episode_0179

An extremely familiar, yet most hated smell in the world prickled the tip of her nose.

“Yes… !”

My face, which had been calm throughout my sleep, was crumpled.

‘The smell of disinfectant… .’

What I felt at the tip of my nose was clearly the hospital’s unique smell of disinfectant.

‘What I hate the most… , smell.’

A childhood I don’t even remember well.

She, who had a weak body and burned her mother and father’s chest, remembers this one smell, even if she knows nothing else.

Every time I fell, every time I opened my eyes and saw the white ceiling and the faces of my mother and father in pain as if they were going to die at any moment, this smell filled my nose.

With vaguely open eyes, a familiar ceiling comes into view.

Pure white ceiling and pure white light.

And the smell of disinfectant in the hospital… , the face of an unfamiliar woman who is not my father.

I don’t know what the reason was, but she asked with a puzzled expression as her sharp gaze seemed to be slightly glaring at her.

“who… ?”

“… “You’re awake.”

Yun Ji-an, a woman with a sharp gaze, answered in as calm a tone as possible.

“I am Yoon Ji-an from the Hunter Association. “You, who had collapsed in the dungeon, were taken to the hospital.”

“ah… !”

The two letters ‘dungeon’ connected her disconnected memories.

‘I obviously lost the fight with the explorer… ?’

Immediately after being defeated by the seeker, the broad back seen beyond the field of vision where I was lying lingers in my mind.

As she tried to sort out her confused memories, she felt a tingling pain as she tried to raise her upper body.

“Tsk… !”

My whole body throbs.

It felt as if my whole body had been hit by someone.

She chewed her lower lip and barely raised her upper body, then asked with an urgent expression.

“More, the friend who went into the dungeon with me… !”

Instead of answering her question, Yoon Ji-an pointed to the side with his index finger.

Son Seo-yeon moved her gaze along her index finger and saw Elena lying dead on the bed about 3 meters away.

“ha… !”

The heavy breath that had been weighing down my lungs was immediately released just by confirming that she was alive.

Yoon Ji-an’s explanation came to her relieved ears.

“If I had done something wrong, I could have died. “Not only did he suffer from hypothermia due to being left in a cold place, but he also suffered from severe bleeding due to a stab wound to his abdomen.”

“… … .”

The guilt that settled down like a heavy stone made her unable to get any words out of her mouth.

It was all because of myself.

I almost drove my friend to death due to the arrogance and complacency that I had built up without realizing it.

No, it is no different from being driven to death.

If the owner of the broad back that she saw right before she lost consciousness hadn’t saved her, Elena and herself would have gone straight to the underworld.

Yoon Ji-an’s words continued as she was unable to even raise her head due to guilt.

“… “There was a message from Elena who came out of the intensive care unit recovering from her wounds.”

Son Seo-yeon’s shoulders trembled.

What did she really say?

Did he blame me for almost dying because of you, or… .

“It’s not Seoyeon’s fault, so don’t blame yourself like a fool.”

Although her tone was harsh, it seemed as if Elena’s slurred tone was being played back to her.

When you feel sorry and thankful and don’t know what to do.

“Miss Elena said so, but… “Actually, it’s Son Seo-yeon’s fault.”

“… … .”

Yoon Ji-an hit the bone.

“Insufficient preparation of winter supplies, insufficient number of party members, lack of information, and excessive level of difficulty.”

As each question was questioned, Son Seo-yeon’s body gradually shrunk.

“Son Seo-yeon.”

“… yes.”

“There is no life after death.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was heavenly luck.

What saved his life in a situation where everyone would die?

Eventually, the reliable light reappears.

Son Seo-yeon, who had been repeatedly beaten, finally raised her head and looked closely at Yoon Ji-an.

A very different body from the one I saw back then.

“if… , Can I find out who saved me and Elena?”

I was curious.

Who is the person who saved him?

Why does his back look so familiar?

Looking at her curious eyes, Yoon Ji-an shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”

“… “Is there a reason?”

“He said he didn’t want to make a fuss around him because of something he did accidentally.”

“is that so… .”

I really wanted to meet you at least once and say thank you.

While she was feeling regretful, Ji-an Yoon stood up.

“I have some backlog of work to do, so I have to go now. “I’ve contacted home, so my family will be arriving soon.”

“Ah yes.”

Son Seo-yeon makes a shocked expression at the word family.

“Take care of yourself. “Okay then.”

Son Seo-yeon, who was watching her slowly walking away with a light nod, hurriedly called her out.

“Now, just a moment.”

“… “Do you have anything to say?”

“that is.”

She took a short breath and then calmly spoke out the words she had been keeping in her heart.

“Please make sure to say thank you to the person who saved me. and… , I will take the advice you gave me to heart and study more. thank you.”

Son Seo-yeon bows her upper body and says hello.

“Good posture. “Please don’t change your mind.”

After answering that, Yun Ji-an quietly left the hospital room.

* * *

“Crrr .”

