By Zephyria 
Kim Si-baek raised an eyebrow as he looked at the young man greeting him with a friendly expression.
‘He looks vaguely familiar… Have we met somewhere before?’
As if reading his expression, Tae-un leaned his head closer.
“What is it?”
“Um, nothing. I’ll tell you later.”
For now, it was time to focus on the briefing. Kim Si-baek went to give Tae-un’s thigh, which was right next to him, a light pat… but remembering something stored there, he quickly shifted his hand to the back of the thigh.
Tae-un’s lips curled up smoothly, and he suddenly grabbed Kim Si-baek’s hand and pressed it back onto his thigh.
“…!”
If this weren’t a conference room, Kim Si-baek would have screamed. He yanked his hand away quickly, but the sensation of something thick—even for a normal state—remained etched into his palm.
‘Is this… sexual harassment?!’
He looked at Tae-un in horror, but the younger man was playing innocent, staring intently at the data screen projected by Gu Yeong-min.
“Hyung-nim. What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing.”
As Pi Min-hyeong also looked puzzled by the slight commotion, Kim Si-baek had no choice but to compose his expression and shift his focus. I never raised him to be such a shameless brat who sexually harasses people…
[Death and Beauty recalls that while they do not know what happened, the younger brother of my apostle was already faithfully practicing sexual harassment since the Management Center.]
“….”
Swallowing his bleakness, Kim Si-baek struggled to pay attention to the briefing.
The dragonfish, one of the S-class magical beasts of the Individuality Field, had the shape of a horse but possessed fish-like scales and fins.
“The legendary monster that served as the motif for the name ‘dragonfish’ inhabits underwater caves and has the ability to control thunder, rain, and wind. However, the S-class magical beast dragonfish we will be raiding inhabits flat lands and possesses no water-related abilities.”
After explaining the characteristics, habitat type, and scenery, Gu Yeong-min stepped down from the podium. Next was Pi Min-hyeong’s turn.
“I am Pi Min-hyeong of the 7777 Guild. I will explain the strategy carried out through the cooperation of our guild, Tobazhush Husarsky, and the Strategy Department of the Gabyeolcho Guild. First, the dragonfish’s attack patterns are…”
Two attack squads were drawn from each of the three guilds. Naturally, the center of the attack would be the 7777 Guild and the Tobazhush Husarsky Guild. The Gabyeolcho Guild, which gained an opportunity to participate through the government’s medium-sized guild support policy, readily accepted a supporting role.
Since most of the information and strategy regarding the dragonfish had been shared in advance, today’s meeting was the final check procedure. The meeting ended around the start of lunch, and Gwak Yun-sang felt relieved that there had been no opportunity for Tae-un’s dedicated leash to be put to use.
Even after the meeting adjourned, the hunters continued to chat while tidying up the area. Pi Min-hyeong and Seo Gae-un, who were about to ask the two to go eat together, quietly slipped away when they saw Tae-un clinging to Kim Si-baek with no intention of letting go. No doubt, if they stayed, they would witness a sight during lunch that would ruin their digestion.
“Si-baek! Come have lun— mmp!”
They even captured Justina, who had tried to wedge herself between Tae-un and Kim Si-baek, and dragged her away with effort. Tae-un, sending a proud smile of praise to Pi Min-hyeong for cleaning up on his own—which made the latter’s skin crawl—spoke nonchalantly.
“Hyung, aren’t we going to eat?”
“….”
“Hmm?”
As Kim Si-baek glared at that brazen yet cute face, smiling brightly as if nothing had happened despite the sexual harassment during the meeting, someone approached.
“Um, Hunter Kim Si-baek. Hello?”
It was Gu Yeong-min. Before Kim Si-baek could finish wondering if he should ask if they had met before, the man shyly scratched the back of his head.
“You saved me last time, but I was too flustered then to properly thank you.”
“Did I do that?”
“Uh, I went to the amusement park with my girlfriend last time…”
Only then did he remember. He was the man from the couple he had rescued from the Ferris wheel during the amusement park incident.
“Did your girlfriend recover well?”
“Of course. Because you even treated her, she recovered completely without any aftereffects. I’m so happy to be able to help with your strategy this time. My girlfriend asked me several times to make sure I conveyed her gratitude to you.”
Gu Yeong-min continued speaking with a smiling face and even offered a prayer with joined hands to Biyendwe, who was perched on top of Kim Si-baek’s head.
