“I have more and more questions I want to ask him.”

I tried to calm my pounding heart and sorted the situation in my mind. First, I wasn’t in immediate danger. The Enchantment was still well hidden, Gyeol was with me, and there was the Harmless King’s drawer. If things went south, I could slip away easily.

Right now, though, I was worried about Director Song.

Hwang Rim had produced a small glass vial. It was filled with powder that looked like soil. What on earth could that be to have incapacitated Director Song so completely? Even when he had fought Seong Hyunjae, he hadn’t knelt so helplessly.

His hands were already pressed against the floor. His thick forearms trembled visibly beneath his clothing. Sweat beaded on his neck, and he frowned so deeply that even lifting his head seemed painful. His tightly compressed lips quivered as though wanting to speak, but only a faint breath emerged.

…I should have come alone. I’d have been safest.

“Director Song, could we send him away?”

At my words, Song Taewon’s face contorted even more. Scrreeech—his fingertips scraped the floor. His strength had probably waned, for what would normally have gouged deep scratches left only shallow marks.

“Han Yujin…”

“Don’t tell me he’s fine when he clearly isn’t.”

My voice trembled, too. Damn, being tucked beside an unfamiliar S-Rank Hunter with no fear resistance was not comforting. And Director Song was S-Rank, facing off against another S-Rank. Even though I could run off if needed, a chill kept racing down my spine. A normal person unfamiliar with dungeons and high-rank Hunters might have passed out by now.

“I will never die. It’s not even the first time.”

Had I told Director Song about the drawer? I couldn’t recall clearly.

“No… don’t…”

Straining to rise, Song Taewon scraped the floor again. Veins bulged on his wrist and hand, but it did no good. He must have bitten his lip, for a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Stop it.”

“I…”

“Director Song!”

“You two are having all the fun I asked for together.”

Hwang Rim tilted his lips into a smile.

“Then you speak too.”

I had asked to let Director Song go, but of course that wouldn’t happen. He wouldn’t step aside so easily. The best plan was to approach Director Song naturally and slip into the drawer together.

Yuhyun and Yerim knew about the drawer, so they could guess where I’d gone. Or I could use the contact contract Yuhyun still held.

“I’m going crazy. Let me go, please.”

“Jina, you have too many tricks up your sleeve.”

“I won’t leave Director Song behind! Or better yet, tie me up instead.”

Even with Gyeol’s help, any S-Rank would be hard to subdue. Hwang Rim looked strong just by his build. He was probably among the top S-Ranks. But if I were tied up, against my F-Rank stats he’d have only common or mid-grade restraints. Bound, he might not stop me approaching Director Song.

“You like being tied up, don’t you? If Jina wants it…”

“Of course not!”

“Then stay in my arms instead?”

“…Fine, let’s say I like it.”

Damn it—just tie me up already. Quickly. As though to prevent me using my inventory, Hwang Rim twisted my arms behind me and made my hands grasp each opposite forearm. Then he bound my hands and forearms.

“What about the little dragon? He’s cute.”

Gyeol snarled as he clung tightly to me. Known to be mute, he wouldn’t reveal anything, and the fairy dragon suffered no physical harm.

“He’s F-Rank. Leave him be.”

“Don’t worry. I like dragons too.”

He offered out his hand; Gyeol bit down hard on it. Hwang Rim laughed as though tickled.

“If he tries to run, I’ll catch him. Want me to tie him up too?”

“He’ll never run away from me, don’t worry.”

“How obedient.”

Hwang Rim forced one hand to pet Gyeol’s head. Gyeol bristled and rubbed his head against my clothes in protest. At least for now, I felt relieved. All I had to do was approach Director Song as naturally as possible.

But first—

“What’s in that vial?”

An item that could so easily subdue an S-Rank Hunter was dangerously powerful. At my question, Hwang Rim placed the glass vial on the table.

“It’s soil from my homeland.”

“…What?”

“Unfortunately, it only works on Song Taewon.”

Hwang Rim murmured that he still had more rope and wrapped it around my ankle. At this point, I’d have to crawl.

“Do you know how the Lunar Eclipse was created, or how it’s related?”

“…I heard it’s something like an immune system at the Source.”

“Then we’ll call it a vaccine.”

At the word vaccine, I immediately thought of White Bird. She was the only one who would deliver a vaccine to aid the Source. My chest tightened painfully.

“Since when have you been involved with Transcendents? You weren’t from the start…?”

“No, Jina. In China, it was just my family’s business. Now, my clients have expanded. Many Transcendents try to contact this world—hotspots, you could say. It’s just that few have the ability.”

…Chatterbox alone was already a headache. Didn’t we negotiate so they wouldn’t intervene carelessly? But I realized there might be neutral parties—those who neither sided but merely observed.

Hwang Rim looked down at me while petting my head. Get your hand off me, jerk.

“So my first objective was to kidnap Song Taewon.”

“…What?”

Wait, what did he say? Kidnap—Director Song?

“Not me?”

My words slipped out, and Hwang Rim’s eyes went wide as he stared at me.

“Jina, did you want to be kidnapped?”

“That’s—”

“So all your previous kidnappings were just hobbies? I had my doubts. Our Jina is far from an easy target.”

“She’s not!”

Hobby? What hobby! Did he think I was some princess in a game? Even game princesses have kidnapping as part of their story, and it’s an old trope. It felt so strange that an S-Rank like Director Song would become the target of kidnapping. I glanced back and saw relief on Director Song’s face. Why is he relieved? This is insane.

“Want to go with me, Jina? And if possible, Seong Hyunjae too.”

