The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 52

* * *

 

Meanwhile.

 

After ending his call with Kanghyun, Han Taeho composed his expression and opened the door to the Vice Chairman’s office.

 

The Vice Chairman, almost buried in a high-end leather chair, was leafing through documents. They were papers regarding Yoon Hana’s personal information.

 

And standing firm before the Vice Chairman was the Guild Master of Kun, the 4th ranked guild.

 

“You’re saying that F-rank from back then is the hunter who cleared the Yangpyeong Gate?”

 

“Yes. I’m certain of it.” 

 

Han Taeho scowled at the Kun Guild Master’s confident voice.

 

As he had promised Kanghyun, he had intended to visit the Vice Chairman as soon as day broke to correct the report about Hana. To think Kun would beat him to it.

 

The situation was flowing in a far-from-favorable direction. 

 

The Vice Chairman, setting down Hana’s documents as if throwing them, rubbed his chin.

 

“It is true that this F-rank has been involved every time there was a commotion.”

 

The B-rank Gate at the Hunter Association headquarters, the Shrieking Bird Gate in Yangpyeong, the City of Gloomy Rain Gate, and even the rank-up accident at the apprentice hunter gate just the other day.

 

Yoon Hana was present at every single gate where an incident occurred.

 

And those accidents, which could have easily turned into disasters, were always resolved with anticlimactic simplicity.

 

There were certainly several suspicious points.

 

The Vice Chairman handed Hana’s file to the Kun Guild Master.

 

“Investigate further. Anything is fine, down to the smallest detail.”

 

“Understood, Vice Chairman.”

 

The Kun Guild Master twisted one corner of his mouth ostentatiously, bumped Han Taeho’s shoulder, and left the office.

 

When Han Taeho tried to follow him out in a fit of pique, the Vice Chairman stopped him.

 

“Red Moon Guild Master . I heard a D-rank gate monster used commonly by guilds went berserk yesterday. Was that your doing?”

 

“That is—”

 

“Surely you didn’t use a Berserk item, did you?”

 

As Han Taeho gnawed on his lip, the Vice Chairman lost his temper and threw a stack of papers at Han Taeho’s face.

 

“Are you out of your mind! What if I’m discovered to be linked to those items because of that!”

 

“…I apologize.”

 

“Enough! There will be no further support for Red Moon, so do not show your face before me ever again!”

 

“Then the tasks I was handling—”

 

“Those too! Kun will take care of them, so take your hands off everything!”

 

The Vice Chairman, firing off his words unilaterally, stormed out of the office.

 

Slam!

 

The door closed with enough force to break, and Han Taeho grit his teeth.

 

“I was planning on doing that anyway, so that worked out perfectly.”

 

The Vice Chairman hadn’t mentioned the overdue rewards until the very end.

 

As he was making a spitting motion at that pettiness, a glossy box on the desk caught Han Taeho’s eye.

 

It was a box the Vice Chairman cherished, forbidding anyone from touching it. The exterior was sleek and looked quite valuable.

 

Could this cover about half of the overdue rewards?

 

An ordinary person wouldn’t have touched someone else’s property in this situation, but Han Taeho was different.

 

“That’s right. You should have given me what was due.”

 

Click.

 

As he opened the box, a dark red light surged out. 

 

Inside the box was a row of black seeds emitting a red aura.

 

Han Taeho picked one up.

 

“What on earth is this that he hid it so tightly and stared at it? Hmm.”

 

His deliberation was short, and his execution was fast. Han Taeho quickly slid the seed into his back pocket.

 

He didn’t even know what it was. 

 

He just took it as a ‘screw you’ since the Vice Chairman valued it.

 

Surprisingly, Han Taeho was the type whose head was also filled with muscle. However, because those muscles were developed quite in balance, he was also adept at reading situations and playing tricks.

 

‘It just needs to look like there isn’t an empty space, right?’

 

Han Taeho picked up a pebble from a small flowerpot on the desk and activated his skill.

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<Skill ‘Transformation (A+ rank)’ is applied.>

 

<The object’s appearance is adjusted.>

 

Others believed that Han Taeho’s ‘Transformation’ only went as far as changing the effects of an item, but in reality, it was a skill capable of changing the item’s appearance as well.

 

The pebble soon shimmered and began to change its shape. 

 

The surface became smooth, and a red aura slowly appeared to rise from it.

