Chapter 222. Misinterpretation (2)

"Was it that obvious?"

Come to think of it, Kim Giryeo himself had mentioned before that he had four or maybe five of those chicken restaurant sweatshirts newly stocked...

The awakener with drooping eyes hesitated, searching for the right words. But no matter how hard she tried to piece them together, her mind went completely blank every time her gaze met the printed chicken character staring back at her.

Horrifying. Still, if there was any silver lining, it was that—rarely enough—today happened to be a day when the Guild Master of Korea's Tower Guild had an entirely free afternoon schedule.

"I should contact my third older brother as soon as I head back."

Esther made up her mind to place an order for new men's clothing as soon as their conversation ended. If given the chance, she would also find a way to deal with the insane sweatshirt right in front of her. It would be nice if there were a way to make it disappear naturally... perhaps even through arson.

***

Bubble, bubble, bubble... Click.

How many minutes had passed since the chaotic atmosphere had settled? In a small, roughly five-pyeong studio, a woman dressed in flamboyant fashion sat. It was rare for guests to be invited to this place, making the scene all the more unusual in many ways.

"The sound of boiling water."

By the way, earlier she was so surprised by the landlord's appearance that she didn't notice, but now that she had entered, there were quite a few things to pay attention to.

Outdated floral wallpaper. Old and cheap blankets replacing a bed. A sky-blue fan buzzing in the corner.

For a place where someone lives alone, it was surprisingly spotless, with not a speck of dust... Esther turned her head and surveyed the scene around her.

"It's small."

Even someone as short as she was could reach the end in just a few steps in this shabby room.

But for a man of his considerable height, wouldn't this space feel even more suffocating?

"..."

Esther, visiting the other person's home for the first time, found herself lost in unfamiliar thoughts. She never would have imagined that the hunter was living like this.

An S-rank awakened who could easily earn hundreds of millions with a single raid—And yet, instead of a proper wardrobe, he was living with his clothes draped over a cheap garment rack from who-knows-where?

"Why on earth is that hunter living in a place like this?"

Esther found herself pondering the same question other visitors must have had. But how could she possibly know the truth?

A certain blond man was, in fact, an alien who had taken over the residence of the body's original owner. He ended up using expensive magic in this room, and now he lives in a studio because he feels it was a waste of money...

It was truly a background situation that an ordinary Earthling could hardly imagine. All Esther could do was wonder in confusion.

"You can sit comfortably."

But then, at that moment, a small tray is placed in front of Esther, interrupting her thoughts. The landlord, dressed in a white shirt (and just to note, he had changed from his previous top after Esther had expressed distaste), approached. He unfolded the folding table he used when eating, placed a tea cup on it, and set it up. Though it seemed a bit shabby, surprisingly, it wasn't a bad gesture at all. The awakening that had been born in Hadong-gun was thinking that Kim Giryeo might have finished his green tea by now, so he had recently sent over some new, good tea leaves.

"Thanks to that, I have more than enough to boil and drink."

There is the issue that the speed at which he consumes the gifts is slower than the rate at which they're given, so the pantry is starting to get filled with tea leaves...

"Is it green tea?"

"Yes. Do you not like it?"

"There's no way! It's actually the opposite, I can't drink it enough."

Anyway, Esther curiously examined the 3,000-won cup in Giryeo's house before finally taking a sip of the green tea.

Slurp.

And when she swallowed the second sip of the liquid, the man on the opposite side, who had brought over some cookies for tea, spoke up in his usual dry voice.

"By the way, what's with the sudden gift?"

Esther answered.

"It's nothing special, just thought I'd bring it, just in case."

"Yes?"

"Well, our Giryeo-ssi here has a bit of a health issue right now, right? Although you didn't say which raid caused it."

"..."

"As far as I know, coughing up blood is a common symptom from dungeon curses. I thought this might help, so I brought it for you. It's a Grade 1 holy water from Europe."

Holy water. Among the items used for removing status effects, this potion is particularly effective against curses. Esther offered the Grade 1 holy water, which is only found in certain regions of Europe and commands a high price, as a simple act of kindness.

However, the expression of the person receiving it wasn't favorable. After all, this person's body couldn't even be cursed by Esther's curses in the first place.

"Thank you."

Giryeo, while expressing his gratitude, quickly ran the numbers in his head. He didn't know exactly what this was, but if the guild master of the Korean Magic Tower had personally come to deliver it, it was undoubtedly an expensive item. However, immediately reselling the potion would be a risky choice. Some people don't care how a gift they've given is used—but there are always those who do.

"If it's a rare item with limited stock, it'll be obvious when it gets resold. Auction houses require sellers to use their real names."

Giryeo hesitated for a moment before finally tilting his head.

"The gift is truly appreciated, but unfortunately... it's something I don't need."

"Yes?"

"Holy water doesn't work on me either."

Sssk.

Esther refused, pushing the potion bottle back toward him instead.

"Really? Hmmm, then just think of it as a simple tonic and drink it when you're tired. Either way, returning it to me is pointless since I have no use for holy water either."

Well, curse-type sorcerers are naturally highly resistant to such effects. What meaning would an item that dispels mental spells have for her? Esther continued, telling him to use it without feeling burdened since she had already brought it. After that, she took another sip of green tea and eased her hunger with the discount-store cookies the homeowner had offered as refreshments.

Esther had been leaning towards the hypothesis that Giryeo was affected by a dungeon curse, but with that theory proven wrong, she felt a complex mix of emotions.

