...Why?

I froze at the sight of Lee Sa-young entering someone else's store. How the hell did he open the locked door and come in, and why is he sitting in the middle of the hall protesting?

The number one, no, the former number one hunter committed various crimes that led to obstruction of business and trespassing. Sitting cross-legged, the Gasmask's head turned lazily towards him, his voice deep and sullen.

"Did you sleep well?"

Contrary to the friendly question, it was a voice that seemed to have crawled up from hell. It was clear that the person who had slept well woke up and asked if he had slept well with a clear conscience. Instead of answering, I answered with a question.

"What are you doing here?"

It was a fair question, but the momentum of the gas mask became more threatening. He took a deep breath to calm himself, but the violet eyes behind the lenses flashed for a moment and glared at him.

"What are you doing?"

"......."

"That's for me to say."

Don't tell me... did he find out something about me? Considering his moves and information skills so far, it was not an unreasonable guess. I slowly clenched my fist and waited for the next word to come out of his mouth.

"Why don't you call me first?"

"......."

"Shit, I've been waiting for you for two weeks."

My heart sank. Crazy bastard, was that it?

Judging from the terrible energy shaking next to him, Lee Sa-young seemed to be breathing. I think he's angry and upset that I left him alone to do something fun... ....

I don't want to do this in front of someone who's been waiting for my call, but to be honest, it's not that I haven't contacted you, it's just that...

"I forgot..."

I completely forgot that I had to respond to Lee Sa-young's trade offer.

Of course, I had my own reasons. Anyway, if I honestly said that I'd forgotten, the deal would be off and the whole thing would be a blank slate. So I made up the best excuse I could.

"First of all, work was busy."

"Ha."

Sa-young snorted. But Ui-jae continued firmly.

"I was also thinking about it."

"Oh, I see you thought about it."

Lee Sa-young openly sarcastic and leaned his chin as if to say more. At that moment, I had the urge to give him a big slap on the head. Why does this guy's heart look like a twisted bread stick?

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.

Oh, no way...

Is it because you lost 1st place to J?

I mean, that gas-masked bastard might look skinny, but he'd been number one for six years in a row, so he must have been pretty shocked to be dethroned by someone who suddenly died one day.

There was pity in Ui-jae's eyes. Lee Sa-young muttered irritably.

"What's with the look in your eyes?"

"Nothing... cheer up."

"Are you teasing me?"

"You're kidding, I'm more serious than ever."

"Oh, that's enough. I made a commercial for someone, but I was left alone for two weeks. You know you're a piece of shit."

Sa-young waved her hand with a disgusted expression. But I was also unhappy about his public announcement.

Lee Sa-young's public service announcement, which was not like a public service announcement to me, appeared at the end of every popular program, causing mental pain to hunters watching TV. I crossed my arms.

"What the hell is this commercial? Why did you suddenly start doing that?"

"Hyung only likes people who make commercials, what can I do?"

"What kind of bullshit is this?"

"Jung-bin, honeybee."

I did not dare to follow the flow of Lee Sa-young's thoughts that bounced like a rubber ball.

What Jungbin and Honeybee have in common is that they both want to ban access to this shop, that's all. What did Lee Sa-young think of doing such a bizarre thing?

Sa-young pointed at Honeybee's autographed poster with a chin gesture.

"This is your taste?"

"Honeybee just gave it away."

"What about Jungbin's autograph?"

"He sent it by registered mail."

"Fuck, sell it to the tomato market."

I stood up with my mouth shut and walked to the vending machine. His eyes were glued to me as I moved. He was too insistent and persistent to ignore.

I, who couldn't resist staring at the water until the moment I poured it, turned around and looked at him, pointing at my feet with my chin as if Sa-young had been waiting for me.

"Feet."

"What?"

"Do you usually go barefoot?"

Oh, that's right. Only then did I look down at my feet. I came out to kill the presence as much as possible and surprise him, but when I saw Lee Sa-young sitting in the hall like it was his room, I lost my will to surprise him, so I walked around the store barefoot.

I wiggled my toes and replied cheekily.

"I didn't wear socks on purpose to wake you up."

"Why aren't you wearing slippers?"

No wonder he looked displeased. Who's the reason I ran out barefoot this late at night?

"You had two weeks to think about it."

"Yes."

"......."

"Let's make a deal. But there are some conditions."

"Wait."

Sa-young took out a finger-long item from the inventory. Blue Mana Stone on LCD, buttons and edges. It was a Mana Stone recorder that attracted all S-rank hunters to the tomato market and this Haejang-guk.

"Either Hyung or I, it would be better to have solid evidence."

"I will record it. What if the recording is leaked?"

"We'll just use it to write a contract and then we'll be done with it."

"......."

