Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“Let’s part ways here.”

The woman spoke coldly, brushing off the hand of the man standing beside her. The man, with an utterly indifferent expression, wiped his hands on his pants and responded.

“Music to my ears.”

“Let’s keep this a secret from the others.”

“……?”

“What. Got a problem with that?”

The man remained silent, his lips pressed into a tight line, even in the face of the woman’s question. Unable to bear it any longer, the woman, Park Shin-ju, drew her own conclusion.

“Ah, is it because I’m speaking informally? Hunter Yun Su-ho?”

“……That’s not it, but.”

“I’m friends with Gaho, and you’re friends with Gaho. So aren’t we friends too? If it bothers you that only I’m speaking casually, you can do it too.”

It was a syllogism devoid of any logic, but Yun Su-ho nodded. He was satisfied with the implication that he and Yun Gaho were seen as ‘friends’.

“Let’s do that.”

“Ugh, Han Cha-hyun is really the problem here!”

To soothe her frustrated feelings, Park Shin-ju summoned a speaker. As she tapped the ground with her toes to the guitar sound, she suddenly addressed Yun Su-ho.

“It was a golden opportunity to spend some quality time with Gaho……”

◆◇◆◇◆

Following the opinions of Han Cha-hyun and Yun Gaho, the group was split into three.

First was the Cheonsan team, formed when Han Cha-hyun agreed to use his skill to assist Cha Taeyang. The two of them, along with Sarome, decided to search for a way to resolve the situation in Cheonsan without Baek-a.

The remaining members were then divided into two teams.

The competition over who would be on the same team as Yun Gaho was concluded by Han Cha-hyun. Recalling that moment, Park Shin-ju kicked a pebble for no reason.

‘Gaho-ssi, I entrust Lee Kang-to to you.’

‘……Yes.’

After a brief discussion, it was decided that Yun Gaho and Lee Kang-to would inquire about Baek-a’s whereabouts in Sohan. Naturally, the remaining Park Shin-ju and Yun Su-ho became a team. The two were to retrace Baek-a’s journey by moving on foot along the Cheonhwa River.

Watching the gently flowing Cheonhwa River, Park Shin-ju grumbled.

“How did you and Hunter Lee Kang-to behave to be so distrusted?”

Yun Su-ho, who had been quietly preparing for the journey regardless of what Park Shin-ju said, raised an eyebrow.

“They don’t trust us, so they split us up and assigned us separately. I could do without this kind of trust, really!”

“Isn’t it the opposite?”

“What? You’re saying they entrusted me to you? Got any proof? Do you?”

“Rank, performance, sense of responsibility.”

The childish argument of who’s better continued for a while. No matter how many sentences she threw at him, all she got back were short answers. Unusually, it was Park Shin-ju who tired first and raised both hands in surrender.

“Fine. I’d rather talk to a wooden post than continue this conversation with you.”

Park Shin-ju picked up a pebble, carved a marker on it, and threw it across the river.

“I’ll take that side, you take this side. We need to align our stories before reporting, so contact me before then. Okay?”

“Alright.”

“By the way, do you talk to Gaho like this too?”

Park Shin-ju, about to activate her skill, turned her head towards Yun Su-ho. He furrowed his brow, as if not understanding the intent of the question.

“Forget I asked. You know Gaho’s personality, right? If you keep acting like this, she might really cut ties with you. You’d better be careful.”

“……What do you mean?”

“I’m not going to spoon-feed you any more. Figure it out yourself.”

Even after saying this much, he still doesn’t get it. You really can’t judge a book by its cover. Park Shin-ju clicked her tongue loud enough for him to hear, and her figure disappeared, only to reappear on the other side of the river.

After a moment of deliberation, Park Shin-ju finally shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth before leaving.

“I might tell you if you call me Shin-ju-nuna!”

Yun Su-ho, who had been standing there blankly, didn’t respond and simply turned around to walk away.

“Hmph, we’ll see if you come asking for help later.”

The riverbank quickly fell silent, and the recent commotion felt like a lie. Park Shin-ju, who had pouted at the sight, also left the riverside. It was the beginning of a short but long journey.

◆◇◆◇◆

‘Those stubborn fools wouldn’t peacefully travel together.’

They’ve probably already split up by now. If not, they must be having a big fight. Hadn’t they been growling at each other since they saw us off to Sohan? It was clear as day.

“Mr. Kim, again!”

“Sigh, I told you not to wander off on your own.”

Since arriving in Sohan, Lee Kang-to had disappeared at will whenever I took my eyes off him for a moment. Moreover, he moved so silently. If it weren’t for the goblin, I would have lost him several times by now.

‘It might be better to put him on a leash.’

Han Cha-hyun’s advice from earlier tempted me.

“No, even Hunter Lee Kang-to has human rights, that’s going too far.”

I grabbed the fluttering tricolor sash of Lee Kang-to, who was trying to drift away.

“They say there’s a mys-mysterious charm that wards off disease.”

“How is that related to our task?”

“Um, well, I guess it isn’t?”

As I released the tricolor sash and told him to go take a look, his green eyes sparkled like glass marbles.

“Really?”

“In exchange, please discreetly ask if any strange incidents have occurred in the past few years.”

“Huh? Aren’t you asking something too difficult?”

“If you can’t do it, then forget……”

“I-I’ll do it! I’ll do it, okay!”

Afraid I might change my mind, Lee Kang-to scurried off to the stall. The sight of his back with the tricolor sash swaying was no different from a dog wagging its tail.

