The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 55

“Kwon, is th-th-that what you’re l-looking for first?”

 

“Of course! My hair is on the line here!”

 

Choi Kwon, snorting heavily, rummaged here and there through the crops before discovering the rice seed pot peeking its face out from between the green leaves. 

 

“It’s here!” 

 

Kwon hugged the pot with a look of overwhelming emotion.

 

“I’m saved…”

 

Kanghyun approached Haechan and Taegyeom, who had burst into laughter at the sight of Choi Kwon.

 

“Hyung. So how’s the situation outside?” 

 

Taegyeom chuckled.

 

“How do you think? That Vice Chairman guy was running wild, throwing a total fit, you know?” 

 

Just then, Hana, who had returned after finishing a call with the hospital director, cautiously joined them.

 

“The people at the hospital won’t be affected, will they? The director said everything is fine, but I can’t help but worry.”

 

Kanghyun shook his head lightly.

 

“Don’t worry. No matter how much of a prick the Vice Chairman is, he wouldn’t dare touch civilians who aren’t even hunters unless he’s truly lost his mind.”

 

Taegyeom chimed in from the side, not wanting to be outdone.

 

“Kanghyun is right. At most, he’ll just bark a few times at the empty garden and go home.”

 

However, Haechan still looked restless.

 

“Is it r-really okay? If the V-V-Vice Chairman t-t-tries to make it a p-problem…”

 

“I was wondering what you were all talking so seriously about. What problem could the Vice Chairman possibly make?”

 

Choi Kwon, who had walked over cradling his rice seedling pot, gave a snort of derision.

 

“Wasn’t he the one who barged into someone else’s garden in the first place? Besides, do you really think he’d ever imagine the missing crops are inside a gate?”

 

Choi Kwon’s words were correct. 

 

This time, the Vice Chairman was the one who had crossed the line.

 

Hana’s crops were strictly items under contract with the Haechi Guild; even if they vanished, the Vice Chairman had no grounds to make a case of it, no matter who he was.

 

If anything, it was Haechi or Hana who could raise an issue with the Association for setting up camp in their garden without permission.

 

Just as the atmosphere was beginning to settle, a massive, muscular arm suddenly thrust forward.

 

“Here.”

 

Accompanied by Han Taeho’s low, heavy voice, a thick bundle of documents was held out to Kanghyun.

 

“These are materials regarding the illegal distribution of items the Vice Chairman has committed.”

 

Choi Kwon and Haechan flinched simultaneously.

 

“Wh-whoa, you scared me!”

 

“Wh-wh-when did you get here?!”

 

The two instinctively clung to each other, moving as far away from Han Taeho as possible.

 

“…I’ve been here the whole time.”

 

Choi Kwon and Haechan kept their eyes wide and wary as they held onto each other.

 

Han Taeho looked up and down as if his conscience was pricking him.

 

Haechan and Kwon looked beyond awkward—they looked uncomfortable.

 

There was no way facing a person who had been the leader of a guild they withdrew from would be comfortable. 

 

“I heard he’s supposed to be on the same side or something now, but this is still a bit much. Ugh.”

 

Choi Kwon, in particular, didn’t hide his discomfort and expressed it exactly as he felt.

 

The memory of Han Taeho going wild and giving him a sound thrashing when he left Red Moon was still vivid in Choi Kwon’s mind.

 

The moment he made eye contact with Han Taeho, Choi Kwon instinctively raised his forearms in defense.

 

“What, what is it! You gonna hit me again? Your muscles are just for show anyway!”

 

A vein throbbed near Han Taeho’s temple at Choi Kwon’s provocation.

 

But unexpectedly, Han Taeho was the first to bow his head.

 

“I apologize for what happened then.”

 

The air went silent as if time had stopped.

 

Choi Kwon’s eyes widened.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Even though you were acting out, it’s true that I reacted emotionally. I’m sorry.”

 

Furthermore, Han Taeho bowed his head toward Lee Haechan as well.

 

“You, too.”

 

Haechan flinched.

 

“…Pardon?”

 

“I knew there were unfair things happening while you were in Red Moon. It was my responsibility as the guild master that I failed to intervene.”

 

Haechan’s lips quivered slightly at the apology.

 

His face showed he couldn’t quite find the words to respond.

 

Choi Kwon looked back and forth between Haechan and Han Taeho, then scratched the bridge of his nose.

 

This kind of situation was entirely unfamiliar. 

 

To be honest, his own faults had played a part in getting hit back then.

 

He had been thrashed because he had accidentally knocked over all of Han Taeho’s newly bought favorite protein powder while causing a scene about leaving the guild.

 

“Ah, whatever. Fine, I get it, okay?”

 

Choi Kwon waved his hand dismissively.

