Chapter 39 – A Sincere Conversation With Harin

“Great. But I won’t talk only about you and these lewd things. If rumors spread that Hunter has suffered such… Hard things to tell others, he won’t be given any more work.”

Fortunately, before my patience ran out, Min-ji, who had made up her mind, replied with a smack of lips. She patted her head gently in response.

“That’s a good answer. Then I’ll move you to the bed so you can rest in peace. When you want to get out of here, tell me and I’ll let you go. And this is a small reward. I use it when I play with the girl next to me.”

He held a small lump of gold that could easily fit in her palm into her clasped hands at an angle invisible to their eyes. Before she opened her hand to check the item, she quickly tossed it into the guest room on the second floor and closed the door.

When he came down to the first floor, he lightly tapped the cheek of Alhemina, who was drooping.

“Alhemina. Are you sleeping?”
“Uhhh…”

When the tension was relieved, Alhemina, who had completely lost her taste, was picked up like a princess and put down in the lounge next to the kitchen used by the hunter team.

The clean-up of the training for new recruits has been completed, and since Minji and Ji-soo have been able to cooperate, the staff will be welcoming new customers from now on. I had to call the guardian guarding the dungeon.

She went out to the lobby and joined Harin, who was still waiting. She chose her because she had to ask what she was curious about in an environment where she could talk without paying attention to her surroundings, and she had to study her basic magic as promised.

“Do you have anything to do?”

As I approached, she held out her hand to Harin, who stroked her red hair and treated her as harshly as usual.

“Stay by my side and talk to me. Now, hold her hand.”

I want to let them experience that if they hold hands firmly and have enough magic power, they can do these things. Utilizing the dungeon core, he activated magic that allowed him to freely move between classes. Then, in the blink of an eye, I arrived at the entrance of the dungeon after a long distance that I had consumed time running even though I wasn’t tired the other day.

I forgot the sense of time because I was only inside the cave, but there was a red sunset outside. As I looked up at the reddish sky while breathing in the lukewarm wind, Harin stood next to me and narrowed her brows.

“Didn’t you say you were a vampire? I know novels and movies are fiction, but aren’t they weak against sunlight?”

I didn’t know what the movie was, but I knew the novel. She spoke of bards weaving together oral fables, or of imaginative fictions. It was a cultural activity that only very wealthy families could do because a lot of expensive paper was consumed.

Shall I dodge? Shall I answer honestly? After thinking about it, I decided to be honest. Strange misunderstandings would only make the relationship worse.

“Sunlight has no effect. If it was a daytime when the sun was shining brightly on the ground, humans would have said that with the hope that terrifying vampires would not roam about.”
“Stories about vampires have been around for over 100 years. How can you know and be sure of the people of those days?”

He answered Harin’s question with a smile.

“A lot of people thought that way in my world, too.”

At a time when vampires almost dominated, humans believed that vampires had weaknesses other than divine power, even if it was a rumor, to reduce fear. Vampires are just changed from humans. There was no way it would turn into a fire in the sun overnight.

However, the false belief continued to spread, feeding on anxiety, and all sorts of rumors were derived and spread like wildfire. Starting with a silver stake, you can’t cross water, or you can’t see it in a mirror. It was all stupid.

When I briefly told her the story of that time, Harin nodded as if she understood, then narrowed her eyes and asked a question.

“Yes. Even though the world is different, we think the same. But then you The Age?”

A half-aged vampire would have been angry at me for saying that a woman’s age was a secret.

“Do not know. Didn’t count When necessary, I talk and do things by adding or subtracting from the age of 20.”
“It’s so realistic that it’s not funny.”

It was amazing that he was open enough to want fun in conversation with me while refusing to sign a contract with his family. I didn’t want to waste time on things like roundabout, so I asked the question right away.

“Why did you refuse to become a member of your household?”
“I didn’t expect you to ask such a straightforward question…”

Harin twirled her fingers through her red hair, as she did in her lobby. It was like a habit for her. She replied with a small sigh as if she had finished her thoughts.

