Chapter 558: Purification Work (3)

It hadn’t even been half a day since we met, but Lulusia and I, whose hearts had clicked, were still splashing water at each other, continuing the purification work in Area A.

Rather, after we had tumbled and our bodies overlapped in a puddle once, we didn’t hesitate to engage in even bolder physical contact with each other.

For one thing, now that I had confirmed the unidentified mask was definitely effective even against a Saintess, I figured there was no need for me to deliberately act like a guy and get embarrassed.

Besides, even if I were found out, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I’d just be treated as a guy with a slightly unusual personality who hangs out with women without any reservations. That’s all.

After all, if I wanted to get closer to Lulusia, I’d have to reveal I was a guy eventually, so it would be best to build a natural impression now while I had the chance, like this.

Of course, the ‘physical contact’ was limited to things like our bodies bumping into each other in puddles while running, or our hands brushing against each other briefly while splashing water.

-Pitter-patter!

“Hiyah, hiyah~!”

-Splash!

“Bang, bang!”

Engaged in a water fight so childish anyone would call it ridiculous, Lulusia and I overlapped bodies in the puddles multiple times.

Even though a man and a woman were pressed against each other, no lewd or sexual thoughts arose during the process.

Only joyful feelings, as if we had regained our childhood innocence, dominated our minds.

In the first place, Lulusia probably felt like she was genuinely playing in the water with a friend of the same gender, so really, the only thing was for me not to feel weird.

“Haha, ahaha….”

“Haa, ha, haha….”

After another round of thoroughly enjoying our water play, we sat down in the same puddle and met each other’s eyes.

Sharing each other’s gaze, as if by prior agreement, we burst into laughter simultaneously while looking at each other.

It was truly amazing to be able to become this close to someone in less than a day since meeting.

“Lulusia, you’re a really good person. Even though we’ve only been together for a short while, seeing how much fun I’m having.”

“Taekyung, you’re a good person too~! It’s been so long since I’ve had this much fun playing with a friend like this, really~!”

“Don’t you usually meet up and hang out privately with the friends you made at the Foundation?”

“The friends I met at the Foundation are all good people too~! But they’re all so busy, I rarely get to see them outside the guild~. One of my closest friends suddenly stopped contacting me a while ago….”

…Even for a Saintess with her personality, she couldn’t withstand the cliquishness of the Foundation hunters, huh.

Of course, most of the Foundation hunters are probably from wealthy families, so it makes sense they’d be busy with things other than hunting.

Though, they couldn’t possibly be busier than Lulusia, the Saintess, so it meant that these so-called ‘friends’ from the Foundation were spending their holidays elsewhere instead of making time to see her. That’s what it meant.

If it were me, I would have eagerly accepted any chance to meet Lulusia privately, without ever turning her down.

How could someone leave Lulusia, whose very presence heals the heart, and even cut off contact without a word? It was unthinkable.

I really wanted to give those nameless Foundation hunters a piece of my mind, but obviously, that was impossible. So, perhaps as a substitute, I suddenly felt the urge to fill the void left by Lulusia’s ‘friends’.

Since our guilds were different, there were limits to how often we could meet while working as hunters, but if we kept in touch personally and met up privately, we could continue our friendship. That’s what I thought.

…It felt like it was about time to exchange contact information.

“Lulusia.”

“Yes, Taekyung~!”

“Since we met like this, it feels like fate, why don’t we exchange contact information?”

“R-really~?”

“Yes, Lulusia. We met today for guild business, but it would be nice to meet outside the guild sometime. If you’re okay with it, I could even show you around Korea and stuff.”

“Wow, great~! I wanted to get closer to you too, Taekyung~!”

Unlike my worries that she might reject me because of her status as a Saintess, Lulusia readily accepted my proposal.

She and I immediately exchanged smartphones and saved each other’s contact information.

It’s true, modern smartphones are great because they’re waterproof.

“Shall we finish up the purification work? I’m still full of energy, aren’t you tired, Lulusia?”

“Hmph~? You think I, a Saintess whose body is currently flowing with holy power, am already tired?”

“For someone like that, you seemed to be panting quite a bit earlier while running around.”

“Heh heh, I was just pretending to be a little tired because you looked tired, Taekyung~? I could do this all day~!”

-Whoosh!

With those cheeky words, Lulusia splashed water at me and ran off ahead.

Chasing after her, Lulusia and I engaged in another purification contest.

After playing and continuing the purification work for tens of minutes more, at a certain point, Lulusia stopped me.

“Lulusia, it’s my turn this time….”

“…Wait, just a moment, Taekyung. Could you stop right there for a second?”

“……Yes?”