 

A moment later.

 

It changed into a shape remarkably similar to the items contained inside the box. 

 

“Perfect.”

 

Han Taeho smiled proudly and shoved the transformed pebble into the empty slot. When lined up next to the original ones, they were indistinguishable to the naked eye.

 

A growl erupted from Han Taeho’s stomach.

 

“…The meat was delicious, though.” 

 

Would he be able to eat it again? 

 

Closing the box, Han Taeho smacked his lips. 

 

He hoped this thing he took was actually useful. 

 

Then perhaps Seo Kanghyun would let him meet that tiny F-rank hunter again. 

 

And then, maybe he could eat meat wrapped in that strange lettuce once more.

 

Leaving his stream of consciousness to flow, Han Taeho quickly left the office before the Vice Chairman could return and cause another scene. 

 

He had reached the conclusion that since things had turned out this way, he should organize and hand over the evidence of cleaning up after the Vice Chairman all this time.

 

At the possibility of eating that meat again, Han Taeho’s massive legs moved as lightly as if they had wings.

 

How much time had passed since Han Taeho left?

 

The Vice Chairman returned to his office belatedly. As soon as he hurriedly closed the door, he went straight to the desk.

 

“That stupid…! There’s a limit to what one should forget!”

 

The Vice Chairman hurriedly opened the box to check the contents.

 

One, two, three…….

 

There were no empty spaces.

 

“…Hah.”

 

With a sigh of relief, the strength left his legs.

 

“It almost turned into a disaster.” 

 

He didn’t even want to imagine what kind of measures the higher-ups would have taken if even one had gone missing. 

 

The Vice Chairman instinctively shuddered.

 

Then, as if determined never to lose it, he shoved the entire box into his inner pocket.

 

“I’ll have to be more careful from now on.”

 

Muttering as if making a vow, the Vice Chairman called the Association employees out in the garden.

 

Click.

 

As soon as the dial tone cut out, the Vice Chairman poured out the main point.

 

“Collect every single crop item out there.”

 

A series of mumbling sounds followed from the other side of the receiver. The Vice Chairman, who seemed to be listening silently, suddenly scowled.

 

“What? Haechi’s exclusive right? Where is such a thing! Don’t you know all items are distributed under Association management? Bring them all to me!”

 

Hanging up arbitrarily with a shout, the Vice Chairman smacked his lips.

 

What kind of windfall was this? 

 

Honestly, he was disappointed that the hunter he was looking for was an F-rank. But if that F-rank was the ‘crop supplier’ that hunters had been talking about lately, the story changed.

 

Moreover, he had secured the location of the garden. This was essentially the same as catching the goose that laid golden eggs whole.

 

“It’s certain she used those strange items to clear the Yangpyeong Gate as well. Otherwise, there’s no way a mere production-type could clear a gate alone.”

 

If that was the case, the efficacy of the crops might be even greater than what was publicly known. 

 

If only he could get his hands on the crops of that garden….

 

Gulp.

 

The Vice Chairman’s Adam’s apple moved slowly. Just imagining it made his mouth water.

 

“Heh… hehehe.”

 

A sinister laugh settled low in the room.

 

“Now. I’d like to hear an explanation of how you plan to raid the garden?”

 

“First, I’ll divert those people’s attention— wait a minute.”

 

Hana stopped mid-sentence.

 

Behind the wall near the garden.

 

Hana, crouching with a scarf wrapped around her head, closely observed the movements of the Association employees. 

 

The employees were busily moving around, each holding an item appraisal device.

 

Hana whipped her head to the side. 

 

There, she saw Seo Kanghyun sticking naturally close to her. 

 

As if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to be there.

 

“But why are you naturally here with me?”

 

Hana looked at Kanghyun curiously. 

 

Didn’t he curtly say earlier that he would see her back to the garden and then head back first?

 

“Seo Kanghyun-ssi, didn’t you say you were busy?”

 

“I suddenly became free.”

 

What kind of talk was that from the busiest person in Korea?

 

When she narrowed her eyes at the nonsensical statement, Kanghyun wore an even more shameless expression.

 

“And I am working right now, am I not?”

 

“What work are you doing here?”

 

It was a fair point. 

 

Kanghyun remained silent for a moment, and apparently having nothing particular to say, he merely turned his head slightly.