We came up to the second floor rooftop. Placing Choco, no, Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter on the table, we immediately began our conversation.

“Owner, I’m sorry……”

“Let me hear what happened first.”

“Well……”

This is what Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter said.

When they first came to the campsite. While looking for Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter who disappeared during the expedition, they found the campsite, and there they met Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter who had become a dog.

Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter fell off a cliff while chasing a monster and fell into the river, and because of one of his skills called ‘Beast’s Tail’, he turned into a beagle.

Fortunately, he made it to the ground, but he encountered the monster that fell with him again and was attacked, and that’s when I witnessed the situation.

“That skill forcibly activates when hit with cold water.”

“Then when does he return to being human?”

“He returns after 24 hours. He’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.

That means until tomorrow, we can’t hear the whole story from Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter himself…

Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter looked up at me with teary eyes. I was dumbfounded by the situation, wondering if this dog was really the Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter I’d seen on TV.

“I was really surprised at first too. You know how surprised I was then. But this guy told me not to speak through the system window, so I lied.”

Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter growled and bared his teeth at Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter. Even I thought that Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter had no reason to hide Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter’s identity from me unless he was threatened by him.

“Of course, it was wrong of us to deceive you together. As you saw then, the guild members didn’t even know Seol Mo Gyeon was here in dog form. We came back because we wanted to apologize all together now. We’re sorry. Please forgive us, owner.”

All together? But why did they arrive separately?

There was quite a time difference between the arrival of the Hwarang Guild members and Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter.

And didn’t Ma Jin Woo Hunter say they finally caught him when he grabbed Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter?

“…Anyway, you hid it all because of Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter’s request, right?”

“Yes! That’s it!”

“Woof!”

Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter immediately barked loudly.

‘Somehow it seems like they’re thinking differently.’

But there was no way to know how Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter was thinking or what he wanted to convey at the moment.

“I’m scared too. That’s the truth, you know. Hah… Okay, you bastard. I got it.”

At that moment, Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter muttered as if he was talking to him. I don’t know exactly how they communicate, but it seemed like they were having a conversation.

“Owner. He didn’t intend to deceive from the beginning. The situation was also a bit difficult……”

“The situation?”

“Hah…, it’s a bit awkward to say in words.”

Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter seemed somewhat troubled.

“When he turns into a dog, all his equipment and clothes come off, you know? It’s an unavoidable phenomenon because his body gets smaller……”

What……?

“He says all his clothes were swept away by the river, so even when he became human in the morning, he couldn’t show himself in that state.”

Come to think of it, earlier too, the clothes Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter wore when he was human were lying on the ground. I remembered Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter picking them up habitually.

If that’s the reason, I can understand a little why Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter hid it, but…

If he had suddenly appeared naked, I’m sure I would have been very surprised too.

“Then what about after Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter came? He could have easily returned to human form if you lent him clothes, right?”

“Haha, that’s……”

When I immediately rebutted, Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter laughed awkwardly.

“He says he got embarrassed to reveal it later, but I don’t really understand that psychology either……”

Eventually, he immediately cut off Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter. When Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter growled, he talked as if to himself like before.

“That’s right. That’s not because of your skill. It’s because of your childish shyness. How can I understand that? Even now, don’t argue with me, just talk directly to the owner.”

“Is it possible to communicate in dog state?”

“Not verbally, but we can communicate through the system window.”

So that’s how they’ve been talking all along.

I stared at Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter. He seemed somewhat restless.

As he whimpered softly and hesitated, Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter, unable to bear it anymore, stepped in once again.

“Seol Mo Gyeon, I think this is your last chance, you know? Don’t whine later, talk while I’m being nice, okay?”

Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter slowly raised his head. I don’t know if it was just my feeling, but he seemed somehow resolute, as if he had made up his mind.

[‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ is knocking.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ is looking for a sign if he can say a word.]

Finally, the system window popped up. It’s really true that Choco is Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter.

“Yes… go ahead.”

[‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ says the owner liked his dog state so much that he didn’t have the courage.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ confesses he was afraid you would be disappointed if you knew he was actually human.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ asks if you hate him now.]

