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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Encounter
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Unlike him, the incredibly naive Do Junyeong didn't notice a thing and just felt relieved.
"Good work. Just finish up your report and you can leave early for the day."
"Yes, thank you...!"
"..."
Sejun remained silent. A scam of epic proportions was unfolding right before his eyes. He looked at Do Junyeong with an expression of profound pity.
In most of his lives before regressing, Do Junyeong had always been as sharp as a well-honed sword. Sejun had no idea why he was so gullible in this life.
* * *
Lately, browsing the S-rank community had become a new hobby for Seora.
The initial shock she felt from the S-ranks' blatantly insane behavior had been fleeting. There was no place funnier than this.
For example, a post that had just gone up.
【Title: HEEEEEEY! L-rank, don't you think you're going too far???!?!】
【Author: SuhoryeongGuildJjang】
The kind of thing Yoo Su-eun would say while pointing a finger at Kang Sejun. And no one knew that better than her.
【How could you sell Horn Ore for that much??! We're supposed to be helping each other out, isn't this too much?! Huh?? You know damn well the Ore Rhinoceros is a rare monster!!! We should be helping one another!!! You're so mean!!!!
Thief!!! Bastard!!!!! I hope you trip on the street and break your nose and the back of your head!!!! Waaaaaaahhhhh!】
Just reading the post, she could almost hear Yoo Su-eun's wails.
"Well, he did rip her off a bit."
Monsters with ore embedded in their bodies were naturally rare. It wasn't for nothing that the mana stones embedded in monsters were particularly expensive.
And our dear regressor, Kang Sejun, had taken full advantage of that.
Recalling the sale price of the Horn Ore that Kang Sejun had texted her, Seora smiled blissfully.
"I'll exchange some at the coin bank and keep the rest as cash. It's not like I need to buy new gear anyway."
【Administrator: (*σ ´∀`)σ】
"That's right. It's all thanks to you giving me both gear and a weapon, Administrator."
【Administrator: (*´∀`*)ゞ】
She'd never contracted with a Constellation before, but she knew this much: the Administrator was taking exceptionally good care of her.
Perhaps that's why a question suddenly popped into her head.
The past life Kang Sejun had told her about.
Since he'd said she either didn't exist or wasn't known back then, it seemed she hadn't contracted with the Administrator. In that case, had she contracted with someone else?
If so, had Kang Sejun ever met that contractor?
Could that contractor have been involved in his regression?
'If that's the case, the moment he finds out I'm the Administrator's contractor, he'll definitely be wary of me.'
The thought of being harmed because of something from a past life she didn't even know about was truly horrifying. As expected, she'd cut ties with him the moment this was over.
【Comments】
|WannaLeaveYeongwon|: Whoa, amazing. Did Mr. Kang Sejun really fleece Guildmaster Yoo Su-eun?! Wow, for her to get fleeced... Mr. Kang Sejun, maybe we could get to know each other?
└|SuhoryeongGuildJjang|: You think a guy who fleeced me won't fleece you?
└|WannaLeaveYeongwon|: That's why we need to get close!
└|SuhoryeongGuildJjang|: Fine. Then I'll fleece you myself. From now on, whenever Ju-eun is looking for you, I'll tell him everything.
└|Ju-eun|: Thank you ^^
└|WannaLeaveYeongwon|: Aaaaaaaah!
Seeing even Ju-eun make an appearance in the comment section, Seora's expression turned sour.
"I really can't get a read on this guild's atmosphere..."
A vice guildmaster who proudly went by a name wishing to leave the guild, and a guildmaster who didn't even bat an eye at it.
【Comments】
|Mr.Noeul|: Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, our Guild Jjang got fleeced? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, so this is the L-rank claaaaass!
|Han Su-eon|: I've yet to meet him, so I was curious what kind of person he was. He seems to be a very fine person. Congratulations on your L-rank awakening.
└|SuhoryeongGuildJjang|: Yaiueoaaaangeuaaa!!!!!
"I really can't figure this place out either..."
She thought the Noeul Guildmaster was close with Yoo Su-eun, but was that not the case? Han Su-eon's reaction, who didn't seem to be on good terms with Yoo Su-eun, was actually more understandable.
"It's not just his face that's carved from ice; his tongue is just as cold."
She'd only gotten to know him because of that piece of shit Park Jinyong, but thankfully, the outcome hadn't been too bad.
Seora read the next comment.
【Comments】
|Hanna-ho|: Oh. Kang Sejun's got skills, huh?
|Yeonhee|: Someone amazing has joined us ^^
"My, my. Looks like no one is on Guildmaster Yoo Su-eun's side."
