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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Gukbap Tanker Lee Yuri (2)
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"What?"
Jin Yu-ha asked back in a flustered voice.
"It just seems like you don't really need to be a Hunter, so I was wondering why you decided to do it?"
The moment she heard those words, Lee Yu-ri's face hardened.
'Telling someone who came to help us that they don't need to be a Hunter? What kind of bullshit is that?'
The damn dealer was spouting nonsense to the person they'd desperately recruited.
Lee Yu-ri was already feeling apologetic for not being able to take better care of Jin Yu-ha.
Lee Yu-ri tightened her grip around her neck and spun around abruptly.
"Ow! Ow!"
"Come here for a second. And you too, Unnie and Yuna."
Lee Yu-ri said with a cold expression.
"Mr. Jin Yu-ha. I apologize, but we just remembered something we need to discuss among ourselves. Could you please wait here for a moment?"
"Oh, yes... Understood."
Lee Yu-ri excused herself from Jin Yu-ha and gathered her party members a good distance away.
*
"Go Yun-seo. Do you have any common sense? To say something like that to someone who came to help us today?"
"No, I just... he seemed suspicious..."
Her yellow ponytail drooped down.
This was their team's dealer.
"Ugh, he's a man, so we already have to be extra careful. Go and apologize properly."
Go Yun-seo nodded, but her pouting lips showed she was still displeased.
Lee Yu-ri pressed her temples, trying to suppress her throbbing headache.
"What's the problem? Tell me."
"He's suspicious, isn't he...? Aren't you suspicious, Gukbap? Why is he a Hunter with that face? And he said he's poor! How can he be poor with that appearance?! Women would be lining up to take him in and support him even if he just sat on the street looking like a beggar!"
Go Yun-seo argued, feeling wronged.
"Speak quietly, you idiot. We had to tell you his circumstances yesterday to persuade you, but are you trying to advertise that we shared Mr. Jin Yu-ha's private information?"
"...No, but still..."
"If you're so curious, why don't you go ask him why he's poor?"
"It's just that I don't understand..."
Even with Lee Yu-ri's scolding, Go Yun-seo couldn't let go of her suspicion.
To be honest, Lee Yu-ri secretly agreed.
When she'd received his resume beforehand and checked his face, she'd already thought his appearance was anything but ordinary.
'Of course, I thought he'd used a fake photo; who would think that was his real face...?'
She even figured he was a man who liked to doll himself up, so he must have used filters.
But what happened when she actually met Jin Yu-ha at the station a little while ago?
Lee Yu-ri hadn't recognized him.
Because his actual face was completely different from the one on his resume.
It was as if he was terrible at taking pictures, unable to capture even 1% of his actual looks.
The unexpected part was that the resume was the one that lost?
The near-kissing incident flashed through her mind, and she shook her head vigorously.
"Honestly, I don't think what Yun-seo said is wrong. It is true that he's suspicious."
"Right? You think so too, Unnie!?"
Choi So-yeon, the healer Unnie who had been listening nearby, spoke in a quiet voice.
"I also wonder if his claim of being a preliminary student at Velvet Academy isn't a resume fraud. I've heard there are many men lately who approach Hunters like this to leech off them."
"Why Hunters?"
At those words, Lee Yu-ri's biological sister, the porter Lee Yu-na, reacted.
"Because Hunters die quickly. If you marry one, you get danger pay, and if they die, you get death benefits."
"Gasp!"
Lee Yu-ri shook her head at her party members' absurd suspicions.
She understood.
Dungeon raids were no joke.
Even if it was an E-rank Gate, it was a dangerous operation where anyone could lose their life if they let their guard down.
Even a single minor mistake could turn one of today's party members into a cold corpse by tomorrow.
'But they're acting like this because the person we brought has special qualities in terms of gender and appearance.'
Normally, they wouldn't act this way.
But right now, the entire party was overly on edge.
Because of the dealer who had deserted them the day before.
'I understand. But this isn't good.'
With the dungeon raid imminent, it was time for her, as the team leader, to take control of the situation.
Lee Yu-ri organized her thoughts and spoke.
"So, you're saying Mr. Jin Yu-ha's identity is suspicious? And his experience?"
Her party members nodded.
"Then if that's resolved, your suspicions will be somewhat cleared, right?"
"...For now."
Choi So-yeon nodded slightly.
"First of all, I don't think Mr. Jin Yu-ha being a preliminary student at Velvet Academy is a lie."
