EFME 9

They took only a brief look around the item storage room. Perhaps because he was a layman when it came to items, Sunyul didn’t seem particularly interested, even though it was the kind of place that would make any Hunter’s eyes spin. After finished looking through the storage room quickly, the three of them decided to head to the lower floors.

“Jeong Dakyung, cast a skill on us for a moment.”

“Yep. It’s a skill that changes your appearance, so don’t be scared.”

Dakyung explained in advance and cast the skill on Sunyul, Muyoung, and himself.

“Appearance downgrade complete.”

Sunyul looked at the transformed Muyoung and Dakyung with wonder.

“Did I change too?”

“Yep. You look 180 degrees different.”

“Wow.” Seeing his reflection in the glass, Sunyul was incredibly amazed. Raising his hand to touch his face here and there, Sunyul marveled.

“It feels real.”

“My skill is a bit genius, so…….”

“That’s amazing. You’re a genius.”

Sunyul praised the posturing Dakyung. As they went down in the elevator, no one took notice of Sunyul. Feeling a bit excited, Sunyul whispered.

“Can’t I keep this on?”

“No, because it constantly consumes mana.”

“Even if it’s just for when we move around…….”

“No.”

Muyoung was firm.

While bringing Sunyul here, Muyoung had signed several clauses, and one of them was to not recklessly cast disguise-type skills on Sunyul. The Bureau of Unusual Abilities had made Sunyul’s appearance public, just as they would with a criminal. It was meant to make people recognize his face and be cautious in advance. However, using a disguise skill would undermine that purpose. However, Muyoung had protested that having his face exposed at all times was inconvenient. Thanks to that, it was possible to use disguise skills in a limited capacity, only while Muyoung was supervising.

Rather than explaining those circumstances in detail, Muyoung chose to be the one who was resented. Though Sunyul didn’t particularly resent Muyoung.

‘It’s probably because people have to know who I am so they can avoid me… that must be why.’

Through Muyoung’s firm attitude, Sunyul vaguely realized the truth. Along with a suspicion that it wasn’t what Muyoung wanted, but what the Bureau of Unusual Abilities had ordered.

“You were told… that you shouldn’t do that, right?”

Sunyul spoke vaguely, but the meaning was fully conveyed.

“……Right.”

“I understand.” It would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed, but Sunyul cheered up quickly. At any rate, he was disguised for now, and people weren’t staring or whispering.

“Let’s go, then.” As soon as they stepped off the elevator, Sunyul took the lead. Dakyung caught hold of Sunyul, whose motivation was getting ahead of him.

“Do you even know where we’re going?”

“Where are we going?”

“The item market.”

Most of the various items obtained by the Cheongyeon Guild from dungeons were sold at the Cheongyeon Market on the 2nd floor. Additionally, any Hunter belonging to the Cheongyeon Guild could entrust item trades to the market with a low commission fee.

The Cheongyeon Guild was the guild with the most S-Class Hunters in the country. Because of this, among the items entrusted to the market, there were many rare items that only appeared in high-grade dungeons. Furthermore, among the markets located on the 3rd and 4th floors, there was also the market for the Melior Guild, which had two S-Class creators. In South Korea, there were only two locations where Melior’s items were stocked, including this place. Since the other one was in Busan, in Seoul, they were only available at the Cheongyeon Market. Therefore, it was bound to be crowded in many ways.

“There are so many people.”

“It seems like a small amount since it’s a weekday…….” Dakyung said while avoiding people passing by. Sunyul looked around the surroundings with quite a bit of fascination.

“The upper floors focus on equipment, and the 1st basement level focuses on consumables. The upper floors are… a bit expensive.”

“How much are they?”

“They start at 100 at the minimum.”

Sunyul rolled his eyes. He didn’t know how much 100 was. Seeing that Dakyung called it expensive, it must be a large amount.

“Should I buy you one?”

“Ah, no. It’s okay.”

“Pick one out.”

“I don’t particularly need anything, and…….”

“I’m okay with you buying me one, though.”

As soon as Sunyul declined, Dakyung cut in quickly. Muyoung naturally ignored Dakyung’s words. Dakyung pouted and then whispered to Sunyul.

“If there’s nothing to buy here, tell him to buy you something in the 1st basement level. Opportunities to sponge off the Guild Leader are rare.”

“Right, if you’ve seen enough, let’s go to the basement.” The 1st basement level was centered on consumables. There were more people than on the upper floors, and unlike the upper floors where price tags weren’t attached, prices were faithfully displayed here.

‘It’s expensive…….’

Dakyung had said that starting from 100 was a large amount, but the price tags here also started at 10,000 at the minimum. His head felt dizzy at the high numbers.

“It would be good to buy a few potions.”

“Ah, no. No. It’s too expensive.”

“They’re cheap at this level.”

Dakyung said while looking at the price tag on the display stand in front of them. Potions in the 100,000 won range were used quite a lot even by civilians. It wasn’t a price to be horrified by.

“It’s as much as 100,000 won…….”

“……100,000 isn’t expensive, though?”

“You said earlier that expensive things start at 100. This is more expensive than that…….”

Dakyung wore a dumbfounded expression. And then he soon burst into laughter. Sunyul rolled his eyes, not knowing why he was acting like that.

Glancing at Muyoung, Sunyul clearly saw that the corners of Muyoung’s mouth had crept upward.