Sa-young spread out his gloved hands and waved them impatiently in front of my eyes. The recorder meant that he would melt like a pan without worrying. This expensive thing is a disposable recorder for you.

I pressed the button and the recorder was placed in the middle of the table. The mana stone began to glow blue.

"Now, let's get started."

This procedure sounded familiar and skillful. Ui-jae, who gently nodded his head, raised his index finger.
 

"First of all, I will not work during the business hours of Haejang-guk House. Whatever you ask me to do, I will only do it between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., when the Hangover Soup Restaurant is closed.

"Aha."

Sa-young, who had been agonizing for a while, soon nodded willingly.

"Yes. What about the second?"

"I need you to help me register as a hunter."

"Huh? Didn't I tell you that last time?"

Sa-young, who patted my arm with his palm, tilted his head and said in a dry tone.

"I need a stranger."

"I know. Listen to me."

I had no intention of working as a hunter again, but now that J's existence has been revealed, the situation has changed. For the future, it was decided that it would be better to create a completely new identity that has nothing to do with J.

People are looking for J. The Awakening Management Bureau will also set up a search team to begin searching for J.

Considering that J was in the S rank, it would be much safer to disguise oneself as a recently awakened hunter than as an unregistered person who might be mistaken for hiding his power. I probably won't even be discovered.

I continued calmly.

"You'll admit that you have different movement ranges depending on whether you're a registered hunter or not."

"......."

"My requirement is that I have the lowest possible rating."

"......."

"If it's an E or D rank, other people won't be interested. Because it's common."

The grades of awakened ones are divided into S to A, B, C, D, E, and F. The closer to the F rank, the lower the awakening ability and physical ability, and the F rank was only slightly stronger than the general public. Lee Sa-young slowly rubbed the cheek of the gas mask.

"So... you're asking me to help you hide your strength when you register."

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"Grandma treatment."

"I told you that last time. Anything else?"

"That's all."

"Good."

Sa-young smiled softly and pressed the button on the recorder. The light of the mana stone gradually faded and returned to its original state.

"Now it's my turn."

He took a palm-sized dagger from his inventory and handed it to me. The blade of the dagger was engraved with a golden laurel leaf.

[Laurel Branch of the Covenant (S)
If you bleed and mix with this dagger, you can make a covenant that can never be broken.
Curse the one who breaks the covenant.]

"Do you want to stab yourself? Or shall I stab you?"

It was a very groundless remark that made the listener doubt. Is he serious? I didn't hide my disbelief and literally stared at Sa-young.

"Of course I'll do it. Why would you poke my hand?"

"Sometimes there are people who poke in strange places. I told him to draw his palm, but some poked his thigh..."

I squinted my eyes to see if I looked like a person who would do such a stupid thing. Do you think there is such a thing in this world? Are you trying to blackmail me while I sit down to sign a contract?

I thought it was nonsense, but the face in front of him was too serious to dismiss it as a stupid joke. Lee Sa-young shrugged.

"In that case, it's more efficient for me to stab you. Less blood."

You're going to get someone after all this efficiency stuff. Sa-young added affectionately when I did not let go of the dagger, although he explained it in his own friendly way.

"It's okay, I'm good at stabbing. So it doesn't hurt. Just stings."

"Bullshit."

"If you were my hyung, I could stab you less painfully."

I'd better get this over with. I skillfully repaired the dagger and asked.

"How much blood do you need?"

"Just enough."

When I drew my palm without hesitation, red blood dripped down the thin incontinence. Handing me the dagger, Sa-young asked,

"Do you have an antidote?" "Artifacts that detoxify it.

Do you?
 

I looked into the shabby Haejang-guk house. Of course he had an antidote, but he didn't have to show his whole hand to the suspicious man in front of him.

Lee Sa-young placed a glass bottle of purple liquid on the table. The liquid in the bottle was sticky as if slime had been melted, with bubbles sometimes boiling. I think it's the color of the swamp where the swamp toad lives.

I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew it was an ugly thing that didn't belong in Haejang-guk House. While I stared at the glass bottle, Lee Sa-young, who had taken off his gloves, kindly answered the question.

"It's my own antidote."

"It's for me?"

"You can't die during the contract. Drink it now."

"......."

Ui-jae, who looked at the glass bottle with suspicious eyes, closed his eyes tightly and poured the antidote into his mouth. The liquid went down quite smoothly, contrary to what it looked like. Sa-young, who was still holding the dagger, opened his mouth.

"I have one condition."

Without hesitation, he slashed his palm. A large gash appeared on his palm, and a liquid too pale to be blood dripped from the back of his hand.

"Never betray."

His voice was cold, and the table where the liquid touched burned brightly.

 

 

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TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!

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