Chapter 20
Well, it was only called a couple item; it wasn’t actually an item that only real lovers could use.
It was merely an item with the restriction that it had to be shared, one apiece, with another person.
Besides, couple items usually had far superior stats compared to other items of the same grade.
As if that were compensation for the unique penalty attached to couple items.
“Ha, damn it. I didn’t know there’d be a restriction like this.”
Geum Myeonggyeol stared at the earring with eyes dripping with lingering regret.
“And of all things, it’s a couple item and it’s bound?”
If he could have, he probably would have shoved it into his own ear right then and there.
But there was a reason he couldn’t. ‘The core of a couple item is sharing.’ Like it or not, the wearers of a couple item had to share one thing each with the other person.
Whether that would be one’s hidden skill or a title one had kept concealed, there was no way to know.
Yes, that was the problem. ‘I can’t just hand it over and tell him to get lost.’ The other side was an S-rank with plenty he needed to keep hidden, so he couldn’t accept it, and this side was actually an assassin pretending to be a production-type, so he couldn’t give it away.
“Ha.”
If he had his way, he would have put it in the man’s hand at once and told him never to appear before him again. ‘If I hand this over, then even if it’s revealed later that I was the one who broke the Earring of the Rebel God, there’ll be room for extenuating circumstances.’
By putting him in his debt, he could make it impossible for him to pursue past wrongs.
Eliminating a potential threat that way would be a considerable gain.
It was a headache of a situation in more ways than one.
Han Chasu let out a sigh without realizing it, and Geum Myeonggyeol suddenly exclaimed.
“Ah.”
The man smiled faintly, his eyes curving. His golden irises glittered in the sunlight.
At that moment, Han Chasu felt a chill for some reason.
“Right, there is one method.”
Geum Myeonggyeol muttered softly and rose from his seat. As his head slowly lifted, his gaze swept over Han Chasu.
At the same time, Han Chasu realized the source of that chill.
In this world, the moment the owner of a bound item died, the bound mark disappeared and the item dropped.
Just as an item corresponding to a monster would drop when one hunted it, the same applied to Hunters.
“……!”
The golden eyes swept over the nape of his neck, and then Geum Myeonggyeol reached a hand toward him.
Penalty or not, Han Chasu quickly slipped a hand into his inner pocket and gripped his dagger.
The moment he put strength into his arm, about to slash upward across the other man’s jaw—
“Han Chasu-ssi can just come to our guild.”
Words so nonchalant they were absurd rang in his ears.
“…….”
Blink, blink. Han Chasu slowly closed and opened his eyes.
It was to recall whether what he had just heard was real.
But before he could even replay the voice in his head, Geum Myeonggyeol smiled and spoke again.
“Han Chasu-ssi, you said you were going to quit anyway. Then wouldn’t you be a free agent?”
That was true, but… what did that have to do with the current situation?
“I fail to see how that becomes a solution.”
Is he planning to recruit me into his guild and then quietly dispose of me?
Han Chasu, who had already straightened his posture, looked at Geum Myeonggyeol with an extremely suspicious expression.
Seeing the clear wariness engraved in his gray eyes, Geum Myeonggyeol widened his eyes as if wronged.
“Don’t tell me you think I’d harm you, Han Chasu-ssi?”
“Guildmaster Geum Myeonggyeol.”
Han Chasu looked at him in disbelief and sighed.
“You are the one who destroyed the car I was riding in just a few hours ago.”
“Ah, right. I did.”
Did he really forget? Han Chasu was dumbfounded.
Sure enough, Geum Myeonggyeol scratched his chin awkwardly and beamed at him.
“I was too hasty about that. I’m sorry, Han Chasu-ssi.”
“…….”
“Mm, even so, is coming to our guild out of the question?”
He truly had no idea what the man wanted him to do.
As Han Chasu stepped back in discomfort, someone grabbed his shoulder firmly.
Heat emanated from the large hand.
With a body temperature higher than an ordinary person’s, Han Chasu could tell who it was without turning his head.
“You’re having quite an interesting conversation.”
Jeong Iheun broke his silence and intervened. Irritation settled in Geum Myeonggyeol’s eyes, which had been smiling so casually.
“Are you trying to snatch away my guild member right in front of me?”
“Snatch away? Let’s be accurate. I’m headhunting a capable talent.”
Ha.
Jeong Iheun, who had somehow stepped in front of Han Chasu as if to protect him, let out a short laugh.
It was a laugh filled with utter incredulity.
“Don’t talk in circles, Guildmaster Geum Myeonggyeol. What you value highly isn’t Han Chasu-ssi’s character or ability, but the item he possesses, isn’t it?”
“You’re just slandering me now. I—”
“You call it recruiting talent, but you were planning to put a clause in a special contract stating that he would unilaterally give up ‘sharing,’ weren’t you? It’s obvious.”
