Chapter 89: Retired S-Rank Hunter (3)

“So… you’ll do that?”

The moment Choi Hwayoung’s mouth spat out an affirmative instead of a negative, I silently cheered in my heart.

There’s always a way, somehow.

If the initial start was simply the relationship between a hunter and a client, it might have been quite difficult to progress to the next stage.

Since I had decided to visit her shop, it meant that Choi Hwayoung and I were now linked by at least one other thing besides the commission.

This alone was enough to feel like we were starting off with a sufficiently close distance.

From here on, becoming closer with her would be entirely up to me.

In a way, it could even be said that I was lucky to have been found out as a male hunter beforehand.

I had firmly made her recognize that I was male from the first impression, and she didn’t seem to have any preconceptions about male hunters.

This eliminated the need to reveal that I was male again when we moved towards a deeper relationship next time.

“Where is your shop located? And around when should I visit?”

“Ah, wait a moment. Here, I’ll give you my business card….”

Saying that, Choi Hwayoung rummaged through the inner pocket of the white gown she was wearing, then took out a slightly crumpled, square business card and handed it over.

“…Sorry. This is all I have right now.”

“It’s fine, as long as I can read the information.”

「Choi Hwayoung, Pharmacist

1002 AA-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, BB Tower, 2nd Floor

T. 02-XXX-XXXX

M. 010-XXXX-XXXX」

It was a business card that clearly showed signs of having spent quite a long time inside a gown, but.

Anyway, as long as its most basic function as a business card-conveying information-was intact, it was sufficient.

“Th-the address written there is the shop’s address, and you can contact me at the phone number below.

I might not be able to answer the shop phone if I’m busy, so if possible, it’s best to leave a text message on my cell phone. I’ll contact you right after I check it….”

“Are you often busy? I guess you have a lot of customers because of the potions, right?”

“W-well, it’s not really customers, I’m just busy…”

“……”

I suddenly felt a bit dubious, but that must be my imagination.

Actually, whether her shop was busy or not wasn’t that important.

Whether Choi Hwayoung’s shop was bustling with customers or barely saw one or two visitors a day was irrelevant to me.

All I needed was the address and phone number written on this business card.

With just this, she and I had established at least a faint connection.

It was a start with a much higher probability of becoming closer than simply exchanging a lot of money.

“So, when should I deliver the next Black Slime material?”

“W-well, I still have about half of what I received last time left… so, maybe, about a week later?

Y-you can bring it a little later if you’re busy! But i-if possible, it would be good if you could bring it within 2 weeks….”

“Understood. I’ll try to find it in about a week. If possible, with fresh materials caught the same day.”

“Okay, I’m counting on you.”

…Come to think of it, if we were going to do a barter trade anyway, wasn’t there a better way than involving the guild in between?

“Instead of bothering Choi Hwayoung Sunbaenim to come pick it up at the guild, how about I deliver it directly to your shop, Lakefront Pharmacy, Senior?”

“Huh?”

“Since I’m getting paid with items from your shop anyway, it would be convenient to handle everything at once when I’m stopping by.”

She wore a thoughtful expression at my suggestion, then quietly nodded.

“Yes, that’s a good idea. I’ll let the guild know. I’ll tell them the material delivery is entrusted to you.”

“Around what time is convenient for you to visit?”

“For me, anytime is fine. I’m awake during the day sometimes, and sometimes at night.

If you call or text beforehand, I’ll be awake. …Probably.”

“Really? It’s okay even late in the evening or in the middle of the night?”

“It doesn’t matter to me, but shouldn’t you be a bit more careful?”

“Me?”

She tilted her head, asking me with a slightly puzzled expression while pointing at me.

“Since you’re a boy, it’s a bit dangerous to be wandering around alone late at night.

Well, if you’re strong enough to collect Black Slime materials on your own, it probably won’t be much of a problem…”

“What’s dangerous about it? In a country with good public safety like South Korea.”

“Still, sometimes beast-type Awakened Ones tend to mount others without thinking during their heat cycles.

If you’re unlucky, you might even get eaten,” Choi Hwayoung added by way of explanation.

“Well, you don’t really need to worry about it.”

I didn’t think I would lose one-on-one against any ordinary beast-type Awakened One.

And if I were to be mounted, it probably wouldn’t be me getting eaten.

“I don’t have a business card to give you, is that okay?”

After finishing our conversation in the private room and coming outside, I realized I hadn’t given her my contact information yet.

