The S-Rank Character Is My Alt

Chapter 8: Shin Bitnari (7)

[The Lord of Chaos says this is real, that it bears the seal of the Four Great Archangels.]

[The Lord of Chaos says if he breaks the Oath of the Sacred Flame, that man will fall straight into hell on the spot.]

H-Hmm…

Even with message windows appearing one after another, Nari thought for a long time, the blank contract still resting on the table.

If the Greek and Roman pantheon had their “Oath upon the River Styx,” then the archangels had the Oath of the Sacred Flame.

A vow sworn upon one’s god. If it was broken, the sinner would be condemned instantly, cast into hell for daring to betray faith.

“T-This is not something even my constellation grants easily. But the seal is right here. Please believe me. I truly mean it!”

Kang Ihyun pressed his hands together, gazing up with tearful eyes that pleaded for her to believe him. Nari, weak to the sight of a handsome man crying, faltered slightly.

‘He might be okay to trust… maybe it really is safe…’

As she wrestled with the thought, a message came down from the Lord of Chaos.

[The Lord of Chaos says to do as you wish, and if anything goes wrong, he will handle it.]

And then she felt his gaze. Unlike other constellations who were far, far away, he was always watchful.

[The Lord of Chaos says he is here because of you.]

Playful, sometimes tormenting her, but always watching her back. After hesitating for a long while, Nari glanced at Kang Ihyun and spoke.

“…I-I’m the one in charge.”

“I don’t mind. Then your condition is that I don’t reveal Lude’s identity, right?”

Nari nodded. Kang Ihyun picked up a golden pen and began writing on the contract. She stared at him as he wrote.

Golden hair, lake-blue eyes, broad shoulders, gentle gaze, and a handsome face. Even his personality was good. No wonder one of the Four Archangels had chosen him as their sole incarnation.

‘I… I feel a bit sorry now…’

He had endured her harsh words and even an attempted murder, yet he was the one who proposed the Oath of the Sacred Flame. It was as if a holy radiance shone behind him.

‘T-Truly, a church oppa… If it is him, maybe it’s understandable that the manager’s favorite Hunter is…’

[The Lord of Chaos laughs and tells you to snap out of it.]

“Oh, by the way… there is something I’d like to propose too. Would that be all right?”

“What… What is it? Say it.”

Normally, the answer would be NO. Absolutely not. She would have insisted it had to be only her way. But Nari was not shameless enough to treat such a good person poorly.

She knew her own faults, so she looked at him with a gentler expression. Kang Ihyun hesitated, then finally spoke.

“I will keep your secret. In return…”

He closed his eyes tightly. He looked like the male lead of a pure romance comic confessing to his first love.

“Please join my guild, the Sanctuary!”

“Rejected. Absolutely not.”

Kang Ihyun’s brows sagged like a pitiful arch.

‘A good man my ass! He is just another Hunter trying to recruit me into his guild!’

Nari’s expression hardened instantly. There was nothing more to say.

“No, you are from the Sanctuary. Do you know how much I hate the Sanctuary?”

“You… You do?! Why…? O-Our guild is great! Work-life balance is solid! We pay a lot! We don’t pry into your personal life, the guild leader is kind, and we… we have pride, and…”

“Doesn’t matter. I hate Sanctuary. I really hate it. I guess I’ll just have to kill you after all.”

Nari pulled her black scissors from her inventory again. This was going nowhere. Kang Ihyun quickly pulled out his last card.

“Y-You don’t have money, do you?!”

She froze and looked at him. It looked like she was struck in the nerve.

I-It had been a guess, but it was right! Kang Ihyun clenched his fist and pressed forward.

“You’ve… never sold high-grade dungeon items. Not once.”

“How do you…”

“B…Because if you sold them, people would find out you are Lude, right?”

Lude was infamous for hoarding loot, so he didn’t have the best reputation. But for some reason, he never sold high-grade items on the market.

People speculated. Some said he was collecting items from a specific boss. Others said he displayed them in his home.

But Kang Ihyun, who had seen his true self, felt like he understood the real situation.

‘His registered name is different. He cannot sell high-grade items under it!’

You cannot underestimate the Korean National Tax Service. They knew what people were doing, and simply chose when to turn a blind eye.

Trades between Hunters were tightly regulated by the state. Especially for high-grade items, every guild sale, every purchase, every private transfer, even bank transactions were reported to the tax office.

Since the government was desperate to uncover Lude’s identity, if his dungeon loot appeared on the market, they would trace it back.

A guild could use its name to handle transactions and taxes. But Lude had no guild. He could not even turn to the black market, since the government’s pursuit was relentless.

