Chapter 22 – Carried in a Sleeping Bag

Hee-na squatted down in front of the bonfire, pretending not to notice his calculations as much as possible.

Kang Jin-hyeon spoke to Hee-na in a friendly way.

“Have you had dinner?”

“No. I wanted to eat after working overtime, so I haven’t eaten yet. What about Hunter Jinhyeon Kang?”

“Me too, not yet. Fortunately, I have prepared some emergency food. It’s not proper food, but I’ll give you beef jerky. It should satisfy your hunger.”

Kang Jin-hyeon took out a fist-sized bag of beef jerky from his pocket. He gave Hee-na a few pieces of beef jerky and put some in his own mouth.

“…….”

“…….”

There was an ambiguous silence, and only the sound of crackling flames was heard.

Hee-na was lost in thought as she watched the sparks bouncing around.

‘If this dungeon map skill is discovered by others, I will hear the same suggestion. In fact, it’s a shame because Hunter Kang Jin-hyeon has common sense. If he had threatened me with force, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.’

It was clearly Hee-na’s fault for casually mentioning a skill that could become dangerous if it became known. Hee-na sighed heavily.

“What’s going on?”

Kang Jin-hyeon looked at Hee-na at the sound of a deep sigh. Our gazes met.

His eyes were so black that I didn’t even dare guess what he was thinking.

“……just.”

Hee-na slowly opened her lips.

Then Jinhyeon Kang tilted his head and chanted along with Hee-na’s words.

“just?”

Hee-na’s cheeks heated up. I didn’t know why. Maybe he was just excited to see Kang Jin-hyeon repeating his words.

‘What are you doing with an S-class hunter in front of you, Lee Hee-na?’

Hee-na fluttered away and shook off any sense of shame. And then he continued talking as if nothing had happened.

“I just sighed because I thought my life would become more complicated now that these abilities were revealed. My abilities are unique, but I have no power. It’s a perfect situation for me to be manipulated by someone.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-hyeon seemed to be lost in thought for a moment about Hee-na’s words, and then sympathized with them.

“…I guess so. Lee Hee-na wants to live a normal life, but if this ability is revealed, she will be far from normal. No, she may be in danger.”

Indeed, he was smart. In response, Hee-na held her hands together with an anxious expression and looked at Kang Jin-hyeon.

“So, by the way…Hunter Jinhyeon Kang.”

“Please speak.”

“Can you keep this a secret? It’s a matter of one person’s life.”

Hee-na earnestly requested. I wanted to grab Kang Jin-hyeon’s pants legs and hang on to him, but I didn’t do it because I thought Kang Jin-hyeon would hate it.

“Someone as strong as Hunter Kang Jin-hyeon might not know, but for a commoner like me, it might be a skill that would be better off without. What if I go somewhere and get kidnapped or treated like a slave because of this ability? So please keep it a secret….”

The words came out endlessly as I begged. This is because I never wanted to enter a dangerous dungeon, and I also didn’t want to set foot in a dangerous world.

“hmm.”

Kang Jin-hyeon sat down and listened intently to Hee-na’s detailed persuasion.

He finally opened his mouth when Hee-na was panting and gasping for air.

“All right.”

It was a simple, five-character answer.

Even though it was plain, it was so plain, and even though it was short, it was so short that Hee-na couldn’t believe her ears for a moment.

As a result, I guess the voice in my heart came out naturally.

“This easy?”

Kang Jin-hyeon raised one eyebrow at his somewhat empty voice.

“Did you just bounce it once? The story was so desperate that I thought it was real.”

Hee-na gasped and threw up her hand.

“No, no, no! I definitely didn’t throw it away! My words came out in vain! You were just catching me a while ago, but then you suddenly said you understood.”

“I listened quietly and thought about it, and I think it was an embarrassing proposal. It was definitely too much to offer Lee Hee-na, a non-combat awakener, to scout for the dungeon raid team. I’m sorry. I put a burden on Lee Hee-na because of my personal greed.”

The shadow of a bonfire flickered on the face of Kang Jin-hyeon, who was only saying ‘I’m sorry’ to a D-class awakened person.

Hee-na held her breath for a moment and looked at that face.

Kang Jin-hyeon pretended not to notice Hee-na’s gaze and continued speaking calmly.

“I will pretend that I do not have this guidance skill and bury it. I cannot cause disruption in the life of someone who wants a normal daily life.”

“…Thank you, Hunter Jinhyeon Kang.”

Hee-na expressed her sincere gratitude.

Kang Jin-hyeon was an S-class and one of the most powerful hunters in the world.

In this harsh world where power is everything, an S-class hunter had to make sure that everything he said was out of the question, and he had to endure no matter how tyrannical he was.

Kang Jin-hyeon could have easily forced Hee-na. However, he politely asked Hee-na’s opinion and considered her situation.

It was a politeness rarely seen in a high-level hunter who usually believed in his own strength and treated him as an ordinary person.

“No. However, if you change your mind or something unintentional happens, please let me know first. The Blue Dragon Guild can protect Lee Hee-na.”

Kang Jin-hyeon left a deep impression until the end. Since Hee-na had only encountered unsophisticated hunters for the past month, she was even more moved.

“Hunter Jinhyeon Kang, you are a better person than I thought!”

Hee-na looked at Jinhyeon Kang with sparkling eyes.

Kang Jin-hyeon seemed to be used to such looks in his eyes and simply shook his head.

