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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 19: The Peculiar F-Rank Hunter (1)
In the past, Yeonwoo had encountered all kinds of people.
Some were from the brighter side of society, while others were entangled with the shady underworld through work connections.
So, when the issue of needing a forged identity came up, he already had a solution in mind.
Even in a small country like Korea, numerous people die or go missing every day.
Forging an identity was something that could be solved with money.
There were minor concerns, but if the tenacious contact he knew was still around, there wouldn’t be a need to seek out a separate broker.
The important thing was to make sure even that contact wouldn’t discover Yeonwoo’s real identity.
Still, if he could just show the potential of being a Hunter, things might resolve on their own.
It was then.
Bang!
The bathroom door suddenly burst open, and Areum came charging at Yeonwoo with her whole body covered in bubbles.
"It stings! It stings! Uwaaaah!!!"
Her stomping and flailing made it clear she was about to throw herself at Yeonwoo.
"Huh?!"
She must have run away mid-bath, as she wasn’t wearing a single thing and her body was still covered in foam.
Because she was a small child, there weren’t any inappropriate feelings, but something about the situation felt unsafe.
Yeonwoo reflexively twisted his body to dodge, and Areum, eyes tightly shut in a furious charge, slammed right into the wall.
It was a reckless charge in every sense.
Crash!!!
With a loud impact, Areum staggered and collapsed on the spot.
He knew he shouldn’t laugh, but the reaction was instinctive.
"Whew.."
Even if it was a reflex, the fact that he had let her crash like that filled Yeonwoo with self-reproach.
He shivered once and quickly rushed over to where Areum had fallen.
Behind him, Mulhoe burst out of the bathroom looking furious.
"Uwaaaah!!"
Yeonwoo wore a stunned expression as he watched Mulhoe wiping Areum's eyes with a wet towel as she lay on the floor, flailing and crying.
"What the hell did you do to make her run off like that."
-Soap must have gotten in her eyes... Honestly, what kind of spirit runs away crying because her eyes sting?
Yeonwoo knew it wasn’t out of malice.
Still, Areum’s behavior and how she responded left him a bit speechless.
"Huuuuhuhuh!!"
To calm her, Yeonwoo pulled out a candy he had in his hand.
"It's okay, don't cry."
Saying comforting words was one thing, but not having experience caring for children made it awkward.
Mulhoe clicked her tongue at Yeonwoo’s clumsy attempt.
"Hic.. Hic..."
Still, the candy seemed to help.
Her mouth, covered in tears, never stopped chewing as she sucked on the candy.
Somehow, he felt like he had figured out an easy way to handle her.
"You’re doing well too."
Even as she sobbed, Areum never stopped sucking on the candy.
Looking at her, Yeonwoo felt an unexpected sympathy and turned to Mulhoe.
-Suddenly became too strong and I couldn’t hold her down.
Seeing Mulhoe carrying the now-calm Areum back to the bathroom made it feel like watching an older sister trying hard to bathe her younger sibling.
It was oddly adorable.
Others might see Yeonwoo and raise an eyebrow, but one was a Navigator and the other a Spirit, so it wasn’t an issue.
Once Areum and Mulhoe returned to the bathroom, Yeonwoo, now sitting on the edge of the bed looking exhausted, let out a deep sigh.
"She got stronger, huh..."
Mulhoe's physical strength was around average adult levels.
Regardless of her small size, her physical abilities were set to maintain balance, no matter her appearance.
If Areum had suddenly become strong enough to escape Mulhoe’s grip, it meant her power as a Spirit might be far greater than that of ordinary ones.
Earth Spirits were typically strong in physical strength, but without a Spirit master to channel Spirit Energy, a low-grade spirit shouldn't have the power to act recklessly.
Spirits who haven’t received any Spirit Energy usually have the strength of an average human.
Shaking his head quietly, Yeonwoo turned his gaze to the wall Areum had slammed into and couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
Then he gripped the candy in his hand a little tighter.
