The F-Rank Guild Master Has Too Much Money Chapter 36

 

 

The power of wind, which had forcibly vanished, surged back into me and wreaked havoc inside my body. Before I could stop it, blood burst from my mouth.

 

The floor was drenched in red, the metallic stench clinging to my clothes making my head spin. The only solace was that Cerberus had also taken damage when the tornado dissipated.

 

Just as I tried to summon another tornado, the middle of Cerberus’s three heads bent down and licked its mangled foreleg. Light shimmered where its tongue touched, and in an instant, the torn flesh knit itself together—restored as though it had never been wounded.

 

“What…what the hell? How is that monster’s paw completely healed?”

 

“Are we going to die here?”

 

“I don’t want to die!!”

 

Panic spread as people watched Cerberus recover as if nothing had happened. I forced myself to draw on what strength I had left, listening to their cries of despair.

 

If it had used a recovery skill, there had to be a cooldown before it could heal again. That meant I had to kill it before that chance came.

 

But my body was far too broken to take down its three heads one by one. I had to finish it in a single strike. I focused, gathering strength for a blow strong enough to level a nation, even as blood welled up and spilled from my lips.

 

The pain was unbearable, almost enough to make me faint—but I clenched my fists tighter. The sting of my nails digging into my palms kept me conscious, kept me sharp.

 

Even if I killed Cerberus, I had to make sure Ji Yun-seo—still sleeping behind it—wouldn’t be harmed. That meant this attack needed absolute precision.

 

“It’s getting bigger!”

 

“That’s not a tornado anymore!”

 

As the vortex devoured every blade of grass and even drained the nearby lake, I let out a bitter smile, blood staining my mouth.

 

“You’ll regret ever touching Yun-seo!”

 

The colossal tornado roared, threatening to consume everything. The ground split, trees trembled as though about to be ripped from the earth.

 

Cerberus, realizing the tornado was no small threat, braced itself. I spat another mouthful of blood and wiped my trembling lips.

 

The raging tornado dragged at Cerberus, trying to pull it in. Its claws dug deep into the ground, its hindquarters sinking low as it resisted.

 

“Even if I die, I’ll make sure you die with me!!”

 

At my voice, the small figure that had been stirring flinched.

 

“Uncle?”

 

Ji Yun-seo rubbed her eyes, then slowly sat up and looked at me.

 

“Uncle!!!”

 

In that instant, Cerberus broke free of the pull and forced its way toward Ji Yun-seo—as if it instinctively knew she was my weakness.

 

I had no choice but to stop the tornado. If I unleashed it now, Ji Yun-seo would be swallowed up too. Biting down hard, I glared at Cerberus.

 

As the winds died, the beast lumbered closer to her. Its three massive tongues reached out, scooping her up gently.

 

‘Does it think… Yun-seo is food?!’

 

“Yun-seo!! Come here!!”

 

But strangely, Cerberus didn’t harm her. Still, it was a monster—I couldn’t trust what it might do next. I called to her, and she tilted her head curiously before running to me.

 

Cerberus didn’t move a muscle until she was safe in my arms. Then it simply sat there, motionless, staring at her as though time itself had stopped.

 

“Uncle, you’re bleeding!!”

 

Ignoring her worried voice, I pulled her close. Her warmth spread through me. Without realizing it, I held my breath, then slowly let it out.

 

My frantic heart finally began to calm. There were tear streaks on her cheeks, but otherwise she was unharmed. Relieved, I kissed her forehead and hugged her tighter.

 

☆ Aether has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

His whole expression changed. He looks just like a dad now.

 

☆ ThankGoodness has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

So glad the kid’s not hurt.

 

“I’m sorry. Uncle was too late, wasn’t I?”

 

“Nope. I wasn’t scared ‘cause I knew you’d come.”

 

Her precious words made me kiss her again before turning to Cerberus. It simply sat there, calm and quiet. Even when Ji Yun-seo had run to me—it hadn’t moved. It just kept staring at her.

 

“Uncle, why are you bleeding? Are you hurt?”

 

“No, I’m fine. What about you, Yun-seo? Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

I had already checked her with my eyes, but I asked again. Ji Yun-seo shook her head firmly.

 

“Nope! I’m not hurt! That big puppy protected me.”

 

“That one?”