“No, I’m just doing what I have to do. By the way, Hee-na Lee, it’s really late. Aren’t you tired?”

“Uh… I guess.”

When I pointed out my physical condition, I suddenly felt tired. For Hee-na, whose total body strength is less than 30, today was a day that was a bit physically demanding.

Because I was so busy that I didn’t even have time to replenish my stamina with food.

“Bed… I guess I’ll have to make a bed.”

Hee-na got up from her seat and looked for materials to make a strange bed.

For reference, Hee-na’s ‘Comfortable Bed’ skill had reached C rank in the meantime, and she was able to make a comfortable bedding using almost any material.

Meanwhile, Kang Jin-hyeon looked puzzled when he saw Hee-na tearing up the yellow grass in the wilderness.

“Hee-na Lee, what are you doing?”

“Ah. I’m going to make a place to sleep.”

In response to Hee-na’s answer, Jinhyeon Kang pointed to the sleeping bag he had taken out.

“I took out a good sleeping bag, but why do you think about sleeping on the bare floor? Lee Hee-na’s stats make you sick if you sleep on the bare floor like this.”

“Uh. That belongs to Hunter Jinhyeon Kang. Hunter Jinhyeon Kang has to use it… right?”

Kang Jin-hyeon answered as if it were absurd.

“Lee Hee-na, what kind of shameless person are you viewing me as?”

“Shameless?”

It was just that Hee-na had no doubt about her ‘comfortable bed’ skill.

It was the belief that even if it was only a simple matter of solving the problem, if the effect of this skill was reached, it would provide a more comfortable sleep than anything else.

However, Kang Jin-hyeon, who had been raiding the dungeon for the past month, did not know that fact. This is because I have never seen Hee-na’s excellent handwriting before.

“I didn’t plan on sleeping anyway, so Hee-na Lee can use this sleeping bag.”

“You’ve been clearing dungeons for a month. Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s okay. Besides, we need someone to stand guard anyway.”

“I heard it would be okay if I sprinkle some illusion powder on it?”

“You can’t let down your guard. It’s a small thing, but there may be monsters that the magic stone dust of illusion doesn’t work with. It’s most efficient for me, who can fight, to be in full charge of sentry.”

Kang Jin-hyeon was like a wall.

In the end, Hee-na roughly threw away the pile of grass she had collected and went to Kang Jin-hyeon’s sleeping bag.

Looking at the system description that appeared, the sleeping bag was an item made from dungeon by-products. Seeing that it was Class A, it must have been very expensive.

‘If I make a mistake and it gets ruined, doesn’t that mean my bank account will ring?’

Kang Jin-hyeon urged Hee-na, who was hesitant in front of the sleeping bag.

“We will leave as soon as dawn tomorrow, so we need to save up our stamina. Go to sleep quickly.”

“Oh. Yes, yes.”

Hee-na gasped and unfolded her sleeping bag. At the same time, I used the ‘Comfortable Bed’ skill on the sleeping bag.

Perhaps because the skill was applied to the A-grade sleeping bag, the additional effect was enormous. It seemed like it was necessary for Kang Jin-hyeon, who was tired from conquering the dungeon.

“Um, Hunter Kang Jin-hyeon. Would you mind staying awake for at least 30 minutes? If I feel like something is happening, I’ll wake you up quickly.”

“It’s really okay. And because my five senses are sensitive, I can barely sleep anywhere other than at home. So, Lee Hee-na, please use it.”

Kang Jin-hyeon politely declined Hee-na’s offer.

Well, if you’re an S-class hunter, you’ll be able to hear even the slightest sound clearly, so I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep deeply unless I’m very nervous.

‘The additional effect worked really well. ‘It’s a shame.’

Hee-na felt regretful and crawled into her sleeping bag. The sleeping bag wrapped around my body was very cozy.

Perhaps because today’s work was quite tiring, Hee-na fell asleep shortly afterwards. It was a sweet sleep without even a dream.

Kang Jin-hyeon stayed by her side all night, quietly watching Hee-na who was sleeping while making strange noises.

* * *

‘eww… … . ‘I feel nauseous.’

Hee-na woke up with a slight feeling of motion sickness.

It was as if he was extremely drunk. Even though my body was still, it felt like the floor was moving. My five organs and six parts were grumbling.

“town.”

As I raised my hand to cover my mouth, a low voice rang out from above my head.

“You’re awake.”

“Ah, yes. But here…?”

Hee-na looked around in a half-asleep state. But it was strange.

The handsome face was close by, and the surrounding scenery was blurry. Like looking out the window on a train… … . Visibility was also strangely high.

It was the moment when I realized the situation and thought, “What is this?”

“Mom! What is this!”

Hee-na was startled and shook her head.

However, the body tightly wrapped in the sleeping bag was not that free. Thanks to this, Hee-na only looked like a squirming slug.

“If you struggle, you might drop it. Be careful.”

Kang Jin-hyeon, who held the shaking Hee-na in his arms, warned her.

Hee-na was speechless because the situation was so absurd.

“No, that’s Kang, Jinhyeon, Hunter, Hunter!”

Kang Jin-hyeon responded politely to Hee-na’s call.

“Why are you doing that?”

Hee-na asked in an anxious voice.

“I’m going to walk, so would you please drop me off?”

It was like that. Now, Kang Jin-hyeon was carrying Hee-na in a sleeping bag and moving around as a princess.

Housekeeper in the dungeon