The Huntress, your Knight next door - Chapter 8

“Okay, then I’ll cut you some slack.”

Jin-hee turned around, saying as if she had spoken great words.

“W-Wait a minute! You have to untie this first!”

The man who was tied up struggled and said, but Jin-hee never turned back.

“You should try to untie it yourself. It’s not tied that hard, so you’ll work it out.”

“If-If the monster comes! We’re going to die!”

“That is up to your luck.”

Take care of yourself. Without any compassion, Jin-hee abandoned them and went out of the gate.

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She didn’t mean to act as a messenger of justice. Although she has the approach of a knight, Jin-hee rather hates stupid behavior that is intolerant of injustice and tends to make the situation even worse.

The fact that she dared to visit the crows was not something she actually did because she thought deeply about it.

She has the power so there is no reason to put up with things that bother her right in front of her nose. It was only up to that level of commitment.

It was just a simple notion to her, but for the gangsters, it was the start of a big incident.

“Huh?”

As she was looking for traces of the Crows in the alleys around the park in District 2, she came across a boy who was arguing with a man.

“Hey, let me go!”

“Little boy, that’s why you should have done things in moderation, right?”

The man was grabbing the boy’s neck. The boy rebelled, biting his hand or kicking the man’s stomach, trying to somehow escape from the man’s hand, but it was to no avail. Although the boy looked like a hunter, the man’s mana was far superior.

Compared to his wild tone and sloppy attire, the amount of mana he had was considerable. At a glance….

‘That’s the same level as that person named Park Jun.’

It was comparable to a B-class hunter. She thought he was just another bastard, but he must have been a pretty good hunter. Jin-hee approached with a curious expression.

“I want you to release my sister!”

“Hey, how is ‘that’ your sister? You made a deal with us. Then it’s ours.”

“My little sister is not a thing!”

“You should listen to people.”

The man smiled and slapped the boy on the cheek without mercy.

“Ouch!”

“Kid, that’s the way the world is. If you take money, you should be able to pay it.”

“Such a deal… I never did that!”

“No, you did. Everything you ate and slept on was our money.”

Slap! Slap! The boy’s face turned back and forth spinning in the palm of the man’s hand. There was a little blood in his mouth, but the boy did not stop glaring at him. If it had been an attack loaded with mana, the boy’s head would have fallen from his neck long ago. That was just plain beating to harass people.

“If I had known you were… Gangsters, I wouldn’t have taken the money!”

Jin-Hee, “….”

Jin-hee approached slowly and grabbed the man’s arm.

“And who’s this lady?”

“Well, this child’s guardian.”

“What? There’s no such person….”

“…Future guardian.”

The man tried to shake off Jin-hee, but when she pulled his arm out, he was forced to step down helplessly. As if he did not understand the situation for a while, the man asked in an ambiguous manner.

“Hey, I don’t know who you are, but….”

“Didn’t I say I’m his guardian?”

Jin-hee raised the boy who was lying down. Both cheeks were already bruised and swelled, making it difficult to recognize his face. The boy who didn’t know who she was just blinked his eyes.

I guess I’m lucky today, Jin-hee smiled thinking so. The boy who faced Jin-hee’s mysterious smile blushed unknowingly.

“Well, I’ll give you a choice, too.”

It was like deja vu. Like the thieves, she met earlier in the dungeon.

“What?”

“As the guardian of this child, I want to hear the whole story. Are you willing to talk without making a fuss, or should I hit you first before you start talking?”

She wiped the blood off the boy’s mouth and looked at the man. It was a threatening negotiation.

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Jin-hee’s initial prediction was right. The man was one of the Crow’s executives, and the boy was a victim of the Crows. What was only unexpected was that the Crow’s behavior was more evil than she thought.

“I’m from an orphanage.”

The boy, Park Chung-ha, slowly talked about his situation. Jin-hee and Chung-ha entered a restaurant near the alley. Sitting leisurely in the corner of a restaurant, Cheong-ha continued to wipe his face with a wet towel.

He was a boy born and raised in an orphanage here in Sillim. The institution in question was an institution run by a social welfare corporation created by a Hunter company, which was destroyed when he was young, putting the position of the institution in jeopardy.

Another social welfare corporation should take over the nursery, but for some reason, no corporation wanted to step forward to take over, and soon the nursery school would be dismantled and the children had to be scattered to other nursery schools.

The children, who were already like family members, did not want to part ways, and it was at that time that the Crows appeared.

They raised the nursery with huge capital, and soon regained the government’s approval for what they had done. Although they didn’t know the Crows were gangsters, the children and social workers welcomed those who helped them with open arms.

The misfortune began at that time.

Having taken charge of the secretariat of the nursery, they kicked out the social workers with all kinds of excuses and used abusive language and violence against the children. It was no use calling the police or telling the public officials. Even if there were inspections for a while, it eventually returned to its original state.

If you become an adult, you can leave the nursery, so let’s hang in there, that was the hope of the remaining students.