My heart sank. Normally I’d shrug and say, “Sure, good luck,” but now leaving Seong Hyunjae alone felt terrifying. Damn, why had I left him by himself? I should have at least told Evelyn or Soyeong. Or Hyunah. Even if he couldn’t die, I’d been too careless.

He was the last person I’d imagine someone would try to kidnap.

“…That’s greedy. You’ll burst yourself.”

I feigned a scoff and kept my voice steady. Hwang Rim alone might be manageable, but what if he had accomplices? He hadn’t kidnapped anyone yet, had he?

“Can you handle it?”

“Exactly my point.”

Hwang Rim sighed and rose from his seat. My body, which had leaned on him, fell limply back onto the sofa.

“I have to try, first.”

“Hey!”

I wriggled and sat up. Hwang Rim approached Director Song, bent, and placed one knee on the floor. He grasped under Song Taewon’s chin and tilted his face up to examine it.

“I’m not sure. What makes it different?”

“…Han Yujin, please… let me go…”

His words trailed off, but it was obvious: if Director Song were released, he’d follow willingly.

‘This is insane.’

I couldn’t just take Director Song and slip into the drawer alone. The next target was Seong Hyunjae. Hopefully he’d recovered by now—if he collapsed again… why had I left him in the first place? I should have stayed close, even if we pretended to be at odds. But I never imagined someone would try to kidnap him!

“Hey! Our conversation isn’t over! You said we’d have quality time together!”

“The rest of the time is all mine once the job’s done, love~”

My teeth clenched. Did he think I’d watch Director Song get kidnapped without intervening? I turned to Gyeol. I used the Teacher skill on him, and the moment Gyeol’s skill applied to me, I snapped the bindings and leapt forward.

“You can’t break our promise!”

From now on, every moment of your time is mine. Including Song Taewon and Hwang Rim, I used the Harmless King’s drawer. Instantly, the surroundings shifted and—splash!—the sound of water echoed loudly.

“Jina?”

Confused, Hwang Rim was encircled by swirling water. The water surrounding him surged upward, then froze solid. I surfaced with Director Song and looked back at Hwang Rim. Serves you right.

“Are you all right?”

“…Yes. This is—”

“The drawer. Somewhere like Myung-woo’s forge. Hey, Hwang Rim!”

I couldn’t hold out long, so I immediately released Gyeol’s binding skill. As Hwang Rim tensed his arm and body, the ice shattered with a crack. Splash—he plunged back into the water. He brushed hair from his face and glared at us.

“You’re not easy to deal with. This is troublesome—only one vial of soil.”

As Hwang Rim had said, Director Song soon regained his strength. He met Hwang Rim’s gaze with a steely look.

“This time, you cannot escape punishment.”

He stepped forward, and a wire shot from his hand like an arrow. Peeng—the wire cut through the air and slapped the water’s surface fiercely. Just before Hwang Rim could be ensnared, he dove underwater and resurfaced at a distance in an instant.

“Let’s talk, civil servant!”

As Hwang Rim resurfaced, Song Taewon swung his arm to reel in the wire, then kicked the pebbles at the water’s edge. Hidden underwater again, Hwang Rim watched as kicked pebbles sent a spray of water high. He swam away like an eel.

Director Song had no underwater skills or gear suitable for combat. This was dragging on too long.

‘What to do… oh!’

I remembered!

“Director Song, hold him for a moment!”

I shouted and darted back to the mansion. Room 71—still in the form of my sister—greeted me.

“The items in the basement—using them here is okay, right? I mean simple weapons or expendables, not stat-boosters.”

“Yes, you may use them.”

“Great!”

I hurried down to the basement. I wish I could use space-shift like Myung-woo.

“I’ll show that merchant what real gear is!”

I rummaged through the display cases and grabbed anything useful. There wasn’t time to check thoroughly, but this would suffice. I rushed back outside.

Swhooop!

Water spouted high. Hwang Rim was still holding his ground in the water. It seemed he had no confidence facing Director Song on land.

“Director Song, here!”

I tossed bracelets to him.

“These are anti-static bracelets that let you walk on water! You must return them before leaving, so use them freely!”

No need to worry about slipping them into his pocket—he’d leave them behind as a gift.

“And this is an S-Rank binding item, this a ring for underwater movement, this has a speed boost, this is an SS-Rank restraint, this freezes water, this grants cold resistance, and this—”

“Jinaaa!”

Hwang Rim shouted in astonishment from afar.

“That’s too much!”

“Shut up! All these items only work here, so don’t be shy—use them!”

“…Thank you.”

Director Song, a little surprised, took the items and donned them. Then he began running across the water. At terrifying speed, he charged toward Hwang Rim. The latter tried to dodge, but before he could—

Shhhhk—

The water froze solid. As Hwang Rim shattered the ice and climbed up, an S-Rank binding item flew at him. He dodged nimbly, but Song ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Taewon used the speed-boost and closed the distance instantly, swinging his foot.

Kwaaang!

The ice shattered into fragments, and the surrounding water exploded upward like a bomb. Even a grazing from his heel tore Hwang Rim’s shirt to shreds. Then, bam! Their punches and arms collided, and Hwang Rim was driven backward.

Director Song had faced S-Rank Hunters without gear before. But now, outfitted in the finest equipment—what more need be said?

Unable to withstand it long, Hwang Rim, now wearing the restraint, was dragged out by Song Taewon’s grip on his neck.

“Hello, Jina. I have plenty of time now.”

Smiling broadly, Hwang Rim swung a leg at me. Ouch, my foot!

“Perfect timing—I have so many questions to ask.”

First, let’s uncover Park Ha-yul’s true identity. Because of that one, I’ve already endured hell more times than I care to count.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep