The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 53

If it were in the past, this distance would have felt awkward, but strangely now, this kind of Seo Kanghyun felt oddly familiar. 

 

Was it because of a fragments of the memory received as a reward? 

 

‘Come to think of it, I really should ask him about what I saw in that dream.’

 

Hana looked around her surroundings with a glance. 

 

Now probably wasn’t the right time, though.

 

First, let’s raid the precious crops. 

 

Since it was obvious Seo Kanghyun wouldn’t leave even if she told him to, and Hana needed his help anyway, she decided to let it slide.

 

Instead of chasing him away, Hana pulled a polka-dot handkerchief from her pocket and snapped it clean.

 

The moment he saw it, Kanghyun’s face stiffened noticeably.

 

“Wait. Surely… I trust you aren’t planning to use that on me.”

 

“Why do you think I won’t?” 

 

Hana replied nonchalantly as she reached out.

 

“Yoon Hana-ssi—”

 

Before he could stop her, the handkerchief was draped over Kanghyun’s head.

 

Hana quickly pulled both ends of the handkerchief and tied them neatly under his chin.

 

“If you’re going to stay here continuously, you need to cover up too, Seo Kanghyun-ssi. Your face is unnecessarily handsome, so it stands out way too much.”

 

“What—”

 

“Shh!”

 

It was right at the moment when Kanghyun was about to half-open his lips as if momentarily at a loss for words. 

 

One of the Association employees peering into their equipment back at the garden whipped his head around.

 

Reflexively, Hana clamped her hand over Kanghyun’s mouth and lowered her body.

 

“…!”

 

Kanghyun, whose mouth was suddenly covered, blinked rapidly.

 

His flustered light-gray eyes wavered up and down.

 

Fortunately, the employee stared in their direction for a moment before losing interest and turning his head back.

 

“Phew, we almost got caught.”

 

Confirming that, Hana pulled her hand away.

 

Kanghyun was still blinking rapidly with a dazed expression.

 

“…Pff.”

 

Hana bit her lip hard, barely suppressing a burst of laughter.

 

To think Seo Kanghyun would be sitting here with a polka-dot handkerchief tied over his head.

 

Who could have ever imagined such a sight?

 

Laughter rose all the way to her throat.

 

Seeing her like that, Kanghyun narrowed one eye and asked.

 

“Do I look strange?”

 

“Mm, no?”

 

Kanghyun’s eyebrow rose just a fraction higher.

 

Hana quickly turned her head away, feeling like she would explode with laughter if she made eye contact any longer.

 

“S-Shall we go?”

 

Hana moved stealthily, keeping her body low along the wall.

 

Kanghyun also followed quietly behind. 

 

As they approached the garden, she saw the Association employees crowded on one side, absorbed in their item appraisal equipment.

 

Not missing the opportunity, Hana quickly activated her skill to create a small hole on one side of the garden.

 

It was a shortcut leading to the other garden she had established inside the Gangnam Station Gate.

 

A smirk played on Hana’s lips.

 

“Now then. Shall we start the raid in earnest?”

 

Kanghyun, staring at the shortcut Hana had opened, gave a small nod.

 

“Aha.”

 

His light-gray eyes scanned the rift.

 

“I was wondering how you were sneaking in and out of gates; I see this was how.”

 

Kanghyun gestured with his chin toward the shortcut. 

 

“So, where does this lead?”

 

“I believe you’ve seen it before, Seo Kanghyun-ssi. My other garden inside the Gangnam Station Gate.”

 

At Hana’s answer, stared at the shortcut a bit more closely. As if this situation were quite interesting. 

 

Meanwhile.

 

The Association employees ended their call with the Vice Chairman and readjusted their gear, grumbling with dissatisfied faces.

 

“Even if it’s the Vice Chairman, is it really okay to just take someone else’s items like this?”

 

“I don’t know, just do as you’re told. It’s not like we have a choice.”

 

The equipment they pulled out was nothing compared to the sophisticated appraisal glasses used by the Vice Chairman’s secretary.

 

The crude equipment, resembling metal detectors, had dangling wires and excessively large heads.

 

It was an appraisal item for low-ranking employees that fell short in both efficiency and accuracy. 

 

“How long is it going to take to check all the effects with this? Can’t we just look them up on the Hunter Exchange app?”

 

Grumbling, they began to thrust the detector heads over the crops.

 

Beep— Beep—.

 

The mechanical sounds echoed across the garden.

