Chapter 449 – Why is Hyung Here?
Honestly, this was way off my expectations.
Even if it’s a monster, it has enough intelligence to extort valuables.
If that’s the case, it shouldn’t show itself so easily even if it has prey.
So why did it appear so suddenly?
“Shinwoo, should we fight right now?”
“Let’s wait a bit.”
Honestly, I’m not sure.
Is it not as intelligent as I thought?
Or is there a desperate reason behind it?
Still, I decided that it was too early to act.
Of course, I felt a bit sorry for Elcia, who volunteered to be bait.
The monster had only revealed itself but hadn’t taken any action yet.
It was quite relaxed.
“If it starts doing something, then we’ll take care of it.”
“……But, my lord, did you contact me about the ability usage?”
“Oh, f*ck. I forgot.”
The ease was gone.
Was it because we all had our heads filled with despair from the consultation?
The most important procedure had slipped my mind.
Yet, I felt relieved thinking of one fact.
The handcuffs I used to tie Elcia were originally mine.
So there would be at least some safety mechanism in place.
With a bit of force, they could be loosened quickly.
“Hyeji.”
“What’s up?”
“Those handcuffs can be loosened with just a little force, right?”
Of course, I had never tried to loosen them before.
But since heroines use them for fun, it shouldn’t be too problematic.
There’s no way something like that, used between lovers, could be overly dangerous.
“Shinwoo, those were custom-made, so even I would struggle to loosen them.”
“…….”
They were definitely dangerous.
I get wanting to keep me restrained.
But isn’t that a bit too much between lovers?
Feeling wronged, I shot Hyeji a bewildered look.
“……What do you think of me, Hyeji?”
“A harmful species.”
“Fcking btch.”
Hyeji answered calmly.
“This isn’t the time for that! The monster is already approaching Elcia!”
“What do we do?”
“First, please submit the ability usage permit application.”
“I’ll do it, but it may take some time, so bear with it.”
Before we knew it, the monster had gotten closer to Elcia.
“Help me, you f*ckers!!!”
Grrr!!!
We were genuinely facing an unexpected crisis.
Of course, the fact that the monster had only been extorting valuables without harming anyone was a bit comforting.
Still, it was undeniably a monster.
At any moment, it could change its mind and pounce on us.
That’s one of the monster’s instincts.
No matter how much reason suppresses instincts, there’s bound to be a limit.
“What if we just pay that Ear Goblin b*tch to take care of it?”
“Would you thank them for receiving trash?”
“Oh, right.”
Moreover, it was slightly serious since it was a monster I had never seen before.
The creature’s basic form resembled a lion with a mane.
On the other hand, its tail had a snake’s head that moved independently.
It looked similar to a chimera I had seen in media.
[Will the lion feel it if it gets stabbed there, or will the snake scream?]
‘Stop wondering about that, you crazy b*tch.’
This wasn’t a monster I learned about at the academy.
Nor was it one with whom I had built a rapport while demolishing the academy.
In other words, I had too little information on how to attack.
“What will we do? No matter how easy it seems, it’s a bit dangerous without abilities, isn’t it?”
“Anyway, we have to save her, f*ck.”
Still, it was an undeniable fact that we needed to rescue Elcia.
If you think about it, all of this was a result of my lack of preparation.
As a result, Elcia was in danger.
I made a mistake, so it’s my responsibility to clean it up.
“Let’s go for now.”
“Uh? Shinwoo?”
But just when I tried to hurry to rescue Elcia.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you see that? It’s acting weird.”
An unexpected phenomenon occurred.
The monster, which had been just a few steps from Elcia, suddenly stopped moving, sniffing the air as if watching her.
“Ptoo! Grrr!”
It turned its back on Elcia and began to move away.
It spat on the ground and mumbled something.
The words it uttered were even more unbelievable.
[What did it say?]
‘……I can’t deal with this anymore?’
[……Why?]
It was a message that it wouldn’t harm Elcia.
‘……Even so, it seems a bit too much to touch grandma’s secret stash…’
[Ah.]
It was a rather moral and conscientious reason.
Of course, this was a meaning I alone could understand.
But was yet another bizarre twist occurring?
Elcia, filled with rage, tore off the handcuffs.