"How do you know that, Unnie...?"
Yuna asked.
Lee Yu-ri pointed at Jin Yu-ha, who was standing a distance away.
"Look at his clothes. We have that at home too. It's the training uniform they send you when you get accepted into the academy."
"I've never even seen that because you hid it away so carefully, Unnie...? You said it would bring bad luck to good clothes and wouldn't even let me near your closet."
"Th-that's..."
Lee Yu-ri's face flushed.
Then the party members let out a chuckle.
The atmosphere had loosened up a bit, at least.
"Ahem, ahem—!"
Lee Yu-ri awkwardly cleared her throat and continued speaking.
"A-anyway!! Those clothes are issued by the academy. Even if the admission standards for male students are lower than for females, they don't just accept someone simply because they're male."
Of course, Jin Yu-ha *was* accepted. For the sole reason of being male.
"And discard the prejudice that someone with a special appearance will use it to gain an advantage. Such men are only a very small minority."
Of course, Jin Yu-ha had lived off female students throughout his academy life, getting meals from them while constantly switching women.
"He definitely possesses special skills. He'll at least pull his weight."
Of course, Jin Yu-ha's original specialization rank was a measly E.
As she spoke up to that point, the suspicious expressions on the party members' faces gradually faded.
"And, Mr. Jin Yu-ha is better than that bitch Hye-ji."
Finally, Lee Yu-ri dropped a bombshell.
Namely, the deserter dealer, 'Hye-ji'.
At that, the party members' mood shifted abruptly.
"...Now that you mention it, Hye-ji, that fucking bitch. She didn't even pay the Gate entry fee, did she!? Gukbap paid for her before, and she said she'd give it back later but never did and stabbed us in the back, right!? That dog-like bitch!"
"I never liked her anyway. Always trying to get carried as a dealer, and so many complaints when I healed her."
"M-me too, that Unnie was a bit... She looked down on me because I was a porter..."
Indeed, nothing united an atmosphere like a common enemy.
Once the atmosphere was more or less settled, Lee Yu-ri let out a sigh of relief internally.
"Alright, Mr. Jin Yu-ha is here to clean up the mess Hye-ji made. Even if he only pulls 0.5 of his weight, we should be bowing to him."
"Hmm, now that I think about it... it makes sense! Honestly, going with super-handsome Jin Yu-ha might be heaven compared to that freeloading Hye-ji...?"
At Go Yun-seo's usual playful antics, Choi So-yeon and Yuna also burst into laughter.
"Alright. Now let's go introduce ourselves and get ready to enter."
"Okay, Team Leader!"
"Yes, Team Leader."
"Okay! Unnie!"
* * *
The party members had abandoned me here to go have their 'girls' talk' and didn't come back for a long time.
Still, there was no time to be bored.
Thanks to one of the traits I'd awakened yesterday, "Detection", I focused my senses and heard every bit of their conversation.
Gukbap lived up to her nickname again.
Her reliability in reassuring party members who were uneasy about my gender and appearance, and uniting them by creating a common enemy.
'And it seems like there are no strange people among the party members.'
Basically, their trust in the team leader was high, and even if they raised complaints, they accepted them once convinced.
Didn't the Great Sage once say that if five people gathered, one of them would be trash?
It seemed that trash was the woman named Hye-ji who deserted them yesterday.
The party members, having finished their discussion, returned.
"We're sorry, Mr. Jin Yu-ha. Our conversation went on for a while because of the person who dropped out yesterday."
It was a way of speaking that considered my feelings.
Because if it was a problem related to a former team member, it would be strange for me to be involved.
"Yes, it's fine."
I had heard everything, but I nodded as if I hadn't.
"Then, we'll just introduce the party members and depart immediately."
First, Lee Yu-ri introduced herself.
"I'm Lee Yu-ri. I'm the team leader of this party. My position is Tanker."
After Lee Yu-ri's introduction, the one with the yellow ponytail spoke next.
"Hello! Mr. Jin Yu-ha! I'm the Dealer, and my name is Go. Yun. Seo! Please forget what I said earlier! I have a habit of just blurting out whatever's on my mind. It was just because you're so handsome, Mr. Jin Yu-ha! I'm sorry!"
Go Yun-seo bowed at a right angle and apologized.
"It's fine. If anything, I'm grateful you think so highly of me."
"Heh, a handsome guy with a good personality too."