“S-So what…!”

“If you join the Sanctuary, you can sell them under the guild’s name!”

“…!”

Nari’s eyes wavered. He was getting through. Kang Ihyun pushed harder.

“That way, you could get rid of dungeon items legally, without exposing your identity.”

Her mind wavered. She thought of the mountain of boss loot piled up in her inventory.

All those years she had been too afraid of government pursuit to sell them, forced to scrape by with low-grade monster drops. No matter how much she fought, the money never piled up.

But by using the guild, Sanctuary, she could do it legally. How much would that be worth…?

[The Lord of Chaos laughs, saying Nari only listens when money is on the table.]

A capitalist monster born to grind an alt for money, Shin Bitnari’s head spun with calculations… and then she stopped herself.

“N-No, wait… But why do you want me? You don’t even know who I really am.”

She barely pulled herself out of capitalism’s grip.

‘No, Shin Bitnari! Are you really that easy of a girl? You must have dignity as the strongest!’

“Eh? Well… of course you are strong, and I-I really like you! I have been your fan for a long time! A-And our guild leader is desperate to find you too! He said he wants to work with you and…”

“Then rejected. No. You want me to wear an avatar all day just to work with you? That’s a hassle.”

“B-But can’t you just use illusion magic to pop it on?”

“What? No! It’s exhausting! Lude is like an isekai idol!”

“Isek… what? Huh?”

“Uh… Never mind. Anyway, no. That reason is not enough. I’ll just continue to live like this.”

She looked at him like saying, “Hurry and write the contract already.” Kang Ihyun clenched his resolve. He could not lose here. He was not going to back down here!

“And also… if you join Sanctuary, many things will be easier for you!”

“What, like selling dungeon items?”

“N-Not only that… but like disputes between Hunters…”

“I am the strongest. Why would I care?”

She picked her ear with a bored look. N-Not working huh. He scrambled for another angle.

“H-Holiday gifts…”

“That is a little tempting… but it’s just a ham set, isn’t it? My manager already gives me those.”

“No! Far better things than that…”

She yawned. Another failure! He had to find what she truly wanted. He worked his brain hard. It was the Sanctuary, one of the Four Great Guilds. Surely something would catch her eye!

“Media control…! we can even do that…”

“…Media control?”

Her head snapped toward him. Her attitude shifted. Kang Ihyun blinked because of her sudden change in behavior. This… this was it. He had found her weakness!

“Yes! We have a publicity department. They handle articles, online news, and public perception. Since we are public figures… they even help manage fallout from incidents.”

“H-Hmm… that… that is good…”

Nari rested her chin in her hand and thought deeply. Lude was popular, but he had just as many haters. She never responded to rumors, so she was vulnerable to politics.

And ever since she, as Lude, had been active in southern Gyeonggi, housing prices had soared.

Lude’s appearance zone was southern Gyeonggi. His active hours were from ten at night to six in the morning. People speculated it was because his constellation was evil and bound him to night, but in truth it was just her convenience store shift ending then.

Whatever the reason, he had protected Gyeonggi nights for six years. Hunters flocked there for work-life balance. Then civilians followed, and housing prices skyrocketed.

Public anger grew, and politicians needed a scapegoat. The government spread negative narratives and blamed an unknown rogue Hunter. Lude, with no guild, false paperwork, and no response to rumors, was the perfect target.

She was named the cause of soaring house prices.

You think online criticism is nothing? It feels different when it rains down on you.

It was systematic, vicious image-making by the political elite. No matter how strong a Hunter, there was no winning against politics and mobs of keyboard warriors.

Defenses and attacks poured across the internet like boiling water. People are never satisfied no matter how much you give.

Some even claimed Lude should patrol all dungeons nationwide, that being rank one came with obligations.

In the end, after a video spread of Lude appearing in a dungeon and declaring he would vanish altogether if people kept blaming him, public opinion shifted. The criticism turned on the National Assembly instead.

Because of the increase in housing prices, she was accused which was absurd and it thankfully didn’t last long, but the stress had been immense. Nari still remembered it vividly.

“So… if you join the Sanctuary… you would be shielded from unnecessary attacks.”

It made sense. Joining the Sanctuary could bring peace. But still…

“No.”

“…Huh?”

“No is no. That is all.”

“W-Why not…?”

It was just a no. She just hated it. She didn’t even know why. Was it because joining would break her character? Because she acted lofty, and now it would make her look like she bowed to a big guild? Because she feared being mocked as greedy?

No. It was none of that. It was just…

‘Nari, mommy will be back. Don’t worry, my dear Nari. I’ll save the world and return, so wait inside!’

She simply hated it.