Geum Myeonggyeol had seemed like the sort who wouldn’t be affected no matter what anyone said.
But the moment Jeong Iheun mentioned a “special contract,”
Han Chasu witnessed an unconcealable displeasure flash across his calm face. ‘…Wait, if it’s a special contract.’
It felt as though someone had smacked him on the back of the head and passed by.
“Good grief.”
Han Chasu let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
There were special contracts in this world.
Unlike the powerless, fluttering pieces of paper from the place he had once lived, these were items that actually exerted power.
Hunter contracts made from dungeon byproducts that produced special effects.
The moment one party broke the agreement, they literally produced a physical effect.
At best, blindness; at worst, even death.
As contracts drawn up between Hunters who did not trust one another much, their penalties were unbelievably severe.
Of course, for that very reason, they were rarely used unless absolutely necessary.
Geum Myeonggyeol had been trying to use that very contract on him. ‘I’ve gone too soft all this time.’
The smile vanishing from his face, Han Chasu drew in a deep breath.
It was a little shocking, but today’s events were necessary for him.
Do not forget.
Just as much as in his old world, this place too was full of bastards who would take a person’s life for the most trivial reasons. ‘I have to go beyond being cautious just because they’re Han Chasu’s enemies.’
Thanks to the prosperous society and the peaceful air of the people, the senses he had buried away had awakened.
With his face calmly settling, Han Chasu silently pulled his body back.
It was only natural that Geum Myeonggyeol, who had been paying attention to Han Chasu for quite some time, was shaken by it.
“Wait, Han Chasu-ssi. Don’t misunderstand. Do I look like the kind of bastard who ties people down by force and makes them sign?”
So he had been thinking of using a Hunter contract.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you remember how hard I worked to protect you inside the car?”
Geum Myeonggyeol shouted earnestly, but it was not a particularly persuasive appeal.
Instead of answering, Han Chasu looked back at the half-wrecked car sitting alone on the grassland.
Seeing the car in a complete mess, with its door torn off and its hood crumpled, Geum Myeonggyeol’s eyes wavered.
“No, you see. That couldn’t really be helped….”
“Aren’t you getting tired of making excuses?”
Jeong Iheun cut in at the perfect timing and thoroughly grated on Geum Myeonggyeol’s nerves.
“Please stop harassing my guild member.”
Good, very good. As expected, fights should be between people of the same level.
Han Chasu did not stop Jeong Iheun, who had stepped forward on his behalf.
But Geum Myeonggyeol seemed to dislike that very much.
A deep furrow formed between his brows as he looked at Jeong Iheun.
“Haa…. I won’t deny that I pressured Han Chasu-ssi.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Geum Myeonggyeol swept his hair back with a rough hand. His golden eyes fixed coolly on the other man.
“But you know, isn’t that the same for your side?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Everyone who was in the know already knew. The story that the Cheollyeong Guildmaster had rejected the resignation letter of the B-rank potion maker who saved his younger sibling dozens of times was known to all.
“Han Chasu-ssi, am I wrong?”
Geum Myeonggyeol asked, looking at him.
“Ha….”
Han Chasu let out a deep sigh without realizing it. ‘I knew it would come to this.’
In truth, from the moment the guild recruitment offer came up, he had sensed it implicitly.
That leaving the Cheollyeong Guild, which had been almost like a desperate wish since he first possessed this body, might be delayed indefinitely. ‘It was already over the moment Geum Myeonggyeol wouldn’t give up on me.’
Geum Myeonggyeol was someone who had launched an attack based solely on the speculation that he might have the item.
A chilling capacity for action that backed up bold plans.
Right now, he was still affiliated with the Cheollyeong Guild, so at least Jeong Iheun had come to save him. If it had been after he resigned…. ‘I don’t even want to think about it.’
He had already confirmed in the original work just how cruel this man could become.
So this was an unavoidable choice. A step back in order to take two steps forward, so to speak.
“I…”
“…….”
“…….”
Gold and vermilion.
Receiving two pairs of gazes blazing like suns of different temperatures, Han Chasu said,
“I intend to remain in the Cheollyeong Guild a while longer.”
He couldn’t become a free agent only to be dragged off and imprisoned immediately. ‘I’ll resign after I resolve the Geum Myeonggyeol problem.’
“So I think changing jobs will be difficult.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than both pairs of eyes burned even more fiercely.
“Is that so? So that’s how it is.”
“Han Chasu-ssi….”
No, Geum Myeonggyeol was one thing, but why on earth was Jeong Iheun reacting like that?
Watching Jeong Iheun stride toward him, Han Chasu could not hide his puzzlement.
But his question was soon answered.
“You’ve finally understood my feelings.”
“What are you…”
“I mean the new contract I gave you.”
Ah.
At Jeong Iheun’s softly smiling face, Han Chasu only then realized.
This bastard—did he just take that to mean I’m going to sign the lifetime contract?
Cold sweat ran down his back.
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