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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: A Gentleman's Tie
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Flight was already unlocked from completing the quest. Proficiency was an issue, but that was fine. She was getting used to it little by little.
‘So, is this a one-time thing?’
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks what you take them for.]
[They say they're not that petty.]
[But then they add, ‘That’s a good idea, though,’ clearly tempted.]
‘What do you mean, good!’
Ha-ra snapped in frustration. Still, she quickly organized her thoughts.
So, it seemed she could continue using Flight and Candlelight. And ‘Just Thinking of You Makes Me Stronger,’ which required contact with Se-heon, didn't need to be separately unlocked either.
There was a good reason Ha-ra was examining her skills. She still had one more skill she could unlock as a quest reward.
She'd introduced herself to Se-heon and held his hand, but she had only unlocked one skill: Flight.
‘Are there any other quests?’
After holding hands, isn't it usually a hug or something? Ha-ra asked the Constellation.
She felt like she could do anything if it meant unlocking another skill through a new quest.
But the Constellation flatly refused.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ replies that there are no more skills to be unlocked in this dungeon.]
This dungeon? Does that mean there's a next one?
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks if you have any conscience.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ wonders if you planned to rot away as an E-rank for the rest of your life after getting an S-rank skill.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ considers retracting the quest.]
‘Ah, no, definitely not.’
Even after her hasty reply, she felt like she was being teased.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ casually remarks that they unlocked the skill this time because the first human they've taken an interest in for a while should at least stay alive.]
‘Casually.’ Ha-ra wrinkled her nose.
So you're saying you kept me alive because if you want to watch your little ant farm, the ants have to be alive to lay eggs and build their nests, right?
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ claps like a seal.]
Ugh, I want to punch them…
Ha-ra felt dizzy. Just this morning, she had been the world's most timid E-rank civil servant, but this Constellation seemed to have changed her personality in half a day.
No, it was definitely changing.
Weren't countless Hunters criticized for changing after their S-rank awakenings? The insults were usually along the lines of ‘fame got to their head,’ but Ha-ra felt like she could understand them now.
A Constellation… dealing with these inhuman… well, they weren't actually human, but anyone would go crazy interacting with beings like this all the time.
‘What's HappyYourDay?’
The skill ‘#HAPPYYOURDAY,’ complete with a neat little hashtag.
The Constellation answered briefly.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ replies that the skills were designed with your traits in mind.]
Ha-ra looked at her traits window. At a trait she hadn't seen before—no, to be precise, one she'd known about since it appeared but had actively tried to ignore.
Written there, bold as day…
[Idol Stan]
In other words, an idol stan.
‘…That's not true! I'm a regular person these days. I just listen to a few songs by famous girl groups, and that's it.’
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ scoffs.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ accesses user ‘Kang Ha-ra's’ information.]
‘Hey!’
[You are under a quest contract with the Constellation ‘Cupid.’ Access to information is permitted.]
One minute you're saying the difference in our status is immense, and now it's because of a quest contract? Just go ahead and take everything. It feels like my social security number has already been leaked overseas, so I can't even cry about it anymore…
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ reviews your X-Tube search history.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks again if you have any conscience.]
Ha-ra rubbed her dry face. So, it was a skill based on her ‘Idol Stan’ trait. She could guess what it did. ‘#HAPPYYOURDAY’ was a hashtag fans used to celebrate their favorite idol's birthday.
The activation condition was the target's birthday…
‘Is this based on the fan instinct to look up an idol's birthday first thing?’
It seemed to be a skill that revealed information about the target. If it was S-rank, it could be quite useful. But she didn't really need it right now.
Ha-ra moved on to the next one.
‘Multiply…’
She narrowed her eyes. Surely it couldn't be what she was thinking.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ laughs until they cry.]
Recalling a post she'd made on a fan cafe as a kid, Ha-ra gritted her teeth. But there was nothing she could do. The ‘multiply’ she knew was about… well… shipping people in a fictional romance…
‘It's not a skill to make monsters mate, is it…’
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ pounds the floor, laughing.]
Is there even a floor up there? With that thought, Ha-ra looked at the next skill.
‘Time to Move Along.’
It was something she'd heard endlessly from managers and bodyguards at fan signs, but she couldn't guess what this one did either. It was clearly a movement-related skill, but was it different from Flight? Maybe a quick-step or something?
But being able to move around alone here wasn't particularly useful.
That left only one skill worth unlocking. Ha-ra squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands.
God, Buddha, Allah, Greco-Roman gods. Especially you, Greco-Roman gods. Please, if you have any conscience, give me a decent skill.
[Selecting a skill.]
[Unlocking skill ‘Multiply (A)’.]
