What we were sitting on was a picnic mat sold at late-night theaters.

This mat had waterproofing and temperature control functions, so we could sit warmly in winter and coolly in summer.

Sitting leisurely like this and eating the food we brought made it feel like we were on a picnic.

A picnic in a dungeon – in the past, I would have thought it was nonsense.

Creating shade with Lafnas leaves on one side blocked the sunlight and created a cool, peaceful atmosphere.

“Chae Dong Hwa Hunter, aren’t your legs hurting? Please sit down and eat.”

Today, not only Mo Gyeon but also Chae Dong Hwa Hunter came out with us. He kept peeking while I was making food, so I asked if he wanted to come along, thinking he had nothing to do, and he readily followed.

“No, I’m fine like this.”

“Don’t be like that, sit down next to us. This area is supposed to be a habitat for ethereal monsters, and adults rarely come here…”

“Still, you never know. Didn’t you say you saw a chimera when you first met Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter?”

“Ah… That’s true. But that was because we fell together, and if it’s not something like that, wouldn’t it be okay?”

I expressed my opinion that there was no need to be so cautious, but he still shook his head as if he didn’t like the idea.

He’s so stubborn, I tell you.

“Leave him be. He seems to prefer standing.”

Mo Gyeon, having finished eating, leaned on my shoulder. His fluffy hair scattered over my shoulder.

“Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter, why don’t you stand too?”

Chae Dong Hwa Hunter said in a sarcastic tone, looking at Mo Gyeon.

“Why? I’m perfectly comfortable like this.”

“Yu Bom will find it heavy.”

“Am I heavy?”

Mo Gyeon asked me.

“No, not really.”

Even if a full-grown man was leaning on me, I wouldn’t find it difficult, being a hunter myself. Right now, Mo Gyeon was just resting his head on my shoulder, not even leaning his weight on me.

He liked to snuggle, perhaps a habit remaining from his Choco days. I didn’t mind either, as touching this fluffy hair reminded me of Choco.

He was just bigger, but warm and soft. Isn’t he just like a big Choco? He was cute, just like a dog.

I was just telling the truth, but Chae Dong Hwa Hunter’s gaze seemed to sharpen a bit.

“See? I said it’s fine.”

“It looks heavy to me.”

“Then close your eyes.”

“Closing my eyes won’t make it any less heavy.”

“Bom says it’s okay, so why are you telling her what to do when she says she’s fine?”

Their eyes met. They glared at each other with tightly closed mouths. It was an intense gaze, like sparks flying.

Why are they trying to fight over nothing?

“Stop it. Mo Gyeon, you get up too. If you get used to sitting like this, it’s bad for your back.”

“Tch…”

I finally pushed Mo Gyeon off my shoulder. He pouted and stood up, looking disgruntled.

Mo Gyeon aside, was Chae Dong Hwa Hunter always like this?

I thought he wouldn’t care what Mo Gyeon did, but seeing him respond to everything was both new and strange.

It seemed like something must have happened outside. He wasn’t like this before we left.

“Hey, Chae Dong Hwa. Aren’t you being too watchful?”

Around the time I thought something was odd, Mo Gyeon spoke to him again.

“She’s not your girlfriend anyway.”

“What did you say?”

“Bom. She’s not your girlfriend. So why are you making such a fuss?”

“…”

I think Mo Gyeon said something similar before.

He said that Chae Dong Hwa Hunter and I were just acquaintances and colleagues, asking why he was trying to control things, and told him to say he could win if he said anything.

Right. This unfamiliar sense of discomfort I keep feeling seems to be related to that.

I looked at Chae Dong Hwa Hunter with an obvious gaze.

He was frowning slightly with his mouth closed. It was an expression of incomprehension.

“Then why is Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Why do you stop me from using the cup Yu Bom used when she’s not your girlfriend either?”

“Th-that’s because I wanted you to use a new cup!”

“You ask her to pat your head, pretend to be sleepy and lean on her shoulder. Why do you do that?”

“I never asked her to pat my head! And I really was sleepy when I leaned on her. It wasn’t on purpose.”

“I saw you with your eyes open when you leaned on her earlier.”

“I sleep with my eyes open.”

“Don’t lie.”

They continued to argue over trivial things after that. I eventually gave up and started cleaning up around us.

I went back to the fishing rod and resumed fishing. I caught one new fish yesterday, so now I only had one left.

“Why are you following Bom around like a puppy? Aren’t you supposed to be on reconnaissance?”

“Mind your own business. It’s not Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter’s concern.”

“It is my concern! Now even that Ju Cheon Yeon guy is holed up in the campsite! Why is everyone neglecting their duties? Is the association a joke to you?!”