“100… doesn’t mean 100 won, it means 1,000,000 won. 100 won is just pocket change.”

“……Ah.” At Dakyung’s explanation, which he barely managed to continue while chuckling, Sunyul’s face flushed bright red.

“Then I can buy it for you now, right?”

Muyoung spoke with the laughter wiped from his face. However, a cheerful tone was buried in his voice. Hearing that voice, Dakyung straightened his face as if he had seen a ghost and stopped laughing.

“Really, who on earth…….”

Muyoung ignored Dakyung’s words and bought a set of potions from the shop and handed them to Sunyul.

“Shall we go back up now?”

“Yes…….” Sunyul replied in a small voice, a hint of embarrassment still remaining. It was just as they were about to pass through.

“The protesters are no joke. They’re all gathered because of that, right? I—21.”

Sunyul came to a dead stop. Unaware of this, the shoppers standing there continued to chatter.

“I guess so.”

“Everyone certainly has a lot of time.”

“I can understand it, though? Honestly, I would’ve participated in the protest too. Is it really okay to let that dangerous thing roam free?”

“They say Kwon Muyoung is supervising.”

“It’s not like he’s going to supervise 24 hours a day. Goodness, I just don’t understand it at all.” The shoppers who said that moved further away. Muyoung placed a hand on Sunyul’s stiffened shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

“……Yes.” In an atmosphere that had turned gloomy compared to when they came down, they boarded the elevator. Watching Muyoung press the button for the 24th floor, Dakyung comforted Sunyul.

“Don’t pay them any mind, hyung. Half of those protesters were probably paid by the Doomsday Church to come out. It’s a loss for you if you care.”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

Sunyul nodded while forcing a smile.

Having arrived on the 24th floor, Muyoung checked his watch.

“Stay here, you two. I have to go to work now.”

“Ah, yep. I’ll keep a good eye on him.”

“I’ll be quiet.”

“Right.” The door closed, and Muyoung returned to the Guild Leader’s office on the 28th floor. He had spent more time than expected, so there was a lot of work to process. Work was work, but he had to write a report. Because providing a brief report was also one of the demands from the Bureau of Unusual Abilities. The report the Bureau wanted this time was Sunyul’s reaction when exposed to other people. For that purpose, just stopping by the 26th floor would have sufficed, but…… .

The reason Muyoung took Sunyul out wasn’t necessarily just for the report. It was simply because he wanted to draw Sunyul, who was just cooped up alone, out into the world. It was quite nice to see Sunyul excited while looking at things. But of all things, he had to hear those useless words at the very end…… .

His effort to block him from going near the window on the 26th floor to prevent him from seeing the protesters had become useless.

Thinking that he should have returned a little earlier if he had known this would happen, Muyoung clicked his tongue.

If he had known he would become this concerned in such a short time, he shouldn’t have handed him over to the Bureau in the first place. At the time, he only intended to finish reporting the acquisition of an unidentified item and leave.

He should have firmly cut off the Bureau’s request back then. Although he didn’t know the details, it seemed that Sunyul hadn’t been treated very humanely there. Thinking about that made his stomach feel a bit unpleasant.

From the things Sunyul must have experienced to his current treatment, there wasn’t a single thing he liked. At any rate, the Korean Bureau of Unusual Abilities was a generally quite competent group excluding Sunyul’s matter, and they were a relationship he had to cooperate with in the future. He couldn’t afford to fall out with them forever. Muyoung tried to think rationally and brushed away the negative impressions.

While he was in the middle of writing the report, Jaehee visited. As soon as Muyoung let Jaehee into the room, complaints erupted.

“I heard you were walking around with I—21 right out in the open?”

“He’s Lim Sunyul.”

“……Fine, Lim Sunyul. Haven’t you been taking him around too much? Don’t you think you’re stirring things up too much when the protesters are swarming?”

Jaehee was full of complaints, but whether Jaehee acted that way or not, Muyoung was perfectly at ease. To the point where it would make an observer spiteful.

“So what.”

“What do you mean ‘so what’! I heard eyewitness accounts of Lim Sunyul were posted on the internet. That he’s with you.”

“Right.”

“What do you mean ‘right’! You’re getting cursed at like crazy.”

“It’s not like getting cursed at is a new thing. Or did someone snap a photo on the 27th floor?”

The 24th to 26th floors were rest areas, so it didn’t matter if photos were taken, but the 27th floor was an area requiring security. Jaehee, who became frustrated by the words thrown at him while knowing full well that wasn’t what he was talking about, thumped his chest.

“No… of course not. Hey, I’m saying it’s a bit serious this time.”

“I don’t care.”

“Right, I’m sure you don’t care.”

Jaehee let out a deep sigh. Jaehee, who was lost in thought while glaring at Muyoung for a moment, soon leaned forward and whispered with a serious face.

“What is Lim Sunyul that you’re acting like this? Hey, tell me honestly.”

“What.”

“Does Lim Sunyul have some kind of hidden option? Is he like an elixir or something? Does he make you stronger just by having him near?”

Muyoung took his eyes off the report and looked at Jaehee as if he were pathetic.

“……If not, then whatever.”

“It’s not like I did anything great, I just showed him around a bit.”

“You don’t normally do even that much!”

Muyoung no longer even pretended to listen. Watching Muyoung, Jaehee sighed repeatedly. He thought it would be nice if he could at least know the answer to what that I—21 was for him to act like this.