Go Yun-seo chuckled playfully.
She seemed to have a straightforward, no-hard-feelings personality.
"My name is Choi So-yeon. My position is Healer."
Next, the brown-haired woman spoke softly, then immediately fell silent.
"M-my name is Lee Yuna, Unnie Yuri's younger sister. I-I'm the Porter!"
Lee Yu-ri's biological sister?
So, a mini-Gukbap?
This definitely piqued my interest.
I hadn't seen this face even in Lee Yu-ri's individual story, so this was rare.
I scrutinized her intently.
One might say she was a smaller version of Lee Yu-ri with long hair.
"Now that I see her up close, they definitely look alike."
"Huh...?"
"Oh, I was just curious because I heard you were Team Leader Lee Yu-ri's younger sister. My apologies if I made you uncomfortable."
"Oh, no... not at all..."
With Yuna, whose face had turned bright red, the party members' introductions were complete.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Jin Yu-ha. My position is Dealer, and I use a sword. I've joined suddenly today, but I look forward to working with you."
*Clap!*
The moment I finished speaking, Lee Yu-ri clapped her hands.
"Alright, then let's head out immediately. It's exactly time."
We each equipped the gear we had brought.
For me, well, it was just a matter of strapping my sword to my waist.
Lee Yu-ri led us towards the female soldier conducting inspections.
"8 AM reservation team. Team Leader Lee Yu-ri."
"Yes, Ms. Lee Yu-ri. Confirmed. The clear time is 10 hours, so you must exit before 6 PM."
"Yes, understood."
We passed through the inspection and headed towards the Gate.
The Gate was an oval ring emitting a blue light.
It was just large enough for one person to pass through at a time.
"I'll go in first. Follow right behind me."
At Lee Yu-ri's words, we nodded with serious expressions.
And then we stepped towards the Gate.
* * *
Inside the Gate, another world unfolded.
The city buildings that had been visible nearby were nowhere to be found, replaced by an endless forest thick with bushes and trees.
Still, it seemed Hunters had regularly passed through and cleared it out,
as a natural dirt path had been formed.
"Ugh, damn it, no matter how many times I pass through a Gate, I never get used to it."
"...Seriously."
As Go Yun-seo shook her head, Yuna also frowned and agreed with her.
"Alright, quiet down. Everyone, form up!"
Still, seeing them immediately take their positions at the team leader's command, they were certainly professionals.
Just as explained on the way, Lee Yu-ri, the Tanker, stood at the very front, and Go Yun-seo and I stood on either side behind her.
At the very back was the Healer, Choi So-yeon.
And in the center of our formation was the Porter, Lee Yuna.
My role here was to protect Lee Yuna.
'If I mess this up, I won't just earn Yuna's resentment, but Gukbap's too.'
Yuna was Gukbap's younger sister. He didn't want to imagine the resentment that would come back to him if anything went wrong.
'First, then, Detection.'
I activated "Detection", the trait I had confirmed earlier.
*Kiiiing—*
As I concentrated, my five senses sharpened, and information flooded in from all directions.
The scent of grass became stronger, and the sound of wind rustling through leaves was loud.
Even the heartbeats of the tense party members.
*Thump-thump—*
I tightened my grip on my sword hilt,
and followed behind Lee Yu-ri.
About ten minutes passed like that.
*Rustle—*
Suddenly, something moving registered in my detection.
*Tap. Tap.*
I tapped Lee Yu-ri on the shoulder, as previously agreed, and spoke.
"Two Nekies ahead."
Lee Yu-ri, who had been narrowing her eyes and watching ahead, tilted her head.
"...Where ahead?"
"Approximately a hundred meters ahead. Directly in front."
Nekies were small. And they were monsters that were difficult to spot as they moved through the grass, camouflaged.
Lee Yu-ri turned her head, her eyes wide with disbelief.
She clearly couldn't believe that I had detected Nekies over a hundred meters away.
"You saw Nekies a hundred meters ahead?"
"Yes. They're about ninety meters now."
"Hmm... Alright, I understand for now. We can just go and check anyway."
Lee Yu-ri re-gripped her shield and advanced forward.
And soon.
"Ten meters ahead! Two Nekies spotted! Go Yun-seo, attack!"
Lee Yu-ri shouted, having spotted the Nekies.
"Huh, what the...? It was real?"
Go Yun-seo drew her twin swords from her waist, staring at me with a dazed expression.