MDR-C35

Chapter 35

Three days had passed since they entered the Black Thorn Valley dungeon.

At first, Eunseong had thought he would never be able to get used to the scenery inside a dungeon. But after facing it day after day without rest, he had learned to blur his focus and let a certain amount of it pass him by.

If some unidentified corpse was hanging from a blackened, withered tree, he simply did not look up.

If a fishy stench drifted from the site of a finished battle, he breathed shallowly and walked past.

Of course, getting used to it did not mean he was fine.

The slightest lapse in concentration could still make his stomach turn, and even the sound of monster fluids splattering was enough to make his face stiffen automatically.

The only difference was that he no longer froze in place or retched in front of other people the way he had at first.

Mujin’s help had played a fairly large part in that.

Whenever a battle ended, Mujin would naturally move in front of Eunseong, and whenever they passed through an area littered with corpses, he would shift to the outside without needing to be asked.

If the path was narrow, he went ahead first and blocked Eunseong’s view.

The first couple of times, Eunseong thought it was a coincidence.

Mujin was currently serving as his escort, so there was nothing strange about him stepping in front during dangerous moments or making sure the necessary equipment was ready.

But once the same thing kept happening, it became difficult to dismiss it as coincidence.

Mujin noticed far too quickly what Eunseong disliked and exactly when he slowed his steps.

He moved before Eunseong could say anything.

Small and large battles continued to break out along the way, but Mujin rarely moved to the front.

If a monster sprang out nearby, he drew his sword faster than anyone else.

But if he judged that the other hunters could handle it without trouble, he stepped back without hesitation.

Instead, he stayed near Eunseong, knocking away incoming debris or precisely cutting down only the monsters that tried to approach through the confusion.

The other escorts rotated at regular intervals.

If they were injured, they withdrew to the rear, and when their mana ran low, another hunter took their place.

Mujin alone had remained half a step behind Eunseong continuously from the first day until now.

When Eunseong stopped to hear a reconnaissance report, Mujin stopped with him.

If their movement was delayed because of injured hunters, he waited nearby without urging anyone on.

Even when they settled down to rest, he did not move far away.

Eunseong kept noticing it.

Pretending to survey the joint force ahead, he stole a sidelong glance at Mujin.

Whenever it seemed their eyes might meet, Eunseong quickly turned his head away.

But strangely enough, Mujin was always already looking at him.

“Kang Mujin.”

After hesitating several times, Eunseong finally called to him.

Mujin, who had been walking one step to the side, immediately turned his head.

“Yes.”

The response came so quickly that Eunseong was the one who lost his words.

“You…”

Asking why Mujin kept sticking to his side would amount to confessing that he had been conscious of him for days.

But he could not exactly tell Mujin to go fight at the front like the other hunters either.

His belief that Mujin needed to grow stronger had not changed, but it was also true that he did not want to watch him get hurt right in front of him.

Eunseong moved his lips for a moment before finally choosing his words.

“Are you going to stay here the whole time?”

For all the thought he had put into it, the question was absurdly simple.

Mujin answered as though Eunseong had asked something obvious.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m escorting you, Guild Leader.”

It was exactly the answer Eunseong had expected.

His brow furrowed slightly.

There were more than ten other escorts around him now, and the S-Rank hunters from each guild were positioned only a short distance away.

Even if danger arose, there was no need for Mujin himself to remain beside him.

“There are plenty of escorts besides you.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you the only one who keeps sticking to me?”

Only after the words were out did Eunseong realize how directly he had asked.

He kept his gaze forward as though nothing was wrong, but he could not stop the heat spreading to his ears.

Mujin did not answer for a moment.

The longer the silence lasted, the more Eunseong regretted asking.

The original Baek Eunseong would never have wondered why one hunter under his command kept following him around.

If he needed someone, he would use them.

If he did not, he would order them away.

Yet here Eunseong was, tense over nothing more than waiting for an answer.

“Because it’s the job I was given.”

The answer that finally came was almost disappointingly ordinary.

Without realizing it, Eunseong felt relieved.

And, strangely, a little disappointed.

Switch out.

It must be exhausting to keep doing this alone, so get some rest.

If only he could say something like that.