“I’m not happy about that either. I’m sure they weren’t sent here to be so idle.”

“Can’t you report it to the center chief? You have the same boss anyway.”

“I was planning to report exactly what I’ve seen when I get back.”

“Good, now you’re talking sense! I don’t know what he’s thinking. Smiling and prancing around whenever. It’s so disgusting, I could die every time he does that.”

“Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter is just as disgusting.”

“What?!”

Now they seem to be getting along perfectly. As I focused on the float with their conversation as background noise, the float trembled slightly.

[‘Blue Starlight Copperband Fish (A)’ has bitten the bait.] [Use a fishing skill within 10 seconds to catch the fish without damage.] [‘Yu Bom (D)’ used ‘Small Fry Fishing for Time (C)’.] [‘Yu Bom (D)’ caught ‘Blue Starlight Copperband Fish (A)’.]

I immediately used the skill and caught it. The Blue Starlight Copperband Fish was a new type of fish.

“Wow! The quest is finished!”

With this, I could finally be free from the constraints of the quest.

[You have completed the quest.] [You have acquired ‘Grade Up’ as a quest reward.] [‘Yu Bom (D)’ has been promoted from D to B.] [‘Tent Pitching (D)’ has been changed to ‘Tent Pitching (B)’.]

As expected, the grade up this time also meant a rank increase. I had anticipated it, but to think I’d really become B-rank!

It was surprising enough to be promoted from F-rank to D-rank, but the difference between D-rank and B-rank was huge.

B-rank hunters earned far more money than most office workers.

‘Money is nothing. Now I have the specs to join even a large guild, don’t I?’

But given the nature of my skills, working in a guild still seemed inefficient. Even if I could join, I was already earning coins well enough and had adapted to the work, so it wasn’t particularly difficult.

‘If only I wasn’t trapped in the dungeon, running the campsite would be quite manageable.’

The most regrettable thing was not being able to go home. As the campsite seemed to be getting somewhat established, I couldn’t help but think about the future.

“Huh? You caught it already? Does that mean the quest is over?”

Mo Gyeon belatedly noticed the fish I had caught and spoke to me.

“Yes, let’s go back now. It’s time to prepare dinner too.”

“Alright.”

The sun was setting. It would be dark soon. I was planning to make steamed fish today to celebrate completing the quest.

‘I should try making sashimi too, like Hunter Ju Cheon Yeon taught me.’

My rank had gone up, and I had completed the quest I had been working on for days, so I was in a great mood. I felt like throwing a big celebration party.

“Huh? What’s that?”

Just then, Mo Gyeon spoke, looking across the river.

“Who?”

“It looks like people…”

It was too far away, looking like swaying trees.

Is it really people? How can he see that?

Does being S-rank mean good eyesight too?

Wondering if I was the only one who couldn’t see, I checked Chae Dong Hwa Hunter’s reaction too. He also seemed to be looking at something, his eyes slightly narrowed.

“It looks like the Cheong-un Guild. I can see the face of the Cheong-un vice guild master.”

“They’re finally coming here. Even after such a humiliation. They’re clearly walking towards the campsite, aren’t they?”

“Looks like it…”

As the distance closed, I could also tell that they were a group of people. But there were so many of them.

Even more than when Hwarang came on an expedition. It looked like at least 50 people.

“But why are there so many of them? It’s not like it’s some mass migration…”

Mo Gyeon chuckled at those words.

“They tend to bring a lot of people. Probably to use lower-rank hunters as shields in emergencies.”

“Really?”

“Seol Mo Gyeon Hunter, it’s better not to spread uncertain information.”

“Do you think I’m just spreading baseless rumors?”

Mo Gyeon seemed to know something. A deep disgust flashed across his face.

‘If that’s true, isn’t it too much?’

I heard that to join their attack team, you need to be at least B-rank. To think they’d use B-ranks as shields.

No, dividing people by rank and pushing them into such situations was inhumane in itself.

I had also heard rumors that in Cheong-un, the executive-level hunters just give orders from behind and rarely participate in battles.

I thought that maybe those rumors could be true too.

“Huh? Why are they looking this way?”

As we were whispering among ourselves and packing up, they looked in our direction.

“They’re coming this way…”

“Ah, shit. I made eye contact with Ju Cheon Han. What a waste of my eyes.”

Mo Gyeon belatedly turned away, pretending not to see. But they had already changed direction and were approaching us.

‘But Ju Cheon Han? The name is a bit…’

The name of Cheong-un’s vice guild master is Ju Cheon Han. It was a name I originally knew, but it felt more familiar today than usual.

As I was pondering where I had heard it recently, one person came to mind.

‘It’s similar to Hunter Ju Cheon Yeon’s name…’