“Calm down, Lude! You need to keep him alive! Don’t touch him! We need to bring him in for witness statements and situation explanation!” the Chaos Master urgently intervened.

“Shut up! None of this would have happened if he hadn’t messed around! Just die quietly!”

“Aaahh! The number 1 ranking Hunter has gone mad!!”

Min Jae Yun panicked and retreated. A fierce battle ensued, much like the one Lude had in his studio apartment with Kang Yi Hyeon. Lude swung his black half-scissors wildly, while Min Jae Yun desperately tried to dodge…

However, unlike with Kang Yi Hyeon, there was no one to help Min Jae Yun this time. There were no complaints from the downstairs neighbor!

After a long game of cat and mouse, Min Jae Yun was eventually overpowered and had no choice but to submit.

“Lude! Please spare me, Lude!”

Min Jae Yun clung to Lude’s legs, lying flat on the floor. His smug attitude from before had vanished, replaced by a look of terror and tears about to spill.

“I’ll do anything you ask! I’ll beg you, I’ll be your dog if you tell me to be! From now on, I’m Lude’s dog!”

“No, this is too much…”

Min Jae Yun lay prostrate on the floor. Lude, who intended to use violence, was more dumbfounded and out of his wits. Min Jae Yun started making dog noises while lying on the floor.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Tail wagging, wagging! I’ll keep your secret, I’ll be your dog…”

Lude put down his black half-scissor. A heavy atmosphere filled the library.

“No, um.”

[This is your fault, Lude, the Chaos Master points a finger at him.]

“I’m sorry…”

Lude extended his hand. Min Jae Yun, sobbing, took Lude’s hand.

“Don’t ever do this again.”

“Yes… I’m sorry…”

Min Jae Yun sobbed and held onto the handkerchief Lude gave him. Lude cleared his throat.

‘Maybe I went too far. But he’s just a high school student…’

[It’s not a good look for a twenty-five-year-old to chase a high school student to kill him, the Chaos Master shakes his head.]

“Sorry. I was too harsh.”

“No, it’s my fault too.”

“Well, blurting out someone’s secret like that, who wouldn’t be surprised? You know that’s a crime, right?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll really keep it a secret. I won’t do it again. I promise…”

Min Jae Yun wiped his nose with his sleeve and stood up. For the first time, Lude really looked at Min Jae Yun’s face. His sharp eyes were masked by black horn-rimmed glasses, giving him a relaxed aura. His dimples added to this atmosphere. Reminded of someone, Lude blinked when Min Jae Yun looked at him with a pleading expression.

“But you have to keep my secret too. My hikikomori act…”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not! I’m keeping your secret…”

Min Jae Yun looked aggrieved. Lude sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head.

“I have to write a work report, and I have to include this kind of sensitive issue in detail.”

“Just omit my name from it!”

“Don’t joke. Even if I keep it a secret, government officials will come to clarify things and search the school, then everything will be exposed. Do you think Korean officials are so stupid they can’t spot a wizard’s workshop? They’re really scary.”

Min Jae Yun sobbed, wiping his nose on the blanket.

‘Ugh, disgusting…’

The once assertive Min Jae Yun now fiddled with the end of his blanket, deflated.

“Don’t underestimate me. I was exposed to a guy like you too. You went too far with your hikikomori play.”

“Oh no, if I get exposed, my grandfather will scold me. If he finds out about this, he won’t let it slide.”
Seeing a disheartened Jae Yun, Lude grimaced, sighed deeply, and crossed his arms. After all, there were no hikikomori without a story.

‘Those who wish to become hikikomori for cute reasons like “I wish I had a lot of money and no one knew me” don’t last long with their pretense.’

Concealing one’s identity was a demanding task. Just look at Lude, who had to pay both Hunter’s pension and national pension separately and use a second phone borrowed from Kang Yi Hyeon for work calls, as he couldn’t register his own phone under his name.

[Our Lude even receives his salary in cash, and the guild provides cash receipts, the Chaos Master strokes your head.]

“…….”

Living a social life as an alternate character involved many considerations. Recalling this, Lude looked up with dead eyes, but soon snapped back to reality.

“So, why did you report it?”

“Huh?”

“Why report it at all? Wouldn’t it have been better to pretend to be a regular person and sneak out unnoticed? You’re the one who made the artificial mana stones, right?”

Min Jae Yun blinked at Lude’s question, then fidgeted with the back of his head, hesitating as if pondering how to answer. He finally shrugged.

“Well, if I hadn’t reported it, everyone would have died. This school is so rundown that everyone treats malfunctions as normal.”

“Just for that?”

“Just for that? The teachers and students could have died! Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I arrived at school this morning and found the mana stones’ energy gone? Someone must have stolen them. I heard those second-year bullies planning to sell them on the black market!”