To be honest, every time Giryeo shrugged off his curse, Esther had wondered if it was because he was already under the influence of something exceptionally powerful, something so strong that her own abilities had no effect.

"If two opposing commands are placed simultaneously with a curse skill, the lower-level one gets ignored."

In the end, everything is unclear.

"Anyway, Giryeo-ssi, how's your health been lately?"

"I'm fine."

Esther, in a half-resigned state, chewed on the cookie. As a result, her fingers became dirty with crumbs, so she wiped them with some nearby tissue. After cleaning her fingers, she opened a nearby trash can to throw away the used tissue.

"Ack!"

But at that moment. A scream suddenly erupted.

"Huh? What's going on...?"

Esther checked the inside of the trash can and flinched. Inside, a chaotic mess of red liquid—undoubtedly from the entrails of an animal—was splattered everywhere.

The trash can was filled with blood-soaked tissue paper. Blood that hadn't even oxidized yet. Blood that was brightly colored, like someone had just vomited it out.

"Ah."

The timing was just perfect. In fact, a few hours earlier, Kim Gir-ryeo had once again suffered from the side effects of the [Sacred Tree Seedling]. The magical artifact's ability had caused him to cough up blood in front of a sewer for a while, and this phenomenon persisted until this morning. He had even vomited blood in the living room just moments ago. That was why he appeared at the door, looking like a drenched rat, gripping the doorknob. Once the burst of magic wore off after about a day, the artifact's protective effect would also lose its function.

So today, he planned to recover his depleted defenses by taking a bath in coral's blood.

"... That's strange."

But at all times, the curse sorcerer showed up with a gift right during the glowing cycle.

"But I think you just answered that you're fine when I asked about your condition recently."

Giryeo lightly pressed his nose as he chose his words, then quickly made an excuse.

"It only happens sometimes when I'm not feeling well. Don't worry, it doesn't happen usually."

"Hunter Kim Giryeo."

Esther seemed to want a more detailed explanation, but given that he was borrowing the power of the alien coral, it was a situation where he couldn't reveal the truth.

"Would you like another cup of green tea?"

Giryeo had no choice but to maintain the alternative of remaining silent. Fortunately, the Guild Master of the Korean Magic Tower wasn't oblivious enough to miss the obvious attempt to change the subject.

"No, it's fine. I'll just finish this and leave."

Realizing that the landlord was trying to avoid the topic of his injury, she quickly kept quiet. However, questions kept surfacing in her mind. The most puzzling thing was Kim Giryeo's attitude.

"Even if I use holy water or the best recovery medicine, it's an injury that can't be cured."

If she had found herself in the same condition, she didn't think she could have remained so indifferent.

The blood of the Sacred Tree doesn't take lives as long as it is managed properly. Since Kim Giryeo was well aware of this fact, he could easily brush off the temporary inconvenience of the glowing.

However, from a human's perspective, the calmness of the other person was extremely impressive. An S-rank awakened one is someone who is generally untouchable by any threat. In an era of dungeon shocks, this one of the few beings who could still enjoy safety, so if they were to fall victim to an incurable disease, it would be natural for most to panic. They would have called every possible expert in an attempt to solve the problem.

But. Despite that, Kim Giryeo maintained his silence and indifference. To the eyes of an outsider, Korea's fourth S-rank hunter seemed almost apathetic. And his deep, ocean-like hunter's personality gradually became a source of unease for Esther one day.

"..."

It seemed that he was acting so indifferently because he had already tried every possible way to deal with it himself.

"Is it too much to worry about?"

Esther suddenly thought, what would she do if Hunter Kim Giryeo suddenly disappeared one day? It was a vague thought with no real basis, but for some reason, it made her feel uneasy.

Living quietly as a freelancer without being registered in a guild, using old things in a cramped room, and having an excessively clean personal situation.

Esther soon felt an inexplicable discomfort and frowned.

"Giryeo-ssi."

Kim Giryeo stood up, organizing the holy water she had given him into the cupboard. When his name was called, he casually turned his head and glanced over in this direction.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes?"

"I understand that bringing potions is meaningless. But since the calculations don't add up, it still feels uncomfortable."

Slurp.

Esther finishes the rest of her green tea and continues the conversation.

"Honestly, even if there were no debts involved, as fellow Awakened, I would have cooperated anyway if you had just spoken up about Chairman Go's matter."

"Ah."

"So from my perspective, I still haven't repaid anything from what happened at the F-rank gate."

"I see."

"If you have any requests, just let me know."

So she was still thinking about the debt from that time. Giryeo placed one hand on his mouth and fell into a brief moment of contemplation. Thanks to the tutoring fees that the number one ranked hunter deposited every month, he had made some money over time, and he had recently resolved the issue with his respiratory system. Now, the only thing the archmage desired was one thing.

"Hmm..."

Even without that, he had been worrying about that one thing for days without being able to sleep.

"Then."

"Twitch."

"Maybe a cadaver... or a cemetery-like place...?"

However, the blonde awakener couldn't finish the sentence and quickly closed his mouth. As the leader of a large guild proven to be capable, he briefly considered that this kind of issue could likely be solved. But upon further thought, he realized that asking for an awakened person's corpse was far too dangerous.

"No, no. Just forget about what I just said."

"Yes?"

"I misspoke. Honestly, there's nothing I need to ask for at the moment."

He raised the hand that had been resting on his chin and completely covered his mouth. After that, a rather long silence filled the one-room apartment.

"..."

"..."

The sick patient, who had health issues, brought up funeral-related topics. As for what kind of misunderstanding Esther started to form after hearing those keywords, he won't bother explaining.