However, the violence got worse, and even Chung-ha’s sister was dragged away by them.

“…Why did the gangsters take the nursery over?”

“It’s….”

“And why did they take your sister?”

“….”

That means you won’t tell me. Jin-hee looked at him quietly, pushing the bought kimbap and ramen from the restaurant to the kid.

It was visible that Chung-ha was hiding a more indispensable story.

Why the gangster took over the nursery school and why Chung-ha’s sister was taken. Besides, what were the thoughts of those who left the nursery so unattended?

There will be more information Cheong-ha knows than that, but he remained silent about it, whether he could not tell anyone what he had seen.

Though she thinks it was much better. Rather than trying to deceive her by lying, it’s much better to keep your mouth shut because you know but you can’t tell.

Jin-hee asked as she looked at Chung-ha, who was quickly eating, whether he was hungry.

“Then do you know where that Crow group is located?”

“…I know. I’ve been there before.”

“Have you been there?”

“Yes. …I had no choice.”

I guess he can’t tell me this either. Looking at Chung-ha who closed his mouth again, Jin-hee gestured as if to hurry up and eat.

“But Noona… Why are you helping me?”

(TL: I’m using Noona in this one, the setting is on modern Korea for those that don’t know, Noona means ‘’older sister’’ it’s an affectionate way of calling an older female in Korea.)

“Me?”

What should I say? Jin-hee thought about it and laughed and said,

“I won’t tell you.”

Since you are hiding something, I will also take part in the play.

“…I know you’re strong, but it’s dangerous. That guy was the weakest of the executives.”

“Really? That’s great. A man like that was the weakest.”

The words she said were supposed to define that she was impressed, but her expression didn’t show it at all. Chung-ha frowned at Jin-hee, who spoke calmly.

Obviously, her martial arts was great. It was jaw-dropping even for Chung-ha, who hasn’t faced a real battle before, to see an executive who could compete with a B-class hunter faint in just a few blows.

“I’m telling you, there’s a rumor that the boss is an A-class hunter.”

“Heh.”

“I see~.” Jinhee was amazed. It didn’t mean she was scared or nervous. It was amazing that a class-A hunter was a gangster boss in such an alleyway.

I thought it was a funny joke that a B-class Hunter was a gangster executive, but it is quite surprising that there is even an A-class Hunter. Just as the difference between Class B and Class C was huge, the difference between Class A and Class B was immeasurable.

Even if a group of hunters that are said to be the top in Class B unite together, they won’t be able to handle the power of one Class A hunter.

“…You, believe me, right?”

“Yes, I do, because I can trust what you’ve seen in person rather than rumors flowing about.”

“…But are you still going to help me?”

Chung-ha was deliberately avoiding answering Jin-hee’s questions about the whereabouts of the Crows. He really appreciates her saving him, but he doesn’t want to let others get caught up in it when he himself was ready to die.

Jin-hee held a chopstick and pressed Chung-ha’s forehead.

“Don’t worry. This Noona is stronger than you think.”

It was killing two birds with one stone.

In addition to cleaning up the traffickers, she can get a chance to fight the strong self-proclaimed boss. It seemed more fun than farming in a half-assed dungeon. While seeing Chung-ha suffering from the stab in his forehead, she laughed as if looking forward to it.

Within District 2 that the thieves pointed out, Chung-ha gave detailed directions to the Crows’ base.

“You don’t have to come too.”

“This is where my sister is.”

“…Then I can’t help it.”

Jin-hee nodded her head saying that she understood Chung-ha’s insistence. The route was guided by the kid. Passing through a maze-like alleyway, they went into the depths of a ruined building and saw an unexpected entrance.

Perhaps it was a magical barrier, a black curtain was spread out in the place where one wall of the building was all sunken.

“If you go over there, you will find the stronghold of Miners and Crows.”

“Wow, I feel I’m going to face some real villains now.”

“You can’t find this place even by satellite or by a navigator. It’s in the middle of the ruins and it’s blocked by magic, so if you don’t know the place, you’ll never find it.”

“Awesome.”

At this point, she was amazed by the efforts of the gangsters.

“This is a real lawless place. In the first place, unless you are from one of the two organizations, you can’t get in and come out alive.”

“Then what about you?”

“…I have experience.”

I don’t know what experience it was, but Chung-ha muttered as if he didn’t want to talk about it then went closer to the ruins of the building near the entrance, and came out with something.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a hat. Take yours off and put it on.”

It was an all-in-one hat with a mask that looked like a gas mask. When I put it on, there was not a single part of the face that was revealed except the part around the eyes. It looked strange, but I was more curious as to why it was thrown on the floor. As if he knew I would ask, Chung-ha answered first.

“This is what the miners often use. There are several places with poison mist in the Sillim dungeons… I’ve seen them go out with this often. And it’s too much trouble, so when the filter runs out, they just throw it away. When they finish settling the things they get from the dungeons they throw it around here. Most of this area is a garbage dump.”

“You have prepared a lot, huh.”

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