Chapter 297: The Colleague Sunbae Who Doesn’t Hate Me (3)

“I’m sorry, Sunbaenim. Because I told the story in a way that made you misunderstand unnecessarily….”

“Stop it.”

“It’s natural to think that way if I ask for a favor right after explaining my awakening ability. Since you didn’t have a strange misunderstanding, you don’t need to be particularly embarrassed.”

“I told you to stop.”

“And objectively, it’s not like Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim isn’t attractive! You’re tall and feminine, so you must have received a lot of attention from men! It’s not that I don’t like Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim either, I just meant that I didn’t suddenly feel like mixing bodies….”

Thump.

Cheon Jihee Sunbae suddenly grabbed my mouth with her hand and stared directly into my eyes.

“Just when are you going to shut that trap of yours? I told you to stop.”

“……”

I had only explained it to mean I wasn’t bothered by her misunderstanding, but that part seemed to have instead provoked her embarrassing memory from just a moment ago.

Judging that trying to comfort her further would only be counterproductive, I nodded my head while my lips were still held, as a sign that I understood.

Cheon Jihee Sunbae released her grip on my face and quietly clarified, her face still flushed.

“It was just a misunderstanding.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Don’t think strangely. I’ve never once imagined mixing bodies… sex… with you.”

“Of course, Sunbaenim.”

“…In the first place, you, who have even mixed bodies with Hye-eun, wouldn’t greedily try to take me. That girl is the most beautiful in the world.”

“……What?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Ah, no. You’re right.”

I felt like saying, ‘She is beautiful, but not that far…’, but the atmosphere was strangely unsettling, so I just nodded and agreed with her words for now.

…She really cherishes Hye-eun a lot. I didn’t realize she thought that highly of her.

Come to think of it, she said she had worked with Hye-eun for a long time in Sky Blue Shield, even before Cha Yuri or Han Min-ah joined.

Thinking back on it now, the party name was also based on the characteristics of the two people: Sky Blue (Cheon Jihee) Shield (Kang Hye-eun).

Now that I think about it, it was definitely a name that clearly revealed its essence, making it obvious that it was a party created by Cheon Jihee Sunbae and Hye-eun.

“By the way, Sunbaenim. You have someone you like, don’t you?”

“……What are you trying to talk about this time?.”

“No, I just thought it was unexpected. My image of someone like Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim was that you’d confess to the person you like without hesitation and confidently snatch their love right after, but it’s a bit surprising that you have someone you like yet no experience with men.”

“……Shut up.”

Flinch.

As soon as she heard my offer to help, Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s body flinched and trembled.

Well, no matter how you put it, becoming a fool when you’re in love is universal.

Unrequited love, especially, turns into a fatal poison the longer you leave it.

My feelings towards the other person tend to grow bigger and bigger on their own, but the other person’s feelings hardly change, so the gap inevitably widens.

Or, there are quite a few cases where the other person liked them too, but they were too busy hiding it from each other, leading to one side giving up and abandoning their feelings-the worst possible outcome.

In that regard, it was better to resolve unrequited love issues right away. It was also for the healthy continuation of Sky Blue Shield.

I didn’t need to take on the role of fulfilling everyone in our party’s sexual desires. If they already liked someone, it was much better to support that love.

In the first place, I wasn’t planning on getting involved with female hunters who already had a lover or husband. Interfering with someone else’s love wasn’t my taste.

Conversely, if it’s about helping love along, I would readily and actively intervene.

“Wouldn’t you feel frustrated too, Sunbaenim? How long have you been harboring this unrequited love?”

“Two years… No, that’s none of your business.”

“Two years is really a long time…. Does the other person know Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim well? Surely it’s not stalking, right?”

“I already met them today. At least, we’re much closer than you think, so don’t worry.”

“You met them today already? Then it’s certain the other person has feelings for you too.”

I encountered Jihee Sunbae around 11 AM when I went to work, so meeting them before that practically meant they were close enough to meet from early morning.

If they’re that close, it means they’re truly just one step away from each other….

Sincerely supporting Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s unrequited love, I offered encouragement once again.

“In my opinion, the other person already has feelings for Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim. If not, there’s no way they would meet you from the morning.”

“……”

“Just close your eyes tightly and confess once. They’ll probably accept as if they were waiting. In the first place, Cheon Jihee Sunbae, you’re tall and feminine, so there’s probably no man who would reject your confession. Isn’t that right?”

“……Stop, that’s enough.”

“What?”

“Don’t get too familiar with me all of a sudden. And don’t meddle in my personal problems. ……In the first place, it’s not as simple as you think.”

“……”

Seeing Cheon Jihee Sunbae put on a somewhat lonely expression, it seemed there were definitely complicated circumstances involved that I didn’t know about.

…I might have unnecessarily meddled without knowing the full story. Thinking about it, it really wasn’t my place to interfere.

“I’m sorry, Sunbaenim. I meddled unnecessarily.”

“…It’s fine as long as you realize it now.”

The conversation that day, which started with my confession about my awakening ability and ended with Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s confession about her unrequited love, concluded like that.

…Finding out who the object of her unrequited love was would happen not too far in the future, though.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Spear, long-range suppression on the right flank!”

“Roger!”