"She might be a lot stronger than I thought..."
The wall in front of Yeonwoo was cracked wide open from the collision.
The center of the cracks was where Areum's head had hit.
It was clearly due to the impact.
The spider web-like cracks didn’t spread to other parts of the wall, so maybe it was fortunate.
"Should I fix it..."
It seemed Areum retained a certain level of strength even without Yeonwoo's Spirit Energy.
That was good, but if an accident happened, it would be a disaster.
He couldn’t claim to know everything about Spirits born in the Spirit Realm, but he had once been the top Spirit master of the Rune Continent.
Still, after meeting Areum, he felt he was seeing many things for the first time.
***
After the long struggle, or rather the war disguised as bath time, ended.
Yeonwoo, now leading a clean and fresh Areum and Mulhoe out of the room, couldn’t shake the nervous feeling that someone might discover the wall he'd hastily repaired.
He had tried to restore the broken wall using whatever tricks he had, but the power of a low-grade spirit wasn't omnipotent, so the signs were obvious.
In the end, his only option was to flee.
Fortunately, they had returned to an area near Seoul where he used to live, so the streets weren’t completely unfamiliar.
Even though it’s said everything changes in ten years, roads usually stay the same.
He gave Areum, who was whining like a typical child, two candies and sent her back with Mulhoe before heading into an alley in a small village on the city's outskirts.
Despite the years, this place hadn’t changed at all.
It felt stubbornly the same.
Passing through the dim alley, he spotted an old, rundown building.
-This place is…
"Pawnshop. You give them something valuable as collateral, and they lend you money. I wasn’t sure it’d still be here, but the old bastard's still making a living off this. He should retire and play with his grandkids."
-Do you need money? According to the records, Hunters earn a lot through cores. There are better ways than this.
Mulhoe looked puzzled, as if asking what kind of nonsense Yeonwoo was up to now.
What Yeonwoo showed or did always seemed inconsistent with the current world’s norms, so it left her confused.
She was beginning to worry that her knowledge might not be useful to Yeonwoo.
Maybe if he had never worked as a Hunter before, that would be understandable.
-Am I... useless?
Though Yeonwoo kept saying not to worry since he was a special case, Mulhoe couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied.
-This is painful.
Murmuring softly so Yeonwoo wouldn’t hear, she looked at the back of his head.
"We're closed."
A gruff male voice came from the dim partition.
It was a cold tone, but Yeonwoo didn’t care.
He calmly pulled out the remaining bills in his pocket and slid them through a small opening.
A rare cold smile appeared on his lips.
"Male, approximately 36 years old."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
The man muttered in a raspy voice and tried to peek through the gap to see Yeonwoo.
But whether it was part of the shop’s design or for privacy, it was too dark to make out Yeonwoo’s face.
"I know everything, Pinocchio. I need a temporary identity. Something usable."
"Tch... Pinocchio, my ass. Filming a damn movie now?"
"You’re not someone who would throw away an old nickname."
Yeonwoo’s words made the man gasp and then go silent for a moment as if pondering something, then he put on a grim expression.
"Who the hell are you?"
The air grew cold as if he might kill him on the spot, but Yeonwoo’s expression didn’t waver.
"It’s not your first day in this business. Don’t tell me you’ve already mortgaged your credibility."
"Damn it, that amount’s nowhere near enough."
"Mulhoe, come out."
Before the man could even finish his sentence, Yeonwoo summoned Mulhoe into visible form.
Hovering in the air, Mulhoe floated toward the opening and covered her face with her hands before suddenly spreading them with a giggle.
-Hello! Despite my cool-sounding name, I’m a warm-hearted cutie, like a cozy fireplace.
"Is this enough for collateral?"
"What kind of lunatic you are...calling her Mulhoe, it’s obvious she’s been through hell. Fine, I don’t know where you picked up that name, but if this gets out, both of us are dead."
"Deal."
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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