Cheongwoon is the top guild in our country, but Myung Hyun didn’t have a good impression of it. Although it seemed unlikely that Bom would hastily join a guild, he was still a bit worried.

The video was efficiently composed, capturing only the important elements of the campsite within 20 minutes, but it didn’t satisfy Myung Hyun’s curiosity.

Myung Hyun wanted to know in detail how Bom was doing.

And the last interview content bothered him.

− Yu Bom: I’ll find something I can do here.

At first glance, it sounded like she would run the campsite well, but gradually a different meaning came to mind.

‘She’s not planning to look for In Young and Tae Rim, is she?’

Tae Rim, upon learning he had awakened, was the first to set out to find In Young. Moreover, Bom’s campsite is in the Blue Starlight Valley.

He wasn’t sure about her class, but it didn’t seem like she had awakened as a combat type. He needlessly worried that she might be trying to do something dangerous.

The Blue Starlight Valley had many dangerous elements besides monsters.

Usually, dungeons have native inhabitants, and in the Blue Starlight Valley, there were the ‘Lamiae’.

The Lamiae used their own language and were intelligent beings capable of rational thought. They knew how to use tools and even hunted monsters.

However, they were very wary and aggressive. In the beginning, hunters who went hunting were ruthlessly attacked, causing trouble.

The association stepped in, fearing that such interference with combat would disrupt expeditions.

After several attempts, an agreement was reached. Humans would conduct subjugations in spring and summer, while the dungeon would be left to them in autumn and winter.

Additionally, they promised to only subjugate up to the gate entrance to prevent monsters from coming out of the gate.

Now it’s the end of spring, so summer will soon arrive. Summer is fine, but when autumn comes, Bom’s campsite could become a source of conflict.

We need to convey Bom’s situation to them.

After long periods of attempted contact, we even exchanged cultural artifacts with the Lamiae once a year, so if we explain the situation well, they might turn a blind eye.

It would be best if Myung Hyun, who can speak most of the native language, went, but Bom told Myung Hyun not to come to the dungeon, so he was in a dilemma about what to do.

‘Is there no other way…’

Myung Hyun, though reluctant, organized his thoughts and called for someone.

“Yes, Center Director. Did you call for me?”

“Come in, Hunter Ju Cheong Yeon.”

Soon after, a man entered Myung Hyun’s office. His hair and eyes had a slight blue tinge.

His slightly upturned eyes gave off a calm and composed atmosphere. The bold earrings might have seemed burdensome, but they suited him very well with his neatly dressed appearance.

“I have a favor to ask Hunter Ju Cheong Yeon… Could you go to the central part of the Blue Starlight Valley?”

“Has something happened to Reconnaissance Team 7?”

He wasn’t part of Reconnaissance Team 7. He was the senior researcher at the Dungeon Research Center.

Although he had awakened, he wanted to remain a researcher and was working hard on dungeon research with Myung Hyun.

However, unlike other researchers, he was also capable of combat, so he directly entered and exited dungeons to gather necessary research materials.

That behavior was entirely his own will. This was the first time Myung Hyun had directly asked him to enter a dungeon.

“That’s not it. This is my personal matter. It’s about the suspect in the recent Han River suicide attempt case.”

“I see.”

That incident had received significant media attention as it was known that Myung Hyun had intervened.

“Actually, that person is my daughter…”

He didn’t want to reveal this at work, but he had no other choice. At least Cheong Yeon was the researcher Myung Hyun trusted the most and was also fluent in the languages of the dungeon natives.

“I see.”

Cheong Yeon replied without any particular inflection. His reaction was flat, as if he had known all along.

“That person is my daughter… Did you already know?”

Myung Hyun started to repeat himself, thinking Cheong Yeon might have misunderstood, but then realized something.

“Yes, I knew.”

As expected, he already knew that Bom was Myung Hyun’s daughter.

I thought I had thoroughly concealed everything about Bom, but how did he find out?

Could Tae Rim have told Cheong Yeon?

When Tae Rim first became a hunter and joined the association, their relationship wasn’t good. This was because Cheong Yeon tended to look down on high-ranking hunters.

He would openly disparage them, saying things like, “What’s the difference between these guys who throw punches when they’re angry and gangsters?”

But at some point, he was often seen conversing with Tae Rim. The two even collaborated to learn many things about the dungeon.

Although Tae Rim was very sociable, it was unexpected that it would work on Cheong Yeon.

With his strong individualistic tendencies, even Myung Hyun, who had known him for a long time, hadn’t fully grasped his personality yet.

“So your daughter is in the central part of the Blue Starlight Valley, Center Director?”

“Yes…”

“Why is she there?”

“When she awakened, the system asked her to name one dungeon, and as soon as she said it, she was warped there.”

“I see.”

“Let’s watch this video together for a moment.”

