Yu-bom’s appearance at the campsite was quite unfamiliar to Ga-young.

Bom was fundamentally diligent but not very capable. When she occasionally tried to do something, she was often stopped because she was so clumsy that it made others anxious to watch.

But.

“Bom! That’s dangerous! Let your sister do this.”

Hearing clattering sounds from early dawn, Ga-young got up to find Bom dangerously wielding an axe. She snatched it away in alarm.

“Huh? I can do it just fine though?”

“No way. I said I’d help while I’m here, didn’t I?”

Ga-young set the log upright and struck it with the axe. Contrary to her confident approach, the firewood split crookedly with a ‘tick’ sound.

“I’m out of practice. I usually buy these ready-made these days. Haha.”

Ga-young laughed awkwardly.

Generally, only items obtained from dungeons go into the inventory. But there was a way to put externally made items in too. By mixing them with magic stones.

So these days, many people sold firewood coated with powdered magic stones.

Unless they were like Dong-hwa who wandered dungeons for long periods and ran out of inventory space, hunters usually bought such firestarters and firewood.

‘At this rate, I might split the base before getting a few usable pieces…’

She had struck the log at an angle, leaving a clear crack in the wrong place. Ga-young sometimes had trouble controlling her strength due to her high power stat.

Worried she might accidentally damage things, she looked around cautiously when Bom approached.

“Sis, don’t grip too tightly or the recoil will hurt your hands. Just aim along the grain and it’ll split easily without much force. Relax your wrist, and don’t pull your arm too far back.”

“Oh? Oh. Like this?”

“Yes. Avoid twisted parts or knots.”

“Got it.”

Crack!

When Ga-young swung the axe as Bom had shown, there was a clean sound of wood splitting.

Ga-young’s eyes widened.

“Wow, Bom, you’re really good at teaching. I never thought the day would come when I’d learn how to chop firewood from you.”

“Well, I do this every day here.”

That seemed to be true, as Bom looked comfortable with all the tasks around the campsite.

She quickly pulled out weeds near the tent, set up stakes for sprouting garden beds, and even pitched a tent by herself.

She was so good at hammering that the pegs were firmly set in just one or two strikes.

“…What’s your strength stat, Bom?”

“Strength? I don’t have any strength. It’s just because of my peg driving skill.”

“Ah, I see…”

Ga-young had never heard of a peg driving skill before. Her class was campsite owner, so she seemed to have all sorts of unusual skills.

“Sis. Can you hold this from above? I can’t reach.”

“S-sure.”

Why did her little sister, still small and cute, suddenly feel so unfamiliar? This was a side of her Ga-young had never seen in all their years of knowing each other.

‘Even though we’ve met less since I became a hunter, I thought I knew Bom well…’

It was both poignant to think how long she must have been here alone to become so accustomed to these things, and admirable to see how well she had adapted on her own.

Ga-young had planned to do as much as she could to help during her stay at the campsite, but she found there was little she could actually assist with.

And there was one more unfamiliar thing.

“Hunter, please try this.”

“Okay.”

Bom, who had been cooking something over the campfire, called out to Dong-hwa as he passed by and held out a spoon. He took it without hesitation and tasted it.

‘What did I just see…? Did I see that right?’

Ga-young rubbed her eyes and looked again.

“How is it?”

“It’s salty.”

“I’ll add more water then.”

What are they doing? Why did he just eat it like that?

And why is she asking Chae Dong-hwa about the seasoning?

What is this natural situation all about?!

“I think it needs more green onions too. I’ll pick some from the garden.”

“Okay.”

Dong-hwa even went to pull green onions and wash them. Bom chopped them, added them to the pot, and asked him to taste it again.

“How about now?”

“It’s good now.”

“Thank you for checking the taste.”

“It’s nothing.”

Though the conversation was rather dry, Ga-young could see it. That they were treating each other very comfortably and amicably.

Suddenly, she recalled a recent conversation with Bom.

‘Yeah. He was supposed to just follow me around, but he helped with gathering quests and monster captures too. My first impression wasn’t great, but he seems nicer than I thought. Why? Is something strange?’

Bom had clearly said Dong-hwa seemed nicer than expected.

Given what she’d just witnessed of how Dong-hwa treated Bom, it made sense she would say that. Dong-hwa really was being exceptionally kind to Bom.

As far as Ga-young knew, only two people had ever described Dong-hwa as nice.

Yu Tae-rim and Yu Bom. The Yu siblings.

‘Come to think of it, those two are quite similar in some ways.’

Tae-rim seemed like he wouldn’t be shy, but he was, while Bom was shy just as she appeared.

But once they opened up, they both acted so naturally like this. Bom probably wasn’t even aware she had just spoon-fed Dong-hwa.

