“Please skewer the bell peppers and mushrooms on the needle. I have a quest to grill food, so I’ll grill the meat.”

“Okay.”

We silently carried out our assigned roles for a while.

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa first cut the vegetables into suitable sizes for skewering. After neatly arranging them on skewers, he placed the remaining vegetables on the grill.

The image of him wielding a greatsword was so deeply ingrained in my mind that I expected him to be clumsy at this, but surprisingly, his hand movements were quite delicate.

I also placed some quality meat on the grill. There was a sizzling sound as the oil splattered.

“Wow! It’s so delicious, Master! You’re really good at grilling meat!”

“Really?”

“Yes! It melts in my mouth!”

Teddy, sitting on a log, exclaimed after taking a bite. I was glad it suited his taste, considering I just followed the instructions.

I also threw a piece of meat to the ethereal slimes lurking around the fire.

The pink slime and blue slime fought over the meat, pulling it from both sides.

“Aww, so cute. Don’t fight, just eat. I’ll give you one more.”

I gave them as many pieces as there were slimes, and they chewed while making squelching noises.

Finding their appearance adorable, I gently stroked them.

The blue slime, usually quite ferocious and prone to biting when touched, allowed contact only while eating.

“Eat and grow slowly. You won’t be able to live in the campsite when you become adults.”

“Bom, you should eat too.”

While I was engrossed with the monsters, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa placed some properly grilled meat on my plate.

Onions and garlic were also neatly stacked.

“Is it a quest?”

“Yes.”

I thought so. It seemed a new quest had appeared in the meantime.

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa had been noticeably kinder to me since learning about the existence of the campsite quests.

Occasionally, when I refused his kindness thinking it excessive, he would say it was for the quest, as if to prevent misunderstanding.

At first, I was reluctant to accept this S-rank monster meat, feeling burdened.

But when he said he was doing it to receive his own buff, I quickly accepted, thinking that by receiving it, I was helping him.

Isn’t this mutual benefit?

“Thank you.”

I put down the tongs for a moment and ate the meat.

The meat was very chewy due to its well-developed muscles. The savory meat juice created a fantastic harmony in my mouth when combined with the fresh vegetables.

The acrid smell of fire made it taste even more delicious and flavorful.

‘Wow, even though I grilled it myself, it’s so delicious.’

As I listened to the sound of burning firewood, memories of the past involuntarily came to mind.

When I was younger, my father or brother would grill everything for me in places like this. Even when I complained about not wanting to eat, they would cut it into small pieces and put it in my mouth.

But now, I’m grilling the meat myself and taking care of others.

Suddenly realizing how much the situation had changed, I found myself missing them today.

‘Still, if I had always stayed within the protective circle of my family, it would have been difficult to adapt when I fell alone into this dungeon.’

After my mother went missing, both my father and brother tended to be overprotective of me.

Of course, it would be nice if they were here now, but the changes in me due to their absence weren’t all bad.

At least in the dungeon, despite the harsh environment, I was rewarded according to my efforts. Taking the initiative in setting up the campsite gave me a sense of achievement.

‘But what happens if I never reach level 10 and can’t leave the dungeon?’

I could clearly feel the amount of experience needed increasing with each level. At first, completing about 30 Spring Campsite quests was enough to level up.

But now, even after doing over 100, it hasn’t even filled halfway.

‘No matter how well I’m adapting to the dungeon, living here forever is a bit…’

Above all, I was very worried about my father. He must think I drowned in the Han River.

I had asked Hunter Chae Dong Hwa to relay news of me, but he showed no signs of leaving as per his plan to stay in the dungeon for a while.

Being in the position of asking a favor, it was awkward to press him about when he would leave.

‘If only there was a quest among the campsite quests to leave the dungeon, he would probably leave right away.’

Despite his seemingly disinterested expression, he was surprisingly enthusiastic about quests. He would even visit during the day while hunting.

It’s not strange for a hunter to be interested in quests that can give buffs, but it was just fascinating to see this man, who seemed uninterested in anything, become so engrossed in something.

“Is Hunter Chae Dong Hwa usually not very expressive?”

I asked suddenly while chewing on the meat. At first, I was too scared to even make eye contact with him, but as time passed, I came to think he wasn’t a scary person and felt a bit more comfortable around him.

“I’m not sure.”

My brother had said that Hunter Chae Dong Hwa was a strange person. That’s why he told me to hide our family relationship if I ever encountered Hunter Chae Dong Hwa.

However, the Hunter Chae Dong Hwa I had seen over the past few days didn’t seem bad, just monotonous in expression.

Rather, it was easy to deal with him because his pursuit of buffs without any ulterior motives was so transparent.

“I’m not sure. I can’t remember.”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa seemed to ponder for a while before giving an ambiguous answer.

Was that just a casual response? But he seemed to think about it for quite a long time.

“If I ever offend you, please let me know. I tend to be quite insensitive in that regard.”

“No, you haven’t made any mistakes towards me except for the first day. And you’ve already apologized for that. I don’t hold grudges.”

“Yes. After apologizing, I completed the morning greeting quest the next day. I remember that.”

Talking about the past made my face flush.

As he said, the system was quite particular about such details.

When Hunter Chae Dong Hwa first attempted the morning greeting quest, I think I still had some lingering resentment about him threatening Teddy.

If that wasn’t the case, the quest wouldn’t have failed even when he tried again after apologizing for that incident.

