Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 109

Chapter 109

I blinked repeatedly, trying to clear my mind as I lifted my stubborn eyelids. 

Although I must have crashed above Arvani, I found myself lying in a peaceful place. I couldn’t recall what had happened at all.

However… I could feel the painful throbbing in my head and the soreness in my body as if it were about to tear apart.

…It felt more like crashing onto the ground rather than someone catching me…

When I tried to stand up later, I stumbled like a newborn calf… If the pain was this intense, wouldn’t my bones be shattered?

The pain that dulled my senses to the point of oblivion made me close my eyes again.

Then, I opened my eyes at a loud noise and looked around. I sighed deeply.

A familiar yet unfamiliar scenery unfolded before my eyes.

Lately, I seemed to find myself in such situations often, and I wondered if I was imagining things for no reason.

Well, it’s understandable.

“…Huh! Wow, I’m sorry! I apologize for not working harder!”

“…Did you think I would tolerate your unilateral actions?”

“Oh dear, can’t you be a little flexible? Whatever the process was, the result was good, so let’s just move on. It’s difficult to be so stubborn.”

“…Hah.”

The Red Dragon dodged skillfully on the spot, avoiding Allen’s golden-linear attacks. The one carrying out these attacks was none other than Allen.

He mercilessly attacked the Red Dragon while manipulating the golden orb in his hand. His expressionless face, even with a cold gaze, made me feel uneasy for some reason.

Well, that’s that.

‘…I’ll just let Allen deal with that dragon guy.’

Perhaps Allen might stop if he noticed I had woken up. I’ve been through so much trouble because of that guy…!

Silently watching their petty fight, Arvani jumped onto my stomach.

With tears in his eyes, the tiny Arvani buried his head in my neck and cried bitterly.

“…Hmph… Kulfgh… Kulfgh!”

…He seemed to have come here because his ancestors gestured for him to come.

If I hadn’t been lying down, there was a 100 percent chance I would have coughed up blood.

“Kulfgh! Kulfgh!”

The coughing didn’t stop as if I were about to die. The two beings who were fighting like crazy glanced at me.

Soon, Allen quickly approached me. Behind him, the Red Dragon let out a deep sigh of relief.

“…I’m sorry, Yeon-oh. I should have doubted that fight enthusiast while he was happily smiling… In the meantime, while preparing for our business, the situation turned out like this. How can I compensate for this.”

Allen’s words made me pause for a moment. It was because of a thought that momentarily crossed my mind.

“…Um, I’m just asking in case… but is that Red Dragon also a System Administrator?”

“Ah.”

Allen responded with a faint smile. It meant that beings capable of causing such incidents were unlikely to be System Administrators.

In that case…

“Then, is the Blue Dragon also…?”

“Yes, she is also a System Administrator. Unlike others, she is very diligent and maintains a good balance.”

“Huh, who was the one who met that her before me?”

“…Loki.”

“Hmm.”

Loki kicked the ground as if to express his disappointment. As he did, a rift appeared around him.

Seeing this, Allen shook his head and sighed. Then he quickly turned to me.

“…I’m sorry, Yeon-oh, but it seems we need to go for now. That kid… I mean, Loki has caused a lot of trouble with this incident. So… we’ll visit you again later.”

“…Okay?”

“To return home, you just need to enter the red brick house you saw when you first came here. Considering your current condition, using the ‘door’ might be difficult, so I’ve prepared it for you. Please take care on your way back.”

He bid farewell neatly and then gestured to Loki. Loki seemed reluctant to leave in this urgent situation.

“Kid, let’s meet again soon. And did you say your name is Arvani? I hope we can communicate better next time. You’re one of our tribe too.”

Loki said something incomprehensible and waved lightly, following Allen.

Soon, they disappeared into the golden light.

…They left me here alone.

No, can this absurd situation even happen?

“…Wait! What am I supposed to do if you leave like this!”

No, why do the dragon and the System Administrator have so little sense of responsibility?

I can’t handle this on my own yet!

Just say what you want to say and go! That’s it! That’s it! Argh!

* * *

Meanwhile.

“…….”

“…Haha.”

“…Why.”

“Do I need permission to laugh…?”

One person had a very sour expression, but the other was filled with joy.

The man with the stern expression sighed deeply and demanded an explanation from the man who was laughing cheerfully. The latter clapped his hands and explained enthusiastically.

