Chapter 916: Side Story – Always on Your Side (1)

One day, about two months after I established the Hunter Guild in Hope City.

I, having taken a whole day off, was spending leisurely time with Hye-eun for the first time in a while.

Though, to call it leisurely might be a stretch, as the date course was a bit out of sync with what typical couples would do.

It’s no wonder, because today’s date course was climbing Mount Geomdan in Hanam City, near Gangdong District.

“Taekyung, this way! Let’s try going up this way this time!”

“Yeah, yeah. But be careful, don’t run too much because it’s dangerous. You might fall and get hurt.”

“Are you telling me, Representative-nim, that I might fall and get hurt by Kang Hye-eun-nim, an S-class Shield Master?”

…She’s really having a blast, isn’t she.

Well, as Hye-eun said, she was recently promoted to S-class. She had managed to barely pass the S-class promotion exam right after the new year began.

“Do you like being S-class that much?”

“There’s no downside to ranking up. S-class hunters are among the top 1% of hunters who’ve lived their entire lives as hunters. Plus, now I’m the same rank as you, Taekyung.”

Hye-eun replied with a beaming smile, seemingly happy that she was currently the only one in the Sky Blue Shield with the same rank as me.

Since finding out I had become a hunter, she hadn’t seemed particularly eager about rank advancement, but seeing me achieve an unprecedented rank increase last year with the subjugation of that three-headed basilisk seemed to have sparked some strange competitive spirit in her.

“Still,” she said, “at one time you vowed to become the world’s greatest hunter in my stead, but seeing you surpass me now, I guess I just didn’t want to fall behind.”

For reference, the reason mountain climbing isn’t a ‘typical date course’ is also due to the special background of the Hunter world.

In the original world, mountain climbing was mainly close to a hobby for middle-aged men or group activities, but the men in this world didn’t really like physical activities. Since women mostly did the physically demanding jobs, they tended to prefer resting or relaxing during their weekend leisure time.

Needless to say, hunters who risked their lives fighting daily, construction site labor, moving heavy furniture, and other physically demanding jobs were all the responsibility of women in this world.

Thus, since there was no one using mountains as a hobby, naturally, no one developed them for tourism either. As a result, unlike in my past life’s Korea, most mountains in this world only had small, undeveloped trails without well-maintained paths or stairs, unless they were cleared for passage or recreational purposes.

Unless one possessed physical abilities comparable to Hye-eun or me, climbing was difficult, so naturally, Mount Geomdan on weekdays was exclusive to Hye-eun and me. From around the mid-slope onwards, we were diligently moving our steps towards the summit, pioneering the broken path.

“It’s a date after a long time, and I never expected you’d suggest hiking.”

“…Did you not like it?”

“No, I like it too. Besides, if it weren’t for you, Hye-eun, there’s no one else I could climb with. I should enjoy the feeling of breathing fresh air at the summit after so long.”

If I suggested a hiking date to Cha Yuri or Hwayoung Sunbae, it was obvious I’d see them turn pale with shock. As for other women, I couldn’t easily picture anyone who’d particularly enjoy a hiking date. Maybe Eunyoung Noona or Cheon Jihee?

Of course, Eunyoung Noona is busy these days with dungeon expeditions with the Boss, and Cheon Jihee, in the first place, probably doesn’t prefer dates just the two of us, so it was a pointless hypothetical.

Although it was a somewhat intense date, climbing a rugged, deserted mountain alone together, it wasn’t entirely bad. Since it was just the two of us on this vast mountain, there were things we could talk about.

“The higher we go, the steeper the slope seems to get.”

“Yeah. So be careful. If you look like you’re about to fall, I’ll just use my ‘Summon’ skill to call you over immediately.”

“Th-that’s too much! Besides, if you use that, all my clothes will come off…”

“Who cares? There’s only the two of us here anyway. We might as well climb naked from here to the summit; no one would know?”

“I-I am absolutely not going to do that!”

Well, of course, Hye-eun would say that. Instead, I should come again next time with Eunbyul.

Hye-eun was diligently walking ahead of me, climbing up the relatively gentle slope, although it was somewhat risqué.

When she got tired, I would take the lead, forging a path that was like a trail, and once we climbed a certain distance, Hye-eun, regaining her energy, would climb ahead of me; it was a repeating cycle of climbing.

After finishing the climb, which lasted almost two hours, Hye-eun and I finally reached the summit. Hye-eun, looking quite exhausted, immediately plopped down on a nearby rock to rest.