Simultaneously as I answered Hye-eun’s order, I threw an ice spear imbued with cold magic towards the approaching group of White Crystal Spiders from afar.

The spearhead of the spear I threw accurately pierced through the body of one baby White Crystal Spider.

At the same time, the cold frost that began spreading from the spearhead froze the baby spider’s corpse and the surrounding spiders one after another.

“Kkeeeek!!”

Several comrades were frozen, and the resulting ice wall temporarily delayed their advance.

Matching that timing, Hye-eun’s shield spread out once more over a wider area, expanding its defensive range significantly.

“Melee, adult spiders on the left flank!”

“Roger!”

This time, Cheon Jihee Sunbae charged towards the group of adult spiders approaching from the left and, without hesitation, delivered a solid kick stomping down from above.

With a crack sound, her stance slightly collapsed and she fell, but like a proper adult spider, it seemed she wouldn’t die in one blow.

For now, she seemed preoccupied with defending against the swarming adult spiders in that area for a while.

“Uryaaaah!”

As soon as the weaker baby spiders were somewhat cleared, Kang Hye-eun, minimizing her shield this time, charged at another group of adult spiders, and Kang Hye-eun, who smashed one adult spider’s body with a Shield Bash right after starting, also continued the fight on one side.

For now, with this, the main monsters excluding the Queen Spider were almost subdued, so the only thing left was the final blow to defeat the Queen White Crystal Spider.

Since the main order was gone, I turned my gaze towards the back to check on the progress of the remaining members and asked.

“Cha Yuri-ssi, how much magic do you have left!”

“It’s all done! I just need to throw it now!”

Just then, good news returned from Cha Yuri’s side saying her magic casting was finished, so now, with just one powerful blow, the battle with this swarm of White Crystal Spiders would be over.

This time, I immediately called Han Min-ah, who was dealing with the Queen White Crystal Spider.

“Han Min-ah, come back!”

“Got it!”

Min-ah, who until just now had been distracting the large monster’s attention little by little with her thrilling movements, hurried her steps towards me along with her answer.

No matter how sharp her animalistic senses were, normally attracting the Queen White Crystal Spider’s attention itself would have been an almost impossible task.

Han Min-ah, flying around after receiving the ‘Blessing of Swiftness’, was so agile that she could shake off even S-rank monsters somehow.

Dodging the webs shot by the Queen White Crystal Spider here and there, stepping on walls and monster corpses, she moved gracefully like a cat.

‘Chareuk!’

“Ngh?!”

The moment she took her final step and leaped up to return to me, a taut web wrapped around her ankle.

As soon as I confirmed that sight, my body sprang up from the floor with my greatsword. I couldn’t just stand by and watch Han Min-ah get dragged away by the monster.

In mid-air, I cut the web that was trying to snatch Han Min-ah’s ankle in one go, then landed on the ground holding her as she lost her balance.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah….”

As soon as I put Han Min-ah down, who nodded with a slightly flushed face, Cha Yuri’s magic chant returned from our side again.

“…Let a vortex of fresh wind rage! Oxygen Tornado!”

Along with the wind swirling inside the cave, Cha Yuri’s magic flew towards the Queen White Crystal Spider.

To respond to her magic, I immediately took out a spear from my subspace pocket and imbued it with fire magic.

…Sorry, Areum. I’ll ask you to repair this for me again.

I quietly offered an apology in my heart to the blacksmith lady who wasn’t here, and threw the spear in my hand towards the Queen White Crystal Spider.

My spear, from which flames erupted at its deepest point, then exploded and enveloped the Queen White Crystal Spider’s body in flames.

“Kkieeeeeeek!!”

The monster screamed painfully, enveloped in flames, along with a chilling shriek.

Before the enlarged flames could spread unnecessarily through the webs and other monster corpses, Hye-eun expanded her shield’s range to block the boundaries between the queen and the other monsters.

I immediately imbued her shield with cold magic to help it withstand the high heat.

The White Crystal Spider’s corpse barely stopped moving after burning for about 3 minutes.

No one in this place didn’t know that meant the battle had ended.

“D-did we really catch it? Did we, just us, catch an S-rank monster?!”

Starting with Han Min-ah, who seemed the most excited, each person uttered a comment about today’s hunt.

“…I didn’t expect it to go this well either. If we continue like this, we might be able to completely conquer the Crystal Spider Cave within this year….”

“Sungchul… Because Taekyung is here, of course. Even if he’s sometimes arrogant, his skills are reliable.”

“If you’re going to praise me, just praise me. What do you mean ‘sometimes arrogant’?”

“…Yes, you did well. Your role was significant.”

“……What?”

“…You asked for praise. Don’t you like my praise?”

“Ah, no. It’s just… unexpected…”

Seeing as even Cheon Jihee Sunbae gave me this kind of encouragement, today’s achievement seemed to be quite a surprising result for her too.

Perhaps Sunbae had shaken off some of her negative feelings towards me by now. The most certain proof, allowing me to guess her feelings, had started appearing next to her face.

「Estimated Points Gained: 10」

Although it was a meager number, it was undoubtedly a meaningful change compared to nothing appearing until now.

I can probably think that she no longer hates me… right?