Housekeeper in the dungeon

Episode 22

Hee-na squatted in front of the campfire, trying to look as oblivious as possible to his calculations.

Kang jin-hyeon spoke to her in a friendly manner.

“Have you had dinner?”

“No, I haven’t. I had to work overtime, so I haven’t eaten yet. How about you, Hunter Kang?”

“I haven’t either. Luckily, I have some emergency rations. It’s not much to eat, but I’ll give you some beef jerky. It’ll satisfy your hunger.”

Kang jin-hyeon pulled a fist-sized bag of jerky out of his arms. He gave Hee-na a few pieces of jerky and popped a few into his mouth as well.

“…….”

“…….”

There was an awkward silence, followed by the crackling of the flames.

Hee-Na watched the flames leap up and down and thought to herself.

‘If this dungeon map skill is discovered by others, I’m sure I’ll get the same offer. I’m glad Hunter Kang has common sense, but if he threatened me with force, I wouldn’t have a choice.

It was Hee-na’s fault for even hinting at a skill that could be dangerous if known. Hee-na sighed heavily.

“What’s wrong?”

A deep sigh made Kang Jinhyun look at her. Their gazes met.

His eyes were so bright that she didn’t dare to guess what he was thinking.

“……Just.”

Hee-na slowly opened her lips.

Kang Jinhyun shook his head and repeated her words.

“Just?”

Hee-na’s cheeks burned. She didn’t know why, maybe she was just excited to see him repeating her words.

“What are you doing in front of an S-class Hunter, Lee Hee-na?

Hee-na brushed off her embarrassment with a wave of her hand and continued as if nothing had happened.

“I just sighed, thinking that my life would be complicated now that this ability has been discovered. I have an unusual ability, but no power. It’s a perfect situation for someone to take advantage of.”

“Is that so?”

Kang seemed thoughtful for a moment at Hee-Na’s words, then empathized.

“……I see. You want to live a normal life, but if this ability becomes public, you’ll be far from normal. No, you’ll be in danger.”

Clever, indeed. In response, Hee-na clasped her hands together and looked at Kang jin-hyeon with a pleading expression.

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

“Please tell me.”

“Can you please keep this a secret? A person’s life is at stake, this.”

Hee-na pleaded. Part of her wanted to grab him by the crotch and hang on to him, but she knew he wouldn’t like that.

“I don’t know if you’re a strong Hunter like Kang jin-hyeon, but for a small citizen like me, it might be a skill I’d rather not have. What if I get kidnapped somewhere and used as a slave because of this ability, so please keep it a secret…….”

I begged and begged and begged. I didn’t want to go into a dangerous dungeon, and I certainly didn’t want to step foot in a dangerous world.

“Mmm.”

Kang jin-hyeon sat and listened to Hee-na’s eloquent pleas.

He didn’t speak until Hee-na finally ran out of things to say and sucked in a breath.

“I see.”

It was a simple five-letter response.

It was so simple, so brief, so short, that for a moment she doubted her ears.

Then she realized it must have come out of her mind.

“So easy?”

Kang jin-hyeon raised one eyebrow, sounding a bit defeated.

“Was it just a one-time fling? I thought it was too desperate a story to be real.”

Hee-Na waved her hands in the air.

“No, no, no, no, no, I didn’t flick it! I’m just blabbering because you were just holding on to it, and then all of a sudden you said you got it.”

“Well, now that I’ve been listening to you and thinking about it, it was a bit much to offer to scout for a dungeon raiding team to a non-combatant Awakened. I apologize. I’ve burdened Ms. Lee with my greed.”

The shadow of a campfire flickered across Kang Jin Hyun’s face as he said ‘I’m sorry’ to a mere D-ranked Awakened.

Hee-Na paused and looked at his face.

Kang Jin Hyun pretended not to notice her gaze and continued to speak bluntly.

“I’m going to pretend this map skill doesn’t exist and bury it. I don’t want to upset the apple cart of your life.”

“……Thank you, Mr. Hunter Kang.”

Hee-na thanked him from the bottom of her heart.

Kang jin-hyeon was an S-class Hunter, one of the most powerful in the world.

In this harsh world where power was everything, she had to do whatever an S-class Hunter said, no matter how bossy he was.

Kang jin-hyeon could have forced Hee-na to do anything. But he politely asked Hee-na’s wishes and considered her situation.

It was a politeness rarely seen from a superior Hunter, who usually believed in his strength and acted as a lackey.

“No, but if you change your mind or do something unintended, please be the first to let me know. The Blue Dragon Guild can protect you, Ms. Lee.”

Kang Jin Hyun left a lasting impression. It was especially touching since Hee-na had only encountered Hunters who hadn’t had a single iron fist in a month.