 

On the other hand, Haechan remained hesitant.

 

“…I, well…”

 

Haechan eventually trailed off and looked away.

 

Because his heart had been so deeply wounded, it wasn’t the kind of matter he could coolly brush off like Choi Kwon.

 

Han Taeho seemed to understand this and didn’t add anything further to Haechan’s reaction.

 

A strange, awkward current flowed through the gate.

 

That was when Hana squeezed herself right between them.

 

“Should we eat first before we talk? It’s already lunchtime.”

 

Hana held out freshly roasted, warm potatoes and mushrooms.

 

Caught off guard, they blinked blankly as they each received one.

 

Han Taeho, who had been hesitating, also took a potato and asked.

 

“But how did you roast these?”

 

“Like that?”

 

Hana shrugged at Han Taeho’s question and pointed behind her.

 

There, a short distance away, stood Kanghyun, wielding a sword swirling with flames.

 

Everyone’s eyes turned toward him at once.

 

To think the great Seo Kanghyun was using his skills to roast potatoes.

 

That was clearly what everyone was thinking.

 

Without a word, Kanghyun flicked his sword, extinguishing the flames.

 

“Enough with the small talk. Eat them before they burn.”

 

When Kanghyun spoke curtly, no one dared to argue.

 

Besides, the problem was the aroma rising from the potatoes and mushrooms.

 

The smell of fresh potatoes, roasted immediately after being dug from the earth.

 

Steam wafted from the fluffy flesh revealed through the cracks in the potato skins, and the lightly charred mushrooms gave off a savory scent.

 

Without anyone having to say a word, they all slowly began to move.

 

Han Taeho, who had been standing awkwardly; Choi Kwon, who had been crossing his arms and watching tentatively; and Haechan, who had been hesitating.

 

In the end, they naturally ended up sitting in a circle.

 

The first to bite into a potato was Han Taeho.

 

He peeled it roughly with his large hands and took a bite, causing white steam to puff out.

 

Han Taeho, munching on the potato, spoke quickly with a serious face. 

 

“It’s sweeter than I thought…! It’s as good as the meat I had earlier! The effects too!”

 

Han Taeho seemed busy checking the effects of the potatoes and mushrooms appearing on his system window.

 

He didn’t even notice the charcoal soot smeared on his face like a mustache.

 

Seeing that ridiculous sight, Choi Kwon and Haechan had to press their lips together to stop themselves from laughing.

 

There was still a hint of wariness in Haechan’s gaze, but at the very least, they weren’t standing with their backs to each other at this moment.

 

Sitting in the same space, sharing potatoes.

 

Right now, a distance of just about this much felt like enough. 

 

Hana took a large bite of her potato, stealing glances at Haechan’s notably brighter expression.

 

It was a moment where a small peace settled within the gate.

 

Once everyone was full, with potato crumbs still on their faces, their attention turned to the documents Han Taeho had brought.

 

“So. You’re saying these are the corruption acts the Vice Chairman committed all this time?” 

 

Kanghyun flipped through the documents with swift hands. 

 

Hana also craned her neck beside him, scanning the papers.

 

“Wow. He really made a killing, didn’t he?”

 

Hana scowled with a grimace. 

 

Just from what she saw at a glance, the benefits the Vice Chairman had taken on the side were far from few.

 

Beyond illegally monopolizing the distribution of items, there were detailed accounts of him trading coordinates for unauthorized gates and pocketing mana stones to resell them.

 

Some even had copies of the contract documents attached.

 

Han Taeho seemed to feel a sense of pride in the documents he had organized, as he puffed out his broad shoulders even more.

 

Of course, that momentum quickly shriveled when Kanghyun scolded him, pointing out that Han Taeho had also participated in this illegal distribution.

 

As Hana patted the shoulders of the completely dejected Han Taeho, her mouth fell open slightly as she sat close to Kanghyun and looked at the documents together.

 

“Huh? But what’s this?”

 

Every document the Vice Chairman used for his transactions was stamped with the same mark.

 

A crack drawn diagonally within a broken circle.

 

It was a pattern that looked as if it symbolized a rift in a gate.

 

“It doesn’t look like an official Association mark.”

 

Kanghyun also narrowed his eyes.

 

But it wasn’t the kind of puzzle that would be solved just by putting their heads together right then.

 

Hana eventually put the documents back down.

 

What the mark meant was a problem for later.

 

The problem right in front of them now was how to deal with that man.

 

“Anyway, what are you going to do? This guy is truly malicious. He even tried to steal my garden whenever he felt like it.”

 

When Hana voiced her small anger, the corners of Kanghyun’s mouth rose minutely.

 

Kanghyun scanned the documents in silence for a moment before speaking very curtly.

 

“What else? If you commit a crime, you have to be punished.”