“…It seems difficult to proceed further from here. The concentration of poison feels distinctly different from before.”

“…….”

Unlike her gentle voice until now, Lulusia blocked me with a resolute expression.

Sensing the drastically changed atmosphere, I also watched the Saintess carefully and focused on her words.

She slightly bent down, dipped her hand into the shallow pool ahead and pulled it out, and quietly shook her head.

“…As expected, it’s not purifying immediately. To be precise, it’s not that it’s not purifying, it’s getting re-contaminated the moment it’s purified.”

“…Is that so.”

“It’s probably because we reached the vicinity of a gate where a monster wave is ongoing while we were purifying. If not, there might simply be monsters inhabiting this toxic pool that generate potent venom themselves.”

“Even if Lulusia and I combine our strength, can’t we purify it?”

“To purify a lake of this scale, one or two people aren’t enough. We’d probably need the holy power of at least several hundred people descending at once just to purify it for a moment. And even then, if we don’t deal with the monsters inhabiting it immediately, it’ll only be a matter of time before it gets re-contaminated.”

Mobilizing hundreds of recovery-type hunters capable of purification, I couldn’t even begin to estimate how much budget that would actually require.

Recovery-type hunters are already known for being expensive, and needing hundreds of them specialized in purification? That’s insane.

Just gathering all those hunters would likely cost trillions of won. Most of them would probably have to be scraped together from all over the world, not just domestically.

What’s more, if the boss monster inhabiting the area isn’t dealt with immediately after purification, it could potentially revert to its original state. That’s unbelievable.

For over 12, maybe 13 years, the government hasn’t been able to purify this dungeonized region, and there’s a reason for that.

Across the lake from where we were, hunters were still fighting to reduce the monster population, and I could vaguely see a few of them from Area A.

Among the hunters fighting competitively, I happened to spot a familiar face, so I told Lulusia it was probably time to wrap things up.

“I guess we have no choice, then. We’ll have to stop here for today.”

“Yes~! Good work, Taekyung~!”

“Good work, Lulusia.”

With that, Lulusia and I exchanged parting words meaning ‘good work’.

A Guild Union staff member also approached us unnoticed and handed Lulusia the Saintess’s shoes and socks they had been holding.

“Thank you for your hard work, Hunter Lulusia Belmonte, and Hunter Sung Taekyung. Your dedication to the purification work until the very end will certainly be relayed to your respective guild superiors. Including, of course, any additional allowances incurred by both of you in the process.”

Hearing those words, and seeing the guild staff member bow repeatedly before Lulusia and me, I felt inexplicably proud, thinking my actions had been quite helpful.

Lulusia, having received her belongings back from the guild staff, still damp, began putting on her socks and shoes again.

I could have lent her some socks from my subspace pocket. It bothered me a little seeing her put on her damp socks and shoes.

“Will you two be heading back right away? If so, I can give you a ride via vehicle to the warp gates of the Ariel Foundation and Eun & Ok Co., Ltd., respectively.”

“I was considering that, but I spotted someone I know over where the Area A hunters are gathered. We’ll probably exchange greetings and head back together, so you don’t need to worry about us.”

“Me too~! I found a friend of mine in Area A~! I’ll gratefully accept your offer in spirit~!”

“…Well then, since you both intend to head to the Area A hunter assembly point, I’ll give you a ride there by car.”

“Ah, that’s okay. If we ride like this, the seats will get all wet….”

As if determined to serve us until the very end, the guild staff member attentively considered Lulusia and me.

While I appreciated her kindness, getting into the car soaking wet would make cleaning difficult, so I was about to refuse.

But thanks to Lulusia suddenly shining beside me, my refusal was vaguely swept aside.

-Flash!

Her entire body flashed with a light made of holy power, and Lulusia returned to normal.

The Saintess’s body, enveloped in light, looked as if she had just taken a bath, completely clean.

Even her body and clothes, which had gotten wet during the purification, were now completely dry and fluffy.

“…How did you do that?”

“It’s an application of purification~!”

“…Can purification do that? Make your clothes and body completely dry….”

“This is a spell I developed myself~! I could teach it to you if you want, but it would take some time to learn right away~.”

“……?”

With those meaningful words, Lulusia approached me and thrust her ample bosom towards me.

Without any sign of resistance, Lulusia hugged me tightly and used the ‘custom purification spell’ she had just employed again.

-Flash!

“This time, I used it for you~!”

“…….”

As soon as I was pressed against the Saintess for a moment and then pulled away, my clothes and I were completely dry, just like her.

Even though I thought I was getting used to it, Lulusia’s seemingly endless abilities left me astonished once again.

…Separately, her utter lack of boundaries and defenselessness forced me to suppress another wave of embarrassment.