“Hyeonsu, aren’t we leaving yet?”
“Boss Juhyeong hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Where’d he go?”
“Said he’d buy walnut pastries….”
“That bastard fucking eats at every rest stop. Hey, don’t you know they’re raising hell upstairs telling us to find him quickly?”
“I’m sorry.”
Under the relentless berating of Yu Hyeonmin, a B-rank detection ability user, Sin Hyeonsu—an F-rank physical enhancement ability user and driver—bowed his head.
Of course, on the inside, he was muttering, “If you’re so pissed, go find him yourself, you son of a bitch—”
“Hey, just leave. Tell him to meet up at the next rest stop or go home, whatever.”
“If we do that, Boss Juhyeong won’t let it go….”
“So what if he doesn’t.”
“…Huh, look, Boss Juhyeong is coming.”
Slide—
The door of the SUV opened, and I Juhyeong, a C-rank spearman, climbed in.
“Hey, you bastards, can’t you move faster? You here to play? On a picnic?”
“Don’t be so uptight about eating. We’re all just trying to get by.”
“Ha, this bastard, really.”
“Huh? You gonna hit me? A B-rank Scout can’t beat me, don’t you know that?”
“What?”
“Alright, let’s go then. One, two, three, four—all aboard.”
Despite I Juhyeong’s provocative attitude, Yu Hyeonmin could only tremble his fist, unable to act.
B-rank and C-rank. There was a gap in rank, but there was also the gap between support traits and combat traits.
Noticing that his opponent had chickened out, I Juhyeong continued with a smirk.
“So where are we headed? If you’re the leader, you should give us the direction.”
It meant that if they were just going to spin their wheels like this, he wouldn’t treat him like a B-rank anymore.
“Hand it over.”
“Huh?”
“The walnut pastries. You stuffing your face with them alone?”
It meant he had no idea where they were supposed to go.
“Um, bosses. But why are there four of us? We clearly left with three….”
“Right?”
The three of them looked around left and right simultaneously.
“You should look in front, bastard.”
“Huh? What the hell is this?”
The fourth one was easy to find.
“A crow?”
A crow that had slyly taken a seat and was stealing walnut pastries.
“You can’t tell a person from a crow now? You counted a crow as one of us.”
“Caw!”
“What, you birdbrain. Don’t eat human food, spit it out!”
Yu Hyeonmin smacked the crow on the back of the head.
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.
Everyone in the car could feel that it wasn’t just their imagination.
“Wh-what…!”
“Caaaw!!”
“Isn’t that a demonic beast! Shouldn’t we kill it quickly! Quickly! You idiots, hurry up and kill it!”
At Sin Hyeonsu’s shout, I Juhyeong snapped to his senses.
I Juhyeong hurriedly pulled his weapon from his luggage.
When he turned around again.
B-rank Hunter Yu Hyeonmin was already being devoured by an unidentified black mist.
Beside him was a crow seemingly resembling a human form.
It didn’t take long for the black mist to consume the vehicle.
***
Ah, I think I’m in a bit of trouble.
Something felt ominous from the moment the crow popped out after I’d had the trade window open for a while.
I’d definitely received the Chris Sword, but the fact that Heukmaneunheukheuk hadn’t left a single word in the gallery for a while was even more ominous.
There were two main scenarios I could think of.
One was that Heukmaheukheuk had been hit by a holy beam and burned to death.
The other was that he was fucking pissed and thinking about how to kill me.
ㄴHeukmaneunheukheuk: Babe, can you look at me for a sec?
ㄴPython: Haha;;
Looks like the second scenario was correct.
ㄴHeukmaneunheukheuk: (Photo)
ㄴHeukmaneunheukheuk: Did you give me a holy sword?
ㄴYoiyoi: LOL you’re crazy
ㄴㄴDangeomjwa: That crazy blacksmith is insane, really!
ㄴBangpaeneunsasin: Anyway, it’s not like you’ll ever see him face-to-face after this, LOLLL
ㄴJegukmangchi: But the sword looks cool
ㄴBlade Master: Giving a holy sword to a dark mage, dang. Breaking every blacksmith’s bucket list like this, dang dang
What should I do.
Should I prostrate myself and at least offer after-sales service?
└Heukmaneunheukheuk: I don’t know what you were thinking making a holy sword, babe.
└Python: I… I’m terribly sorry. I’ll definitely provide the after-service….
└Heukmaneunheukheuk: Since you’re sincere, I’ll let it slide.
└Python: Huh?
└Heukmaneunheukheuk: A crow went over there, right? Keep taking pictures and posting them to the gallery consistently. Feed him well too. That’s your penance, got it?
└Python: ???
└Python: What the hell are you saying?
└Heukmaneunheukheuk: You don’t need to know that much, babe.
└Heukmaneunheukheuk: Just know that you saved several people today. That’s all you need to know.
└Heukmaneunheukheuk: I’ll ask you for another favor next time, babe.
Heukmaheukheuk didn’t leave any more comments.
What the hell.
“Caw caw! O tribute bringer! You too have the habit of gazing into the void, crying and laughing like the master of birds!”
“What, when did you get here.”
“I just arrived! The matter you desired has been perfectly accomplished!”
“Are you talking about the trackers?”
The crow nodded in lieu of an answer.
“You really took care of the trackers? Already?”
“Caw… By the way, would you pet my head? It itches, and I cannot scratch it myself!”
The crow came hopping over and thrust its head at me.
Before I knew it, I reached out and scratched the fist-sized head.
Perhaps because it felt incredibly good, it flopped over on its side and let out pleased caws.
Is this a cat or a crow.
“Choco.”
“It’s Nebra!”
“Nebra, did you really take care of all the trackers?”