“So, what happened was, I regained consciousness and found myself here. It’s amazing! Perhaps the System sent me to meet Mr. Jung.”

“Huh?”

“Even if you deny it, I understand. It was like that last time, and it’s the same this time… Weren’t you secretly pleased that I was still alive?”

He didn’t know if it was because he had been traveling alone every time but meeting someone he knew inside the Gate, Cha Jae-joon was very excited.

No, he was pretending to be excited. If he didn’t force himself to stay in a good mood, he felt like his heart would stop beating, strangely enough.

It felt like his heart was getting heavier and heavier.

Like this… more… like that… Ah!

Cha Jae-joon, who seemed to know the reason for sure, quickly forgot about it. He was extremely frustrated with himself for doing so.

Ever since he returned to that place to find the Blue Ego Sword, his memory hadn’t been intact… and it wasn’t getting any better.

Whenever Cha Jae-joon happened to recall something specific, his mind would go blank. It was an obvious sign of trouble, but Cha Jae-joon simply dismissed it as the beginning of his obsession with the Black Ego Sword.

He had already died once before, so what was there to fear about obsession?

Well, that was one way to look at it… but it wasn’t without fear.

That’s why encountering the group led by Jung Tae-il in this situation was a stroke of great luck for Cha Jae-joon. At least he wouldn’t die from madness alone.

Of course, it was a very awkward situation for Jung Tae-il, who was keeping Cha Jae-joon’s survival a secret from the raid team.

Jung Tae-il would now receive disdainful looks and nagging from Yoo Seol-ah for keeping such a fact secret.

Fortunately, Jung Tae-il had encountered Cha Jae-joon alone during reconnaissance.

Jung Tae-il ran his hand through his hair roughly and raised his eyebrows. Sensing Jung Tae-il’s understanding of the situation, Cha Jae-joon asked with confusion.

“Did you not inform the guild members that I’m alive?”

“…There was no way to refute it. You were in a miserable state back then. And amidst all that, you were suddenly sucked into an open Gate, leaving your body behind.”

“Ah…”

“…Everyone struggled. You especially had a good relationship with my team.”

“…I didn’t think of that.”

Cha Jae-joon’s head dropped slightly. Despite being alive, he could feel himself dying. Jung Tae-il sighed deeply and placed his hand on Cha Jae-joon’s shoulder.

“But they’ll welcome you when they see you. Yoo Seol-ah was particularly fond of you.”

“…Really? Can I go meet them together?”

“…Yes.”

“Thank you!”

Cha Jae-joon, who had barely escaped from the abyss, smiled again cheerfully. Seeing him like that, Jung Tae-il shook his head slowly.

And so, Jung Tae-il and Cha Jae-joon returned together to where the raid team was. Upon meeting Cha Jae-joon there, everyone’s reaction was as if they had seen a ghost.

“…Master, behind you!”

“You scouted and brought back a ghost.”

“…The problem is that the ghost is someone we know.”

Upon seeing the unexpected reaction from the Ki twins and Yoo Seol-ah, Cha Jae-joon became crestfallen. Only Jung Tae-il, who had anticipated such a situation, let out a deep sigh.

In the end, it fell on the silent Jung Tae-il to handle the situation until its resolution.

It was almost like a portrait collection. Even the rumor that Yoo Seol-ah, known for not shedding tears, was on the verge of embracing Cha Jae-joon and shedding tears.

Thus, when they met again after a long time, they attempted to unfold a lively conversation.

However…

“…Clear it and move on.”

This place was within the gate.

They were stopped by Jung Tae-il.

Especially during times like this, accidents were more likely to occur. It was unacceptable for another incident to happen just as their colleague had returned alive.

Therefore, they exerted an unprecedented level of concentration and cleared the gate.

The fact that Cha Jae-joon, the owner of the Black Ego Sword, had strengthened his power also played a significant role.

Thus, by passing through the gate that was successfully cleared, they were able to relieve the tension that had been building up.

But…

“…Hey.”

“…It’s not me, believe me! But, why are only the two of us here? What about the rest of the team members?”

“…Hah.”

After passing through the gate, what met Cha Jae-joon and Jung Tae-il’s eyes was a vast blue meadow.

And in the distance, there was incongruously a red brick house.