 

“Yup! That puppy over there.”

 

Her tiny hand pointed to the enormous Cerberus. As if it understood, Cerberus wagged its snake-like tail like a well-trained dog.

 

“That Cerberus protected you?”

 

“Uh-huh! It was scary at first, but when I gave it a pat-pat, it brought me here!”

 

Pat-pat? Pat-pat?!

 

Did she… tame an S-rank monster?!

 

Even as I stood there in shock, Ji Yun-seo wriggled in my arms, wanting to be put down. I set her on the ground—and she ran straight to Cerberus.

 

“Yun-seo! That’s—dangerous…!”

 

“Puppy, I have to go with Uncle now.”

 

Tiny compared to Cerberus, Ji Yun-seo placed her hand on its paw. Suddenly, light flared around its body—and the enormous beast transformed into a fluffy three-headed puppy.

 

“Woof!”

 

Now the size of a plush toy, it wagged its snake-tail furiously as Ji Yun-seo picked it up with ease.

 

“Uncle, can I keep the puppy?”

 

☆ Our Aether has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

So what was all that fighting and struggling for?

 

☆ Y’know… has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Turns out the S-rank boss monster was just a baby all along.

 

Thanks to Ji Yun-seo taming the S-rank monster, the dungeon cleared without further damage. The tear stains I had seen on the third floor had just been from when she first fell and got scared.

 

And the reason she’d been asleep… was simply because she’d played too hard at the amusement park and gotten tired. Relief washed over me—alongside a crushing wave of exhaustion. And though the dungeon was successfully cleared, chaos erupted outside that day.

 

* * *

 

A few days after our return— I turned on the TV and saw an interview with one of the civilians who had been inside with us.

 

For days, both TV and the internet had been flooded with nothing but stories about me and Ji Yun-seo.

 

– “I don’t think he was really F-rank. He summoned wind and just wiped out the monsters in one go. It was unreal.”

 

– “That was a tornado. I swear, the wind looked like it could swallow an entire building. My knees were shaking so bad.”

 

– “When I heard he was F-rank, I thought we were all going to die. That day was pure chaos—I didn’t even get a chance to thank him. Guildmaster Ji Yeon-woo, thank you so much.”

 

『We just heard from civilians who were inside the dungeon. Expert, is it really possible for an F-rank to solo-clear an S-rank dungeon?』

 

『Frankly, it’s nearly impossible. F-ranks are only a step above ordinary people—in the eyes of higher-ranked Hunters, there’s hardly any difference at all.』

 

『Some are suggesting Guildmaster Ji Yeon-woo’s rank assessment might have been wrong.』

 

『The Hunter Association’s assessments have zero margin of error. A mismeasurement is impossible.』

 

『Then are you saying Guildmaster Ji Yeon-woo is truly F-rank, yet still strong enough to clear an S-rank dungeon?』

 

『That’s correct. From our perspective, Guildmaster Ji Yeon-woo is an exceptional case—an F-rank capable of clearing S-rank content. For example, look at Ji Yun-seo, who has also become a hot topic. Physically, she’s no different from any seven-year-old child, and yet she tamed an S-rank monster…』

 

The fact that I, an F-rank, had cleared an S-rank dungeon—and that seven-year-old Ji Yun-seo had tamed an S-rank monster—sent public interest soaring. And because she wasn’t officially registered as a Hunter yet, that fact alone stirred up a storm.

 

“The VIP has called. They want her registered immediately.”

 

Registering as a Hunter meant pledging allegiance to a nation. In Ji Yun-seo’s case, without registration, if someone offered enough money, she could be taken abroad.

 

In this world, Hunters were national power. If an S-rank Tamer like Ji Yun-seo slipped away, it would be a national loss—so even the President was pressuring for her registration.

 

“…I wanted to put it off as long as possible.”

 

“Why?”

 

“She’s still a child.”

 

At my words, Gumiho nodded, glancing over at Ji Yun-seo.

 

Rolling around on the living room floor with Cerberus—who now looked like nothing more than a three-headed puppy—she hardly resembled a Hunter at all. Just an ordinary seven-year-old girl.

 

“Stop it~”

 

“Whine, whine.”

 

“Woof!”

 

“Yap!”

 

Cerberus treated Ji Yun-seo like its own pup. It licked her whenever it could and sometimes even brought her scraps of meat it had been eating.