People should build up some good karma to have others on their side, but it seemed Yoo Su-eun hadn't managed that. Seora clicked her tongue as she read the comments.
Just then, a notification for a new text message popped up on her phone screen.
[Got the money from the Suhoryeong Guildmaster. Let's meet so I can give it to you.]
It was from Kang Sejun.
"Seriously, why meet up to give it to me when he could just do a bank transfer?"
Since she was planning to cut ties with him anyway, seeing him often wasn't ideal. Seora immediately sent a text back. However, the reply that came right after forced her to reluctantly get ready to go out.
[I suppose it's not a problem for an F-rank civil servant to suddenly have a large sum of money from an unknown source deposited into her bank account?]
"...It is a problem."
It would be a disaster if Song Hanna, who had been helping her with all her finances since her parents passed away, found out. Not wanting to have her life held hostage by the likes of the government, Seora sniffled and headed out.
【Administrator: ԅ( ิ ▽ ิ ԅ)】
At the truly detestable emoticon, Seora shot him a dirty look.
If he were here, I'd grab his cheeks and stretch them out! What a shame.
The meeting spot with Kang Sejun was a quiet alley near her studio apartment. It was a secluded place, but it couldn't be helped.
Kang Sejun's face had been revealed during the Mana Stone Cave dungeon raid, so more people recognized him now. Nothing good would come from people knowing they were acquainted, so it was better to be as inconspicuous as possible.
"So, is it this way?"
It was dark, so the path was a little confusing even with the map. Looking at her phone and glancing around, Seora soon ducked into an alley lit by a streetlight.
After a few steps, a streetlight that had been flickering ominously finally went out with a weak *flick*. Just as Seora happened to glance toward that streetlight.
【Administrator: ╭☞(◔_◔)╭☞】
As the Administrator's message appeared, she let out a deep sigh.
"Ah, seriously. I was hoping it wasn't true. They just have to make things difficult."
Seora muttered under her breath and took a single step to the side. At the same time, a loud *CRASH* resounded from the spot where she had just been standing, and cracks spiderwebbed across the ground.
A familiar, if unwelcome, face came into view.
Is this guy a complete idiot?
"You were supposed to be under surveillance. Did you shake them off? Why would you do something so stupid?"
"Shut up!"
The giant hand that had shattered the ground flew toward Seora again. Seeing no need to draw her weapon just yet, Seora retreated instead of counterattacking. Her opponent's hand cut through empty air once more.
"You, what kind of trick was that!"
After failing to hit her twice, the man shrieked. It made sense. In this guy's, Park Jinyong's, eyes, she would still appear to be an F-rank.
Seora, who had retreated about three steps, carefully observed Park Jinyong.
This was the first time she'd seen him since that day. He must have gone through some hardship, as his once-plump cheeks were now hollow, his eyes were sunken, and he had a rough stubble. Most disturbingly, his eyes, shadowed by severe dark circles, gleamed bizarrely like a madman's. It was not a sight she wanted to look at for long.
"Tricks? Your movements are so simple and sluggish I could dodge them while yawning. I guess you haven't trained at all since the Cheongrang Guild abandoned you."
She was half-serious. He had been much quicker back when he'd thrown her into the gate. It wasn't just that her rank had increased; the guy's skills had genuinely deteriorated.
"If it weren't for you, just you, I wouldn't have ended up like this!"
"You ended up like this because you committed a crime. Why are you blaming me?"
"No! It's all your fault. If someone like you had just died in there, this would all be over!"
"Were you under that delusion? If I had died, you would've been killed not by the Siljangnim, but by the Association President himself."
But it seemed her words couldn't reach the ears of this man who had already lost his mind. Park Jinyong screamed again and charged.
"This time, I'll kill you for sure! My life is over anyway. So let's go to hell together! Mwahahahaha!"
Park Jinyong's charging speed was faster than before. But even so, it was only at the level of a crazed A-rank.
Seora muttered with an indifferent expression.
"He has no idea that with no one around, he's the one at a disadvantage."
Just as he'd said, there was really no one else around. The stage was perfectly set for revenge.
A thrill spread across Seora's face as she reached for her inventory.
She was by no means a good person. If she were, she never would have become the Hunter closest to death.
So she wouldn't hold back. After all, she had been waiting for her revenge, too.
Seora gripped Heat.
However, she didn't get the chance to properly unleash her fury.
【The System Administrator bestows a temporary blessing upon their one and only contractor.】
【The blessing 'Protection' has been activated. Temporarily reflects the enemy's attack with 3 times the force.】
The moment the message appeared and Park Jinyong's fist made contact, there was a loud *BOOM!* and his body was violently thrown backward.