Please, don't let it be anything weird. She just hoped it wasn't a monster-mating skill.
“Status Window.”
Ha-ra's eyes flew open as she pulled up the skill status window. But a system window popped up first, as if mocking her.
[You, who claimed to have quit stanning! What on earth were you imagining? The ‘Multiply’ skill multiplies your power! Once a day! For 30 minutes!]
Ah…
“It was a buff skill…”
Without thinking, Ha-ra looked up and glared at the sky.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ is now rolling on the floor laughing.]
＊ ＊ ＊
“So, what you're saying is…”
Se-heon rubbed his forehead.
Ha-ra had confessed to Se-heon that she'd received a buff skill.
“If I go alone, I don't think the boss monster will be able to kill me.”
“It's dangerous.”
A nest atop the tallest cedar tree in the dungeon. That's where the magic core and the boss monster were.
And Ha-ra had already confirmed that the boss monster had left to patrol the area as night fell.
“You said the beast carried the child off. If it planned to eat him right away, it wouldn't have taken him like that.”
Ha-ra calmly stated her opinion.
“And I saw eggs in the nest.”
The boss monster was enormous. The eggs were naturally large as well, so she could see the white shells even from a distance.
Ha-ra figured the boss monster had taken the child to feed its hatchlings.
“He could already be dead. People can die of a heart attack.”
“I'll just go check. It's dark, so if I fly there and back quickly, the boss monster won't even notice.”
It was nonsense. How could a nocturnal beast not notice a human floating in the dark sky?
But Se-heon knew instinctively that the woman before him would not back down.
“If he's not there, I'll come right back. Okay?”
“Ms. Kang Ha-ra.”
The children were sleeping, so they had to keep their voices down. Se-heon spoke firmly, though he glanced worriedly at the kids.
“If he's alive now, he'll still be alive when the rescue team arrives.”
“You just said people can die of a heart attack.”
“…”
“What if he freezes to death alone in that nest overnight?”
It wasn't cold enough to freeze to death. This was just stubbornness. Se-heon sighed.
“If we just hold out in the safe zone a little longer, everyone will be rescued…”
“Not everyone.”
In the end, Ha-ra won.
She took out her light stick, swung it around a few times, then tried to emit light to test the skill.
A thin beam of light shot out from the light stick with a *ping*. It seemed to be about two meters long.
“It's like a laser beam.”
Ha-ra grinned as she put the light stick away. Se-heon watched her with a complicated expression before asking.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Well, it would be better if you came with me. My stats get a boost when you're around, Mr. Yoon…?”
But Ha-ra couldn't exactly carry Se-heon while scouting the boss monster's nest. At night, the forest dungeon was filled with the cries of all sorts of monsters, likely fighting amongst themselves. If a battle broke out, Se-heon would only be a hindrance.
Se-heon watched Ha-ra in silence.
‘A woman much smaller than me is bravely heading into this forest at night, all alone.’
He'd just managed to catch his breath, and now she was taking an unnecessary risk that bothered him. But a part of him also understood. If Se-heon hadn't been so young during ‘that incident,’ he would have surely acted just like Ha-ra.
So, he simply warned her in a stiff voice.
“If you have to fight, use that time to fly back to the safe zone at full speed.”
“That's probably the best plan, right?”
Ha-ra let out a small sigh. She bowed her head, took off her glasses, wiped them hastily on her collar, and put them back on before tying up her hair. The hair tie was a rubber band she'd borrowed from Soo-kyung's wrist earlier.
Her slacks were torn, and she was even wearing only one loafer. The other must have gotten caught in a crevice and come off while she was fighting the carnivorous rabbit. When she went back to get it, she found it was too ripped to wear.
In that state, Ha-ra spoke with grim determination.
“I'll be right back.”
“…Wait.”
Se-heon, who had been watching her quietly, wiped his forehead with his palm and then loosened his tie with one hand.
Why was he suddenly taking off his tie? A moment later, Se-heon knelt on one knee in front of the stunned Ha-ra, looked up at her, and said.
“Lift your foot, please.”
“Huh…”
Not a ‘Yes?’ or an ‘Ah,’ but a tensionless ‘Huh.’ Still, Ha-ra obediently, if hesitantly, lifted her shoeless foot as he'd asked.
Se-heon let out a disbelieving chuckle but proceeded to wrap his tie around Ha-ra's foot. Her sock had a hole in it. Thinking it was a good thing he'd wrapped it, the man looked up at Ha-ra.
“Be careful.”
Ha-ra's face turned beet red.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ claps. Kiss her (clap)! Kiss her (clap)!]
Kiss her, my foot! Ha-ra immediately fled.
