes. Perhaps, do you have a preference between beef and lamb?”

“Um… Can’t we just go eat chicken? I prefer that.”

“…Well, if you wish, of course, that doesn’t matter either.”

“Then let’s go eat chicken. The chicken at the pub across the street is really delicious, what do you think?”

“If you want it, Sung Chae-eun-ssi, anywhere is fine.”

…I never expected that the suggestion would be to just eat chicken on our first meeting.

After mentally noting down that she was an assertive woman, I walked towards the pub with Sung Chae-eun.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

-Crunch, crunch.

“Nnngh, ngh, nngh…”

-Crisp, crinkle.

“Munch munch, ugngh…”

Sung Chae-eun, who had insisted she wanted chicken and brought me to a chicken place, was expressing with her whole being that she truly wanted chicken.

As soon as we arrived, she ordered three whole chickens and tore into them, holding a drumstick in each hand, a sight that was incredibly hearty.

-Gulp, gulp.

“Keeeeeuh-!”

After putting down the bones she had completely stripped clean, even the cartilage, she then refreshingly downed a draft beer.

It was difficult to distinguish whether this was truly a business meeting or just friends meeting for chicken dinner.

‘It would cost much less than the original meat restaurant I planned to go to, but….’

The important thing wasn’t the money spent on hosting, but whether or not I could bring Sung Chae-eun to our guild.

Since I couldn’t just keep watching her eat like this, I cautiously started the business talk first.

“Please listen while you eat, Sung Chae-eun-ssi.”

-Nod, nod.

“As you probably already guessed, the reason I contacted you today is to ask you to work as a Hunter at our Hope City Guild, just like during your active days.”

“…Hhup, really? But I’ve already retired, so I don’t particularly intend to.”

“Yes, I expected you would say that. I also have some idea why you quit your Hunter life, Sung Chae-eun-ssi.”

“Whath’d you shay…? I’m still eatin’…”

“…You can finish what’s in your mouth first before speaking slowly.”

…Just where did that celebrity-like image I saw a moment ago go?

Being able to eat so voraciously while dressed in a suit was, if anything, a talent. We had ordered three whole chickens, but less than 30 minutes later, about half of them had already disappeared. Even though I hadn’t touched them, aside from taking a bite out of one piece.

-Gulp, gulp.

“…Hoo, you have a guess as to why I quit my Hunter life?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… It’s probably not the reason you’re thinking of, Guild Master-nim?”

“What?”

“Aren’t you thinking something like I retired from being a Hunter because my awakening ability gradually weakened as I got older?”

“…That is correct.”

-Crunch!

“……”

As if her explanation was finished, Sung Chae-eun immediately picked up a new piece and started biting into it.

Regardless of her brazen attitude, I became bewildered by the current situation for a slightly different reason. It meant that the most powerful means I intended to use to recruit Sung Chae-eun to our guild had encountered a crisis, rendering it unusable. My recruitment plan-to restore her weakened awakening ability and, incidentally, make her addicted to sex with me to bring her to our guild-completely fell apart, so I couldn’t help but be a little flustered.

“If that’s the case, what is the reason?”

“Eh?”

“Someone with an awakening ability like yours must have a reason for retiring from active duty, and if our guild can resolve it, we will.”

-Gulp.

“…Not really? I just quit because I was gradually getting tired of the Hunter life itself. I got tired of catching the same monsters in the same dungeons every day, and besides, I’ve earned plenty of money, so I don’t have to worry about making a living.”

“…Is that so.”

Right, so that was the reason.

Retired because I got tired of Hunter life. She said it so nonchalantly that if it were the past me, I might have been completely fooled.

…Although that’s only if I didn’t have the ‘Mind Reading’ skill I received from President Seo Ok-hee.

『Mind Reading 3/5』

‘I thought if I played Hunter, I could find a man stronger than me, but the men in this world are all so pathetic. There’s no need to waste time on playing Hunter, which isn’t even fun and offers nothing to gain.’

The most important piece of information obtained from Sung Chae-eun was that the reason she retired from being a Hunter wasn’t simply because she got tired of it, but because she couldn’t find a man stronger than herself.

…The next most important thing was that she, like me, was not a resident of ‘this world’.