The charred corpse of the explorer falls to the ground and immediately crumbles as the flames sweep through the surrounding area.

[Remaining population: 82/300]

[Time Remaining: 12:13:48]

Looking at the population, which has already dropped to double digits, we estimate the number of searchers killed so far.

“Did you catch about 80 fish?”

After going through the last dungeons in Chungcheong Province for the remaining time, I think I’ll be able to overcome 100.

“… “I don’t know if I can catch them all.”

The pace of population decline is slowly slowing down.

Now that we have caught enough, the mindset is not to take it easy.

Even excluding the special rewards that can only be received from 1st to 5th place, the magic stones that fall from the explorer’s body are enough to be worth fighting over until the end.

That means… .

“A lot of the dungeons have been completed, so I guess it’s in a hidden dungeon somewhere.”

Unauthorized dungeons that have not been registered with the association, or unconfirmed dungeons that have not yet been discovered.

This probably means that there is a high probability that it is hidden in a place where people cannot easily reach.

After getting the magic stone as a C-level dungeon reward from the safety room, I left the dungeon.

Open your eyes with a sense of floating, as if you are calmly floating.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Before you know it, Ji-an Yoon has returned from his errand and is standing there holding a towel.

“When did you come?”

“It’s been less than 10 minutes since we arrived.”

I asked her to do something else.

It was none other than asking Seoyeon and Elena to stay by their side as their guardians so that they can receive good treatment at the hospital.

They said they would return once the treatment was over and they both woke up… .

“Are you both awake?”

“Yes, I already told you everything on the phone, but everyone is healthy.”

“is it so… .”

Even though I know that he is already safe, hearing it again in person puts my mind at ease even more.

At the same time, worry and anxiety began to creep up my ankles.

“My identity is… .”

“Luckily, I didn’t notice. “You can rest assured that he refused to even ask me to know who he was.”

Phew.

I don’t know how anxious I must have been to say the word ‘dad’ before he lost his mind.

I wondered if he recognized me.

“… “This is why habits are scary.”

My body automatically chose the sword over magic.

Well, if it’s natural, it’s natural.

It’s only been a year since I learned magic, and I’ve been wielding a sword for nearly 30 years.

“I gave him a harsh scolding.”

“good job.”

I had one more thing to ask of her.

I want you to harshly scold those who foolishly attempted to conquer the dungeon and nearly died.

“… “I said it to make them feel bad, but they took it well, huh.”

“yes?”

What did you just say?

“I told you that Miss Seoyeon understood what was being said very well, perhaps because she was smart?”

“… Oh yeah.”

what.

I don’t think it was.

“excuse me… “Can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“little… “No, it’s a very personal question.”

While saying that, I answered her in a friendly tone as she glanced at me.

“What is important between us, a ball or a purchase? “Please feel free to ask.”

“Uh, between us… “Wow.”

Look at the corners of his mouth turning up.

I’m trying hard to get down, but seeing that it doesn’t go down, it looks like it’s pretty good.

“that… “I’m asking just in case.”

Soon she wiped the smile off her face and asked a question with a rather serious expression.

“The two people you saved this time… , are you sure you are not in a relationship…? ?”

I guess I was curious about that the whole time.

Well, I did act a little strangely.

Why don’t you suddenly receive the entry and exit records of the two people and rush to save them, setting aside 10 days?

Even after rescuing him, he asked her to hide his identity, so considering it was a reverse story, it was natural for her to be suspicious.

“We’re just friends. One is a senior. I know it well because we are on the same team. “The two people have good skills, but they are still lacking in many ways.”

“So, you received the records just in case…” ?”

“Yes. Still, I couldn’t help but worry since we were teammates who had been working together for a semester.”

“hmm… .”

Her head bobs slightly up and down.

It means that you have accepted my words to some extent.

At this point, let’s change the topic.

He walks closer to her, puts his arm around her, and asks in a subdued tone.

“Why were you jealous?”

“Oh, no. just… , I think it would be good to know from the perspective of taking care of Mr. Dojin… .”

It’s obvious that it’s a lie.

“That’s too bad.”

“Which part… .”

“I was excited because I thought it was because Jian was jealous.”

As soon as I laid down the groundbait, she snorted and took a quick bite of the bait.

“Yes, actually, I was jealous.”

“really?”

“yes… .”

“In what way were you jealous?”

“Two, they’re younger than me and they’re prettier.”

I guess this woman doesn’t know exactly how much she is worth.

In that case, I have no choice but to let you know.

“Just wait twelve hours.”

“what… , you mean?”

Even though I know, I grit my teeth and pretend not to know.

His breath tickles her earlobes, which are dyed bright red.

And then he spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll let you know. “Jian’s charm is as good as those two people.”

Because it’s a bit boring to just tell you in words.

“Directly with your body.”

She, who was blushing on the verge of exploding, responded in a heated tone.

“Uh, let’s go now.”

My motivation is sky-high.