Chapter 51

**Episode 51: Approaching Fear**

【You’re in big trouble now. How could you show that scene to a kid? It’s bad for their education.】

‘Who would want to show that kind of scene?’

【Then hurry up and stop touching that.】

“… Could you please stop touching me for now? It feels a bit weird…”

Harin covered her mouth with her neatly curled right hand.

I was eventually successful in pulling my hands away from her, reflecting her slightly retreating posture.

There must be some onlookers around here.

If I had been drinking with Harin alone and made that mistake when it was just the two of us, we probably would have gone straight to the main event.

If it was at Harin’s house, Chaewon would have surely seen every scene, with my hands and feet bound.

Harin couldn’t see the spirit flying beside me.

Knowing Chaewon, she wouldn’t pass up this opportunity.

“Oppa, are we done? Is the touching game over now?”

Chaeyon looked disappointed at not being able to watch any longer.

“Ah, haha… What are you talking about, Chaeyon? Did you missee something? I was just dusting off this noona. Like this.”

I flicked off the dust from Harin’s shoulder just like brushing off dirt.

“Is that so…?”

But something hard began to form in the midst of it all.

‘What is this?’

“Eek! Y-you. Could you please at least turn on the blinker when entering…”

Harin covered her chest with both arms.

【I’m teaching good things to the kid.】

– Kwarrrr~

– Bang.

Seoyoon, who had just finished throwing up in the bathroom, roughly flushed the toilet and stormed out.

“Gah, huh. Oh, m-my reason for drinking—”

“Ughhh!”

Yerim interrupted Seoyoon with a harsh response.

Her eyes were empty, blankly staring forward without any light.

“Y-Yerim. Use the bathroom… I’ll clean the floor.”

Seoyoon was cleaning up what Yerim had done.

Although timid, it seemed that Seoyoon, being older, was managing the older sister role well.

‘Will the smell seep into the floor?’

【Just spray Febreze and it’ll be fine.】

Alright then. That’s pretty simple.

Yerim was still out of it.

“Aren’t you going to hit your head on the toilet bowl doing that?”

“Yerim unnie… Are you going to wash your hair with toilet water?”

“You two, we’re tidying up this mess here.”

【For now, let’s just take that… potion box that changes faces? Let’s grab that.】

I shoved the box into my inventory.

【Let’s do it secretly. What if someone sees it?】

They’re not really people who would care.

After all, they’re all members of the same organization.

Except for Harin.

There’s no sight, so it doesn’t matter.

Seoyoon was too busy cleaning the floor to notice, and Yerim… well, she was too busy calming herself down.

‘Why make unnecessary bravado?’

It doesn’t really matter if they see it, but explaining the system would be a hassle.

I might be more cautious after having spent so much time explaining it to Chaewon.

“Uh? Oppa! How did you do that? Could it be… magic?”

【Ah. I got caught by the hardest person to explain to.】

Chaeyon witnessed me putting the box into my inventory.

“Y-Yeah. It’s magic. Ta-da!”

I placed all the empty bottles and half-finished bottles that were lying on the floor into my inventory.

【Oh, cleaning is a hassle, so let’s just shove it into the inventory. There shouldn’t be a limit on space in the inventory, right? It’s a pocket dimension, after all.】

What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?

That’s not what the inventory is for.

I’m not putting this in to avoid cleaning; I’m doing it to get out of this awkward situation.

“Hey, where did the bottles that were here go?”

“Oh, I cleaned them up.”

“Surprisingly fast at cleaning. I like you more now.”

– Bang!

“Ugh… Han Shiwoo bastard… Why is someone like you in our organization… This is a prohibited area…”

Maybe the alcohol was wearing off, but Yerim’s tongue began to return to its normal state.

Holding her head, Yerim continued to curse at me.

“Please put the bottles you cleaned up into this bag.”

“Sure, got it.”

I decided to check my inventory to pull out the bottles I had stored.

‘Inventory.’

– Ding!

[Calling the Inventory.]

[Inventory]

Lantern

Ring of Covenant

Rough Dagger

Betrayer’s Apocalypse

Betrayer’s Apocalypse

Vampire Journal

Old Diary

Face-Changing Potion (Box)

Empty bottles x3

Half-finished bottles x3

==========

‘Huh? Why are there two copies of Betrayer’s Apocalypse?’

【One was obtained before the boss room, and the other was obtained after defeating the boss using the Defector’s key.】

‘Is that so? Thanks for letting me know, ghost who’s like a sticky note.’

【What’s that supposed to mean? Is that a compliment or an insult?】

I then took out the three empty bottles and three half-finished bottles from my inventory.

For the half-finished bottles, as I tightened the cap again before placing them in my inventory, there wouldn’t be any incidents of spilling its contents upon retrieval.

I placed the six soju bottles into the bag that Harin had opened.

– Ding!