“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, any call coming to my phone is just a call.

If an unknown number shows up, I’ll just assume it’s you.”

What a careless person.

Thanks to that, the conversation proceeded much more smoothly, though.

“I need to complete my commissions before leaving the guild, so I have to stop by the commission desk first.”

“Okay, then contact me next time. Preferably within a week if possible.”

“Yes. Please go ahead, Sunbaenim.”

“You too, keep working hard on preparing for your B-Class Hunter promotion.”

…So she already knew. Why I was taking on such low-level commissions.

After confirming Choi Hwayoung disappear with her gown dragging on the floor, leaving behind her well wishes.

I immediately put on an unidentified mask taken from my subspace pocket and headed towards the commission desk.

“I’d like to request the completion of commissions number 120012, 140127, and 149932.”

“Just a moment…. Commission for collecting Cave Centipede cores, commission for collecting Skeleton skulls, commission for collecting White Slime cores, correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Unlike when I first completed commissions, the attendant listened to me somewhat calmly and procedurally checked the monster materials I handed over one by one.

I already had a record of completing several B-Class commissions, and although my identity was hidden, the name recognition of C-Class Hunter Kim Sungchul must have spread somewhat among the staff.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have accepted a C-Class Hunter completing two or three B-Class commissions so nonchalantly.

“Yes, all three commissions have been completed. Will you be receiving this reward in cash like last time?”

“Yes. Also, I’d like to request the purchase of the remaining materials, so please handle the settlement all at once.”

“Yes, understood… Wh-wha, wha?!”

Perhaps they hadn’t expected over a hundred various materials to spill out again from the material pouch after I had already taken out the commission-related items.

As soon as they saw the mountain of materials piled high on the commission desk, they wore a flustered expression, just like the employee who handled my commission last time.

“…Are all of these also to be settled in cash?”

“Yes.”

“M-manager! P-please open the vault…!”

Even materials from B-Class monsters, when piled up to the hundreds, amount to quite a sum of money.

It was a familiar experience, having gone through it twice already.

By the time I had completed all the commissions and finished the settlement.

Time had already passed ten o’clock at night.

Even though it was summer with long days, it was enough time for the sun to set and the sky to darken.

When I stepped outside the guild, the street was already illuminated only by the faint glow of the streetlights.

Other than that, there were the drunken patrons lingering late, wandering the streets and making quite a racket.

It was a common sight, whether in my previous life or this one, typically seen on a Friday evening.

Since I was outside the guild, it felt odd to keep wearing the mysterious mask, so after walking a bit, I took it off and stored it in my subspace pocket.

I quickened my pace to head home before it got too late.

Even in South Korea with its good public safety, the probability of a man walking the streets at night being mounted by a woman wasn’t entirely zero.

Especially in this world, where there were special women like ‘beast-type Hunters in heat,’ it was entirely plausible.

Just as such special women existed, there were, naturally, certain scummy men known as ‘pit vipers’ or ‘drones.’

They would deliberately get taken by female Hunters during their heat cycles to extort large settlement fees, or use it to launder their promiscuous pasts, which was quite common.

Seeing this nighttime scene naturally brought Min-ah’s face to mind.

She should be fine, though.

I had released her pent-up sexual urges with two loads inside her, timed perfectly during her peak heat cycle.

She probably wouldn’t get horny over any strict-looking man for a while.

From the information I heard from Jin-ah and Seon-ah, it seemed her heat cycle came about once every three weeks.

I thought it was about time I cleared my schedule for Min-ah.

The chaotic chatter of various drunks, or the noise from multiple cars and motorcycles passing by.

Amidst such cacophony, as I silently made my way towards home.

From somewhere within the crowd, someone’s voice, uniquely familiar to me, reached my ears.

“Huh? Son~~~~!”

It was a voice so familiar that I could say I heard it almost as often as family at one point.

Naturally, I stopped in my tracks, needing to confirm who had uttered that voice.

“Son!! Over here, over here~~!!”

Focusing my attention once more and turning my head precisely in the direction of the sound, I saw a woman with a face that bore a strong resemblance to someone, waving at me.

On the outdoor table where she sat, quite a number of liquor bottles were piled up.

“…Hye-eun’s mother?”

She was practically like a second mother not only to my childhood friend Hye-eun but also to me.

It was Kang Eunyoung, a retired former S-Class Hunter.