“Finally…! The summit…!!”

-Plop.

“Drink some water, Hye-eun. You’re sweating a lot.”

“Haaah, yeah. Thanks, Taekyung~.”

Even for Hye-eun, climbing for two hours straight without any trails must have been tiring. Sitting on the ground, she received the water bottle I took out from my spatial pocket and was gulping it down.

Watching her like that, I sat down beside her and looked down at the mountain, gazing at the scenery of Hanam and Seoul visible far below.

“Hoo, refreshing.”

“Speaking of which, why did you suddenly suggest hiking? I thought we’d just go on a date at the movie theater like usual, or maybe the most strenuous thing would be suggesting we go to a dungeon alone together, but you suggested this.”

“…Just because I wanted to climb.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to know what it feels like to climb a path no one has ever taken.”

Along with those words, Hye-eun made eye contact, looking at me strangely.

I could fully understand that what she meant by ‘a path no one has ever taken’ wasn’t specifically just today’s hike.

“So, how was it, climbing the path no one has taken?”

“First, it felt tougher and took longer than I expected. When I climbed a mountain with a path before, even at a similar height, I reached the top in just an hour.”

“Well, the fact that a path exists means a lot of time went into making it. It’s bound to be different compared to climbing without one.”

“Yeah. Still, although it was tough, climbing like this feels rewarding in its own way. Maybe because we climbed a harder path, I feel even more accomplished.”

When you finish, you feel even more accomplished.

Indeed, is this also applicable to me, who is currently running a guild?

Perhaps Hye-eun was aware of the worries I recently confided to her and brought me here. In the process of founding this ‘Hope City Guild’, I had at least brought up the topic of the guild’s operational method with Hye-eun once.

…About unconditionally granting ‘Forced Summon’, a part of my awakened ability, to all hunters who will join my guild in the future.

‘She didn’t seem too pleased when I first brought it up.’

It was only natural. After all, it was no different than arguing for the intention to get intimate with even more women than the dozen or so I’ve already formed relationships with.

Depending on the situation, it might end with just the ‘first time’ forming a relationship, but looking at the cases of women who have been intimate with me so far, such a thing would hardly happen. Likely, new hunters who form relationships would also hope for consistent affection and desire from me, just like the other women.

…Relatively speaking, it could only be an unwelcome proposal for Hye-eun, whose time together with me would be further reduced compared to before. Of course, the other women would feel the same.

‘The hunters who have joined the guild so far are only those who have ‘formed a relationship’ with me…’

Hye-eun, Cha Yuri, Min-ah, and Cheon Jihee – four members from the Sky Blue Shield.

Three members from the Golden Trajectory: Sihee, Do Yehee, and Eunbyul.

Besides them, there were Eunyoung Noona, Hwayoung Sunbae, Jin-ah, and Seon-ah – that was about the extent of the members. Of course, most of them are dual-affiliated with other guilds.

The members so far are hunters who have formed a relationship with me at least once. In other words, all the guild members up to now also possess the ‘Forced Summon’ ability, allowing them to be summoned to a location I designate when facing life-threatening danger inside dungeons.

However, running the guild with only these members would mean my goal of creating a world where no one dies by monsters is still quite distant, so I would have to recruit new hunters in the future. Naturally, the number of hunters I become intimate with would inevitably increase in that process.

‘…Of course, the criteria of having looks that ‘I can stand’ and being a hunter who ‘doesn’t have a boyfriend or husband’ would inevitably still remain, though.’

Is today’s hike Hye-eun’s answer to that worry?

Or perhaps she just climbed the mountain with me to cool down my complicated mind. Or maybe she came all the way here to pour out her feelings to me.

…Maybe she’s intending to declare a breakup, getting sick of me confidently claiming I’d do such things and saying she’s leaving.

If she were to make such a proposal, I would have to accept it calmly. Hoping that women would remain by my side forever while I alone intimately engaged with them was simply too selfish an argument.

However, this dream I’ve cherished since I was young…

…this dream of creating a world where people don’t die by monsters, could absolutely not be compromised.

The path of a guild that no guild has taken, or could take, until now.

In the process of leading that guild, will Hye-eun truly become my pillar of support, or will she leave my side and become an empty space?

“…Taekyung.”

It was the moment the answer was about to be decided, coming from Hye-eun’s lips as she called my name.