The bottles clinked beautifully against each other as liquids inside some of them were at half capacity.

But I didn’t think about the fact that these were made of ‘glass’ and just let go of my hands.

“Ah! Y-you. You should put them in carefully…”

With a loud crash, Harin was startled.

Fortunately, nothing broke, which was a relief.

“Ah, sorry. Did I scare you?”

“What are you two doing right now? Seoyoon is here, and so is Chaeyon. Are you having sex in broad daylight? Ugh… Am I still drunk… Has anyone seen my glasses?”

“Please just shut your mouth already.”

“Cha, Chaeyon, come here. L-Let’s go back. We’ve finished what we needed to do, right?”

“Yeah…”

Chaeyon looked at me as if she wanted to play more, but there was nothing I could do.

Seoyoon supported Yerim by her armpit with her small height.

“Is it still a bit bright out? Don’t we need to head back before dawn?”

No matter how winter it is, the sun is still high in the sky right now.

“That’s only applicable to you and Eunbyul, okay?”

“Me, Chaeyon, and Yerim don’t have to worry. Oh, and you may not know, but Seoah can also roam freely outside.”

Seoyoon was definitely right.

‘Yerim said that she sometimes goes to the Hunter Market to sell potions.’

【Isn’t it Hunter Market?】

Whatever it is.

Good is good, isn’t it?

“W-well then, I’ll go back. You know, I can come to the hideout more often, right?”

“Oh, really?”

“Y-Yeah. Eunbyul unnie told me to visit you more often.”

【Did she say that?】

‘Didn’t she say that when we weren’t around?’

“Alright. I’ll come over to the hideout when I have the time.”

“Ugh, where are my glasses?!”

**********

Seoyoon returned alone, taking care of everyone, back to the hideout.

“Oh, right. I forgot to ask about Eunbyul unnie’s health.”

【Ah, right. I forgot to tell you.】

“Who is Eunbyul unnie? Are you… close to her?”

【This is bad.】

Harin was standing right behind me.

I turned around and faced Harin directly.

“Uh… Should I call her a supervisor or… a club member?”

There’s no other way to explain than to say she’s a senior from the club.

【Why can’t you come up with a better excuse?】

So how should I explain it to her?

To say that she’s the head of an organization that’s trying to take down the association to someone high up in the association?

Especially when I’m a member of that organization.

If I said that I had been in the same space as her, just wearing a shower gown that clung to my wet body, I might end up with needles all over my body, unable to escape from the 51st floor or the 51st basement of the association forever.

Because I know how Harin feels towards me.

Honestly, if I didn’t know now, wouldn’t that be weirder?

It’s as if playing dumb hard.

Harin has a stronger obsession than others.

Harin expresses her love more violently than others.

‘Sure, it’s a little misrepresented…’

【A little? What do you mean a little? That woman’s actions? It’s definitely not ‘a little’ from any angle.】

“So, if both you and that Eunbyul unnie fell into the water, who would you save first?”

Ah, here it comes.

That cliché question.

As cliché as it is, the answer is just as simple.

“Neither.”

“Both.”

Ah, no way.

She jumped the gun before me.

In moments like this, explaining logically could be a good approach.

Eunbyul unnie has good physical capabilities, enough to have worked as an S-rank Hunter in the past.

She has great physical attributes in various ways.

Maybe both of their ample breasts would help them float on the water.

Anyway, Eunbyul unnie would be a dealer. Falling into the water wouldn’t kill her.

In contrast, Harin is an S-rank, but she’s a non-combatant.

Hearing that a healer fell into the water means danger for the party.

At a glance, she seems to have zero combat ability and appears to possess a weak physique that is far from athletic.

So I would save Harin.

Because she can’t see in front of her.

However, today I received the information that Eunbyul unnie is sick while having a drunken conversation.

I don’t know exactly what is wrong or why, but since Eunbyul unnie isn’t here at the moment, it would be polite to choose Harin.

“I would, of course, save you without hesitation. After all, we’re closer.”

“R-really? Then that’s good.”

Harin’s ears began to turn red.

With her cheeks burning, Harin started to piece together her next sentence.

“By the way, I told that to Mr. Park Bu-jang.”

“Oh, the… dispatch?”

“Yeah. Not just dispatch, but I mentioned that I wouldn’t be able to attend the office starting today because I’m accompanying you.”

“Then, that means…”

【Ah, then wouldn’t it be hard to extract important information? Or maybe, on the contrary, it might be easier to get closer to top secret information because I can engage in more activities.】

“Yeah, you might not like the Association President, but… well, now it really reflects the name of your department.”

Harin held my hand.

“We need to deal with the Gate.”

‘Looks like I can slack off at work!’

【What?】

I couldn’t suppress my excitement and raised my left hand up to the sky.

Yeah.

I was too excited.

Without feeling the vibration of the Ring of Covenant on my left ring finger.