The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C88
It seemed the Fiesta guild had quite a hard time with the ant-hill style dungeon, which wasn’t common in Western regions. On the other hand, I remembered this dungeon, and I had figured out that the boss monster’s attack patterns matched my previous experience. Thanks to that, I was able to save the guild master’s life several times during the conquest when it was in danger. At the time, I received many thanks, but I brushed it off as it was natural for someone participating in the conquest together.
“Yeah. So?”
“When I told them you were in danger, they said they could arrange for you to enter Portugal without leaving traces. They’ve already got a teleport specialist hunter on standby.”
This was the best possible solution for now. However, I was curious how Lee-han knew about this and planned it.
“Halo?”
When I asked about the suspicious name, Lee-han gritted his teeth.
“Halo only told me when you were going to run away. I contacted the guilds you were friendly with and found a way. I’m not sure if that person knew the situation to this extent.”
It was an attractive offer, but I had to refuse it now. My head was ringing with alarms that I shouldn’t involve Lee-han any further, even if it meant taking a more dangerous path.
“It’s better not to think about refusing. I’ve already told that guild to only accept contact through me. Even if you don’t intend to accept their offer, I’ll follow you as soon as you leave me behind. Give up unless you want to be chased doubly.”
Lee-han was more thorough than I thought. It hurt my head to think how this child, whom I thought was only gentle, had become like this.
“Give me time to think.”
“Decide within thirty minutes. Otherwise, I’ll take you by whatever means necessary.”
Lee-han’s expression was dark. My guilt for making him suffer and my worries about how to escape this situation deepened.
After hesitating for a long time about what to do, I suddenly remembered an item I had put in my inventory.
‘Did he give this to me in preparation for this moment?’
I took out the optimal compass Halo had given me. The needle, which had been spinning endlessly, stopped in one direction. It was pointing exactly towards Lee-han. Suspicious, I moved my body around, but it still only pointed at Lee-han.
The place that could fulfill my wish wasn’t the destination it was guiding to.
Looking at this compass, I had a feeling that Lee-han would be the guide to show me how to escape from Seo-heon.
Even if that’s the case, is this right? I kept hesitating even though I knew the best answer. I didn’t want to ruin Lee-han because of my selfishness.
“Hyung.”
At that call, I raised my face to look at Lee-han.
“If you’re hesitating because of me, don’t. What I want now is to be with you, and if I can’t persuade you now and can’t be with you, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
His upright eyes pierced me.
“If you want me not to regret, tell me to go together.”
Lee-han had a determined look on his face. I finally nodded.
We got off the taxi at a place somewhat far from the airport. After that, we used movement skills to travel. It was faster, but it was also a way to delay tracking as much as possible.
Arriving at the airport and waiting for the Fiesta people, it seemed about time for Seo-heon to wake up. However, having left behind both my phone and communication device, I had no way of knowing what he was doing. Lee-han, who had prepared a burner phone, seemed to be checking the internet with it since earlier.
“Is there anything?”
“No.”
When I showed interest, he put the phone away, looking slightly flustered.
“It’s just a habit. Checking if anything’s happening today.”
I glanced at Lee-han’s expression and asked.
“How did you leave your guild? Wouldn’t your team members be surprised?”
“If it couldn’t function without me, it should have collapsed long ago.”
Lee-han replied gruffly, then looked at my face and quickly softened his words.
“I told a trustworthy team member that I’m taking a break because I have something to do. He’s good at handling things, so don’t worry.”
The guild was a concern, but in fact, Lee-han was more worrying. If it was discovered that he had run away with me, his position would become difficult.
‘Is it okay since he said he would quit if I left?’
Then my thoughts extended to wondering how far Lee-han would follow me, and if he knew that I didn’t have much life left.
As I was considering each point, I suddenly felt a gaze and lifted my head. My eyes met Lee-han’s.
“Didn’t I tell you not to worry about me?”
Lee-han spoke as if he could read minds. Like Seo-heon, I wondered if I was a person whose expressions were easy to read.
“How did you know?”
“I’ve watched you for a long time. I can see roughly what you’re thinking.”
I shut my mouth tight.