But even now, Eunseong could not stop thinking about maintaining his persona, so his voice came out colder than before.

“Are you worried about me?”

That answer was completely unexpected.

“No.”

The denial came out far too quickly.

Eunseong stared at him with startled, wavering eyes, then hurriedly turned his head away.

Mujin remained quietly watching him, so Eunseong belatedly added,

“I’m telling you not to waste your stamina for no reason.”

It was a fairly convincing excuse, in his opinion.

Eunseong wore a satisfied expression, only to miss the thick root jutting out directly in front of him.

His foot caught, pitching his body forward.

Before he could fall, Mujin’s hand closed firmly around his elbow.

Mujin’s other hand rose close to Eunseong’s waist, then stopped just short of touching when Eunseong regained his balance.

“Watch where you’re going.”

“…I was.”

“It didn’t look like you were.”

“I was.”

Eunseong quickly pulled his arm free.

The movement was so abrupt that it probably made his flustered reaction even more obvious, but he could hardly ask Mujin to grab him again.

He cleared his throat and straightened his sleeve.

“I can walk on my own.”

“I know.”

“…Then why do you keep grabbing me?”

“Because it looks like you’re going to fall.”

“……”

The answer was so obvious that Eunseong had nothing to say.

Mujin was not this kind of person.

He was naturally taciturn and rarely said anything that was not necessary.

Perhaps because he had spent his entire life scraping along at the bottom ever since awakening as a hunter, he did not open up to others easily either.

It was only after the midpoint of the original novel, once he had gained companions, that he slowly began showing this kind of attentive care toward the people around him.

Even then, he had been so bad at expressing himself that he was misunderstood every time.

I thought he only acted like this with his companions.

Eunseong recalled scenes from the original novel.

At first, Mujin had tried to solve everything alone, but as he fought alongside his companions, he gradually changed.

He learned how to respond to jokes.

He learned how to ask someone else for help.

He also developed a sly side that knew how to make use of other people, but when it came to taking care of those he considered his own, he became endlessly persistent.

There was no reason for those changes to be appearing already.

More importantly, it had not been long at all since the two of them had escaped the laboratory.

Inside that place, Mujin had relentlessly pressed whenever Eunseong’s words and actions failed to match up even slightly.

The more Eunseong avoided answering, the more suspicious Mujin’s gaze became.

There was no way someone like that would suddenly change his attitude for no reason.

Does he still suspect me?

Maybe that was why he kept staying close, trying to learn something.

If questioning Eunseong had failed to produce answers, deciding to watch him directly instead would be very much like Mujin.

Eunseong glanced sideways.

Mujin was still walking with his usual expressionless face.

His eyes were directed ahead, but from the subtle movement of his gaze every time Eunseong placed a foot, it was obvious that he was not looking only forward.

“Why are you doing that?”

“What?”

“You keep looking at me.”

“Me? At you?”

“You were looking just now too.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

Even as he said it, Eunseong knew how weak the denial sounded.

He pressed his lips tightly together and quickened his pace.

Mujin did not argue.

He merely increased his speed to match Eunseong’s stride and returned to his place one step behind him.

Similar things continued after that.

Before Eunseong could ask for water, Mujin would hold out a bottle.

During every rest period, even when Eunseong said he was fine, Mujin picked out somewhere suitable for him to sit.

In areas where traces of battle remained, Mujin quietly changed position so Eunseong would not have to see them.

And when the terrain grew rough, rather than offering his hand outright, he stayed directly beside him and waited in case Eunseong stumbled.

He was neither excessively kind nor openly affectionate.

That only made it more distracting.

Several times, Eunseong studied Mujin’s expression, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but he could read nothing from the impassive face.

He could not tell whether Mujin was suspicious of him, simply taking his escort duty seriously, or acting for some other reason Eunseong did not know.

Only one thing was certain.

During the relentless march of the past three days, Eunseong had somehow grown accustomed to having Mujin beside him.

If Mujin moved even a few steps away, Eunseong found himself checking his location without thinking.

If another hunter passed between them, it bothered him for no reason.

Realizing that, Eunseong quietly clicked his tongue.

This is why you shouldn’t let bad habits form.

Even he could not tell whose habit he meant.