As he said, it kept failing because it didn’t meet the ‘cheerfully’ requirement.

I felt a little embarrassed, as if my true feelings had been exposed.

“I won’t be able to visit the campsite tomorrow.”

“Are you leaving the dungeon?”

As a slightly awkward atmosphere settled, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa brought up a different topic, seemingly unconcerned.

“No. I’m going on a reconnaissance to a place a bit far away.”

“Ah, I see…”

I felt disappointed, having briefly hoped otherwise.

“Then you won’t be coming anymore?”

“Would you prefer if I didn’t come?”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa asked with his characteristic expressionless face. Somehow, it felt like he was testing me.

“No. You should come.”

The words came out automatically.

“You should come so I can do quests, receive buffs, and earn coins. And…”

Before I knew it, I was listing reasons why he should come back to the campsite.

But these reasons were too self-centered.

‘Doesn’t this sound too materialistic?’

In truth, this wasn’t sincere. I just said whatever came to mind because I wanted him to come back somehow.

Teddy was also reliable, of course, but Teddy was a monster. Moreover, since hunters rarely passed through this area, I was afraid I might never meet another person.

“I’ll harvest lots of fresh vegetables and prepare good items for you. I got a 3-second sleeping bag today. It’s an amazing item that lets you fall asleep in just 3 seconds. Oh, and I’ll level up quickly to give you lots of buffs. Honestly, don’t you like the Spring Campsite too?”

Once I started talking, I just blurted out anything. Belatedly, I rattled off things that might be beneficial to Hunter Chae Dong Hwa, ending with what sounded like a demand.

He was still looking at me with a face close to expressionless. Without any response.

Ah, did I make a mistake?

“So, um… be careful and don’t get hurt… you’re our only customer… so…”

Suddenly, a laugh burst from his lips.

I was so taken aback by this unexpected reaction that I was stunned.

“Yes. Of course I’ll come back. Because I like it too.”

Like…? What…?

“I’ll bring a gift when I come back. I’m heading in the 1 o’clock direction, is there any item you want?”

“No, I don’t know much about the dungeon…”

“Then may I choose the gift at my discretion?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll accept whatever you give me.”

He must mean he likes the campsite, right? Or maybe the quests. No, does he mean he likes the buffs?

Or could it be the meat I grilled?

Or if not that…

It must have been an answer about the campsite, but for some reason, I kept questioning it internally.

The expression he wore while saying he liked it seemed to carry a warmth that felt too gentle to be just about thinking of the campsite.

“Yes. I’ll do that.”

This time, he smiled more clearly than before.

“It’s strange to have a place to return to.”

As his cool lips curved upward, his sculpture-like face looked even more handsome.

‘Is smiling a quest…’

I turned my head away, pretending not to see, blaming it on the quest for no reason.

I felt like my face was getting hot from being in front of the fire for too long.

* * *

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

“Yes. Take care on your journey.”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa left the campsite. Thinking that someone who came every day wouldn’t be visiting for a while made me feel strange somehow.

“Ah, I was going to give him a sandwich.”

Belatedly, I remembered the sandwich I had made this morning using the cooking skill in my inventory. However, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa had already disappeared.

“He’s incredibly fast…”

Yesterday, thanks to Hunter Chae Dong Hwa, I ate meat after a long time and had an enjoyable time. I wanted to repay him somehow, so I had made it specially.

‘I can give it to him next time. He said he’d come back.’

Putting aside my regretful feelings, I put it back in my inventory.

“Master, what shall we do today?”

“Well, we’ve harvested a lot, so there’s enough for the two of us to eat.”

We had worked hard enough to have sufficient firewood and weeds to make cloth. Since we weren’t expecting guests for a while, there was no need to stock up on food.

“Shall we rest today? We should take a day off too.”

“Yay! That’s great!”

[5600C]

With Hunter Chae Dong Hwa renting a tent every day and selling the harvested crops, coins had accumulated quite a bit.

So today, I was thinking of shopping while resting. First, the tent that I couldn’t afford to make because it cost too many coins.

[Crafting

Medium Tent − Wood×50, Cloth×50, Stone×50, 500C

Large Tent − Wood×100, Cloth×100, Stone×100, 1,000C]

‘A medium tent is 500 coins…’

It seemed so expensive at first, but now it even felt cute. Have I now joined the ranks of hunters?

I was starting to understand why they say hunters have a different economic sense than ordinary people.

[‘Yu Bom (F)’ has crafted a ‘Medium Tent’.]

I only crafted one for now since I needed to buy other things too. Then I browsed the camping market.

[Self-Cleaning Fire Pit (C)

− No cleaning required.] [Fireworks with No Forest Fire Risk (D)

− No risk of forest fires.] [Blue Starlight Plant Lamp (C)

− A lamp made from plants in the blue starlight valley.] [Insect Repellent Lamp (A)

− Insects cannot enter within 5m of the lamp.] [Ice Cream Machine with No Ingredients Needed (A)

− No ingredients required.

− Milk flavor, Chocolate flavor, Strawberry flavor] [Slushie Machine with No Ingredients Needed (A)

− No ingredients required.

− Grape flavor, Strawberry flavor, Pineapple flavor] [Mother’s Womb Hammock (A)

− Feels as comfortable as being in a mother’s womb.]

There were various items in the camping market.

Among them, the ice cream machine and slushie machine with detailed flavor descriptions caught my eye the most.