Myung Hyun showed Cheong Yeon the video about Bom’s campsite. Cheong Yeon watched the video quite intently.

“Her name is Yu Bom. As you know, our family has kept our daughter a secret. Also, she doesn’t like me entering the dungeon, so I can’t go. But I’m worried that when autumn comes, there might be trouble with the Lamiae. Could you go in my place to find a young native and explain the situation?”

The dungeon natives could enter the shelter. And occasionally, young natives would break the agreement and come down to the surface even in spring and summer.

Thinking that they might feel confined on the island, we had been turning a blind eye, but given the situation, it seemed best to give advance notice through a young native before autumn arrives.

Cheong Yeon was more than capable of tracking native traces. Cheong Yeon remained silent for a moment, as if lost in thought.

“Can I watch this again?”

“Yes.”

After some time had passed, Cheong Yeon spoke up and replayed the video. Then, like Myung Hyun earlier, he watched the video several times.

“This is interesting. A campsite in a dungeon…”

His eyes gradually filled with curiosity.

He was as interested in the system, gates, dungeons, and monsters as Myung Hyun was. It was a video that would pique any researcher’s curiosity.

Cheong Yeon, having finished watching the video, scrolled down to read the comments as well.

“Tsk, I understand. I’ll go.”

He frowned briefly before agreeing readily. Myung Hyun knew which part had made Cheong Yeon uncomfortable.

In any case, it was a good thing. Cheong Yeon would be able to help Bom well.

* * *

The mysterious power of the dungeon makes plants grow quickly. So even if left unmanaged for just a week, it would soon be overgrown with weeds.

‘It’s nice that the land expands as the level increases, but it’s hard to manage.’

If not pulled out in time, it affects the cleanliness of the campsite, reducing the buff effect.

‘The tent-pitching level is low, so the tent buff effect isn’t great. I should at least get a good campsite buff.’

Strengthening my resolve, I pulled out weeds with mechanical movements. I stomped on the disturbed ground to make it flat again.

I immediately crafted cloth with the pulled weeds. Doing such simple labor often leads to getting lost in thought.

For instance, what Hunter Chae Dong Hwa said when he left recently.

‘Ms. Yu Bom, you’re cautious and calm, aren’t you? But I think it’s because I know you’re a delicate and warm person.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Watching you makes me want to help. What did Senior Tae Rim call this…’

Until then, I hadn’t thought much of it. I was only curious if my brother had said something bad about me.

‘Ah. He said you were cute.’

‘…?’

‘He thought both of you were cute, so he’d like you.’

So my brother watched my old videos and told Hunter Chae Dong Hwa I was cute, and saying I’m cute is Hunter Chae Dong Hwa’s own thought…?

Is my interpretation correct? It must be, right?

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa doesn’t know yet that I’m my brother’s sister…

“It’s still strange.”

I pulled out weeds vigorously as I caught them. Recalling that memory strangely made my face heat up.

It’s not like I’ve never been called cute before, but it felt embarrassing. Because the person who said it was none other than Hunter Chae Dong Hwa.

I didn’t think he was the type to call someone cute at all. Perhaps that’s why it had such a tremendous impact.

I was still bothered by those words even after several days, to the point where they kept lingering in my mind.

‘The person who made the bombshell statement left coldly.’

Seeing that behavior, it also seems like he might have said it without much thought.

“Let’s not think too deeply about it. Hunter Chae Dong Hwa is human too, so he might say someone’s cute if he finds them cute. It’s similar to saying food is delicious when you eat it. He’s someone who speaks honestly about everything, right?”

But the fact that he thought I was cute usually…

“Argh! Why are you like this, Yu Bom! You’re not a child anymore!”

I burst out in frustration at my fluctuating thoughts. While I was muttering to myself, the weeds were somewhat cleared.

“Phew… Let’s not act awkwardly when he comes next time. Just be friendly like usual.”

But when will he come?

I should have asked when he would enter the dungeon again. The thought of waiting indefinitely made me feel uneasy.

“Boss, let me help you!”

Gold hovered around me. He must have received a quest to help me with the campsite tasks.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve finished clearing the weeds.”

“Clearing weeds? I received a quest to help the boss with plant collection.”

Plant collection?

− Register the list in the plant guidebook. (47/50)

− Completion Reward: Grade Up]

Come to think of it, when I went outside the campsite with Hunter Chae Dong Hwa, I was trying to complete all the guidebook quests, but we unexpectedly met Sister Ga Young in the middle, leaving it unfinished.

“But there shouldn’t be any new plants inside the campsite anymore…”

Choco had helped me with plant collection in the campsite before. At that time, we found all the plants within the campsite grounds.

Before going outside the campsite, I also asked Hunter Chae Dong Hwa to check if there were any new plants within the campsite grounds, but he said there weren’t.

“There might not be any on the surface, but there are below!”

“What?”

“Underground. In dungeons, there are plants that only grow underground.”