 

Watching them from the corner of his eye, Kanghyun crossed his arms.

 

“Fine, let’s say you move the crops to another garden. What are you going to do about those people?”

 

At that question, Hana cleared her throat for no reason.

 

“Ahem.”

 

Then, she curled the corners of her mouth into a grin.

 

“As for what I’m going to do, it’s this.”

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<Skill ‘Go Away, Thief! (D-rank)’ is activated.>

 

<When a forced appraisal or viewing attempt is made on an item owned by the user, a ‘masking’ is applied to the appraisal result to display false information.>

 

A faint ripple swept across the entire garden.

 

Though invisible to the eye, it felt as though a thin film had covered the crops.

 

The next moment, the employee looking at the detector screen widened his eyes.

 

“Huh? What’s this? The cherry tomato effect is… 30% decrease in stamina?”

 

“The potatoes are weird too! They show a decrease in defense!”

 

“Are you sure you’re looking at it right? This is way too different from the effects we know.”

 

The scene instantly fell into a commotion.

 

The employees snatched each other’s equipment and appraised them again.

 

“Check it again!”

 

Beep— Beep—

 

The results were the same.

 

Every effect was being displayed as a debuff.

 

“Is the equipment malfunctioning?”

 

Eventually, someone called the Vice Chairman again.

 

“It’s true, Vice Chairman. The effects are strange! There must be some mistake—”

 

The Association employees were distracted, crowding together to tap on the detectors, swap batteries, and suspect one another.

 

Now was the chance.

 

Lowering her body, Hana slipped into the garden.

 

She pulled up the nearest potato.

 

Then, she tossed it into the hole with a wink.

 

“This is a skill I got back when that Vice Chairman person stole my rice seeds. It’s quite useful.”

 

“The Vice Chairman stole your rice seeds?”

 

Strength entered Kanghyun’s hand at the belated realization.

 

However, that anger soon lost its way and scattered.

 

Because Hana, the actual victim, was plucking up potatoes in a state of self-absorption so innocently. 

 

Finding it difficult to even scowl in front of that face, Kanghyun let out a deep sigh and crouched down beside her.

 

“Are you planning to move them one by one like this? Alone, how long will that take?”

 

“I originally intended to do that. But now, I have a reliable ally by my side.”

 

As if she had been waiting for the moment to say those words, the corners of Hana’s eyes curved softly.

 

At the word ‘ally,’ Kanghyun looked around.

 

Then, thinking ‘surely not,’ he pointed to himself and mouthed the words.

 

“Me?”

 

Hana shoved a potato into Kanghyun’s hand as if he had given the right answer.

 

“You’re going to help, right? It’s. O. u. r. item, after all.” 

 

“Ours?”

 

“Yes. We have an exclusive contract, don’t we? Therefore, everything in this garden is basically your item as well, Seo Kanghyun-ssi.”

 

Hana tilted her chin up slightly.

 

Asking if she had no conscience? 

 

Does conscience put food on the table?

 

As they say, having a capable person by your side is also a talent.

 

If it’s a job you can’t do alone, you should ask for help, naturally.

 

It’s better than trying to do it alone and causing an accident, right?

 

‘Of course, I’ll compensate properly, though!’ 

 

Hana vowed to help Kanghyun with his sleep even more willingly for the time being.

 

Or rather, she resolved to work hard at whatever other helpful task came her way.

 

“Hurry. Those people might come to their senses soon.”

 

Watching Hana diligently dig up potatoes while giving him a small nudge, Kanghyun saw a boldness that was shameless yet impossible to hate.

 

In the end, Kanghyun let out a short sigh and lightly snapped his fingers.

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<Skill ‘Spatial Transfer (S-rank)’ is activated.>

 

When the skill was activated, the potatoes in the garden vanished entirely.

 

As if being sucked through the hole.

 

Seeing that, Hana’s round eyes sparkled.

 

“Wow! Seo Kanghyun-ssi, you’re incredible!”

 

At those words, the corners of Kanghyun’s mouth rose ever so slightly.

 

He turned his head as if it were no big deal, but strangely, he didn’t feel bad.

 

* * *

 

And so, after transferring all the crops from the sanatorium garden into the gate with Kanghyun’s help.

 

Hana and Kanghyun moved themselves inside the Gangnam Station Gate before the Association employees could catch them.

 

Emerging from the shortcut, Kanghyun dusted off his wrinkled clothes.

 

“It feels like you’re working me like a slave quite naturally. Is it my imagination?”