Not only did Kim Giryeo kill the boss monster that the organizers had hidden away, but he also smuggled out their trump card, the A-rank hunter.

"God..."

The black market dealer suddenly lost all his strength. He was sweating cold and his face looked quite pale. Thanks to the violent suspect turning into a sickly chicken, the detectives were able to proceed with their work more easily.

It was an unexpected ending.

***

The following Saturday, it had been seven days since the black market case had been concluded.

Seonwoo Yeon went out to enjoy the weekend for the first time in a while, but her mind was still filled with work-related matters.

"Whoo."

What happened to Kim Giryeo after that? Seonwoo Yeon had many questions she wanted to ask him. Starting with whether he knew there was actually an A-rank Hunter in the black market... Was it his doing that the A-rank disappeared? If so, how did he manage it? Did he open the exit while escaping? Or after getting out, what did he do alone, and so on?

The questions piled up, but there was no way to find answers. For the past seven days, Seonwoo Yeon had tried to contact the other person, but every time, the speaker just informed her that Kim Giryeo's phone was turned off.

"Customer! Come over and try a dumpling. This is a new product from Ottogi, and young people love it!"

"Ah."

"It's freshly baked."

She is the owner of the Searcher skill. If she wanted to, she could chase after the target right now. But Seonwoo Yeon didn't turn her thoughts into action.

Abuse of power. Invasion of privacy. Even if she were not a public servant, her personality would have naturally kept her from engaging in such actions.

"It's delicious. Please give me a bag."

"Yess."

In the end, she was faced with the wall of procedure. While it was confirmed that Kim Giryeo had been involved in the black market, there was no evidence that he had purchased anything.

First, would it be possible to interrogate him for an attempting illegal transaction? Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. In places like gambling rings or drug transactions, merely being present at the scene could be enough to presume guilt. However, when it came to dungeon items, the law unfortunately lacked provisions for attempting crimes.

Therefore, the police couldn't arrest or interrogate him. Because, well, the law just didn't allow it. If they wanted to detain him, they would have had to prevent him from escaping at the scene, at the very least. By this point, even the testimony of the captured Blueshell merchant wasn't particularly useful.

"Thank you- Enjoy your meal!"

Seonwoo Yeon weakly tossed the frozen food into her shopping cart. At that moment, a sentence spoken by a hunter suddenly came to her mind.

"... Without a warrant?"

Such arrogant words. That man probably knew from the start that things would turn out this way, which is why he acted so confidently. After all, he's S-rank. If he decided to come out, what could a mere association employee like me have done? Even if the black market had been successfully sealed off, it seems like Kim Giryeo would have managed to escape the scene unharmed regardless.

"I'll just go home and make some dumpling soup today..."

Whoo.

Seonwoo Yeon left the store with a heavy heart. She had finished shopping and was now planning to go home and rest.

But then, while waiting for the light to change at the crosswalk, she spotted a familiar silhouette. A neat suit, contrasting with the flashy dyed hair.

"Hunter Kim Giryeo."

It was that man. The S-rank, who had appeared from an alley across the street, had come to a stop and was checking something in what looked like a notebook...

Flash.

At that moment, the light changed. Following the green signal, Seonwoo Yeon quickly moved forward and soon caught up with him.

She hadn't expected to run into him this by chance.

"Giryeo-ssi."

As his name was called, the blond man lifted his head. He seemed somewhat surprised, as if he hadn't noticed the association employee approaching-but what followed was truly shameless behavior.

Noz.

Who made her head so complicated that she could barely think straight? How can he greet someone so casually like this?

"You seem to be in better health than I expected."

"Yes?"

"I couldn't get in touch with you for so long, I thought something had happened to you, Giryeo-ssi."

Giryeo replied.

"... You tried to contact me? Oh, I'm sorry. Actually, my phone broke a little while ago."

"Ah."

"I dropped it on the ground, and suddenly the screen stopped working."

"Your phone?"

