Chapter 86: SI Whatever (3)

The moment I changed my tune and mentioned wanting to meet the client, the face of the request window attendant instantly lit up.

“W-Well then, I’ll contact them right away!”

“Yes, please do.”

Then, they immediately made a call somewhere while starting to write something down on paper.

I silently watched the attendant in front of the request window for a moment.

“…….”

“…….”

However, the call, which I thought would proceed quickly, was delayed a bit longer than expected.

About a minute after holding the phone, the employee cautiously glanced at me.

“Ah, they’re not picking up….”

“What?”

It was clearly 11 AM on a weekday.

It seemed unlikely they couldn’t answer because they were oversleeping. If anything, it made more sense to assume they couldn’t answer because it was during their own business hours.

“When might I be able to reach them?”

“W-Well…. To be honest, they aren’t exactly consistent with when they answer the phone….”

“…….”

“S-So…. Usually, in times like this….”

Since I couldn’t wait forever for them to pick up, I made another suggestion, more like informing the attendant.

“If you do manage to reach them, could you ask if they’d be available to meet at the Guild Union around 8 PM tonight?”

“Oh, tonight?”

“I figure that’ll be around the time I finish up my schedule for today.”

Since the last time, completing three requests took about ten-something hours in total. This time, being the second round, I calculated it should take around ten hours or so to wrap everything up.

“If they say no, please ask them to schedule another date.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll pass that along then!”

After hearing the attendant’s final reply, I immediately walked over to the dungeon management counter and entered the Obsidian Cave.

Because there was still a lot to do today to raise my Hunter rank.

Same day. Lakeside Apothecary.

“Ugh, groooan….”

Choi Hwayoung, as usual, leisurely rose from beneath her covers at a truly leisurely hour. It was nearing 1 PM when she woke up and came to her senses. Even for a self-employed individual, starting the morning this leisurely might seem quite arrogant. But that wasn’t the case for Choi Hwayoung, who had virtually 0% worry about losing her job thanks to her special skill. Her ability to run the Lakeside Apothecary, and another special skill she possessed besides fire magic: Pharmacy. Among Hunters, an awakened ability related to pharmacy was an extremely rare talent. Even much more so than the fire magic Choi Hwayoung used daily during her S-rank Hunter days. Healing magic, pharmacy, protective gear crafting. For Hunters constantly hunting under the threat of death, the means to protect their own lives were always essential. It was truly a business where one could afford to be lazy and never starve. However, the talent she possessed in pharmacy was slightly different from an awakened ability. It was a middling secret, not quite worth mentioning to others, but also not particularly meaningful to hide. Thanks to that secret, known only to a few former party members, Choi Hwayoung could run the Lakeside Apothecary. And with enough leisure to open shop whenever she felt like it.

“Ugh, haaaaaaam….”

Last night, bored while simmering ingredients, I mindlessly turned on a mobile game, and after finishing potion-making, I got completely hooked and ended up going to bed late. The night before, while steeping ingredients to enhance potion effects, I started watching YouTube and hours flew by in an instant. Her lifestyle, getting tangled up day by day like that, never seemed to return to normal. In reality, Choi Hwayoung’s Lakeside Apothecary was mostly open for only about 4-5 hours out of the 24. Anyway, even without regular customers, most transactions were through potion deliveries to guilds. Dealing with people was one of her biggest annoyances anyway, so Choi Hwayoung found the guild deliveries more convenient.

She picked up the white gown casually draped over the headboard of her bed and put it on right over her underwear without much thought. She placed the round glasses, taken off beside the pillow, onto her face. Because the gown was bought a few sizes larger to accommodate her bust, the back of the gown dragged on the floor when worn by the 151cm Choi Hwayoung. She ambled around the room as if completely unbothered. Even though she could have bought a custom gown fitting her height and bust with a little more searching, or even had it altered at a dry cleaner’s for just an hour. Even that was too much trouble for Choi Hwayoung. The phrase ‘living because I was born’ suited her perfectly. She became a Hunter because she awakened fire magic. She opened the Lakeside Apothecary after retiring because she wanted to smoke tar cigarettes. She only did enough work to maintain her livelihood. A woman who spent most of her time spacing out or sleeping after making the potions she was obligated to deliver. There was a time when she enjoyed her Hunter life, wielding powerful fire magic, but that was in the past. As her colleagues retired one by one, and even her own magic output weakened, Choi Hwayoung became letharging about everything the moment she retired from being a Hunter. Because for her, who had ended her Hunter life filled with moderate crises and adventures-which could be called her reason for living-the life of an ordinary citizen was far too boring. The only thing that could console her in this life was the tar cigarettes made from Black Slime fluid. She poured the fluid from the vial of Black Slime fluid, which she had barely obtained recently, into her pipe.

