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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Quest
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In short, her magic power recovered faster when she was touching Se-heon.
The Constellation smugly opened a system window for Se-heon to see. Reading its contents, Se-heon’s mouth fell open with a soft “Ah.”
“Holding hands strengthens your stamina and physical power, so it makes sense that your recovery speed would increase…”
It was utterly absurd, but at least there was some sort of mechanism behind it.
Se-heon sighed and interlaced his fingers with Ha-ra’s. Ha-ra flinched.
“Oh, my hand is sweaty…”
“Do I look like the kind of man who would push you away over a little sweat when you're about to collapse in front of me?”
Of course, Se-heon wasn't exactly pleased with the situation either. Clasping hands in front of the Constellation, which was practically cheering for them to get together with applause and fireworks, was no different from giving it exactly what it wanted.
But he wasn't so heartless as to tell someone working themselves to death, ‘I don’t want to hold your hand, so you’re on your own.’
Se-heon cooperated impassively. He could clearly see the color returning to Ha-ra’s paper-white face.
“Can’t you take a break? As I said before, I just need to be there before midnight.”
At his words, Ha-ra clenched her other fist.
“No, since you’ve helped me, I’m getting out of here before 8, no matter what!”
Se-heon was inwardly impressed by her determination. *She keeps her word, doesn't she.*
Of course, it never crossed his mind that Ha-ra might have something important to do at 8 o’clock.
＊ ＊ ＊
[Guerrilla Dungeon clear complete.]
[The Guerrilla Gate is closing.]
[Time Remaining: 04:59]
[Special Reward: Trajectory of Confusion (A)]
And Kang Ha-ra had done it.
“*Sob*… Unni, I did it…”
Hearing Ha-ra mutter to herself while panting and clinging to his hand, Se-heon wondered. *Does Ms. Kang Ha-ra have an older sister? I thought she only had a younger brother.*
＊ ＊ ＊
“Let’s go.”
As soon as they cleared the dungeon, Ha-ra practically collapsed out of the Gate. The sun had already set.
The boss monster, a mechanical creature, had given her trouble by distorting her vision, but in the end, her rank was just too high for it.
After activating her multiplication skill, she had drawn a sword of light while holding Se-heon’s hand and slashed at the monster's core components, causing it to fall helplessly.
“The reward is… ah, this is it.”
The special reward, the Trajectory of Confusion, turned out to be an item that distorted vision, just like the one the mechanical boss monster had used.
Its purpose was also clear. The two used the reward just before leaving Bamseom Island to deceive the eyes of any onlookers.
Untying the yacht, starting the engine. They safely docked at the Han River pier in the total darkness and got into Se-heon's car in the outdoor parking lot before either of them could finally breathe.
“Anchor Yoon, are you okay?”
In response to Ha-ra’s question, Se-heon wordlessly pulled out a wet wipe from the passenger-side dashboard and handed it to her.
Ha-ra bowed her head in thanks and took it.
Se-heon looked at her with renewed appreciation. The current time was 7:45 PM.
Keeping one’s word was the most important quality Se-heon looked for in a person. He had always despised liars.
Besides, Ha-ra’s performance today had been quite impressive. He hadn't told her, but he'd even found her presence reassuring.
*‘Does becoming an S-rank change a person this much?’*
He hadn't actually expected her to close the dungeon before 8 o’clock. He spoke.
“I’ve postponed the restaurant reservation to 8 o’clock.”
“Oh? Yes, thank you.”
As if she had completely forgotten about the reservation, Ha-ra, who had been slumped in the passenger seat catching her breath, flinched and replied.
Se-heon gave a faint smile.
“If you’re tired, we can just go home.”
“No, it’s fine. You went to the trouble.”
“I think letting you go home to rest would be taking better care of you.”
But Ha-ra shook her head.
“Going home doesn’t necessarily mean I can rest…”
Her words were laden with meaning, and Se-heon immediately understood.
Se-heon, too, felt exhausted the moment he went to his family home. Having a meal with Assemblyman Yoon was far more nerve-wracking than anchoring the news.
“I understand. Then let’s have dinner before we head back.”
Just as Ha-ra was about to reply, her stomach rumbled. It was the perfect answer. Kang Ha-ra’s face turned red, but Se-heon was faster.
“Thank you for your answer.”
He smiled gently and started the car. Ha-ra mumbled under her breath.
“You’re good at joking, Anchor Yoon…”
“You’ll soon find out whether I’m good at joking or not. Rest. It's only for a little while, but you can close your eyes.”
“Okay…”
Despite his words, Ha-ra began organizing her inventory from the passenger seat.
“I was in a hurry, so I just shoved everything in. If I don’t organize it soon, it feels like it’s going to explode.”
The things she laid out on her lap were all mechanical parts. It was only natural, since they had only faced mechanical monsters in the urban-type dungeon.
Even though he was getting used to it, the sight of mechanical parts popping out of thin air was still quite fascinating, and Se-heon kept glancing over as he drove.
“This is the first time my inventory has ever been this full.”
“Is that so.”
“You can’t put real-world items in an inventory, after all.”
Magic Stones from the dungeon, and the machines. The A-rank Magic Stone harvested from the boss glowed a mystical purple.
But Ha-ra sighed.
“How on earth am I supposed to get rid of all this…”
“You could post it on the Hunter Market… Ah, right, you said it was confidential.”
