Chapter 29: You even added ramen.

KangWoo looked at the players around him vigilantly.

It was obvious, even at first glance, that Baek HwaYeon wasn't a normal player.

Maybe she'd seen KangWoo cross the fence while using the Authority of Blind.

"It's just a simple check, so don't worry. We just want to know if there's a player on our wanted list here."

After saying that, Baek WhaYeon looked at the members of her corps.

They nodded and approached the players.

'Thankfully, it seems like she didn't see me.'

KangWoo sighed in relief.

It seemed like she hadn't seen him cross the fence.

'But chaos players...'

He naturally thought of the incident with the Andras Guild.

They were crazy demon worshippers who used players as offerings.

'Did they start moving?'

He wasn't sure yet.

But if they kept doing the 'ceremony,' they would end up coming to the surface.

"Show us your player IDs."

Baek HwaYeon and her underlings began checking out the player IDs.

After getting to KangWoo, she extended her hand.

'She's a strong woman.'

After giving her his player ID, he opened his mouth.

"You check things out yourself."

"You can't be a leader if you leave everything to your underlings."

"That's a great mindset."

After they had exchanged a few light words, KangWoo naturally kept the conversation going on.

"It seems like the number of chaos players have increased recently."

"Yes. That's why we're doing checks like this."

"Hmm. They should have enough to live just by killing monsters. Yet they're killing people because of money. How scary."

"I agree..."

After hearing his words, Baek HwaYeon shrugged a little bit.

KangWoo saw her reaction.

'She's lying.'

She hadn't reacted to the mention that the number of chaos players had increased.

She had reacted to when he'd said that chaos players were killing people for money.

'She knows that their goal isn't money.'

He thought that maybe the Hwarang Squad was aware of the ceremony that demon worshippers had conducted.

"Can you tell me what chaos player you're looking for? As a player, I want to do my part. If I ever see him, I'll send a report."

"I thank you for your proposal, but it's still a secret investigation. Once it becomes public, I ask for your cooperation."

"I see."

"Righteous young men like you are hard to see these days. I like it."

Baek HwaYeon looked at the player ID with a smile on her face.

"It seems like you've just become a C-rank player. I understand how you feel, but I suggest you stay at a D-rank gate for a bit longer. It will be safer to come here after leveling up a bit more. You'll have a bit of a penalty, but you can level up to 25 on a D-rank gate."

"Thanks."

"Oh KangWoo... I hope more players like you appear."

After returning his player ID, she gave him a slight slap on his shoulder.

KangWoo smiled at her words.

'It's going to be a problem if more people like me appear.'

From a moral perspective, KangWoo was closer to being a bad guy than a good one.

After they finished talking, KangWoo glanced at Baek HwaYeon, who had moved to check other players.

'A secret investigation...'

He wanted to know if the target of the investigation was Jo DeokHyun or some other demon worshipper.

Just a glance was enough to know that she wasn't your average player, so there was no way he would be able to use a mind control type of Authority on her.

'I guess I'll have to be satisfied for the moment just by knowing that the government has begun investigating the demon worshippers.'

Jo DeokHyun was investigating other demon worshippers day and night at the moment.

It seemed wiser to see things from a distance for the moment rather than moving quickly.

"I should go back."

After leaving the Hwarang Squad behind, KangWoo went back home.

* * *

A few days later, he had hunted the boss monster.

KangWoo was hunting in the C-rank gate and increasing his strength when he heard that Han Seol-ah had completed the basic education and was preparing to start hunting, so he called TaeSoo.

After calling him, he rushed toward a cafe near Han Seol-ah's house. He extended his hands toward Han Seol-ah with his characteristic attitude.

"Nice to meet you~ So you're the miss that hyeongnim has talked about?"

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too."

"Woah~ You have really delicate facial features. You even seemed to be shining when seen from a distance!"

"Th-thank you."

Han Seol-ah smiled awkwardly. She felt uncomfortable, as a giant nearly two meters tall had approached her with his eyes shining. She turned herself around to KangWoo.

TaeSoo smiled after looking at both of them.

"Hahaha. The atmosphere between you two doesn't seem to be normal... What kind of relationship do you have with hyeongnim?"

"Ah, th-that..."

"Don't say stupid things," KangWoo said after taking a sip of the coffee he had ordered.

"First, TaeSoo, take Ms. Seol-ah and go to a D-rank gate to hunt."