“Ignite.”

‘Tadak, tak.’

The thick nicotine from the burning mixture of tobacco leaves and Black Slime fluid hit the depths of her lungs. It slightly lifted the spirits of Choi Hwayoung, who was already addicted to the point where ordinary air tasted bland. Even though the ingredients for her favorite indulgence, the tar cigarettes, were already nearly half gone.

“Hooo…. I really need to make these last this time….”

The Black Slime fluid received just a few days ago had just seen its fifth bottle emptied by Choi Hwayoung’s smoking. Having consumed the rest carelessly at a rate of two bottles a day, it was obvious all the material would be used up in less than a week. She really needed to meet the C-rank Hunter who procured this material as soon as possible. It had already been three days since she had that conversation with the Guild Union employee, who promised to contact her again when the Hunter came to work next. She realized that contact should have arrived much earlier, but Choi Hwayoung started to feel a bit uneasy about the Guild Union’s attitude, having received no contact for three days.

“What if they refuse without even meeting me….”

If the other Hunter was solely focused on raising their Hunter rank, that was a perfectly plausible scenario. Taking on her request, which wasn’t a designated one nor a readily available one, wouldn’t significantly help them get promoted to B-rank. Anxiety began to creep into her heart, as the only offers she could make were slightly higher purchase prices and promises of continued transactions. If that happened, she’d have to make the remaining five bottles last another half a year. No, maybe even longer. Why had she become addicted to cigarettes made from a rare material that couldn’t even be imported from overseas? Choi Hwayoung blamed her past complacent curiosity.

“When I was active, I never worried about running out of materials….”

She could have asked any of her party members who used swords or spears to go gather materials together. Or, in a real pinch, she could have hired a B-rank Hunter using her S-rank status to collect materials from tar pits. But now, with her abilities reduced to merely creating embers capable of burning leaves or boiling water, that was impossible.

“Haaah, I guess I should get to work.”

She needed funds for potential transactions, just in case she connected with the C-rank Hunter who procured her materials. If she wanted to maintain her habit, her savings from her active days would quickly dwindle. Just as she resolved herself to start some proper work for the first time in a while.

“The potions the company requested for next quarter are twelve boxes, and what the Union asked for was……Huh?”

Choi Hwayoung’s eyes widened as she opened her smartphone to check the last transaction record and the next quarter’s required volume. There was a missed call from the Union that came while she was asleep. And the message that arrived with it excited her.

「Hunter Kim Sungchul, C-rank, has expressed his intention to meet the client. He wishes to meet today at 8 PM if possible, would that be feasible?」

It was enough content to snap her back to reality, which had been half-gone.

「B-rank Dungeon. Milky Desert.」

After passing through the Obsidian Cave and the Necromancer’s Graveyard, upon entering the third dungeon. The voice of SI echoed in my head once again after a long time.

「Unlike the Black Slime’s specialty, Resistance, the White Slime’s specialty is Imitation. If you initiate the first attack with Master’s sword strike, the monster can only use close-range attacks, so you can easily win by creating distance and eliminating it with fire magic.」

‘Right, thanks.’

It was knowledge I already possessed, but I gave a small thanks to SI for the confirmation and immediately gripped my sword, facing the White Slime. As soon as I swung towards the white blob-like monster, the White Slime transformed into the exact same shape as the sword I held.

‘Kkang!’

Making the sound of steel clashing against steel, it exchanged one blow with me. After this, just as SI had said, I created distance from the White Slime and immediately used Level 3 fire magic.

‘……!!!’

The White Slime, still maintaining the form of a greatsword, burst into flames as if its entire body were melting, accompanied by a strange shriek. After picking up the White Slime (formerly known as), which disappeared leaving only its core without any other part of its body remaining. I placed the still-warm monster material into my subspace pocket.

「White Slime Core x1.」

Just 14 more of these and today’s requests will be all done? If I can keep racking up requests like this, I think I’ll be able to level up to B-rank faster than expected.

‘From searching for requests to the final hunt. Thanks to you, today will end quickly, Esila.’

「Even so, I am merely an SI with a score of 65 out of 100…. Was the ‘Esila’ you just mentioned referring to me?」

‘Yeah. Since you’re an SI, eSIla. I thought of it myself, what do you think?’

「…….」

‘Or do you prefer just ‘SI Whatever’?’

「…….」

‘Esila?’

「Yes, it is Esila. Did you call, Master?」

‘……Yes.’

Fortunately, it seemed like she quite liked it.