Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Haha, now only laughter comes out. 

Is it because I’ve become accustomed to this situation, or is it because people come looking for me due to experiencing too much? 

Maybe it’s because I’ve become indifferent to such incidents.

“…I don’t know.” 

I really don’t know. 

Still, it was truly fortunate that the unfamiliar woman didn’t pop out as soon as I opened the front door, thanks to the fact that my home’s territory extends to the yard. If she had confronted me as soon as I opened the door, like Kang Yoon-soo before… well, I didn’t even want to imagine.

Back then, there were people in the house, but now I’m alone. I don’t know how strong that woman is, but considering the average of the monsters around here, she should be at least A-level if she managed to break through to this point.

‘Still, because the proficiency of <Safe House Inside the Gate> is insufficient, I can’t block the attacks of the hunter.’ 

So, if that woman were to attack me with ill intentions, it meant I would be defenseless.

Even if I have Arvani, an S-level healing, this house is meaningful only because it perfectly blocks monster attacks.

Raising my stats and developing from the yard was truly a divine move at that time.

‘Right now, the proficiency of <Unauthorized intrusion is not allowed!> is also insufficient, so if she had barged in, it would have been problematic….’ 

Because the skill could fail.

“…It wasn’t just one urgent matter, right?”

I needed to become stronger immediately, but it was also urgent to raise skill proficiency to protect the house. There was no time to engage in a struggle with the government… 

No, resigning was the right order of events. Let’s not be too hasty. I can gradually upgrade the house when I have time and raise proficiency at the same time. Yeah, this should work.

After a brief moment of distraction, the woman who had been wandering in front of the gate noticed me and waved, shouting.

“Hey! Are you Seo Yeon-oh?”

With her glamorous blonde hair and equally striking features, she could easily be mistaken for a celebrity or model if this weren’t inside a dungeon. Her tall stature, visible even from a distance, and what seemed to be a good figure added to the impression. 

However, appearances were not important. Because it was uncertain when this beautiful woman might turn hostile. 

I quietly took a dagger from my inventory, ready to attack quickly if she happened to intrude this far.

At the same time, Arvani, who had come out with me into the yard, growled, alert to the woman outside. 

Sensing that, she raised both arms and put on a pitiful expression.

“Oh, Yeon-oh… I-I won’t attack you, Yeon-oh. I-I want to be friends with you, Yeon-oh!”

“How am I supposed to believe that?”

“Well… I woke up, and here I was! It was amazing!”

“….”

The woman gestured desperately, trying hard to prove that she was harmless. However, my suspicions didn’t easily fade. Then, as if determined, the woman began to speak rapidly.

“…I’m Ellie Kim, an American. Oh! I might be registered as the second highest-ranked in Korea. Do you happen to know me? Um, I think Yeon-oh might not know me well because I don’t share a lot of information. But I’ve been curious about you, Yeon-oh. I wanted to see you. I want to work with you. God listened to my words! It’s true!”

“….”

“Oh, please. This is the truth. I’m not lying, Yeon-oh.”

I stared intently at the woman claiming to be ranked 2nd. There was nothing in her expression that seemed to be a deliberate attempt to deceive me. Instead, she looked genuinely desperate.

‘But more importantly, Hunter ranked 2nd?’

…The mysterious Hunter who hadn’t revealed their face even once since awakening? No known gender, age, or type of skills used. The only thing known about the 2nd rank was that they were S-level and disappeared into a guild immediately after awakening.

So, many people speculated that the 2nd rank might be in ‘Overflow’ but went undercover. Because most of the hunters in ‘Overflow’ avoided revealing their identity like the mysterious one. The information about Jung Tae-il was the most well-known among them.

‘…There were rumors that she joined a guild in another country.’

In reality, she was of mixed nationality, with dual citizenship. If this rumor was true, Ellie Kim’s claim to be ranked 2nd would likely be true. With everything shrouded in mystery, I couldn’t help but cast a suspicious gaze.

Then, Ellie Kim pressed her palms together, as if begging me to believe her.

It’s not easy to doubt someone so desperately pleading with such a pretty face… Besides, <Survival Instinct (B)> wasn’t activating, so perhaps giving her a chance wouldn’t hurt.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened up to Ellie.

“…There’s still not enough information to trust you, Ellie. Give me some time to look into you. If you really are the 2nd rank, we can talk about it then.”

“Oh! Really? I’d be so happy if that happens! Yeon-oh, my door is always open!”

“…But never enter my house. The moment you cross the threshold, I’ll consider you an enemy.”

“Of course! Unauthorized entry…? That’s a crime! I’m a law-abiding citizen! I wouldn’t do such a thing.”

She nodded firmly, keeping her distance from the front gate, and for some reason, I found myself believing her. Whether this was a brief show to gain my trust, I couldn’t be sure.

She looked at me as if urging me to quickly learn about her, and I took out my phone from my pocket to browse the internet.

While she waited, I navigated to a site that compiled information on rankers.

“…There might not be much information about the 2nd rank, but it’s worth checking.”

Let’s see… As I scrolled past the familiar face of Jung Tae-il, a page filled with question marks appeared. It was the detailed page for the 2nd rank.

Name: Unknown

Gender: Unknown

Age: Unknown.

Even on the internet, the information available wasn’t much different from what I already knew. In this situation, I couldn’t easily discern whether Ellie Kim was truly the 2nd rank.

That’s when it happened.

“Wow! Yeon-oh! This should prove myself! I was a fool, figuring this out now!”

She raised something high in her hand for me to see, looking as triumphant as an undercover agent revealing their badge.

“…What is that?”

“This is, uh… my identification!”

“…?”

“In Korea, what do they call this? Right! A student ID!”

…?

…Have I ever experienced a scene like this?

That’s right. When Cha Jae-joon introduced himself to me and showed me his resident registration card. It was a similar situation.

I felt a familiar scent of a stranger with whom I had a strangely similar experience before. 

Yeah, the world is small.

While I was trying to regain my composure, Ellie Kim muttered words that were hard to just pass by.

“Um, Jooni said this should work…. I heard this is the best way with Koreans.”

That muttering passed by my ears, giving me a shock. Could it be that ‘Jooni’ is the ‘Joon’ from Cha Jae-joon? I bit down the rising thought.

‘There could be people with the same name….’

Ah, no way.

Even if Cha Jae-joon is connected to Jung Tae-il, would he also have a connection to the 2nd rank shrouded in mystery?

‘Right? This is a bit too much, isn’t it?’

Even in my thoughts, it seemed a bit too far-fetched, yeah, yeah.

After neatly organizing my thoughts, I searched the internet again, just in case I missed any information.

Then, I sent a message to Kang Yoon-soo, asking if it’s okay to inquire about something I’m curious about. Given his long career as a hunter and close ties to the government, there was a high probability that he might know the identity of the 2nd rank.

However, there was no immediate response from Kang Yoon-soo, possibly due to his busy schedule.

“…Too bad.”

But it felt a bit much to ask Seung-hoo or Jung Tae-il… Oh, is Jung Tae-il okay? Seung-hoo might wonder why I’m curious about such things, but Jung Tae-il might just give a straightforward answer.

“…What should I do?”

Just as my dilemma deepened, there was a commotion where Ellie Kim was.

“Hey, Jooni! How did you get here?”

“Huh? Ellie? Why are you here?”

A very excited voice for ‘Jooni,’ and an amused tone from someone familiar.

…This is crazy.