Chapter 58

The loot distribution was handled with us taking the boots, the Myth Clan taking two sets of Dark Sorcerer gear, and the gold being split evenly.

Honestly, without Yoon Yeon, clearing the dungeon would have been nearly impossible, so it was only fair that the Myth Clan took two out of the three items.

In exchange for them taking two items, they let us pick the item we wanted, which is why we chose the boots.

The party members wanted to give me Bahan’s ring, but I firmly refused.

Since I had already taken the lion’s share of the rewards last time, I didn’t think it was right to take anything this time.

Thanks to my strong insistence, Yoo Rim ended up receiving the boots. Seo Yoo-ju and Kang I-seo were also considered, but Yoo Rim always seemed to be in danger during battles.

“Congratulations on clearing the dungeon, everyone. Here’s the promised reward.”

We were currently reporting the dungeon clearance to Lady Tierra.

“Thank you, Lady Tierra.”

‘Damn it…’

The problem for me was that the losses from this expedition outweighed the rewards.

‘I have to recreate the Chimera.’

Since the Chimera was destroyed, all the materials used to create it were essentially wasted. Although half of the materials are still left in the Clan House, I had originally planned to use two Chimeras, so this loss was particularly painful.

‘…Still, seeing everyone happy makes it worth it.’

After leaving the lady’s office, seeing the party members’ happy faces as they received their rewards started to lift my spirits.

Since the target of this raid was a Hero Dungeon, the rewards were substantial, so it was natural for the party members to be this happy.

Seo Yoo-ju, noticing my expression, cautiously spoke up.

“Yoon Seong… How about you work as a non-combatant at the Clan House from now on…?”

Seo Yoo-ju seemed quite shaken by the fact that I almost died again this time and wanted to pull me out of combat roles.

‘…That’s not happening.’

If I were to be separated from the party, our bond would naturally weaken. Plus, the thought of something happening to our party members during an expedition without me was terrifying.

‘Above all… the safest place is by Seo Yoo-ju’s side.’

“Yoo-ju, how many times do I have to say it? I’m fine. This was just a special case.”

“But… you almost died twice already…”

“Sigh…”

I unintentionally let out a sigh, and she flinched.

“…I appreciate your concern, but I need to go on expeditions to grow stronger. Or am I getting in the way?”

“No, not at all! You’re not in the way…! That’s not it…”

“Then what’s the problem? If I’m not in the way, I have no intention of stepping back, so let’s drop this.”

I needed to be firm about this. No matter what, the safest place is by Seo Yoo-ju’s side. Staying cooped up in the Clan House and becoming a freeloader is not my style.

“Y-Yoon Seong…!”

She called out from behind, but I ignored her. Right now, I needed to assert my stance strongly.

‘And… I have something to do.’

I needed to find Yoon Yeon. Since she knows about my unique trait, I planned to propose a deal to her.

‘Who knows when I’ll see Yoon Yeon again.’

Since I didn’t know when I’d see her again, I needed to propose the deal today.

As I approached the room where the Myth Clan was staying, a member of the Myth Clan asked me.

“May I know the reason for your visit?”

“…I’d like to have a word with the Myth Clan Master. Could you relay that?”

“…Please wait a moment. I’ll ask the Clan Master.”

“Thank you.”

The man knocked on Yoon Yeon’s door and went inside, then came out shortly after and spoke to me.

“…You may enter.”

“Thank you.”

Entering Yoon Yeon’s room, I could immediately tell it was much nicer than ours. Being the master of a large clan, it seemed Lady Tierra had gone all out.

“So, what brings you here, Lee Yoon-seong?”

“……..”

I was silent, organizing my thoughts on how much to tell her, so she broke the silence.

“Hmm… You had something to say, didn’t you?”

“…Myth Clan Master. I have some valuable information to share with you.”

“…Valuable information?”

“…It’s quite valuable. In exchange, I’d like to make a deal with you.”

I calmly proposed the deal to her, but… I couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous. I’m just a newcomer to the continent, and she’s the master of a clan. There was a chance she might take offense to my proposal.

“Haha… A deal, huh? What exactly are you trying to say?”

“You know about my unique trait, so as a hint, the information I have comes from that trait.”

“Hmm…”

She seemed to be deep in thought. Knowing my unique trait, she must be weighing her options.

‘…At least she’ll think the information isn’t completely useless.’

“…So, what do you want from me, Lee Yoon-seong?”

“If our party is ever in danger, I want you to help us once.”

Our party needed some kind of insurance. Seo Yoo-ju is there, but she needs time to grow stronger. And there’s one more thing…

‘There’s a lot that Seo Yoo-ju doesn’t know.’

Just this time, Seo Yoo-ju didn’t even know about the existence of the Parasite Sorcerer. This incident made me realize that even Returners aren’t perfect.

‘The more insurance, the better.’

From what I can guess, in the first timeline, I didn’t go to that dungeon, so Bahan probably died immediately without finding a host.

“…Help you once in a crisis?”

“Yes, of course, it’s not unconditional. If the situation seems too dangerous for you, you don’t have to help.”

In such cases, no one would help no matter what you say.

“So… you’re saying that if I can help, I should help your party once if they’re in danger?”