“Don’t make such a stiff face. I’m not saying this to burden you.”
“Was I making that kind of expression?”
“Yeah. Totally.”
Lee-han said while ruffling my hair. Usually, I was the one patting heads, so it felt awkward and embarrassing.
“Always worrying about others. Please take care of yourself first.”
Lee-han avoided my eyes and added in a crawling voice.
“From now on, I’m going to kiss you every time I catch you worrying about me.”
Lee-han’s neck was so red as he said this that it was difficult to respond either jokingly or seriously.
“Uh… I won’t do it anymore.”
That was all I could manage to answer. It was really hard to tell whether Lee-han’s attitude was meant to make me feel burdened or not to feel burdened. After that conversation, we sat awkwardly for a while until Lee-han’s phone rang.
“Hello?”
[I’m at the place you mentioned, but where exactly… Oh!]
The person on the call came running. It was Aitana.
“Hello.”
“It’s been a while, Woo-hyun! Ah, we don’t have time for this. Come here quickly.”
The sociable Aitana gestured for us to come quickly.
“This is a Spanish interpretation item, do you need it? I use English, but there are many who don’t when we arrive!”
“I already have an item that can interpret up to Spanish. I think you should give it to my friend here.”
Lee-han received the interpretation item Aitana gave him, with an expression that suggested he hadn’t thought of that. It seemed he had missed it among the many things that needed to be prepared. After receiving the item, we headed to the blind spot Aitana guided us to, where one familiar person and one unfamiliar person were standing.
“This person is in charge of immigration control. They’re the one who gives implicit permission when we need to enter the country without leaving traces.”
The latter part was whispered. This was the reason guilds stayed friendly with politicians and administrators. It was advantageous when there were things that needed to be done secretly. I hadn’t thought they would use those connections for me, and I found myself bowing my head involuntarily.
“Thank you. I didn’t do that much for you.”
“Not at all. You saved our guild master’s life, Woo-hyun! Moreover, we’ve been on a winning streak since that subjugation, so we’ve been looking for a chance to repay the favor.”
Of course, it was true that I had done more than I received, but anyone in that position would have done the same at that time. I felt embarrassed to receive such excessive treatment.
“Then let’s move without further hesitation! Ah, Woo-hyun, you’ve met this person once before, right? This is Antonio, the teleporter belonging to our guild. Of course, we won’t move in one go, we’ll move in several stages to scatter traces of magic here and there. Let me know if you feel dizzy in between!”
The still taciturn Antonio bowed his head slightly. He was born with tremendous magical power and was among the top three in teleportation skills. Moreover, he was famous for his excellent magic control that left no traces. He was also known for insisting on staying with Fiesta despite receiving offers from various places.
“Thank you. I’ll be in your care.”
Aitana, who had been chatting with the inspector who was looking me up and down, soon clapped her hands lightly once.
“Alright, they say we can depart. Everyone, please make light contact for smooth movement.”
We held hands one by one. Lee-han quickly grabbed my left hand as if worried someone else might take it. Lee-han’s hand, scarred here and there, was as hot as mine.
***
We moved about five times. Despite the great distance, Antonio didn’t seem very tired.
“One more move and we’ll arrive. From there, we’ll move on foot.”
“Understood.”
I caught my breath at Aitana’s guidance. Even with stable movement, I couldn’t prevent motion sickness due to the long-distance travel.
“Are you okay?”
Lee-han’s hand asking this was sweaty.
“Why are you sweating so much? Are you very dizzy?”
Lee-han pouted and retorted as if I should know better.
“Do you think I wouldn’t be nervous at all holding hands with the person I like?”
His direct words made me embarrassed too. Why had he become so bulldozer-like? It was even more embarrassing when Aitana, who was listening next to us, made an “Oh” sound.
“You… Why are you…”
As I couldn’t continue speaking, Lee-han grinned.
“Why am I coming on so strong? Or are you wondering if I hadn’t given up on you?”
Questions I couldn’t bring myself to ask flowed from his mouth.
“I just had a change of thought while you were lying in the hospital bed and I couldn’t do anything.”
“How?”
“Secret.”
He just grinned. I could only hope it was my imagination that I sensed a subtle shade in it.