"But since it's such an old model, they said it's hard to find replacement parts..."

My phone has already been at the service center for a week now. Saying that, Giryeo apologize once again, bowing his head. He then added that he hadn't expected the Association to try to contact him during that time.

"No, if your phone is that old, just buy a new one this time. You can just swap the SIM card."

Seonwoo Yeon thought Giryeo was making excuses and pressed him, but the response she received was simply calm.

"I didn't buy it myself, so I didn't want to change it carelessly."

The S-rank hunter stood upright, looking down at her. A quiet atmosphere. At the same time, an expression no different from that of a cold-blooded person. There were so many things she had wanted to ask him when they met. But now, facing him like this, Seonwoo Yeon suddenly wondered if any of it even mattered.

That cold-hearted hunter seemed like someone who wouldn't flinch no matter how much he was questioned. Even if he sat him down and talked for three days and nights, it was obvious that she still wouldn't be able to see through him.

"Oh, by the way, Seonwoo Yeon-ssi. Why did you try to contact me?"

Giryeo continued to ask.

"Well... did you have something to ask me? Like why I was there last Saturday, for example."

In truth, he had been quite concerned about being caught entering the black market by a public official. He had already prepared a suitable excuse in case he was reported later, but Seonwoo Yeon didn't seem particularly curious about it.

I entered the dungeon by mistake. I was there to catch a bad criminal.

She was well aware of the kinds of excuses Giryeo might come up with. Besides, at this point, verifying the truth of the matter seemed ambiguous anyway.

"Not that. But if you're asking whether I have something else to ask... I do."

The sorcerer of Earth continued speaking in a cautious tone.

"After everything that happened, I took some time to think about it personally, and no matter how much I thought about it, something still felt off."

"What part?"

"Blueshell is an awakening drug that becomes less effective the higher a hunter's rank, right?"

The blond man who heard this thought that it was true. As she said, Blueshell only has dramatic effects on those around E-rank at best. Because of that characteristic, it could easily be used to expose someone's weakness in an instant. However, Seonwoo Yeon hadn't made this remark because she had caught on to some F-rank's secret.

"But the fact that you bought it..."

"Could it have been for painkillers?"

Giryeo, who had been subtly avoiding her gaze, turned his head in surprise at the words that followed.

"I saw the records in the Association's archives. It said that Blueshell was practically a new type of aspirin when it was first discovered."

"..."

"Neither Giryeo-ssi nor I respond well to painkillers on the market these days. When your awakening level is high, your body becomes resistant to most medications."

"..."

"That's why Blueshell was used as a painkiller exclusively for high-level awakeners."

The hand holding the shopping bag tightened its grip.

"I've found it strange for a long time. In fact, for a much longer time."

This idea hadn't just come to her overnight.

The beginning was last winter. Hunter Kim Giryeo had once fallen into a trap in the Labyrinth of the 13th Month, and during his escape, he committed something truly shocking. Until now, she had only feared his choice. But looking back on it now...

"What if he was someone who wouldn't feel pain even after doing something like that?"

If he had a hidden means to endure limb amputation, then what happened in the Labyrinth of the 13th Month finally makes sense. That's why Seonwoo Yeon, based on everything that had happened so far, spoke.

"When exactly did you start using Blueshell?"

Blueshell's effects are so strong that you wouldn't even realize if you got slapped.

"How can someone use something so dangerous..."

Soon, Seonwoo Yeon's expression darkened.

"Giryeo-ssi, you watch the news often. Then you must know how high-ranking hunters who abused this ended up dying."

Her eyes trembled. Over the past seven days, she had been contemplating alone, and now, her mind had become fixed on a wrong prejudice.

"And this might be an excessive thought, but..."

"You can tell me."

"Is it related to that? You once mentioned that you were past your prime. So, are you really in pain now because you're injured somewhere?"

Oho.

"Indeed, it's probably an overthink."

Giryeo was impressed after hearing Seonwoo Yeon's unexpected misunderstanding.