“Exactly. If you accept the deal, I’ll share the information I have.”

She chuckled and opened her mouth.

“Bold of you.”





‘Damn it… Did I cross the line?’

What I’m doing here right now is definitely an arrogant attitude for a rookie. It’s a situation where she could very well be displeased.

“… It’s clear that you’ve grown a lot, both externally and internally, since last time. Seems like my eyes weren’t wrong.”

“…. What do you mean?”

“Alright, I’ll accept the deal. Of course, if the information turns out to be worthless, the deal’s off.”

That’s obvious.

“…. Then I’ll tell you the information. Do you happen to know a maid named Charis, who’s next to Lady Tierra?”

“Ah… I’ve seen her a few times. But why her?”

“That woman, she’s not an ordinary maid. Do you have a piece of paper?”

Hearing me ask for paper, Yoon Yeon seemed to immediately catch on to what I was about to do.

She handed me a piece of paper and a pen.

I wrote down Charis’s status window that I had seen and handed it to her.

“This is…”

“And… as a small token of my sincerity, I’ll give you one more piece of information. That guy Bahan we saw in the dungeon, he belongs to some group.”

Yoon Yeon looked puzzled at the mention of a group.

“A group?”

“I don’t know exactly what kind of group it is. But it seemed like a group made up of indigenous people, not foreigners, and it’s related to demons.”

“…. Demons?”

“Yes, I don’t know much about demons, but from the information I gathered, it seems like a gathering of dark sorcerers. Even if they’re not dark sorcerers, they’re definitely related to demons.”

“… Do you know the exact number of members or the name of the group?”

“I don’t know that much.”

She was silent for a while, then opened her mouth with an amused expression.

“Ha… Interesting information. I never expected it to be something like this.”

Compared to the value of getting help from a monster like Yoon Yeon once, this information is nothing. From my perspective, it was easy to obtain.

“Lee Yun-seong, can I ask you one more question?”

“… Go ahead.”

“I understand Charis’s status window. But how did you get information about that strange group?”

‘…. She’s definitely sharp.’

My unique ability is to read status windows. In other words, it’s not an ability that can identify their group.

She seemed to have caught onto that.

“… Did you get that information from the chimera back then?”

‘She’s quick. Did she figure that out in an instant?’

I realized she wasn’t the leader of a clan for nothing.

“……”

Silence was practically an affirmation.

“Ahahaha…! Lee Yun-seong, you’re quite capable, huh? How about it? If I make you another good offer, would you be willing to accept?”

“…. I’m sorry. You know I can’t accept that.”

She probably just threw it out there to see.

“Ugh… I know. I was just testing the waters.”

It didn’t feel bad to be acknowledged by someone as strong as her.

“Anyway, I’ll take my leave now. I trust you’ll keep the deal.”

“Of course, what do you take me for? Don’t worry. I’m not so shameless as to take the information and pretend I didn’t hear it.”

‘Sure, sure.’

The reason I proposed this deal to Yoon Yeon is also because I trust her character.

From what I saw of her at the training facility, she at least seemed to have a sense of responsibility and integrity.

– Creak, bang.

And there’s one more reason why I proposed this deal to her.

I deliberately didn’t tell Yoon Yeon that Charis had stopped her activities.

‘If Yoon Yeon takes care of her, great. If not, whatever.’

From my perspective, it’s not a losing deal. I’m not selling out my party members, and if you think about it, I’m selling information about a potential enemy.

‘… Maybe getting caught by Yoon Yeon at the training facility was a good thing after all.’

Except for the fact that I almost died twice so far, I’m satisfied with the outcome.

‘Ha… It’s still annoying when I think about it. And why do I keep getting involved with these crazy people?’

Ha Yu-ri, Joo Seung-hwan, Kim Myung-jun, Bahan.

Roughly the names of those who have been hostile to me so far.

‘Kim Myung-jun… He didn’t cross the line, and two of them are dealt with… Wait, no, Joo Seung-hwan is still alive, right?’

As far as I know, Joo Seung-hwan was expelled from the clan after his magic circuits were destroyed.

‘…. Practically, his life as an adventurer is over.’

But who knows? That bastard might become a threat to me again.

‘Joo Seung-hwan… I’ll have to go deal with him someday. And… Ha Yu-ri.’

Ha Yu-ri is ambiguous. I do want to get rid of her, but… Did she cross the line with me? Well…

‘… No, there’s no way I can get along with her anyway.’

No matter how I think about it, it seems right to deal with her. I don’t think there’s even a slight chance her attitude toward me will change favorably.

The problem is, since she’s one of the top-tier powerhouses in Eras, I don’t have a way to deal with her yet.

But I’m not too worried.

‘If you shake someone in a high position… wouldn’t at least a little dust come out?’

The higher the position, the more dust comes out when you shake them. It’s not for nothing that I removed the evil alignment when creating the chimera.

‘That woman has a trait called Evil Aversion.’

Because I had to eliminate any possibility of being caught.

Anyway, while I lost a lot from this request, the fact that I can get help from Yoon Yeon once is a big achievement. I’m actually more satisfied with this than the rewards from the dungeon.

The anxiety in my heart is starting to ease a little.