“I saw the Seven Guild’s videos, and the hunters greeted the crow like this; is that correct?”
[Death and Beauty is satisfied that this human was worth saving.]
He was a man with great social skills and friendliness. Kim Si-baek responded to him with a smile. Later, as they left the conference room and headed down to the cafeteria, Tae-un, sticking close to his side, whispered.
“That guy, there’s something about him, right?”
“Was it that obvious?”
Kim Si-baek rubbed his face awkwardly. He thought he was accustomed to hiding his inner thoughts while conversing.
Tae-un wore a bright smile.
“Only I noticed because it’s me. Pi Min-hyeong or Seo Gae-un wouldn’t have known. Oh, and the Tohu Guild Master too.”
Kim Si-baek wondered why Justina was mentioned when the other two might not have noticed, and he looked around. There were people glancing at them as they passed, but they weren’t close enough for whispers to be heard.
Still, just in case, he lowered his voice significantly. He could have typed it out on his phone, but if he did, he wouldn’t have finished a single sentence by the time they reached the cafeteria.
“I remembered where I saw that man, Gu Yeong-min.”
“Hmm? You already said you saved him at the amusement park.”
“No, after that.”
Kim Si-baek found a photo he had downloaded into his phone’s album and displayed it on the screen. A man who had encountered Edokus, but whose face was hidden by a cap.
A long finger tapped the man’s body.
“Here, it’s not certain because of the thick winter clothes, but aren’t the height and build similar?”
[Death and Beauty widens its eyes in surprise.]
Not only Biyendeu-oeman, but even Tae-un frowned and stared down at the screen for a long time.
“He’s a common medium height with a slim build, so I can’t really tell… Hyung, your eye for detail is truly amazing.”
“Well, maybe… since it’s a common body type, I might just be confused.”
“Still, there’s no harm in investigating, so I’ll let Yang Eun-ho know.”
Even if it were a needless misunderstanding about Gu Yeong-min, the probability that Edokus would have a hand in the Individuality Field was extremely high. More than the dragonfish raid, it was Edokus who weighed on his mind.
Lost in thought, he must have unconsciously frowned. Tae-un playfully pressed the wrinkle between his brows with an index finger.
“You’ll get wrinkles for nothing, Hyung. We’re doing this to make a living, so let’s eat first.”
“Right, let’s go eat.”
Hearing those words actually made his heart feel lighter, so Kim Si-baek relaxed his expression and smiled.
Objectively speaking, Gu Yeong-min thought that Kim Si-baek was a quite good person. Even though he had intentionally struck up a bothersome conversation, the man had responded appropriately with a smile without any sign of annoyance. Yet, there was a firmness in his eyes, so he didn’t give off an impression of being entirely pushover.
But what did his own sentiments matter when performing a noble mission?
The favorable feelings he had developed for Kim Si-baek did not influence his judgment in the slightest.
After finishing his meal with his colleagues, Gu Yeong-min calmly returned to his room and called Edokus, who had crossed over to the Individuality Field.
“Lord Edokus. I trust you are hiding well?”
Yeah. More than that, my legs are killing me… It still feels like my muscles are tearing every time I walk.
Edokus, who had finally managed to have a conversation after being among magical beasts who couldn’t speak, poured out his complaints. He had no means of proving his identity in Korea. Since Gu Yeong-min, a mere civil servant, had neither the connections to forge an identity nor a way to use the dark routes, Edokus had no choice but to do it by hand.
Gu Yeong-min had pretended to go investigate the field in Gwacheon to pass through the defense line of the Second Gyeongin Expressway. Then, he dropped off Edokus, whom he had secretly carried in his trunk.
Until the Great Cataclysm, the ceasefire line had divided the South and North, but the area from Seoul to the south of Kaesong had long since become a habitat for magical beasts. In other words, as long as one could avoid or break through the magical beasts, including the monster of the Han River, Kun, one could reach Kaesong on foot. The same applied to Edokus, toward whom the magical beasts showed no hostility.
Edokus walked hard, swam hard across the Han and Imjin Rivers, and walked hard again. While others passed through the route comfortably by plane, he suffered for days and nights with his poor physical stamina, passing through the devastated ceasefire line and the former DMZ to reach the Kaesong Field.
“It’s a relief that there was no need to pack food.”
If I’d had a lot of luggage, it would have been even more horrific…
“By the way, a new quest related to you popped up during lunch.”
You should have told me that first!