SSS-Class Hunter Goes On Vacation (4 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16

Then she started speaking again to ask something she was curious about.

“I wasn’t trying to meddle in official business—honestly, I just happened to pass by, noticed something unusual, and stopped by briefly. I hope you won’t be too upset.”

“No! On the contrary, I truly appreciate your help! Really!”

Su Ji, who had always lived exclusively among hunters ranked AAA or higher and rarely encountered hunters of other ranks, scratched her cheek in confusion at the civil servant’s bright-eyed enthusiasm and continued.

“Do monsters—no, fish afflicted with those ‘status abnormalities’… appear often?”

“No! Did it have a ‘status abnormality’ indicator? We haven’t confirmed that detail at headquarters yet—thank you for letting us know. No wonder it appeared in a location different from what we predicted.”

The civil servant let out a soft exclamation, as if marveling at Daphne’s ability.

Su Ji asked the civil servant, who had just finished taking notes on the monster data she provided,

“So that means monsters with ‘status abnormalities’ aren’t commonly seen, right?”

“Yes, as far as I know, it’s not a frequent occurrence!”

Su Ji nodded inwardly. Even so, it hadn’t been that long since she’d left the scene—if strange incidents like this had kept happening, she surely would have heard about them.

“I see. Thank you. Ah, just one more thing.”

“Yes! Please ask anything!”

“This Wave—what rank was it?”

“It was B-rank!”

Su Ji bit her lip slightly.

‘If it’s B-rank, shouldn’t only monsters up to B-rank appear?’

It might have been a simple measurement error, but that instinct—a hunter’s instinct she could never ignore—was telling her something was off.

Su Ji suddenly glanced at her status window.

[Nymphē is watching your actions.]

This message suddenly felt irritatingly conspicuous.

Had the ‘Great Beings’ been trying to convey something?

Or perhaps, did they want something resolved through Daphne?

The question remained unresolved, leaving an unpleasant feeling behind.

As she was about to bid farewell to the civil servant hunter, a loud shout hit her ears.

“I’m a fan of Lady Daphne! I’ve always been cheering for you!”

The voice was so loud that everyone present must have heard it.

Su Ji’s face instantly flushed. She’d occasionally heard online about fans, fan cafes, and fan pages, but hearing it in person for the first time felt strangely new.

‘Maybe it was a good thing I stopped to help on my way.’

The energy radiating from that voice shouting support for her somehow felt contagious.

Su Ji gave a shy smile and quietly left the spot.

[This is the timeline separator]

While the Hunter bulletin board was burning up over Daphne’s appearance, an apology post was uploaded.

[Title: An Apology to Lady Daphne

Hello.

I’m a hunter aspirant who’s been active on this board under a fixed nickname for five years.

Until now, I’ve repeatedly posted disparaging comments about Lady Daphne,

and despite knowing her dedication and service to the nation, I often mocked her by calling her a bus driver.

I’m writing this to sincerely apologize for the hurt my inferiority complex-driven remarks must have caused her.

Early this morning, Lady Daphne saved my younger sibling at Hangang Park.

I’ve heard multiple firsthand accounts describing how urgent the situation was.

I feel endlessly ashamed that I dared utter such unforgivable slander against someone to whom mere thanks would be insufficient.

Once again, thank you truly—and I’m deeply sorry.]

As soon as the post appeared, comments poured in rapidly.

[└Wait, wasn’t this guy a hunter?

└Isn’t this the same guy who kept claiming he was A-rank?

└LMAO, what a carefree life—insults whenever he feels like it, apologizes whenever he wants to.

└└2222

└Calling it “inferiority complex”… how pathetic.

└If your sibling had “I have a brother like you” written on their forehead, Daphne wouldn’t have saved them lol.

└You better spend your whole life grateful, bastard.

└Besides this guy, there are loads of others who constantly talked trash—now that this happened, all of you should come out and apologize.

└└Yeah. Think about how much safer we live thanks to Lady Daphne? Now’s the time—everyone step up and apologize.

└└Yeah, honestly, there were way worse people than him. If I were Daphne, I’d be so annoyed I’d quit altogether.

└└└Why would Daphne even look here? She probably just quit because she wanted to.

└Nice work after eating expensive meals. Do your parents even know you act like this online?