“……”

It was difficult to give any answer.

Disappointed? It would be a lie to say I wasn’t.

But it wasn’t the loss of the fact itself that Choco was human. Considering his situation, he should have had plenty of opportunities to speak, but I couldn’t understand why he was trying to reveal the truth and apologize now.

Moreover, in the end, I didn’t hear it through his own mouth, but I found out because he was faced with a situation where he had no choice but to reveal it.

In fact, that was what bothered me the most.

‘To be blunt, he might have intended to deceive even when he came this time.’

I was already full of distrust towards them. When I made a serious expression without giving any answer, Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter’s ears and tail drooped.

[‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ asks what he should do for you.]

“No. There’s no need to do anything.”

Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter’s eyes widened.

‘If I had known in advance that Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter was actually Choco, I probably would have kept my distance…’

I didn’t have a very good impression of him from the beginning. I was so tense when the Hwarang Guild members came, thinking Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter might have come too.

But he wouldn’t know that I think negatively of him.

Moreover, no matter how much I like dogs, would I have liked it if I had known that Choco was actually a stranger disguised as a dog?

Even with just a moment’s thought, that didn’t make for a plausible excuse.

“There are some parts I don’t understand, but I know you had your reasons. I appreciated what happened today, and I hope we don’t see each other again.”

“Owner…?”

I deliberately spoke firmly. I was speaking to Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter, but Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter looked at me with more surprised eyes.

Is there any other solution in this situation besides accepting an apology?

What can they do if I don’t accept it? Should I demand compensation for mental damages?

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t officially receive compensation for damages because I was tied to the dungeon, and I didn’t want to either.

Anyway, Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter helped me find plants as Choco, and he saved me this time too.

If I had taken that attack directly, my life might have been in danger. It seemed like the cleanest way to end this was to say thank you but not see each other again.

To me, Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter was just a stranger, and it was uncomfortable to see him making excuses while being so cautious.

“Then please be careful on your way. I have a lot of other things to sort out, so……”

Thinking this was enough, I was about to get up when suddenly system windows started pouring out incessantly.

[‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’s world has collapsed.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ has lost all will and collapsed.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’s tears are flowing like waterfalls.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’s tears form a river and lead to the sea.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ laments that he is the most useless dog in the world.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ cries out, hitting his forehead on the floor.]

“Whine, whimper……”

Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter was really banging his forehead on the table.

“Wait a moment! Why are you doing this…!”

I quickly stopped his action with my hand. Fortunately, tears weren’t flowing like waterfalls.

Is the main body crying?

But what’s all this about?

Why is he so sad? What did I say?

Did I say something wrong?

“Hah, owner. Actually, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

Ji Seok Hyeon Hunter sighed and rummaged through his pocket. What he handed me was a paper filled with dense writing.

“I brought this just in case……”

[Beast’s Imprint (S)

A beast unconditionally loves and protects those who save it in dangerous moments.

Their relationship becomes the form desired by the imprinted target.

However, the relationship must be unconditionally friendly. During the unstable period, the skill doesn’t activate and penalties are received.

− Relationship: Pet dog and owner (unstable period)

− Effect: All recovery speed increased by 500%, all stats increased by 10%

− Condition: Must be within 5m of the imprinted target to activate

− Penalty: Anxiety, loss of appetite, lethargy, decreased libido, cognitive impairment, sleep disorders, decreased concentration, fatigue]

“What… is all this?”

I was shocked first by the tremendous buff effect, and shocked again by all the bad things listed in the penalties.

Looking at the grade and effects written, it seems to be a description of a skill.

“This is the sub-skill that Seol Mo Gyeon acquired when you saved him. It seems he’s very attached to you because of this.”

“Then… am I this imprint target?”

“Yes.”

My head spun.

I checked the paper once again.

For the skill to activate, the relationship is important, and it was set as ‘pet dog and owner’. This relationship was formed because I perceived him as a dog.

Moreover, the relationship was in an ‘unstable period’. This brutal penalty was imposed because my relationship with him had become neglectful.

“Given these circumstances… if it’s not too much trouble, could you help just a little?”

“What?”