"Of course. Since she's a healer with a B-rank attribute, it's me who wants to ask that question. Sister-in-law, is your attribute only centered around healing?"

"S-sister-in-law...?"

Han Seol-ah's cheeks reddened after hearing what TaeSoo had called her.

TaeSoo laughed even louder after seeing her reaction.

"Hahaha. It's already written on your face, so why are you getting so embarrassed? But more than that, can you tell me more details about your attribute?"

"Ugh... It's an attribute called Blessing of Light. It can heal, but more than that, it can also buff your constitution, strength, and dexterity."

"Oh! So you can buff and heal simultaneously?"

"Yes, and I can use a few attack skills, too."

"Amazing..."

TaeSoo exclaimed in surprise.

Being able to heal and buff was really impressive.

Most parties would think about whether they should incorporate a buffer or not, but she could do both roles alone.

"If you can also buff, there's nothing more to say. Sister-in-law could probably enter Hanul guild immediately."

"Haha, thank you, but I have no intentions of entering a guild for the moment."

"Haha. I'm the same. I'm thinking of making history in the world of players along with hyeongnim!"

TaeSoo gulped down the hot coffee while smiling innocently.

"As expected, the best coffee is an Americano! Isn't that right, bro?"

'That's not beer.'

KangWoo laughed after hearing TaeSoo say that as if he were an old man.

"So is there anyone you have in mind regarding damage dealing?"

There was no way you could form a party with just a healer and a tanker.

A few days ago, KangWoo had asked TaeSoo to find a good damage dealer.

"Of course! I recently found two incredible people."

"Really?"

"Hahaha. Don't I have a good eye for people? They are so talented that one couldn't help but wonder why they haven't joined any guild yet."

"How did you get to know them...?" KangWoo asked cautiously.

The most important thing was if they were trustworthy people or not.

Since the demon worshippers were targeting low-level players, you never knew when something would happen.

It seemed like TaeSoo noticed his worry, so he spoke confidently.

"I met them while I was goblin hunting. Both of them have recently completed the second awakening. They're both trustworthy."

"Hmm..."

KangWoo looked at him as if he couldn't trust what he was saying.

'I can't trust his judgment.'

TaeSoo had previously accepted two members of the Andras guild as party members.

'I'll have to check them myself.'

He cared for TaeSoo, but Seol-ah was someone especially important to him.

He couldn't let her get involved in stuff like that.

"Can I meet both?"

"Of course. I'll present them to you tomorrow before we go hunting."

"Good."

KangWoo nodded and turned his head around to Han Seol-ah.

"Is Ms. Seol-ah okay with that?"

"Of course. After all, it's someone Mr. KangWoo presented to me. Fufu. I'll try to level up as fast as possible so that I can go with Mr. KangWoo."

"You can take your time. The most important thing is your safety."

KangWoo and Han Seol-ah's eyes met each other.

You could feel a weird atmosphere going around between them.

"Hehehe."

TaeSoo smiled after looking at both of them.

"There's a good atmosphere going around between both of you, hyeong."

"Ugh..."

Han Seol-ah's face reddened at TaeSoo's words.

TaeSoo found Seol-ah's reaction funny. He spoke again while smiling.

"But what kind of relationship do the two of you have? Are you dating?"

"N-no!"

Han Seol-ah denied it. The attention of the people inside the cafe had centered on her because she had spoken so loudly.

Her face got even redder after noticing that everyone was looking at her, so she said it in a lower voice.

"W-we aren't dating."

She mumbled yet again in a very low voice, then she looked at KangWoo, who was next to her.

"W-what...?"

KangWoo seemed shocked by her words.

He had an expression that looked as if he'd been hit with a hammer.

He turned his face to her while shivering.

"Weren't we dating?"

"What...?"

Han Seol-ah looked at him, surprised at what he had just said.

Not only were they not dating, but they've also never talked about that sort of thing.

"You told me you would prepare delicious kimchi stew every day!"

"No, I never said that."

"How can you say that after putting ramyeon noodles in it?!"

"I'm not sure what you're saying, Mr. KangWoo."

Han Seol-ah replied very calmly.

KangWoo's expression resembled a female protagonist who the male lead had just betrayed.

"Ah... Hm, so..."

TaeSoo looked at the sketch that wasn't really a sketch with a puzzled look on his face.

"So... are you two dating?"