“Exactly. And Magic Stones are supposed to belong to the government anyway…”
*That’s not entirely true.* Se-heon gave a wry smile to himself.
The number of illegally traded Magic Stones was staggering. Exchanging apple boxes and the like during holidays was a thing of the past. Assemblyman Yoon alone probably had a whole box of expensive Magic Stones stashed in his basement.
But telling her to sell them illegally would be ridiculous, so Se-heon kept his mouth shut.
“If it were something like an egg, I could at least sell it to a health food store…”
“…A health food store?”
Ha-ra, who had been mumbling, flinched. Then she laughed awkwardly. “Ahaha.”
“Um, things like beaks or bear livers… health food stores buy them for a high price…”
“…I suppose so. There are even grave robbers who sneak into low-rank dungeons every year.”
As a news anchor, he was well-versed in this area.
Grave robbers of old plundered royal tombs and ancient ruins, but things were different now. The grave robbers of the 21st century snuck into E-rank or D-rank dungeons to secretly harvest and sell monster livers, eyeballs, and teeth. Even though there was no evidence that such things were good for one’s health.
Ha-ra replied while organizing her inventory.
“It’s a bit inconvenient, but it can’t be helped. It’s a hundred times better than the inconvenience of people finding out I’m on a quest, right?”
“So you’re selling them to a health food store.”
“No, not necessarily…”
Then, looking sheepish, Ha-ra took something out of her inventory.
Se-heon glanced over. It was round, smooth… an egg?
“Why an ostrich egg?”
“Does it look like an ostrich egg? Actually, I got this from the boss in the Yeouido dungeon back then.”
“Huh.”
Se-heon was impressed.
Ha-ra tapped the shell. *Knock, knock.* It was quite hard. It didn’t look like the egg of that enormous eagle, the one that had seemed large enough to cover the sky.
“I thought I was supposed to make fried eggs with it or something, but a little while ago, a hatching quest popped up.”
“There’s a quest for everything, I see.”
“Anyway, it’s been like this ever since I met my Constellation. Huh?”
Ha-ra suddenly let out a bewildered sound. Se-heon was driving, so he waited for her to continue. But after tapping at the air for a long moment, she let out a sharp cry.
“Ah, are you kidding me!”
Se-heon was slowly getting used to Ha-ra’s outbursts of frustration. It probably meant the Constellation had said something absurd again.
Ha-ra buried her face in her hands for a moment before looking up and suddenly asking Se-heon.
“Um, Anchor Yoon. Do you happen to have any pets?”
“No. I’m not particularly fond of animals.”
“Really? What about raising one of those chicks they used to sell in front of schools when you were a kid?”
Those little yellow chicks. He had bought one once. But such memories usually ended badly, and Se-heon had no desire to recount the story.
Besides, he had a bad feeling. You know the kind. A premonition, an ominous feeling. That kind of premonition was never wrong.
And even without such a premonition, Se-heon had a vague idea of what she was about to say. It was a situation even someone who had never played a game could figure out.
She takes out an eagle’s egg and then suddenly asks if he has any pets.
“This is bad…”
He couldn’t ask what was wrong. The moment he did, he would probably find himself with a new avian pet from a dungeon.
Just then, Ha-ra’s phone rang. *Beep-beep-beep-beep.* He couldn’t tell if it was an alarm or a call.
Kang Ha-ra, who had been distracted by the air in front of her, looked at her phone and let out a groan.
“I’m sorry, Anchor Yoon. Just a moment.”
“Yes. Take your time.”
Se-heon was just then entering the underground parking garage of the hotel where he had made the reservation.
The hotel was in the same building as a large shopping mall, so the underground garage was deep. It was evening, so there were many cars, and it took some time to get in.
“…”
All the while, Ha-ra was furiously tapping her phone. Se-heon, waiting for the car in front of him to move, glanced over and saw her concentrating so hard it looked like her eyes were about to pop out.
“Ah! No! Ah!”
“…”
“Ah, *Iseonjwa* again…”
*Who the hell is Iseonjwa?*
Without imagining for a second that it wasn’t a person’s name but an abbreviation for ‘This seat is already taken,’ Se-heon stared ahead again.
“This is driving me crazy…”
“…”
“Ah, please, please.”
Kang Ha-ra didn’t seem to realize she was talking to herself.
Before he knew it, he had parked. But Ha-ra was so focused that Se-heon turned off the engine and waited.
The time was 8:10 PM. Normally, Se-heon disliked being late for reservations, but he didn’t want to rush someone who had struggled for six hours today over a mere ten minutes. He had already sent a text to the restaurant manager saying they might be a little late.
Finally, when she buried her face in her phone, her shoulders shaking as if she were crying, and whimpered, “*Hng*… I’m screwed…” Se-heon sighed and spoke.
“How can I help you?”
“What?”
“Should I raise the chick for you?”
“Uh… I’m sorry, Anchor Yoon, but I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
*Why is she pretending not to know?*
“It looks like you got the hatching quest for that eagle egg. Am I wrong?”
“Uh, um… you’re not wrong, but. But…”
Ha-ra stammered, flustered. Se-heon looked at her steadily.
“I don’t like animals. But didn’t we agree to cooperate? So you don't need to go to such lengths to find someone else to take it.”
*I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick, by a long shot.* Ha-ra’s eyes darted around.
