My Tamed Beast Returned with a Dragon Chapter 28 - Dungeon Auction

Eunsae was staring seriously at something in the guild’s lounge. Passing by, Sol spotted her through the window and stuck her head in.

Eunsae was watching a cooking program on a massive 98-inch TV.

“Making Baby Food for Picky Eaters”… The words in the upper left corner of the screen made Sol frown.

“Hey, hey. You’re actually out of the house for once, and this is what you’re watching?”

“My baby eats everything I give him, but what if he starts refusing certain foods?”

“You’re being so extra.”

“I have to be prepared just in case.”

Eunsae refocused on the TV screen. The show was explaining three different recipes for getting kids to eat their vegetables.

“I’ll just buy you some supplements…”

“Oh! Should I be giving him supplements too?”

Eunsae’s expression lit up with realization. Sol shook her head in exasperation and plopped down next to her.

She snatched Eunsae’s franchise coffee and took a sip through the straw.

“For real, what’s up with you staying out so long today?”

“It feels empty without the baby and Lord Belquior.”

Eunsae admitted sheepishly. Sol was dumbfounded.

“You’ve lived alone this whole time…”

“Well, they say you don’t notice when someone’s there, but you do when they’re gone. It’s just lonely at home.”

Sol grabbed Eunsae’s wrist and pulled her up.

“This won’t do. You’re free today, right? Let’s go to the department store.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why do you think? You need some new clothes and a salon visit. If a top-tier S-rank hunter walks around looking this plain, people will talk.”

“Am I that plain?”

Flustered, Eunsae looked down at herself. A plain white T-shirt with some writing on it, jeans, sneakers, and her long, waist-length hair.

Nothing unusual. But clearly, Sol wasn’t satisfied. In the end, Eunsae was dragged into Sol’s car and driven to a department store owned by Dochun Group.

Sol had called ahead, so a personal shopper was already waiting. The manager greeted them warmly.

“Would you like to use the VIP room?”

“Yes.”

“No, it’s fine! I actually want to browse and shop around today.”

“Sure, if you want to get swarmed by a crowd. Should I just set up a press conference here for you?”

“Ah…”

Eunsae trailed off. She silently followed them to the VIP room.

Inside was a spacious area with floor-to-ceiling windows, several clothing racks, and models with similar body types to Eunsae waiting.

The manager smiled and handed Eunsae a tablet. A list of the latest seasonal releases from luxury brands appeared on the screen.

“Hmm… I’ll take this one, this one, and this one.”

“Yoo Eunsae, do you have a death wish?”

Sol nearly exploded when Eunsae picked three nearly identical outfits. She snatched the tablet and started selecting clothes herself.

Floral and romantic dresses, chic two-piece sets—it was a far cry from Eunsae’s usual style. Scratching her cheek, Eunsae hesitated.

“Isn’t this too flashy?”

“It’s supposed to be flashy! You can be flashy!”

Models walked the runway wearing Sol’s choices. With a sharp eye, Sol also picked out matching shoes and accessories.

“This really seems too much…”

“You. Shut up. Before I lose it.”

Shopping bags piled up.

Just as they were wrapping up, Eunsae hesitantly turned to the personal shopper.

“Um, do you have a section for baby products?”

“…Pardon?”

“Something for a boy, around three to four years old. Clothes, shoes, toys—things like that.”

“Yoo Eunsae… you’re seriously doing this here?”

The manager’s eyes sparkled. She had heard rumors that Eunsae was raising a child, but the age didn’t quite match up.

Not that it mattered to a professional salesperson. Satisfying the customer was all that mattered.

The manager quickly made a call, and moments later, racks of baby clothes rolled into the room.

Unlike earlier, when Eunsae had been indifferent about her own shopping, she was now eagerly moving from one rack to another, admiring everything.

“This is so cute! And this! And this one too!”

“Hey, hey…”

“They even have swimsuits! Would the baby be able to wear this? Oh no… so adorable. Sol, look! A dinosaur pajama set!”

“Eunsae, calm down. You’re too excited right now… Wait, what’s this? A toilet seat cover? Why is this here?”

“Oh-ho, because three-year-olds start potty training around this age.”

“Wow… Manager, you really thought of everything.”

But that baby is a dragon. Pretty sure he won’t need potty training. Sol swallowed the words.

“I want everything. It’s all too cute!”

For once, Eunsae was indulging her material desires. She bought almost every piece of clothing on the racks—except for a few mistakenly mixed-in girls’ outfits—and even pre-ordered trench coats for fall and thick jackets for winter.

For toys, she relied on the experienced personal shopper’s recommendations, buying a variety of toys for fine motor skills, cognitive development, and intelligence enhancement.

She even got the baby a luxury ride-on car.

She bought a full collection of children’s books as well. Sol, who had tried and failed to stop her, eventually just accepted it.

“You bought all this for the baby… but you’re not getting anything for him?”