 

Normally it shrank down small enough to stay close to her, but at night it would grow large enough to fill her bed, curl up, and wrap her protectively in its body while she slept.

 

Thanks to Cerberus, Ji Yun-seo had brightened noticeably. Where she had once been timid, now she carried herself with confidence.

 

“We have no choice but to register her, I suppose.”

 

“What about registering guild members?” Gumiho asked.

 

“For now, let’s leave the guild alone. We’re not going into dungeons anyway.”

 

“All right. I’ll make the arrangements.”

 

When An Bom carried Ji Yun-seo into the bathroom, Cerberus strolled over and sat at the door like a bodyguard, which made me chuckle.

 

After washing up, Ji Yun-seo stepped into her newly decorated room, with Cerberus wagging its snake-tail and following her inside.

 

Moments later, she came out dressed in a light-blue plaid pantsuit with a white blouse and a red ribbon instead of a tie. Her hair was neatly combed, held back with two little red clips that made her look even more adorable.

 

☆ Suit! has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Oh my gosh, she’s cute even in a suit. Should I make her a model?

 

☆ That Kid Someday has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

I just want to take her soul with me. Keep her by my side and snuggle her all day.

 

‘What nonsense. Yun-seo will be mine to cuddle forever.’

 

“Uncle, where are we going?”

 

After hearing from An Bom that we were going out, Ji Yun-seo came over to me with Cerberus in her arms. When I picked her up, Cerberus let out a low growl, as if it didn’t like me carrying her.

 

“We’re going to get our Yun-seo registered as a Hunter.”

 

Maybe because Cerberus was in her arms too, she felt heavy. I wondered how long it would take before Ji Yun-seo herself weighed that much on her own.

 

An Bom had mentioned her body was still recovering from the abuse she suffered at the orphanage. Healing could only do so much—natural recovery would take time.

 

Once she fully recovered, she’d grow stronger. Everyone was hoping that day would come soon.

 

“Well then, shall we get going?”

 

Up until now, we’d always used taxis, but when Choi Tae-hyuk mentioned he had a license, we finally bought a car. Our very first drive was for Ji Yun-seo’s Hunter registration. Somehow, that made it feel special.

 

“All ready,” Choi Tae-hyuk said.

 

“Are we bringing Kero too?”

 

“Of course. Any tamed monster has to be registered.”

 

“What’s registering mean?”

 

“It just means we’re officially telling them, ‘Kero belongs to Yun-seo.’”

 

Cerberus had ended up with the name Kero thanks to An Bom and Gumiho. I had objected—how could such a soft, cutesy name suit a beast from hell with such a terrifying appearance?

 

But then they hit me with their weird logic: If you have a key and a card, even Ji Yun-seo could become a magical girl. And when Ji Yun-seo herself beamed at the name, that was that. Cerberus became Kero.

 

I patted Ji Yun-seo’s head as she nodded eagerly, then settled her into the back seat. After buckling her in, I climbed into the passenger seat, and the car rolled smoothly down the road.

 

“Is your body okay?”

 

When I came out of the dungeon covered in blood from head to toe, An Bom and Gumiho were horrified. An Bom, especially, scolded me, asking if I always had to come back injured.

 

But the best sight of all had been Choi Tae-hyuk’s face. The normally stone-faced man had actually shown a mix of anger, worry, and relief—something I never thought I’d see.

 

Scratching my head awkwardly, I remembered how An Bom had kept healing me the whole way back to the guild, while Choi Tae-hyuk had strictly forbidden me from leaving again for the time being.

 

But with public opinion hounding me, I had no choice but to head out again—and Choi Tae-hyuk absolutely insisted on coming along.

 

They say athletes need stubbornness to succeed, and sure enough, he explained point by point why his presence was necessary. The problem was… everyone but me agreed with him.

 

“This time, I can’t help it, but I can really go alone. I’m strong, you know.”

 

I sighed at his stern expression, pretending he hadn’t heard what I’d just said. I wasn’t some fragile piece of glass. Did I really need to drag around an S-rank bodyguard?

 

“Let’s talk about it again later.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I mean it!”

 

“Understood. We’ve arrived.”

 

The moment we pulled up at the Hunter Association, reporters swarmed toward me and Ji Yun-seo.