“Hunter Kang jin-hyeon, you’re even better than I thought!”

Hee-na looked at Kang jin-hyeon with sparkling eyes.

Kang jin-hyeon shook his head simply as if he was used to such a look.

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

“Uh……. Yes.”

When I pointed out my physical condition, I suddenly felt a rush of fatigue. For Hee-na, whose body strength is less than 30, today was a day of physical exertion.

She didn’t even have time to fill her body with food.

“Bed……. I need to make a bed.”

Hee-na got up from her seat and quickly found the materials to make a cozy bed.

By the way, Hee-na’s ‘Comfortable Bed’ skill had reached rank C, so she could make a comfortable futon from almost any material.

Meanwhile, Kang jin-hyeon looked puzzled as he watched Hee-na tear up the wilderness grass and make a bundle.

“Ms. Lee, what are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m making a place for me to sleep.”

In response, Kang jin-hyeon pointed to the sleeping bag he had taken out.

“You have a perfectly good sleeping bag, so why are you thinking of sleeping on the floor? With your stats, sleeping on the floor like this will cause you problems.”

“Uh. That’s for Hunter Kang jin-hyeon, isn’t it?”

Kang jin-hyeon replied in disbelief.

“Ms. Lee, what kind of unscrupulous person do you think I am?”

“Unscrupulous?”

Hee-na was just trusting in the ‘Comfortable Bed’ skill.

She believed that if even a single grasshopper could reach the effect of this skill, it would provide her with a cozy place to sleep more than anything else.

However, Kang jin-hyeon, who had been raiding dungeons for the past month, didn’t know that, as he had never seen Hee-na’s skill before.

“I wasn’t planning on sleeping anyway, so Ms. Lee can use this sleeping bag,” he said.

“You’ve been on a dungeon raid for a month, aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine, and besides, I need someone to stand guard anyway.”

“I thought you said I could sprinkle some of that illusionary dust or something.”

“You shouldn’t let your guard down. There may be monsters that show up that are not impervious to the illusionary dust. It’s best if I, who can fight, serve as a sentry.”

Kang Jinhyun was 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.

According to the system description, the sleeping bag was an item made from dungeon byproducts. It was an A-grade, so it must be very expensive.

‘If I mess it up, won’t it be the end of my bankbook?

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

“We’ll be leaving as soon as the sun rises tomorrow, so you’ll need to reserve your strength. Go to sleep quickly.”

“Uhh. Yeah, yeah.”

Hee-na groggily unfolded her sleeping bag and used the skill ‘Comfortable Bed’ on it.

The added effect of using the skill on an A-grade sleeping bag was huge. It seemed to be just what Kang jin-hyeon needed as he was tired from the dungeon.

“Hey, Hunter Kang jin-hyeon. Do you mind staying awake for 30 minutes? I’ll wake you up quickly if I see anything.”

“That’s fine, I have sensitive senses, so I can hardly fall asleep anywhere but at home, so you can use Hee-Na Lee.”

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

After all, as an S-class hunter, even the smallest sound would be audible, so it was unlikely that he would be able to fall asleep without some sort of nervous tether.

“It’s a shame because it worked so well.

Hee-Na sighed and slumped into her sleeping bag, which was very cozy.

The day had been quite tiring, and it wasn’t long before she was fast asleep. It was a dreamless, honey-like sleep.

Kang jin-hyeon stayed by her side through the night, watching over her as she made colorful noises.

* * *

‘Ugh……. I’m nauseous.’

Hee-na woke up in the booth with a faint feeling of motion sickness.

It was as if she were drunk. Her body was still, but the floor felt like it was moving. Her stomach gurgled.

“Ugh.”

I put my hand over my mouth and a low voice rang overhead.

“You’re awake.”

“Ah, yes. But where am I……?”

Hee-Na looked around groggily, but it was strange.

A handsome face was close by, and the scenery around her was blurry. It was like looking out the window of a train……. The view was also strangely high.

It was at that moment that I realized what was happening.

“Mom, what is this?”

Hee-Na jumped up in alarm.

But her body, wrapped tightly in the sleeping bag, was not so free. It made her look like a wriggling slug.

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

Kang jin-hyeon warned as he picked her up.

Hee-Na was speechless at the absurdity of the situation.

“No, I mean, Kang, Jinhyun, Hunter, Hunter!”

Kang Jinhyun responded politely to Heena’s outburst.

“What’s wrong?”

Hee-Na asked in a pleading voice.

“I’m going to walk, so can you put me down, please?”

Sure enough, Kang jin-hyeon was now carrying Hee-na in his princess’s arms.