“Huh? Lord Belquior?”

The employees’ ears perked up. Until now, no one knew anything about the baby’s father.

Eunsae fell into deep thought.

A gift for Lord Belquior…?

Clothes? …No, his fantasy-world-style robes were already extravagant enough.

A watch? …No, for the same reason.

Shoes? …A bag?

After much contemplation, Eunsae finally thought of something.

“A hair accessory?”

“…Are you serious?”

“But that’s all I can think of. Lord Belquior has beautiful sky-blue hair, so it would suit him well.”

“For the love of—just stop…”

“Why? Is it that bad?”

“That’s not the point. Ugh, fine! I admit I’m the one being biased here, sorry!”

Sol gave up trying to convince her. Fortunately, none of the accessories the manager showed really caught Eunsae’s eye, so she had to give up on the idea.

Should I commission a designer instead?

All the purchased items were sent directly to the guild, where guild members would take them to Eunsae’s home.

Since they had spent too much time shopping, the salon visit was postponed. Feeling lighter, Eunsae took a taxi home.

Just in case Belquior and the baby had returned, she checked the backyard—but only the miniature World Tree stood there.

Eunsae picked up a watering can.

“Grow strong and tall.”

Even if it wouldn’t match the original, she hoped it would grow into a grand tree. Humming to herself, she stepped back inside… and spotted a pale pink egg sitting on the living room table.

“…What am I supposed to do with that?”

The magic beast’s egg she had received from China. Eunsae placed her hands over it and channeled her power. A white light shimmered and seeped into the shell.

Minutes passed. But the egg remained unchanged.

“…Is this not how it works?”

She poked it with her finger, then pressed her ear against it. No sound.

“What are you? How do I get you to hatch?”

“……”

“Maybe Lord Belquior would know…”

Her thoughts kept drifting to him.

Looking out the window at the sunset, Eunsae pouted.

“I miss them.”

Both the baby… and Lord Belquior.

And so, another day quietly came to an end.

 

 

 

****

 

 

An S-rank dungeon emerged in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province. The Hunter Association announced the bidding date to each guild.

Today was the designated day. Along with Kim Yoon hee, the head of our operations team, we stepped into the Hunter Association building.

“Haven’t seen you since the ranking match, Guild Leader Han Woori.”

It was Baek Chan min, the guild leader of Gold Star Guild. He had the dignified air of a white lion, likely aware of all the eyes watching him.

“Have you been well? I see Vice Guild Leader Yuk Jae hee is here too.”

“I heard Hunter Yoo Eunsae is back. Congratulations.”

“Well, the paparazzi sure are relentless. Never thought they’d go all the way to a monster-infested mountain village in Gangwon Province just to snap some photos. You should be careful too, Guild Leader Baek. You never know when or what kind of pictures might get taken of you.”

We smirked. It was our way of letting him know—we knew they were behind it.

“…Since we’re on the topic, I have to ask. Who was that man? Did Hunter Yoo Eunsae have a lover?”

“No way. As for that guy… I can’t really speak about him.”

Feigning nonchalance, we extended a handshake.

“Let’s have a fair match today. I’d like to give this as a welcome-back gift for Hunter Yoo Eunsae.”

“Oh dear. We’ve also put in a lot of preparation for this.”

His polite smile carried a subtle sharpness. We gripped his hand firmly before letting go.

“Let’s hope for a fair play.”

We moved to our designated seats with Hunter Kim Yoon hee, while Baek Chan min and Yuk Jae hee did the same, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Since this was an S-rank dungeon auction, the top guilds from across the country had gathered. Even guilds based in North Chungcheong had come up for the event.

When the time came, an official from the Hunter Association stepped up to the podium.

“Please write your bid amount and place it in this box.”

We exchanged glances with Kim Yoon hee. The amount we decided on was based on information secretly gathered by our intelligence division.

Moments later, the Hunter Association official returned to the podium. The tension in the room was palpable.

“The final winning bid is 3.281 billion won! Gold Star Guild has acquired ownership of the S-rank dungeon in Goesan, North Chungcheong!”

…What?

We were stunned. Turning to Kim Yoon hee, we saw she was just as shocked.

Our bid had been 3.28 billion won—just 1 million won short.

How was this possible? There was no way Gold Star could have known our exact bid unless someone had leaked the information.

We frowned.

“This is unpleasant…”

Having our strategy read so easily hurt our pride. We glared at Baek Chan min, who was smirking, before walking out of the building with Kim Yoon hee.

Meanwhile, Yuk Jae hee leaned in and whispered to Baek Chan min.

“The note was right.”

“Yeah.”

Before arriving, they had received an anonymous message.

“Dochun Guild will bid 3.28 billion won. Offer slightly more.”

Baek Chan min stroked his chin.

“Who could it be…? Who’s pulling the strings behind the scenes?”

His instincts told him—whoever it was, they were no ordinary person.