– Snap!!!
“Where are you going, you piece of sh*t!!!”
As if she had detected the monster’s complaint.
At that, the monster flinched and took a step back.
Instead, Elcia took a bold step towards the monster.
With her mobile phone open to an exchange screen.
“Crr… Crrr?”
“F*ck! Just take it! I said take it!!!”
Now the roles had completely reversed.
The monster, pressed by Elcia’s momentum, began nodding its head in fear.
The more the monster did so, the more Elcia began to push her phone against its face.
Anyone would have misunderstood it as crushing the monster with a mobile phone.
“Hrrr…”
“Where do you see this as grandma’s secret stash!!!”
Things were turning oddly, but…
“Kiiing…”
“I’m saying it’s a promising coin! Don’t look away, f*ck!!!”
Still, I decided to move closer to Elcia.
Of course, looking at the situation, the monster wouldn’t attack.
Even if it were to charge, it didn’t seem like Elcia would lose.
But you never know..
“Shinwoo, should we just go back?”
“Wouldn’t it be okay to leave her? She seems like she’ll handle it on her own.”
“…But let’s go get her. There’s no such thing as ‘just in case’.”
“Grandma’s so strong…”
In reality, the monster didn’t look that pitiful.
We moved slowly and somewhat absurdly towards Elcia.
Just as I placed my hand on her shoulder with mixed feelings.
Suddenly, someone started to appear from behind the monster.
It was getting late, and since they hadn’t fully revealed themselves yet, I couldn’t recognize them.
But based on the size of that figure, one thing was certain.
They were definitely not a human but multiple monsters.
“My friend, it seems like a companion has appeared.”
“Oh, f*ck. There seems to be a lot of them?”
Well, one could say it was to be expected.
Monsters with intelligence are more likely to gather and move together.
It’s much more advantageous for survival.
Only, I hadn’t anticipated them showing up suddenly in this situation.
Moreover, I hadn’t even received permission for ability use yet, so it was hardly a good fighting condition.
Of course, Hyeji stepped forward as if this didn’t matter.
“Shinwoo, I can handle some of this barehanded.”
“There’s a lot of them, so it looks dangerous. Let’s back off for now.”
First, we decided to vacate the area.
No matter how strong Hyeji was, we couldn’t tell how the situation would unfold.
If anything were to happen and Hyeji got hurt, it would be serious.
Especially because we wouldn’t be of much help.
“I’m really okay!”
“You never know. Let’s leave safely.”
It’d be much better to just retreat than face them.
“Let’s go, Elcia, quickly!”
“Let me go! This b*stard doesn’t even understand the potential of Elf Coin!”
“Kiiing….”
In any case, this had determined what needed to be done next.
I quickly lifted Elcia up and tried to get out of there urgently.
But as soon as I heard the howls of the monsters revealing themselves, I froze in place.
“Uuugh?”
“Shinwoo, why did you suddenly stop?”
“Hyeji, wait a moment…”
Instead, I started having a new emotion rise to the surface.
“Aww?!”
“Uh?! Really?!”
That emotion was nothing other than intense delight.
“No way, f*ck! My friend! It’s been forever!!!”
“Awww!!!”
No wonder, the monsters that just showed up were ones I had connections with.
[By the way, is it okay for a hunter to be friends with monsters?]
‘Aren’t they more human than hunters? Should be fine.’
[Ah, definitely…]
Of course, not all the monsters I had befriended appeared.
Some were elsewhere or still hiding, which was natural.
However, the monsters that now emerged must have come to greet us.
Honoring that expectation, we embraced each other, expressing our emotions physically.
“Did you all get along well, as Shinwoo suggested?”
“I’m glad you seem unhurt!”
“Are you eating regularly? You look a bit thin.”
“Have you read a chapter of the Bible every day and prayed?”
While enjoying the moment of reunion, a question popped into my mind.
They must have settled in a new dungeon with the help of the Monster Rights Association.
Why were monsters that were supposed to be safe in the dungeon here?
Additionally, they were extorting money they didn’t really need.
However, before I could voice such questions.
Another person began to reveal themselves.
This time, it was not a monster but a human.
“We… just met a little while ago, right?”
“Uh…?”
It was none other than the woman who had requested help from us.