The crow nodded while lying down.
It felt like it was being hammered into my head—a gut feeling that it wasn’t a lie.
“…Then, if I point someone out, that person—”
“That is impossible, O tribute bringer!”
“It’s not that you can’t.”
“I simply do not. Because my master does not wish it!”
“But you’re with me right now.”
This time, it shook its head.
So it entrusts its body to me, but the master it serves is Heukmaheukheuk. What loyalty.
“Caw! A crow following its parent is instinct!”
“Wouldn’t it work if that dark mage wished it?”
“I heard you made a promise! You asked for help to protect your body!”
“…Right.”
“Arbitrarily changing the terms of a deal with a dark mage would not be a good thing for you either.”
“….”
“Let us keep the promised duties with all our heart.”
The crow spoke in a solemn voice, unlike before.
It went this far, so I couldn’t press further.
Still, I’d gained a reliable supporter that would free me from the Hunter Alliance’s threat.
Suyeon will be able to move around outside with a bit more peace of mind too.
“Thanks, Dojjonku.”
“Nebra!”
***
Thanks to the crow, the past few days had been secure.
Not having to say things like, “You’re being chased again, so you need to run,” to Ji Suyeon was one of the things that put my mind at ease.
But if it was only me who was comfortable, a fierce struggle was unfolding outside the forge.
Those were stories I Minyeong had vented to me.
She’d bluntly asked me if I’d killed one B-rank Hunter, one C-rank Hunter, and one F-rank Hunter.
Perhaps it wasn’t a question expecting an answer, because I Minyeong poured out her grievances before I could say anything.
—No, they’re raising hell at us! Saying we killed their hunters! Suspicious! Take responsibility!
—What did I do? I told them to cut the shit! If we had the ability to kill B-rank and C-rank Hunters, we’d have done it long ago! …Not that I could say that out loud.
—That B-rank Hunter seems to have been from the tracking team. Anyway, the tail has been cut off. Their internal movements have quieted down too.
—Still, be careful. We might have missed something, or they might have sent another tracking team.
Government and Hunters.
It’s truly a subtle relationship.
Some matters only end after blood is spilled, while others are wrapped up with a few words. Sometimes both happen simultaneously.
They’re certain the other side is full of shit, yet they pretend not to know and ask anyway, and lie with a straight face. The other side catches the lie but lets it slide appropriately. Of course, they pay a price that’s enough to let it go.
‘Is this pro wrestling or MMA?’
The reason is nothing much.
They’d learned from experience what happens when they don’t keep each other in check, and what happens when they bare their teeth too excessively at each other.
No matter how much you hate a nuclear bomb buried in your front yard, you can only spit on it; you can’t smash it with a pickaxe.
—Is Suyeon doing well?
“She’s ordering lunch right now.”
—Ugh, I’m jealous…! I want to eat too! If I run over now, can I join?
While an intelligence war waged outside the forge, only trivial matters took place in the workshop.
Things that happened after Ji Suyeon joined.
First off, malatang and tteokbokki began appearing on the table frequently.
She would order spicy, salty, and sweet food whenever her mana ran dry while working in the forge.
I was beginning to suspect that Dojjonku, tteokbokki, and malatang were actually the mana potions of our world.
“What should we order? If we order malatang, the tteokbokki will cry…. If we order tteokbokki, the malatang will be heartbroken….”
“I’m sick of both.”
“Still.”
“Can’t we order them separately?”
“Come on, Boss! We have to eat together!”
“Even if we order separately and eat together… ah, forget it.”
Ordering delivery twice for one meal while working under the same roof?
My bum DNA wouldn’t allow that.
Even though selling magic stones and rings had made my bank account balance quite abundant, habits don’t change that easily.
And Ji Suyeon started calling me Boss.
I wasn’t such trash that I’d make cringey comments about being called oppa, so I just let it be.
She wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Kkam! What do you want to eat?”
“Nebra…!”
I suppose it counts as work that Suyeon became the crow’s feeder.
“Boss, I’ll order you a hearty malatang.”
“I don’t want to eat that heartily.”
“You have to work again in the afternoon, so you need a solid meal.”
The biggest thing that happened inside the forge, after all, was the sudden increase in ring production.
Once we coordinated and divided the labor, efficiency jumped by more than double.
Since the initial production volume was small, even doubling it wasn’t much, but….
The problem was that there was no way to procure the materials we needed.
I had to clear higher floors to bring back more dark iron.
In the lower floors, I’d clear the dungeon before I could even fill the bag I’d brought.
Floor 10.
I planned to strike it big in the boss fight.
“Um… Sister Minyeong said she’d support us!”
Suyeon grunted as she brought over a large box.
It was packed with dark iron.
“While you were out, she sent a whole carload. She said she’d keep sending them regularly.”
“You should have told me.”
“Um… Ah! If I told you, you’d have to make more…!”
“……”
“……”
Thinking of slacking off already.
But I couldn’t just keep scolding her.
Because the only one who works with an owner’s mindset is the true owner.
‘So what do I do now?’
They say people who’ve worked their whole lives find work even when you give them a break.
I’m exactly that type.
Now that my afternoon schedule has suddenly vanished, I don’t know what to do.
Should I just keep making rings?
These days, thanks to Suyeon reducing the workload, merely making rings didn’t feel like real work.
“Why don’t you take a proper day off?”
“Caw, O tribute bringer…! How about scratching this crow’s head!”
“Kkamonga! I’ll scratch it for you!”
“I am not Kkamong— caww….”
Thankfully, work was found quickly.
**
“A guild?”
—Yes, a guild!
“We’re just a business with fewer than five employees, though?”
She told me to start a guild.