Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Splash!

The dark blade cut through the air, cleaving numerous orcs into two streams as it slowly dissipated. 

The ground was already piled with orc corpses, and the river ran with blue blood. Yet, the number of orcs remained overwhelming.

Despite the situation, the protagonist wielding the dark blade showed no signs of fatigue.

“Hmm, there are quite a lot of them…”

Of all the dungeons he could have entered, it had to be an orc habitat.

The protagonist, Cha Jae-joon, clicked his tongue and immediately grasped the Ego Sword. Then, he swung the sword skillfully once again.

The obsidian-like dark blade swept over the orcs, covering them once more.

Perhaps growing tired of this repetitive action, Cha Jae-joon began swinging the blade indiscriminately wherever there were orcs.

“I need to quickly deal with the orc leader to move to another location…”

The condition for him to move from one gate to another within the dungeon was simple: clear the dungeon at his discretion.

Once Cha Jae-joon cleared a gate, it would be restored as if no one had ever entered after some time.

This orc dungeon was already his second. It wasn’t a high-level dungeon, but the sheer number of orcs made it somewhat challenging for him to handle alone.

“Hah, I need to contact Yeon-oh.”

He had found a clue.

A day had passed, and the traces of the Blue Dragon that Cha Jae-joon had found in Yeon-oh’s house had vanished without a trace. It seemed like a trap set to lure Cha Jae-joon.

With a sense of casualness, he investigated the surroundings, thinking it might be a trap, but there were no other traces to be found. It was only then that Cha Jae-joon admitted to himself that he had fallen into a trap.

Returning to square one, he resumed the search for the Blue Dragon’s Ego Sword. He decided not to inform Yeon-oh about this development. More accurately, as soon as he crossed to another gate, he encountered a lava area, and he was too preoccupied to contact her. Survival had been the priority.

After managing to clear that dangerous area, he found himself in a dungeon now occupied by thousands of orcs. It was a maddening situation, but fortunately, he found a lead here.

“The Blue Dragon’s claw fragment was a stone that the orc whelps were playing with.”

Cha Jae-joon grumbled about the system’s excessive tricks.

Now that he had an item related to the Blue Dragon, he could use it as bait to locate the Blue Dragon’s Ego Sword, which likely shared a similar magical signature.

With the thought that similar things attracted each other due to their shared magical force, he swiftly swung his sword. Before he knew it, only one orc leader remained.

Without hesitation, Cha Jae-joon swung the Ego Sword toward the last remaining orc leader.

The sword voraciously devoured the orc leader, consuming blood, flesh, and every trace of mana power until the orc leader turned to dust and vanished. Familiar with the sight, Cha Jae-joon casually cleaned the Ego Sword and sheathed it in its scabbard.

“Well, should I contact Yeon-oh using the communication stone and visit her? Or should I surprise her?”

Considering his options, Cha Jae-joon, isolated within the gate, was completely unaware of the events happening in the outside world. Not knowing what might have troubled Yeon-oh, he playfully grinned.

“Surprising her might be fun. It’s been a while; I can visit her, cook something for her, and have a good time with Arvani.”

Contemplating whether Arvani would enjoy minotaur meat since the Ego Sword seemed to go crazy over it, Cha Jae-joon chuckled. Then, he thought about how Arvani used to love beef and the idea of bringing a nicely wrapped minotaur as a gift crossed his mind.

“Minotaur should be a good substitute for beef since we can’t find any within the gates. I’ll catch one on the way and make a gift out of it.”

While considering adding some meat with bones for a more satisfying chew, he recalled Arvani’s fondness for Korean beef. 

“Since I can’t get beef within the gates, maybe a similar Minotaurus will do.”

Pleased with his plans, Cha Jae-joon laughed brightly.

“All right, let’s go!”

Looking at the temporary gate created after clearing the dungeon, Cha Jae-joon joyfully shouted. 

Without further thought, he leaped into the gate, knowing that the Ego Sword would guide him to where he desired.

* * *

Squish.

The air inside the house was so heavy that saliva naturally slid down my throat. 

My head involuntarily lowered, and struggled to return to its original position. The reason was a person staring at me with a fierce glare, his fist clenched. It was none other than Jung Tae-il, who already possessed disgustingly good looks.