└OP here. I’m not posting this just to ease my guilt. But I’ll use this incident as a turning point and show you my renewed self. I deserve all the criticism. I won’t delete this post.

└Every time I read testimonies about how Daphne saved lives, my heart aches. Honestly, it’s not like Daphne isn’t actively working—it’s just that she operates in places like the Tower, out of public view… She’s genuinely saving lives. And in a country like Korea, where some idiots only realize they should be thankful after their own siblings get saved, she must be exhausted.

└└22222

└└This guy’s right.

└└333444556667788999

└└Still, at least he posted an apology—that makes him a decent person. Real trash wouldn’t even do this.

└└└That’s also true lol.]

As eyewitness accounts kept flooding in under the post, the Hunter bulletin board suddenly erupted into chaos.

Posts demanding “apologies to Lady Daphne” began getting mass-reported and targeted. Regardless of whether Daphne herself wanted it, every past malicious post about her was dragged back into the spotlight, causing another massive uproar.

So many apology posts followed in quick succession that a new category titled “My Apology to Lady Daphne” was practically created.

[This is the timeline separator]

The appraiser, who had been staring at the item Su Ji presented, observed it for a long while with an awestruck expression. He looked as if he’d keep appraising it all day if Su Ji didn’t prompt him.

Although Su Ji frequently came in for appraisals, she’d never seen the appraiser this excited about an item before.

After waiting patiently for a while, she finally spoke first.

“Please tell me the appraisal result.”

With a sigh, the appraiser slowly straightened his deeply bent back, carefully set aside his monocle, and finally replied.

“It’s an egg.”

“…An egg?”

She’d assumed it wasn’t just an ordinary stone, but… an egg?

That actually made her feel even more unsettled.

Su Ji puffed her cheeks, lost in thought.

An egg… Whose egg could this possibly be?

“Yes. But… this… could it possibly be…”

The appraiser swallowed hard, gently stroked the egg with a thin cloth, and lifted it reverently.

Just from that gesture—treating it as if it were sacred—Su Ji already knew what he was about to ask.

She nodded without bothering to hide it.

After all, there was no point trying to conceal anything from someone with appraisal skills.

“Yes, that’s right. I received it from the ‘Great Beings.’ You’ll keep it a secret, won’t you?”

The appraiser stared at the egg with sparkling eyes for a long time, then nodded regretfully.

Due to professional ethics, if a client wished to keep appraisal details confidential, he was bound by oath not to disclose them—whether he wanted to or not, secrecy was mandatory.

Looking deeply disappointed, the bearded, stooped appraiser clicked his tongue several times before handing back the items, their appraisal statuses now visible.

[Item Inspection

〈Nymphē’s Stone〉

: Appears like an ordinary stone.

: [Appraisal Record] Egg

Trait: Upon hatching, it will follow the first being it sees. Its appearance can be customized by its owner. It cannot engage in combat. Tap it six times while holding it to awaken it.

Base Color: White] [〈Nymphē’s Prismatic Stone〉

: Appears like a stone shimmering with iridescent hues.

: [Appraisal Record] Egg

Trait: Upon hatching, it will follow the first being it sees. Its appearance can be customized by its owner.

The method to awaken it cannot be determined.

Base Color: Prismatic]

“If the awakening method can’t be determined, did I pay too little?”

“No. I never intended to charge Lady Daphne much to begin with—and even if you paid more, there’d be no way to find out.”

“Is it an issue with appraisal rank?”

“…Hmm. Honestly, I’m not sure. If that were the case, it should’ve showed ‘appraisal impossible,’ but it didn’t.”

Though his pride was clearly wounded, the appraiser chose honesty over deception.

Su Ji nodded, understanding.

An egg received from the ‘Great Beings’ still felt unsettling, but curiosity had already lifted her spirits.

A pet whose appearance she could freely customize—this wasn’t even a game… well, actually, even in games, such a feature rarely existed. Usually, appearances stayed at default because they couldn’t be changed.

Since it couldn’t fight, it wouldn’t be much help in emergencies—but she’d recently developed an interest in taming anyway. Maybe hatching an egg or two wouldn’t be so bad?

“Thank you for appraising it so early in the day.”

Su Ji paid triple the requested amount and turned to leave.

Considering how surprising the appraisal result had been, the money was well worth it.

Now that her business here was done, she needed to head back quickly.

…To play the game.