Taking Blueshell due to past injuries...? At this point, he found the unexpected turn of events even intriguing.

But still, such a misunderstanding was quite something in 21st-century South Korea. The judges of this country were never lenient when it came to issues like Blueshell.

"Hmm."

After clearing his throat with a dry cough, Giryeo began to calmly explain.

"I understand what you're trying to say. However, there's one major misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding?"

"I've never even put Blueshell in my mouth."

And there was some objective evidence for this.

"Wait, but don't you already know this, Seonwoo Yeon? I was in detention last week because someone reported me as a drug offender!"

The blond man raised his voice in disbelief.

"How many hairs were pulled out there?"

"Ah."

"For your information, the test results were all negative."

Seeing Kim Giryeo confidently walking around like this meant that Blueshell hadn't been found at his residence either. Soon after, Seonwoo Yeon spoke in a quiet, subdued voice.

"... I'm sorry. But I really said it because I was genuinely concerned about you, Giryeo-ssi."

As expected, the one who reported him as a suspected Blueshell user was a certain B-rank hunter from the Association. However, it wasn't because she was a merciless stickler for rules-it was simply out of genuine concern for him. If an acquaintance was addicted to Blueshell, the right thing to do would be to stop them as soon as possible and help them through rehabilitation.

To Seonwoo Yeon, it was an act of goodwill.

"Excuse me, but with all the good potions available these days, why would I go through all that trouble using Blueshell as a painkiller?"

"I just wondered... if you had overused it during the early stages of Dungeon Shock and ended up addicted, wouldn't you keep seeking it out?"

The man, who had been glaring for a while, fell silent for a moment. Well, he had already expected that this employee wouldn't stay silent, but at least thanks to this, he could proudly claim his innocence.

"Honestly, if Kang Changho had pressed me about the Blueshell case, I was planning to push the painkiller theory. But I suppose I shouldn't do that with the government official standing right in front of me."

After making a judgment, he continued.

"Anyway, once again, what happened last time was a misunderstanding."

His tone was flat.

"I've never been involved in any Blueshell transactions. I was just gathering some information."

"That's..."

"But did it really sound that way to you? Like I was telling the dealer I was going to buy something?"

His next words were subtly encouraging.

That's just how people are. If they're even slightly distracted, they can forget things that happened just a few days ago. How can anyone completely trust their own memory? When faced with strong pressure asking for 100% certainty, anyone would waver at least a little. And so, in the end, even Seonwoo Yeon began to doubt her own experience.

"If you really have nothing to do with Blueshell, then that's a relief, but..."

Soon, she couldn't help but soften her stance. Well, Giryeo was an upper-rank hunter, after all. He wasn't the type to care over such insignificant market goods. That left only one assumption-he must have been there for some other reason.

The collapse of a human trafficking ring. The pursuit of brainwashed Awakened. And the way he shielded an investigator in trouble at the black market.

"Did he have another motive this time as well?"

This was the fatal mistake. Kim Gyeo was a person with too many good qualities to be relentlessly interrogated. Because of that, even the straightforward Seonwoo Yeon showed a bit of flexibility in front of him. Had she known what kind of soul resided within that shell, she would have never been able to do that.

"By the way, Seonwoo Yeon, it looks like you're on your way back from grocery shopping."

The alien wizard soon opened his.

"Did you buy dumplings?"

"Ah, yes."

"I hope it didn't melt while we were talking. Anyway, you should head home. I'll be on my way too."

After saying this, Giryeo naturally went on his way. Once he had put some distance between himself and Seonwoo Yeon, he pulled a small notebook from his coat. Adding a brief notation to the page, he finally completed his task for the day.

[Other records]

1 - X

2 - X

3 - O (Interchangeable)

4 - Δ (Dangerous, Prohibited)

For reference, Alphaurians often believed that when it came to lies, the one who was deceived bore more fault than the liar. It was simply how their inherent logic was wired.

Author's Thoughts

Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)

Tom