The reason was simple. As soon as I returned home, Jung Tae-il asked why I came back so late, and Han Seung-hoo, as if waiting for this moment, supported all my stubbornness to Jung Tae-il. It seemed like they couldn’t stand each other, but now it looked like they were getting along so well…

He had hidden the fact that he was going to betray me as if he were going to keep it a secret from Jung Tae-il. But as soon as we got home, he immediately betrayed me. Well, if I had lied about scouting and come back, I should have gone to catch the Boom-ba. But still, the accumulating sense of betrayal was unavoidable.

As a result, I found myself being scolded by Jung Tae-il.

“…That’s right, Mr. Jung Tae-il.”

“Yeah, Seo Yeon-oh. A person who says they’re only going to scout… What were you doing?”

“…Ahaha, Haha…”

“…Ha. That’s a laugh.”

Seeing Jung Tae-il sigh, I couldn’t help but shrink my shoulders even more. I understood what he was worried about. After sending me for a short reconnaissance, I came back having made friends with a griffin without saying a word. From the perspective of the person waiting at home, it must have been shocking news.

‘..Even someone like me would’ve scolded Jung Tae-il or Seung-hoo if they suddenly said they made friends with a dragon, rather than worrying.’

Yeah, I admitted my mistake.

I tightly pressed my lips together, trying to look as pitiful as possible.

“But still, in the end, we gained a good ally, so isn’t it okay?”

“Well, Seo Yeon-oh, if this kind of situation happens again, are you determined to tame monsters every time?”

“Oh, no. I’m a hunter too.”

“…”

“Yeah.”

I won’t make any more feeble excuses, yup.

Under Jung Tae-il’s intense gaze, I immediately lowered my tail. I hastily sent an SOS to Han Seung-hoo for help, but he ignored me with a cheerful smile.

…Darn.

After enduring about 10 minutes of worries, I was finally able to escape from Jung Tae-il. He seemed to be quite thorough when it came to safety, more than meets the eye.

‘…Well, considering he’s going into dungeons as a special force, comrades become more precious.’

Even with that in mind, he took good care of us quite a bit, despite his rough appearance.

As my evaluation of him was changing, Han Seung-hoo approached carrying Arvani, who had turned small.

“I’m sorry, Sister.”

“…Seung-hoo, sister has a long memory.”

“That means you think about me more.”

“…Did you eat something weird?”

“No way.”

I looked at Han Seung-hoo in horror as he casually delivered a statement that could be an understatement even if he said he had eaten Kang Yoon-soo. Jung Tae-il seemed to react the same way.

For a moment, he shot a look at Seung-hoo as if asking if he had gone crazy.

Of course, Seung-hoo didn’t bat an eye at such a reaction.

“You guys are being too much. What did I do… Oh, sister.”

“Yeah?”

“I’d like to stay longer, but I have a strategy schedule, so I have to go now.”

“Oh, really? Then go quickly.”

“Did you hear, Jung Tae-il?”

“Why should I?”

Han Seung-hoo glared at Jung Tae-il with a look that said why is he staying when he’s leaving?

“Sister needs to get some rest. She has worked hard taming the griffin. So, don’t bother her for no reason and leave quietly, with some tact.”

“…”

“Since Jung Tae-il seems to agree too, I’ll be going then.”

Han Seung-hoo smiled brightly as he handed Arvani to me. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he filled my hands with other items.

“This is a health potion, and this is a mana potion. And… this is a fire resistance potion. I had some leftovers in the guild, so I brought them for you.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

“If you’re thankful, just come to ‘Janwol’ later.”

“Is that burdensome?”

Instead of answering, he grinned. At this sight, Jung Tae-il seemed to express his annoyance as if he was truly fed up.

“I won’t give any, but… if you need help next time, call me. If you want to learn attack techniques, there won’t be anyone better than me.”

“Oh, that’s nice to hear.”

“But I won’t go easy on you like him.”

That’s something I know very well after today’s scolding. Anyway…

After a brief farewell, they moved to the entrance as if it were familiar to them. Soon, they returned to their desired locations through the ‘door leading to reality.’

Left alone at home again, I took a long breath.

“Phew… Maybe I should tidy up the yard a bit.”

When I came down earlier, I noticed that Jung Tae-il had organized many Lycans. Now, I felt confident enough to upgrade the yard without worries.

Singing a little tune, I opened the front door and stepped into the yard.

And there she was.

“…?”

A woman?

A woman standing outside the gate, gazing at the house.