She was just treating him closely, thinking of him as a comfortable, nice person. Fortunately, Dong-hwa didn’t seem to be attaching much meaning to Bom’s actions, but…

‘Is it okay to leave them like this…?’

Given what she’d heard from Tae-rim, their closeness bothered her.

‘Both Tae-rim and Bom are the type that’s hard to get close to, but is this guy some kind of Yu family killer or what?’

She felt an irrational sense of rebellion. Ga-young had spent years blending in with them, but this guy who appeared out of nowhere had suddenly won the favor of Tae-rim and Bom while she was away.

She couldn’t let Bom, whom she’d cherished and protected, be taken away like this.

“Bom. Come here a sec.”

“Okay, what is it?”

Bom approached Ga-young with a ladle in hand, beaming.

“Have you seen any men’s faces?”

“What’s with that all of a sudden?”

“There’s no use in just looking at faces. Look at how your sister struggles. A good man is one who’s kind to ordinary people. You can’t live in peace with guys who do hunter work.”

“That’s so random. Just eat. The food’s ready.”

It was frustrating that Bom didn’t understand at all.

But Ga-young couldn’t speak frankly either. She was afraid of making Bom realize any feelings if she said more.

If things didn’t progress further from here, they might just remain close friends…

Unable to say anything, Ga-young glared at Dong-hwa throughout the meal.

* * *

“Ma Jin-woo’s channel uploaded the video of the Blue Starlight Valley expedition. The video turned out well, but there are a lot of speculative comments asking if you got into trouble again since you disappeared in the middle.”

“…”

“Jin-woo is managing it, but since mercenaries went too, rumors will probably spread quickly… Seol Mo-gyeon?”

“…”

“Seol Mo-gyeon!”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Where’s your mind wandering? Are you listening to me?”

This was the headquarters of Hwahrang in Mapo. Seok-hyeon had been reporting on the expedition video when he frowned at Mo-gyeon, who seemed spaced out.

“What? Well. Yeah, good job. You handled it well. Thanks.”

“…Are you crazy? Why the sudden praise?”

Seol Mo-gyeon praising? No, more than that, had those words of gratitude ever come out of his mouth before?

The guild leader’s condition was strange.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

He was always a weird guy, but this was different. To be precise, since the day they left Blue Starlight Valley.

From that day on, Mo-gyeon seemed to have lost his spirit, as if his soul had left his body. Judging by the dark circles, he wasn’t sleeping well either.

“Seok-hyeon.”

“What.”

“…Never mind.”

“What is it? What?”

Calling him without the usual rudeness really made it seem like something was up.

“So…! Ah, forget it.”

“Why do you keep starting to say something and then stopping! Just tell me now instead of causing trouble later.”

He even hesitated, which he never did. For this simple-minded idiot to actually think before speaking.

This must be something serious. Seok-hyeon persistently pressed him.

“Tell me. What is it? I’ll help if I can.”

“Really?”

His listless eyes showed a bit of life.

“Yeah, just say it already. Have you ever seen me lie?”

Seok-hyeon put on an expression of great tolerance. Finally, Mo-gyeon’s tightly closed mouth opened.

“You… You know, back then.”

“When?”

“At the campsite.”

“Yeah.”

He had guessed it was about the campsite incident. More precisely…

“How did it look?”

“The owner? You were upset that you couldn’t even greet her, but she seemed okay when you said you’d come back together later. She said she’d seriously consider the guild offer too.”

He had noticed from the moment Mo-gyeon’s eyes turned into hearts and his tail started spinning like a propeller. That Mo-gyeon had fallen for Bom at first sight.

Mo-gyeon had hidden in dog form the whole time after the guild members barged into the campsite, and ended up leaving the dungeon without properly greeting her. That must be bothering him.

“No, not that… I saw that too.”

“Then is it because the campsite video got a lot of views? Did you see Cheong-un’s comment? The owner probably didn’t even see it since she’s in the dungeon.”

“No, it’s not because of that.”

“What? Then what is it?”

If not that, then what could it be?

“I mean Chae Dong-hwa… What kind of relationship do they have?”

“Ah.”

“It seems like there’s something between them. …Are they dating?”

Seok-hyeon nodded as if he finally understood why Mo-gyeon was acting this way.

Hwahrang had partied and eaten all night before falling asleep. Since they went to bed late, they planned to wake up around noon the next day and leisurely leave the campsite.

Even so, some who automatically woke up at sunrise were already up eating the breakfast Teddy had prepared. Seok-hyeon was among them.

But then.

‘Hey, isn’t that Hunter Chae Dong-hwa?’

‘What? Where?’

‘There. The dark one.’

An unfamiliar person who wasn’t there yesterday appeared. He chatted with Teddy for a bit, then casually opened the tent where the owner was sleeping.

Then he crouched down and quietly gazed at Bom’s sleeping form. For quite a long time.

Even from a distance, the atmosphere felt strange.