I didn’t have high expectations, as Lee Kang-to’s eloquence was atrocious unless he was going on about beauty. He’s always full of praise when looking at me, so I didn’t realize it was this bad…

‘To make matters worse, he’s also very shy with strangers.’

It’s not like my own conversational skills were any better. These were extremely disadvantageous conditions in a place where we inevitably had to interact with NPCs.

“Well, they sent me here out of concern for me.”

The mountain range surrounding On’s capital like a folding screen was impressive. To enter this place from the west, you have to cross that mountain no matter what. Even from this distance, it looks so massive; if we had become the journey team, we would have had quite a hard time.

“They say the western palace is called a natural fortress because of that mountain range.”

“So what? Everywhere here and there is tainted with negativity.”

“Can’t you sense the energy of spiritual beasts yet?”

“Nope! It doesn’t seem to be around here.”

As I stroked the goblin with my fingertips, a metallic sound resembling laughter rang out.

“I feel reassured thanks to you, Sori-ssi.”

“I’m helping because Mr. Kim is someone Taeyang likes!”

“Yes, thank you for coming with us despite the difficult decision. Don’t worry about the Cheonsan side, Hunter Han Cha-hyun is there.”

The goblin, who was usually inseparable from Cha Taeyang, came with us because of Sarome’s words.

‘There is a spiritual beast that accompanied Baek-a.’

Seven years ago, posters were put up all over On. They said a father dying from a terminal illness was searching for his lost child to fulfill his last wish. That news reached even Cheonsan.

Sarome and Baek-a immediately realized that the child was Baek-a, they say. It was because of the description of a peculiar birthmark on Baek-a’s back. Despite Sarome’s attempts to dissuade her, Baek-a insisted on repaying the kindness of her birth and resolutely left for Sohan.

And one spiritual beast that hadn’t left for the west until then accompanied Baek-a.

Seven years is not a short time for humans. Although we had written down Baek-a’s appearance, there was a high chance it had changed. Therefore, we decided to track not Baek-a, but that spiritual beast. If we find it, Baek-a’s whereabouts would naturally follow.

“It was a snail spiritual beast, right? If it’s similar to our kind, it won’t be easy.”

“Is it because of its small size?”

“What? Ahaha, Mr. Kim, you must say that to the snail when we meet it!”

Was my thinking too one-dimensional? Seeing the goblin burst into laughter made me feel awkward. After a while, the goblin, finally stopping its laughter, explained the reason.

“Essence doesn’t change easily. Hmm, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a snail, Mr. Kim?”

“……A black shell?”

“Right? Snails hide their bodies inside hard shells. Maybe because of that, snail spiritual beasts are all calm and masters at hiding. If you played hide-and-seek with them, the sun would set before you found them!”

The goblin boasted confidently, telling me not to worry.

However, by the time the sun set that day, we hadn’t found any clues. Lee Kang-to, his hands full of various knick-knacks from all over, muttered gloomily.

“I-I’ve used up all my energy for today. No more people……”

“Ain’t the shrine maiden girl comin’ today either?”

“Eek!”

Lee Kang-to, his face turning pale, fled from the tavern hostess. I’m not sure what he was trying to accomplish by hiding behind me, who was smaller than him, but I left him be for now.

“She has some business outside for a while. Is it possible to have a meal now?”

“I’ll bring it to the back house, so go on in! Want a bowl of makgeolli too?”

“No, that’s okay.”

“Back in the day, people lined up all the way past that wall for my makgeolli… Why don’t you try just one barrel? I’ll give you a full one for just half a bundle of herbs.”

With such insistence, I couldn’t help but be curious, but I was on duty now. As I was about to regretfully refuse again, it occurred to me that the hostess might know something.

‘All sorts of rumors gather at taverns, after all.’

“If it’s that good, I guess I have no choice.” “H-Hunter Yun Gaho, are you going to drink?”

“I’ll pay for the alcohol in advance. Please bring a good one.”

The hostess’s mouth gaped wide as a basin when she received several times more herbs than she had asked for. After that, everything went smoothly.

As I had intended, the hostess brought out food and alcohol enough to make the table legs bend.

“This friend can’t drink. It’s quite lonely to drink alone, how about joining me for a drink?”

“M-Me, unable to drink?”

“Don’t you become a wreck after just one drink?”

Lee Kang-to, a considerable drinker as I had seen at company dinners, made a pitiful face. Although his expression looked somewhat pitiable, I easily ignored it and held out my cup to the hostess.

“With no customers, I’d be glad to.”

Ever since I let her know that I was friends with Shin-ju, the hostess had been treating me much more casually. I sent mental thanks to Shin-ju, who must be camping out somewhere by now.

As the night deepened, the number of empty alcohol barrels gradually increased. The hostess, in high spirits from both drinking and making good sales, kindly answered even my abrupt questions.

“Strange rumors?” “Sohan is quite turbulent these days, isn’t it? I want to avoid suspicious places.”

“Of course! Young lasses need to be careful, for sure! Let’s see……”

The hostess rattled off a list of place names with poor public safety. I was about to give up as no particularly noteworthy places came up, when suddenly the hostess slapped her knee.

“Oh my, where’s my mind? I forgot to tell you about that place.”

“Which place do you mean?”

“There’s a house that’s been rumored to be haunted for a few years now. You might not care about the other places, but don’t you dare go near that one. It’s just asking for trouble.”

That’s the one. I raised my lips in a smile, hidden from the hostess’s view.