“Didn’t I tell you I would become an S-class Hunter?”
“I remember.”
“S-class hunters are the stars of hope that protect humanity. So, when you are recognized as an S-class hunter, take a physical examination with the skills of the Hunter Association that are not known to the outside world. Whether you are a pure human being or if your mind is not contaminated. In addition, do a background check to find out if someone has a weakness. Do you know why I refused?”

It was reasonable. To gain my trust, you just have to act sincerely with your lovers, but if you need to be a pure human being in order to be recognized as an S-class hunter, you could reject it.

“The condition of an S-class hunter. Didn’t you want to tell me first?”
“I was afraid they would think it was an excuse until we got to know each other to some extent like now. In fact, I don’t think I would have had a chance to talk like this if I hadn’t shown my sincerity for a moment while educating that cheeky junior. Right?”

The more she chewed on Harin’s words, the more she thought it was luck that she was able to win the Hunter team. I may not be able to completely loosen my guard yet, but trust has sprouted in our relationship.

“Do not worry about it. Unlike me, the other two have good personalities, so they won’t do anything weird. You can see how satisfied they are with their current situation.”

It was the first time that she knew that Harin also knew how to smile kindly, not her usual cold attitude or expression.

“We thought that if we got good grades at Hunter Academy and went out into society, we would be able to live a wonderful life like the glittering Hunters in high places.”

Harin looked into the dark dungeon where the moonlight did not reach and spoke in a voice suppressing his emotions.

“However, the reality is cruel, and with our abilities, we couldn’t reach people like shining stars. And a huge debt in the name of education was piled on her shoulders. To repay that, I have no choice but to risk my life and work as a hunter. She couldn’t put it into words because she didn’t want to cause concern to her co-worker right next to her. It was scary. You never know when you’ll die with poor equipment.”

When I first met, I remembered the three people who had conflicting opinions over the equipment obtained from the dungeon. The three hunter team members, including Harin, now in front of me were not in a hurry, depressed, or tired.

“… Thank you.”

While thinking about that time, I couldn’t properly hear Harin’s words as if she was muttering.

“Yes? What did you say?”
“No. I didn’t say anything.”

He let go of her pretense, crossed her arms, and turned her head away. Her red cheeks were visible in the moonlight. It’s not a good look to point out, so I decided to move on. There was a story that just happened to turn the topic moderately.

“Harin. Do you know how enemies of your humanity are made in dungeons?”
“At the academy, it happens naturally. Or, I learned that they come from another world through a gate.”
“But now you know how to do anything other than those two, right?”
“A cheeky junior.”

Harin thought of Alhemina and pursed her lips. One is a cheeky female little succubus. The other side is grumbling, but when you get to know him, he cares about those around you more than anyone else.

If I just open her heart a little, she seems to be able to get along very well.

“I’ll show you a different way than making a rift in the dimension. It will definitely help you improve your magic skills.”

He could have asked them to teach him right away without bothering them, but Harin calmly agreed. I liked her because she was patient and clever. She seemed like it would be fun to grow in the future.

She started walking inward from the dungeon entrance. Together with Harin, who followed a step later, we arrived at the middle of the first floor of the dungeon. I asked her while fiddling with the core of her dungeon that I had put in her arms.

“What level of enemies do you usually fight against between an F rank who says you go to the academy and an E rank who just graduated?”
“I mainly fought small groups of goblins, imps, or wisps. If the composition of the party was good, we even hunted undead monsters such as zombies and ghouls.”

As expected, the level was similar to that of new adventurers. There were occasional players who did not fit the rank, but it was said that it was because of the system that started at F rank.

“Isn’t there anyone who becomes a Hunter through a method other than graduating from the academy?”
“It’s not that there isn’t a way… But no one wants to do it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t mind saying this to people who didn’t go to the academy, but the discrimination is severe. People from the academy pay expensive tuition and work like slaves, but they don’t think well of people who are exempted from the academy and become hunters right away because they have talent.”

It’s discrimination After all, I thought that the world where humans gathered was all the same. While talking, I chose what I thought was an appropriate level of difficulty among the many living and inanimate objects.

“Then I will summon you, so step back.”

Harin followed my words and took a few steps back.